This is a little complicated because Lei Lei technically never left the jungle of her own volition. She also is technically not supposed to be alive so things are in a huge uproar when she shows back up!

To understand just how insane this is, we’ll have to go back to a time before LL was even born, several hundred years ago. LL’s mentor, Veleda, was considered the most talented Spae and her visions of the future the most accurate. One day Veleda had a vision of a nation from the north that would usher in a calamity that would wipe out not just the Viera but the entire world. In this vision she saw weapons and creatures she had never seen before, she had called them the new Allagans. But worse is that she saw a large and dark monster behind them consuming all life in a sea of darkness. Veleda had pleaded with the Matron of ljótr to send forces to stop this rising nation. At first the Matron was unsure but considering that Veleda had always been accurate she went to the leader of Eryut village, who was considered the head of all viera in spirit. Remembering their subjugation under the Allagans, they amassed a war effort to quell this nation before they could destroy them. Along the way to the norths of Ilsabard however many viera lives were lost as the journey was not without its dangers. And when they arrived to find cold, aetherless people with less means than their own, fury filled many of them. So many sisters lost on a pointless and useless cause that amounted to naught. Veleda was held responsible for the loss of all those lives and exiled from the village proper, her life spared for the great works of service she had done up to that point. Veleda never used her oracle sight again.

When LL and her sister, Ingunn, had their Ørlögs foretold with Ingunn being a long awaited next Matron and LL, the bringer of much death and fire from the skies, was to kill Ingunn when they were older… things went a little chaotic. Ingunn and LL were separated for a time while the Matron decided what to do with LL, she couldn’t out right kill her as it would go against the Mother, however Ingunn kept trying to visit LL who was locked up and poorly taken care of. So the Matron visited Veleda and told her to atone for her sins of killing so many viera by taking one life… Lei Lei’s. Veleda agreed hesitantly and when she took LL away to do so a pair of ravens came and placed a seed in LL’s hand. Veleda, taking the ravens as messengers, tried to see in LL’s future to make sure that what was needing to be done was correct. Veleda saw what was originally prophesied but she also saw LL as the Warrior of Light. Veleda spared LL’s life and named her Bergljót, teaching her as best she could.

Several years later when it was time for LL to leave the jungle as foretold, Veleda tried to keep LL not wanting to see the viera suffer as Veleda had seen in the visions. LL and her fought with LL leaving Veleda to meet with her sister in hopes of starting a new life. And then things went to hell in a handbasket. LL’s best friend, Ölvir, took Ingunn’s body back to the main village. He was exiled and banished to the Wilds, Veleda was set to be executed when LL’s mother, a talented stoic woman who had many accolades under her belt for being a strong warrior captain, stepped in at the last minute and basically dethroned the Matron taking her place. Because Ölvir was already banished before LL’s mother stepped in and Veleda became severely ill, everyone thought LL had died, her body lost outside the jungle.

So yeah LL coming back to the Jungle to apologize to Veleda for leaving the way she did caused quite the scene.