-Urza is a strikingly beautiful Brightborn of 300 years, the Lord Protector of the House of Evernight, and is honored in the Rainbow Records as…

  “The Heavenly Jeweled Spear,” the noble Drow retorted.

  The Prime Minister bowed deeply with blatant sincerity in his posture.

  “Seven Gods! I meant no...”

  “None taken, Lord Woodwind! It was neither the first nor last time the mistake has been made.”

  The brawny Bright Elf smiled & chuckled from his chiseled chin to his dark dimples. Aurora found herself hiding the surprise on her face from his ease of eyes and temperament. She had no intent of being betrothed. She certainly had no intentions of turning down or offending a Thrandish Hero (Least of all one so handsome). She’d hoped that he was an arrogant snob, to offset how foolish she felt, for denying the marriage request before even laying eyes on her suitor. Everything she’d been told (As a child by children) about the Drow was clearly complete nonsense, as this man was far more fair than any Ljósálfar whom had failed to court her in nearly half a century.

  “Join us, Lord Ranger. There is much we must speak of,” the Prime Minister said quietly.

  Aurora visibly winced from the unearned appointment.

  “But I am not yet a Lord Ranger, Prime Minister. As you all well know.”

  She said this in a soft voice with her gaze spanning every corner of the room and every Lord & Lady at the Timberwood Table.

  “It is as I have said. There is much we must speak of!”

  He gestured for her to sit, and she complied; as did everyone else present, save the bowed & retreating Lord Commander.

  “You will not take the Last Trek of álfar,” he said in an even lower voice.

  She looked around the intricately carved table of the 7 Planes. At the familiar faces & strangers unwilling to match her gaze. She stood up, slowly, and lifted a goblet to her seniors.

  “My Lords—How can I become Lord Ranger without...”

  “The 7 Signs represent the coming of the greatest threat which Thrandkind has or will ever face.”

  Urza was now standing and addressing the room far less than he did her, personally.

  “The Ageless Eternals have called upon all leal Thrandish to lend their bodies & beliefs to the cause of the living,” The Drow Lord said as he fixed his gaze on her exclusively.

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  “You will trek with me across the 7 Planes to recover the 7 Cosmic Keys. This is your last trial, and I shall be your Marshall & Tutor!”

  [Hours later]

  The busty Brightborn Halfling stood in silence as 7 attendants dressed and armored her in regal raiments & Ranger regalia. Two huge prismatic ponytails draped over her breastplate and blades, two more were pulled from her bangs to the back of her head, into and around the main larger braid down the center of her back to her tailbone. Her long, swept-back, ash colored antlers were adorned with lavish rings of gold, embedded gemstones, inscribed sigils, and chained ornaments of her Household. A tiara with an iridescent jewel crowned her forehead and lined the top to the tip of her queer elven ears. She wore her mother’s necklace and her father’s medal of valor over her steady beating heart. The neck piece draped all the way down and hid between her breasts, but the badge of Ranger Stewardship left a hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach. Over her trousers yet under her chaps, she wore an ornate chastity belt which complemented her golden gorgerine, gauntlets, grieves, and shoulder plates.

  “I wonder if you are as nervous as I was, as I stood as you do, now,” Urza quipped.

  Aurora attempted to cover her naked body, yet, given that she was fully clothed, she very poorly feigned tightening her armor straps. This made Urza openly smile, and she found herself emulating him in this, none the wiser of the actions she’d made. She peered down to hide her face and began fidgeting with her fingers after a chertsey.

  “I wonder if they told you that your failure would result in total annihilation,” she snapped back.

  The dark elven lord larked and laughed deeply at what was not like to be in jest.

  “Verily!” Urza said with his hands in the air.

  “I do see your point, Ranger.”

  Aurora had visibly winced again. Though, in truth, Urza meant nothing condescending by not mentioning the “Lord” in her new title. He simply meant to respect her earlier objection to the unceremonious honorific.

  She pondered to herself on why she’d reacted that way. Was she offended now that he’d done as she clearly desired? Was it because Urza recognized her plight in that scarce moment or simply because it was he who said it?

  “Why are you here?” she sneered.

  He looked around the room, visibly shrinking in his thoughts, as he slowly backed away from her. F?yora smacked herself in the forehead, having read the room, from her honest mistake. At this point, he must be glad of not marrying her, she thought to herself.

  “Forgive me, my Lord—I have little in the way of noble speak—What I meant to say was, why did they send you? On this mission.” She whispered that last part.

  His barely noticeable frown became an obvious grin, and she was not displeased by it. Her cheeks and lips became far more rosy, and she broke the eye contact they’d sustained.

  “In truth, I have pondered that very question since our departure from Star’s End,” Urza said.

  … … …

  Star’s End is the largest and eldest castle in the whole of Evernight, as well as anywhere else on the Elven Continent. Evernight is rich and fertile with precious metals, stones, spices, and grain. Flowers of every color and pattern cover every rock, tree, and native creature of the woodlands. It sits between the borders of the southernmost Gorgossi regions and spans all the way to the northwest of the Ljósálfar territories. Star’s End is the crown jewel of the 1st Plane, and sits amongst the foundations all the way to the peak of the SkyPiercer Mountains (The highest álfar summit). It stands as the only keep or kingdom built into a mountainside as opposed to the vast forest of the realm. The castle reaches over 300 feet above the zenith of the SkyPiercers and stretches for over a mile from the east tower to the west. Its outer walls are composed of obsidian from the long dead mountain, and the inner keep walls are verdant colored and jade in their makeup.

  … … …

  Urza shifted his stance and relaxed his shoulders before gesturing towards two empty seats by the illustrious fireplace in her dressing room.

  “Have you ever beheld the Starfalls,” he inquired.

  She shook her head from side to side with a somber look on her delicate featured face.

  “As the Lady of Star’s End you...”

  He paused mid-sentence, realizing the unintentional chords he’d struck, darting his line of sight to the many throw rugs on the marble floor.

  “Please—Describe it for me,” Hestiya pleaded.

  She spoke those words with thirsty eyes and ears, and his frown inverted into a desirous, dimpled smile before he continued.

  “At first and last light, the mouth of the falls are aflame like a rainbow, from the setting or rising rays of the saffron suns.”