Oathkeepers

Two cycles of the moon have passed since I crossed the Barrier. I could have anticipated and even expected war, famine, oathbreakers. Instead I am privileged to have found the best of the elvish spirit. The faith you have kept to our Empress, may we grow strong in her shade, and to one another in a land where it is difficult to be true to ourselves.   I am privileged also, to have received the trust and guidance of the Empress, whose darkness falls soft on my shoulders. At the shadow moon, a message crossed from home to here, deep in the heart of Lone Mountain Keep. She has sent her banner, which we have flown to mark this as our home, and the satisfaction that we walk upon her shade-dappled path.   All elves know the power of the oath we hold, and the power of new ones, sworn both in peace and war. I ask now that we bind ourselves anew, against the new challenges that we will face now that we have found one another so far from home. A great tree may have roots that spread far further than one would expect.   To my soldiers: I ask for the trust and loyalty that I need to lead you in battle, and to ask you to make sacrifices. It may not feel like we are at war on the human side of the mountains, but war follows us even here. I ask for the strength of character that brought you safely across the border, and the courage that brought you together here to defend the small community we have built. As warriors, we fight for the hope that one day, we won’t need to. Now is a time of fighting, and we must fight together.   To my people: For the crafters, the homemakers, and those who shelter in the shade of this banner. It is not just our warriors who make us who we are. There is no sense to the war, to battles or bloodshed, without the promise of gardens, safe homes, and beauty. I ask that you tend to this land and make it into a home for as long as we need it - to trust in my guidance and protection, and give your labour to the hope of safety and security.   In the coming days and weeks I will be needed elsewhere, for there are some duties that only I can tend to at this moment. I would be a poor servant if I left my people unattended.   Rosalia: The first round-ear I met, and I consider myself lucky for it. Time and time again you have shown your courage and resolve, at my side in combat and going where I could not amongst humans. I ask you to safeguard this keep and its people in my stead. The way forward holds many doors that I will walk through alone, and I ask that you hold this keep safe as I walk. I trust your judgement, your skill in battle, your leadership, and your commitment to the hard work and initiative it will take to manage this town. A leader has only her heart and her people to guide her, and I know you will listen to both.   As I go forwards, carry with me my family. A person has many families, from the one we are born to, to the many that we choose along the way. I have family that cannot be with me here, but I am shade-touched indeed to have found new family.   Bran: My smith, my Fatespinner - a gift left for me by someone we both love. I trust that whichever way I turn, I will find you at my back. Casting your own light as well as your shadow. Wherever I walk, walk with me.   Alder: The first elf I found here, one who opened the door for me. I trust that whenever I need to find you, you will allow yourself to be found. To be my blade in the darkness and my hand in the light, be at my side wherever I may go.   Hella: To be a teacher again is not something I expected here. I am so lucky to have found such a promising student, who carries all the potential and all the hope that one might need. I trust you to learn, and to heed the guidance of myself and my household, of which you are a member. So I commit to you my teachings and what wisdom I have, with the expectation that you will follow as long as we both wish, and one day learn to walk ahead.