Well, this is all very interesting, Electis wants to kill me, Lord Riax doesn't want him and the others to know I can use Elemental magic but on the bright side I'm not dead.
I shivered slightly, I had had my doubts before Lord Riax intervened, still the moment was past and there were more urgent things to attend to.
I called out to Karlina and Sallan, they returned quickly and stared at the scorched trees.
"What happened, Lora?" asked Sallan. "Looks like you blew something up!"
"Oh no," I replied glibly, "the Elemental Lord of Fire just tried to kill me."
The pair of centaurs laughed, "I suppose thats one way of looking at an explosion," said Sallan, Karlina however was watching me when I said it.
"You're not joking are you?" she gasped, perhaps her gender made her more perceptive to subtle tones, certainly it never occurred to Sallan that I wasn't making a jest. "Are you hurt?"
"I won't be riding bareback for awhile, but other than that I am fine."
"I'm glad."
"Me too."
"You two got back quickly," I noted, realising how soon they'd returned after my call.
"We were already on our way when we heard you."
"Though not close enough to hear anything, how is it that you aren't dead right now?"
"Another...God intervened on my behalf, and I am most grateful to him."
(Note by Ani'ca L'Key: An excerpt from the life-tale of Sallandarandas the centaur)
"Watching Lora as she calmly explained the intervention of a God on her behalf, I couldn't help noticing an otherworldly air about her. I had met elves before, and I live among humans, but I have never seen any creature like her.
Lora was, and has always been, different not just because she's an elf but because... well, because Gods fight over her, and because she cares about people, my people, her people, even wretched humankind."
Karlina and Sallan looked at me for a moment, then shrugged simultaneously.
"Anyway, the reason we came back is that we met some of our folk who live in Sandar on the road just now. They were coming down from the cities, on their way to our yearly gathering."
"Sallan, get to the point," snapped Karlina, at that point it occurred to me that something might be wrong.
"Has something happened?"
"Yes, you saw what happened in the town back there, they told us it's worse in the bigger places, they won't even let centaurs in so they can register with a Guild."
"That's ridiculous!"
"We know," said Karlina. "Anyway, we were invited to travel with them to the meeting, but I don't think they'd take it too well if they found out we were travelling with a human."
Throughout her short speech Sallan looked more and more uncomfortable.
"It's not like we're asking you to leave or anything Lora."
"But we would like to talk to our own people."
"My friends," I said slowly, "the excitment of meeting your own kind seems to have dulled your wits, have you forgotten already that I am not human?"
Sallan looked at Karlina expectantly, she rolled her eyes.
"Of course I remember, I just didn't remember right then. So, can you stop looking like a human while we talk to them?"
"I guess it depends how they feel about elves, I'm not sure I know enough about centaurs to shapechange into one."
"I don't think they mind elves...Do what?!"
"Shapechange into a centaur, it's probably complicated, much easier to go back to an elf."
"Yes," agreed Sallan quickly, "much better, I'll go and tell them we have a Minstrel Elf as our companion, you and Karlina... do whatever it is females do when they're alone."
I waited for him to leave hearing range before turning to Karlina and saying.
"As far as i know, the unmarried ones talk about who they want to marry and the married ones complain about their spouses."
We both laughed as we collected our things, I removed the magic alterations from my appearance slowly so she had a chance to get used to them.
I felt the same when i was done, the changes while being there for sometime, were purely for the eyes of others. I think Karlina was surprised though.
"Are you sure you're an elf?" she asked in her usual blunt manner. "You don't look like any elf I ever saw!"
I flushed slightly, and didn't answer, even after so many years my different appearance still bothered me.
"I'm sorry," said Karlina, "I didn't mean to offend you."
"It's fine, really."
She accepted the reassurance and we set off towards the road.
I was nervous, I can freely admit that, even with the common bond of being not-human I wasn't sure how these new centaurs would react to my presence... and I was beginning to feel vaguely uneasy.
It was the same sort of feeling I had in the days before Galeorhin and I were caught and exiled from the forests, it was not a good omen at all.