“The meaning of certain terms might differ greatly depending on who says it.” - Saying attributed to the Silver Maiden.

“Hm, you three don’t look like you’re from Alabern or Ungais, and I definitely do not remember seeing your faces in our village back home,” noted one of the younger elves who spotted the three siblings – and Kino – approaching them. “Are you from abroad? If so, where from? We do not get too many cousins from foreign nations visiting here.”

“We hail from where the leaves cast their shadows over the shrubs and bushes, cousin,” Áine replied in fluent elvish. Their eastern cousins had a rather different accent to how they vocalize certain voices, and used some words that differed – likely a local dialect – compared to what she spoke, but they were able to understand one another just fine.

“Ah, that is quite a distance away. I bid you welcome to these wintry lands on behalf of those from where the frost reigns eternal, cousin,” replied the elf that asked them the question. The descriptions they gave were actually what they called the place they dwelled in, as was the elven habit. It was often shortened and abbreviated for convenience when talking with other races.

“Many thanks for the welcome, cousin,” replied Áine with a slight bow.

If there was one major difference between the elves of the northern continent of Alcidea and those from Ur-Teros, it was how the latter tend to be far more welcoming to one another, even during the previous era when they were mostly known as savage raiders. This difference mostly stemmed from a difference in the amount of power they possessed.

Elves in Ur-Teros mostly lived in small enclaves and groves, typically numbering only in the hundreds at most per settlement. The Forest of Shadows was the sole exception which had thousands of elves living together there. As a result, before too long, most of the more isolated tribes had to find a different way to live or else they would perish, because they were no longer strong enough to be able to raid their neighbors and survive the consequences.

The tribes that survived to the present day adapted and learned to work together with their neighbors. While said neighbors were at first wary and suspicious, they discovered that the elves were perhaps blunt and straightforward in their dealings, but were otherwise trustworthy, and their skills as warriors and scouts were often unparalleled, especially their veterans.

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Then again, those elves had literal centuries of experience as warriors and scouts, so it made sense for them to be that skilled.

Those from the Forest of Shadows were the first to be forced to turn themselves into vassals amongst the enclaves in Ur-Teros, as most of the other tribes and groves mostly had more of a cooperative relationship with their neighbors at most. With the example made by the largest enclave, however, more tribes had assimilated themselves into the nations in their vicinity, like what happened in the northern regions.

“That is strange. I have no idea that Aunt Iqualea knows someone from abroad other than her late partner and that granddaughter of hers,” noted another of the young elves while looking at where Aideen was talking animatedly with Iqualea.

“Ah, Aunt Aideen’s an unliving. She’s been around for centuries now and gone all over the place in that time. Maybe they met during her travels or maybe they had a mutual acquaintance?” suggested Eilonwy who also looked over at the situation. “Wouldn’t be the strangest thing I’ve seen with Aunt Aideen, to be honest. She just seems to know a lot of people.”

“That might be it. It’s just so rare for Aunt Iqualea to be so animated since her son moved out back then,” noted the young elf with a nod. “I am Fereli of the Hrinsfjord, a pleasure to meet you three cousins from far away. This is my friend Vaerdus, one of the best amongst those our age,” he added, introducing the elf that greeted the siblings first.

“Áine,” said Áine as she introduced herself in turn. “These two are Rhys and Eilonwy, my little brother and sister,” she added, which earned her a poke to the ribs from Eilonwy. “We hail from the Lichdom, though our lineage mostly comes from the Forest of Shadows. How is life here like, cousin? We haven’t gone out of the Lichdom all too often, truth be told.”

“Hmm, a bit hard to say since I have not seen too much other than occasional visits to other towns in the region or a couple trips to the Emirate for trade, but here… the wintry land is a harsh mistress, yet not a cruel one. We live quite well, even if the beasts do get annoying when the bunch up and form into a tide, but that happens only like once every several decades and are rarely a true threat as long as we’re prepared.”

“I heard that there was one where you were even forced to evacuate your villages some decades ago?” asked Eilonwy more pointedly, though mostly out of genuine curiosity. “Does ones that big happen often around here?”

“Maybe once every couple centuries or more. The one beast tide that forced us to work together with everyone else to defend ourselves was the only one I have personally experienced in my two hundred years or so,” replied Fereli honestly. “Aunt did tell us tales about similar tides, but even she had not seen a third yet in her six hundred years.”

“Makes sense. If tides of that scale happen too often then this region wouldn’t really be inhabitable,” chimed Rhys in from the side. “Isn’t it bothersome to have to deal with them that often, though?”

“Eh, it is what it is. While the tides do represent some danger, it also makes for good training for our youth who are mostly used to safe hunts,” replied Fereli with a shrug of his shoulders. “There’s also a wealth of meat and furs and other material to harvest at its conclusion, so we end up with an abundance of food after each such tide.”