conclave / kɒn.kleɪv / (n) 1: isolated elven society 2: Kingdom’s toy

A bunny! Its tail is so floofy!

Shikya Enellami Aeleat’s young mind harbored no thoughts of fabled history in watching her new fluffy friend. Not even as the cute brown critter hopped along the centuries-old ruin of Elven grandeur. Perhaps the Elven craftsmen appreciated their rubble becoming a haven for rabbits, but more immediate concerns prevailed in Shikya's head.

What should I name it...? Maybe Fluffy-Buns. Other appropriately flamboyant names, such as "Lord Wiggly-Nose," flicked across her consciousness as she lay prone in the grass, sunlight dancing between the remnants of the canopy city and falling in shafts to the forest floor.

Master Hoppy-Foot progressed through the underbrush, scouting out the expanse between it and a particularly tasty set of leaves. Shikya, unnoticed, watched it edge further away from safety, preparing a dash to its favorite munching bush. Shikya, holding her breath, silently cheered Whiskers on as it thumped its rear foot, testing and loosening the powerful muscles in its flank. C'mon Whiskers! You can do it!

"What're you looking at?" asked a too-near voice. Startled, Shikya spasmed inelegantly and flipped her head back to find her best, and only, friend crouching and straining her eyes toward the wooden wreckage. Sheyla Enellami Aeleat was light-footed in much the same way a drunkard wasn't and preternaturally gifted in the art of surprise. Or perhaps Shikya was simply oblivious. Annoyance at the interruption faded into excitement at the prospect of sharing her fuzzy companion with Sheyla. We'll finally have an ayleth to play with!

"I was looking at Whiskers," Shikya stated matter-of-factly while pointing towards the shrubbery hiding the rabbit. Sheyla's eyes scanned the ferns and obscuring leaves for signs of movement or animal life.

"Whiskers...?" Shikya's eyes swung back to the underbrush and spied a distinct lack of fluff. Gone. Whiskers whisked away... She harrumphed, hanging her head into the lush grass and sighing. Sheyla raised an eyebrow in response. "Hunting rabbits again?"

Shikya rolled over to her back, propping herself up on her elbows and replied, "I don't hunt them. I watch them. At least until somebody scares them away..." The mock edge in her voice dragged a smile out of Sheyla, a mirthful and fitting expression.

Then the smile shifted to a smirk; similar, but distinct in its surety. To an adult, it would seem out of place on a child, but to Shikya, it was just Sheyla... and an indication she was going to lose an argument. "How do you know I scared it away? You were flopping around like a fish a moment ago."

"Well, I wouldn't have if you didn't sneak up on me!"

"Wouldn't it have run away if I didn't 'sneak' up? Should I snap a few branches on my way over next time?"

Shikya pouted at the logic, willing it to change. It didn't. "Maybe..."

Sheyla poked Shikya on the forehead, as she was wont to do after pushing Shikya into a logical corner, claiming victory. Doubling-down on the pout, Shikya rubbed her forehead while Sheyla dropped to her knees, smirk morphing into a wide grin.

"Guess what? I've got something to show you!"

"Is it another puzzle? You know I'm bad at those...," Shikya mumbled.

"No, it's much better than a puzzle." Sheyla held out her right hand in front of her, as though holding a large ball from the bottom. Curious, Shikya sat up and examined her friend's hand. There was nothing there; only skin and air. Is this a trick? Is it invisible? She waited for an explanation, but Sheyla stared fiercely into her hand.

"What are you d-" Shikya started to ask before she noticed a small purple wisp rise out of Sheyla's palm. As the tendril of smoke coalesced into a murky sphere hovering inches above her hand, Sheyla narrowed her eyes and held her breath, concentrating harder, pushing more of whatever power she had into her hand. Shikya watched, enchanted by the softly rotating and shifting mass of energy, when a quiet rustle emanated from the ground between them. A few fallen leaves rose slowly, lifted by an unseen force and drawn to Sheyla.

She continued her efforts while her hand shook slightly and the tips of her fingers turned an incandescent red. Shikya could feel the heat from them, briefly worrying her friend might burn herself, but Sheyla seemed not to notice. The floating sphere pulsed, growing to twice its size. Below, the grass singed as the magic intensified. Magic! Sheyla's a wizard!

"Ow!" Shikya yelped and snapped her hand back as a burning leaf brushed her hand. The fluorescent ball dissipated into nothingness as Sheyla broke her focus, rose, and stammered out an apology.

"Shikya! Oh-my-g-...I'm so sorry... I didn't..." Sheyla, noting the embers from the charred greenery, hastily stamped out the remnants with her feet. "I-I shouldn't have..."

"This is so amazing! You can do magic!" Too excited to care about a small burn, or the possibility of a brush fire, Shikya asked, "How did you do it?!"

Happy Shikya sustained no permanent harm, Sheyla smiled, sighed, and slumped back to her knees. "Remember those humans from last year? The ones with the robes, magic, and all those stories?"

"Yeah!" It was a special day, despite the Old Man's grumbles. They wore expensive-looking black jackets with golden adornment and told tales of wizardry, of great battles with dwarves and al’orphics, and how magic could heal the sick and create objects out of nothing. One evoked a pile of snow. She even threw her first snowball (with high accuracy, to which the evoker's hair could attest). Another conjured illusions of cities and vistas of which neither Sheyla nor Shikya could have dreamed.

"They came back today! One wanted to do an 'attunement test' and I passed! They're going to teach me magic!" Hardly able to contain her exuberance, Sheyla clapped her hands joyfully and bounced on her knees. "C'mon, let's go back and you can do the test too! We can be wizards together!" The mood was infectious and Shikya grinned madly as they ran back to the Conclave. We get to learn magic!

Shikya Enelladalcol Aeleat jolted awake as her limp body hit the floor.

“Oomph! Shit…” Restless nights were the norm now, including dreams of childhood excursions and the occasional mishap with her bed’s edge. The floor was rough and hard, but pleasantly cool. She turned her head up, looked out her window, and sighed at the moon, still high in the sky. “Why’d I have to be a wizard…”

She let her mind drift to days long past as her shoulder throbbed halfway between pain and pleasure. The Old Man should’ve knocked the testers on their asses and thrown them out. Groaning, she rolled her body over, pushed herself up on her knees, and flopped back to sit on them. Her eyelids sagged. Well, maybe just Harlick. Medias and Kel are nice enough.

Shikya rolled unceremoniously onto her plush, Academy-provided bed, trying to ignore the weight the Elven Conclave heaped on her and Sheyla. She failed to. She always did.

But she fell into a restless, and thankfully dreamless sleep anyway.