Elanil
Elanil is a central protagonist in The Metalwood Saga. Introduced as a fifteen-year-old elven girl from the village of Sylrantheas, she is a highly Talented leafrunner who uses dance and gymnastics to channel her magic.
Though she initially appears naive, mischievous, and occasionally jealous of her older adoptive sister, Arra, Elanil’s journey is defined by incredible bravery and selflessness. Her ultimate sacrifice to save Arra's life leads to her resurrection as a Prime Mage, where she plays a crucial role alongside her true love, Rylan, in the final war against The Twins.
Appearance and Personality
Elanil is frequently contrasted with Arra’s tall, statuesque build. Elanil is small, short, and skinny, allowing her to easily execute the acrobatic maneuvers required for her magic. She has a cherubic face with a perky nose, fine features, and strange, light brown—almost tan—eyes.
She has long, dark, curly hair that is often tied up in braided pigtails. Because she spends so much of her time flying through the forest canopy, she almost perpetually has leaves and twigs stuck in her hair, accompanied by smudges of dirt on her nose and cheeks.
Personality-wise, Elanil is sweet, youthful, and earnest. She possesses a shy warmth and a relatable innocence, often acting impulsively. For much of her early life, she harbored a quiet resentment toward Arra, feeling overshadowed by her sister's perfection and popularity. However, beneath her insecurities lies a fierce, unyielding loyalty and a deep capacity for love.
Biography
Early Life and The Cothellon Threat
The biological daughter of Silanar (Council Leader of Sylrantheas) and Melenora (the Artisan Mentor), Elanil grew up immersed in the traditional Woodways. A wildly gifted leafrunner, she frequently shirked her responsibilities to fly through the Muir Woods.
Her life of innocence ended when she inadvertently discovered a massive, hidden Cothellon installation in the forest known as Fennas Elenathon. During the subsequent skirmishes involving the human Remnant, Elanil developed a brief crush on the Remnant boy Martan. However, her actions during a battle against the Remnant—where she panicked and accidentally allowed the elven archer Fenian to fall and shatter his leg—left her deeply guilty and strained her relationship with Arra.
The Under and Co-Magic
During a brutal Cothellon raid, the floor of The Under collapsed, dropping the young underkid Rylan into her life. Elanil and Rylan quickly bonded, but their budding friendship was interrupted when they were captured by Cothellon forces and imprisoned in Planner Central.
Escaping through a sewer pipe, the two discovered a profound magical synergy. Because Rylan was a fallfoiler (manipulating vertical gravity) and Elanil was a leafrunner (manipulating lateral gravity), they realized that by holding hands, they could combine their Aspect powers into a flawless "co-magic." This allowed them perfect three-dimensional flight and the ability to conjure tornados of raw force. They used this combined power to defeat the Cothellon guards and the deadly forcefinder Elion.
Sacrifice and Ambarhal
During a chaotic battle in the ruins of Old San Francisco, Elanil and Arra were cornered by the ruthless Cothellon leader, Lorelei. When Lorelei pointed a gun at Arra's head, Elanil finally let go of her lifelong jealousy. In a split second, she wrenched the gun toward her own chest, taking the bullet and sacrificing herself to save her sister. As she died, her blood mixed with the roots of an elm, transforming it into a Prime Tree—the first new one in centuries.
Elanil awoke in the ethereal, violet-skied dimension of Ambarhal. She wandered the terrifying gauntlet of ghostly Trees, ultimately witnessing the horrifying sight of her mother, Melenora, being permanently consumed and trapped within a soulprison. Powerless to save her mother, a devastated Elanil eventually reached the top of the hill, where she was interrogated by the godlike consciousnesses of The Twins.
She was rescued from eternal captivity when a newly-murdered Rylan arrived in Ambarhal. Relying on knowledge he had gleaned from Cariel's stories, Rylan located Elanil. Together, they bypassed the Twins by aggressively forcing their souls through the soul of a Tree, tearing themselves back into the physical world. They resurrected at Cariel's Palace of Memory on Valaralda, arriving just in time to rejoin the fight.
Prime Mage and The Final War
Having passed through Ambarhal, Elanil returned to life as a fully unlocked Prime Mage. Reunited with Rylan—who she affectionately called "Wind" while he called her "Dance"—the two formally declared their love for one another.
During the final apocalyptic battles, Elanil faced unimaginable horrors. The darkest moment occurred when the ancient mage Cariel placed a Soulbind on Rylan, using his godlike powers to attack Elanil. Rylan begged Elanil to run, but she refused to abandon him. Relying on prime birch to constantly heal her own shredded flesh, Elanil absorbed Rylan's magically-induced torture until Cariel's concentration finally broke.
Following the deactivation of Xyclami and the permanent erasure of magic from the universe, Elanil and Rylan settled in the rebuilt village of Pano Sylrantheas, ready to live a normal, mortal life together.
The Savage Wild
Fifty years after the end of magic, Elanil and Rylan (now the mayor of Legacy City on Earth) traveled to the brutal jungle planet of Eryn as diplomatic envoys, bringing their teenage daughter, Lysa.
Their peaceful mission was a trap orchestrated by Calarel (formerly Cariel), who had survived her apparent death. Seeking to force the former Operators to reactivate Xyclami using a physical piece of hardware, Calarel captured Elanil and Rylan. When they refused to cooperate, Calarel subjected them to a specialized drug that accidentally plunged them into a ten-year coma.
A decade later, following Calarel's defeat by Lysa and the newly formed Triad, Elanil and Rylan were awakened by the elven healer Ashryn. Reunited with her daughter, Elanil expressed immense pride in the warrior Lysa had become. Happy to leave world-saving behind them, Elanil and Rylan formally stepped aside to enjoy a quiet, long-overdue retirement.
Powers and Abilities
Leafrunning
Elanil's original Alignment was the Way of the Creator (Lightprime Elm/Fir). She was a prodigy at leafrunning, utilizing her training as a dancer to Invest her primewood. By executing flawless pirouettes, pliés, and double handsprings, she could leap incredible distances, alter her momentum in mid-air, and glide seamlessly through the forest canopy.
Co-Magic
Before becoming a Prime Mage, Elanil was limited to lateral (horizontal) movement. However, by maintaining physical contact with Rylan (a darkprime fallfoiler), their magics blended. This "co-magic" granted them complete mastery over gravity, allowing for true, sustained flight and the telekinetic manipulation of massive objects, including entire buildings.
Prime Mage
Upon returning from Ambarhal, Elanil's soul was fully unlocked, granting her access to all Seven Aspects of magic. While she still preferred flight and movement, she became highly proficient at utilizing the Book of Amplification to cast massive, wide-area Soulsoothing spells to heal dozens of wounded allies at once.
Key Relationships
- Rylan: The love of her life. Their relationship began in the chaos of the Under and blossomed into a soul-deep bond. They affectionately refer to each other as "Wind" and "Dance." She ultimately marries him, and they share a daughter, Lysa.
- Arra: Her adoptive older sister. For years, Elanil felt inadequate compared to Arra's perfection and popularity. However, her selfless decision to take a bullet for Arra proved the depth of her love, instantly curing Arra of her own resentments.
- Melenora and Silanar: Her biological parents. Elanil carries deep trauma from witnessing her mother's eternal consumption by a Tree in Ambarhal, and from learning of her father's murder shortly after she resurrected.
- Martan: A Remnant human boy. Elanil briefly harbored a crush on him before the war escalated, representing her open-mindedness and willingness to bridge the gap between elves and humans.
- Lysa: Her daughter. Though robbed of ten years of Lysa's life due to Calarel's coma, Elanil is fiercely protective and immensely proud of her daughter's strength.