Young Writers Society

Shaila
I was following as closely to my new friend as much as possible until he almost seemed uncertain of where he was going.
"Mister whysp, are you lost?"
He bobbed up and down slightly.
"Oh my,"
I tried not panicking because I had grown up in these haunted woods but when I turned a full circle, I realized I was lost. I tried not to panic but that seemed very impossible. Ok calm down Shaila, think through this. Your mother trained you to survive anything! I took three deep breathes and told myself to stop panicking. Obviously, it didn't work. Well, if I wasn't going to stop panicking then I would need to try to stay cool headed as much as possible.
I realized I needed to listen to all my sense before I did anything rational. So, first I simply looked. When I first had looked around, I had only seen dark woods but on further observation I realized I could see a small clearing over to my far right.
"Mister whysp, I think we should go towards that clearing."
He bobbed once more and then floated towards it.
When we were 10 feet away, we heard voices and I froze.
"My name is Devlin, and this is my companion, Onyr," a familiar voice said.
"My name is Vagare Faerius!" a very enthusiastic male voice said.
I could not see the speakers voice but the girls voice was from the whysps echo.
My friend started to move closer to the clearing.
"Whysp, wait!" I whispered, "I can't show myself yet."
The whysp seemed to sigh but stayed with me while I crept up to the tree line and saw more kynds then I had ever seen.
So many beautiful creatures in one clearing.

Haar

Haar cleared her throat uncomfortably after Calidus apologized for Parva (not that her throat needed clearing, though). "It's no problem," she said lightly. "As Elswyre's most famous traveling minstrel and storyteller, I've come across a lot of different things. Except most of the time, no one sees my face, so . . . Do me a favor and don't tell anyone, all right? Oh, and you all'd better not let anyone know I'm blind." There are already more than enough malignant rumors anyways . . .

Slowly, she pulled her hood back down as she knelt to look the dwarf dragon in the eyes, and she held out a hand. His eyes were wide as he stared at her from behind Lidus' leg. Will you trust me? Many believe I'm cold from afar, but they find that I'm actually warm.

"Haar," whispered Twyla. "There's someone behind those trees."

Although none of the elves could hear Twyla's words, Parva whimpered and shrank back again instantly after. Haar smiled a little. Ah, he wasn't scared of me! He's afraid of Twyla!

Twyla sighed. "You're really something sometimes, Haar. Leave it to me, then." The dark feather on Haar's earring slipped off, spreading and growing beside her into a panther form.

"All right," she growled at the trees "come on out, unless you want me to come and get you."

Shaila
I froze. No this can't be happening, I thought. I thought of all my options but only came up with two, which I disliked equally, come out and face them or run like a dog with its tail tucked between its legs. No, I would be brave and face all these beautiful kynds.
I looked at my whysp and it seemed to bob its head to my question so I stepped out of the trees. They all stepped back, startled that I was a kynd rather than something scarier, that hurt. I may just be a tiny thing but I was powerful and strong.
"Hello," I said.
I tried not to let the shadows get to me. This was what always happened when I saw another kynd, I would disappear into the shadows.
"Hello!" said a pretty water kynd, "You can come closer you know. We won't bite."
I approached cautiously, I never had really interacted with another kynd other than my mother. They stared at me, trying to gauge whether I was a threat or not. Then I looked at the death kynd and knew I wasn't the only one who was feared by our shadows.
"I-I didn't mean to sneak up like that," I stammered, "please forgive me."
"You're forgiven," said the pretty water kynd, "now come, let us introduce ourselves."

Haar

"Hmph," said Twyla. "Not someone too scary, then." She settled herself at Haar's feet, flicking her shadowy tail back and forth. Parva clutched tighter to Lidus' leg.

Haar stared at the new elf. This one was a shadow kynd, she decided, seeing as some of the shadows had begun to leave Haar and gather around her instead. Of course, it wasn't very much, but two of the same kynd would know each other. But Haar pulled her hood down more, worried that she would be rejected by yet another of her people, even though this one didn't seem to be from the big city.

And yet, something seemed familiar about this elf. Not just because they shared a kynd, but it seemed as though Haar'd felt a similar presence before, from a time long ago, when . . .

I was born in this very forest, and my parents cursed their 'misfortune' and abandoned me to die.

Arlen Colden

"Rhys!" whispered Arlen desperately. "Rhys!" It was such a bad idea to come here.

Arlen's squirrel had gone missing. At the same time, he had hope to find the spirit of his dead teacher, Rhys. The squirrel was his namesake.

He stopped where he was and took a deep breath. Stay calm. What if someone sees you? His eyes roved the tops of the trees nearby as little spirits floated around. There! He saw the flash of a white tail, disappearing into the leaves.

"Aha!" Arlen smiled, and followed in the direction of the quivering leaves. He was so intent on catching his pet that he nearly didn't realize that the squirrel had led him straight to a clearing full of voices.

Arlen shrank back. He didn't want to face others, not right now. Not even to get Rhys; the creature was perfectly capable of taking care of itself. He retreated back slightly, then stood anxiously and waited.

Haar

Haar pushed her suspicions away. It couldn't be!

"This is all so sudden," she said to everyone. "Perhaps we can chat later, in the nearby village. I have important matters to take care of with Hirushi. Come on, Twyla."

Haar turned to leave the clearing, with panther-Twyla following her. But she was used to feeling her way forward, not seeing everything in front of her, so she cried out in surprise as a bright streak flashed before her eyes. She stumbled back onto the ground, and her hood came off.

She stared at the little creature, with its quivering nose and shining eyes as dark as Haar's own hair. It chittered and ran in a circle, waving its tail about. Haar couldn't help but smile.

But Twyla was not amused. "Why you little--" she growled, and leaped at it.

"Rhys!" Someone raced forward and snatched the animal away just in time. The creature skittered up his left arm and nestled on his shoulder and seemed to almost blend in with the newcomer, whose clothes matched its fur color.

"Are you all right?" the elf asked, extending a hand, but his eyes locked with Haar's and he stared with a strange expression.

Haar stared back. This elf's appearance was . . . otherworldly, compared to the other elves she had just met, as though he had walked out of one of Haar's stories. (Well, maybe except for the elf that looked kind of like her and that everyone else seemed to be afraid of.)

She blinked, realizing his hand was still stretched out, and she took it. He helped her up, the look on his face never leaving him.

"Who are you?"

Arlen

Arlen realized that both of them had spoken, and he flashed a hasty smile. "Ah. My name is--"

"Now hold on, mister!" A shadowy elf-like figure with a feminine voice broke their hands apart and stood in between them. "There. Now talk."

"Twyla," the elf he had just helped up said with a hint of exasperation.

Rhys chattered playfully from Arlen's shoulder, and the shadow figure seemed to scowl. Arlen glanced around. The panther was gone. Ah, a shade.

"My name is Arlen Colden," he said, watching the other elf carefully. It seemed like she could see--but how? "I am one of the ten Councilmen to the Queen."

"What kynd are you?" the elf asked with a rather embarrassed expression. Now this, Arlen understood.

"I am a Snow Kynd," he replied kindly. "And you are . . . ?"

She blinked, and her face calmed into an almost expressionless one. "Oh. Yes. I'm Haar. The Wandering Haar."

Arlen's eyes widened. So the rumors were true! And this is the Wandering Haar? "It's an honor to meet you," he said, studying her.

An image appeared in his mind of an elf with an almost metallic silver hair and equally silver eyes. "Arlen, where are you?" she called, laughing as she stepped forward with her arms outstretched, feeling for things in front of her.

"Hey. Hey! Councilman!"

Arlen snapped back to reality as the shade, Twyla, waved a hand in front of him. The Wandering Haar, with her Snow Kynd-pale skin, midnight-black hair, and equally dark eyes, seemed confused. Probably because she doesn't know what's going on.

Arlen smiled quickly. "I'm sorry. I just thought of something for a moment." He turned his head to gently pet Rhys with a finger, also as an excuse to look away from the shade's scrutinizing stare.

"Haar? Where are you?" a voice called, and the Wandering Haar turned slightly towards it.

Oh great. The others, too? I can't handle that many people right now!

With a pounding heart, Arlen said, "I believe I must be going," and began to back away, but another elf appeared from the trees behind Haar before he could get away.

Arlen sighed to himself and made his face pleasantly emotionless once again.

Torva Messor:

He admittedly was shocked by how many people there were in the Spirit Wood. One or two other elves would seem realistic; but the snow kynd that had suddenly stumbled upon them made nine elves in total.

He was an introvert by nature. All of these people gathered made him feel incredibly uncomfortable. If he didn't need Calidus' help (who he was still upset about the different treatment she gave him), he would have run away a long time ago to continue searching for Sanctus.

He could barely remember all of the elves' names. They seemed to be appearing out of nowhere, some in groups or some alone. It was an impossible task for someone used to travelling on his own.

Adopting the role of a necromancer once more, though he found it to be more difficult with the introvert in him inwardly screaming out in horror at the situation he had found himself in, he spoke up.

"There are so many of us here," he began. "I think it would be wise if we all reintroduced ourselves." A cold and creepy smile danced upon his lips, hopefully sending shivers up and down the spines of all gathered. "After all, if you die in these cursed woods, I need to know your name so I can call your spirit back from the afterlife."

He put a gloved hand on his chest. "My name is Torva Messor. As you can most likely tell, I am one of the death kynds. I have come here to converse with the spirits of those who died horrible deaths."

It was Calidus who continued the conversation. "I'm Calidus Ignis, a fire kynd. But please call me Lidus." She had done it again! Didn't she realize how much it hurt to hear that? "This little guy in my arms is Parva Draco, a dwarf dragon who I've raised from an egg. Torva hired me to scare off unwanted ghosts."

"I'm Vagare Faerius, adventurer, cartographer, amateur astronomer, and hopeful future inventor!" the youngest of the elves, the wind kynd, piped up. He looked young. Ten, at the most, though probably younger than that. Memories of when he was ten resurfaced. Sanctus had just died, and he could barely survive on his own. Looking back, it was a miracle he had been able to. "I'm a wind kynd, if it wasn't obvious!"

The child grinned at the group assembled.

Arlen Colden

Arlen merely flashed a charming smile at the death kynd while fighting the urge to roll his eyes. This one was just as funny as his Councilman, who believed that everyone fell for his 'creepy necromancer' act.

Well, I don't, thought Arlen. He stepped forward and bowed his head slightly to everyone.

"I'm Arlen Colden, one of our Queen's Councilman on behalf of the Snow Kynds," he said, casually brushing strands of snow-white hair to the side of his face. His eyes shone as if they were really ice. Though it came naturally to him now, he had spent who-knows-how-long practicing this in order to protect himself from looking too threatening to anyone.

"I'm quite surprised that there were so many elves in the Spirit Woods today, but I merely came to find the spirit of my teacher, Rhys Elden, who . . . passed away last year." He turned his head and lowered his eyes to brush two fingers over his snow squirrel's head. His smile faded, and he was glad that he wasn't pretending to do that.

"Rhys Elden? The former Snow Kynd Councilman," said the Wandering Haar. Her face was still exposed, so a lot of the elves stared at her in surprise. Glancing around, she smiled hastily. "Ah. Sorry. I'm the Wandering Haar. A wanderer, as you can tell. I am a minstrel and storyteller. You have all probably heard of me before."

Arlen saw some of the elves who seemed more responsive nod in agreement.

"Oh, and this is my best friend, Twyla. She's a shade." Haar put an arm around the shadowy shoulders of the elf-figure. "And you may call me just 'Haar', if you'd like," she continued. "I was planning on traveling straight to the nearest village, but Hirushi," Haar motioned at a Life Kynd, "requested my help . . . in exchange for . . . me gaining sight. She has already given it to me temporarily."

Arlen swallowed, and he could feel his heartbeat quickening as thoughts in his mind began to weave together.

"Were you--" The words were out of his mouth before he'd realized it, and he cringed inwardly, but they were already out. Might as well ask. "Were you, perhaps, born eighteen years ago, on the Night of Falling Stars?"

Haar stared at him curiously, and Arlen nearly saw the elf with metallic-colored hair and eyes and an innocent smile in her place. "Yes," she said slowly. "How did you know?"

I can help her, thought Arlen as he turned his gaze to the elf Haar had called Hirushi.

I can finally help Gwyneira.

The Wandering Haar

Lord Colden didn't answer Haar's question; instead, he turned his gaze towards Hirushi with another expression Haar didn't know.

"You can cure blindness?" he asked, hope evident in his voice.

"Well, only temporarily," said the healer elf. "I'm trying to figure out how to restore sight permanently."

The corners of Haar's vision were darkening. She blinked, wondering if dust had fallen into her eyes, but the fuzziness spread, and the elves around her grew faint.

As her world turned its usual black once again, Haar couldn't help but feel a strange rush of relief. But she heard a sharp intake from Lord Colden and a small "Oh!" of surprise from Lidus as the last bit of her short-lived vision slipped away. She knew that her eyes must have changed somehow when she had been granted sight, and were back to how they normally were, so she pulled her hood back up over her face.

"Haar," Twyla said quietly.

"I can't see anymore," said Haar with a long sigh.