Welcome to Gaia! ::

Kelirahc, still holding Leyenda's hand, led them all forward through the village.

"There's Kelirahc's hut," she showed the other, pointing at a small hut that looked just big enough to hold a bed and have some standing room. They walked right past it, towards a much bigger hut that had a working woven grass door.

"This is where Omarerd lives," Leyenda explained quietly, "the one who gave me the mark, and who married us."

At the door, Kelirahc called the man's name softly.

It was only a few short moments before the door opened, and a very old elf stepped outside. His black skin was wrinkled, his white hair thin, but despite his old appearance, his movements were as quick and effortless as Kelirahc's.

He arched one eyebrow at the strange group of visitors, then turned to Kelirahc and asked him a question. Kelirahc smiled and bowed his head slightly, and replied quietly.

"He's going to introduce us," Shiro murmured, watching the two. He was a little amazed at the appearance of the old man - he had seen old elves before, but never had they actually looked it ...

Kelirahc began to introduce everyone, one by one, beginning with Lin, Shiro and Rhea. Omarerd bowed his head politely to each one of them, but when Kelirahc hesitated next, the old man looked at him quizzically. Kelirahc nodded, and then, gesturing towards Roydon and Arwen, he murmured, "Roydon Aldrich ... Arwen Aldrich ..."

Omarerd turned towards the two, who were bowing their heads to him, his eyes filled with amazement. He put one hand to his mouth, then knelt to one knee and bowed his head deeply, as if kneeling before a ruler. He spoke softly, his tone reverent, and Shiro translated, his voice filled with surprise.

"He says welcome, most noble and revered descendants of Aldrich," he told them. "He is at your service, and says that if there is anything you desire, do not hesitate to ask him."

Arwen and Roydon were surprised by his reaction to them, and more than a little uneasy. True, they were members of the royal family, but neither of them had ever been treated as such - but more surprising to them was the fact that their family name was known, even out here where they had been out of contact with the rest of the world for thousands of years.

"He did that when Kelirahc told him my name as well," Leyenda murmured, pressing into Kelirahc's side and holding his hand tightly. "I know in our land, our name means something ... but ... this is a little over the top, I can't help but feel ..."

Rhea stepped forward and put her hand on Leyenda's shoulder. "Your most ancient ancestor was named Aldrich," she murmured softly into her ear, "and he was the greatest leader the elves ever knew. Many in our own land worshiped him ... and this culture is so old that they would have known him as well, perhaps even firsthand."

She felt no guilt, telling Leyenda about all of this. After all, she was not saying anything about Aragost, as he was now; Leyenda had never even met the man, so she could never make the connection. And Arwen already knew, so there was no loss there.

Now even Leyenda was impressed, though it didn't make her feel any less self-conscious about the idea.

Omarerd spoke again, and Shiro translated for them once more. "He says that it is an honour to be in your presence, and it gladdens his heart to know that there is life beyond this land - and especially that there are yet elves who are unchanged, who retain the beauty with which they were created."

Roydon blinked, and his arm tightened around Arwen's shoulder possessively, but before he could speak Shiro added, "I think he meant you as well, Roydon. And Leyenda. And Rhea. Elves in general. Because you're not black."

Roydon relaxed then, and smiled faintly and held one hand out to the man, gesturing for him to rise.

"We are no different from you," he said firmly, "though we may look different, we are still the same, and always will be."

Shiro translated again, and the old man smiled broadly and accepted Roydon's hand, rising to his feet once more.

"I have to say," Shiro murmured to Lin as Omarerd and Kelirahc began to speak together quietly, "I've never seen such a positive reaction to someone different before - even in Gaia. And I don't even think their name has everything to do with it."

Something perhaps, but he was positive that it was more than that. The old man had been genuinely pleased to see them all even before they had been introduced.

"Don't forget," Shiro cautioned her, "he's known about Leyenda for a while now, he might not have known immediately. And I'm sure Kelirahc's been asking questions."

Though what he was curious about was, how did Kelirahc so readily know the answer to Lin's question about the origin of their race? He had told Shiro that he was no scholar ... they had no writings, no writing system (Shiro had decided that if Kelirahc was interested, he would teach him since he already knew the ancient tongue's alphabet) ... everything had to be passed on by word of mouth, but even Shiro, who had spent most of his life studying, couldn't recite by memory the beginning of his race.

Shiro nodded. "I suppose we'll find out eventually," he murmured. "Especially as we're going to be here a while."

He meant on the island, though he did want to spend time with the villagers as well.

Suddenly Kelirahc turned to everyone and explained something, his tone slightly apologetic.

"Unfortunately," Rhea took a turn translating, "he can't wake the elders for us until mid-afternoon. It will be about an hour or two ..."

She looked around at everyone. "What would we like to do while we wait?"