[t:2c2kfach]“I was just a girl, only 80.I went to the warriors school. I was coming of age soon, and there would be a party for me. My mother sent me out into the market to buy fabric for my gown. A task I liked little. In the market place I saw a bard. I had not seen him before. He was very good, and had a twinkle in his eyes I had never seen on a male drow's face before. His fingers as he played his lute were so long that it made me think of things that I had never thought of before,”
[t:2c2kfach]Phoenix blushed here, but went on,
[t:2c2kfach]“I knew I had to have him, so I forgot all about my task and stayed to listen to him, and talk to him. He called me a pretty little girl and told me to go buy some candy. This made me furious but I didn’t give up. I've always had to fight for everything I wanted, why should he be any different.
[t:2c2kfach]I finally bought that fabric and my mother had a beautiful gown made for me. On the night of my coming of age ball though, while my mother was busy brown nosing with the higher matrons, I slipped away. I went to a nearby tavern were he was playing. I saw that he was drinking watered down wine as he performed so when he was not looking I replaced it with something much stronger. Before he knew what he was doing he was so drunk he could barely see straight. I started talking to him again. He didn’t recognize me, and I must have looked far older in my new gown. We went walking through the now deserted streets and we went back to the stage I had originally seen him perform upon. He played for me, and I flirted with him recklessly. I was a girl playing with fire and I didn’t know it, and partially I didn’t care. I went too far, and he took my maidenhead, right on top of that stage.
[t:2c2kfach]I don’t know how I managed to make it home without my mother finding out, but she didn’t even though my expensive new gown had been ruined. Then, whenever I could, I broke away to see him. At first, he only talked to me out of guilt for what he had done. But then he began to care for me. He played for me, and tried to teach me his gifts, but I am a lamentable bard, He saw however my gift for drawing. I showed him my sketches, which I never showed anyone. He encouraged me, told me I was really good. No one had ever told me I was good at anything before. [t:2c2kfach]Eventually I broke through his resistances and he made me his lover in truth.
[t:2c2kfach]We had such a short time together, so short. I noticed some of the guards sniffing around him a lot, they saw me talking to him and asked me questions. I was nervous and tried talking to Ilmyrn, as I knew him then, about it, but he blew me off and said it was nothing. But still I was concerned.
[t:2c2kfach]One night, the matron mothers were speaking in council and I slipped in to eavesdrop. They were saying that the bard male Ilmyrn was not what he appeared, that someone had seen him sneaking up to the surface on multiple occasions. He was to be captured and tortured.
[t:2c2kfach]I ran out to find him and told him what I had heard. He asked me then,
[t:2c2kfach]“Do you love me?”
[t:2c2kfach]I swore that I did, he asked me then if I would give up everything for him. I told him I would, and together we fled the city, with the guards hot on our heels. He tried to take me above ground, but all the ways were blocked, so we went deep in the depths of the under dark to an old dwarven ruin.
[t:2c2kfach]Along the way, he told me the truth. That he was a moon elf, working for the elven queen, under a spell that disguised his appearance he had been spying on the city, attempted to find its weak points .He told me his name..Dalen Willowsong.”
[t:2c2kfach]Phoenix chokes up then, but still continues,
[t:2c2kfach]“He said he was the son of a lord, and had a large home and many servants. He said he would marry me, make me his lady. But before we could leave the ruin the guards caught up with us. We were surrounded, mere feet from the hole that would take us aboveground. He told me to run on, but I refused. I could think of no other way out. I had few spells then, but I used what I had, including a scroll I had found in the ruins. I stabbed the man I love in the back, and killed the guards. Then I shrouded him in ice, because I know it preserves, and I left him there. When I returned I told everyone he had taken me hostage, and had died fighting the guards. I don’t think they believed me, but they couldn’t find him. I think you know the rest of the story.”
The Willowsong saga, chapter 2
Moderators: Shir'le E. Illios, Bhaern Quel
[t:s1qkz1pc]Mystremvar was silent.
[t:s1qkz1pc]“I don’t know what to say, only that that is one of the saddest stories I have ever heard.”
[t:s1qkz1pc]“Does he hate me?”
[t:s1qkz1pc]Mystremvar was quiet again,
[t:s1qkz1pc]“I don’t think he has ever forgiven you, really. I knew a bit about the circumstances that brought him to that ruin, and what befell him there. But when I ask him about you, he gets very uncharacteristically angry.He told me he had sent someone into the under dark to rescue you from some trouble you had gotten into , but that is all he has said about you. I'm sorry, but that is the truth.”
[t:s1qkz1pc]“Then there is nothing more for me.”
[t:s1qkz1pc]At that Phoenix stood, and walked out the door.
[t:s1qkz1pc]“I don’t know what to say, only that that is one of the saddest stories I have ever heard.”
[t:s1qkz1pc]“Does he hate me?”
[t:s1qkz1pc]Mystremvar was quiet again,
[t:s1qkz1pc]“I don’t think he has ever forgiven you, really. I knew a bit about the circumstances that brought him to that ruin, and what befell him there. But when I ask him about you, he gets very uncharacteristically angry.He told me he had sent someone into the under dark to rescue you from some trouble you had gotten into , but that is all he has said about you. I'm sorry, but that is the truth.”
[t:s1qkz1pc]“Then there is nothing more for me.”
[t:s1qkz1pc]At that Phoenix stood, and walked out the door.
[t:17v5vj9k]Phoenix traveled for a long time, she supported herself collecting the bounty on various break laws, but she felt even more alone than she had before she had known that Dalen still lived.
[t:17v5vj9k]One day she saw an announcement on a tavern wall. The Willowsong family was searching for adventurers and mercenaries to go to war against a great evil. It did not specify what, it said to speak to the head justiciar in town and he would explain.
[t:17v5vj9k]So she went, not certain why, but she only knew she had to help them.
The justiciar told her that one of the members of the family, a man named Myram, had been captured by a demon and was being held in the depths of the under dark.
[t:17v5vj9k]Phoenix knew she had to go and help her old lover, so she headed back to Waterdeep, where the army was to gather.
[t:17v5vj9k]One day she saw an announcement on a tavern wall. The Willowsong family was searching for adventurers and mercenaries to go to war against a great evil. It did not specify what, it said to speak to the head justiciar in town and he would explain.
[t:17v5vj9k]So she went, not certain why, but she only knew she had to help them.
The justiciar told her that one of the members of the family, a man named Myram, had been captured by a demon and was being held in the depths of the under dark.
[t:17v5vj9k]Phoenix knew she had to go and help her old lover, so she headed back to Waterdeep, where the army was to gather.
[t:1767dw6c]When she got there she bought a helm that covered her face and signed up under a false name. Then she joined Mystremvar's mercenary army under the pretense of a common adventurer.
[t:1767dw6c]They started out into the depths of the under dark, Phoenix still hiding her identity under the helm or a dark mask she had also bought. But she saw a man amongst them who almost made her turn tail and flee for the surface.
[t:1767dw6c]They started out into the depths of the under dark, Phoenix still hiding her identity under the helm or a dark mask she had also bought. But she saw a man amongst them who almost made her turn tail and flee for the surface.
[t:2r3kv1tw]It was Dalen.
[t:2r3kv1tw]He looked far older now, there were specks of gray in his black hair and wrinkles around his eyes that didn’t twinkle like they used to. But her heart still beat just as fast looking upon him as it always did.
[t:2r3kv1tw]She was careful to avoid him though. When they reached the ruins that the demon was supposed to be hiding in she went into battle in the same manner the rest of them did.
[t:2r3kv1tw]But they saw no demon. They split up into several parties and went to investigate the ruin. The party Phoenix traveled with was going through an old room that appeared to have been a bathing hall at one time, and found a trapped and locked door. Their rogue disabled the trip and pickled the lock easily, when they opened the door it was to a surprise.
[t:2r3kv1tw]He looked far older now, there were specks of gray in his black hair and wrinkles around his eyes that didn’t twinkle like they used to. But her heart still beat just as fast looking upon him as it always did.
[t:2r3kv1tw]She was careful to avoid him though. When they reached the ruins that the demon was supposed to be hiding in she went into battle in the same manner the rest of them did.
[t:2r3kv1tw]But they saw no demon. They split up into several parties and went to investigate the ruin. The party Phoenix traveled with was going through an old room that appeared to have been a bathing hall at one time, and found a trapped and locked door. Their rogue disabled the trip and pickled the lock easily, when they opened the door it was to a surprise.
[t:qtpartmg]Myram was in there, and with him a drow woman, Phoenix’s sister Si’Nafay.
[t:qtpartmg]In her surprise, Phoenix pulled off her helm and rushed over to them,
[t:qtpartmg]“Myram, your alright!”
[t:qtpartmg]“Of course,”
[t:qtpartmg]He chuckled,
[t:qtpartmg]“And while I was down here I found someone. You’re sister, yes? My gods, she’s pretty. But then again she looks just like you.”
[t:qtpartmg]Si’Nafay looked at Phoenix with terrified eyes. Phoenix could see then that she was bound to the wall by a length of chain.
[t:qtpartmg]“Myram what’s going on? Where’s the demon?”
[t:qtpartmg]Phoenix looked about frantically, her mind racing in confusion and disbelief.
[t:qtpartmg]“Oh, he’s long gone. I killed him, after I had what I needed. Do you remember I told you about my mother and the demon prince I helped her kill? Well I messed up with him. I didn’t really have a bargaining tool. But with that crystal I did, with the crystal I managed to find a demon who gave me what I really wanted, The power of a demon…I hid the crystal until he finished hell forging me…what the prince was going to do to my dear old stepmother. Only then, when I had the power, did I kill him. I knew you were coming down here. I wanted you to see what you had given up. So I took your sister just in case you didn’t come. But here you are. Now I can show you what I have become.”
[t:qtpartmg]He started to laugh then, a hideous laughter that chilled her to the marrow of her bones and a dark light rose up around his body. Phoenix did not wait to see what Myram would become; she ran to her sister and opened the lock to her chains with an ease born of practice. She yanked her back away from the demon Myram.
[t:qtpartmg]Myram had become a balar, a hideous creature with great wings and sharp teeth. He roared and snatched down at them with his clawed hands.
Phoenix pushed her sister out of the way and went to face the giant creature that had been her lover once. Thrust as she might her blade could not sink into the creature’s thick skin. With a fierce claw swipe he swept her hard against the wall and she slid down it, stunned. The creature was charging after her, to finish her, when a great holy light filled the room.
[t:qtpartmg]The creature recoiled from the light and backed away.
[t:qtpartmg]Mystremvar stood in the doorway, her husband, Sahadrian, and brother, Dalen to her left and right.
[t:qtpartmg]She gazed at the creature with saddened eyes,
[t:qtpartmg]“Myram, what have you done?”
[t:qtpartmg]“Taken the power that is mine, bitch.”
[t:qtpartmg]In her surprise, Phoenix pulled off her helm and rushed over to them,
[t:qtpartmg]“Myram, your alright!”
[t:qtpartmg]“Of course,”
[t:qtpartmg]He chuckled,
[t:qtpartmg]“And while I was down here I found someone. You’re sister, yes? My gods, she’s pretty. But then again she looks just like you.”
[t:qtpartmg]Si’Nafay looked at Phoenix with terrified eyes. Phoenix could see then that she was bound to the wall by a length of chain.
[t:qtpartmg]“Myram what’s going on? Where’s the demon?”
[t:qtpartmg]Phoenix looked about frantically, her mind racing in confusion and disbelief.
[t:qtpartmg]“Oh, he’s long gone. I killed him, after I had what I needed. Do you remember I told you about my mother and the demon prince I helped her kill? Well I messed up with him. I didn’t really have a bargaining tool. But with that crystal I did, with the crystal I managed to find a demon who gave me what I really wanted, The power of a demon…I hid the crystal until he finished hell forging me…what the prince was going to do to my dear old stepmother. Only then, when I had the power, did I kill him. I knew you were coming down here. I wanted you to see what you had given up. So I took your sister just in case you didn’t come. But here you are. Now I can show you what I have become.”
[t:qtpartmg]He started to laugh then, a hideous laughter that chilled her to the marrow of her bones and a dark light rose up around his body. Phoenix did not wait to see what Myram would become; she ran to her sister and opened the lock to her chains with an ease born of practice. She yanked her back away from the demon Myram.
[t:qtpartmg]Myram had become a balar, a hideous creature with great wings and sharp teeth. He roared and snatched down at them with his clawed hands.
Phoenix pushed her sister out of the way and went to face the giant creature that had been her lover once. Thrust as she might her blade could not sink into the creature’s thick skin. With a fierce claw swipe he swept her hard against the wall and she slid down it, stunned. The creature was charging after her, to finish her, when a great holy light filled the room.
[t:qtpartmg]The creature recoiled from the light and backed away.
[t:qtpartmg]Mystremvar stood in the doorway, her husband, Sahadrian, and brother, Dalen to her left and right.
[t:qtpartmg]She gazed at the creature with saddened eyes,
[t:qtpartmg]“Myram, what have you done?”
[t:qtpartmg]“Taken the power that is mine, bitch.”
[t:5vn98qdd]The creature snarled and rushed to attack Mystremvar, who raised her blade to the sky and called out,
[t:5vn98qdd]“I call upon you, Kelemvore, look down upon your chosen and aid me in smiting this beast!”
[t:5vn98qdd]A great light shot down from the ceiling, hitting the blade and encircling it in light. Dalen started to sing and Mystremvar moved even faster, her shining blade cutting into the demons hide like a knife through butter. The demon attempted to attack her but she whirled around him like a dervish and his blows failed to strike. Sahadrian finished his prayer and a great light filled the room, illuminating it again, making the balar cringe and howl in agony. But with a great rush of strength the balar sent a jet of flame shooting all over Mystremvar, who fell back. Sahadrian immediately ran to her, putting out the flames and laying his hands on her, healing her. Dalen stopped his song and rushed in for a surprise attack on the distracted balar. He succeeded and his rapier sank deep into the creatures flesh.
[t:5vn98qdd]The balar screamed and stepped back. A great unholy light came up around him, and the man Myram lay weak and huddled upon the floor.
Mystremvar stood up and walked over to him, her bright blade glowing,
[t:5vn98qdd]“This is not over,”
[t:5vn98qdd]Myram whispered,
[t:5vn98qdd]“You will not kill me…mother.”
[t:5vn98qdd]Mystremvar’s blade faltered, and her eyes filled with tears.
[t:5vn98qdd]“He is right.. I.. I cannot.”
[t:5vn98qdd]Myram sneered and stood up weakly, moving his hands like lightning a spell formed from between his fingers. Mystremvar went to strike, but knowing she would be too late.
[t:5vn98qdd]Suddenly, Myram gasped and reached his hands down to his chest, where the tip of a blade could be seen. The blade slid out and he turned, his eyes wide.
[t:5vn98qdd]“I call upon you, Kelemvore, look down upon your chosen and aid me in smiting this beast!”
[t:5vn98qdd]A great light shot down from the ceiling, hitting the blade and encircling it in light. Dalen started to sing and Mystremvar moved even faster, her shining blade cutting into the demons hide like a knife through butter. The demon attempted to attack her but she whirled around him like a dervish and his blows failed to strike. Sahadrian finished his prayer and a great light filled the room, illuminating it again, making the balar cringe and howl in agony. But with a great rush of strength the balar sent a jet of flame shooting all over Mystremvar, who fell back. Sahadrian immediately ran to her, putting out the flames and laying his hands on her, healing her. Dalen stopped his song and rushed in for a surprise attack on the distracted balar. He succeeded and his rapier sank deep into the creatures flesh.
[t:5vn98qdd]The balar screamed and stepped back. A great unholy light came up around him, and the man Myram lay weak and huddled upon the floor.
Mystremvar stood up and walked over to him, her bright blade glowing,
[t:5vn98qdd]“This is not over,”
[t:5vn98qdd]Myram whispered,
[t:5vn98qdd]“You will not kill me…mother.”
[t:5vn98qdd]Mystremvar’s blade faltered, and her eyes filled with tears.
[t:5vn98qdd]“He is right.. I.. I cannot.”
[t:5vn98qdd]Myram sneered and stood up weakly, moving his hands like lightning a spell formed from between his fingers. Mystremvar went to strike, but knowing she would be too late.
[t:5vn98qdd]Suddenly, Myram gasped and reached his hands down to his chest, where the tip of a blade could be seen. The blade slid out and he turned, his eyes wide.
[t:30os5lg1]Phoenix stood there, her legs apart, her blade dripping blood.
[t:30os5lg1]He looked at her in shock and stumbled forward, he reached for her, but she stepped back.
[t:30os5lg1]“But I..I loved you.”
[t:30os5lg1]Myram gasped, before falling to the floor, to breath no more.
[t:30os5lg1]“She couldn’t do it, but I could.”
[t:30os5lg1]Phoenix said, as she cleaned the blood off her blade and slipped it back in the sheath. She went to move then, but stumbled. The balar’s claws had dug deeply into her chest and a good portion of the blood spilled upon the ground was her own. She sunk down to her knees then, her bastard sword spilling from her hands and clanking to the ground.
[t:30os5lg1]Dalen was staring at her, his eyes wide from shock. When he saw her collapse he ran to her, catching her up in his arms. He turned her around to face him,
[t:30os5lg1]“Nedylene…Nedylene, look at me!”
[t:30os5lg1]She reached her hand up weakly and caressed his face.
[t:30os5lg1]“I was allowed to see you again, I was allowed to feel your touch.”
[t:30os5lg1]Her voice was coming up in a gasp as she spoke the last,
[t:30os5lg1]“Can you ever forgive me?”
[t:30os5lg1]Then all was darkness.
[t:30os5lg1]He looked at her in shock and stumbled forward, he reached for her, but she stepped back.
[t:30os5lg1]“But I..I loved you.”
[t:30os5lg1]Myram gasped, before falling to the floor, to breath no more.
[t:30os5lg1]“She couldn’t do it, but I could.”
[t:30os5lg1]Phoenix said, as she cleaned the blood off her blade and slipped it back in the sheath. She went to move then, but stumbled. The balar’s claws had dug deeply into her chest and a good portion of the blood spilled upon the ground was her own. She sunk down to her knees then, her bastard sword spilling from her hands and clanking to the ground.
[t:30os5lg1]Dalen was staring at her, his eyes wide from shock. When he saw her collapse he ran to her, catching her up in his arms. He turned her around to face him,
[t:30os5lg1]“Nedylene…Nedylene, look at me!”
[t:30os5lg1]She reached her hand up weakly and caressed his face.
[t:30os5lg1]“I was allowed to see you again, I was allowed to feel your touch.”
[t:30os5lg1]Her voice was coming up in a gasp as she spoke the last,
[t:30os5lg1]“Can you ever forgive me?”
[t:30os5lg1]Then all was darkness.
[t:eueo9p0l]Phoenix saw herself in a field, covered in wild flowers. She didn’t know if she was dead or alive, but it all felt so real. She could feel the wind, sweeping through her hair and smell the flowers all around her. But where she should be hurting from the wounds she received from the Balar, she felt nothing. Far in the distance she could hear the sounds of a lute playing, sweet and true. It was a simple little love song that Dalen had written for her so long ago,
[t:eueo9p0l]I could make no portrait of thy face,
No mould could frame thy hidden grace.
[t:eueo9p0l]She heard Dalen’s voice singing the first lines of the song and started to run. She ran through the fields like a girl, only stopping when she saw him ahead of her.
[t:eueo9p0l]He was sitting on a rock, with his lute before him. He looked up at her and smiled, that coquettish half smile he shared with his sister.
[t:eueo9p0l]“Am I dead?”
[t:eueo9p0l]She asked him,
[t:eueo9p0l]“Now little girl, you think I would let you go when I only just found you again?”
[t:eueo9p0l]He responded in that teasing voice she had come to know so well.
[t:eueo9p0l]Her face dropped in remembered pain at the way she had betrayed him,
[t:eueo9p0l]“How you must hate me now. Will you ever forgive me?”
[t:eueo9p0l]“Oh, Nedie..”
[t:eueo9p0l]He laughed,
[t:eueo9p0l]“ I forgave you a long time ago. I knew you did what you thought you had to do to save us both. Although I will admit that being stabbed in the back by my own beloved was a truly horrific experience. I think that you are in serious need of a spanking for that one.”
[t:eueo9p0l]They both laughed, and Dalen pulled her down into his arms and kissed her softly. She wrapped her arms around him and whispered into his ear,
[t:eueo9p0l]I could make no portrait of thy face,
No mould could frame thy hidden grace.
[t:eueo9p0l]She heard Dalen’s voice singing the first lines of the song and started to run. She ran through the fields like a girl, only stopping when she saw him ahead of her.
[t:eueo9p0l]He was sitting on a rock, with his lute before him. He looked up at her and smiled, that coquettish half smile he shared with his sister.
[t:eueo9p0l]“Am I dead?”
[t:eueo9p0l]She asked him,
[t:eueo9p0l]“Now little girl, you think I would let you go when I only just found you again?”
[t:eueo9p0l]He responded in that teasing voice she had come to know so well.
[t:eueo9p0l]Her face dropped in remembered pain at the way she had betrayed him,
[t:eueo9p0l]“How you must hate me now. Will you ever forgive me?”
[t:eueo9p0l]“Oh, Nedie..”
[t:eueo9p0l]He laughed,
[t:eueo9p0l]“ I forgave you a long time ago. I knew you did what you thought you had to do to save us both. Although I will admit that being stabbed in the back by my own beloved was a truly horrific experience. I think that you are in serious need of a spanking for that one.”
[t:eueo9p0l]They both laughed, and Dalen pulled her down into his arms and kissed her softly. She wrapped her arms around him and whispered into his ear,
[i:3nyv7msm]Sigh, heart and break not; rest, lark, and wake not!
Day I hear coming to draw my love away.
As mere-waves whisper, and clouds grow crisper,
Ah! Like a rose he will waken up with day!
In moon-light lonely, He is my love only.
I share with none when Luna rides in gray.
As dawn-beams quickens, my rivals thicken,
The light and deed and turmoil of the day.
To watch my sleeper to me is sweeter,
Than any waking words my Love can say;
In dream he finds me and closer minds me!
Let him rest by me a little more and stay…
Fair Darkness, measure thine hours, as treasure
Shed each one slowly from thine urn, I pray;
Hoard in and cover each from my lover;
I cannot lose him yet: dear night, delay!
Each moment dearer, true love, lie nearer,
My hair shall blind thee lest thou see the ray.
My locks encumber thine ears in slumber,
Lest any bird give thee note of day.
He rests so calmly; we lie so warmly;
Hand within hand, as children after play; -
In shafted amber on roof and chamber
Dawn enters; my love wakens, here is day. [/i:3nyv7msm]
Nuptial song by John Leicester Warren, Lord De Tabley, 1893, Poems Dramatic and Lyrical
Day I hear coming to draw my love away.
As mere-waves whisper, and clouds grow crisper,
Ah! Like a rose he will waken up with day!
In moon-light lonely, He is my love only.
I share with none when Luna rides in gray.
As dawn-beams quickens, my rivals thicken,
The light and deed and turmoil of the day.
To watch my sleeper to me is sweeter,
Than any waking words my Love can say;
In dream he finds me and closer minds me!
Let him rest by me a little more and stay…
Fair Darkness, measure thine hours, as treasure
Shed each one slowly from thine urn, I pray;
Hoard in and cover each from my lover;
I cannot lose him yet: dear night, delay!
Each moment dearer, true love, lie nearer,
My hair shall blind thee lest thou see the ray.
My locks encumber thine ears in slumber,
Lest any bird give thee note of day.
He rests so calmly; we lie so warmly;
Hand within hand, as children after play; -
In shafted amber on roof and chamber
Dawn enters; my love wakens, here is day. [/i:3nyv7msm]
Nuptial song by John Leicester Warren, Lord De Tabley, 1893, Poems Dramatic and Lyrical
[t:367gcl8y]“Wake up, Nedie..”
[t:367gcl8y]A familiar male voice cut through Phoenix’s dreams,
[t:367gcl8y]“Ugh.. go away.”
[t:367gcl8y]She grumbled.
[t:367gcl8y]A female spoke then,
[t:367gcl8y]“Come now, Phoenix, you need to eat something so you can recover.”
[t:367gcl8y]She groaned again,
[t:367gcl8y]“Why do I hurt again?”
[t:367gcl8y]“Having your insides almost removed by a balar has a tendency to hurt pretty badly.”
[t:367gcl8y]Came the male voice again,
[t:367gcl8y]Phoenix sat up immediately, it made her head spin and she had to fight the urge to vomit. Mystremvar’s strong arms were pushing her back down on the bed.
[t:367gcl8y]“Now sit back down before you hurt yourself. I am not having Sahadrian tire himself out like that healing you, again. None of us are so young and spry as you are, Phoenix.”
[t:367gcl8y]Mystremvar gave her brother, who was sitting on the other side of the bed a fierce glare when she said that.
[t:367gcl8y]“I’m going to get you some broth, Phoenix. Dalen, behave yourself.”
[t:367gcl8y]“Who is the elder here , anyways?”
[t:367gcl8y]Dalen called after his sister as she left the room, and then turned back to Phoenix and smiled gently.
[t:367gcl8y]“I though you were going to sleep away the rest of the year. Sahadrian said you were alright and would wake up when you were ready.”
[t:367gcl8y]“I had the most beautiful dream. You were there, and you forgave me.”
[t:367gcl8y]Dalen laughed and brushed her hair back from her eyes.
[t:367gcl8y]“Ah, little girl, I can’t stay mad at you. Its simply not possible to stay angry at you for long.”
[t:367gcl8y]“So you do forgive me?”
[t:367gcl8y]“Aye, I forgive you. Though I know that means that now I will have to settle down and end my roguish ways.”
[t:367gcl8y]“I’ll make it worth your while.”
[t:367gcl8y]Dalen laughed and took the bowl of broth that Mystremvar brought into the room.
[t:367gcl8y]He helped Phoenix sit up and eat, as she was eating she asked him,
[t:367gcl8y]“My sister, where is she?”
[t:367gcl8y]A familiar male voice cut through Phoenix’s dreams,
[t:367gcl8y]“Ugh.. go away.”
[t:367gcl8y]She grumbled.
[t:367gcl8y]A female spoke then,
[t:367gcl8y]“Come now, Phoenix, you need to eat something so you can recover.”
[t:367gcl8y]She groaned again,
[t:367gcl8y]“Why do I hurt again?”
[t:367gcl8y]“Having your insides almost removed by a balar has a tendency to hurt pretty badly.”
[t:367gcl8y]Came the male voice again,
[t:367gcl8y]Phoenix sat up immediately, it made her head spin and she had to fight the urge to vomit. Mystremvar’s strong arms were pushing her back down on the bed.
[t:367gcl8y]“Now sit back down before you hurt yourself. I am not having Sahadrian tire himself out like that healing you, again. None of us are so young and spry as you are, Phoenix.”
[t:367gcl8y]Mystremvar gave her brother, who was sitting on the other side of the bed a fierce glare when she said that.
[t:367gcl8y]“I’m going to get you some broth, Phoenix. Dalen, behave yourself.”
[t:367gcl8y]“Who is the elder here , anyways?”
[t:367gcl8y]Dalen called after his sister as she left the room, and then turned back to Phoenix and smiled gently.
[t:367gcl8y]“I though you were going to sleep away the rest of the year. Sahadrian said you were alright and would wake up when you were ready.”
[t:367gcl8y]“I had the most beautiful dream. You were there, and you forgave me.”
[t:367gcl8y]Dalen laughed and brushed her hair back from her eyes.
[t:367gcl8y]“Ah, little girl, I can’t stay mad at you. Its simply not possible to stay angry at you for long.”
[t:367gcl8y]“So you do forgive me?”
[t:367gcl8y]“Aye, I forgive you. Though I know that means that now I will have to settle down and end my roguish ways.”
[t:367gcl8y]“I’ll make it worth your while.”
[t:367gcl8y]Dalen laughed and took the bowl of broth that Mystremvar brought into the room.
[t:367gcl8y]He helped Phoenix sit up and eat, as she was eating she asked him,
[t:367gcl8y]“My sister, where is she?”
[t:17cga2t3]“Downstairs, worrying about you. She has told us about 80 times that she had nothing to do with your betrayal. I hope you will speak with her soon and tell her that you believe her. Then maybe she will stop telling us that, over and over again.”
[t:17cga2t3]“I will talk to her.”
[t:17cga2t3]“Then I will go get her.”
[t:17cga2t3]As he turned to leave Phoenix stopped him,
[t:17cga2t3]“Dalen?”
[t:17cga2t3]“Yes, little girl?”
[t:17cga2t3]“I always loved you, I never stopped.”
[t:17cga2t3]“I know that, Phoenix, I never stopped loving you either.”
[t:17cga2t3]“I will talk to her.”
[t:17cga2t3]“Then I will go get her.”
[t:17cga2t3]As he turned to leave Phoenix stopped him,
[t:17cga2t3]“Dalen?”
[t:17cga2t3]“Yes, little girl?”
[t:17cga2t3]“I always loved you, I never stopped.”
[t:17cga2t3]“I know that, Phoenix, I never stopped loving you either.”
[t:1mrgxq55]A week later Mystremvar and Sahadrian stood on the hill that would be their castle soon. They watched as Dalen walked his still weak lover around their island home. There would be a wedding soon, the first to be held upon the island. Phoenix’s sister, Si’Nafay would be staying for the wedding, but needing to return to her under dark home soon. As the new matron of the house of Illystyn she was very busy. But with her sisters support Si’Nafay was opening a trade agreement between the house of Illystyn and the House of Willowsong.
[t:1mrgxq55]“It is good to see Dalen happy, and reformed, so to speak.”
[t:1mrgxq55]Sahadrian said, his arm around his wife’s waist.
[t:1mrgxq55]“Yes, even if it is with a girl young enough to be his daughter.I mean, he has seen well over 300 years and she is only a little over a 100 !”
[t:1mrgxq55]Mystremvar growled.
[t:1mrgxq55]Sahadrian laughed,
[t:1mrgxq55]“I think sometimes that the Gods have a say in such things. I think sometimes they see two souls down below, drifting and alone and give them just the right nudge, a push in the proper direction, towards the person who will best complete them.
[t:1mrgxq55]I made you something.”
[t:1mrgxq55]“What is it?”
[t:1mrgxq55]Mystremvar asked her husband. He reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled out a pendant on a shining silver chain. The pendant was made of silver as well, and was two nude figures, a male and a female, wrapped together, in their clasped hands was a crystal. When Mystremvar gazed upon it, the crystal started to glow.
[t:1mrgxq55]“Its beautiful, what is it?”
[t:1mrgxq55]She whispered, breathlessly,
[t:1mrgxq55]“I put a bit of magic in it, and made one for you and me. When we are together, it will always glow. If something should happen to one of us, the other will detect it and it will assure that we can always find each other if we need to. I call it a lifemate pendant, for our souls are bond as one. You are the person who best completes me. “
[t:1mrgxq55]“Even though sometimes you want to throttle me?”
[t:1mrgxq55]Mystremvar chuckled,
[t:1mrgxq55]“Even life mates want to throttle one another every once in a while.
I had two made for Dalen and Phoenix, I will give them to them as a wedding present.”
[t:1mrgxq55]From down below they heard a sudden roar from Dalen,
[t:1mrgxq55]“You had sex with my sister’s stepson ?!”
[t:1mrgxq55]Mystremvar and Sahadrian laughed heartily together, and the wind blew the sounds of their joy across the ocean, mixing with the spray of the waters against the sand.
[t:1mrgxq55]“It is good to see Dalen happy, and reformed, so to speak.”
[t:1mrgxq55]Sahadrian said, his arm around his wife’s waist.
[t:1mrgxq55]“Yes, even if it is with a girl young enough to be his daughter.I mean, he has seen well over 300 years and she is only a little over a 100 !”
[t:1mrgxq55]Mystremvar growled.
[t:1mrgxq55]Sahadrian laughed,
[t:1mrgxq55]“I think sometimes that the Gods have a say in such things. I think sometimes they see two souls down below, drifting and alone and give them just the right nudge, a push in the proper direction, towards the person who will best complete them.
[t:1mrgxq55]I made you something.”
[t:1mrgxq55]“What is it?”
[t:1mrgxq55]Mystremvar asked her husband. He reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled out a pendant on a shining silver chain. The pendant was made of silver as well, and was two nude figures, a male and a female, wrapped together, in their clasped hands was a crystal. When Mystremvar gazed upon it, the crystal started to glow.
[t:1mrgxq55]“Its beautiful, what is it?”
[t:1mrgxq55]She whispered, breathlessly,
[t:1mrgxq55]“I put a bit of magic in it, and made one for you and me. When we are together, it will always glow. If something should happen to one of us, the other will detect it and it will assure that we can always find each other if we need to. I call it a lifemate pendant, for our souls are bond as one. You are the person who best completes me. “
[t:1mrgxq55]“Even though sometimes you want to throttle me?”
[t:1mrgxq55]Mystremvar chuckled,
[t:1mrgxq55]“Even life mates want to throttle one another every once in a while.
I had two made for Dalen and Phoenix, I will give them to them as a wedding present.”
[t:1mrgxq55]From down below they heard a sudden roar from Dalen,
[t:1mrgxq55]“You had sex with my sister’s stepson ?!”
[t:1mrgxq55]Mystremvar and Sahadrian laughed heartily together, and the wind blew the sounds of their joy across the ocean, mixing with the spray of the waters against the sand.