Eli interrupted Ejder's speech by pulling him into a tight, honest embrace.
                          
Ejder chuckled as he squeezed her back.
                          
"Thank you so much!" she managed to say through her joy and excitement after finally letting go of Ejder. 
                          
"You're welcome, kid. You deserved it – the army commander agreed that you are, indeed, talented. I will escort you to the capital tomorrow, and from there you go alone."
                          
Eli felt a twinge of sadness hit her. She had expected Ejder to come with her on such a big occasion. But escorting her all the way to the capital was more than she could ask for.
                          
"Thank you, Ejder. Is anything specific expected of me?"
                          
"Yes. Everyone presented will be of higher rank than yourself, so you are to obey. Do not start unnecessary fights. You are to protect the king and the nobles if your run into trouble on your way through Linos. Do not kill any elves, even if you manage to stumble upon that white hunter you keep growling about. And be careful. You will likely be sharing a room with other soldiers, so you will have little privacy." 
                          
"I will give my best, but I make no promises," Eli grinned, and Ejder gave her a friendly slap on the back.
                          
"Pack your things. We leave at dawn, and we ride quickly. If we hurry, you might get a chance to see your sister..." 
                          
Those words were enough to get Eli going. She gave Ejder another hug, which surprised her as much as it likely did him, before running inside to pack.
                          
She didn't need much time to stuff some clothes and other necessities into a bag. She would don her armour in the morning and carry a sharp sword. She also bought a nice silver pendant for her sister, made of quartz. Quartz had magical properties loved by healers and was easy to enchant. She had bought it from a merchant who was unaware of its value.
                          
Eli spoiled herself with a warm bath before heading off to bed. She loved the night and retreating to her room, where she could live without her chest flattened painfully. She often lounged around shirtless and found herself admiring her toned, lean look. Men typically found muscular women unattractive, but luckily for Eli, she didn't give a damn about their opinion. Her love life had a lower priority than licking Blaed's boots. 
                          
Eli lit a candle by her bed, wincing slightly as the flame licked her finger. Ever since her incident, she wasn't too fond of fire. Before, her fingers got burnt so often she stopped noticing – but now, even the smallest contact with the coldest fire would send her flinching. She hated having such and irrational fear, but she couldn't help it. 
                          
She sprawled out onto her bed and picked up a book on Svartálfar culture and history. She had been putting off reading the boring tome for a while, partially due to the fact that some of the content was written in ancient elven. 
                          
In spite of her laziness, Eli had a good grasp of their culture. She knew the main points, she knew how their system worked, she knew which topics riled them up and was aware of which regions were the most hostile towards outsiders. The capital and its province was the most open to new ideas, for sure. The further north, the more hateful they became. It was like Revera reversed. 
                          
Eli knew not to criticize any of the kings openly, ever. She knew that she should always compliment the food, even if it tasted horrible. Religion was out of the question, as most elves were hard-core devotees of The Viribus, an entity which bore a strange similarity to the Great Sisters, both of which devotees refused to agree that they were clearly one and the same. 
                          
Just like in Revera, there were tremendous differences among the provinces. They were once all different lands ruled by different kings and queens, until the hate of other races grew so strong that the races united to kill one another. That was before the Great War, which took place over two hundred years ago. With all the dwarves annihilated and Linos uninhabitable, the land split into Notrhl and Revera, Elves and Humans. The provinces sometimes tried to rebel, but the war among the races stopped them. Which was one reason that both sides used to seek conflict. But now, peace was to be found.