Eleya shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. She sat alone outside and stared up at the high mountain peaks around her. They made her feel tiny and alone, cut off from anyone who cared about her.

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Footsteps made her lift her head. The Frey Elf who approached was her primary teacher, Alwin the Elder. Despite his grand title, he was the friendliest member of the Council she’d met so far. His small stature also made him more approachable. If nothing else, she was grateful he was her teacher.

He crouched beside her. “Are you all right?”

She looked away. “I’m fine.”

“Eleya…”

With a sigh, she met his worried gaze. “I’m just lonely. The other students don’t like me, and…”

“You have me,” he said.

He was her teacher. That didn’t count.

“You know,” he said, “when I first began training with the Council of the Gray, I felt like I was all alone, too.”

She blinked. She’d assumed someone like Alwin always belonged. “Your family wasn’t with you either?”

“My family…” With a sigh, he sat down next to her. “When I was a child, our village was attacked. They killed my parents and everyone I knew. I ran, but I didn’t make it far. Someone from the Council found me. According to them, I was half-naked and nearly dead. It’s a miracle I survived at all.”

Eleya looked down at her hands. Compared to what happened to him, her worries felt trivial.

Author's note: What is Planar Expedition? Planar Expedition is a fantasy tabletop board game that was created by me over the course of three years and I never published it. Just about all of the artwork is done, and the majority of the story is complete. It is too great of a story to not tell though...