All I remember from that night is the mom yelling "Thaeielyn, we must leave", I could hear the worry in her voice. I was very small, but now the worry made sense. My mother and father always had a bad feeling about Atlas, charming at glance but they believed there was an evil hiding in the island. My small, frail and warm feet touching the cold oak, sending a shiver up my body as I slowly got up. I walked down the stairs in my pajamas, my parents sitting at the table. They looked at me "Thaeielyn, we are leaving the island.." I-I couldn't believe the words that came out of their mouth, we couldn't leave Atlas? Atlas is our home..why would we ever leave. My parents grabbed a bag of food and a canteen of what looked like water and we left the house. They didn't notify anyone we were leaving, what if everyone else is in danger like we were according to my parents? We were leaving our relatives, our blood, our family behind.
We walked down to the harbor of ships, there was a little boat. The boat was old, and fragile looking, draped in a white sail and a lantern for light. I had a blanket wrapped around me, my mother's bright green eyes still had that worried look. I held my mother's hand as we got onto the old boat. My mother warned my father about the rough tides at night, my father rolled his eyes and stated "We'll be fine darling, don't worry.." We sailed off into the night, I was watching as all I ever knew faded away into the abyss. The tides pushed the small boat side to side, the boat almost tipping. My mother and I were holding onto each other tightly, my father standing up and trying to control the boat's sails. I was crying, I remember, I was frightened. Mother warned father not to go at night, and we didn't listen. I got the tears out of my eyes for a second and looked at my mother one last time as the boat flipped over. I felt the cold water it my skin, I couldn't see anything as I sunk farther. My life was flashing before my eyes, I tried to breath but instead felt the water cave into my lungs as my vision faded
The next thing I remember is waking up on the shores in my mothers arms as she was calling my name "Thaeielyn, Thaeielyn!" My eyes opened wide as I was so ecstatic to hear my mother's voice as I coughed up the salty water. My mother's eyes filled with tears as she looked at me " Y-your father didn't make it Thaeie-lyn." I could hear the pain in her voice as it brought tears to my eyes. The man who did everything for us, raised me, cared for our family all these years was gone in seconds. A young wood elf who must have seen us from a far came over " Do you ladies need some assistant?" The young man didn't seem to know what just happened, but we didn't plan on giving him details. We walked into Irronior, our new home. My mother went off as the man pointed into the direction of where we can have a place too stay. I was sad, and cold, the man looked at me and told me to take a seat at the bench by the willow tree. He sat down beside me and began to tell me stories about how this place came too be. He told me that Arcas, when the wood elves first came over, they had no place to go. They struggled to find territory to be able to practice their beliefs, because at the time no one was willing to let them. My mother always hid me from our beliefs until I was a “little older.” He told me about our beliefs and I still go by them til this day. The man told me about El Narnsaeame, “the wild faith”, which made up the gods, faiths of the wood elves of Irronior. He told me that it was a great struggle for us to be able to find places to have our beliefs but one day, that all changed as two young Princes decided that the city Irronior was to be ruled by a trustful, faithful elf, so then came Lyemar Aureon to lead Irronior. This meaning that wood elves would finally have a place to be, a place to call home. This brought me some peace, the man looked at me and goes “You look like you’ve been through a lot, so if this helps anything, everyone who lives here, who lives until the Mani has a purpose.”
Years after that day, my mother and I grew up in Irronior, understanding the way things went and how to live normal again without my father. I grew up with kids in the branches of Irronior, learning about peace and understanding nature. Nature is a gift to the Wood Elves, and to our beliefs. “The Mani” I heard it throughout the rest of my years in Irronior. The elders, of course me looking up to them in my childhood years taught us that “The Mani would want us to respect the trees and the plains.” I became really interested into the aspects of the Elven Culture as I got older and began to understand it more. As my childhood years passed, I began to travel more, as I do now. I believe that every town has an adventure, and new people to meet. As long as I am welcome there, I do believe I will bring my best offering of peace.
