Thread: Darkness and light (LeatrixSage and Silver Star)

His morning prayers were interrupted by the entrance of four armed soldiers escorting none other than the archbishop himself and the king's hand. Aelir , who was kneeling in front of one of the many statues in honor to the god of light and healing, soon stood up to greet the men and offered a reverence to all of them. He had heard the rumors about the queen being under a terrible curse and many priests and wizards of all parts of the realm trying their best to help her with no success in the end. When the men in front of him started to talk about that particular situation, Aelir couldn't help it but to wonder why they were interested in him, since there were many other priests in the kingdom that possessed more knowledge and experience than him. It didn't take too long for the men to explain Aelir the current situation and the orders that the king himself had issued. The young priest felt honored to be considered for a mission of such high importance, but he felt intimidated by the pressure that it carried. Were he to fail on the task, the queen herself would be paying his incompetence with her life, and it would be catastrophic for the whole kingdom. Of course, Aelir wasn't just a boy who only knew how to read books and mop a temple's floor, he had developed quite a large amount of skills related to healing, use of herbs, exorcism, and even a bit of diplomacy along the way. He was young and talented, all he was lacking was the experiences that the world outside the temple could provide, but that included many dangers and risks. Almost all of his life, Aelir had been serving the priests as an apprentice, and soon enough, when he was ready, started following the bishop's footsteps. He tried to learn as much as possible and did his best to be considered a good example of a man of the light. That was why he was the first name that came to mind fo the archbishop when he had to assign the task of destroying the curse that was slowly consuming the queen. The problem was that he couldn't make the journey all by himself, no. It was far too dangerous for him to go alone, yet the king couldn't send an army of his men with him or it would raise suspicions. The mission was to be kept a secret, so the priest needed to travel with as few companions as possible. And there was yet another complication to add to the whole thing. Aelir's destination was none other than the lands of the Drow, deep in the dark forests that lay east, very far from the kingdom's capital where Aelir had been living his whole life. To travel such a long distance that covered almost the whole land from one point to the other, he would need someone to guide him and protect him, someone capable of leading him to the place where the dark magic was being channeled so he could use his powers to cancel it and save the queen. Now, even though the kingdom was very open in terms of receiving members of the other races within it's cities, the Drow weren't really very much welcome anywhere other than inside their circles. The other elves hated them, the dwarves didn't trust them, and most of the humans who met them along the way told stories of conflict with them. It seemed like they were in fact the black sheep of the elvish race after all. All of this mattered because, if Aelir was to enter a place where that kind of beings controlled everything, he'd be needing someone that could have at least a chance of gain entrance to the cities of the drow, someone they would trust. So, what kind of companion would the king assign to him then? Simple, someone coming from where his destination was... they needed a drow for the job. Now, for better or for worse, just so happened that in the dungeons of the castle there was a prisoner who had all the necessary characteristics for the mission. A female drow had been captured not too long ago for trying to assassinate one of the members of the king's council. They tried questioning her but there was no use, she didn't tell them who ordered the attack. Knowing that they wouldn't get anything useful out of her, she was sentenced to death for her actions against the most loyal subjects in favor of the crown. She was only two days apart from meeting the axe, when the gates of her cell opened and the hand of the king himself entered and explained the situation to her. She'd get her life and freedom back, but she'd have to help Aelir save the queen. Once the mission was complete and Aelir returned to safety with good news, she'd be spared from all charges and offered a proper compensation for her inconveniences. In case she'd fail or betray Aelir, she'd be pursued, captured, and made an example for everyone in the realm to see. Finally, when the time came, Aelir stood next to his horse at the entrance of the city and watched in silence how a figure approached him, apparently the one of the person in charge of keeping him safe. Even though the bishop and the king's hand explained to him all the details about what he had to do during the mission, they didn't tell him he'd be tagging along with a drow. Aelir had never seen one of them before, only thing he knew about them was what he read, and none of that was any good. Blinking twice and scratching his jaw with his left hand, he stood there looking at the female getting closer and lifted the other hand to gesture her that it was him who she'd be riding with. It felt strange to have to intereact with such a strange creature, but he had to act as civil and respectful as possible, that was his duty. Greetings... I am Aelir, the bishop's apprentice and priest in service of the lord of light. A-Are you to be my guardian for the duration of this journey? He asked when the female was close enough to him, trying his best to not sound too nervous or intimidated, even though he was exactly that way at that time.