Enul woke in the early hours of the morning and prepared for the journey that will take place soon. He rushed to put on his long green tunic with black trousers with a brown woven belt. As he finished putting on his riding boots he quickly got his black cloak and secured it over his shoulders while running out the door. Enul didn’t even have time to brush his hair or shave as he was late. He only hoped that he would not be too late.

He ran to the center of the village where he found Rahdore and the other three head elders waiting with horses. The four of them looked to chatting, however they were too quiet for Enul to overhear. Rahdore spotted Enul and smiled while waving him over.

“It’s about time you showed up!” Rahdore joked. “It is time, now let us head out to begin the ceremony.”

Not giving Enul a chance to catch his breath it was time to leave. The others nodded to Rahdore’s declaration and quickly hopped onto their horses and rode off into the distance. The horse Enul was given was a strong and beautiful Clydesdale. They had to go to the town of Grimbell which was a two hour ride away. This was mainly due to the heavily wooded area in between the human town and Elemental village. Grimbell was the closest town where Elementals can be born. There are some towns and villages that take days to get to, even by horseback. The distance causes other human towns to be less resentful for Elements. However, because of how close Grimbell was to the village that meant they were also the most hostel towards the Elementals. Centuries ago the hostility grew so bad that the Elementals grew the forest in between the two that will not let humans into the village.

Enul rode his horse in the front while the four elders made two lines behind him. They all rode in silence which was uncomfortable for Enul. Though the elders were used to this trip Enul was not. As every second past the more anxious he got and the silence did not help. The silence left Enul with his thoughts, this caused him to think about everything that he could do wrong. Attempting to avoid his thoughts Enul looked to the others behind him. Front left was Rahdore who rode a Andalusian horse. Rahdore had his beard specially braided for the occasion. He looked almost regal had it not been for his cloak being frayed at the bottom. To the front right was Tempus who rode a Cleveland Bay. She had the hood of her cloak set back further than the others. Doing so showed her fiery red hair and rosy complexion. She looked to be in her mid forties when in reality she is around 15,000. On the back left was Lunos on a grey Appaloosa. Lunos has her hood pulled so far forward that it almost covered her eyes. Lunos is the youngest head elder at 9000, but she looked to be late twenties early thirties. Underneath the hood though Lunos is seen to have a deep skin color which makes her gold eyes ever more vibrant and beautiful. Finally to the back right was Mortis. A large intimidating man who rode a Friesian horse. Mortis has sickeningly pale skin and a scar which goes down the whole left side of his face. He is around 18,000 while looking to be in his fifties. While looking at Mortis, Enul and the man locked eyes. Enul quickly turned back around and put his head down hoping Mortis will forget that. 

The forest itself was dark as it was barely sunrise. Light chirping came from the trees above to fill the silence. The grey clouds in the sky did not help the lack of sunshine. This caused Enul to create a small light to illuminate the way through the woods. The light showed large tree roots that protrude from the ground along with shrubbery which blocked most of the way. There were no paths in the forest as to make sure the humans would not attempt to interact with Elementals. Without proper knowledge of the forest it could wind up perilous. However, for Elementals it was safe as they often went here for food and medicinal herbs. The Elementals slowly and safely guided the horses to Grimbell.

As the sun began to rise, the five reached the end of the woods and saw a small circular town situated at the bottom of the hill. They rode through the grassy field and slowly descended upon the town. While entering they proceeded to keep riding past the houses and stores. As they got closer and closer to the center of town more of the townspeople gathered around them. They were glared at by adults, some women even ushered their children to not get to close to the group. This was not a place where they were welcome. The group kept close as to make sure they were not separated. The air was so tense it could be cut by a knife. Finally the group reached the center of the small town and saw a man and woman holding a small baby. The woman looked to be holding onto the baby for dear life afraid to let her go. The woman was short and she has a full body. Her face was sickly and drawn. Her hair tied up in a tight bun which did not help. She wore a long red kirtle that was loosely tied. The man was of medium height with a stocky build, he wore a blue tunic with black trousers and a brown belt with brown shoes. His face was tired as if he hadn’t slept in years; eyes bloodshot from tears. The baby was crying a piercing wail which rang throughout the center of the town.

The five Elementals approached the family slowly and quietly. Once they reached them Enul hopped off of his horse and bowed his head to the parents. The woman looked to her husband then back to Enul and handed him her child. Enul carefully took the crying baby out of her hands. Instantly, the baby stopped crying, it was utter peace. The parents were shocked as the loud crying had been nonstop since she had been born. For the first time in over in seven days the baby had finally stopped crying. Instead she just looked at Enul with intrigue, cooing softly. Enul nodded to the parents and slowly turned away. As he was doing so the mother grabbed his cloak and cried out, “Please take good care of her!”

Enul with tears in his eyes turned back to the woman and in a manner both soft and gentle replied, “I will make sure she never knows pain.”

The woman smiled while crying and turned back to her husband who proceeded to hold her. He was also crying. Enul looked at the two in confusion and proceeded to turn around again and walked back to his horse. Rahdore held the child as Enul mounted the horse and proceeded to hand the child back once Enul was on. Enul looked to the parents one last time as they waved goodbye. He waved back which comforted them, but the other Elementals looked on in distaste.

As the five rode off the ceremony was now over and Rahdore took advantage of that. Once they reached the woods Rahdore proclaimed, “What did I say about talking to them?” As he questioned this the forest got darker from Rahdore manipulating the shadows making them more prominent.

Enul obediently replied, “You said not to talk to them.”

“And yet you openly did not follow my rules. How dare you not listen to me. What would have happened if those humans took the opportunity to attack or take the baby back?”

“I just wanted comfort the woman”, Enul muttered dejected.

“You’re lucky that was the only thing that happened.”

Enul stayed silent even though he knew he was right. Instead he looked down at the baby girl, his new apprentice. She had chubby rosy cheeks and a small button nose with a small tuft of brown hair on the top of her head. He smiled as she started to coo. 

“What are you planning on naming her?” Tempus asked changing the subject.

“I plan on naming her Anaemis.” Enul responded. His little Anaemis.

The group finally reached the village after a long tense journey. As they all got off of their horses Rahdore waited to get off of his horse last. Tempus helped Enul get down by having him hand her Anaemis. She quickly handed the baby back once Enul was on the ground. Mortis and Lumos proceeded to put the horses into the stables. Rahdore was still quite angry with Enul so he left as soon as he could; not missing a chance to glare at Enul as he left. The three other head elders watched as Rahdore stormed off to his home. Enul kept his head down holding Anaemis close disappointed in himself. Lumos noticed and proceeded to put her hand on his shoulder.

“Just let him cool down. Everything will blow over eventually.” Tempus comforted.

“Thanks… I am going to go home now.” Enul muttered. Enul started to walk away and the others looked to each other. 

“If you feel so bad just write Rahdore an apology then give it to him later!” Tempus shouted across the barn hoping that Enul would hear.

“I will.” Enul replied uninterested, his head still hanging low as he held his baby tight.

Once Enul was far enough away Mortis sarcastically remarked, “Well that was a fun time.”

“Don’t be a jerk Mortis”, Lumos snapped.

“What! It is not my fault Rahdore is a stubborn old jackass.” Mortis laughed sardonically while the women glared at him.

“I hope Enul doesn’t internalize this.” Tempus stated, “He has always been an anxious one.” 

The others muttered and nodded in agreement. They looked on as Enul entered his house.

“Do you think he will become a head elder or not?” Mortis questioned.

“He is strong enough it will depend on how Anaemis is,” replied Tempus.

“It also depends on how Rahdore will feel about him at that time.” Lumos chimed in.

“Heh I hope he does, it would be fun having someone with new ideas then just us four old farts.” Mortis joked.

“Speak for yourself, I am clearly young still.” Lumos quickly retorted.

“Yeah sure, you keep telling yourself that.” Mortis replied in an insulting manner.

“How dare you! I have only been an elder for what 7,000 years, unlike you who had been around for what 16,000?”

“Actually it has been 7,493 years for you and 16,235 for me. Your older than you claim.” Mortis smugly smiled at Lumos causing her to stomp her foot and ball her hands into fists.

Lumos looked up at Mortis glaring daggers at him. Mortis stared back not wanting to loose to Lumos. Tempus looked at the two annoyed and started to collect her things. After almost five minutes, Mortis rolled his eyes from annoyance and boredom then proceeded to walk away. Lumos satisfied in winning the argument started grinning. Tempus proceeded to walk up to Lumos from behind. Tempus tapped on Lumos’s shoulder to make her turn around.

“So what are you going to do now?” Tempus looked Lumos in the eyes with a small but sly smirk.

“Not sure… you?” Lumos giggled.

“You can always come over my house if you want. My garden has been growing quite well.” Tempus flirted.

“I’d like that”, Lumos replied. The two women walked out of the stable and proceeded to Tempus’s house.

“I’ve been growing violets if you want to see them.”

“Oh have you?”, Lumos laughed, “I can’t wait to see them.”

“Then let’s hurry.” Tempus exclaimed.