Erin the Elf: Preface

[Nurvingiel]

Preface

This is the first part of my story entitled Erin the Elf. It takes place in a fictional world, on an island simply referred to by its inhabitants as The Island.
Like many fantasy authors, I draw on great authors who have written before me, but this story is not a fan fiction. I have read so many wonderful books that I can't name all my influences, but J.R.R. Tolkien and Jack Whyte are certainly among them. I originally wrote this for my friend's birthday, and it took off from there. I couldn’t stop writing, and am now working on the third part!
I have divided it into much smaller chunks for easy readability. I will thank anyone who sticks with it until the end. I think my story is good, and worth reading. That being said, I welcome all comments on any aspect of the story!

[Nurvingiel]

Today was Erin’s birthday. Well, it wasn’t really her birthday, but it was as close as she could reckon. Her friends at the Third West Orphanage liked to call it her Un-birthday. She had been raised in the orphanage since she was three, and had no idea who her parents were. All she knew was that she was very different from the other trolls in the city of Tonague, Erin was an Elf.

There was a great commotion outside, which was nothing new, but this time it seemed different. Erin went to investigate. She waved to the friendly construction workers, and leapt nimbly over a random ditch. The loud hammering and sawing was a bit much for her sharp hearing, but she was growing used to it.

Erin knew why the commotion seemed different – everything did. She’d been trying to ignore it all morning, but now she had to face facts. She, as well as several other youths of Tonague, had been conscripted into the Imperial Army. She turned back to the orphanage. It was the same stone, slightly run down building she’d lived in since she could remember. It still looked somewhat like a haunted castle, and the former front lawn was pockmarked with its usual excavations (some of which she was sure had been done before). Facing the city, she saw the same rows of brick houses, with an open marketplace near Third West. Beyond their neighbourhood, the city stretched out – townhouses, apartments, offices and factories.

It was in the market, on the raised wooden platform normally used for bartering, where the gathering was happening. Erin caught up to Mother Meg, who took care of all orphans at Third West. Like all trolls, Meg was attractive, tall, muscular and lean, with slightly pointed ears, and intelligent eyes. She had think, wavy black hair that reached half-way down her back. Erin thought Meg was the most beautiful troll in the world.

[Nurvingiel]

“Hey Meg, what’s going on?” Erin scanned the crowd.
“We’ll find out soon enough,” said Meg smiling. Her way of saying she had no clue.
“Hey, those are humans on the platform! They’re a lot shorter than us,” said Erin.
“I really can’t tell from this distance… who are you calling short?” joked Meg. Erin was only six feet tall, and the shortest adult in the neighbourhood – especially compared to Meg, the tallest at eight and a half feet. In fact, some twelve year-old trolls were taller than Erin.
“Never mind then,” Erin said. They approached the back of the crowd. Everyone was quite angry, and Erin felt, justifiably. The three kingdoms of Trolls, Humans, and Elves were united under one Overlord and common language, Thesaurus, over five hundred years ago. Even so, each kingdom remained fiercely independent.
One human was addressing the crowd. He had been repeating his message, and he tried one more time. “… By order of His Evilness, the Most Puissant Overlord Tolemy…” The man was drowned out by the heckling of the crowd. “I’m just the messenger, please!” he shouted in a desperate tone, “I know you do not want to be conscripted, but it must be done for the good of The Island!” The messenger finished his speech fearfully, dodged to his horse, and left hastily.

The other humans had a more military appearance. One man, a bit taller than his companions, seemed as though he wanted to address the crowd too, but thought better of it. The other soldiers looked at the crowd uncomfortably. The tall man left, and the others followed him. People gathered in smaller groups to talk about the recent turn of events as the crowd dispersed angrily.

“Hey Meg, it looks like he’s heading to Getoe Aychekew,” said Erin. That was the administrative building for the local government, the Getoe Triangle. Meg, who represented the people, formed the government along with Kasia, the economic director, and Michelleelle, the war leader.
“Well,” said Meg, “I’ll go deal with him and get this over with. I don’t like the idea of conscripts, but we can’t go against the decree of the Evil Overlord. Michelleelle sure won’t like this. You, for one, are a prominent member of our standing army.”

Erin blushed. Though she took on a leadership role in the army, she didn’t feel prominent by a long stretch. Further, the Troll kingdom had been at peace for hundreds of years, and the army basically existed to keep civil order and help build infrastructure. “Well, erm, I don’t think the people really feel they owe the Overlord any type of service. He trashed the economy; we had to set up our own system of trade. And he’s only expanding the army because he wants to make war on our neighbours for no good reason. I mean, I had never heard of the Forest until he began his war mongering policy.” Erin realized this statement sounded stupid, so she revised. “You know, there’s the Forest and then there’s the forest.”

The Forest was an isolated region in the southern part of The Island, heavily treed and rich in natural resources. Erin, like many others, suspected the Overlord was only making war to gain control of the valuable resources.
“Well, I’ll see you for dinner at Third West,” said Erin, and turned for home. Meg continued to the Aychekew.

[PippinTook]

That was great so far Nurvingiel! I am still finding out stuff about the settings and charactars, but I like it! I'll make sure to keep up with it!
-Pip

[Nurvingiel]

Is it not clear where the story is set? Can you tell who the main character, and narrator is? If you can't, that's my bad.

[Nurvingiel]

No one wanted to start without Meg, but it was getting late, and everyone was hungry. Dinner was brought out, and Erin realized it might be her last meal at Third West. The first course was an incredible tomato soup, followed by a scrumptious leek salad. The main course was roasted duck with crisp garlic and vegetables, along with creamy mashed potatoes. Desert was an amazing white chocolate and strawberry cheesecake – Meg’s own recipe. This desert was so good, it was widely regarded as “sex in a pan”. Dinners were always fresh, delicious, and served at a convenient time at Third West, but Erin felt this dinner had surpassed them all. Generous portions of each course were set aside for Meg.

Throughout the meal, Erin had forced herself to relax, enjoy herself, and laugh with her friends. The forced contentment had turned into real happiness, and for the first time since she had been conscripted, she was in a good mood.

Erin was going to bed when Meg came home. “I wanted to tell you right away. We talked to the Captain about the conscription. We managed to talk him down to a few less people, but you’re still on the list. I couldn’t use my influence to have you exempt, it wouldn’t be fair.” Meg paused awkwardly.

“I understand Meg,” said Erin. She knew Meg would have to take the high road.
“Also, I’m so sorry, but you’re shipping out tomorrow,” said Meg sadly. “We couldn’t do anything about that. There seems to be a real sense of urgency about this whole situation.”
Erin had suspected she would be leaving suddenly. “The Evil Overlord is bent on this war. He said he’d try other options first, but this had been his plan all along.” That was her impression from what she read in the newspapers. “I’ll miss Third West. I’ll never forget you,” Erin said emotionally.
“Someday, you’ll return here,” Meg said simply. She hugged Erin. “Sleep well, I’ll see you off in the morning.”


The company of about seventy new conscripts and seasoned soldiers had been on the road for five hours. The territory had turned from the cultivated fields of the Trolls to thickly forested hills. They were outside Troll territory. Erin liked this wild forest. The trees were tall and old, and the underbrush was varied and beautiful. The day was pleasant, and Erin was almost comfortable.

The hindrance to her comfort was her horse. She would not be fighting with him, but they were all riding for faster transportation. Erin had decided to name the grey horse she was riding Crotchety, not like he would respond to anything.

The recruits were in a loose column formation. Their casual attitude probably bothered Captain Tyler, but he probably didn’t want to make any more corrections that day – they had learned so much already. He had said he only had a week to make them combat ready. Erin guessed that he would have liked more time, but he hid his personal feelings on the matter, whatever they were.

Tyler was tall and broad shouldered, with dark hair, and an olive complexion. He had a handsome face, and dark brown eyes. Erin didn’t fancy him or anything ridiculous like that, he just gave a good first impression. She read him as honest, brave, and a good leader. He had also spoken to them very eloquently before they left.

She looked around at the other riders. Their faces showed various degrees of excruciating pain. To her right, Dennis was the oldest of the group at thirty seven. He had been a government leader in an autonomous collective. To her left, Norman and Stella, twins her own age, had lived on a farm. She was lucky in that she had already had some military training. She wondered how any of them would be ready for battle in a week. What was the Evil Overlord planning?


Erin woke up, and automatically leapt out of bed. She threw on supple leather trousers and a warm, padded shirt over her underclothes. She could hear Dennis at the door of her small tent.
“Erin?” he whispered quietly, poking his head through the tent flap. He saw that she was already up, strapping on her armour and sword. Dennis returned to his post, where Erin would relieve him very shortly. On her way out the door of the tent, shared with Stella, she shoved on her helmet. Erin was wide awake; essentially, she had only been having a nap.

[Lief Erikson]

The only part that rather confuses me is this:

She looked around at the other riders. Their faces showed various degrees of excruciating pain.

Excrutiating is actually a word derived from crucifixion, which is a way of torturing someone to death. So this is very deep agony you're talking about, of the cruellest sort. If they're simply sad about leaving home, I don't think it's a very good word choiceage. Grief or sadness would probably be better.

One thing that I found very amusing was your name for the common language, "Thesaurus" . That was great .

I'm rather curious to find out what things are like on the other side of the story, what is going on with the people the characters are going to attack. That doesn't mean I'm wanting you to write from their perspectives, necessarily. But it seems that we're working from the perspective of someone caught up in an army sent out by a bad guy. It's an interesting perspective, one that I like to write from, sometimes.


The story's moving smoothly and I'm enjoying it, Nurvingiel .

[Nurvingiel]

I actually meant they were all really saddle-sore, but I like your interpretation better. Mine wasn't clear enough anyway. (I didn't know that about the origins of 'excruciating' either, interesting.)

What do you think of this?

She looked around at the other riders. They all looked as homesick, and as uncomfortable, as she felt.

Thanks for reading my story, welcome to the team! I'm glad you like my story.

edit: kept changing my new sentance.

[Nurvingiel]

I hope I'm posting sections at the right pace. I don't want to bore potential readers who might feel I've stagnated, and I don't want to overwhelm busy Elf Editors (as I've started to call anyone who works on my story ) who have other things going on in their lives.

I have already written the entire first and second parts of the story, and am currently working on the third. Unless there's a resoundong "No", I'm going to post section 4 of 7 (of part I) tomorrow.

Cheers guys! Nurv

[hectorberlioz]

There was a great commotion outside, which was nothing new, but this time it seemed different. Erin went to investigate.

there was a great commotion outside, which was nothing new, but this time something was different.
Erin ventured to investigate....

[Nurvingiel]

Hm. I like the word "ventured" but if I use it, I feel that sentance should be shorter. Maybe "ventured investigating" or something.

Hey, what do you think of the pace I'm posting the sections at?

[Lief Erikson]

The speed is fine by me. I'm usually here only on weekends. Today and yesterday are exceptions . However, I've been making additional efforts to be online, so I might be here all of this week. (Shrugs) It's possible.

Go ahead and post the rest of the parts! Could have read them today, if they'd been here . Hopefully I'll get to them tomorrow, though.

There is one very minor problem with your revised sentence: the final comma in it shouldn't be there.

[Lief Erikson]

Ah, you're online now. Does that mean I'm in luck?

[Nurvingiel]

I was also holding back to keep edits close to the parts of the stories to which they referred... but that doesn't really matter. Enjoy!



It was the middle of the night. The watch system had messed up her sense of time, and she forced herself to keep track of the days. It was the middle if her sixth night in the army. She was assigned to watch with Norman and they walked to their post together. “How does it look?” Norman asked Sarah and Dennis, the previous watch, quietly.
“Everything’s quiet,” said Dennis. They went to their tents and Norman and Erin assumed their posts. The first half of their watch passed uneventfully. It was quiet, as Dennis had said. They didn’t talk much, but sometimes they would tell jokes and stories so as not to fall asleep, or stop paying attention. Erin liked Norman. He was open and talkative, and worked hard.
“What was that?” whispered Norman, pointing to a fleeting shape.
“I’ve seen a few of those guys,” Erin whispered back. “I think they represent a threat, because they’re probably a hostile force, but I don’t think they will attack us right now. All we can do is tell the next watch.” Their own watch was almost over. It had passed quickly; night watches were two hours instead of four. Soon, they were relieved. Erin passed on the tidbit of information and went gratefully to bed – properly this time, with no more thoughts of the mysterious figures.

Day Seven, Erin thought ominously the next morning. Tyler said there would be a battle today. It was very early, the sun was barely peering over the trees. Erin liked the usual breakfast of porridge, which everyone called the Gelatinous Glob.

Erin was eating alone when Captain Tyler approached her. Tyler was a man of few words, and got to the point quickly. “Today, we will join the rest of the army and attack the main Forest city. You’ve shown a lot of leadership and natural fighting ability in the past week. Also, people look up to you, so I’m making you the First Spear.” Tyler went on to explain her role, and Erin felt very honoured, but also that she deserved it. There were two other First Spears, veterans named Sarah and Alistair. They were in charge of twenty five people, and Erin would lead twenty new recruits. “I’ll let everyone know when I lay out the battle plan.” Tyler was waiting for a messenger from General Brent.

They had just struck camp when the awaited messenger galloped up, his horse lathered with sweat. He dismounted, and slowly approached Tyler. “I have a message for you,” he said loudly. The young man looked very nervous. Tyler drew his sword, and Erin realized something was very wrong.
“I come with a message from General Brent. Um, there has been a coup, and you will not meet the army as, um, originally planned. They have withdrawn,” the man stuttered.
“If this is true, why are you so nervous?” Tyler said in a voice that suggested he already knew the answer, and didn’t like it.
A Tree stepped out of the trees. Erin did a double take. At first glance, it looked like a spindly tree, but Erin saw that it was like a Human in form, but shorter, with green, twiggy hair and bark-like skin. “My name is Emily, and I am a Tree,” said the Tree. “He’s nervous because of us.” She motioned, and hundreds of Trees emerged, armed with bows and spears.
Some of the veterans started forming up to attack, but Tyler ordered them to stand down. They were completely surrounded and outnumbered. Their enemies could also have untold reinforcements hidden in the trees, even though Tyler’s thorough scouting had turned up nothing. Engaging in battle would be suicide.
“What the messenger says is true,” said Emily, “General Brent himself staged the coup, when the army was ordered to attack civilian targets in the Forest. Most of your army left to join him immediately, and we convinced the remaining groups to leave. We surrounded them with a superior force, as we are doing to you,” she said pointedly. “You will leave our Forest in peace.”
Erin wondered what Tyler would do. She wondered if the groups that resisted the Trees had been killed. There was no way to know if Emily was telling the truth. “I think we should talk this over, privately,” said Tyler. Several other Trees approached Emily, who seemed to be their leader, and they talked briefly.
“I agree,” Emily said, “First, your soldiers must surrender their weapons.” Tyler nodded, and everyone disarmed, including Erin. Tyler laid down his own sword respectfully, as well as several long knives and a throwing axe.
Tyler and Emily moved away from the group to discuss the terms of their surrender. The atmosphere was very tense. After an hour, the tension was somewhat dissipated. No one had moved the entire time. Erin would have been bored out of her skull if her life wasn’t on the line, however she trusted Tyler would find a way to avoid a losing battle.

[Nurvingiel]

You are in luck Lief!


There were Trees, and then there were trees. Erin observed the Tree people more closely, who resembled their non-sentient cousins. The Trees had the same proportions as a Trolls and Humans, except their hair. It was green or brown, and stuck to their heads like osprey nests. Erin guessed they ranged from five to six feet in height. Their skin was a variety of textures and colours: pale grey, white, light brown, orange-ish brown, or dark brown. Erin was reminded of bark, though their skin was much smoother. They wore no shoes, and Erin could see that their fingers and toes were very long. Their clothes were also very strange – leaves, sticks, lichen, and sometimes fungi. The vegetation seemed to be either stuck to them, or growing out of them – possibly a combination of both. These clothes varied widely from one person to another, but their arms, and their legs from the knees down, were bare. Erin noticed that the skin on their calves was different. It was very dark, and much thicker.

The stagnant atmosphere was shattered when Tyler and Emily returned from their negotiations. Emily went to her militia, and Tyler addressed his soldiers. “We will withdraw. You can keep your weapons, and you’ll just turn around and go back the way we came. We’re not far into their territory, so it should be easy, plus they will escort you. I will stay with the main body of the army as assurance of our peaceful co-operation.”

Everyone was angry at this; Tyler was well-liked and no one wanted to see him taken prisoner. “This is how it has to be. I trust Emily, and I have many reasons to believe what she says about General Brent staging a coup. Apparently, the Trees didn’t have an army at all until the Evil Overlord threatened their borders. That’s when Emily raised this militia. Because of the coup, I am releasing you all from my service. If you wish, you can return to your homes.”

A group of around a hundred and fifty Trees separated from the main force – their escort. Everyone who was conscripted grabbed their packs and joined them. If Tyler trusted the Trees’ honour, so did his soldiers. One soldier, the red-headed First Spear named Sarah, approached Tyler. “We aren’t leaving your service, but we will return to our homes. Many of us haven’t seen our families in a long time. Call on us, and we will fight for you.”
“Your loyalty honours me,” Tyler shook her hand.
“Thank you,” she said. She didn’t quite want to leave. “Are you sure you want us to leave? We don’t want you to be alone.” Erin’s thoughts exactly.
“Yes, you deserve to see your families. None of you have had leave in two years.” Sarah nodded, and the veterans joined the departing group. Erin still hadn’t moved, and Tyler looked at her questioningly. Erin wanted to stay with him for complex reasons. Primarily, she was very loyal, and she felt that he was being sacrificed for the greater good of the army. She didn’t want him to be a prisoner alone. She said as much to Tyler. He nodded wordlessly, smiling slightly. She wasn’t the First Spear for nothing. Erin felt that he understood her more complex reasons, at least in part. She trusted the Trees as well, and didn’t feel that they were the enemy. Her heart was telling her to stay.
Tyler’s army left, surrounded by the Tree escort. Their weapons were piled in the supply wagon, and they departed quite quietly for such a large group. Tyler and Erin still had their own gear and weapons. Emily came back, carrying a pack and two extra bags. She was also armed, and looked ready to travel. Emily frowned at Erin, puzzled. “Don’t you want to go home? Only Tyler is a hostage.”
“We’re a team, I’m going to stay with him,” said Erin.
“Alright then,” Emily agreed. She accepted Erin’s loyalty. “You can both keep your weapons if you give your word not to try to attack us or escape,” she said formally. Erin and Tyler promised, and they rearmed and put of their packs. The rest of the Tree army dispersed into the forest.
“I have another reason for wanting a hostage besides the obvious,” said Emily, “Your Evil Overlord has been encroaching on our borders for a couple years now. Open attack on civilian targets was simply the last straw. I don’t believe our country will be safe until he’s been overthrown, and a more peaceful Overlord is installed. None of the Trees have been outside the Forest before; we don’t have much of a concept of the wider world. Now that your army is gone, we want to go back to what we normally do, which is living isolated in the Forest. I might be the leader of the militia, but we have no formal government. I don’t have any authority over the decisions of other Trees. I need your help to remove the Evil Overlord, and I expect that you want this too Tyler.” Erin wondered what they had talked about during their negotiations.

[Lief Erikson]

Finished reading parts 4 and 5. Still enjoying it, and waiting for parts 6 and 7 . I hope they'll be along tonight also.

What are ospreys?

[Lief Erikson]

This part is in Part 4, that I'm editing from.

Originally posted by Nurvingiel
They didn’t talk much, but sometimes they would tell jokes and stories so as not to fall asleep, or stop paying attention. Erin liked Norman. He was open and talkative, and worked hard.

In this bit, I just wanted to comment that girls frequently don't like guys because they are talkative. I mean, if the person is easy going, easy to converse with, ready to talk with you, that is different from talkative.

Talkative tends to imply that the person just likes to talk a lot. It's more similar to chattering than to conversation. That kind of person frequently can be annoying. There's a person in "Pilgrim's Progress" by Paul Bunyun that's named Talkative, and he's a real pain in the neck.

Talkative I think also is an appropriate word of a person that talks a lot about a subject, even when they don't necessarily know much about it. It's just basically someone that likes to talk a lot, to hear their own voice.

“I think they represent a threat, because they’re probably a hostile force, but I don’t think they will attack us right now. All we can do is tell the next watch.”

Them representing a threat and them being a hostile force means about the same thing. You could get rid of the mentioning of their being a hostile force or the mentioning of them being a threat. Say "I believe they're a hostile force, but I don't think they'll attack us right now" or "I think they represent a threat, but I don't think they'll attack us right now" and you're saying the same thing, only in a more concise way.

[Nurvingiel]

Thanks for your comments Lief! I appreciate the detail.

An osprey is a large bird that eats fish. It's also called a sea eagle, but it lives in land too. They're incredibly beautiful birds! Check them out at http://www.ospreys.com/.

Your comment about Norman got me thinking. When I described him as talkative, I meant he was cheerful and talked a lot. This isn't necessarily annoying. Erin doesn't talk much and she enjoys it in other people. Maybe I should say cheerful instead, because I don't want to have negative connotations.

With respect to the "hostile force" dialogue, I agree with your comment, but I'm still going to leave it the way it is. Though I try to be succinct in my writing, I want conversation between characters to flow naturally. People repeat themselves, especially when they're coming to grips with a new idea like a hostile force near their camp.

Cheers! Nurv

[Nurvingiel]

“Well, General Brent is a good friend, and we served together in the Dragon Wars. If he staged the coup, then he had every reason. He does have the authority to remove an Evil Overlord if he isn’t fit for command.” Tyler probably knew more than he let on.
“I don’t want war, and I know that Trees are not our enemies. This wasn’t a just war,” Erin said simply. “You can count on my help.” Erin reflected that Meg had a low opinion of the Evil Overlord, and that counted for a lot.
“None of the other Trees will come with us?” asked Tyler.
“No, they couldn’t be convinced of the danger, but I’m determined to do this. They will still help us a small extent, with supplies and such.” Emily sounded disappointed.
“Well you can count on our help. I think we should join up with General Brent,” decided Tyler.
“I’m gonna say right now that I want to do this without bloodshed. I don’t support civil was either,” Erin said decisively.
“We should avoid it at all costs,” agreed Tyler, “But sometimes, you have to defend yourself.” Emily nodded.
“Okay then,” Erin conceded.
“Great, let’s be off. We can reach the borders of the Forest before dark.” It was mid-afternoon. Emily held up the two bags. “I brought extra provisions.”
“How did you know we would join you?” asked Tyler.
“I didn’t, but I would have gone alone if I had to,” Emily replied. They divided the extra supplies between the three of them. “So, how long will it take to get to the Evil Overlord?” She looked from Erin to Tyler.
“I have no idea, I grew up in the Troll Kingdom,” said Erin.
“An Elf..?” Emily started, but trailed off, feeling rude.
“It’s okay. I was raised in an orphanage since I was very young, but I don’t know how or why I got there.” As they talked, they started on the trail, Emily leading.
“Five days in total,” said Tyler after a while. “That’s how long the journey will take. Three days of steady hiking will bring is to the river Stoody. There, we can meet General Brent. The river runs through the capital city, Liberary, where the Evil Overlord has his stronghold. Sailing will take about two days. That estimate is conservative enough to allow for normal delays.” Emily led them off the road to a path that seemed to be little more than a game trail.
“Emily, can you send a message to Brent?” asked Tyler. “He knows where I am, but he doesn’t necessarily know to meet me.”
“I can take care of that for you,” she replied. They continued on, but Emily made no efforts to send a message. Erin wondered how she would do it anyway. Sending another Tree, even if one would be willing to go, would travel as slowly as them, and draw far too much attention. Erin decided not to ask; Emily seemed competent. They hiked along various winding game trails, which disappeared altogether in some places. Erin had a good sense of time and direction, but no knowledge of the local geography.
The trail petered out again, but Emily continued confidently towards a huge, old pine tree. “Hopefully, we can send your message here.” She stopped under the tree and looked up. Suddenly, Emily cawed dreadfully, startling Erin and Tyler. A huge raven, taller than Erin’s knee, flew down and landed beside them. The raven and Emily communicated in it’s language. Emily smiled and said to Tyler and Erin, “She’ll take him a message for you, all you need is something that’s strongly connected with Brent.” Tyler thought for a moment, the hesitantly removed a ring from his left hand.

[Nurvingiel]

“This ring connects us both,” he said. The ring was silver, set with a metallic green and black triangle. “But I’d be really choked if you lost it,” Tyler added. He set the ring in front of the raven. The bird cawed indignantly and ruffled her feathers, as if affronted by the suggestion that she would fail.
“She won’t lose it, she’s the best messenger you could hope for,” assured Emily. “The ring will also prove that his message truly comes from you.”
“How will she deliver the message?” Erin asked. As far as she knew, most Humans could not communicate with animals as deeply as Emily.
“She speaks Thesaurus, as well as the ancient languages of The Island. She prefers to speak her own language if she can.” The raven winked at them cheekily, and Erin couldn’t help but like the bird. “Go ahead, tell her your message,” Emily prompted.

Tyler spoke to the raven as though he was speaking to Brent. “I have heard you staged a coup against Tolemy, and support you fully. It is imperative that you meet us at Headwater Landing in two days, three at most. With me are Erin, an Elf, and Emily, a Tree. Much like last time, we must plan to overthrow the Overlord before he destabilizes The Island.” The raven nodded formally, bending down to firmly grasp Tyler’s ring in her beak. As she picked it up, Erin was sure she saw it glow briefly with a pleasant light, however it was hard to be certain in the shade of the forest. Clearly, there was even more to Tyler than she had thought before.

Erin had recently read a book about a young wizard boy who used owls to send messages. When Erin first saw the raven, she thought his delivery of the message would be much the same. Now that she had seen her and Emily in action however, she felt differently. The raven had a lot more depth than Erin got from her first impression. Tyler also seemed to fit into this category.
“What about last time Tyler?” Erin asked, but Tyler was evasive.
“Never mind. It’s just that Brent and I go back a long way.” Emily didn’t say anything, but looked at him searchingly. The raven flew onto Emily’s shoulder. From there, she took off to deliver his message, leaving a couple feathers in her wake. Emily took one and tucked it into her clothes.
“He should probably get the message tonight. The raven could fly the length of the entire island in one day if she had to,” said Emily.
“Brent should be a lot closer than that, but with the coup, he could have ended up anywhere,” Tyler said.
“Well, let’s keep going then. We have a lot of ground to cover,” said Emily.
“Yeah, and we have an Evil Overlord to overthrow,” Tyler added.
“It’s time… to take over the world!” joked Erin. Emily and Tyler laughed. Erin laughed evilly for the first time. “Mwahahaha!”