The Stories of the Guardians of Tannie

Diji

Diji waved to his mother as she left, her smiling face turning away from him as she went down the wild rugged home on the outskirts of the elven kingdom Yeṁehã. Diji's mother always liked to wanger the forests and the mountains, it never worried him or his father but today he felt a small twinge of guilt for not going with her.

Instead today he was going with his friends to practice various spells and tricks, or so they told their parents. Instead they were going to mess around and show off, like all teenage boys tended to like to do. Several of the young elven girls were going and he was wanting to impress them, somehow.

He was a half-blood, his beloved mother was Draconic, his father Elven. His hair showed his Draconic half, it was black and was always unruly and curly, his ears were quite pointed and his eyes showed his Elven side, a lovely shade of green like his fathers. Most of the Elves treated him just the same as any other Elven person however he did feel some animosity and belittling every now again. Especially amongst his peers. But the friends going with him today were mostly half-bloods themselves, which made it all the more fun.

He set off to the small clearing where they were meeting and his day of fun began, towards the end of the day he spotted a Dryad from the corner of his eye, her face seemed twisted in grief. As he caught her eye, she looked away and took a deep breath. He recognized her, it was Odyna the Queen or leader of the Dryad's of this forest and a good friend of his family.

Odyna came forward her eyes streaked with the brown tears of the Dryad's, "Diji, I must take you home... I have grave news for you and for your father." Diji's heart fell to the bottom of his chest, "My mother? Did something happen to my mother?" his earlier twinge of guilt fast coming to his memory. "I do not feel  can part with the news twice, please... Let us return home to your father first..."

Diji felt tears stinging the back of his eyes, he knew it had to be of his mother. A small hope glimmered that maybe she still had some chance of life, although deep down he knew that Odyna would not be so upset if there was any hope.

Diji followed Odyna threw the thick wood, his friends following silently behind, he wished they would all go home, but at the same time, he was glad that they were all still behind him. His heart started to pound as he saw his home come into view between the trees, its branchy walls covered in moss and forest blooms.

HIs father was outside, he was working on some wood, he was making a new dresser for their bedroom, Diji's  mother had insisted on a new one after the old one and come loose at the bottom. Odyna stiffened for a moment, her face crumpling a little before she straightened her shoulders and approached his father.

"Yioṁe..." Odyna said, her voice constricted with her sorrow. Diji's father looked up, his face first brightening at the sight of Odyna, and then paling at the sight of her face. "Odyna? What is wrong?" Odyna took a deep breath, tears sliding down her face. "It grieves me to tell you that Azamena has departed this world, she crossed paths with the Mevertian's and they tried to take her, she fought with them and in their rage they killed her. We came to late to aide her, she had wandered from the sight of the forests and only the wind brought us the calls of her plight. We tried to heal her when we arrived, to revive her... But... nothing we tried..." Odyna broke down as she watched Diji's father fall to his knees, clasping his hands over his face to try and contain his howl of sorrow.

Diji felt himself teeter and collapse onto his knees, tears streamed down his face as all around he could hear sobs of grief, the Dryad's came from the forests, on a root and branch stretcher flowing with leaves and flowers lay his mother. Although the Dryad's had done their best wounds and bruises were all over his mothers body still. His father ran to the stretcher, clasping his mothers hands trying to will life into them and then finally resting his head on her chest sobbing.