Aaravos escapes imprisonment and hides for 300 years. He's angry, hurt, doesn't know where to go. He hides from detection using magic, disguising himself as various elves, wandering around Xadia, until he stumbles upon an Earthblood village where he stays for a while, concocting a plan of revenge. But time passes, he takes care of the community, growing less bitter. And one day, 300 years later, he stumbles upon Rayla.

Rayla is 25 at the time. When she was 15, she came to Katolis to assassinate the King and his son but upon finding the egg intact, Runaan calls off the attack. The humans do the same on their side, convinced by prince Callum, and they sit down to negotiate. The King and his High Mage, Avizandum's killers, agree to accompany the Moonshadow elves to the Dragon Queen and return the egg. Rayla leaves with them. She's never seen the young princes since then.

Traveling with the humans opened her eyes on many things, to Runaan's dismay. While she hated the Dark Mage at the beginning, after talking to him, she realizes he's not just a bloodthirsty monster. He tells her about all the ways to use dark magic to save people and the ways to use ingredients that don't require killing. Fast forward 10 years, our 25 year old Rayla is an accomplished Dark Mage as well as a good Moon Mage. She's been ghosted by her community so she's been travelling around Xadia, healing those in need. And that's how they meet.

My #Raylavos AU

CW: dark mage Rayla

#tdpAU #LumisWriting

1. Before they meet