Chapter One

The evergreen forest was bustling with the soft laughter of spirits, and a young elf named Alis was sitting by a river listening to them. He couldn’t tell if the sounds of the spirits were terrifying or beautiful; perhaps it was a mix of both. Their songs were a chilling whimsy, creating a melody that warmed the heart but froze the skin of all who heard. Alis’ hair was the colour of the clouds, and his skin was tanned from the midsummer’s sun. His ears were pointy like a leaf, and his eyes were a blue-grey. He splashed his feet in the cold water as he did most days. There was never a moment that he didn’t spend his days among nature, and a lot of elven youth did so as well. So it wasn’t uncommon to spot other elven children outside, and he saw a few dash by carrying sticks and chasing each other into the brush. Alis sat up from the rock he was sitting on, and he followed them with a smile. He picked up a stick, and just before he walked into the brush, a hand landed on his shoulder.

“Alis. I told you not to play with the other children, and why are you so far away from home? It took me forever to find you!”

It was Alis’s mother.

“But why can’t I play with them?” Alis asked. “It’s not fair!”

Alis’ mother frowned deeply and she stated, “Because you will get hurt. Come home.”

Alis knew from that facial expression that he shouldn’t speak any longer, and he followed his mother back home. They walked for fifteen minutes down a dirt pathway surrounded by forest and flora. Rabbits scattered in the bushes, and Alis smiled joyfully. Alis looked up at his mother and admired her braid that was somehow always done perfectly. Her hair was white too, but somehow it seemed softer. She nearly looked identical to her son, except for her green eyes. She walked with an air of calm that Alis hoped to one day accomplish, but his steps had an air of youthfulness that he couldn’t conceal. She was far more mature than him, and he almost never heard her laugh or saw her smile. The only time he saw her do so was when she was with her husband. Alis’ father was a smart man; he was a professor in a school fifteen hours away, and he commuted there for months at a time. Though, currently it was a holiday, so he had come home. That was the only reason Alis didn’t put up a fight to follow his mother back home, even though he’d much rather listen to the obscure melody of the spirits. Their house was in a clearing of the forest where their small farm lay around them. 

Once they got inside, Alis felt a strange air welcome him. His father was sitting at the dinner table with a man across from him, and they were counting coins.

His mother said, “Ah, he’s already here.”