Zenith walked slowly down the steps after a brief conference with his king. The morning was bright and still with due hanging on the leaves of plants. Birds chattered and the village began to wake. It had been a long night for him and it had taken far more time to complete his already weighty responsibility's. Now his king, who he could not refuse even the slightest command from, wanted him to train in part the dragon riders. He had been shocked at first wondering why his king would give him such a large responsibility and, why he would bestow on him such an honer. Smiling slightly he understood why now and it spoke of a deep love his king and father had for him. Even so the love did not blind him to the fact that he did not think he was right for the job. His king said he already had all the qualifications and he knew this with a crushing certainty. He paused on the stairs to take a deep breath. In any case he was ordered to teach them, and teach he would.<br/><br/>As he continued down the stairs he saw or rather heard a noble coming up them. His name was Shider and this elf had a particular dislike for him not unlike everyone else however this one went out of his way to show his contempt and dislike. He knew it was him by the way he walked, arrogant, prideful and sneaky. Shider spread the hate, mistrust and fear about him. Zenith didn't like it but he knew he had no right to say anything in his defense. as he passed him Shider spit on the next step zenith was going to step on.<br/><br/>"if I could kill you I would." Shider snarled under his breath, just loud enough for Zenith to hear. His eyes were dark with hate but zenith knew the hate came from even grater fear. It was in his voice, his manner, the way he took his breaths, faster and sharply it all was fear.<br/><br/>Zenith stopped and nodded his head. "Lord shider." he said in polite greeting. At his words he sighed. "Then I am thankful that you can not." and he continued on his way.<br/><br/>Zenith didn't like this it was a bad sign. he usually kept out of sight and subsequently remained out of mind for most of the elf population. However this new assignment meant he would be spending a lot more time in open view of the general public and that made him quite uncomfortable. he had seen the fearful looks children gave him as they peered around corners after him. He knew about the whispers and looks the older ones shot his way. Even the occasional obscenity or they made a sign of protection from him. Yes, this would be quite unpleasant and he was sure shider would find ways to make it even more so.<br/><br/>he came to a large grass covered clearing just outside the village and waited. his charges would be here shortly. In the mean time he gathered dry wood and made a fire and having brought his kettle fetched some water from the small creek a little behind him in the woods. then he started to make some fresh tea. the aroma always calmed him. he had brought his wooden staff and his short sword as well as a few other things. the clearing had several large boulders laying about. zenith made himself comfortable as he sat on a log. he had seen them and watched them when the dragon riders had arrived and had a good idea at what they each needed. his king was right he was the only one who could do this.