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<li data-xf-list-type="ul">The High Elf did her best to ignore the annoying, bouncing, bubbly, overly joyful Z as she walked alongside the eldest knight. Valen was quiet, more of a somber fellow. It was clear that he was shouldering a lot right now, and that it was weighing  The contrast between the two of them was like night and day, polar opposites in every way from what she had seen of them thus far. Lynnira worried her a bit, as she seemed to be the most unstable of them all. No, perhaps not unstable, but the one most likely to fly into a blind rage and do. . .destructive things. Her power was fire, and she appeared to be proficient in it's use. Arioch did not what to think about what they would do or how they would even begin to stop her if she lost control of herself. Well, there were a few ways to stop her but none of those seemed to pleasant, or safe, when she thought about them. Rather than continuing to dwell on the matter, she turned her attention to the structures ahead of her. The Gates of Elzara, the entrance to the city of Cam.<br/>
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As the only pure blooded Elf, and the only one who lived her life in the Elven Lands, she was the only person here able to open the gates and grand the weary travelers entrance into the city. She reached out a gloved hand and gently touched the door. Her lips slowly began to move, her native tongue slipping from between them. Slowly, she stepped back and the former general watched with her new companions as the vines receded and opened before them, granting them entrance into the city. Arioch looked to the others and opened her mouth to speak. Suddenly, her voice was gone, and the expression on her face changed. Slowly, the color drained from her face and she seemed to trip on nothing.<br/>
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In her mind, she could hear it loud and clear, the voice of the Earth. More specifically, she could hear the voice of the Forest. The things it said to her unnerved her. There was something here, something in the forest. A dark presence that was moving and slowly destroying whatever it touched. Trees were dying, and their painful wails assaulted her senses. It was too much, way too much to take all at once. She slowly raised a hand to her head, massaging one of her temples. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0040ff">"We should venture within now. The gates will not be staying open forever,"</span> Arioch said.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#0040ff"> "I do not think that time is on our side. There is a dark presence somewhere in the forest. It could be just a demon, or, it could be those you spoke of before. Whichever it may be, we are ill prepared to face it head on."</span>[/list:u][/list:u]</li>
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