Reyata removed her apron, she was done with her chores for the day. Her father's dinner was ready, she just hoped he'd remember to eat before it got cold. She could hear him pound on some piece of metal, making it into...whatever. She had never been very interested in blacksmithing. It was hard, hot and dirty work, not really her thing at all. She did love her father though, especially since it had always been just him and her, ever since her mother had passed away when she was six.<br/><br/>She still could remember bits and pieces about her mother, but nothing from the time when the sickness had taken her, wich in a way was a blessing. It had not been pretty, she knew that much. The sickness just came out of nowhere and took a heavy toll on the village. The way in wich it seemed to target women and young children made people whisper it was spawned by Horrors, and as far as Reyata was concerned they might very well be right. She knew Garashna's family had suffered greatly aswell, they had lost half a dozen small children, all but one female. The fact that Garashna had even survived showed what a fighter she truly was.<br/><br/>Reyata, being an elf, had been lucky enough to be immune. Her human mother had not been so fortunate. Her father must have known he'd outlive his human bride by as much as a couple of hundred years, but he wouldn't have been prepared for losing her as soon as he had. He still missed her very much, Reyata could tell, but raising his daughter had helped him cope, she was the joy of his life.<br/>Reyata was a fine young woman by now, she had come of age just a couple of weeks ago. In fact, she and her father had just returned from a trip. It seemed that all Elven ceremonies was always conducted in the presence of other elves. Her mother must've been allowed to attend Reyata's naming ceremony, but otherwise the elves kept their ceremonies private from the other Namegiver races. Since Reyata and her father were the only elves in Whitewater, they always traveled to an elven settlement in Glenwood Deep, a trip that took over two weeks there and back again. This always seemed a bit strange to Reyata, since her father never seemed to put much value in elven customs and culture, why else would they live surrounded by humans? She guessed some traditions were hard to break, even for her father. The fact was that she was largly ignorant of elven ways, something that had always sadened her. Everytime she brought up the subject her otherwise happy and kind father got irritated and angry with her and would refuse to talk about it. But there was more than anger, she could also sometimes see a hint of a deep sorrow in his eyes, a sorrow she couldn't even guess the cause of.<br/><br/>Being raised in Whitewater had not been bad though, not at all. She had no trouble finding friends. She knew some of them resented the fact that they hadn't been allowed to attend her comming of age ceremony, especially Garashna she suspected. They couldn't understand.<br/>Being a young elf maiden made her stand out, she was the fairest and most gracefull of all Namegivers in the village, and some people couldn't help but feel jelous. Some thought she believed she was better than everyone else. Well, she was, wasn't she? It was not her fault she was born an elf, people couldn't blame her for that! Ariavha in particular had a hard time dealing with her grace and beauty. The human girl was a natural beauty herself, but had always seemed to feel overshadowed by her elven friend, and they had a rivalry going on that seemed like it could go on for ever. Reyata often found it amusing how hard her friend tried to surpass her, and even more amusing how often she failed. She had one thing going for her though. While it could be argued that Reyata had a better singing voice, there was no doubt Ariavha was the best performer of the two. Reyata shouldn't begrudge her friend that one thing, but sometimes she felt a sting of jelousy as she watched Ariavha perform at her father's inn. She knew it was petty, but she couldn't help it. Hopefully Ariavha wouldn't get a chance to show of tonight. Reyata was going to meet her friends at the inn, she'd better hurry!