Hamertia: The Elven Folly
Chapter 1

Droplets of water glistened on the leaves high above the ground as the sun rose above the horizon. The sun’s light shone upon the thick foliage of the forest that high-born elves were lucky enough to call home. Within that foliage, in wooden abodes built along the branches of an enormous tree, the forest’s residents were awakening. Beneath them on the earth’s surface, things were not as simple. Some low-born elves had been up throughout the night taking part in questionable activities, while others slept in the southern part of the forest and would continue to do so for quite some time, paying no mind to the concept of productivity. Life was much more harmonious in the upper level of the forest, at least most of the time.

“El, are you getting up?” a dark-haired elf asked as he entered one of the dwelling’s many bedrooms.

The elf in the bed opposite the door, buried up to his face in a blanket, groaned and pulled the cover over his head, completely submerging himself in its warmth.

The intruder walked up to him and nudged him with his hand. “Come on, you know we have a busy day ahead of us.”

“Doing what, Folwin?” he asked, still not removing himself from his night time sanctuary.

“Whatever we want,” Folwin replied with a grin.

“That may very well be,” he replied, finally peaking his head from the blanket and moving it off his body. “As long as we’re not chosen to be his servant for the day.”

He climbed off his bed and walked over to the dresser on the right side of the room. Looking into the mirror that hung on the wall, he fixed his shaggy white hair as best he could before opening a drawer to retrieve his blue shirt and light gray pants.

“I’m pretty sure Onvyr is the one on call for today,” Folwin replied as his friend got dressed. “So we’re free to do whatever we want.”

“We should be doing whatever we want every day,” Elluin replied, fitting the tunic over his head. “Not serving some old thing who isn’t even an elf.”

Folwin sighed. “I agree with you on that, El. But at least he leaves us alone most of the time. Let’s just enjoy our day, huh?”

Now ready to head out, Elluin muttered something under his breath before following his companion out the door.

They walked together down the long corridor, light shining in through the many round windows on the ceiling. A tree branch acted as the floor for their home above the ground. It was quite a natural, yet elegant way of life. Naturally elegant and elegantly natural, as the elves liked to think of it.

After a few moments of walking in silence, a tall elf stumbled through one of the doors that lined the walls of the hallway, looking so exhausted that it seemed a miracle he wasn’t lying unconscious on the floor. Speaking in a hushed tone, he addressed the passersby.

“The old kook seems to be getting crazier by the day,” he said, barely able to stand. “Last night he made me stand in the corner and dance without taking a single break, insisting that it warded off dream demons. He’s lost it.”

Elluin and Folwin exchanged a concerned look as the fatigued elf stumbled off, presumably to return to his room for some much-needed rest. Elluin raised an eyebrow, to which Folwin responded with a light sympathetic nod. The pair continued their walk, still not entirely sure as to where they were going. As they came around a bend in the corridor, they heard a familiar voice call out to them.

“Hi Ellie! Hi Folwin!” a blonde-haired elf exclaimed in the most cheerful voice imaginable. He ran up to them and didn’t stop until he was only a few inches away.

“Hey Athtar,’ Elluin replied. He couldn’t help smiling whenever he was around. Although he was the same age as the others, Athtar had a unique childlike wonder that brought joy to whomever he was in the presence of.

“What are you guys doing today? I’m going to see what Rydel wants to do! He always wakes up before me and leaves the room to go walking around the forest! Isn’t that the funniest thing? Did you see what the gnomes are working on in the garden? I’m sure it’s something really amazing! They’re like master gardeners!”

Athtar spoke so quickly that Elluin couldn’t possibly get a word in. He simply maintained a warm smile and let the ecstatic boy talk. But before Athtar could continue his morning ramblings any further, a door swung open, cutting him off.

“You would be concerned with the business of gnomes, you little freak,” the elf who stood in the doorway scoffed, a look of genuine disgust on his face. “But I can see why they would like you; an elf with one orange eye and one blue, and ears that jut out from the side rather than point straight up. How are you even considered high-born?”

“That’s enough Xander,” Folwin interjected. “Why would someone of your supreme stature even mingle with the likes of us, anyway?”

“Indeed, why would I?” Xander scoffed yet again. “How are any of you high-born? A white-haired freak and an annoying little blonde who doesn’t even have proper eyes or ears. And you Folwin. You have all the right features, but yet you disgrace yourself by associating with such lowlifes.”

“Only you meet your ridiculous standards, Xander,” Elluin replied. “Which is why the only one who likes you is yourself.”

“Pfff,” was all Xander bothered to respond with before scowling and stepping back into his room, slamming the door.

“Don’t worry about him, Athtar,” Elluin tried to reassure his friend. “You know that nobody cares what that pretentious jerk has to say, right?”

“I know,” Athtar replied, trying to maintain his usual attitude, yet clearly having taken on a more somber demeanor after the verbal abuse. “I’m just going to go replace Rydel. Oh, and if you see Onvyr, tell him I said hi and good luck with his duties today.”

“I’ll be sure to do that, buddy,” Elluin promised him. “And don’t worry much about that either. Soon I’ll make sure none of us ever have to serve him again.”

Folwin appeared a bit surprised by that last remark, but Athtar didn’t seem to pay it much mind. “Bye guys!” he exclaimed and took off in search of Rydel. The unnecessary encounter with Xander had put him in a less cheerful mood, but Elluin and Folwin took solace in knowing that he would quickly forget the ordeal and be back to his usual self before long. That was the way of Athtar, and most everyone in the community was grateful to have someone like him around to brighten their day.

“So, what do you wanna do today, Ry?” Athtar asked as they strolled down a path in the northern forest together. He had his arm around Rydel’s shoulders, who had trouble keeping up with Athtar’s fast pace.

They were surrounded on both sides by the stream that ran up through the western half of the forest and looped around the northern border to flow back down through the center of the forest, forming somewhat of a U shape. The grounds of the northern forest were covered in vibrant foliage, providing the perfect place for a nature walk. High-born elves avoided the surface at night, as this was when the low-borns of the southern forest would have dominion over the forest floor, making it unsafe for anyone else. During the day, however, high-born elves frequently descended from their home in the trees to enjoy the natural beauty, and Athtar and Rydel were no exception.

“How about we just slow down a bit and enjoy this walk?” Rydel suggested.

The two elves started every day this way; Athtar would ask Rydel what he would like to do, a tranquil activity would be suggested, and Athtar would have no part of it, insisting that they do something more adventurous. In this aspect, the two were quite different. However, they were alike in the most important way; their kindhearted and innocent nature. Rydel’s face exuded a look of innocence comparable to Athtar’s, complete with stunning deep blue eyes that could make even the fiercest centaur warrior lose his composure and show vulnerability. In addition to these qualities, the light red hair that framed his face would set any female elf’s heart aflutter if only he concerned himself with such pursuits. Yet he seemed to devote the entirety of his time to Athtar.

“Oh, come on,” Athtar whined, removing his arm from Rydel’s shoulder and running several yards ahead before spinning around. “We should go see what the gnomes are working on! I was just telling Ellie and Folwin about it! Maybe we can bring Onvyr with us tonight after he gets finished…”

“I don’t think Onvyr is going to feel up to doing anything after he gets done for the day, Ath,” Rydel said, actually managing to get a word in. “Not everyone has as much energy as you do.”

“I know,” Athtar sighed. “I really wish he didn’t have to work today. I know he was reading about gnomes with Rania the before, so I thought he might like to visit them. But its ok, Ellie said that soon we wouldn’t have to worry about being servants anymore.”

“What did he mean by that?” Rydel asked, his face contorting a bit in an expression of genuine curiosity.

“I don’t know,” Athtar replied nonchalantly, shrugging. “I guess he must have some sort of plan…”

“Just what kind of plan?” Rydel continued to probe.

“How would I know?” Athtar laughed, clearly not taking the situation as seriously as his more thoughtful friend. “What does it matter? Let’s just go see the gnomes!”

“I just don’t like the sound of it, Ath. You know I don’t think it’s right that us elves should be in servitude to anyone, but the last thing we should do is break the peace. I don’t want to see anybody hurt.”

Athtar grinned. “I don’t think anybody would get hurt, Ry. Ellie just doesn’t want us to have to take turns waiting on some big-nose old crazy guy. I think we should maybe do something about him too…”

In another part of the forest, two female elves sat together atop a small stone bridge over the stream. The tall grass that surrounded them on all sides and the dark blue water gently flowing below provided a quiet place where Rania and Onvyr would often sit and read together. Onvyr would have one of his many books on his lap while Rania rested her head on his shoulder. Their matching white hair, pale skin, and ruby red eyes may have led an outsider to believe the two were twins; however, none of the inhabitants of the elven forest were related to each other in such a way. In fact, Onvyr and Rania were the only romantic couple in the entire community, except of course for the rumors that sometimes circulated about Athtar and Rydel. The two seemed almost inseparable. However, today Rania had to replace someone else to spend her time with.

“Thanks for hanging out with me today, Jastra,” Rania said, addressing the other elf who was quite a bit taller than herself. “I’m not used to being by myself.”

“I gotta say, it’s refreshing to spend time with someone nice for once,” Jastra replied. “Usually I only run into the fire mages down below, and they’re not exactly pleasant company.”

“Why do you even go down there?” Rania asked. “You’re high-born, you should be up here with us. And don’t they try to attack you?”

“Pfff,” Jastra snickered. “I’m like ten times as strong as those little twerps. I just need to shoot them a threatening look and they go off running. Besides, low-borns aren’t as bad as you might think. Pretty much harmless, really.”

“But what do you do down there? It’s so much nicer up here. The grass is green and everyone is friendly, well…except Xander, but no one even goes around him anyway. I just don’t get it…”

“Well that’s just it,” Jastra replied, as if it should be obvious. “There’s no real adventure up here. Everything is too simple…too predictable…too perfect.”

“I wouldn’t call it perfect,” Rania responded somberly. “I would like to be with my Onvyr today…not that I don’t like being with you, but I still miss him.”

Jastra paused for a moment, trying to think up a comforting response. “I don’t know why any of you put up with him. I mean what’s he gonna do if you refuse to work for him? He can barely walk on his own.”

“Well we’ve never thought of that before,” Rania replied. “I guess we always just figured it was the order of things. He’s been here for so long, none of us can really remember a time without him.”

“And that’s exactly what your problem is,” Jastra said with a hint of arrogance. “None of you ever take risks, never bother to think about what things would be like with a little change. I don’t get why you don’t just throw him from the trees.”

Rania slowly shook her head and took a long moment before responding. “I mean it’s one thing to say that, but to actually do it…I don’t know. I don’t think any of us actually could.”

“That’s what happens when you spend all your time in paradise,” Jastra replied. “You never learn how to deal with a problem when it comes up. You’re going to have to make a decision, Rania. Either be content with serving someone who has no real claim to power over you, or get your hands a little dirty and free yourself.”

“If you think you could do it, why haven’t you by now? Why don’t you just go and do it now?” Rania retorted, quickly becoming irritated. “You sit here and talk about taking action but don’t do anything! Just go do it yourself!”

Jastra scoffed. “Why would I even care enough to do anything? I’ve never had to serve the old fool. I don’t think he even knows I exist considering I almost never go up in your precious trees. Maybe I’d offer to help if I saw any of you take a little initiative. Until that happens, I’m not handing out my services to a bunch of whiners who can’t even be bothered to try to help themselves.”

With that, Jastra hopped off the bridge and briskly walked away. She was nearly out of sight before Rania even processed her words.

“Jastra, wait!” she called out. “I’m sorry! I was just upset about Onvyr! Please come back…”

But it was too late. Jastra was already out of earshot and was clearly too upset to care about anything Rania had to say anyway.

“I just don’t want to be alone…”

Rania put her hands to her face and cried. Onvyr was the only one who could offer her any comfort, but he would be under his control for the rest of the day. Her resentment toward him grew by the second.

“You always worry about everything, Ry,” Athtar said as reassuringly as he could, gently setting his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “And nothing ever turns out as bad as you thought it would. Let’s just go see the gnomes to get your mind off it.”

“Alright, Ath. Let’s go,” he replied with a forced smile.

Athtar gave Rydel a quick hug, grabbed his hand, and pulled him along in the direction of the gnomes’ garden. The gnomes were responsible for growing all of the elves’ food and in return the elves allowed them to reside in their forest. For the most part, the elves left them alone, except of course for Athtar, but the gnomes never seemed to mind.

“Hi guys!” Athtar cried out as he and Rydel ran up to the garden.

“Hi Athtar!” the gnomes called back in unison.

The two elves eagerly approached the garden. It was a large area covered in a colorful assortment of plants including common foods such as bananas and carrots, as well as more exotic varieties. One thing was certain; the garden was beautiful and the gnomes worked the land with mastery, providing all the food the elves of the forest could ever need.

“So, what is this new thing you guys are working on?” Athtar asked just as ecstatically as ever. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it! Is it a new fruit? Vegetable? One of the regular fruits or vegetables but grown in the shape of a gnome? That would really be something! Come on, what is it?”

“It’s a flower!” one of the gnomes replied proudly. They always enjoyed Athtar’s enthusiasm about their work.

“A flower? Wow! Let me see it!”

“It’s a new kind that we’ve had lying around for a while,” the gnome explained as he maneuvered over to one of the garden’s many plots. “But we’ve just now decided to plant it. You can use it for decoration and it’s also edible…as far as we can tell.”

“Awesome!” Athtar exclaimed as the gnome plucked the flower from its stem.

The flower had yellowish orange peddles that surrounded a blue center. There were plenty of flowers that were grown in the gnomes’ garden, but never one quite like this. Athtar’s face lit up even more when he saw it.

“Just like those beautiful eyes of yours,” Rydel remarked in his soft voice, the first thing he said since coming to the garden.

“Yeah!” Athtar laughed as he took the flower and inspected it closely. After a moment of doing so, he promptly tossed it in his mouth.

“You should really try this, Ry!” he exclaimed, handing him a flower. “It’s delicious!”

“That’s ok, Ath,” Rydel replied. “I’m not that big into eating flowers.”

“Oh yeah,” Athtar said as he swallowed the last bit of flower left in his mouth. “That’s one of those weird things about you…but I guess it’s part of why I like you so much!”

Rydel smiled at that last remark and put the flower in his pocket. “You wanna go sit by the stream now? Maybe we could get a book from the library and look at it together.”

“Yeah, if Leofrick isn’t reading them all!” Athtar laughed. “But ok, let’s go! Bye guys!” he yelled to the gnomes as he and Rydel turned around to leave.

“Bye Athtar!” all the gnomes yelled back as they returned to their garden work.

Athtar once again grabbed Rydel’s hand and dragged him along in the direction of the library. They skipped along together until they were about halfway to their destination before Athtar suddenly stopped to begin another one of his ramblings.

“I forgot to ask, what kind of book should we get? I thought maybe we could get the book on gnomes that Onvyr was reading so we know exactly what he’s interested in. But maybe he took it and has it in his room, so then we would have to pick a different one. What about centaurs? Or flowers? But I guess if I wanted to know about flowers I could just ask the gnomes. I’m sure they know just as much as any book! What do you think, Ry?”

“Why don’t we wait until we get there and see what’s available?” Rydel said with a kind smile. “It can be a surprise, and I know how much you love surprises.”

“I sure do!” Athtar exclaimed as he again started moving forward toward the library.

He was only able to take two steps, however, before he fell flat on his face. Rydel rushed to his side and turned him over. The jubilant little elf now lay on the ground unconscious for no apparent reason. With no one else around, Rydel grabbed under his friend’s shoulders and started pulling him to the only place he could think of that help would be available.