Okay those ideas are all really awesome - that second paragraph especially got me thinking. Around the time period this is presumably taking place, it was common for kingdoms to set up outposts - like EXTREMELY miniature kingdoms - near where all of the resources are, which would house the workers/farmers/etc and have a mini government to rule over them, then the resources would be sent back to the main kingdom. Like a colony, basically. Perhaps Alistar becomes interested in mining those mountains (trying to remember what we were calling them, if we had a name for them), so goes about building an outpost there. Xavier, as the prince, gets put in charge of the outpost, thus bringing him much closer to where Ches is once the war is over. Is that an idea you'd be interested in? It's WEEKS away, but something worth considering. Eventually maybe there's a feud between those elementalists at the outpost and the elves, thus causing some trouble. I was also thinking, WAY in the future, that perhaps some of the various elementalists start fighting, thus destabilizing all of Alistar (like the fire elementalists go to war with the water or something), and at that point perhaps Ches and Xavier are an item so there are implications, etc, etc. I'm just running my mouth at this point but suffice it to say I have ideas haha. But again, that stuff is WAY ahead of us.
I love the idea of the elves helping the elementalists with greenhousing and stuff like that - perhaps they set up an agreement wherein they get paid immediately with a lump sum of some money but mostly healing herbs and stuff like that (and of course also housing the soldiers that get sent to help them), but also help them set up greenhousing in Alistar so that they can grow their own (mostly in the earth territory). Sounds good? Of course in the roleplay we won't immediately come to that conclusion, perhaps there should be some really tense debate before they FINALLY come to the historic Alistar Accords.