Jaekob Ponders his Actions

Jaekob squared his shoulders as he gazed out upon his home, his refuge; Calenhad, the home of the elves. His slender and graceful figure glanced at the lady who balanced Sun and Moon in her hands. His sorrows were many; none of them were trivial, some of them so dire, in fact, that the worries in his mind held sway over his facial features which were drawn and tight giving way to a single thought, "I am no more than you Lady. I am a statue to mine own purpose. For surely, my reasoning is questioned by the eldars and day by day they seem more trite toward me and the way I would rule."

He chewed on his lips as his hands dug into the railing of the marbled pavilion that was connected to his home. His eyes, dark with loneliness, scanned the full measure of the city. The sunset lay gently upon the white marbled buildings that made up Calenhad. The sight of it gave way to the smallest of smiles.

"It had been months, " he thought to himself. "It had been months since he had held his mate close to his chest," he mumbled, his words broken and sad. She was his life, his all and she was gone and he knew neither where or why.

The incidents with the Drow had almost damned him to hell. He had been raised by a Drow, a Drow who raised him as a son, a Drow who broke all the rules to give to him a sense of belonging, a sense of fairness. The Druid was far more forgiving than other elves. Surely he was more the Druid and less the elf. He had learned balance from his teachers and held the concept of fairness in his very being.
At least, the Drow attacks seemed to have quieted; less and less was seen of them as one day passed after the other."That is good," he thought. "It is good that the good folk of these lands do not pay as much heed to that particular threat. Of course, he would advise no one to let down their guard," he thought. "Now there were marauders to deal with."

"And now this," he mumbled under his breath. Now the very city he loved and protected had been breached by marauders, human marauders.And the one person he trusted more than any other, Kathena, had put her own life in jeopardy to aid his people. Yet, he was chastised for his actions, chastised by the Eldars. And even his good friend, Ettrian, made a mockery of the thoughts and actions she had offered to protect the home of the elves.

He looked again as the sun moved downward, the city framed in  shades of shadow and light. He chuckled to himself. "Balances lies in the simplest things," he thought.

He sighed heavily as he returned to his living quarters, his shoulders slumped somewhat. He was weary, but there was no time for reverie. He forwent his weariness and quickly filled his rucksack with a blanket for warmth, a good portion of lembas bread and a couple of apples. "I will need no more," he thought to himself. "I need to travel light and make my way to the Shire as quickly as possible. They are counting on me.... " He knew the Shire was in good hands. Arch Druid Fiesty was amenable and friendly enough to most. But, he knew her powers were great and that she would use them if danger presented itself in the Shire.

As he moved outward of his dwelling, he stopped, pausing to look out toward in the direction Kathena had traveled, toward Falcon's Edge. "Be safe my dear. I will be gone a day and a half, no more. If you are not returned, I will come for you, my dearest of friends."