Aelar of Harkenwood was a solitary child, hiding in trees or enjoying long runs in the tribe's forest. His parents spent most of their time chasing after him and, as his familiarity with the forest grew, they became less and less successful. Giving up on the idea to keep him close to them, his parents decided it would be wiser to teach him to survive and hunt for himself. His dad showed him how to track animals and recognise plants while his mum, the ancestral art of archery. By the time he reached adulthood, he wanted nothing more than leaving the forest that he knew inside-out and explore "the outside world", unlike his friends and family who he considered too secretive and unnecessarily reserved.
Leleth, his cousin, was the exception. They grew up together and he was like an older brother to her: defending her when other kids would make a nasty comment about her surname. He also was fascinated by the mystery shrouding her origins (and her 'humanity'), just like he was by the world at large. They shared many walks in the forest and Aelar was always delighted to see the soothing effects that it had, bringing the Elven side of her personality for peaceful meditation instead of the angst that was consuming her the rest of the time, especially after her mother died.
One day, Leleth explained to him that she had nothing much to look forward in the community. She wanted to leave for Fallcrest to confront her father who she thought was responsible for her mother's broken heart.
Partly to continue looking after her wellbeing and also to quench his thirst for exploration, he decided to escort her to the human town.
The confrontation went better than he feared and they decided to stay in the foreign land, to his great delight.
Thanks to her father, they both got enrolled into the military where they could earn their keep (a novel concept for Aelar who was used to get food, shelter and fire from the forest) and learn combat training and military tactics. But soon the restless legs of Aelar started to wake up again and he started to wonder when some new adventures would be in sight again...
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