<b><span style="font-size: 15px">Meanwhile in Maenwor...</span></b><br/><br/><div class="ToggleTriggerAnchor bbCodeSpoilerContainer">
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</div><br/>The streets of the hidden desert city were flush with people moving through them like blood moves through a person's veins. And in some ways , just like the massive oasis the city was built around, they kept Maenwor alive and helped it thrive. Arranged in a series of concentric circles built around an oasis in the city center where the queen kept her castle the massive trade city was as genius in its  construction as it was easy to navigate.<br/><br/>Each 'ring' itself was a district,  divided further into quarters where individual races and cultures were housed or certain trades kept their headquarters of formed into massive guilds ( the most popular of such quarters was no doubt the Ring of Desire where courtesans plied their trade without fear of reprisal). The architcure itself was simple , typical of a desert town. Buildings were built with many windows high up so that breeze could pass through the structures and cool the inhabitants. The actual streets themselves were wide and open boulevards for much the same purpose. Large , colorful awnings hung from each building to provide shade from the sun overhead and only the colors of the silk could come close to matching the diversify of the people below.<br/><br/>Being primarily a trade city, Maenwor was a cultural melting pot and while once almost exclusively elven in design and citizenry time had since changed things. Now the original,  even ancient elven architecture was only visible as you passed through rings deeper into the city and neared the final ring around the oasis that belonged to the ruler of the city herself. A vast variety of languages could be heard on the street and while the average citizen seemed to be mostly dark skinned the vast array of cultures , races and languages on dislplay could simply be stunning for someone unprepared or who had perhaps never even seen such before.<br/><br/>To Kali all the change that had taken place was simply stunning. The city had moved on without her and as hundreds of years passed it was no longer the elven state of Maenwor but a vast and thriving trade city under the prosperous rule of her friend , her Queen , Ianthra. Of course,  she fondly remembered the woman before she was a queen. When they were but carefree children more interested in play and gossip than the stresses and intricacies of adult life.<br/><br/>Kali sighed,  her train of thought broken as a crude human man ran into her from behind without so much as an apology for the grievance he'd caused her as he passed. Thankfully she was at least a head and shoulders taller than him and while the jolt was quite unpleasant she was unharmed. Kali had already seen people trampled by a callous crowd of merchants and travelers as they fell today. Still, taking it as a sign to move on the slender elven woman bent down to pick up her rugged leather traveling pack and after pausing to adjust the white wrappings of silk covering all but her eyes, moved on.<br/><br/>Currently in the primary trade ring Kali only had to traverse one more ring before she could pass into the final ring and seek audience with her Queen. At least that was what she was told by the guard at the gate after he had checked her meager belongings. The interaction itself was rather unpleasant.  The doubt they had raised over the scabbard tucked into the flowing sash at her waist was most disconcerting. The blade itself was damaged, broken in what was the worst night in Kali's -long- life and as her feet carried her steadily through the crowds towards her destination she fought the rush of emotions that swelled up behind the mere thought. Screaming Aviari, the flash of blades in the moonlight and the piercing pain as the tip of her right ear was taken from her. She had barely escaped with her life that evening and her life was no forever changed. No longer did Kali feel like a noble wanderer but instead a lost and staggering child. Her once beautiful silks and linens were tattered and the colors washed out from months of travel and worst yet she was going to have to show her Queen a broken blade. How do you apologize for letting a gift so cherished be destroyed?<br/><br/>Melancholy set in as she walked and as she passed into the final , smallest ring of the city not even the sound of water gently lapping at the stone edifice of the Queen's massive chambers could rouse Kali. Her path carried her across a small footbridge into a garden that while it was the Queen's was open to the public. There her elven subjects could gather pure water from the massive fountain that sat in the center of the garden. a sculpture of two very beautiful and very nude elven women pouring water from vases into the basin of the well. People were already milling about the grounds, elves of all walks of life admiring the peace of the gardens and of course fetching their ration of water for the day. None of them so much as looked at Kali as she passed them and made her way up the stairs into the large, stone building.<br/><br/>Just like the rest of the city it was built around the life giving waters of the verdant oasis at the center of the city. Unlike the rest of the city however it rested on one of the islands that rested in the center of the life giving waters. It was a grand, old building and a shining example of elven architecture and ingenuity. In stark contrast to the gardens outside however it was nearly empty inside. As Kali walked down the richly decorated halls there was not a guard to arrest her or stop her in her tracks and the few servants she did see all scampered away before she could even ask them where the Queen was. As a result she spent far longer than she’d have liked simply wandering the building until at last she came upon what looked to be the only occupied chamber. Two guards stood in full armor on either side of the doorway and immediately she was challenged.<span style="color: red">“Halt!”</span>was the command but Kali had little patience for it at this point.<br/><br/>With reckless abandon the lanky elven woman pushes past the two armored men and storms into the chamber not knowing exactly what she’d find. As she runs she unravels the wrappings around her head and when at last the scraps of light blue silk hit the floor she had only but the hope that her Queen, her friend and the woman who shared of so many of her firsts would recognize her after all these years.<br/><br/><div class="ToggleTriggerAnchor bbCodeSpoilerContainer">
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</div>There had been much change over the years and especially in the last few months. Kali’s flesh was still a dark, full brown and her facial features were still high and statuesque in nature but she looked tired and wounded. Her golden eyes had aged the most, heavy with her burden and her long black hair was no more. It had been cut into a shaggy, short mop and it did little to hide the missing tip of her right ear or the fresh, pink scar that ran from the center of her bottom lip down her chin. If her appearance was not enough to cause alarm then the state of her clothes likely would. They were once pristine, white and blue flowing silk but travel had left them tattered and full of holes. She looked like she needed plenty of things and comfort was chief among them.<b><i>“ My Queen!”</i></b><div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>