evening star;

When she was little, Hesperia grew up under the golden, glowing tree of Eden. She wanted to be one of its protectors when she grew up, wanted to help the attendants care for the branches and the magic that sustained the humans because she loved nothing more than playing under its branches with her siblings, the pixies, the other fey and the humans. She'd never gotten old enough to see that dream come true and her dreams changed dramatically since then. There was no Eden left and this was the only Laurelin that Hesperia had seen since then. They said that the Archdruids had protected the seed of this Laurelin and that a Celestial elf had grown it and now protected it as it existed to sustain their new elven realm. The world was so different. In fact, this was a different realm now altogether. Hesperia had built her little home for her and her sibling in the outskirts of the Dusk Field's border that was closer to the Lunar Mountains. Their home touched one of the largest Laurelin roots that protruded out of the ground near those Courts because she hoped it would remind The Tranquil of their old home.

But she spent more time outside their new little house regardless, coming closer to the center of the tree to look up and imagine what it might have been like if Eden never fell. This wasn't Eden but it was its own magnificence. So Hesperia sung a gentle song as she placed a hand over one of the thick roots that she sat upon. A song not to hurt or even help the tree at all - a song only speaking of her love and appreciation for it so that it might hopefully know how she felt. She figured it would do nothing at all with magic but another elf emerged from nearby as her song faded away. The elf did not emanate any seasonal magic that was familiar to her. They also spoke of other strange elves here besides the Celestial like Astral elves and Sanguine elves and other's that she'd never met so Hesperia couldn't be sure what sort this was. But his power was very... uplifting. It was a strange but wonderful feeling. "Are you a guard or caretaker? I was only singing and thanking her," she said softly and calmly. "I swear it on the Gods."

Not by blood, but Ariadne would have been a cousin to Hesperia if time and Fate had been kinder to them both. Hesperos, Hesperia's father, had told her older siblings so many stories of the divine nymphs that had adopted and raised him. They, in turn, had told their youngest sister where her name had come from when their fathers were gone. Hesperia had grown up loved and surrounded by so many siblings, no matter the fact that their parents had passed the fey family had never been alone in Eden. Ariadne had not known the same comfort and love as far as Hesperia knew. A divine-blooded princess born after Hesperia's time who had been made to grow up under cruel parents. The elf knew the princess was here now, she knew why she had arrived from all the rumours and gossip. While she didn't imagine that Ariadne might have any magic or knowledge to help The Tranquil with, this time Hesperia ventured out to find someone simply out of the sheer and selfish desire to know them. The Hesperides had rescued her late father, raised him as one of their own and then taught him the love of family that got passed down onto her. Her entire family owed them and, thus, Hesperia owed it to Ariadne to love and support her. To know her... at the very least. She wasn't sure if a divine princess would want anything at all to do with a common dusk elf that never even knew the nymphs she was named for. But she had hope regardless.

Wearing a scarf made of Amphisbaena that protected her pointed ears and made her feel more secure in the Otherworld, the scarf's cloaking magic and Hesperia's own penchant for moving in such a silent manner made many jump. She might've considered that more carefully before accidentally scaring the guards at the entrance of The Labyrinth, earning a scolding that put her on edge. Out of sheer defensive habit, she'd quickly taken out a dagger when one of the angry guards took out what looked like a weapon to her. She'd later find out it was just what mortals called a 'walkie talkie.' So the elf found herself in an office, awaiting someone to talk to her about this misunderstanding and let her go when a woman walked in. The magic that emanated from her was potent; Hesperia silently assumed it must have been Ariadne. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to frighten your guards... or to threaten them."

Dusk settled over the mortal realm and, with it, Hesperia exited the Moongate and ventured through the pathways of the Fey Forest leading back to Rome. Thus far, the elves that had been willing to help search and research and had been amicable and hardworking, doing what they could to find a way to cure The Tranquil. But Hesperia had been down this road before and it had begun to look far too familiar. She knew when things weren't going to progress much further. Hope dwindled once more, only reawakened when she heard the pixies of Audele rejoicing over their Queen's arrival. Morgan Le Fay; she'd been a legend to the elves and fey far before her fabled trysts in Camlann. The common dusk elf had already been traipsing through the Otherworld when the pixie queen rescued a mortal king and disappeared once more to Avalon. But, in the recent days, Hesperia had done her reading about what had happened once the pixies had started whispering. The stories gave Hesperia as much awe as they did hope and she wondered if there was a way to gain the queen's favor. Not for herself; Hesperia didn't search for glory or fame but she was eager to fix her family. Morgana dealt with heroes and Hesperia was no hero, but the pixie queen was said to be kind. Hesperia once been a young fey in Eden who danced with playful pixies and sung songs with them about queens with wings and queens with kindness. Hesperia's father had been a common elf raised by nymphs, daughters and sons of Ulthar himself, but the elf grew up thinking there was more to admire about Titania and Morgana than there was about the divine.

So Hesperia moved through the Fey pathways, following the little pixie that had been generous enough to lead her once the elf had paid them many compliments about their dancing. It wasn't long before they finally started to feel the sensation of powerful magic and the little pixie bid her farewell at that point, disappearing with a giggle and a flash of foggy light. The dusk elf moved forward towards the Aspect, wearing a scarf made of Amphisbaena that protected her pointed ears and made her feel more secure in the Otherworld. She hadn't yet given it up. The scarf's cloaking magic and Hesperia's own penchant for moving in such a silent manner made many jump when she appeared without a sound or sensation. With that in mind, Hesperia tried to speak more softly in greeting, even as she noted the tell-tale signs of elven-made trouble and tried to be quick to warn. "Your Majesty," Hesperia said, looking over at the gorgeous pathway of colored trees Morgana had been about to walk under. "Please don't go any further." Dusk elves were notorious pranksters. Though Hesperia wasn't much of one, she had had a playful youth in Eden as a young autumn fey. A careful one never got fooled by their own Court and recognized the signs of a well-laid out joke about to happen; she was unsure if the pixie queen saw the same thing she did.