New face in Myth Drannor

a young elf maiden with hair as gold as the sun on a spring day, Fawn Oakenhass, strolls through the city.
To any who might speak with her, she would ask about training as an archer.

That day throughout the city a rather tall elven female of clear Wood Elf heritage passes by, clad in a set of brown leathers and bearing a flowing dark blue cloak emblazoned with the symbol of House Miritar, marking her as a member of the Akh'Velahr of Myth Drannor.

She notices this new face that she has yet to meet and comes to her meeting; greeting her and speaking in the beautiful elven tongue.

"Fair tidings kin, my name is My'manir, I do not believe I have seen you before."

Another young, female elf sits by the fire outside of the inn, whittling. Beside her on the ground, leaning against the bench, are a backpack, a quiver and a well-maintained, but also well-used, bow.

The woman herself is slender and agile with fair skin. Her hair is silvery white with an icy blue hue and her eyes are flaming orange. When looking at her face, one would most likely notice a scar across the bridge of her nose and left cheek, and her ears are pierced - the left with one small hoop at the earlobe, the right with two at the earlobe and one along the side, near the tip.

She'd give a nod and a smile to anyone passing by.

The young elf female appears reserved in her stance, perhaps unsure of herself.
She wears a skin tight cloth that is black, which contrasts with the golden hair that falls in locks about her shoulders. This cloth seems pristine suggesting some enchantment may be within it.
On her back, there hangs a well worn bow with a number of nicks and scratches. The string is tied rather rough shod at each end, with frayed tufts at the ends of the string.
   The natural beauty that came forth from her, was enhanced by an innocence that radiated from within.
The boots on her feet also had scuff and scratch marks , as well as traces of dirt or mud.
    She looked at the noble elf woman before her, and spoke in a soft voice, yet trying to sound strong in spite of it.
" and welcome greetings to you , my lady. I can see that you are a person of importance on the city. I am Fawn of house Oakenhass. I assure you that my presence here , in the renoun city of our kin , is of honest intent. I have come seeking to better my skill at the bow, as is the tradition of Oakenhass lineage.
Might I inquire as to possible training , or apprenticeship ?"

My'manir listens to the Sun Elf as she folds both her hands behind and under her cloak, her own golden eyes examining her carefully. The right side of her face is noted to be hidden under the long locks of brown hair. After she finishes, she speaks up again.

"A pleasure to meet you. As for your question, I might know a person or two capable of taking lessons from. Am afraid that from me you would only learn the basics, and that is something I am sure you are already proficient with" A little grin forms on her lips briefly before it fades. "I am an officer of the Akh'Velahr, the army of Myth Drannor. We have a branch composed of archers that protect our forests and from where you would be able to vastly learn from. Enrolling with us could secure your future as a talented archer by learning from the best all the while dedicating your life to a great cause by defending this Kingdom" She explains.

Green eyes open wide, listening to the impressive woman speak. It seems to take a moment for the words to sink in.
  "Me , in the army?", she answered weakly, " I am no hero. I mean, my brothers might qualify. Whitestag is the oldest and strongest. And then , there is Swiftfoot , who I know I can wrestle down, but he spins spells a lot better than i can. Maybe they would be a help to the army.
Well, but Whitestag and Swiftfoot don't get along very well, and you might not want both of them at the same time, and that us assuming either of them would come, those are some really headstrong elves."

  She rambled on for a while until it looked like she may be running out of breath.

She folds her right arm around her belly as she listens to the elf whom apparently is of a young age. Once she is done, she replies.

"All of us matter. We would be able to help you grow more confident in your own skills; archery and more." She explains.
"Of those I know that I have recently seen, of the Tel'Quessir that is, there is the one named N'ardis, Tara, and there is Melorion too." She smiles. "They are all of remarkable archery skill but they are of the Akh'Velahr so I can't tell if they have the time or are currently taking private apprentices or not, but you can try to seek them out. I suggest you leave them a letter here in the message board, or in the Traveler's star, it will get to them sooner or later"

She pauses a moment then adds. "Where do you come from?"

She blushes and looks down a bit, then begins to speak , as if her words were well rehearsed.

"the Savage Frontier is the general lands that House Oakenhass hails from. This homeland, for me  , is west of the Silver Marches and east of the Sword Coast, as i am sure you know, is where the cities of Neverwinter and Luskan lie.  
Contrary to its name, much of the area is really not a savage place , but being between  Luskan and Waterdeep, and the Zhentarim ,make the area a dangerous one. My mother is pure Sun elf, yet my father was wood elf, which is why I serve Solonor, hunting the woods, as well as know some magery. I know I should be proud of this heritage , but you see, I am of mixed blood.

   Now that you know, do you still think the army would want one such as I am?"
She looks on with a slight grimace .

My'manir grins slightly again. "There is something we share in common then" She remarks before she tilts her head. "You're clearly a long way from home, and I have no doubt you would do well in the army. There is no reason you would not be able to join based on where you are from" She pauses for a moment before she resumes.

"These are dark times for Myth Drannor. As you probably know this place was recaptured from the remnants of the Weeping War that waged accross this land a long time ago. Even then only a single district is ours, the rest of the city still under heavy enemy control. If adventure is what brought you here then you will have plenty." She takes a deep breath. "To top it off there is the drow as well, which are in heavy numbers in these woods, the army of Myth Drannor fights all these threats"

"Fflar Starbrow Melruth.", she muttered, almost without thought. Looking up, finally making eye to eye contact, she went on speaking.
"That war was against terrible creatures of profound and profane darkness. Are you telling me that they are still here??"
Her posture flexes, as her eyes flit from horizon to horizon. One hand instinctively jerks, as if to reach for her bow.
"Wait, wait, did you say Drow, too !"

"Yes drow. These lands are infested with drow, in the thousands, and it is the main enemy of the Akh'Velahr currently; you would be actively taking the fight to them if you tried joining us." She speaks more with determination rather than cheer now.

She shuffles her feet a bit, looking off a long moment.
" I can shoot this bow.", she starts, as her eyes return. " I can shoot it faster than most, and I can even fling more than one arrow at a time."
Again with shuffling her feet, she glances away.
" In service to my deity, I have taken down many animals to remove the weak from the forest. But, I have never, you know. Never, aimed at a person. I just don't know, for almost a hundred years now, I was told the arrow is not a toy, and never ever aim at anyone."
Her face now is obviously conflicted and stressed.

She raises an eyebrow at her. "In these lands it is almost a given that you will sooner or later have to defend yourself from people" She explains. "Taking the battle to our enemies means you will be actively fighting them. From what you tell me it appears you already know how to do archery; as it takes skill to take down an animal." She smiles. "Yours is a good heart filled belief you have, sadly not something you will be able to maintain by joining our ranks, or, by being an adventurer out there. You risk running into drow, or bandits almost in a daily basis" She explains.

"And what deity is it you follow if I may inquire?"

"Solonor, tender of all that live in the forest. This was my father's faith and teachings. I have learned to live in the forest and survive there with no other assistance. Yet father was no druid, having been involved in conflicts common to our lands. I can wield blades, shields and I know how to wear armors of all kinds to defend myself. I am even learning a bit of working the weave."
A pause follows as her eyes look away again.
"Is it possible I was a fool to come here? If I die here, my family will never know what happened to me. That woman my brother , Whitestag has married will become the standing Oakenhass matron. I cant bear that thought, for it is ME who is the true blood line, not her!"
Fawn's face looks red and swollen with emotion as she speaks of her reasons for coming away from her home.
" I just wanted them all to know that I am not weak, not a child and not with out honor. I was hoping to return home one day with the respect I deserve!"

"To want to grow stronger so you can go back home and take what is rightfully yours is commendable" She smiles. "While you are here in the Dales, you can count on my help. I've been here for years so if there's anything you want to ask, feel free"

"Other Sun elves have spurned me and my brothers for being 'less pure'. Mother insisted we all marry pure blood suns. Whitestag did, and now his woman looks down on me. Is it that way here as well? I mean , of I were to join the army, would they rub my face in this?"

"Not really, well yes and no. I mean, I suppose that Sun Elves will always be prejudiced, they believe they are the chosen ones that must show us 'lesser' elves how to be proper elves however..." She grins a bit. "This is Myth Drannor, and in this city, although it is run by a Sun Elf, blessed she be; we're quite open minded in the big picture. Here elves must learn to coexist with N'Tel'Quess. So it is not for all elves am afraid. Even when I arrived here myself I had trouble dealing with humans, in fact I did not speak the common tongue till a few years back, and it is still weird" She smirks.

"In other words, yes, there are some that will think you less, while others will completely disregard such, I say you don't worry about it. Here you can be what and who you want so long as you are good intended" She pauses before she adds. "Nobody will rub anything on your face within the Akh'Velahr, we even have a lot of N'Tel'Quess with us. And if somebody has a problem with a fellow elf, they'll have to deal with me" She winks.

Taking a strong stance, Fawn replies."first, they will have to deal with me.".

After a pause where her eyes seem to lose focus, as if her mind was working over time, she spoke again.
"Alright. I accept the opportunity to stand with my kin , and to defend the glorious traditions that we are.
I have roamed these Dales and seen the folk that live here. Fiends pretending to be respectable folk, orcs openly accepted, and worse. It is clear to me that this city needs protection from both without and within.
I am ready to pledge my bow and my heart to preserve us."

She stands as tall as her thin frame will allow, waiting for response.

She smiles and nods. "It will be a pleasure to work with you Tel'Quessir. Have you ever been to our camps in Shadowdale?"

" I have passed them and only briefly spoken to a few on guard. I did not want to distract them from their vigil.
At first, I imagined they were keeping undesirables out, until, I saw what walks freely inside that town. I actually asked myself if , perhaps, they were holding lessor folk within , but , clearly, that was not the case, either.
We stand guard, officially , to protect the town from undead, yet , it would not take much to simply hold it as a martial law protectorate. Perhaps I am jumping ahead.
What was it you wanted to say about it?"

"You will need to report to those camps, as our Keeper Nadin Moonbolt is the one that can enroll you in the army. He is currently there." She explains.

As she turns to go, her eyes flit back and she speaks with a smile.
" you know, you mentioned that common speak is strange. Well, recently, a human was teaching me something he called a 'pun'.
Once I got the idea, I asked him this : If the campfire here casts light on him , shouldn't he weigh less?"

She just stares at her in wonder, clearly not getting the joke. She stiffles a small chuckle soon afterwards "Good one. Are you okay to go on your own though? I wouldn't mind to accompany you. Otherwise when you get there, ask for the Keeper, and tell him that Nilaa My'manir sent you"