[fieldbox= Kellum, #784646]
The moon was high in the sky, the training yards long since empty, but the headmaster remained in his office with dozens of folders opened up in front of him. Kellum Thecaryn had been the headmaster of Windmorrow for over fifty years now, hoping to last another fifty years before old age forced him into retirement. The elf had never been a guardian, yet his position left him in charge of every single one of them, deciding which guardian would protect which noble, when things needed changing, and when it was time to switch things up. For an elf who had never had the privilege of serving as a protector, he did a fairly decent job of pairing nobles with their most compatible guardian; of course it was a little bit more than luck involved with it. It was common knowledge that the circumstances of his birth were the reason that he had never become a guardian himself.
Born from the illicit affair between a noble man and a female guardian, Kellum became something of an oddity in Windmorrow society, possessing his father's psychic abilities rather than his mother's magic. It was the reason that he had never become a guardian himself, but had trained for the job either way. That did not mean he did not serve his kingdom in other ways, but those tales were left told in speeches meant to send off his newly graduated guardians, and occasionally a private lecture for those still in training that needed to find their way. They were well known, yet at the same time secret, something like legends that no one truly believed, but everyone knew.
For now though there were no trainees to worry about. No instructors reporting to him, or nobles stopping by to remind him of their son's and daughter's upcoming birthdays. The hallways were empty. The trainees all asleep in in their dorm rooms, resting for the next day's training. There was no one awake at the hour, other than Kellum himself; or so he thought.
There was a knock on the door, a startling sound in the silence of his office. Kellum rose quickly from his seat, shuffling across the room on limbs that had grown stiff from remaining seated for too long. The door opened to reveal a middle aged elf, dressed in the royal colors of hunter green and gold, baring a sealed envelope in his hand. "Master Kellum. A message from the queen." The elf gave a curt bow, thrusting the message into Kellum's outstretched hand hastily. "Her majesty requests that you read it straight away. She says that it is urgent."
The headmaster nodded his head, dismissing the messenger with the wave of his empty hand. The envelope was torn open, but Kellum didn't need to read the message to know what was inside; he'd been waiting for it for nearly eighteen years. His intuition was right on the ball, the paper had only one line written on it in the queen's immaculate scrawl. 'It is time.' No signature necessary. No explanation or further expansion of the three words were needed for the headmaster. There was only one reason that the queen would be sending him notice directly at this late hour of night; she had predicted danger for the one person outside Windmorrow's walls that needed the most protection.
A heavy sighed passed through his lips, Kellum discarding the paper unceremoniously on top the folders already cluttering his desktop. The kingdom was about to become chaotic with a flurry of activity, preparations no doubt beginning before the headmaster could even send the selected guardian on his way, hoping that he had fully prepared the young elf for the challenges he was about to face. Kellum felt a great deal of sympathy for the guardian, regardless of the countless years spent training for his assignment. He would be the first to travel through the portal to seek out his charge, one who was completely unaware of her importance, or even aware of her own true nature. The guardian would not only have his hands full trying to gain the young woman's trust, but he would have to do so without the assistance of anyone else.
The headmaster returned to his desk to begin typing away at his computer, still amazed at human technology, and the fact that the queen had managed to procure such advances for the kingdom without fully exposing their kind to the human world. He supposed there were a few nobles who had a part in assisting with that, aware of a number of elves who possessed minor mind control abilities that could easily erase all memories of elven existence. The updating of Windmorrow had taken a full year to accomplish. Although small in comparison of most human countries, the kingdom was certainly not a mere speck on the map. There had been an exchange of sorts, a few deals that he as headmaster had been included in. Humans were allowed into Windmorrow for the first time, working in secret to begin adding what was required to advance the country into the technological age, the process made simpler by the magic and powers possessed by noble and guardian alike. What should have taken nearly a decade to accomplish was completed well within a year.
Throughout time, elves had crossed into the human world, disguising themselves among the people to learn everything that they could about the technologies of man. It was a necessary evil considering how closely the two worlds were bound, a mere portal keeping them separated. The queen's parents had decided that Windmorrow needed to be kept up to date with human technology, and sent out over a hundred elves into the world to begin the process. From there Windmorrow began its modernization. The first step; electricity. From there it was nothing but constant change for the better, although many still relied on the old ways of doing things. Kellum had watched as the castle was renovated, no longer lit up by candles and lamps, but with ornate chandeliers and light fixtures. Messengers were replaced by phone lines, and within the past five years, those had been replaced by cell phones and computers. Their technology was still behind that of humans by a good few years, but they were nowhere near where they had been eighteen years ago.
It was the birth of the princess, and her planned disappearance that sparked the need for technological advancement and a need for connection to the human world. Most of the citizens of Windmorrow were blindsided by the queen's sudden and unexpected obsession with pushing the kingdom into the technological age. There were rumors of course, but no one save for a handful of nobles were aware of the true reasoning behind it.
The princess was born, everyone was aware of that fact. One day the queen was pregnant, and the next day she was not. No one knew where the princess was, but there was no panic over her absence. The princess was alive, and well, but her whereabouts would remain a secret until such a time that she was old enough to return to her rightful place. Everyone understood the reasoning for it, and did not question it. They simply waited for the announcement, living their lives as if there was no princess at all, but anxiously awaiting her arrival. And who wouldn't? The future queen held a great deal of importance, even more than her own mother.
Although not quite a noble, Kellum was the only person in all of Windmorrow who knew the full truth of the princess, from where she was hidden, to when to expect her impending arrival. He had been called to the queen the very same day of the princess' birth, the royal imparting to him what his task was. It had been his job to find an ideal guardian, one who would not only watch out after the princess when she made her return, but would venture into the human world to retrieve her when she finally came of age. That time had finally arrived, and it was now Kellum's task to send out the selected guardian.
Loren Torindeal had spent the majority of his life being trained for this very task, receiving an education in not only the basic knowledge needed by a guardian, but information that he would need to survive in the human world as well. Of course there was a great deal that could not be taught, but Kellum was certain the young elf possessed enough to be able to survive beyond the portal and bring the princess back where she belonged. Before he could do that though, Kellum needed to make some preparations. A house had already been purchased for this very occasion, the headmaster hoping that there had been no change in the princess' location within the past year since. Enrollment in school was required, along with the basic essential necessary for the guardian to live outside the walls of the kingdom for the next month. So much to do, and so little time to do it in! First and foremost, Kellum decided as he abandoned his computer and rose from his desk. Loren needed to be informed that his duties were set to begin, and that his years of training were not to be put to use.
Vacating his office, Kellum marched through the dimly lit corridors, passing the empty classrooms into the silent dorm hall. The dorms were divided up by ages. The younger, newer trainees were roomed in groups of four, eventually moving upward until they earned their own private room. Currently, there were forty seven trainees, the majority of them still years away from becoming a full-fledged guardian, only a dozen of them were housed individually, with Loren having endured the longest stay of all of them. The male had been treated differently than the others, not only because of his role, but because of the grueling training required because of it. He had never been grouped with the others trainees, and while he did attend training with them, there were specified classes that he attended alone. Not to say that his position didn't give him certain benefits either. Loren was given all the latest in technology once it came out in the human world, so that he could remain up to date on the trends of the average teenager. He was allowed to watch television and movies that were popular as well, all in the hopes that when he was released into the human world, he would have at least something to converse about with the princess once he encountered her. The biggest flaw in their plan was that no one truly knew anything at all about the young royal.
From the moment she was placed with her human family, the queen had ordered absolutely no contact at all with the girl. Occasionally one of the older guardians would be sent out to ensure that the princess' family remained in the same home, which to their dismay, had not happened. For nearly six months they had lost track of the girl untl she resurfaced again in an entirely different state. Kellum thought the queen would have been worried about it, but the woman seemed rather pleased that her daughter was further away from the portal rather than panicked.
They knew very little about the princess' day to day life, other than the fact that she lived as a normal, teenage girl and was currently in her final year of schooling. She lived with comfortably with her surrogate family, who seemed blissfully unaware that the girl they were raising did not truly belong with them. The last guardian to check up on the princess a few months ago had returned with updated photos and a wealth of information that had not been known to them prior. The news was rather distressing. Kellum had thought for sure that the queen would have called for the Loren to be sent the moment she learned of the princess' childhood traumas through various newspaper articles brought back by the guardian. However, she waited, not wanting to risk pulling the girl away too soon. With the changes in the human world regarding abductions, it was decided to wait as close to the princess' eighteenth birthday as possible before pulling her out of the human world and bringing her back to Windmorrow.
However, there was another flaw to that plan, one that they had predicted, but never truly expected. It started a months ago when the guardians protecting the portal were attacked by a large group. Had it just been warriors of Embervance, Kellum was certain things would have worked out in their favor of waiting. But no, it was not just Embervance who had attacked, but a group of trolls and orcs as well, confirming what he and the queen had feared. The king had allied himself with other dark beings, and had now set his sights on getting to the princess before she could finally return to Windmorrow. Unlike the queen, the king needed to get to the princess before her eighteenth birthday. They had managed to keep her location a secret, or so they thought, but after the attack it became rather obvious that information had been leaked, and the king was fully aware of the situation. He had only a few weeks to get his hands on the princess, which made him desperate. The reports that came after the attack confirmed their worst fears. At least three Embervance warriors had made it through the portal. A small group of guardians had been sent through to try and track them down, but returned empty handed. Kellum had suggested to the queen that they retrieve the princess then, but the queen held onto her position, wanting to wait just a little while longer. They were quickly running out of time though, and now Loren had a month to reach the princess and convince her to return with him. Not a lot of time at all, and a great deal of pressure was put on the young guardian's shoulders. Had Kellum not selected the elf himself, he might not have had faith that Loren could accomplish his task. With what little insight they had about the princess herself, and the rushed time frame they were dealing with, there was still a possibility that perhaps the guardian may not succeed and would have to rely on more aggressive methods to bring the young female home.
There was one thing that was absolutely certain though, the one fact that pushed Kellum to knock loudly on Loren's door to rouse the elf from his sleep. The princess had to be in Windmorrow on her eighteenth birthday, or all hell could possibly break loose, along with her enchantments.
Knocking once more, Kellum called out as loudly as he could without disturbing the other sleeping trainees. "Loren. It's time. Gather your things and meet me in my office within an hour." Certain that the message would have the same effect as a bucket of ice water, the headmaster scurried to return to his office to finish up the necessary arrangements. Once the young guardian was through the portal, he would be on his own until he returned. There was still so much to do, and nearly no time to do it in. As long as he managed to get Loren through the portal and on his way before morning began, Kellum would consider his day a success.[/fieldbox]
Ridley could think of about a million other things he'd like to be doing with his time other than sitting by what most would see as a shoddy cabin in the middle of nowhere, waiting for some clueless human to come staggering around. Normally he might have asked his partner to cover him for a few hours while he wandered into the town an hour away to entertain himself. Humans weren't exactly the best conversationalist, but even he had to admit that there were quite a few decent authors to rise up from their ranks. His favorite pastime had been to stop in the town's library to grab a few books to waste his time with, but tonight Ridley had been ordered to remain at his post to await Loren's arrival.