To my beloved and only Elizabeth. You are my Sun and without you none of the worlds I have created can exist

The clear mountain wind, skirting the branches of the lonely rock juniper trees, gave off a slight coolness, complementing the already calm atmosphere of the Gaela Monastery.

" Huona, watch your breathing.Elder Valn, the abbot of the Monastery and current high priest, commanded as he passed his novice.– Without proper training, you won't be able to maintain the balance of life and magic power in your body, and that's…"

–Yes, yes. I remember: "The imbalance leads to certain consequences that only a true master or great sorcerer can reverse, namely, absolute loss of control over the body, release of energy and painful death," the girl interrupted Valna, who had already memorized the tedious instructions of the priest.

– In theory, you've memorized everything, which is commendable.The old man said, causing Huona to smile faintly.– But it still doesn't excuse you from practicing. As he finished, Valn turned to the monk standing at the entrance to the Monastery, who was beckoning the priest with a wave of his hand. – OK. Classes are over for today. Huona, you are free until tomorrow morning.

– Vladyka, what about the evening practice?– What is it? " the girl asked as the abbot hurried away.

– There are too many things to do today, so you can take care of your immediate problems. Let's take a short break from practice.

Huona shrugged her shoulders in disbelief and watched the monks enter the Monastery with an incredulous grin. She knew where the monks had taken the abbot, knew what the high priest would be doing, and that was what kept her busy, taking up all the soaps on the way home. Huona, lost in thought, walked without looking back along the dark stone mountain paths that led to the magnificent flower gardens, to the stone monuments, to the altars, to the local lake, and finally to the homes of the elves who lived in the Monastery grounds. For the mountain elves here, such scenery was commonplace, so Huona did not even pay attention to the beauty of her native settlement. Norg monasteries have never been as luxurious as any other Norg architecture can be compared to Elven, and the Gaela Monastery was not created for the purposes that savages pursue when they build such structures. Even without going into the structure of this place, you can understand that the Monastery is only a name, but in essence it is a mountain town, built away from the Norg and dwarf eyes, so that they do not disturb the local inhabitants; the houses are built on a level lower than the Temple buildings – the Altar of Gael, the dragon of the winds, is built on the top, very close to the Monastery, where monks and priests spend the night and perform their rites, there, in the courtyard by the main garden, the abbot and some monks teach their subjects to novices, to teach the younger generation literacy, herbalism, and magic.

Everywhere the flower beds were fragrant, and the fragrance of the rhododendron, the most beautiful flower of the mountain rosewood, just about to bloom, was carried by the wind into every house, enveloping every street with its delicate sweetness. Lost in her own problems, Huona had not even noticed that she had reached her home.

In the garden, Yuona and Zarri's mother Leta was working, pruning the arched vines and thick white rose bushes. Dressed in a light sky-blue dress, white elf sandals and a thin blue ribbon braided in her hair, Leta absorbed the full component of the image of a true mountain elf. The woman looked much younger than her peers, which surprised many residents of the monastery, and even the priests tried to extract from her the secrets of eternal youth, which Leta herself, to her great regret, also did not know, although she did not need such secrets, even with a cursory glance, you could understand that eternal youth was granted to the elf by nature itself at birth – soft, pale skin, like Her hair was thick and thick, and her expressive gray eyes glittered with the fire of life.

Huona opened the gate that led to the courtyard, and Leta, hearing her eldest daughter, greeted her with a broad smile and an embrace. Fixing her daughter's bangs that fell over her face, the elf carefully led the girl into the house, while not saying a word.

– Tired?Only after placing a bowl of sweet, fragrant, and warm herbal concoction on the table in front of Yuona did Leta ask a casual question.

– No, there weren't any particularly difficult exercises today. And no one let me into the Monastery.The girl replied vexedly, taking a sip from the bowl.

– I'm sure there were reasons for that. You know what day it is, so maybe that's why?Trying to lighten her daughter's mood, the elf continued.

– Yes, I hope so. Nothing could have happened today, right? Not on this day – " taking a sip of the decoction and pausing for a moment before each new sentence, Huona looked very tense and agitated.

– No, I'm sure it's all right. If something had happened at the monastery, we would have been one of the first to be notified. And since you've been released for the day, would you mind spending some time with Zarri?" She's definitely up to something, and I doubt she can handle it without your help.

– Nu-uu, " Huona said, hoping to think of an excuse for refusing."Okay, maybe it's really important. I'll just wash my face."

– I'm so glad you're willing to help your sister. I'm going to keep working in the garden, or our roses will wither away completely. Zarri is probably waiting for you by the lake, on the rocks.

– Huona nodded affirmatively as Lethe left.

Outside in the backyard, she went to the spring and doused her face with cool water from the mountain spring, then looked up at the mirror hanging on the wall. Strands of straight, slightly wet, dark brown hair stuck together, sticking to the sun-tanned skin. After arranging her hair behind her short, elven ears, Huona once more passed her spring-wet hand over her fair face, which left her rosy cheeks with drops like morning dew reflecting the rays of the sun above the mountain peaks. Her clear, light-brown eyes, framed by a greenish border, also reflected sunlight that glinted like sunbeams flashing on their lenses. Droplets of water, flowing into the hollows of particularly attractive, reddish lips, gave them volume and moisturized the dried skin. Adjusting the light blue-and-green tunic that covered the girl's light and slender figure, Huona tied up the curls that fell over her face with a ribbon and, brushing away the last of the water with a soft towel, moved away from the mirror.

After hugging Leta goodbye once more, the girl left the courtyard and slowly walked towards the lake. When she reached the edge of the residential area, Huona stopped and looked at the small group of acolytes and altar guards standing to her right. A plump, short elf with black hair caught her attention – it was Kait, a good friend of Huona's and another of their mutual friends, who was whispering to the other guards in the dungeon. She couldn't catch the conversation – the words were barely audible at this distance, but the mere presence of the guards here, when they were supposed to be on duty in the casemates below the monastery, made her very nervous. Having learned nothing from the conversation of the elves, Huona calmly went on, determined not to interfere with the affairs of the temple servants.

****

A young elf woman was sitting on a low rock formation, her feet dangling down to the azure lake water. The girl tilted her head thoughtfully and sadly, so that her long and fair hair, swaying in the wind like ripe wheat shoots, lightly touched the surface of the cold stone. Her gaze was so sad that it seemed that if you looked into her gray eyes for even a moment, you could feel the freezing chill brought by the chilling wind that came from the image of the elf. From a distance, it looked like a statue of a slender and twisting aspen branch, the heroine of ancient elven legends, who in empty expectation, hopelessly lowered her eyes to the freezing water of the lake. In her hands, the girl tightly clutched a carved box, painted with bright and bizarre patterns and a little shabby with age. Straightening her greenish tunic, the elf adjusted her hair slightly so that it wouldn't slide on the stones, and went back to her thoughts, clutching the precious box even more tightly.