A thick forest teeming with wildlife and dangerous monsters, The Silver Line, as the locals called it.
The forest is tremendous, spacious, and verdant. Its canopy was eclipsed by Weepwood, Leatherleaf Willows, and Cane Cherry, sufficient twinkling lights burst through their crowns for a variety of herbs to control the nut and seed covered grounds below.
Thin vines cling to a couple of trees, and a range of flowers, which grow in a sprinkled and disorderly fashion, adding playful elements to the otherwise uniform scenery.
A mixture of sounds, belonging mostly to herds of larger animals, resonate through the air, and are strangely synchronized with the occasional splashes of frogs jumping in the nearby lake.
In the thick of the forest, two women sit with a peculiar child.
Silver-colored eyes that glow with a purple hue and knife-like ears that curve at the end. That's what stood out about the boy. The two elven sisters watch him with curiosity.
"We should take him to the human village." The amber-eyed sister says.
Her eyes are thin, her gaze sharp. Her distrust for the child apparent.
"We can't send him to the humans, they'll just sell him off, you can see his eyes. Not to mention his ears." The emerald-eyed sister says, gesturing to the babe's face...
Why are they talking about me like that? Who are these people?
The child raises his hands, and then jumps as he sees them.
The elven sisters look at the child, surprised by his odd awareness. The amber-eyed woman reaches toward the child slowly, and rubs the top of his head, his jet-black hair soft to the touch.
"Her hand is rough, like sandpaper. But it's... warm..." The boy thought, his mind soothing at the woman's touch.
The woman begins to smile as she sees the babe's eyes become drowsy. Suddenly, she stops, and her face flushes, she turns to see her sister failing to cover a smile with her hand.
"You sure warmed up quick, Swyn." Her sister says, a giggle escaping her lips.
"Y-You do it! It's oddly addictive!" Swyn says, grabbing her sister's hand putting it on the boy's hair.
"Fine, if you insist."
She begins rubbing the boy's hair, each lock forming between her hands and falling back to position.
"Her hand's cold... It's quite... comfortable though..."
The boy's eyes close and his mind begin to drift in and out of consciousness. The woman smiles as she watches his eyes close.
"See?! You did the same thing, Fey!" Swyn remarks, looking at her sister annoyedly.
Fey laughs sheepishly and shrugs.
"You got me, the boy's hair is like a rabbit's, soft and fluffy." Fey remarks.
Swyn nods quietly and begins rubbing the boy's hair again.
"You started petting again."
"Shut up."
Meanwhile, in the land of Ardonia, shining with the warmth of the sun. Vibrant green fields stretch as far as the eye can see, and peaceful villagers go about their lives without a fear. The sky above is as blue as the sea, filled with fluffy white clouds. A well-sized stone fortress sits in the middle of the plain, teeming with well-trained soldiers in golden plate armor that glitters in the beautiful sunlight.
In Fort Sunlight, the home of The Paladins, another boy wrapped in warm cloth is held in gauntleted hands. His eyes are a vibrant blue with a slight red glow at the edges, his hair a lighter blonde and as soft as a dog's fur. The armor-clad woman that holds him smiles lovingly.
"My sweet, sweet boy. Just wait until your father sees you, you'll melt that stone face of his." The woman says warmly, kissing the boy's cheek.
"Where... am I...?" The boy thought, looking at the blonde-haired woman, with fiery-orange eyes.
"Myrna! There you are, how's the boy?" A deep, gruff voice asks.
"He's fine, Yuger. You worry an awful lot for a boy who's not even your son." Myrna teases the man.
The gruff sounding voice bellows out a boisterous laugh, making both the boy and his mother's ears ring.
"He's my nephew! Of course I'm worried."
"Here, take him. Just try not to scare the poor thing." Myrna says, handing the babe to the man.
He's dark-haired, with a buzz cut. He has a massive, well-groomed beard. He smiles as he looks at the boy.
"My, yer eyes are just like his father's, they are! Redmane will be grinning like an idiot for months!" Yuger says, laughing heartily.
Redmane...?
The babe is handed back to his mother, who laughs and shakes her head.
"You still never call Adrun by his first name, even though the three of us joined the Paladins together." Myrna inquires.
Yuger smiles and scratches the back of his head with a rough, burly hand.
"I'll call him by that name once I've matched his level, I've never seen someone with such strength and talent for using The Flame." Yuger says.
"It still surprises me that he let Rorden take the Commander position... He would never give me a straight answer as of why." Myrna says.
"What are you two standing around for?" A strong, stern voice asks.
Myrna and Yuger turn to see Commander Rorden himself, a brown mop of hair, with light brown eyes to match. He rubs his clean-shaven chin, smiling.
"Rorden! Come get a good look at the boy!" Yuger calls.
The Commander walks over and looks at the boy with a warm smile.
"Well, hello there, young one! Aren't you as bright as a summer day!" The Commander says, pinching the boy's cheek.
"What a kind looking man..." The boy observes as the man's face comes into view.
The Commander strides by, waving his hand.
"I have some paperwork to get done, make sure the boy gets some proper rest, Myrna."
"You got it, Commander."
Myrna and Yuger smile as they watch him go, and then exchange their own farewells before heading off to their chambers. As she walks, Myrna looks down to see the boy is now fast asleep. She smiles warmly and looks back up.
"I hope you become a warrior as great as your father someday."