The tales of Lysia (Part three)

Sanctuary 

        Starr sat down on a log next to the side of the trail; his face was dripping with sweat from the entire running they had done to get this far. His legs have never hurt as much as they did now, and the worst part was Darius had said this was the half way mark. Darius was a few feet away drinking from a wineskin that looked to be made of leather.  "Hey Darius?" Starr said, "Where are we heading?" Darius looked at Starr with a look that resembled pity. "I can't tell you that until we get there, it is a secret location of my people." That made sense to Starr so he was content with the answer, “Here, take some of this." Darius gave him the wineskin and Starr drank heavily. It wasn't water but it was sweet and Starr didn't really care at the moment. He gave the skin back to Darius and they set out again in a brisk run. 
         The farther they went into the forest the denser it got; they were stepping on roots more than on dirt at this point. The forest was more beautiful than Starr could have imagined. Every second there was a creature that emerged from the underbrush, some of them Starr had never seen before. There was once a squirrel that passed by that looked like it had two tails, which could have just been a trick of the mind though since Starr was very tired. Starr was already missing his family, he knew he could visit them later but he was a little hurt that they had decided not to come with him. He wondered if they were back at the shack, they must be close it had been a few hours since they left. As Starr contemplated this he saw the sun begin to rise signifying the start to another day. It was then when Starr realized just how much he and Darius had run. He was about to ask for another rest when suddenly Darius stopped in front of a large tree. The tree looked dead yet its size was impressive and made Starr feel uneasy about what their purpose for stopping in front of it. "Wait here." Darius ordered. Darius then climbed to a hole that looked as if it was carved into the side of the tree and fell in. This puzzled Starr but he stayed and waited regardless. Starr sat down to appreciate the view without running through it, a decision his legs must appreciated. 
        Starr sat for what seemed like hours, he admired the trees that seemed to be moving which unnerved him a little bit. Each and every single tree was knitted together so close that the sun seemed to be blocked completely. It was refreshing since this made the forest cooler and easier to be in. It must have been a few hours since Starr fell asleep. It was a weird dream that he had about the forest and his parents, something in his gut told him that his parents were in grave danger. Just as he was about to figure out the meaning to his dream Darius woke him with a light pat on his shoulder. "Wake up," He said, "Kessius would like to speak with you." 
        Kessius was the father of Darius, he was an honored solider, according to Darius. He was the chief of all the warriors and he needed to approve of Starr to see if he could join them. Both Starr and Kessius climbed to the hole in the tree and hoped in. Both of them were suddenly plunged into complete darkness yet they were sliding down something; Starr assumed it was a branch. Both of them were sliding faster and faster downwards when suddenly a bright light blinded them. As Starr's eyes adjusted he saw a big crowd of people surrounding him, this made him a little uneasy. He saw that they did not look down on him though, and instead they were smiling at him with warmth and kindness. As he began to see more and more he realized he was sitting down on a little patch of dirt in the middle of a giant room. The room must have been hundreds of feet tall with staircases that circled the entirety of it. Doors lined the walls with lights illuminating from inside them. The walls were made of what Starr thought was wood. He then looked around to see the people who were currently still circled around him. He saw what seemed to be normal looking people all around, except for the pointy ears, every single one of them were dressed similarly to Darius except they did not have bows with them. He also noticed that they had markings on their skin, like a tattoo except it shone very bright. This puzzled Starr because he had never seen anything like it. 
       "Out of the way people, come on move it!" Darius was making his way through the crowd to get to Starr who was stilling sitting on the floor in awe. He finally made his way through and pulled up Starr to his feet and began to march him through the crowd. "I hate crowds, it's like they've never seen a human before." Starr was puzzled by the whole "...never seen a human before." Comment as if they weren't humans themselves. He decided to keep this to himself though in case he was wrong. As Darius led him through the crowd Starr began to see more and more of the room he was currently in. It had giant pools of water that seemed to glow with a subtle power behind it. All around them little alcoves were carved into the walls; they hosted people who sat and talked or others who appeared to be studying. Some however were the homes to doors with big ornate looking handles. This was what interested Starr the most, what was behind these doors? 
       It seemed like Starr was about to find out since Darius led him to a big red door that had a sign in front of it that read "Danger" but in a weird looking script that Darius had to translate for him. When he saw that Starr was a little agitated he said "It's just to scare away the little kids who might want to stick their nose in private business. Also there are tons of weapons in here and they could hurt themselves." He smiled invitingly while he explained and this made Starr feel a little more comfortable. He then urged Starr to open the door. "Wait your not going inside with me?" Starr asked.                                                                      
      "I cannot, this is something you must do alone." Darius replied.
      "But what is this? All of this is so confusing to me. I don't even know where I am."
      "All of this will be explained Starr. You are welcome here so breathe easy."
      "Okay I will, thank you Darius, for everything."
      "Do not worry about it, just go forward with confidence and you will succeed."
      With that Darius turned around and left. Starr then turned and opened the door. Inside was a very small room, which housed a rough looking wooden table that had all sorts of stains on it. It also had a small fireplace that had a pot on it, the smell alone made Starr realize how hungry he was. Starr was so focused on the room that he forgot to notice the man sitting down by the fireplace on a wooden rocking chair. The man looked like a mountain, he had giant broad shoulders with big arms and a rough looking face. His eyes were the only soft things about the man; he seemed to be able to comfort someone with his eyes alone. The man beckoned Starr to a rocking chair opposite of him. Starr sat down and the man began to speak in a warm and kind voice. "I am Kessius, the father of Darius and the leader of the warrior division in this village. We warriors risk our very life and limb to protect our village from the ever-ensuing chaos. This is not a job, it is a commitment, a life choice, for once you are branded a warrior, and you may never turn back." He paused to allow Starr to understand the gravity of the commitment. Starr looked at the man with complete and total focus, never breaking eye contact, this greatly impressed the man who continued to speak, “Do you have any questions any concerns?" Starr's head was filled with questions; he was wondering where he was, and whom these people were. With great effort he focused his line of thought to simply, "Where am I sir?" Kessius laughed. It was a mighty and kind laugh, like one a father would have. "Darius didn't tell you? I was wondering why you looked so confused. You are in the sanctuary of the elves, in the village called Lilsatalos. We locals call it sanctuary since this is the most peaceful elven village." Starr was stunned; he was in a elven village? He thought that elves were just fairy tale and myths. "I was always told you were myths and legends." He blurted this out without thinking that it could offend Kessius. To his surprise Kessius laughed once more, he laughed with such force Starr thought the chair would break. "Myths? That's a good one, we have had many humans in Sanctuary and none have said that before." 
        "Wait, I'm a little confused." Starr said.
        "About?" Replied Kessius
        "Well, if this is an Elven village why are their humans?"
        "Because Starr, we take in anybody who needs help. That's why your here, because you needed help."
        "I see. Are there other races besides humans and elves?"
        "Of course, we have dryads and naiads and ents and all sorts of different creatures."
        "Wow, I never thought they existed."
        "Most humans say that, your species was always sheltered from magic."
        "Magic?" Starr almost didn't believe it.
        "Oh yes, we have plenty of magic. But before that, I want to know your story."
        Starr agreed and he told the man everything, from his birth to know describing events with such detail. He went on about how his father and mother never left his side and how he was loved very much by them. He told of his times exploring the woods and looking for "fairy tale" creatures, to this Kessius chuckled. Finally Starr began explaining the knock on the shack door and how he ended up here. When Starr finished Kessius asked him, "Will you join us in the fight against the king?" Starr knew immediately what his answer was, "Yes sir." Kessius looked at him and then said, "Come with me."
       Kessius opened a door to his right, one that Starr hadn't seen before, and led them to a room with a fountain in it. The fountain looked as if it was made of pure crystal, every inch of it was glittering. The water, or what Starr assumed was water, glimmered a solid greenish, blue color that was very pleasing to the eye. Kessius pointed to a tree stump and instructed Starr to sit down. He then proceeded to pick up some of the water in his hands and bring it to Starr; "Drink." was all he said. Starr began to drink the liquid from Kessius's hands and immediately he began to feel immense power building inside him. When he finished drinking, his vision became very muddled and he felt his eyes would give up on him; soon the world faded into black.