North of Gaia, elves were commonplace amongst the tall trees in the mountains. Some preferred the lone isles off the coast, some preferred to be closer to the humans for better trade opportunities. It was in one of the groups of Elves on the side of a Mountain on the largest isle near a town where a elf woman ignored the warnings to never fall in love with a human. She gave into the wooing of a human man who was enchanted with her looks, and gave her heart and body to him.

Sadly, once this man had had his desire quenched, he moved on and away from the mountain and the elf woman. Broken hearted, she only survived long enough to bring the love child into the world, before giving into her broken heart and passing away. They named the half-elf Corynder, ‘one who craves the sea’ and decided to let different families take care of her at a time.

Corynder grew up amongst the elves, feeling more like a burden than anything else. The Elves never had a lot of respect for humans, and humans despised Elves for their airs towards the towns beneath the mountain. Trade kept the two races in contact, and it didn’t take Corynder too long to understand that neither race could accept her. The Elves only saw her human-like hearing and eyesight, her short height, and the eyes that were so much like her fathers. The humans couldn’t see past her ears, her long hair that had taken on a gold-like tone exactly like her mothers, or Corynder’s skin which seemed to have a glow about it like the rest of the Elves. She was stuck between them both, and Corynder often felt both alone and unhappy. But as she grew, she did focus her mind on study. She found a talent as an apprentice in metal work, and could create rings and jewelry as good as her master, could heal, and had a slight talent for magic. Corynder focused on metal work most of all, for it could give her a reason to trade with humans, and to be amongst them as well as the Elves. She made her own sword, similar to the design of the Elven Guards, and one day decided to prove her worth to the Elves by becoming one of the Elite Elven Guards.

The task sounded simple enough. Go out into the plains near the Mountain’s north side, and spend one night there, guarding the right area till dawn. But in those plains, many large animals roamed. Some were harmless, but there were a number of large predators there that were just as keen to attack an elf or human than a wild beast. Usually, the Elven Guard would remain in the trees on the edge of the plains, however, Corynder’s task was to patrol the ground designated to her with only a dagger, and no Elven Guard in her area to help her. Corynder didn’t care about the risks, the idea of being accepted was something she’d always craved. Surely such a prestigious job would give her that respect?

Corynder prepared herself as best she could. Long pants, two thin light belts crossing each other with the dagger dangling off one. A top that was designed to only cover her breasts in another cross fashion (Designed to allow freedom in movement). Long silver gloves that covered her palm, hand and right up to her elbows and a dark cloak that covered the entire length of her body, when not pushed back off her shoulders. She tied her hair back in a long plait, and set off by foot at dawn over the mountain, and arrived on the start of the plains at sunset, where wild beasts grazed peacefully, and animals either set down for the night, or started to stir for the night. The night went peacefully, for the first half. The moon rose, and cast a white glow over the land. While wandering around, straining her ears for sounds that an elf normally had no problem hearing, Corynder spotted a tiny cove, with wide beaches and shallow waters. As her name stated, she adored the ocean more than any other place in the land, and gladly took the chance to take her cloak, top and belt off, let out her hair , and to swim for a few minutes. The night was calm, there had not been one sighting of a dangerous beast, and Corynder was relaxed and happy.

Then, while she floated on her back, something sharp grabbed onto her leg and clutched to it, dragging it under. Corynder shot up, her legs going underneath and the claws letting go. She stared around the water carefully, paddling, but there wasn’t a sign of anything large and dangerous in the water around her. And then, those claws again. This time they sunk deeply into her back and hair. Corynder started to panic, swimming as fast as she could for the shore. By the time she’d reached it, the claws had stopped at her shoulderblades, where they stuck firmly into her flesh and stayed.
Corynder started to turn around, and around, and around on the beach, trying to swat the beast off her back before it ate her alive. Her hand met with fur, and the beast went flying onto the sand. She was about to jump on it and try to tackle it...
When she froze and stared.
Curled up on it’s back in front of her, a skinny, wet and miserable furry body trembled and stared back with large eyes. Corynder laughed nervously, as she watched the claws retract. It wasn’t a cat, but the claws were similar. It just made a pathetic noise at her, and rolled onto it’s back, crawling closer to Corynder. She jumped back, and again it made the noise, trembling like it’d been dumped in ice water. She picked it up, smiling as it curled into her bare chest for warmth. Corynder wrapped her cloak around it, dressed herself again and started back towards the mountain.

It was while she was walking back to the mountain, that another beast started to take interest in her and the tiny creature. Corynder was distracted by her find in the water, and it wasn’t until the small creature had leaped out of her arms and bolted, that she realized something was very wrong in the air.

Corynder froze, trying to hear and feel it. But her senses wouldn’t cooperate, and she started to feel the cold trickle of fear run through her body. She backed up, and the moment she had half-tripped over a stone, a loud growl filled the air, and in a rush of air, a large body had thrown itself onto Corynder. She managed to step to the side before the mouth clamped down on her, it barely missing her head and attaching itself to her left shoulder. The beast was so large, the mouth went right down to her waist, clamping her left arm in one spot as the teeth sunk in. As soon as the grip was on her, Corynder was lifted straight off the ground and shook from side to side. Feeling her flesh start to rip and tear underneath the teeth, and her mind start to go hazy, Corynder managed to grab the dagger from her belt and drive it straight into one of the eyes. The beast fell down dead, and Corynder fell also. As she slipped from the waking world, her eyes caught the tiny body of the small beast returned to snuggle closely to her.

Waking up in her own bed a week later, Corynder found herself lying next to the full uniform of the Elven Guard, a content and much fluffier body, a long line of scars down one side and the skinned body of the beast. It was twice her length, head to tail, and it’s belly was as high as her shoulder. One of the rarest to be seen, and the fact that she’d ‘hunted and slaughtered’ it seemed good enough for them to take her on.

As soon as Corynder was well enough to stand, she sort out one of the Elders strong in magic. Soon after speaking with him, she was bonded in mind and feeling to the creature that had named itself El. As a mark of her bonding, she magically was connected with a blue jewel in the center of her forehead. It was a lifelong mark, and the creature received a similar one on her forehead.

A month passed. At first, Corynder could almost think that she was now accepted, but after a few weeks it became apparent that to them, she was the same half-blood that she had been all along. She was unhappy, but not as unhappy as she once had been, El remained close to her.

And then while patrolling the trade route one evening, Corynder and El came across an injured man on a horse. She called to him, “Do you require healing?”
“Yes! Come closer!” The man replied.
Corynder and El came closer, and the moment El was within reach, the man sat up straight, grabbed El and cantered away on the horse. All Corynder could do was shout, as her heart broke in two. She took up a futile chase for a few hours, before falling down exhausted on the ground. The elves carried her home, and Corynder lay in bed ill. Her familiar and her had been separated, slowly she could feel them both dying without each other near. The Elder who had created the bond finally forced the other to die first. Corynder regained her health, and fnally when she was strong enough to ride her horse again, the Elder came to tell Corynder to seek the land of her familiar’s death. She would find it again there, reborn into a new vessel.

Corynder her birthplace with only her horse and a cart, and all her belongings, however few they were. She left without a heavy heart, and looked to the coast with determined eyes.

She managed to trade her way onto a ship, horse and cart as well. It was a huge ship, designed to take Elven made carts and Elven breed horses across the sea to the mainland where they would easily fetch a good price. They would first stop at an Isle with elves who breed horses for fellow kin and trade. Corynder’s agreement was that she would remain on the isle for a number of months, to allow her horse become a stud and to mix a new generation in with the others. Her stallion didn’t mind either, and finally at the end of the time Corynder had agreed to stay for, he was father of a number of fillies and colts. She decided to let the stallion stay with his newfound herd of doting mares, and in return gained one of his colts and the mare who bore the colt. And again, Corynder boarded a ship for Gaia.

By the time they had reached Gaia, Corynder had re-named herself Melima Ses. She was accepted quickly, finding refuge in a café in Barton. Corynder-Melima took up the position as an unpaid Waitress, and was allowed to live there and eat and drink what she needed. Only a few days into the job, she met Alan. Ten years older than her, and rich, Corynder-Melima was doted on for the first time in her life. It lasted only for a few weeks.

Not long after him, Corynder-Melima found herself dating another worker, a catboy, at the café she worked at. And at the same time, opened her own café near the one she worked at. This relationship lasted for a month, before Corynder-Melima broke it off. Her heart wasn’t in it. She sold the café, and moved to a different location. And found a new area of Gaia. The area in which breedable creatures were sold and traded. It was here she remained permantly, hoping to find the familiar that had been lost. Corynder-Melima renamed herself Neith-Kia, and found a new identify amongst the people in this area. She relaxed, and felt accepted finally, easily finding friend and pet. And it was there she met a full blood elf, Eirnae. Eirnae led Neith to Fa’e HQ, where Neith found another part of her destiny as a Guardian to an Egyptian baby. Kia.