When Soris described his life in the Alienage, I pictured a humble community of elves working together despite the cruel treatment they received from humans. However, stepping into the district I realized the reality was less pleasant than Soris depicted. The neighborhood made the bad parts of town we trekked through to avoid the city guards look good.

The buildings were nothing more than wooden shacks stacked on one another two maybe three stories tall and they could barely stand on their own without stilts. It had the effect of making some of the structures tilt in odd directions like unsteady toy blocks. Thin livestock milled about, nibbling on small patches of grass or low hanging laundry stretched across buildings. Dirt paths replaced the clean stone …show more content…
Her mouth opened and closed but no words came out. I could feel Soris trembling next to me. The silence stretched on until a weary voice from inside the home made both elves jump.

“Shianni, who is it?”

An older elf with graying hair shuffled into view to stand beside the woman. His eyes a copy of Soris’ gray stared at me in alarm and fear until his gaze slid over to Soris. His rattling exhale let me know he was in the same state of shock as his younger companion. Soon, all three elves stared at one another in silence, and I waited for someone to make the first move. The redhead, Shianni, reacted first.

“They told us you died,” she whispered, unable to tear her gaze from Soris’ face.

“I almost did,” Soris said as his hands moved ready to pull both elves into an embrace, but stopped, finally remembering the state of his appearance. Walking the city at night covered in blood was an excellent deterrent for the city’s shadier denizens, not so much for hugging long lost family. Luckily, Soris’ appearance did not bother the old elf in the slightest as he gave a short cry of joy and threw his arms around Soris’