As she heard Thané’s eager tries to put on the glider faster than his sister, she couldn’t help but smile. She had nor doubt that Marina would beat him to it. She was much more like her late husband, Arem. Patient, but determined, which was bound to get things done faster. Doing things hastily only lead to unintended consequences. In this case…

“What are you smiling about?”, a voice next to her asked. She turned around to see Arina next to her. “Oh, just the kids.” Kids. Plural. The first twins in generations. “Ah yes”, Arina said and looked over her shoulder, “The kids. You know, I would tell Thané to ease off a bit and maybe he would be able to beat his sister for once, but he’s as stubborn and competitive as a certain someone I know.” Ava gave her friendly shove and they laughed briefly.

Olerian came up behind them to inform them that the rest of the colonists would be here shortly, then he switched from “ranger general” to “friend of the archdruid”. “So, excited?”, Arina’s husband asked her, putting his hand on her shoulder. “We’re about to establish the first new Elven colony in half a millenia.” Ava’s face darkened a bit. Yes, she was excited, certainly. She had planned this for a long time. But it had been too soon. The battle of Zoica had pretty much unfolded as planned, but she had failed to factor in Krathus’ misguided ambition, binding the dragon to his will instead of killing him.

Of course, this didn’t go well in the long run and after the dragon had killed its master, it had come forth with fire and fury before the time was right, forcing the Elves too relocate a century before all was set in motion. Now it was her task to salvage this disaster. She had a sneaking suspicion that she only had been made archdruid to teach her a lesson in humility. Then again, the Circle was above such petty feelings, it was more likely that they thought that Ava had learned her lesson and therefore was ready for the responsibility. Or it simply was a matter of the more experienced members being busy. After all, the circle had a god to contend with now. Gods tended to stabilise things just enough so that they could control them, but in the process doomed the land they preside over to the slow death of stagnancy. But even Gods die while the Circle endured.

Out loud she said: „A little. But mostly nervous. I’m not sure I’m ready for this.” Arina and Olerian had been her best friends for over a century now, but they had never quite approved of Ava’s choice of druidic circle. It was the one thing they never talked about. “Hey, look at me.”, Arina said. “You’ll be great.” Ava gave her a smile and hugged her.

“Mom?” Marina stood before her. With her 20 years, she was the striking image of her father, aside from the elven ears. “I think Thané needs a little help.” Ava sighed and went over to her son, who had become hopelessly entangled in a mess of rope, wooden sticks and leather skin that was supposed to be a glider. He definitely came after her. She had been just as impatient in her youth. Eager to get out and see the world. She had almost ignored the call of the circle just to become a ranger in the hopes of maybe seeing a glimpse of the outside world. What a mistake that would have been.

As she started to untangle her pouting son, she wondered what would have happened if she had done that. She probably would have stayed the youthful, overly idealistic young girl that Arina still was today, to a point. She probably would have gotten into the same trouble. Luckily, she hadn’t. Without the circle’s knowledge, she doubted she would have been able to save Arina after her little misadventure. Of course, it would have been irrelevant in the grand scheme of things - Arinas disappearance and eventual reemergence always had been planned as the catalyst to change Ravengrove and bring them into the world, as it eventually did.

But it had been important to her. Arina was her friend. And such things mattered just as much.

“There you go.” Ava had finished putting the glider together, then showed Thané how to put it on properly. Of course, he immediately raced of to the edge of the gorge without so much as a thank you. “I’ll get there first”, he shouted towards Marina, who immediately took after him. Ava shook her head. It probably was time for a lesson in humility for her son. She loved him for his eagerness, but he had to learn that you cannot always win.

As all five of them stood at the edge of the gorge behind which the new home of the Elves would be established, she was once again struck with the enormous task that lay before her. Once again, she wished Arem could be here. He had always been a rock with a wisdom to rival the oldest of elves, but unfortunately without their lifespan. She could only hope that her kids actually were elven enough so to outlive her. Of course, if the rose higher in the ranks of the circle, noone would ever outlive her.

She pushed that thought away. She would cross that bridge when it came to it. And if she lingered here even longer, Thané would probably simply plummet down the gorge. Already he was leaning way too much forward, seeking any edge he could have in the race. She nodded towards Arina and she started to count. “3… 2… 1…”. They took off.

She, Arina, and Olerian had agreed to let the kids win beforehand, but as she decided, her son needed a bit of humility. Also, if she was completely honest, she just loved the rush of flying and the wind rushing past her at enormous speeds. Although Olerian kept back just as promised, Ava still made sure to look back every once in a while. Although mostly because it made her smile. So, was she excited? Yes. Was she nervous? Absolutely. But most of all, she was happy. Happy about the life she’d been given, the friends she had and above all, the kids.

Then everything went dark as a mist rose around her.
What the hell?
Then, the memories came.