"In the elven country of Zalil, the worth of an individual isn't determined by ones upbringing, birthright, family or influence, but rather by ones magical capabilities...of course... there are still big families, with a long history of magicians and huge influence, but the dark truth is those families keep their children a secret, until they are 12 years old. If they've shown great potential they are officially introduced into the family for the first time, but if they don't...they are gotten rid off"

"They kill their own family?" Alej was shocked. You don't really hear much about Zalil on the mainland

"Yeah, it's an easy choice compared to the disgrace a Canjive would bring to them" Upon seeing Alejs confused face Elaine added "A Canjive is an elf with no or only weak magical capabilities. Those who aren't members of one of the big families are allowed to live, but they are little more than slaves. They are oppressed, forced to do the dirtiest work and killed, raped and abused on a regular basis by the Dorjive....those are the ones with magical capabilities" she added before Alej could even ask "That's pretty much the only reason elves still live among humans on Falsgaard, instead of going to the motherland. While they might live shunned it's still a better life than they would have over there"

"Oh my..." Alej was at a loss for words "I...I never knew it was that bad over there...and you are...? "Yes, I'm a Canjive, I'm only able to cast very simple spells...and I'm also from the highest family of Zalil. My full name is Elaine Daejyre" "Daejyre?!" Alej interrupted her "Don't they pretty much own Zalil?" "Pretty much, yes...so I guess you can tell what my fate was. My twelfth birthday was near and the most impressive thing I could do with magic was making a small campfire, so I ran away. I managed to reach the coast while being hunted down by assassins my family sent after me. I hid on a big ship and left Zalil. It didn't take long for the crew to find me, turns out that of all the ships I managed to hide in a pirate ship. I thought they would kill me or worse, but they told me I could stay as long as I make myself useful. At first I did all kind of cleaning jobs on the ship, later I helped with other work and eventually I became part of their family. We raided ships and villages, fought other pirates..." "Does that mean you are evil?" Asmira asked. Apparently the young girl woke up some time during the story "No!...I mean...sure I did some bad stuff, but..." "It's ok" Alej said "I get you" Elaine smiled, but the smile soon disappeared "Well it all came to an end yesterday. the captain wanted to take a shortcut and crashed the ship....all of them are dead now" tears ran down her face "I...I'm sorry to hear that" Alej said, not exactly sure what to do. Elaine wiped away her tears "Don't worry...I'll be fine. It just...takes some getting used to. Anyways, you know my story now, but what about you two?" "Well you see..." Alej started his story, but was interrupted as the carriage came to a sudden stop. "Everything alright Olf?" Alej asked the old ox while investigating the road ahead. A big tree blocked the way. Alej jumped down from the carriage to investigate. "That stump is way too clean....it's a trap! He shouted and grabbed his short sword as a bunch of little creatures jumped out of the thicket.