Waiting.
It is fair to say EllaDoraa was not good at waiting.
The words of the hunter whirled and spun in her head day and night. They disturbed her waking and sleeping.
“Guardian of the Light? Bearer of the knowledge of the divine? Bearer of the Dawn?” she pondered “What the hell does all this mean?” Not to mention the “Trials of the Caun” that Bara had been called away to complete. She would have quizzed the hunter more, but that night he looked so tired. She made herself content to just sit and listen to his stories, and try to piece together the life that he had as part of the Order.
He had not shown his face at the inn, to her knowledge, since that night.
She had been left to wait.
Patiently.
To see if He returned. To see if he accomplished the task that had been laid before him. To see if someone would tell her what to do next or what was expected of her.
But her patience wore thin. She could barely get through the day without a tightness in her chest every time she heard a birds wings. She had waited long enough here. It was time to seek out the hunter once more. She had to know if he had heard from him.
Elladoraa slipped on her boots and grabbed her satchel and headed to the stable. She greeted Iduna with a smile and an apple. “Come on my boy, we need to go on a little trip”.
The pair set off at a pace toward Arrowhaven, to the home of the Order.
On her previous visits this place had calmed her soul and brought her peace. She longed to feel that way once more. With any luck, she would find the hunter there, or maybe… just maybe, Baralinion may have returned and be resting or …healing? She did her best to push these thoughts from her mind.
The ride was swift as Iduna was happy once more to be out in the open. He travelled at a pace and Ella was in no mood to slow him.
Until, that is, she approached the familiar tree lined paths, and was met by an uneasy silence. The familiar sound of the birds was noticeably absent. They walked slowly and cautiously up the path towards to housing. The usual warm feeling she had felt here had been replaced by a chill that ran straight down her spine. She did not like this one bit.
As she got closer to the house, the tightness in her chest returned. What had happened to the house? The windows had been put through and the door was hanging from its hinges. Strange symbols had been carved and burned onto the walls. She knew what this meant. She could almost hear that laugh on the wind.
As she moved around the outside of the building, looking for signs of life, for signs of ANYONE, she came to the Orders beacon. The same one that Baralinion had lit to call the Order from all corners of the land.
But what was left of it? It lay in pieces on the ground. The structure that once stood strong, had been pulled down and destroyed. She knew this meant much more than she could see here.
Her heart sank. This was not at all what she had hoped for. This in fact was much worse that she had even considered.
But she would not give up. She was here, even if no one else was. And for now, she would wait, with the hope that someone would return.
