Chapter 3 - A new beginning

She steps out of the cave, gently leaning towards a pillar holding up the entrance.
The sun hits her skin like it has not seen sunlight for the last decade. 
She squints her eyes and covers her face with her other arm.

The sun is beaming, the sounds of the forest that seemed muffled now in full orchestra with birds chirping and the wind singing, a leaf falls on top of her head before gently falling to the ground.

"This way, " the little girl tugs Elfyja's dress while pointing down towards the forest entrance.
To Elfyja, the colours are vibrant and everything feels new and exciting. Her face does not show excitement, just awe.

"Miss, you're an elf, right? "
Elfyja stops for a moment to touch her ears, then crouches down to look at her reflection.
She sees a blurry reflection of herself.
"Elf!" she exclaims while wiggling her ears. "They move too!"
The little girl looks at her funny, before starting to giggle. "You're funny, haha."
A moment of silence before Elfyja's stomach starts to rumble. She hadn't eaten in a while, god knows how long it was since her last meal.

The little girl looks at her and thinks for a second. As she thinks, a shadow appears behind her.
Growling becomes louder as it approaches. It's a large wolf twice the size of the little girl.
Elfyja reaches her arm out, as she is about to try to warn her, when a sudden lightning strikes down the wolf. A large fizzle sound and thundering roar fill the forest. Birds and small critters run into hiding. The little girl jumps and screams into Elfyja, who is also startled. A few seconds of silence before it starts to pour down. "Quick, let's get cover", they get back into the cave, as what had seemed like a sunny day with no clouds in sight had turned into a heavy downpour.

A few minutes pass by, and the girl stares at the wolf in awe. A faint "wow" slips from her mouth.
- The rain gives up, and Elfyja's stomach rumbling becomes noticeable again.

"Hey, do you want to come with my family for dinner? Mom makes the best ice-cakes, too"
"I'm not sure if your mom would let in a total stranger, would she? Thank you for the offer, though"
"Hmm, you're right, but you just saved me from that wolf, didn’t you? How can you be a bad person?"
"I saved you?"
"I'm not sure, but your hands started glowing blue like magic, so it must be you!"
Elfyja scratches her cheek for a bit. Did I really produce that? That has to be just a coincidence, right? She thinks for herself.

"Hey, come on, it just stopped raining, let's hurry before it gets late!"
Without much say in the matter, Elfyja grabs her hand and is guided out of the forest bank.
The rain smells wonderfully fresh.

The dense forest gives up. Upon exiting, a small village called Eyr appears. Eyr is a small village at the edge of 3 large continents: the Dwarven kingdom of Argon region of Nidavellir in the north, the Human lands to the east, and the Elven continent of Alfheim to the south. Further west, you can reach the human lands, but only by traversing through tunnels bordering the Dwarven lands.

Eyr has a small market, some houses and a townhouse amongst other estates.
People stare at Elfyja as she is held in quick motion by the girl.
"Come on, we don't wanna be late!"

Upon entering the town, there is the sound of children playing and laughing. The girl rushes past the entrance to the village in a hurry. "Hurry!" Elfyja doesn't seem to understand what there is to
rush for, but maybe she has a curfew?

Upon entering the town, there is playful laughter. 
the little girl rushes forward while the villagers stare at Elfyja in curiosity.
A woman is using her broom to remove the debris from the ground. *swosh swosh*
Another man giggles as he pulls up some bottles, placing them on his stall bench.
The children stop playing to see who's coming.

Maybe they haven't seen an elf before? Elfyja thinks to herself.
"Hurry!" The little girl exclaims before stopping at a larger 2-story building.
"The weary traveller's inn-keep" Wait, I can read what's on the sign? Elfyja scratches her face.
The letters look somewhat familiar, like some fantasy game. Wait, what is a fantasy game?
Elfyja gets a sudden ringing in her ears and feels woozy. "Are you okay?" The girls look at her worriedly. "You must be hungry, miss" A ringing voice comes from behind the bar counter as she laughs. "Come take a seat!" She brushes off the dust of the bar seat for crumbles.
"Don't worry, nothing to be scared of, the only thing that'll be under attack is your coin purse!" An
old man laughs. "Want nogg gruel again?" "I only jest, your majesty" An old man jokingly bows his crooked back, laughing, smiling with missing teeth. "Just watch your tone, Edgar"
Elfyja stands at the entrance while the little girl runs in to hug the barmaid.
"I was worried you had gotten lost, Khina! Where have you been, and who's the new customer you brought with us, hm?"
"I found her in the cave!" sounding like she found some kind of lost puppy.
" She saved my life, too, from a Direwolf!"
The barmaid isn't sure whether to be shocked or to question her.
"Hold on, one thing at a time, little missy, A Direwolf?! near Eyr? You must be daydreaming"
"No, it's true! I saw it with my own eyes. She struck it down with lightning! 
Then it all started raining. The barmaid crosses her arms in disbelief. "That's it, you aren't going outside to the forest until I find out more about this. "But Mom, it's true! You can see the wolf for yourself if you want. "No, thank you. I'm not going any wolf huntin', it'll be up to the guards to deal with" Elfyja sits down. "Can I get you anything to eat, miss?"  "Her dinner is on me, for saving my mom!" She throws a few buttons, a leaf, and a copper coin on the counter. Ratalina looks at her with a funny smile while resting her arms on her hips- "Alright, alright"


"One more round, Ratalina!" A woman next to Elfyja shouts, already hammered.
"Don't you think you've had enough, Maurice?" "Shaddap, I know my limit, hmphf"
"If you say so", she taps a beer for Maurice. She has long black hair and a long black robe.
A staff was also leaning on the counter next to her with a crystal dangling from the top.
"I've never heard anyone taking down a Direwolf with a strike of lightning and making it rain before... Are ya a mage too perchancesh? She tries not to lisp as she *hicks*
With a menacing stare, Elfyja tries not to stare at her back. It's like an angry mob waiting to be aggro'ed, but it's still neutral. "eheh, sorry I... Don't know".

Ratalina places a warm and pleasant-looking dish before Elfyja while she is looking around the room. "Sorry, ma'am, I didn't catch your name. I'm Ratalina," She stretches her hand out to shake Elfyjas. Elfyja stretches her arm out back to greet her, but stops halfway. "My name-...I, don't remember"- Ratalina stares in the distance at her, dumbfounded. " You don't-" "Elfy is her name!" Everyone looks at Khina. "Don't be silly, elves don't have human names like that. "What about Elfyjir?" Maurice looks down at her book, then closes it before taking a sip with both her hands of her mug. "Aah, that's better", with her tongue sticking out. "Like Elven Elf in the Elven language? Isn't that a bit redundant?" "What about Elfy-ja?" The little girl says. "She's not a new pet, you know, you don't get to name people like that" "You should see how she fought that wolf mom! Her hand went out and blue light and kabam, you know " The little girl makes gestures. "That doesn't even make sense..." Ratalina says while looking at Elfyja with inquisitive eyes if she knows something is up.
Elfyja tries to laugh it off with a sheepish smile, shrugging her shoulders. "Ah, well, dig in before it gets cold" This is on the house as she slams a drink next to her. "Hey, when do I get free things too, Ratalina? Edgar asks. "When you stop being a silly old goof, maybe I'll consider it," he waves at her.

Erufuphia.. Maurice tries to pronounce it to herself while murmuring, then making bubbles in her mug. She dozes a bit off. "Hey, wake up, you", the old man rattles her chair with his cane.
Maurice springs up with a beer moustache. "Huh!" They all start laughing.

Twilight begins, and the day begins to darken.