When I awoke the next morning, I fed Zaiya, donned one of the two sets of clothing I had gotten from the Woodwarden outpost at Hespira’s sacred grove, and stepped outside to face the morning. I was mildly surprised to find that our camp, and the Fae village in the trees above us, were in a flurry of activity. Only part of that activity could be attributed to those from our troupe making breakfast. Everyone else who did not need more sleep, and was not currently otherwise occupied, was moving supplies and various other objects of interest from the homes of the Fae into our troupe’s wagons.

I had been about to go in search of Shava to begin our morning weapons practice under Sharai’s guidance, but my cousin was one of those currently heading toward one of the wagons with her arms full. Even the smaller children were helping out by carrying various things to the wagons. At the center of it all, my grandmother was directing things.

The moment that my grandmother saw me, she motioned me over to her. “Good, you’re awake, Kaelyn. Our hosts are preparing to leave to rebuild their village further south, on the Kalidar side of the border, and we have offered to help them to move their most valued possessions and anything that they will need for the new village since we’re traveling in that direction anyway, but they have requested your assistance with something as well.”

“Of course, Grandmother. What exactly do you need me to do?” I asked in response. I was not certain how I might be able to help, other than carrying things like everyone else, but it would be nice to feel like I was useful to my troupe and the Fae that were hosting us somehow.

In answer, my grandmother pointed to a space between a pair amongst the ring of large trees surrounding the clearing and into the thicker forest. “In that direction, not far beyond the clearing you will find a small hill by a stream, they await you there, Kaelyn. Aishlin will tell you what needs to be done.”

I nodded and then quickly flew off in the direction that she had indicated since it would be faster than walking. “Sorry, Sharai, it looks like we won’t have time to practice this morning,” I told my spirit guide apologetically.

-One morning of practice missed will not mean much in the long run, Kaelyn,- the Faerie spirit’s voice replied softly in my mind. -Helping the people of this village to move to a safer location is far more important at the moment.-

It was not very long before the hill that my grandmother spoke of came into sight. Awaiting me were five Fae of various types, and when I saw just what they were gathered around, my purpose here became clear to me. Laid there atop the hill and surrounded by wildflowers was the body of a Nymph, the one that I had been too late to save. Watching over her was Aishlin, the two other Woodwardens that had been with her during the battle, and a pair of unfamiliar Fae.

Aishlin and her companions looked better today, though both the Spriggan and the Elf of the group were obviously favoring one leg to keep the weight off the other and the Spriggan had his right arm in an improvised sling as well, to keep it from moving too much. Aishlin had more color in her face, was dressed in Woodwarden clothes similar to my own, and her cerulean blue hair was tied back in a braid. She, much like the others present, wore a somber expression on her face and there was a sadness in her golden eyes as she looked up at my approach.

The Spriggan was the first that I had ever seen, but we had not truly met officially, nor did I have time for more than a cursory look at the time of the fight. I had been too busy focusing on protecting them and removing the cold iron arrowheads. He was thin, almost gaunt, though I later discovered that this was a trait that most Spriggans share, and wore clothing similar to mine and Aishlin’s, but tailored more toward a male and the thin frame of his kind. His bark-like skin was mint green, he had long leaf-green hair that was styled in a mass of braids that fell around his head, and his emerald eyes showed the depth of his mourning.

The Elvish man wore a pained expression from a mix of sorrow and the healing wound in his thigh. He was tall and pale with dark hair interwoven with colorful beads, and this time he was not wearing the leather armor that he had worn on patrol. Instead, he wore dark and loose clothes that looked to be made of star-spider silk and obscured much of his well-toned body.

Then there was the pair that I had not seen before. The Nymph woman resembled the deceased one on the ground too greatly to be a coincidence and from the way that she and the unfamiliar Elf with her held one another in their grief, I could only assume that they were her parents. The Elf was slender, like most that I had seen, and had blond hair while the Nymph shared her daughter’s mahogany-colored hair, hourglass figure, and many of her facial features.

“Thank you for coming, Kaelyn,” Aishlin offered somberly as I touched down on the ground slightly more gracefully than during my previous attempts. “I was hoping that you might be able to help Lorai find peace.”

“Lorai? That was her name?” I asked as I looked down at the Nymph’s body nestled among the flowers. “I… I am truly sorry that I was not able to get there to help sooner, maybe I could have saved her.”

“Do not blame yourself, child, Lorai would not have wanted that,” the Spriggan chided me gently. “You came as quickly as you could to help people who were strangers to you. It is something that Lorai would have done as well.”

Aishlin nodded in agreement. “Grindle is right. You did what you could and Lorai would not have faulted you for that. The Spriggan is Grindle and Narin is the dark-haired Elf, they are my fellow Woodwardens. We and Lorai grew up together and chose to ward the woods together once we were of age.” She gestured to her fellow injured Woodwardens before gesturing to the mourning couple and adding, “And these are Lorai’s parents, Maira and Doren. We were… hoping that you might do us a favor.”

“You need me to remove the arrowheads, right? So her body can return to the Weave?” I asked as I looked down at Lorai’s body once again.

“Yes, please, Lorai’s body must be allowed to return to the Weave, as her spirit has. I will not leave her body here to be fed upon by scavengers as we flee,” Narin said in a choked voice and a hint of desperation before looking away as Grindle placed a steadying hand on his back.

“Lorai was Narin’s intended,” Aishlin explained somberly. “The four of us were all very close, but Narin has most keenly felt her loss. He and her parents. When I suggested that you might be able to remove the cold iron from her body completely, as you did with us, Maira and Doren asked if you would do so. If you could, we would all be very grateful.”

“Of course, I will,” I offered the dismal group. I quickly knelt beside Lorai’s body and stretched my senses to look for any trace of the deadly cold iron. It took a moment, but soon I found what I was looking for. She had taken three arrows to the chest and one of those had pierced her heart. Like the other arrows that the Demons and their followers used, the heads had snapped off the shafts when they had tried to remove them.

Fortunately, the heads were made well enough that they had not broken into smaller pieces, so I was able to extract all three of them without leaving any little pieces behind. I carefully manipulated each arrowhead onto a scrap of silk provided by Aishlin, and once they were all in place I was very careful not to let any of them touch my skin as I folded the silk around them to keep it from harming any Fae. Later I would give them to Vesha to melt down.

Only once I could no longer sense any more cold iron inside Lorai’s body, did I carefully tie the ends of the scrap of silk so the dangerous arrowheads could not easily come free. “I have removed all of the cold iron that I could sense inside of her,” I finally told those gathered around the body and me. “How long do you think it will be before we know if this worked?”

“Her spirit departed her body almost a full day ago; the mana within has already begun to break down and Fade, Kaelyn. With what was binding her to the physical world now removed, we should see soon.”

“I should leave you to say your goodbyes then,” I offered as I rose fluidly to my feet, holding the improvised silk satchel in my hands. Sharai had told me that witnessing the Fading of someone was a personal thing, something generally reserved for those closest to them, those who had an impact on their lives. I had not seen Sharai’s body Fade, I had been too busy getting clean and learning the basics of my new situation from Sharai following my transformation. Her body had been there when I went down to the cave to cleanse myself but had vanished by the time I returned above to prepare for my journey.

“No, please stay.” It was Lorai’s mother, Maira, who spoke.

“I did not know her, it is not my place. This is for those who were important to her,” I countered while trying to look away. I could already sense the mana beginning to leave Lorai’s body. It would not be long now.

“She only Fades now because of your intervention, Kaelyn, I can think of nothing more important than that. Because of you, her body can rejoin her spirit as part of the Weave and perhaps she can live again someday,” Doren said in support of his wife. “Lorai would want you here.”

Sharai had been mostly quiet, allowing me to handle this myself, but I could feel the pride welling up from her in the back of my mind as she told me, -They offer you a great honor, Kaelyn, one that you have earned.-

“I… thank you, I am honored,” I managed to say as I turned my gaze back toward Lorai’s body laying amidst the wildflowers.

Tiny motes of viridian light rose from her body, seeming to drift away at random, as they faded to naught. More motes separated themselves from her to float away to nothingness with each passing moment, and with each particle that vacated her prone form to dissipate, so too did her body become more and more ethereal. I could clearly see through her when finally her wraithlike remains burst apart in a flash of viridian, motes of mana exploding outward to seemingly dance around those of us gathered there, a final gentle caress, and perhaps a farewell, to those that Lorai cared about before they too faded away to oblivion.

It was beautiful and as we stood there in the sudden still silence of the forest, as if it too mourned her passing, an awed whisper escaped my lips. “So beautiful, there is a song in that.” I quickly clapped my mouth shut, afraid that I may have given offense.

“Aye, The Fading of Lorai… it sounds like a lovely tune. She would have liked that. I would be honored… to hear it when we next meet.” Narin choked out in a voice trembling with loss amidst his tears for his lover.

“She was such a… modest girl. She never would have believed… that a Bard would write a song for her, but if one did, it would have made her very happy. When you master those Tien’jin, please come play that song for us,” Aishlin agreed as she wiped at her tears with the sleeve on her good arm.

I stood there on the hill with them for several more minutes in silence for the fallen before we returned to the clearing where they returned to their homes to retrieve anything of value that they wished to take with them. I was almost immediately recruited by Zenna to help her and the village weaver to move the latter’s valuable supplies, including a swarm of star-spiders into Zenna’s and Godan’s wagon. Thankfully, the spiders were well-tamed and trained not to harm Fae.

I did have to listen to the pair of them talk shop though, mostly about clothes that might work for me. However, they also talked about trading some cloth made from star-spider silk for some of Zenna’s kirgen wool cloth. By the time that I was finished helping them, breakfast was well ready and Vesha and Master Nirlyn were already awake and eating.

It was midmorning by the time we had all of the troupe’s wagons mostly filled with the most valuable and personal possessions of the two hundred or so Fae villagers and were able to get underway. A group of Pixies was flying ahead to scout the road for any more soldiers or Demons since they were small and could easily stay hidden. Our progress was slow though because, with the wagons filled, most of us had to walk. Those of us who could fly could not risk it while still on the Evalis side of the border.

Still, by early evening, we had crossed the border into Kalidar lands, and those of us who could fly ended up scouting ahead for possible new locations for the village of Thaeria. It was not until two days later that we arrived at a spot in the forest that the Fae felt would be suitable and made camp there for the night. Those days had allowed little time for practice. Nevertheless, Shava and I managed to slip in our training sessions before breakfast, and Vesha, Korine, and I managed to get some practice with our instruments after the evening meals.

The next morning we said our farewells to the people of Thaeria village. Now that we had helped them, our pace would be quite a bit faster and things would return to normal as we made our way through Kalidar and then Nalean on our way to Haydin’s capital of Derevik. Normal for the rest of the troupe, not for me.

Since I had joined the troupe, we had been either rushing to try to escape Evalis alive or slowed down with our wagons filled to the brim and more company than we knew what to do with. Now, as we made our way to our destination, we would travel at a leisurely but steady pace and stop to camp outside any towns or cities that we came across for a time to make some coin and barter or buy anything that we might need. The others in the troupe thought that this would be a great time to get me accustomed to the life of a Voyager and I found myself looking forward to that.