Thorn’s first day off was a Godsday.  She had never been much of one for organized religion, but she decided that the temple might be a good place to meet other elves.  She still thought like a human, morphing into an elf hadn’t changed that, and she needed a point of reference if she ever hoped to fit into her new life.

Within the game, it was common practice to choose a god from the mythos provided by the old cultures of Earth, or perhaps from among the deities of the other character races.  This was someone to whom one might make a “god call” for divine intervention, should all else fail.  Within most games, daily traditions were not part of role-play.  Within their private game, however, things had been different.  Godsday service, and temple life in general, had been an important part of Devlin’s game.

Their goddess of choice had been called “Myrissa”, but she had been Devlin’s creation.  Elvin goddess of magic and pleasure, to role-play her worship had often been uncomfortable for Thorn, who found it difficult to create that sort of scene.  A modified, perhaps lesser version had held sway on Thorn’s world.  She had no way of knowing which version, if any, might hold sway here, but if Devlin was in Brun, she was sure she would find him at the temple.

Taking the second part of the day off, Thorn asked if there might be a temple nearby.  Polly let her know there was a temple serving many gods just a few streets over, so that became her destination as she left the inn for the first time since arriving.  Brun was a human town, but Thorn hoped to find at least a few Elvin worshippers there who might welcome her.

The temple was easily found, and Thorn was delighted to discover a small handful of Myrissa worshippers gathered in a tiny chapel.  She searched every face for her friend, but he was not to be found.  Thorn knew he would look different, but she was sure her heart would know him if he was there.  A little sad at his absence, she none-the-less joined in with the others in what proved to be a pleasurable experience.  Far from the PDA she had been dreading, the hour was spent in friendly companionship with those who would soon become an important part of her life.

One of the worshippers was a much older male by the name of Ebon Darkflame.  Tall and slender with black skin, spiky red hair, and intense amber eyes; his looks matched his name.  He was a cleric/mage of some local renown, and it was he who guided the worship.  Thorn’s heartstrings hummed as she listened to the pleasing cadence and message of his words, but her mind whispered caution.  She had always loved too quickly and too much, but she knew this was not the time to give her heart away.

Walking back to the inn after services, Thorn thought once again about her friend.  He would be happy for her, but would he be proud of how she was now living?  A mundane job in a fantasy world is still a mundane job.  Thorn decided to make more of this new life, and of herself.  She knew she was not cut out to be a Priestess, or even if such a thing existed here, but she thought she might ask Ebon if he thought she might be a good mage.  If he said yes, it would be an excuse to spend time with him.  If not, well, she would cross that bridge when she came to it.  She didn’t want to become an adventurer, but she would certainly like to see more of his world.  As she snuggled into bed that night, she determined not to let her foolish heart tie her to this place when there was a whole new world to explore.

The trade fair was now in full swing, and for the next few days Thorn had little time to think about anything but getting her work done.  She imagined it would be easier if she had some household magic, but she couldn’t do that, or could she?  A psychic had once told her she was an adept, so what harm could it do to try?  Making use of he law of similarity, Thorn focused her energy and tried the whispered verbal and  simple wiping somantic for the  cantrip “dust”.  To her amazement, she had some limited success.  “Not there  yet,” she thought, “but maybe soon.”  At first opportunity, she would ask Ebon to train her in magic.

Thorn didn’t see Ebon until the following Godsday, but when she asked, he happily agreed to train her in what he called “the arts”.  Arrangements were made for her to study magic on her days off from the inn.  She had little funds with which to adequately compensate him for his services, but he agreed to let her work off her debt by helping him with his special project.  That project was the medical care and feeding of the town’s poor, which service she gladly rendered.  The days she spent with Ebon became the happiest of her week.  The mornings were spent caring for others, the afternoons in study, and the evenings in each other’s company.

In her first few days in Brun, Thorn had discovered that, while her understanding of the Elvish language was rudimentary, she could read the common tongue.  It looked to her like those posts on Facebook which start “If you can read this…”, with the letters all backwards, or numerals in their place.  With a bit of practice, she had taught herself to also write, a skill she could not imagine living without. Later, she would occasionally be called upon to use this new skill in aide of the town’s poor, who were largely at least functionally illiterate.  She would also offer her skill to those at the temple, earning a few coins writing letters and copying documents.

Over the next few weeks, Thorn made many friends among the town folk who frequented the Pewter Griffon, and the worshippers of the many gods at the temple.  She found herself thinking less about her past, and more about her future.  She never forgot about Devlin, but she had stopped looking for him among the people she met every day.

Thorn took every opportunity to explore the town she now called home.  One of her favorite things was to run errands for Esau and Gita.  Then, one day while shopping at the market, she met a young half-elf who introduced himself as Utah.  He was small in stature, with sandy blonde hair, sparkling green eyes, and an infectious laugh.  She knew he could not be her old friend, but Thorn was immediately drawn to him, and hoped he might become a new one.

Striking up a conversation, she asked him how he got his name.  “Born with it, I guess,” he replied, “Don’t ever remember being called anything else.”  He went on to explain that he had been named by his human mother, who had died when he was very young.  “Her death broke my father’s heart,” he said, “He went west just a few years later.”

Thorn understood what he meant by “west”.  Straight out of Tolkien, it meant to go into that final sunset.  She had always though that was a pretty way to think of the end of life.

After that day, whenever her tasks would take her to the market, Thorn would stop in to see him.  Over time, she would discover that Utah had been raised by an older Elvin couple who he “thinks maybe” were his grandparents, but that he had very few memories of his youth.  “Lots of people don’t really remember their childhood,” Thorn would think to herself, but she began to wonder whether Utah, or perhaps his mother, had come from the world she had left behind.  She also wondered if there were any more of “them” in Brun.

Caught up in her daily life, Thorn had little time to dwell on her past.  When she eventually realized that her memories were slipping away, she invested in paper, pen and ink with which to record the things that mattered most.  Even as she wrote the words that would preserve her past, Thorn was aware that they might soon mean nothing to her.  She tucked the paper away in a scroll tube, a story to tell others when she was old.

The weeks passed quickly.  Thorn was busy, and she was happy.  After the trade fair had disbanded, there was less work to be done, and more time for herself.  Once her chores were finished, Thorn would practice her growing skill in magic.  It took more stamina than she would have imagined, but that, like her skill level, was increasing.  Utah had shown her how to use the bow she had found (for that was what her memory now told her), and she was surprised to be pretty good at it.  Utah laughed and told her that most elves were good with a bow.

By the time the weather had turned cold, Thorn had made herself completely at home in Brun.  She enjoyed Godsday services at the temple, and the company of the friends she had made there.  A slender wooden torc on her left wrist marked her as one of Myrissa’s children, but as much as she enjoyed helping others, she still had no desire to become a cleric.  Thorn continued to study magic with Ebon Darkflame, and felt she still had much to learn from him.  Despite her initial attraction to him, their relationship had never developed beyond “playmate”.  They had shared kisses, and just a bit more, but they were not destined to be lovemates.  While they enjoyed both the magic lessons and working together, each would go their own way when it was done. This freed up the last part of the day for Thorn, who used it to learn about this world, and explore the possibilities of seeing more of it. She became a regular visitor to the shops of the cartographers and the booksellers of Brun; enjoying tales of adventurers who had come before and shared the stories of their travels into strange and often dangerous places.  Thorn accompanied them in her mind, and found herself wanting to see for herself all that they had seen.

As the weeks went by, Thorn found her relationship with Utah growing stronger.  From friends, to playmates, to lovemates, Thorn began to wonder if they might become lifemates one day.  Rather than making her happy, she began to wonder whether this new relationship might be the cause of her staying in Brun.  While she enjoyed the life she was living here, she was developing a wanderlust, and wanted to see more of this world than one small town.

Thorn mentioned this desire to Utah; to her delight and relief, he seemed to want to join her in her adventures.  The thought of Devlin and the dreams they once shared never crossed her mind as she made plans for her future.