It was a time of peace. Hardly anyone ventured into the mysterious land of the Wood Elves. Nevertheless, every fortnight, Lord Brandir sent four Protectors and their Guardians to scout the forest. Individually assigned to a specific quadrant, they usually endured lonely and rather tedious journeys; no elf was particularly enthralled when they were selected for patrol. Laegon dreaded the scouting assignments just as much as every Protector, but he had no reason to complain. As Lord Brandir’s son, he saw such duty far less frequently than most others. Indeed, this was the first time he had been sent on patrol in almost a year. Thus far, the journey had proven unutterably boring. A week into it and he and his Guardian, Brégen, had still seen nothing out of the ordinary. He opened his link to Míendvel, feeling the familiar warmth of the magic course through his body. Míendvel was a unique form of elven magic that allowed Protectors to communicate mentally with their Guardians.
