The Unexpected Journey... sort of. (Zenke)

The Eldritch Moon inn, the main establishment in the sleepy town of Zendar, was quiet as usual. In the main lounge area, an Eldari sat in the corner by the fire, a glass of berry juice on the table in front of her. Rain pounded the building, providing a rather therapeutic background tune as the Eldari stared into space, waiting for her friend to arrive. She had so much to tell her, stuff that had happened since they were last together during the Yoniva mission. The Eldari reflected on her adventure in Zadartis, a quick stop off turning into a healthy amount of fighting. She had made a new friend too, a Knight of Mondolin named Lilian Toral, who had stopped in the same town on the way back home. They fought off some thugs together, and both took part in a tournament, which Fayla won after an excellent fight with Lilian. So much to tell.

But Faylandrea Shor also wanted to hear from her friend, the Heanta Valatrix of the Hornless Clan, any news that she had from her own journey back to Zendar. Though Fayla knew that Vala could look after herself, for neither of them would be around today if not for the skills they both possessed, she still knew that she would feel much better once she saw the red hair with her own eyes. Fayla also debated whether to tell her friend of her encounter with the Heanta's father recently. She was aware of Vala's reluctance to talk about her father, even to her best friend. Still, she decided she should tell her, if only to get it out of the way. Fayla was rubbish at keeping secrets anyway. She sipped her drink quietly, analyzing the optimal way to tackle-huggle her friend when she came in.

The door of the in opened and Vala stumbled in, red hair drenched, purple eyes dark from exhaustion. She was already running on close to empty when she stopped in that accursed village in the north, and then between Korroth and Knightfall she'd been travelling for who knows how long without sleep. She needed a bath, mostly from just enduring the elements, a meal, and a warm cozy bed to sleep in uninterrupted, in any order. She was greeted by Bartley behind his little desk in the hall. "Ah, Miss Vala I was wondering when you would be along. You're young eldari friend is waiting for you in the lounge." He said. "Young? I don't know about that, we're probably older than you Bartley." Vala said.

He chuckled. "Well, if thats the case you certainly don't act like it. No more pillow fights with the good feather ones, eh?" He said with a smile. Vala sighed and smiled back. "Point taken. Sorry about the pillows." She said. "It's fine. Frankly I was a little worried you'd gotten into the chicken coop." His eyes were lit with laughter and she let out a little snort. "Even I would get sick from raw chicken. Probably." She left him with a freindly smile and headed into the lounge. Her senses warned of the incoming huggle assualt before she seen it, and Vala ducked under an airborne Fayla who had used the rafters to initiate an Aerial strike, and then Vala lunged as the Eldari landed gracefully, striking with a precise counter hug as Fayla turned around.

The result was both of them toppling onto the ground with much giggling and a friendly nip of Fayla's ear. The other patrons in the bar were used to this behavior, and smiled or chuckled at the antics of their local hooligans/guardians. Struggling to her feet she offered Fayla a hand and said, "That was close, come on I need to eat something, and I can tell by the grin on your face you have allot to tell me." Vala said. Taking a seat by the fire, she ordered an entire roast chicken. It wasn't as good as rabbit in her oppinion, but it was still delicious. While she waited she looked at Fayla and said, "So, go on, out with it. What have you been up to all this time."

Fayla took another sip of juice, before she heard something that made her ears prick with interest. Vala's voice in the outer hall. Fayla grinned evilly and swiftly stood up, leaping onto the mantelpiece and up into the rafters. She looked at the other patrons as they looked up at the random display of agility, and gestured for them to say nothing. The patrons quickly returned to their drinks, though some occasional glances shot up at her. The door opened to the lounge and as soon as Fayla saw the mane of soggy red hair she dived from the rafters across the room, a bulls-eye appearing on the redhead's body. "Gotcha! Nooooooo!" Fayla's cry of triumph quickly turned to surprise as Vala ducked her attempted tackle-huggle, forcing her to roll through in mid-air and land on her feet. "Son of a- oof!" Turning around, Fayla was instead tackle-huggled herself by a flying mane of red hair. They giggled like kids, which elicited a some smiles and chuckles from the patrons. The two of them had endeared themselves to the town's locals over the time they had been using Zendar as a base of operations, due to both their good-natured personalities and their skill at arms.

Once Vala had settled and gotten some food in her belly, talk turned to recent events. Vala asked what Fayla had been up to since their last encounter. Fayla grinned and launched into her story. "Well, I returned home and checked in with my mum. She's still busy dealing with Council matters. On the way home I encountered a kid in Endaron. Said he was from Crystal Isle, said he was lost, and all he had on him was a rag with what looked like the insignia for the Order of the Sun. His name was Nichol Shard. I helped him get to the Hold, where he met someone who ended up being his half-brother or something. Weird kid." Fayla took another sip of berry juice before continuing. "On the way back, I stopped in Zadartis for the night. The weather was exactly like tonight. I rescued a girl, a Knight of Mondolin. Her name is Lilian Toral and, get this, she has a metal arm. Cool, right? We entered the tournament together. I won, of course, but I fought Lilian in the final. She was a really good fighter, real fast and a good shot with her crossbow. She wasn't as good as me, of course, but she's got real potential, ya know?"

Vala listened to Fayla's story intently as she tucked into her chicken with a knife and fork because heanta or not far fussier about cleanliness than was expected of her. Greasy fingers led to dirt under her claws which was beyond gross. She smiled as Fayla talked about visiting home and then finding some strange kid on the way back, and how she helped him get to sun shield hold. Then she mentioned meeting a knight of mondolin in Zedartis and how she had a metal arm and they faught in a tournament. Vala raised an eyebrow at Fayla. "A metal arm, really Fayla? I don't believe you. She was probably just wearing armor." Vala said.

"Also assuming this girl is even real and not some figment of your imagination, how come you had to rescue her if she had a metal arm AND she was a knight?" Vala asked. "Good job on the tourney though. Oh hey so, I went to Edaria and met a really strange heanta. And guess what? She had brown hair! I've never seen a heanta with brown hair before, I mean as abnormalities go I've got her beat cause she still had horns but it was weird." Vala said. "Then I came back here, met another heanta on the way named Sig who ran off north to fight The Warlord's Hound for Na'Kora knows what reason." She also met her father, but didn't bother mentioning it. She was still angry with him after their first meeting.

Fayla sipped her juice as Vala responded to her story with skepticism. She pouted as she fought her case. "It's true! I let her stay in my room for the night, and she took it off and told me all about it." Vala then asked why a Knight would need to be saved. Fayla shrugged sheepishly. "Okay, I may have already been in a fight when she came along and stuck her nose in. I could've handled them easily but I didn't want her to get hurt so I beat them up extra fast." Vala then told her own story, how she went to Edaria and met a Heanta with brown hair, which was definitely strange in itself. Fayla grinned evilly. "Yup. You're pretty abnormal alright, you weirdo." Vala had met another Heanta on the way, a guy named Sig, who was in a hurry to go fight the Warlord's Hound. Fayla looked confused and shook her head. The guy clearly had gone mad. "He actually went off to fight Korroth? For real?"

After they finished recounting their tales, Fayla ordered another berry juice and whatever Vala wanted. When the plates were cleared and their orders arrived, Fayla realized the time had come. She took a deep breath, knowing what had to come next. "There was one other thing. I actually got back here yesterday, and I happened across someone here in the inn. I... I met your dad." Fayla looked into Vala's eyes. "I didn't know it was your dad until I talked to him. He came in and some idiot started on him, so he threw the guy out the door. Might've broken his arm too." Fayla went silent and sipped her juice, letting her friend have the time she needed to process Fayla's news.

"Mhmm, yeah right. So how did this magical knight lose her arm then?" Vala asked Fayla. Fayla's response was an attempt to mock Vala, who grinned. "You're best friends with a heanta. I pretty sure your as much of a weirdo as I am. And yes, he ran off north to fight Korroth so he could gather intel for me. I have no idea why he would risk his life doing that." Vala said. Fayla ordered another drink and Vala also asked for a berry juice. Just because heanta didn't normally eat berries, didn't mean berry juice wasn't the tastiest thing in the world.

After their drinks had arrived, a look of apprehension had crossed Fayla's face, and she opened her mouth to speak. She hesitated as she started to speak, then finally told Vala how she'd met her dad here and she hadn't realised it was him until after she'd helped him deal with a bar thug that Tristan had tossed out after possibly breaking his arm. The first thing Vala felt was annoyance. She'd spent years in this town trying to show the people here that not all heanta were bad, and the first thing he did when he came here was break someone's arm. Her face became cold. "Oh, he's still in the area then? Well, what did he tell you? Did he try to explain himself? Act as if our first meeting ever went sweetly, father and daughter finally united after years?" She gripped the table in anger.

"Because I also met him, a few weeks back. I know I've never talked about him but its hard to talk about someone you know nothing about because he's not around and your mother refuses to speak of him." She said. "I always thought he might be dead, or simply broke my mother's heart and left her for another female, but no. He fathered me, so he could escape Kyrias. He didn't want to be there, to fight in the army, to deal with the brutality of our people, so my mother gave him a way out. She wanted a child, but not with someone who would try to control her or me. He'd proven his strength to her already. When I was born, he left, and she let him." Vala said.

"I suppose I could blame my mother. I was so angry after I met him I marched north to confront her, but I eventually realised that what ever she did, she did it because she actually wanted me. I know she's cold and scary to just about everyone else, but she loves me. Enough to try and save your father, because he had stopped to heal me. If Tristan had been around, he would have been there to protect me, and then maybe both of our father's would be alive." She didn't realise she was crying until the first tear hit the table. At the sight of it she stood up, wiping her face. "I'm exausted. I need to get some sleep." She turned and walked out of the room and stomped up the stairs, remembering the last words she'd said to her father in her anger. They were not kind words, and as angry as she was with him she was also scared he wouldn't talk to her again.

Fayla looked serious. "She got into a fight with Korroth, when he charged across the border and attacked her unit while they were training." Fayla then braced herself after she told Vala about meeting her father. Vala's face became like stone as she leveled a fusillade of questions at Fayla, slowly becoming visibly angrier as she went. Fayla didn't even get a chance to respond before her friend continued. Vala went on to explain what exactly happened to her father, and why he left. She felt very strongly about it, and Fayla could feel every word resonate. She was about to speak up, but then Vala mentioned Fayla's own father. Calrados Insari had vanished when Fayla was still a child, believed captured by the Heanta, but Fayla still had fond memories of him. Calrados was the reason Fayla was such a free spirit now, and he had also helped her with her archery skills. Fayla and her mother did not know what had happened to him, until Vala had told her that she was saved by him during her escape from Kyrias. Upon the mention of him now, Fayla became silent, her own feelings welling up inside her. She knew that there was no way to know if Tristan's presence would have saved Calrados, but Fayla was so rocked by her friend's words that she didn't know what to think. Tears began to leak from her eyes, and she noticed that Vala had stood up, and was wiping her own eyes too. The Heanta stated her exhaustion and left. As she turned to leave, Fayla managed to muster up a couple of words. "I'm... sorry."

Fayla remained at the table for a while, her head swimming with emotions and hypothetical scenarios. Her father did have the foresight to begin preparing Fayla for his eventual end, knowing that her parents' line of work meant that any mission they accepted could be their last. Neither Fayla or Mariel expected his loss to come as soon as it did, but their bond allowed them to make it through. Fayla could only imagine what kind of strength Vala possessed given that she had to do most of it on her own. She was disturbed from her thoughts by Bartley's gruff but warm voice. "Miss Shor, it's very late. You should get some sleep, if you don't mind me sayin' so." Fayla nodded and stretched, wiping her bloodshot eyes on her sleeve. "Good idea. Thanks Bartley." The genial innkeeper gave her a pat on the head as she walked past, and she smiled at him. "G'night mister." "Goodnight, young lady." "You know I'm probably older than you right?" Bartley smiled and shrugged. "So you both keep saying."

Fayla quietly entered the room her and Vala's room, where her friend was quite asleep. She had obviously moved a lot in her sleep, as her blanket lay in a ball at the end of the bed. Fayla smiled and shook her head, retrieving the blanket and pulling it over Vala properly. She brushed the hair out of Vala's face before leaning over and kissing her on the forehead. "Sweet dreams." she whispered. Fayla got into bed herself, coming to a decision on how to cheer her friend up. They were going on a trip to Mith Silvanus, and visit the one-armed Knight.

Vala was asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow, but even so, it wasn't a very restful sleep. She had forgotten to tell fayla about Miral, Korroth and Knightfall, and her subconcious reminded her as her mind drifted through sleep. However as her barely concious mind registered that Fayla had entered the room, tucked her blanket up around her, and wispered calming words in her ear. After that, she was fully gone into the land of sleep.

When she finally opened her eyes, the sun was rising. She knew that she hadn't slept long enough, but she also couldn't fall back asleep now that she was awake. Fayla was still sound asleep, her mouth open and drooling. Such a little princess. Vala slipped from the room quietly, and took a bath, put on some human clothing and brought her leathers down to be washed by Bartley's wife, who was always happy to take care of Vala and Fayla's laundry, because she was very fond of Rabbit stew and both Vala and Fayla made it a habit to bring her rabbits when they hunted.

Then she headed out into the forest to do exactly that, and brought back three rabbits and a pheasant. The cook prepared her a rabbit, started on the stew and kept the pheasent for himself. Sitting down at the table they had occupied last night, Vala tucked in and waited for Fayla to get up. When she did finally come down, Vala gave her a warm smile. "The cook's doing up some rabbit stew, He'll save you a bowl if you want it." Vala said. She didn't bring up Tristan again, or Fayla's father. She'd felt guilty about saying that, because again it was irrational. It was her blood thirsty people who were truely to blame for his death.

"Oh, I completely forgot to mention it last night. You were talking about the girl with the metal arm and mentioned that she was maimed by Korroth, which I'm still not sure I believe because people don't normally encounter Korroth and live to tell the tale except maybe me, but then you blindsided me with the whole, uh, father thing. But to get to my point I met an Eldross. And Korroth. And Knightfall." Vala let the sink in and gave Fayla something of a sheepish grin. "Remember I mentioned I was so angry I marched north to give out to my mother? Well, I became rational again just outside the border, and stopped in a small village to sleep and then..."

Vala explained everything that had happened from the moment she was woken up by the screaming, finding Korroth preparing to kill the eldross, punching Korroth, getting leveled by Korroth's fist, fleeing the village, travelling for two days straight without rest, stopping at the krag, fighting off knightfall with Miral's help, and the moment they parted ways after arriving at Zendar. "I was running on a little over two hours sleep, which is probably why I completely forgot about it. Miral's headed to the hold, she should be safe there with Kairi." She said. She took a deep breath, preparing to suggest something she knew both of them hated to do. "But we are not. And this isn't a situation of fighting them head on, like we usually do. One of them alone, maybe, but these are experienced killers who have atleast a century of experience on us."

Fayla awoke from her slumber, immediately regretting staying up so late the previous night. She wiped drool from her mouth, and saw that Vala had already gotten up and gone downstairs. Fayla went and got a bath, fully aware that her hair resembled a bird's nest with one side stuck to her face, and got dressed in her usual travel attire. She moved downstairs to find Vala eating some food. The Heanta smiled warmly at her and told her that there was a bowl of rabbit stew waiting for her if she wanted it. Fayla responded with a grin. "Oh, thanks." She went and retrieved a bowl of stew and joined Vala at the table. As soon as she sat, Vala began to fill her in on an adventure she had forgotten to mention the previous night. Fayla listened as her friend described her trip north, and her run-in with Knightfall. She shuddered, knowing all about the assassin from Vala's stories. But something else piqued her interest. Vala had also encountered an Eldross named Miral, who helped her fend off Knightfall. She had accompanied Vala to Zendar, before continuing on to Sunshield Hold. Fayla stroked her chin. There were so few Eldross left after the Onyxus event that meeting one was a privilege to her. "She sounds cool. I want to meet her when I'm in the Hold next."

Vala then mentioned that while Kairi would be safe in the Hold, herself and Fayla were less so. She brought up the formidable reputations of their two would-be attackers, and their vast experience in the way of killing. Fayla nodded, her usual naive fervor tempered by her friend's seriousness. She perked up suddenly when she remembered the idea she had remembered last night. She looked at Vala with a smirk. "That makes my next idea even better. I propose we go to visit Lilian, seeing as you don't believe me about her arm. That way, we'll have a bit of respite from them, a chance to get a bit of rest and think of a plan. I doubt those two would be stupid enough to attack us in the capital of Mondolin. What do you think?"

Vala nodded when Fayla mentioned how she would like to meet Miral. "I figured you might. I did tell her about you. She said she'd like to meet you too, maybe we can find her in the hold after we're done dealing with things." Vala said. To her surprise, when she brought up the idea of leaving Zendar and esentially fleeing Korroth and Knightfall, Fayla didn't object. As reckless as she was she wasn't stupid, unhinged or insane. She understood the danger that Vala foresaw. Fayla's suggested course of action made Vala rethink all of that however.

Vala met her gaze, face completely serious as she said, "You're suggestion to escape imminent death is to have us march into Mondolin, go to their capital city and sneak in to meet your friend from Zadartis." Vala starred at her. "I will reiterate. An eldari, who the humans of mondolin have little love for, and a heanta who they are guaranteed to want to kill on sight. Go to Mith Silvanus. Their capital.. City.."

A stupid grin broke across Vala's face. "Screw it can't be any more dangerous than staying here!" She said. "Actually I'd say our chances are better. We can totally pull off humans, look I'm already dressed like one!" She said. "You better cover up them knife ears though." As if her own weren't as pointy.

Fayla grinned stupidly when Vala summarized her plan, complete with a tone of disbelief in her voice. "Yup! That's my plan!" Then, an equally stupid grin crossed Vala's face too, and Fayla laughed when the Heanta threw her backing behind the plan in her own unique way. "Exactly! And we get to go sightseeing too!" Vala weighed up their chances of actually sneaking in, and Fayla snorted. "Well, if you wanna pull off some Humans, that's your prerogative, but I think I'll give that a pass." Vala then told her to cover up her knife-ears, and Fayla pouted. "Yeah well, you better cover up that knife... face." They were in agreement, and they spent the rest of the day preparing for the trip, and set off the following morning for Mondolin.

The trip was relatively uneventful, with the only notable incident being the crossing of the Mondolin border. They were stopped and searched, but they were helped by the heavy rain that had seemingly followed them from Zendar, allowing them to keep their hoods up. They were eventually let through, and they continued on until they reached Mith Silvanus. The city towered over them as they approached the gate, and Fayla secretly sighed with relief. Though Humans naturally weren't as strong as Heanta, Fayla knew as they looked upon the colossal main gate of the city that even Korroth and Knightfall wouldn't follow them in. There, Fayla managed to talk them into the city by claiming that they were on a diplomatic visit from the Eternal Watch. Once inside, Fayla turned to Vala, "Well, we made it. Do you wanna get some rest first or go straight to the Citadel?" Fayla secretly hoped it was the former, as she was shattered from the trip.

Vala was taking a drink when Fayla responded about pulling off humans, and she snorted a laugh, spraying juice everywhere. "Gross. Well I'm not surprised you don't want to. Still holding out for Bethany, eh?" Vala snickered. Vala told her to cover up her knife face, and Vala just blinked. "You got me." They finished eating, said farwell to bartley for another few weeks, and headed off towards mondolin. As they travelled, they left very obvious tracks for Knightfall to find, leading off north, before they crossed the mondolin border.

They were fortunate enough to be met with rain, that kept the border guards lazy in their searching, and were well on their way to Mith silvanus in no time. They stopped to rest, but kept them short at Fayla's insistance. Vala always found it admirable that her friend tried to push herself so hard to match Vala's lesser need for sleep. By the time they reached the city and got inside the walls, it was late, and Fayla asked her what she wanted to do, sleep or find her friend. It was obvious what Fayla wanted and Vala had to admit she was also tired. She would normally have slept for an entire day, maybe two after what she'd been through on her trip north, so the twelve hours she'd gotten wasn't enough.

"I'm not going to lie, I'm still exausted. I know you can keep going but I'd like to get some more sleep, I know, I'm surprised too." She said, making it sound like her idea. She said. Smiling, she hooked her arm in Fayla's, and went looking for an in. On the way, they passed a weapon shop and Vala was to busy admiring the things in the window to read the name. They found an in not far from the place called the one winged angel and Vala took a moment to consider what an angel was before stepping inside with Fayla.

The layout was completely different to Bartley's inn, and the door opened straight into a lounge. A side door led to private dining places and a stairs. As Vala looked around, a large woman hussled across the floor to meet them. "Greetings travellers. How can I help you, young ladies?" She asked them, eyeing Vala and Fayla curiously. "We do the best fish in the city, if you want to start with that?" She said. Vala wasn't hungry, having eaten an entire chicken and rabbit in the last few days, but it was a very non human thing to do to turn down food so she nodded. "I'll take fish. And a berry juice." She said. "We only have orange juice, if that suits?" Vala had no idea what that was so she just nodded. The woman looked at Fayla for her request and then asked if they needed anything else. "We need a room for the night, two bed's preferably."

She gave them a room on the first floor and they sat down at a table. The food and drinks arrived, and Vala's fish was accompanied by vegetables and weird round things. "Fayla I don't know what these things are but they're weird. I know we've eaten in plenty of human places, but this is extra human." She wispered across the table. "You're gonna have to take one for the team and eat my vegetables and the weird things." She said pushing one of the round brown things onto Fayla's plate.

Fayla was relieved when Vala told her that she also wanted to get some sleep and go see Lilian in the morning. The Eldari nodded and together they wandered off to look for an inn to stay in for the night. They traveled down a large and important-looking street that had outlets for all manner of mercantile services, from flower shops to tailors, though they were all closed for the night. One building in particular stood out as they passed, a large weapon and armor shop. Fayla saw that Vala had noticed it too and they both admired the craftsmanship of the weapons in the window for a moment, before the rain quickly reminded them to continue on to shelter "Well, at least we have something to do if Lilian's not here.". They soon arrived a place called the One-Winged Angel. Fayla shrugged at the name. She had heard angels being mentioned by Humans before, though that was most likely a by-product of their relatively short lives. The knowledge of the Gods had become diluted and warped among the Humans of today, while longer-lived aces like the Eldari and Heanta had more accurate accounts to call upon.

Once inside, Fayla and Vala acquired food and board for the night. They were shown into a dining room and a waitress approached to take their order, touting the fish as a special. Fayla was not surprised that they didn't serve berry juice, so she accepted the offer of orange juice instead. When the food arrived, Vala was hesitant towards the new dish, which consisted of fish, vegetables and potatoes. Fayla chuckled. "They're just potatoes. You should try them. They're not bad." They ate quickly. The fish was indeed amazing, and it also reminded her of home. Though she disliked the rigidity in Eldari society, it was still her home. After their meal, they trotted up to their room, to get ready for some fun the next day.


Fayla awoke the next morning full of energy, and glad to see that rain had gone for now and it was sunny outside. She and Vala got washed and fed and were soon on their way. They passed by the weapon shop on the way through, only to see that it was currently staffed by a small boy in blacksmith overalls. Fayla stared in amazement. "Oh man, that shop's being run by a kid! We definitely have to go back there now!" They continued on to the castle, which was a decent walk uphill. Upon reaching the main door, they found it flanked by a pair of Knights, both with shields and spears. The two girls approached the door and attempted to enter. Fayla waved at the Knight closest to her. "Hi guys! It's a lovely day!" But before she could get inside, the two Knights crossed their spears in front of her. Fayla put her hands on her hips and pouted like a petulant schoolchild. "Hey! What gives?!" The Knights simply stared ahead, their spears crossed to prevent the girls going any further.

Fayla told her they were just potatoes and she should try them, but Vala stuck out her tongue. "They sound yucky." She said pouting. She ate the fish and stealthily re positioned the strange earth grown round things onto Fayla's plate. After finishing eating they went up to bed, and by the time Vala hit the mattress she was out cold. She still slept like crap and woke up way to early, and ended up lying awake for about an hour before Fayla finally came around.

Vala found her inability to sleep peacefully unsettling. She had never had trouble sleeping before. Or staying awake for longer than two days in a row. At first, she'd put it down to being persued by two bloodthirsty, ruthless heanta, but a fight had never caused her to lose sleep. She wasn't afraid of those two, granted running into mondolin to hide might suggest otherwise. Something else was bothering her, but before she could figure out what, Fayla gave a yawn. They got ready and departed to find the girl with the metal arm.

They passed the same weapon shop on the way to the fortress, which was now staffed by a young boy. Vala looked around while Fayla exclaimed how they needed to go back. "Right after we find you're imaginary girl." Vala said with a grin. They walked towards the fortress, approaching the gateway, but were stopped by two gaurds with spears. Fayla of course immediately became annoyed, and Vala patted her on the shoulder. "Calm down. Let me try." She said to Fayla.

Turning to the guards she smiled. "We're here to see a friend of ours, She's a knight and my friend here say's she's got a metal arm. Can you tell her we're here?" Vala asked. One of the guards looked at her. "We're not messengers. Unless you've got confirmation of official business, take a hike." He said. Vala opened her mouth to speak when the other one butted in. "That mean's fuck off, Knife ears." Vala's eyes flashed. "Say that again and I'll crack you're skull open-"

Andreas Toral had been looking forward to today for the better part of a month now. He had finally secured some leave for himself from his position in the Knights of Mondolin, and he knew exactly what he was going to do with it. One of his favorite pastimes, besides making things, was archaeology. Specifically, he loved exploring old ruins and dungeons for interesting things, not to plunder but for adventure. He strolled through the crowded main entrance hall, heading out to prepare for his trip. The weather was finally clear too, after several weeks of rain, so it was an opportune time for it. Best of all, he had managed to secure his daughter, Lilian, for the trip also. Though he saw his daughter every day due to them both being Knights, he still cherished the time he could spend with his kids outside of his duties. Today was looking to be a good day As he approached the front gate, his day got a little more interesting when he heard an argument out front.

Fayla's anger began to rise with the man's curt comment, "Fuck off, Knife-ears." She wanted nothing more than to split the man's wig for it, like what Vala was fixing to do. "Tell me... you didn't just say that..." She gripped the handle of her sword, but before things escalated any further, a voice from behind the guards drew the attention of all four of them. "Hey, what's going on here?" Andreas strolled casually out and stood between the two guards, who both turned and bowed to him. Fayla blushed slightly at the handsome features of the man. He looked older than the two Knights, but he had a kind and easy-going demeanor. "Knight-Lieutenant Toral!" blurted one of them. The guard who was about to be on the receiving end of Vala and Fayla's wrath stared dead ahead. "Sir, we were just protecting the Citadel from these intruders, sir." Fayla looked at the Knight-Lieutenant, with realization dawning on her face. Then her mouth starting speaking and a steady stream of words rushed forth.

"Toral? Excuse me, but would you be a relation of Lilian Toral? She's a Knight here. I'm Fayla. I met her in Zadartis not too long ago. Saved her from some thugs in an alleyway. She said I could come visit her. I brought my friend, Va- I mean... Trixie." Fayla's monologue screeched to a halt as she almost revealed Vala's identity, before changing her mind mid-sentence. Andreas chuckled and stepped down a step towards the two girls. "Ah, Fayla and... Trixie. Lilian has told me about you, though the way she describes it, she saved you. Though she did also mention that you defeated her in a tournament the next day." He offered a handshake to the two girls in turn. "I'm Andreas, and I'm Lilian's dad." Fayla took the handshake and grinned. "Nice to meet ya!" Andreas looked to the two guards. "At ease, you two. I'll take them from here." The 'knife-ear' Knight looked alarmed. "But sir! They are not on official business!" Andreas just chuckled again and ushered the two girls inside. "It's okay, they're here at the behest of Knight Lilian Toral." Andreas let the two girls in ahead of him, Fayla sticking her tongue out at the Knight as she passed. He whispered to the guards before following. "For future reference, you might wanna keep the insults to a minimum when dealing with foreign delegates. Unless of course, you want to start another war." The Knights shrank back to their post. "No, of course not sir." Andreas smiled. "Good, me neither. As you were." He then led the girls to where Lilian was.

Vala was glaring at the guard when a voice cut across her and drew the attention of the two guards. He introduced himself as Andreas Toral and asked what was going on. The guard tried to claim they had intruded but Vala cut him off. "We haven't even passed the gates, you need to look up the meaning of the word intruder you dolt!" Fayla started to talk rapidly explaining the situation to Andreas and how they were friends with Lilian. At the mention of the nickname Trixie, which was a forbidden nickname that Vala hated, Vala opened her mouth to protest but Fayla covered her mouth and stopped her protesting.

Andreas seemed to know who Fayla was talking about. "Yeah, Fayla lives in her own little world so its impossible to convince her she didn't save Lilian. She's also convinced she has a mechanical arm." Vala said. Andreas introduced himself formally and then told them to come with him, and ushered them inside. Fayla stuck her tongue out at the rude guard, and Vala passed close enough to whisper, "Next time you call either of us knife ears, I'll cut out you're tongue and eat it." She smiled sweetly acting as if she'd complimented his fancy shoes, then patted him on the cheek before skipping after Fayla.

They waited for Andreas to catch up, and then when they were out of earshot Vala said, "Do not call me Trixie ever again. Valerie is supposed to be my 'covert name' Fayla, you goon." She said with a huff. "So, does you're daughter really have a metal arm? cause I'm still not convinced-" Just as she was about to finish, a girl walked out of a doorway and bumbed into Vala's back. Vala spun around as the brown haired girl glanced up from her focus, a notebook.

"Oh sorry, didn't see you there. Hi Papa, Hi Fayla." She looked back down and kept walking, before freezing a few feet away. She spun around, her jaw dropping. "Fayla what are you doing here?!" She said. She looked at Vala, and her eye's widened. "YOU BROUGHT VAL-" She clamped a hand over her own mouth, and looked between the three of them. When she spoke, it was a whisper. "you brought.. You two snuck... ARE you both mad? What if someone recognizes you?! Papa we need to get them out of the citadel now!"

Andreas led the two girls through the entrance hall and down a nondescript corridor. He chuckled and Fayla shrugged innocently when Vala scolded the Eldari for calling her "Trixie", instead of "Valerie". "Sorry pal. It's been so long since we had to be 'discreet', I completely forgot." Vala then asked Andreas about Lilian's metal arm, but she was interrupted by a brown-haired girl reading a notebook emerging from a nearby doorway and colliding with her. The girl apologized and continued walking, before suddenly realizing what had happened, and who she had stumbled across. Fayla waved, beaming, while Andreas smiled. "Hey there kiddo." The girl began to panic questioning the sanity of Fayla and Vala, something they had experienced before from many others. "You said I could come visit you, remember? And you said you wanted to meet Vala. So, here we are!" Andreas put a reassuring hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Don't worry Lili. They're on 'official' business, as far as security knows. It'll be fine."

Fayla turned to Andreas inquiringly. "So what now Mister Toral?" The man looked back the way they came. "Well, I'm sure you girls have a bit to talk about. I was just heading out when you showed up, so how about we forget about this stodgy building and head over to my shop? Lili can show you around and it'll be a bit more fun. I'm sure Lucas would love to meet you too." He turned to Lilian and smiled. "What do you reckon, kiddo? We're both on leave anyway now. I'm sure you could use a break."

Lilian wasn't surprised to see how relaxed about it all her father was, and it didn't surprise her that Fayla was also not worried despite casually walking into Mondolin, into the capital city no less, with a heanta. A good heanta maybe, but one none the less and it didn't matter if she ran an orphanage for blind abandoned babies, people would never look past the horns. Well, the fangs and claws atleast.

While they tried to reasure her, Vala simply stared at her with an odd look on her face. "Why is she looking at me like that?" She asked Fayla asshe took Lilian by the hand. Before Lilian could comprehend what was happening, Vala bit down on the side of her hand, not hard enough to do damage, but enough to cause Lilian to yelp. Vala quickly let go and turned to glare at Fayla. "I knew it her hand's not metal you liar!" She said accusingly.

Lilian looked at her and blinked. "That was the wrong hand...." She said to Vala. "Wait so its true?! You have a metal arm?!" Vala asked enthusiastically. "I.. Yes." Lilian said but before she could continue Vala cut her off. "Show it to me! Does it work? How strong is it? Can I punch it? Can we arm wrestle?!" The heanta said excitedly. Lilian wasn't sure if it was because she also enjoyed the art of metal craft and enchantment, or because she was a crazy person like Fayla.

Oh wait no, she knew which. "I appreciate the enthusiasm but lets wait until we get back to the workshop." Vala pouted but nodded. "Alright. I'm gonna give it a proper stress test!" She said and clacked her knuckles together. Lilian gave Vala a smile but it quickly turned into an alarmed look at Fayla. "Haha just don't forget the rest of me is human...."

Fayla looked sheepishly from Vala to Lilian. "I... may have told her about your metal arm." Fayla suddenly had a peculiar feeling in her gut. Sure enough, Vala suddenly grabbed Lilian's arm without warning and bit it, causing the young Human to yelp audibly. Vala turned and complained that the arm wasn't metal, to which Fayla answered by thumping the Heanta on the arm. "You didn't even know which arm it was, you dunderhead. You can't go biting people in the middle of the Silver Citadel." Fayla looked to Lilian and Andreas apologetically. "I'm sorry about her. I can't bring her anywhere." Andreas just shrugged, clearly at a loss for words. Lilian revealed that it was, in fact, the other arm that was metallic. Vala immediately exploded into questions about it, including wanting to arm-wrestle. Lilian wisely reminded them that it would be better to adjourn to the shop to continue this. Andreas nodded in agreement. "Yup. Let's go, folks." As they began to move, Lilian looked at Fayla in alarm, but the Eldari just clapped her on the shoulder. "Don't worry. If she breaks your arm I'll beat her up for ya."

A while later, Andreas and the gang reached Toral's Blacksmith shop. A teenage boy was at the front counter, playing with a small device with legs that was walking around the counter top. The boy looked roughly fifteen years old, and had the same color hair as Lilian but his facial features definitively resembled those of his father, who strolled into the shop. Andreas drew Castamir and hung the hammer from a hook beside the counter. "Hey kiddo. Quiet day?" The boy looked up from his device and grinned. "I've almost got this thing to work properly." The boy then looked to Lilian, Fayla and Vala. "Oh, customers!" The boy jumped to his feet and straightened his overalls. "Hello! Welcome to Toral's! I'm Lucas Toral. What can I do for you today?" Andreas chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder. "At ease, soldier before you pull something. These are just friends of your sisters." Lucas's shoulder's dropped and he began to relax. "Oh. Thank the Gods. I don't think I have many of them left in me." Andreas snorted. "Oh yeah? Wait 'til you get to my age."

"I wont break her arm. Anyway fat chance this baby could beat me up." Vala said, playfully bumping her shoulder into Fayla's. She followed Andreas and Lilian quietly back out of the citadel, secretly comparing it to the fortress in Kyrias. So far, it was shinier, less imposing and there was a distinct lack of Lava moat. Or any moat really. It could use a moat. After a few minutes of walking, they stopped outside the blacksmith with the teen working behind the counter. She was mildly surprised when they walked in.

Lilian's father greeted the boy, who was Lilian's brother. He was working on a small mechanical thing, and proclaimed that it was almost working. Vala looked around the shop at all the shiny weapons, and then watched as Lilian approached the counter and looked at the little critter.  "It's coming on great. You made a mistake in the enchantment though. I'll help you fix it later.". Lilian said. The boy suddenly noticed them and thought they were customers, but Andreas assured him they were just Lillians friends.

"This is my friend Fayla, the eldari I met remember?" Lilian said to her brother. "And this is her friend." Lilian said. Vala flashed the kid a grin, then looked to Andreas. "I haven't introduced myself properly. I'm Valatrix of the hornless clan. Please call me Vala though." Vala said. looking between the three of them. "I like your home. The weapons make for nice decorations." Vala said. "Oh this is just our shop. We live down the road. Come on I'll show you to around the workshop." Lilian said. Vala followed Lilian and Fayla into the back room.

"Fayla tells me you lost your arm fighting Korroth." Vala said. Lillian stopped and looked at her, the fear she felt towards the monster visible in her eyes and the way she took a deep breath before answering. "Yes.. I barely survived." She said. Vala patted her on the shoulder. "You should be proud." Vala said softly. "Very few meet him and live to see another day." Lilian gave her a wan smile. "I ah. Yeah, if I ever see him again i'm gonna.. Pay him back.." She said with as much bravado as she could muster, but the edge of fear didn't leave her voice.

It was admirable. "You were right Fayla, I do like this one. Don't worry, next time I see him I'll tear out his intestines and leave him to die slowly." Vala said flashing teeth. Lilian gave her another wan smile. "I um. Appreciate that."

A look of realization dawned on the young man's face when he was introduced to the new arrivals. Lucas put down the small tool he was using to work on the contraption that was now limping in a circle on the counter-top, and smiled at the two visitors as he moved out from behind the counter, looking a lot more relaxed. "I see. Nice to meet you!" The Heanta grinned at him before introducing herself properly to Andreas and the other Torals. The elder Toral chuckled and offered a handshake to the Heanta. "Makes sense. Though Trixie does suit you too." Fayla nudged Vala in the ribs and grinned like a fool. "Hah! Told you so!" Andreas then winked at Vala and turned to Fayla, bowing as flamboyantly as his overalls would allow. "It is also an honor to be in the presence of the renowned Lady Faylandrea Shor, granddaughter of Dalrodir and savior of wayward Knights." Fayla's smile rapidly melted away, replaced by a strikingly childish pout. She glared at Lilian through narrowed eyes. "This is your fault."

Lilian showed Vala and Fayla into the back area of the workshop. Production was winding down for the evening, and the forge-hands were packing up. Andreas and Lucas followed them in as Vala questioned Lilian about losing her arm to Korroth. Lilian turned around to face the Heanta, a look of fear crossing her young features. Lucas looked to Andreas who said nothing. Fayla glared at Vala. "I thought you said you were the tactful one." To be fair to Lilian, she gathered herself and answered Vala, to which the Heanta patted the girl on the shoulder and told her she should be proud of herself. Andreas smiled as his daughter mustered up all of the pride she had and promised to pay Korroth back should they cross paths again. Vala told Fayla that she was right, and promised a punishment of her own when she next sees him.

As if sent by the Gods at that exact moment to lighten up the mood, the gang were approached by one of the workers. Andreas grinned at the man as he approached removed a glove to run a hand through his slightly-graying blond hair. "Talion! Clocking off for the night, old pal?" Andreas gestured to the gang. "These are Lilian's friends, by the way. Vala and Fayla." Talion bowed as Andreas turned to the gang. "Talion Godwynne is the man responsible for keeping this whole operation running. Without him, we'd never make any of our deadlines." Talion chuckled and clapped Andreas on the shoulder. "True, but without this guy we wouldn't have deadlines to meet in the first place." He turned to Lucas and Lilian and smiled warmly. "And without Lilian looking out for him and young Lucas minding the shop while he's out gallivanting, we'd all be out of work." Talion then turned to Andreas. "I'd love to stay and chat, but the missus has dinner ready. I promised I wouldn't be late again." Andreas beamed. "Of course. Tell Anna I said hi." Talion nodded and bowed to the gang. "A pleasure to meet you kids. Take care." Lucas waved. "See ya later, Tal."

Once Talion and the other workers had left, Andreas turned to the gang inquiringly. "Well, I don't know about you lot, but I could eat a mountain ox or two. Any of you hungry?" Lucas' face lit up at the question. "I am anyway!" Fayla chirped up brightly. "Me too! I can't wait to see Vala try more Human food!"

Vala glared at Andreas when he said Trixie suited her, and Fayla laughed at her. But then he turned to Fayla and addressed her by her full name, and Vala snorted a laugh at the look on Fayla's face as she turned blamed Lilian who raised her hands in an placating gesture. "Don't blame me I didn't tell him your full name." She said. When they entered the workshop and Vala brought up Korroth, Fayla turned to her and commented on her tactfulness. Vala shook her head. "Nuhuh I said Tacticful one. Cause I'm full of Tactics. And before you ask Fayla, Yes my tactics relate to the face punching kind." Lilian frowned at this but said nothing.

After that, Talion approached and he andreas spoke for a moment. Lilian smiled and waved as he left, then Andreas turned to the group and asked them who was hungry. Fayla commented that she wanted to see Vala try human food. Vala looked at Andreas. "No more lumpy round things! Wait an entire Ox? is that an option? I mean I did eat yesterday but its not every day you get to eat an entire ox." Lilian looked at Fayla. "Is she being serious?" She asked Fayla. "Is no one else going to eat an entire ox?" Vala asked. "Its only a saying. We probably don't even have any Ox." Lilian replied.

"Ah. Well, I can't say I'm not disappointed." She said looking down mournfully. "Cheer up I'm sure there's a nice cut of steak to be had." Lilian said.

Fayla facepalmed when Vala corrected her about being tacticful rather than tactful. "Full of ruk poo, more like." Andreas chuckled nervously when Vala seemed genuinely enthused by the idea of eating an entire ox. "It's just a figure of speech, kiddo. I like the enthusiasm though." Lilian then turned to Fayla and asked if the Heanta was being serious. "I'm afraid not." She then turned to Vala and narrowed her eyes. "Just you, fatso. You know you're gonna wake up one day and not be able to see your toes over your belly." Lucas exchanged a puzzled look with his father before removing his blacksmith apron and hanging it up on a hook on the wall. "Speaking of which, that cut of steak ain't gonna come to us, let's go."


Andreas sat back in his chair, full to the brim with food and happy. It wasn't every day that he got to share dinner with both of his kids, and Lilian's friends made it all the more entertaining. At one point, Vala kicked the chair out from under Fayla as she sat back down, causing her to fall on the floor. Fayla responded to this by secretly filling Vala's bag with potatoes while she was gone. Lucas thought their antics were the funniest things he had ever seen, while Andreas simultaneously felt both younger and older than he had ever felt in his life. Once they were all full, Andreas paid for the whole meal and sat back down. Lucas excused himself as he had to wake up early in the morning to open up the shop. Andreas regarded Lilian for a moment. "Speaking of which, we should probably get a good night sleep too. We should leave early enough in the morning to get as much travelling out of the way as we can before nightfall."

"Fatso? I went an entire week without food that time we went to the badlands because somebody didn't pack enough food and a would have starved without my rations because there's nothing edible in that horrid place." Granted she was more than capable of doing that, but that was hardly the point. And given the week she'd had, no wonder she was hungry. She was not a fatso! "You didn't eat for a week? how?" Lilian asked. "Heanta don't really need to eat more than once a week. I can go two or three weeks without food as long as I'm not after being in a severe punch up. But that's because of my demon matrix. Or Sparkly Murder Crystal. We're not actually demons and I find the name to be very threatening and inaccurate." Lilian gave Vala a deadpan look.

"Sparkly murder Crystal is more threatening..." Lilian said. Vala shrugged. "Maybe, but its also more accurate. Not actual demons, remember." She said with a grin. "I..." Was all Lilian said in reply.


When Vala found the potatoes in her bag after her little prank, she nearly threw it out the window, but stopped herself as she started getting funny looks. She devoured her steak and covertly dumped the vegetables on Fayla's plate. Lilian gave her a funny look and Vala shrugged, wispering. "She's a plantatarian, she loves that stuff." Vala said. She tried to sneak a bit of Fayla's steak and recieved a fork in the hand and let out a yelp. When they were finished, Andreas mentioned that he and Lilian should probably consider getting an early night.

"I agree. I have to meet my Knight Captain in the morning. She told me Blademaster Jensen instructed her to, 'Test my skills' again, but he's to old to get up that early. I have a feeling he's testing her as well." Lilian said. "I could test you. Fayla got to fight you so its only fair I do too." Vala said. "Yeah that's not going to happen. But next time you guys come to visit, we'll have a spar." She said, but Vala was looking at Fayla, and she swore they were silently communicating with each other because after a few seconds Vala asked, "Where are you two going? More importantly, do you want some company?" She asked.

Lilian looked at Fayla. "You two really want to come? We're Exploring an old ruin in the freelands near the Edia Jungle. It might be boring." She said. Vala looked at Fayla for an asnwer. Lilian couldn't help but admit that it would be nice to have them along. As strange as Vala seemed, she was nice and they were both extremely competant fighters if Vala was anything like Fayla. Lilian looked at Andreas. "What do you think Papa?" Lilian asked. "If it helps, I can stay awake an entire week so you'll never have to miss sleep keeping watch, and we're both proficient hunters, when there's something to hunt." Vala said.

Once the dinner ended, the discussion turned to retiring for the night, with Andreas and Lilian having early starts in the morning. The elder Toral mentioned that they had a lot of travelling to get through the next day, which piqued Fayla's interest, and she could tell from Vala's intrigued look that she was also curious. The two exchanged knowing looks before Vala then offered to go with the Torals to wherever they were going. Fayla nodded and chirped up too. "Yeah! You never know what baddies are out there on the roads. Think of it as free protection!" Lilian then turned to Fayla and explained where she and Andreas were going, and a look of excitement appeared on Fayla's face. "You're going ruin-diving? That sounds awesome!" Lilian then turned to Andreas, and asked if the two girls could come with them. Andreas looked to Vala as she fought their case, and Fayla chipped in too. "Yeah! We can smash anyone that bothers you." The elder Toral smiled, admiring the youthful exuberance on display here. "You know, that sounds like a plan. You can never have too many hands on a trip." He stood up and yawned. "Alright then. I suggest we all get early nights tonight. Meet us at our house in the morning and I'll fix us up some breakfast. It's just down the end of the road by the unicorn statue. We'll set off as soon as everyone's ready." With that, Andreas bid goodnight to Vala and Fayla and headed home with Lilian.


Andreas awoke to the day's first light creeping in through the crack in the curtains of his modest bedroom. He got dressed in his familiar travel overalls, and headed downstairs to prepare the breakfast. He retrieved some eggs and bread from the pantry and salted bacon from the preservation bin, and began whistling to himself as he fried the eggs and meat in a pan over the fire. When the food was cooked he set it out on the dining room table, and waited for the arrival of his daughter and her friends. Down in the One-Winged Angel, Fayla woke up early for a change, with a feeling of genuine excitement that she hadn't felt in a while. She packed up all of her stuff and checked her equipment before heading downstairs to wait for Vala. Once she showed up, they headed down to the Toral household for breakfast.