When Elowen glimpsed the sparkle of sunlight peeking through the dense forest, she nearly shed a tear. After days of trudging along in the dullness of the Virens Forest with little daylight to provide her with energy, she had begun to think that continuing onward was hopeless. But her desire to know the world drove her forward, and Wen was happy for it. Her golden eyes brightened, and she raced forward toward the thinning trees, approaching the end of the forest. Before she exited, however, the Dryad took a moment to observe the vast plains that bordered the woods. She was fascinated, having never been in a place that was not completely full of trees. One step, then two, five, and she was running. Wen had never felt more energized in her life, and she felt that she could run forever, until–

A sharp breeze blew her mass of green hair into her face, causing her to stumble and subsequently fall onto the ground. Falling seemed to be a common occurrence for her, recently. Undeterred by the minor mishap, Elowen sat for a moment on the ground in the tall grass to pull her hair into thick braid. Much better, she thought, lying down and taking in the vast expanse of land before her. Although she'd only been out of the forest for a few minutes, she could already see her pale skin taking on a more vibrant color from the sun's rays. To her, it was like being constantly full and never hungry. The feeling was so comforting that she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of sunshine and Mother Angela and what it would be like when she finally reached her.

The young mage wander through the forest carefully avoiding the large roots the seemed to erupt from the ground sometimes a job was necessary so that he could continue living with a full stomach even if his housemate didn't require food, this is why he had taken to the forest to pick herbs that were needed for medicine and other unsavoury items before he could even think of the list he was given the pale blue ghost stretched beside him moaning out loud "Must we truly be out this early brat? I mean the sunlight truly is a unpleasant sight for Wraiths you know" Edgest spoke loudly making the brat in question feel the daggers being stared at him with a sigh Randal replied curtly "I'm sorry Edgest but unlike you I fancy some damn meat, which means I need money and yes I was hoping the sunlight made you go away" with his comment said the old ghost stroked his long wispy beard with a bitter face before fading out from sight and letting the mage feel the heavy weight of the ghost burden his brain.

Randal thought hard as he picked bright flowers and strong smelling herbs, he had never thought gods existed where he came from the ones they worshipped stayed in their heavens and never interfered with the order of the world, but since coming here he had heard stories of their power if they truly did walk among men were they gods at all or just Conquerers dressed with fancy titles his thoughts stopped by a grizzled voice entering his ear "Randal, do not get distracted in thought tis a trait much to often with you" the glowing thin hand laid on his shoulder before he stood looking back at the wraith "I know and Im truley sorry, but sometimes questions annoy me until answered" pocketing the supplies the wrinkled man spoke quickly "Now that your done I thought it best to mention how I sense somethings prescence, Non-human" with it being said the mage picked his staff from the tree and looked cautiously around heading towards the plains infront of him he noticed someone laying in the grass ahead with a disapproving shake of the head from his invisilbe counterpart Randal walked forwards with a quick "Hello? Are you okay?" fearing the worse for the stranger.

Images of her home and vibrant colors floated around in her dreams, and her lips were curled into a soft smile. After a while, Elowen was awakened from her nap by a stranger's voice. Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw him coming closer. Smiling dreamily, the Dryad pushed herself off the ground and skipped lithely to meet him. "Oh, believe me, this is the best I've felt in my entire life!" She reached out to touch his shoulder but, remembering Serci's advice on personal space, thought better of it and retracted her hand. For a moment, she simply stared at the young mage, taking note of his physical features and how different they were from the previous two men she'd met. It was almost refreshing to see that there was so much variety among humans.

"My name is Elowen, sir," she greeted. "I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me if I act a bit odd. This is my first time outside of the forest, you see." As the words left her mouth, she sighed and lifted her face to the sky. The sun was now at its highest point, and she could feel her body absorbing its energy. Absentmindedly, she began pulling strands of grass from her wild hair, her gaze now returned to the stranger in front of her. "Hm…" Elowen hummed quietly, thinking to herself before stating bluntly, "I may not have a very good basis on which to judge you, but you are quite handsome. What is your name?"

The trees were talkative about a current event. One of the many dryads walking out of the wooded boundaries. An oddity, for sure, as most he had met were ones who preferred the safety and comfort their kind gave each other, along with being able to meld into what the were around, making it easy for them to hide from pursuers. After all, what better place to hide a leaf than in a forest? Still, it was his duty to make sure all was right. Was she not getting enough light? Or was it that her grounds had turned contaminated? There were no fires to cause panic, that was for sure.

With bow in hand, Qadim bounded through the trees, carefully watching the paths for souls who had become lost in the forest's arms as he followed the voices of the trees and where they said the dryad left to. This led him down to the edge where he caught sight of her, keeping herself light on her feet as she greeted a passing human. With a smirk, he dropped down to root level before heading closer, slowly getting to hear the conversation, barely getting to the point where he complimented the man's looks with a child's innocence. However, he waited within the trees still for them to finish introductions before finally stepping out and making himself known.

"I am glad everything is alright," Qadim commented to the dryad before giving the human a nod. "The trees could not help but comment on your movements. Made me worried something went wrong with the land."

The spirit beside him laughed loudly, "I believe the term is Airhead" the young mage tensed up muttering "Shut up, you know they cant hear you" before quickly turning to the Dryad rubbing the back of his head "Sorry, Uhh Handsome I don't think so there are a lot more people better than me out there, but my name is Randal Hex First and last of the house Hex" the wraith had the look on pity on his face after hearing the boys story about his parents during their travels deciding to re-enter the mages mind allowing him to deal with the situation alone.

He nodded at the Orc's comment "Alas it is a strange occurrence for creatures like you to be out from the central spring where your kind reside? I believe the scrolls stated that out of fear of being unprotected many years ago that beings from your kind sought shelter from the depths of the trees creating a new subspecies of dryad, hopefully, that is correct?" he glanced at the Orc for agreement before continuing "however I view all life as equal and that must mean that you are out here wanting something, so I can ask what?" he smiled widely holding his staff behind his back and chewing on a weird looking plant he found from the floor.

Elowen flinched at the mage's sudden harshness. Though he did not seem to be addressing her, there was not anyone else around for him to address, so she assumed she had offended him in some way. However, the next moment he was back to his original calm manner, greatly confusing the Dryad. "Uhm…" Unsure of how to respond, Wen was grateful to hear another friendly voice call out from the direction of the forest. Darting around Randal toward the direction of the new stranger, her eyes brightened at the sight of him. Nonhuman, something new. She beamed and circled him, studying his features while keeping a reasonable distance between them. Considerably older than Randal, at least in appearance, and far stronger, from what she could tell.

"Oh, it is unusual, but I've heard of others who've left," she answered, still preoccupied with her study of the newcomer. "I decided that I'm going to see Gaia– sorry, Angela. Although I have to admit, I haven't actually considered the dangers. But I'm sure I'll figure out some form of protection." Finally, Elowen stopped between the two of them, smiling innocently at the men. "Who are you? I've never seen you," she asked the elder one.

Qadim stood still as the dryad danced around him, eyes washing over him as she danced around him, intrigue and curiosity plastered all over her face. She must have been from the a forest deep within Laeto, as her actions clearly showed any lack of knowledge of beings outside of her woods. "Forgive my rude introductions," Qadim stated, bowing his bare chest to the pair before him as his bowhand rested on his hide, the sheath of arrows resting more along the back of his belt than his back, feathers decorated with numerous colors. "I am Qadim Celetanas, the elf orc that manages these woodlands during the day, guiding those lost within her grasps to the open skies and dealing with those who dare do harm to the trees."

Raising his head, he looked at the dryad before smiling, showing a small tusk in his lips before telling her, "I wish you best on your journey to visiting Lady Angela. May you learn much on your journey while never forgetting about your homeland. I am sure your kind will miss you while you are away."

The sudden pain in his head made him wince slightly as the echoed voice of Edgest shouted out "Angela! according to other spirits she's a deity here in this realm, perhaps finding one of these beings will get us closer to our joint goal" with a quick rub of his forehead replied to both statements from the Dryad and his wraith, "I highly doubt she's likened to Gaia I simply can't see how a mortal can become a goddess" he smiled sadly before letting his curiousity get the better of him "But perhaps finding a so called deity would be an interesting story to tell" this gained a smirk to Edgest's old face before he disappeared into his mind.

He walked over to a bush of Lavender picking a few and chewing one, "But I'm sorry to ruin your plans Elowen, but these forests are filled with bandits and other aggressive things, which I'm sure the Elf-Orc would agree on so you may need help getting to a city or town where you can buy protection or a bodyguard" his voice seemed confident which was rare in his case but Randal thought it was necessary to get his point across just in case the innocent girl was kidnapped or worse killed. "Perhaps Qadim would be kind enough to guide us to the town you plan to head to?" he finished packing the contents of his bags with many scrolls and a glass canteen hanging from it to protect them from being crushed during his journeys.

"Thank you, Qadim. I shall return, one day, but that may be a long way away," Elowen responded gratefully to the elf orc. She was intrigued by what she understood to be two races being represented by one person. The thought piqued her curiosity further about him, but she shook her head at Randal's suggestion. "Oh, no. I couldn't ask that of you. You seem to be very integral to the safety of the forest, which is much more important than my own." A gentle smile crossed her lips, and she bowed to Qadim to show her respect for his duty. "I trust you will keep my home from falling into chaos, sir." As she straightened up, Wen turned her attention to Randal, tilting her head slightly.

"Angela is a goddess, so I would not treat her title so flippantly. I'll not tolerate that kind of talk, if you join me," she scolded, nearing his side. With that said, the Dryad beamed brightly at him. "I don't exactly know where I'm going, but I'm sure to get there in no time now that I have you to guide me. We can find the nearest city!" Her attention snapped back to Qadim. "Would you happen to know where the nearest form of civilization is, sir?" she asked merrily, feeling the sun's warmth temporarily leave her as a cloud passed overhead.

Qadim could not help but chuckle with the human's comment, muttering, "Bandits are the least of anyone's worries," having rescued a few of them from the woodlands, only to return them to the guards that were summoned to the entrance. To him, it was but a mere price to be paid for not dying in the woodlands like the many others before them. However, he could not help but nod to them a bit when offered to help guide them to a city. However, the Dryad was quick to bring up argument against it, making sure he protected his home while she was gone.

"I would not fret too much, my dear," he assured her, "as I am not the only one who protects these woodlands. The Laeto Forest is large, so it takes more than one set of eyes to ensure it will be safe. I am sure one spare hand would not be of any harm. Not only that," Qadim turned back to the woodlands and pointed through it, "but the nearest civilization rests upon the other side of these woods, being the Golden City of Mamlak," before turning back towards them, "unless you wish to avoid heading through these woodlands, where South would be the way to go, down to the city of Adeluna. Either way, I would have no problem guiding you there if you still desire.

"The bigger problem, though, are the rules of society that you will be new to, correct?"