Alyse's concerns about her sister's well-being were triggered early, as she watched how much attention the Prima paid her. They seemed incredibly invested in ensuring that Cara would develop into a perfect successor. This attention from the Prima primarily took the form of praising Cara and talking about her responsibilities and potential. Alyse did not see an intrinsic issue with this, so long as they didn't overburden Cara with expectations.
However, Alyse was bothered by the fact that the Prima seemed inclined to undermine her own relationship with Cara, as an attempt to avoid her 'negative influence' on her sister. Naturally, this only increased tensions between Alyse and her extended family.
After Cara's birth, Alyse and the Prima had settled into a terse, but unaggressive dynamic. Neither openly harassed the other, but any façades of respect or attempts at politeness were gone after centuries of open hostility. If the Prima tried to ask Alyse for even the smallest personal favor or concession, she'd dismiss them.
In turn, the Prima only continued to disparage her as they had before, just less openly and without the degree of hostility they'd had before Evelyn's pregnancy with Cara. Especially when she wasn't around, they referred to her as they had before – 'selfish', 'unreasonable', 'rude', 'crass', 'irrationally hostile'. The only difference was that these negative characterizations weren't explicitly in reference to her unwillingness to take male lovers.
As for Cara, raised in the middle of these tensions, she had a strange disposition for a child. She was neither high-spirited like Reynard, nor sullen – she was unnaturally calm. Similarly, she never formed a strong preference for anyone in the family, not her mother, nor Alyse, nor an extended family member.
In addition, even from a young age she had a degree of cleverness and observance that some might find unnerving in a child. Fortunately, the Prima only took this as further proof of her suitability as heir, and they praised her even more for it.
And so, the Prima and her other extended family constantly praised Cara and expressed their expectations for her as future matriarch over the first couple decades of her life. When an early magic assessment revealed her alteration class and ample power level, this only intensified. And, as she developed into an exotically beautiful young woman, their discussion of her romantic prospects became entangled in their praise.
On the other hand, Alyse concerned herself with Cara's sword training, and with acting as her bodyguard everywhere she went. Furthermore, she routinely asked Cara if there was anything she needed, if she was happy, and if she had concerns about anything the Prima and other extended family were expecting of her. To Alyse's surprise, the only thing that ever seemed to bother her little sister through the years was people's obsession with Cara's appearance.
Meanwhile, Cara was also given a front row seat to the dynamic between Alyse and the Prima and other extended family. From her perspective, at least in her presence, the Prima obviously disliked Alyse but maintained some semblance of politeness towards her. In contrast, Alyse was rude, standoffish, and would hurl obscenities or crass remarks at them at the slightest provocation.
When Cara finally inquired of Alyse what the source of the friction between them was, Alyse claimed it was because they condemned that she only loved women. When Cara posed the same question to the Prima and other extended family, they claimed that as long as they'd known her, she'd been selfish, crass, and unreasonable towards them in family meetings. Of course, they didn't elaborate.
Still, looking back at her short life of observing their interactions, Cara found the Prima's criticism much more consistent with her observations than Alyse's assertion. She could imagine and understand the Prima being frustrated if Alyse vehemently refused to produce an heir. But, she genuinely saw no reason to believe that it would be the sole reason for the Prima's lingering resentment towards her. By contrast, Alyse's attitude certainly warranted their resentment.
Years later, when the tension between Alyse and the Prima derailed a meeting to Cara's significant frustration, she voiced this assessment to Alyse in private after the fact. Cara merely hoped to convince Alyse to at least feign politeness in the future so that important meetings weren't perturbed.
Alyse, however, was flabbergasted by what she viewed as Cara's criticism and an implicit denial of the harassment she'd suffered at the hands of the Prima over her sexual preferences. Though Alyse knew that her and her sister weren't close, she at least considered them supportive of one another. So, the exchange hurt Alyse more deeply than Cara could have expected. Still, remembering her internal promise to repay her perceived debt to Cara, Alyse had merely gritted her teeth and offered to be more polite in the future.
Alyse discussed the matter with her mother later, explaining how hurt she was that the normally perceptive Cara seemed somehow blind to the Prima's prejudice against her. Evelyn had merely smiled sympathetically and nodded.
Her mother pointed out that Cara was still young, and her intelligence made her resistant to taking anyone's assertions at face value. So naturally, Alyse's little sister fixated on the barely contained hostility that she'd personally observed Alyse directing at the Prima, instead of the more telling discussions that took place before she was born. Though it didn't erase the sting of her little sister's earlier admonishment, her mother's perspective helped convince Alyse to make a better effort at politeness for Cara's sake.
However, while Alyse had once upon a time been adept at maintaining a cordial façade with those she resented, she found it harder after discarding such pretenses so long ago. Still, she genuinely tried to stifle her hostility towards the Prima and others outside the family when accompanying Cara to meetings.
Over the next several centuries, the Egris family settled into a relatively peaceful routine. Cara slowly took on more responsibility in Evelyn's stead, until she was the head of the family in all but name. Alyse stayed by Cara's side as her protector and advisor, doing her best to not let the chip on her shoulder cause problems for her little sister.
Reynard would occasionally visit, much to Alyse's delight. He'd regale them with stories of his travels, and engage Alyse in a few sparring matches, before eventually departing on another adventure. Though he still had yet to beat Alyse, she was always amazed with his growth during these visits. She learned from their sparring as well, sometimes reflecting for months after his departure on the new sword techniques he'd demonstrated in their matches.
Evelyn gradually gained more free time to spend with her children and on her hobbies as Cara took over more of her responsibilities as matriarch, and Alyse delighted in making up for lost time with her mother. In these years, Evelyn became for Alyse what she'd lost when Reynard first departed on his adventures – her sole, cherished source of support and true happiness in the Egris household. They were more inseparable than they'd ever been.
Though this time of virtual bliss for the family was well-deserved after millennia of strife and hardship, all things are sadly destined to end. For Alyse, the beginning of this end was marked by an unexpected visit from her mother. Evelyn had dropped by her room without warning while Alyse was reading a book on swordsmanship that Reynard had gifted her from his travels.
This was not anomalous by itself, as Evelyn had sought out her company on a whim more frequently as her matriarchal obligations decreased. However, Alyse noticed a sort of forced smile on her mother's face, and her concern only grew when Evelyn crossed the room without a word, sat on Alyse's bed next to her, and pulled her in for a hug.
After her initial shock subsided, Alyse managed to voice her apprehension.
"Mother…what is it? I'm happy to see you, but you're acting strangely. Is everything okay?" (Alyse)
After another moment, her mother pulled away from the hug and Alyse saw a sadness in Evelyn's eyes that set her teeth on edge.
"I'm so sorry dear…I just…wanted you to be the first to know." (Evelyn)
Confusion overtook Alyse's expression as her apprehension rose, and she stared at her mother questioningly. Evelyn merely nodded apologetically, then pulled her hair away from her face, as though waiting for Alyse to notice something. Eventually, something had caught Alyse's eye, and it felt like an iron grip was placed around her heart.
Alyse covered her mouth in horror as she lifted an unsteady hand to touch the almost imperceptibly thin strip of white buried within her mother's otherwise dirty-blonde hair. As she'd met her mother's gaze once again, tears forming in her eyes, a despairing whisper had escaped her.
"The Shift…" (Alyse)
A tumultuous event marking the end of a high elf's life. When they are born, high elves reach maturity in roughly two decades before their aging slows drastically – over 500 years of life for every year of human-like aging thereafter. Even for a high elf of over nine millennia like Evelyn, they retain their vitality, strength, and youth, resembling a very healthy human in their mid-30s.
However, after around ten millennia of life, give or take a few centuries, high elves will begin rapidly aging – this is known as the Shift. It's first noticeable by whitening of the hair, then by physical deterioration. In the span of just a few years post-Shift, a high elf will transition from appearing mid-30s and full of vigor, to resembling a frail human in their 80s. Then, they pass away.
Alyse had realized that her beloved mother, not quite age 9,700, only had a few short years left to live. As the reality of that sank in, Alyse was unable to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes, and she began to sob uncontrollably.
They'd only had a few short centuries of this blissful time together, and now her mother was going to be taken from her. 'It's so unfair', she'd thought. In truth, Evelyn was on the young end of the spectrum for experiencing the Shift, so it wasn't unreasonable for Alyse to feel like they'd been robbed of precious remaining centuries together. Still, that was their fate, nonetheless.
Evelyn, fighting back tears of her own, merely pulled her daughter back into her embrace and let their tears fall in silence as they held one another. After several moments, Evelyn gently stroked her daughter's hair as she tried to reassure her.
"I know this is hard, dear, but it's better to think of this as a reminder to cherish the time we still have left, not as a harbinger of doom. On that note, and if you don't mind, I'd like to wait a short while before telling the others. I don't want to waste my remaining vigor on meetings with a room full of frantic Prima. I want to spend that time enjoying my health with my beloved daughter." (Evelyn)
As Alyse tried in vain to dry her tears following her mother's comment, she inevitably just nodded her acknowledgement. In return, Evelyn thanked her quietly with a smile on her face. Alyse asked for one exception – to be able to go ahead and send word for Reynard to return home – and Evelyn relented.