When the ladies were last altogether, Ertha led Winslet to Hadron Khan so she could begin her journey in becoming an Elemental Mistress and to aid Hadron Khan in his journey to face his own kind as the new ruler of his tribe and to ultimately gain his confidence in a possible war against Tabor Jael and his Divine Patron Asmodeus. Ertha will be returning to Messinar and trying to get in good with Roland Sabo, Jael's Messinarian Liaison. Meanwhile Sirenia, Mistress of the Water, led Brigit, prospect for the Mistress of Fire, to Brigit's homeland of Sylvanauro of Gotodonia. Sirenia is now off on her own journey to find allies to oppose the Jael/Asmodeus faction.
Ertha and Sirenia devised a plan for each of their hopefuls for the vacant positions of the Elemental Mistresses. The tests include pragmatism for gaining allies and information against Jael as well as giving the ladies a challenge to face their own demons and to be forced to perceive themselves in way they never have before.

Brigit had been a high ranking member of The Order of the Phoenix of Sylvanauro before she was publicly dismissed from the order twenty some years ago. There had been a mission to sabotage one Tabor Jael's special units outposts that had been established near the mountainous border of Sylvanauro and Jael's realm. Only foot passes allowed access to lands of the elves in this area, but it was a remote and uninhabited area perfect for clandestine movements.
A plan was in place to destroy the unit, but in the case of compromise the plan was to abort and regroup to try again. Elves are long lived and patient. They are not afraid to fight, but prefer to keep casualties at a minimum.
As it turns out there was a traitor and the plan turned into a trap. Extraction was possible with little or no loss of life, but Brigit learned a top military general of Jael's was at the outpost to oversee the trap and interrogation of any prisoners.
Brigit is not like most elves. Besides having the rare trait of red hair, she is a very independent thinker and has short patience for an elf. She saw this as an opportunity that could not be passed up and confident in the intelligence given to her, made a new plan out in the field.
The plan worked, but at a cost of more lives than were accounted for in the original plan. The results were the capture of the general and his immediate aides and a captain and two lieutenants. A few more prisoners were taken, but the rest slain or run off. The outpost was salvaged for anything useful then destroyed.
In the big picture it was a resounding success, but when it came to the rules established by her superiors, Brigit broke almost all of them with this mission.

Brigit followed Sirenia through the Ethereal Plane for some time. She had lost track of time in this nether region of swirling mists and ambiguous features. At some points there was nothing but the ethereal fog and the iridescent colored 'wall' they followed that meandered and was to lead them to their destination. The whole time, Sirenia offered insights into what it meant to be one of the Elemental Mistresses and some of the rules and laws that come with that responsibility.
Eventually that came to a shimmering indigo 'gate' that indicated they had arrived at their destination. Sirenia was not going through and informed Brigit there were some aware of arrival and were waiting to greet her.
They said their farewells and Brigit stepped through the gate. On this side she was in the partial ethereal and could see the land she had arrived in. Through a dimming fog she perceived the structures that made up the central headquarters of The Order of the Phoenix. She also saw two people waiting for her at the bridge crossing. Lady Shalivar and Lord Ethros. They were the two Primes of the order and had been her friends and mentors.
Brigit was suddenly overcome with a sense of nostalgia. She never thought to ever be here again, but the sense of coming home had never been stronger. Brigit did as she was taught and phased into the material world.
She was a bit surprised as she was greeted by early morning twilight. The ethereal and partial ethereal does not allow one to immediately perceive the lighting or even weather of the place one is entering. Brigit had left behind a sunny morning in southern Messinar and was now looking at earlier morning...today? Or more likely the next day. Time in the ethereal is skewed, but a trip that would have taken weeks by boat, only took a few hours through the ghostly ethereal.
Brigit's eyes were greeted by the rolling grassy knolls of Firencia and the castle fortress of The Phoenix and the other towers and buildings that make up the complex for The Order of the Phoenix. Bright lights shone atop the Conjuration Tower like a lighthouse near the sea. The tower lights could be seen for leagues even beyond the horizon. Dawn's pink light was pushing back the dark and coaxing the stars to sleep until night's return. The golden morning light combined with the tower's light and the Faerie lights adorning the bridge gave Brigit warm and giddy feeling as she looked upon the place she had called home for so long.
A small bridge crossed the Silver Brook and led to a small shrine before the Embassy Hall. A dirt roadway curved up the hill to the main plaza where buildings for housing, labs, classrooms and other related structures rested.
Shalivar and Ethros were already waving to Brigit before she phased in. Their perceptions transcended normal vision. Brigit, in fact, had that gift as well and even if not, one could be trained to perceive or learn spells to see into other planes. Besides that elves had vision that allowed to see fairly well in the dark, but not able to discern color so much under conditions of dark or night.
The two elder Primes were smiling and had arms out in welcome for the Prodigal Daughter. Many who might have witnessed this reunion would be puzzled by the warm reaction of the people who had exiled Brigit in the first place. Perception is usually seeing more than what's on the surface.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by.