A trio of men slowly emerged from the forest. The lead man's elegant posture upon his horse, with white furs and plate armor cascading down his tall figure, was the first thing to note. A single armored hand rested upon his horse as the other tightened around a dragon head etched onto his sword handle. His long, blonde, river-like hair got swept into the wind. He did not wear a hood over his head, as if the cold never bothered him at all, showing off his proud, sharpened ears. An elf.
Looking to the side, his friend looked similar, yet he was shorter, almost feminine-looking, as he gripped both of his reins and his emerald eyes flashed at the two of them with a kind, yet awkward, gentle smile gracing his features. "Friends, I hope we all are. Friends."
He said, but Gared turned his gaze past them and to the man with horrible furs wrapped around his body, riding upon a pack horse with what looked like the combined total of four men's luggage surrounding him, with some graced to be on his back as he looked up, shivering and decrepit. He did not have the aura of elegance as the other two, and Gared assumed this man to be 'Mark,' the slave the leader had mentioned.
"I can barely make out the looks of you in this storm, littler ones…" The leader of the group shed his smile and squinted. "But know that I was joking about making friends into foes. I am barely a slaver myself. You there, I can see the blue eyes and the mountainous blonde hair of my homeland but fail to see your ears; your countenance tells me you have pride. But I turn to my side and was going to mistake the littlest one there as a dark elf, but I see the hairs of a man grace his chin. Unless you're one of those odd elves who treat their slaves as equals. Grace me with your name and your race."
"That one there is human?" The green-eyed elf said in shock and squinted his eyes. "I see it. Wow. You have great eyes."
"It's only natural," the blue-eyed elf said.
Taylor opened her mouth, "They call me Taylor. I'm of-"
"No more," the blue-eyed elf interrupted. "I can already hear that human accent from the far regions down south upon your voice. But you've done well trying to conceal it. It sounds more pleasing to the ear. Now you, little one."
Gared narrowed his eyes. This is the first time he had seen an elf, and Taylor had spoken almost immediately, but he disliked the way they commanded the conversation. "It is rude to ask a man to introduce themselves without first doing it yourself," Gared answered, much to Taylor's displeasure.
She slapped his shoulder quickly. "Introduce yourself, quickly!"
The blue-eyed elf interrupted them both with piercing laughter. "They call me Merllion Crossdred of The House Crossdred."
The green-eyed elf narrowed his eyes as he answered. "Zel Matirce of The House Matrice! Apologies for the rudeness," He spoke elegantly yet haughtily as he then demanded. "Now tell us yours!"
Gared's and Taylor's eyes widened as they saw the two elves, who were still arrogant, introduce themselves without as much as a confused glance or a retort. They looked and acted like nobles, but it appeared that they respected courtesy more than anything else.
"They call me Gared," Gared nodded toward the elves.
"What are you two doing out here?" Zel asked.
"We're students of Matriel's Academy," Gared answered before correcting himself. "I mean, we are newly enrolled students of Matriel's Academy."
"It seems Origin himself has put you humans on our path," Merllion spoke. "You two can perhaps lighten the load Mark is carrying."
"We're no servants," Taylor said quickly.
"We're no servants, either," Merllion approached on horseback. "That's why I suggested my parents to teleport my luggage over, but here we are, and we have two humans before us. Although, you are quite beautiful for a human."
Gared furrowed his brows, "That woman is my fiancée."
"Oh." His eyes focused upon Gared lazily. "I don't care," Merllion spoke truthfully as he looked away from Taylor and toward the road ahead of them. "Human, we're on the same path, and I, for one, do not like seeing the weak be trampled on–Ahem– I don't like– Ha! Lying aside…" Merllion struggled to hold back his laughter as he moved his purebred horse to the front. "We're both heading in the same direction, and I hate hearing the same voices for prolonged periods of time."
Zel looked at Gared and Taylor as he lowered his eyes and shook his head. "In other words, Merllion is bored of my company."
"Exactly," Merllion spoke. "The road is full of monsters, and you humans need the aid to traverse this path. Be my conversation slaves for a moment as we walk to the academy."
Gared immediately wanted to refuse, but Taylor placed a hand on his to shush him as she thought for a moment. "We're in need of aid."
These Elves weren't bad news in the eyes of Gared; they were clearly noble and forthright with their actions. However, he couldn't help but notice their airs of importance weren't only because they were noble. It was a keen understanding between them. Gared could feel it as they interacted with them. The elves here weren't interacting with their fellow man… it felt as if they were interacting with a… pet.
Zel looked past Taylor and toward Gared. "Humans, I, for one, am amiable toward your race, and I feel love toward those from Matriel Academy. We are also newly enrolled."
Zel's elegant voice rung like a clear bell. "You are destined to do great amongst your race. My partner does not lie. The monsters here are far above your capabilities. Let's travel together as a group. I'll only offer this once, human."
The thought of being treated like a pet was an unwelcoming one. Zel's treatment of them was better than Merllion's; if saying you're friendly toward a race of people was better than not saying it at all. It made Gared wonder if all elves were this haughty and overbearing to meet. The thought put a horrible thought within his mind. A thousand Merllions. It made him shiver to think as he took sight of Mark, the slave behind the two.
If there were anyone here to see Mark's decrepit position, they would immediately see him as a slave. He looked underfed, bruised, and weakened. His darkened skin was filled with blisters from the open parts of his fur where the cold cut his skin. Gared wondered how Mark got to that position. He had heard of slave trade… He must've been a warrior once for this to happen to him. Gared shook his head and looked toward Zel, whose eyes had been inspecting him.
"Whatever Taylor says, I am with," Gared finally responded.
Taylor nodded and pulled her reins, causing her horse to follow Merllion, who had already begun to walk ahead of everyone else. "High Elves."
Zel and Merllion both turned their heads to look at her and raised their brows, expecting her to say something else, as if she had called two dogs.
Fighting the urge to laugh, Gared gnashed his teeth together as he thought elves weren't as different from them.
"I meant– I've never seen High Elves before," Taylor continued.
Merllion shrugged and turned to look forward. "I've never seen a human like you before. Most humans that I see are always so- ugly… nothing like elven women. It's also a surprise to see a woman from the humans that are so strong-minded."
Taylor nodded and began to talk with Merllion from there. "High elves I've only heard…"
Gared turned his head as Taylor began to talk to Merllion. It had been a while since he had heard her voice, and she was talking plentifully with their new companions. He, for one, also wanted to ask Taylor's questions. He had never seen a high elf either, and he had never heard of the term 'high elf' either. He wanted to ask the difference, but seeing Taylor and Merllion speak, he felt as if it was a dumb question.
Mark followed behind from far behind. Zel was close next to Gared; his emerald eyes observing his human companion.
Gared looked up at Zel and thought to ask him but thought against it.
"Human," Zel said. "Speak and do not hold back your tongue."
"What?" Gared answered back.
"You look like a child waiting for the adults to stop and listen to you," Zel replied.
Gared looked at him in amazement and frustration as he realized Zel saw right through him. Then he thought more to it and wanted to know why Zel saw right through him. It wasn't as if he was broadcasting to the world he wanted to talk to Zel.
"I know," Zel said to him as if he read his mind, then he added. "Let's not feign any disinterest."
"What are you?" Gared asked finally.
Zel's eyes widened as he looked upon the dark-skinned human before him, smaller than him and not even hairbreadths close to his age. He paused for a moment before saying, "An elf."
"That's not what I mean–"
"That's the best answer I can give you," Zel said. "I'll tell you what I've told every human that's met an elf. I'm your better."
Gared furrowed his brow but didn't say anything else to Zel. He was right about Zel. He was nothing like Merllion. He did not believe himself to be better than humans. He knew himself to be better than humans and he did not hide it. That part was similar to how Merllion acted. But what differentiated the two was that sense of duty he had when he talked to Gared.
As if it was a duty for him to tell Gared that he was better. That it was his divine right that not only was he to tell him that he was better, he had to protect them, and had to guide them. The Temple of Origin was just overhead, but Gared thought that it was right in front of him.
Gared turned his head forward. He did not believe Zel's words, but he felt no use in arguing with his companion. After all, Taylor was getting along with Merllion in the front without arguing which of the two was better.
But their interaction in the front gave Gared a bad side. Taylor's nodding, Merllion's upturned grin, and slothful almost disrespectful disregard for Taylor. She did not get angry. There was no sense of equality between the two. As if it was a master talking down to his servant, and she accepted that role.
"You don't look like you believe me," Zel said to him. He gripped his longsword, as he swept his gaze across the forest.
Gared leaned back. "What?"
Zel's actions were mimicked by Merllion in front, who had jumped off his horse, grabbing the reins and nailing them to the forest floor in one swift jump to the ground. "Wolves," Merllion spoke softly, as his longsword erupted from its sheath.
"Wolves?" Gared swept his gaze across the forest but couldn't see anything. "I can't see–"
A blur of movement caught at the corner of his eye. He looked to the side, and before he reacted, he saw the blur of color and fur reach him in mere seconds. Recognizing that there was nothing he could do while also looking toward his side, seeing Taylor's horrified yet confused expression as she too saw what was happening, it seemed time had slowed down to a hair's breadth. The soft breathing of the horse beneath him. The shrill yet rising shriek of terror that was erupting from Gared's throat. Thinking that he had gotten caught out of everyone else here had barely crossed his mind. If he were thinking at this moment, and if his thoughts were coherent other than 'Wolf,' he'd perhaps think that it was lucky that the wolf had chosen to attack him first rather than Taylor.
His shifting weight bore down onto one side of the horse, the beast's outstretched maw opening toward his arm. Its fur a frightening silver that blended perfectly into the environment around itself. Its paws. Oddly cute for a beast of such deadly acumen. A specimen perfectly made for its environment. The shifting weight caused the saddle to shift along with him, and before the wolf had even inched toward him through the air, he felt gravity snatching his body and pulling him to a free fall off his horse.
That was until he could make out from a flash of color another flash of color with royal blue adorning their figure and emerald eyes that seemed to jump outward like jade lions. Before, he could see what was happening, his vision turned up.
His shoulder crashed into the ground first, snow and dirt crashing all about him. He heard the shrill cry of a woman. He heard the rushing of movement. He got to his feet. Blood splattered adorned his face.
Zel's back faced him as he saw the elf run forward and cut down a wolf. Then reach out and if predicted grab a wolf by its throat and raise it to the air.
"Down!" Zel shouted in his direction, and Gared got down.
He felt warmth adorn him in the cold. Confusion. It was a blur. Gared was still thinking about where the wolves were, even as wolves attacked him physically. To him, the wolf wasn't there still, and he was still atop his horse, looking toward Zel with confusion in his eyes. There was supposed to be a sword somewhere here? Wasn't there? No, he didn't have a sword? What? Why was he not provided a sword? Oh. That's right, he's a scholar, but no, he wasn't a scholar. Disjointed. What was his father doing currently? There was something else to be doing. Wasn't there?
Zel pulled him to his feet and threw him far. He crashed against a tree in a huff, and snow fell down upon him.
When the battle was over, he found Zel sitting atop four wolves. He had pulled his blue cloak before his face and observed it with a sour expression. Gared had somehow found himself before him, overlooking the carnage. He didn't know what expression he was making, but Zel looked him in the eye, and a look of rare surprise crossed his face.
"You look like you've seen this a thousand times before," Zel said to him as he rubbed his blue cloak atop his pants. "You're a different beast than your friend."
Taylor had somehow ended up with a shortsword in her grasp. She stood over a wolf's corpse as sweat curdled at her neck despite the cold. Merllion looked over her with an amused expression. He patted her back once, decisively, and looked over at Gared.
"Humans," Merllion elegantly said. "They are as weak and disgusting as always. However, you are always good for amusement." Seeing Gared not respond to him, he scoffed disdainfully and then looked toward his slave. Covered in blood. Frightened as the rest. His hands trembling with a longsword inside of it. He had been useless even though he had a weapon. "Mark! Come here and give this one here your horse. His has died!"