Private Tales A Fault Not In Our Stars

[Sedorohein]

Carnaduin struggled to not role his eyes. Fables were just made for insecure and shifty people who could not flat-out say things to people when they needed to. Why did he need to listen to a whole story about a lynx when a simple, 'Hey, beware of strangers' would have sufficed?

"Yes, but I'm not the lynx, or the wolf, or whatever other animals you want to attach to me in this story. I'm more like a hunter and I have found an injured dog in my bear trap and I feel sorry for it."

That was better right?

He had no idea what the old man was talking about anger for? Was he angry at him? What had he ever done to him? Well, he did call him a bear but that was just factually true. He shot a glance at Elinyra and just gave her a look that said everything was fine.

The man also spoke of power, but if he only knew just how little power Sedorohein had now compared to a few centuries ago. He once marched an entire island nation into the sea and they all walked willingly. Most of them died, but a few are now a seafaring race, so in the end it had all worked out well.

"But you are right, I do get something out of it, but it isn't so concrete as what you imagine. I get some excitement which is increasingly hard to come by the older you get. I want to watch the potential of your people go out and just...do."

Elinyra Derwinthir

 

[Elinyra Derwinthir]

"I've already seen some of the potential of this blight. I don't care to see more of it, especially not out in the wider world. We are mostly simple folk here, just living the lives we are given to the best of our ability. The last thing we need is pity."

As with their previous discussions, Elinyra found his viewpoint to be the very essence of human pigheadedness. She wasn't about to see all of their fates written in stone because of a stubborn fool.

"You still see us as nothing more than the blight? What of the afflicted children? Do they not deserve a future?" she replied acidly. Mannan gave her a sympathetic look that reminded her of someone who'd heard that an orphanage in some far-away country had just burned down.

"Do you truly believe this new friend of yours can offer them a better one, with the burden of the blight still affecting their bodies and minds? Even contained, it will make their lives harder than they should be.

"And I would remind you that many haven't been blessed with such -- some would say miraculous -- healing as you have." Mannan gestured vaguely at the silvan half of Elinyra's body.

"But that they could is precisely why I suggest this. Look, Mannan, the rate of decay has only increased in the past few months. It won't be long before more people start succumbing to it. We no longer have the time to find our own solution. This is the only option we have."

"And so very convenient, too," He grumbled. But he sighed heavily and took a moment to consider their words. Finally he nodded slowly, patting the table with his gnarled hands.

"I'll call a village meeting and we'll let everyone decide for themselves," he said at length.

"Then you'll support this agreement?"

"No. It is not my place -- nor is it yours -- to try to convince anyone one way or another. But they deserve to know of the potential dangers of said choice."

"It is a very simple choice: to live, or to die." She truly hated that it had come to that. But they had tried the methods available to them. They couldn't exactly leave Tir Na Nog to seek help from some of the more advanced civilizations on Arethil.

"Fine, a village meeting then." She turned to Carnaduin. "Is there anything you'd like to add before we speak with the rest of the village?"

Sedorohein

 

[Sedorohein]

"Do you truly believe this new friend of yours can offer them a better one, with the burden of the blight still affecting their bodies and minds? Even contained, it will make their lives harder than they should be.

Carnaduin's placating smile dropped from his face as his eyes hardened. He did not hear anything else that was said. The only thing ringing in his ear was the fact that this man not only doubted him, but he then talked down to him, like he was some common snake oil salesman.

Their former fae patron would lick the ground where he walked if given the chance, and here this buffoon of a human was insulting him.

Carnaduin stood up, already moving to the door, but paused when the final question was asked.

He looked back to Mannan with hardened eyes that once again showed the madness that Elinyra had already found in his eyes once before.

"Yes, let's hold a vote, but let me make one thing clear. No matter who asks for my help, I will grant it to them. I will make the blight nothing more than a fleeting memory of a nightmare that disappears as soon as they wake. But for you, I will never help you. After all the others go on to actually live their lives and make their bloodlines that will last generations, no matter how much you beg, you will never receive my assistance."

Elinyra Derwinthir

 

[Elinyra Derwinthir]

Mannan had nothing more to say as Elinyra and Carnaduin left his humble cottage. Elinyra was especially grateful for the conversation's end; she had expected Mannan to die on his lonely hill, but to see how strong his dedication was to that end even when help was offered -- or was it simply distrust?

Either way, he was getting exactly what he wished for. She wondered if he'd regret it in the end.

"I can say unironically that those sharing Mannan's sentiments have made themselves a dying breed."

The baby cooed. Elinyra lifted Fielynn up in her arms face her. Her serious demeanor slipped away as she added in perfect sing-song Motherese,

"Who's a big stinky? Mannan's a big stinky!" Fielynn giggled and kicked her feet in enjoyment of the attention. Elinyra bobbed her up and down a couple of times before hoisting the child into her arms and returning her attention to the matter at hand.

She gazed down the hill from Mannan's house to the other homes scattered among the trees. Some looked to have been grown from the trees, others more traditionally built. Several blightborn went about their business of tending gardens, gathering and woodworking.

"Most of the villagers are survivors from a blighted human village. They'll be much more willing to listen to reason. They have something worth living for."

Sedorohein

 

[Sedorohein]

"I'm counting on it."

Carnaduin had never planned on getting every last one of the blighted. In fact, if he had then he would have considered them soft and a little too impressionable. But he knew he could get the majority, he could get enough.

A small smile slipped onto his face at the noises of the child, but as he turned to look over the village it fell away. Now was the big moment, it should be now. It should have happened before Mannan had time to sway others.

He reached out into the air and plucked an invisible string and another, and another. The softest song filled the area, softly urging all that heard it to gather towards the sounds.

"They need to hear this, but it has to be from you. It needs to be from one of their own."

Even now, more of the blighted were stepping outside searching for the source of the beautiful song.

Elinyra Derwinthir

 

[Elinyra Derwinthir]

Eerie music floated in the warm afternoon air, calling like the first birds of spring after a long and dismal winter. One by one, the residents dropped what they were working on and stepped out of their homes, drawn out of curiosity -- or perhaps even a waking instinct to the presence of a familiar magic. Young men marched up the mulch path still carrying crude farming implements over their shoulders. Old women followed behind like a flock of noisy hens. Children of varying ages who had all been deformed from the blight danced around between them as if trying to catch the tune.

Elinyra watched with a renewed sense of purpose as they gathered. She'd always sympathized with them; they hadn't asked for this hardship, and certainly didn't deserve it. Now there was finally a chance to give them back some of their lives.

"Where is that song coming from?" a young man's voice broke the astonished silence before Elinyra had finished figuring out what she wanted to say. She recognized the voice among the crowd as that of Arthur, a former resident of the human village of Wetzlar.

"It is a much different song than what we're used to hearing, isn't it?" she replied, taking his cue. "The only one we've heard this past year has been one of tragedy and impending ruin. To me, this one sounds like mending and hope. Would you care to learn how to play it for yourselves?"

Arthur stepped out from his peers and looked wide-eyed between Elinyra and Carnaduin. He might have been a handsome man once, but the blight had taken most of his face and torso, leaving something that looked more like a leaf-covered effigy than a living person.

"A.. a cure?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, as if asking too loudly would cause the answer to flee.

"No. But the ability to take our condition into our own hands; to stop the decay that will surely take our lives if we do nothing. Perhaps even the ability to use our condition for our benefit instead of suffering because of it."

"How?" the question rippled through the gathering.

"The one who cursed us wasn't unique. There are others with the same power he wielded, but who don't share his malice or thirst for destruction. Some would like to see what we can do, given the chance."

A quiet contemplation replaced the crowd's startled anticipation. All eyes came to rest on the old man standing by Elinyra.

"I know some of you-" Elinyra began, but to her surprise Arthur blurted at Carnaduin,

"You can do this? You can save us? Our children?" The dull brown leaflets on his brow formed an arch over a set of wide, pleading eyes.

Sedorohein

 

[Sedorohein]

Carnaduin stood silently smiling at his own beautiful song as he watched all of the ill-fated members of this haphazard species gather before them. Each one walking with the confusion of a toddler learning the see the world around them for the first time.

It did not take long for one of their known to cut through the theatrics and ask him directly... a shame, he liked theatrics.

Carn seemed to ignore the young man whole he looked through the group to get a read on everyone else's emotions. This was the part in the story where the wise old man was supposed to say something cheesy like, The power was in you all along, or I can only help you help yourself. That all seemed rather useless for Carnaduin so he told them the truth.

"Yes."

Now, what was meant they asked for him to save them was fairly vague. He was sure he could keep them from dying. Hell, he might even be able to do something about their looks, as currently most of them looked like they had been sucker punched by a tree.

"But everything comes with a price. Mine may be considered cheap, expensive, or simply confusing. The price for my help is to live. Not the way you currently are living. I'm talking about going out and trying new things. Wanting things and then going out and getting them, not...what this is." Carnaduin emphasized the last words by motioning towards all of them.

Elinyra Derwinthir

 

[Elinyra Derwinthir]

The gathering was a patchwork tapestry of bittersweet emotion: eagerness, doubt, desperation, confusion. A hush of combined consideration followed Carnaduin's proposal, a hesitancy that blossomed into cautious optimism. It was plain that they all wanted to believe, but some allowed themselves that luxury more than others.

The leaves around Arthur's face seemed to get a little greener as he grinned. "Hell, mister, that ain't a price... that's just the way things ought to be! I want my family to have their life back! I want my kids to go out and see the world!"

Mannan, on the other hand, hadn't allowed himself to take this leap of faith at all. He skulked out of his hut with a scowl aimed directly at Elinyra and Carnaduin, shaking his head at what the fae said.

"A price that seems like such a deal in writing often ends up costing more than one can bear to part with," he grumbled. He turned his attention to the audience. "Let me ask you this, my friends; do you trust in this stranger's sincerity? Do you believe that he has your best interests at heart?"

This time the crowd's thoughts were lost in a cacophony of overlapping conversations.

"Would you rather die?" Elinyra stated bluntly.

"No!" came the consensus in outbursts.

"Would you rather be enslaved by yet another being who sees you as nothing more than playthings for their amusement?" Mannan boomed, stamping one stumpy foot on the ground for effect. The crowd stared at the old druid, but their frowns didn't suggest he'd elicited the response he was hoping for.

"And what help have you been, druid? What's your plan other than to go die in the woods?!" a voice called from somewhere in the back. Several others shouted in agreement. Mannan was at a loss to answer them.

---

That which fills sails and yearning hearts with dreams of sweetened horizons, only to damn the good to depths beyond mercy. It had been a literary warning; the very same warning that Mannan was now trying to give. But what sort of damnation was a threat to those already damned? That was why Arthur wanted to live. That was why most of the others were rallying behind him now.

Elinyra had already lived, and had already died in a sense. Her past life, back in the Falwood, was hardly worth remembering. Everything before her time in Tir Na Nog was but a distant speck on the road behind her back. Things had changed -- she had changed -- and now she wanted to do more than just live. Had she the power she'd once had, she would have shown them what each of them could do.

She could almost see him again in that dream, surrounded by burning trees and smoke. She could almost hear him say,

"Let the past burn away. Grow your own future from its ashes."

Sedorohein

 

[Sedorohein]

A big toothy smile spread onto Carnaduin's face as he watched the shouts erupt before him. Yes, they still had a spark of emotion, the will to fight. That was all he needed from them.

"He has no plan. Like the plants that grow along his flesh, he is preparing to stay rooted to the stop and wither away into nothing within two months."

And yes, that was how quickly the grove was dying in Carn's eyes. Without his assistance, it would be gone before the end of the year.

Sighing, Carnaduin began to walk over towards Elinyra and her child. It was time to end this and show them what he could really do. As he came to stand before her, although Carnaduin was small in stature he seemed to grow three feet taller in that moment.

"You have put your trust in me for a better life. I will now ask you to do the same one more time...Please, let me hold the child."

Elinyra Derwinthir

 

[Elinyra Derwinthir]

Elinyra gaped at Carnaduin for a moment in honest surprise, while her desire to help her child wrestled with the instinctual fear of uncertainty. She could feel the gazes all around burning into her while they waited to see what her response would be. If she could take that trusting first step that she urged the others toward.

For all of their sakes, she couldn't afford to back down now.

Elinyra looked back into Fielynn's storm-grey eyes as she held the babe up; eyes that trusted her completely, that intuitively knew her mother would do whatever was best for her; eyes that somehow seemed to hold a calm understanding beyond the mere months of her life. Carnaduin was right -- there was no greater token of trust Elinyra could give him.

She found that she was holding her breath as she offered Fielynn to the fae. The gathering, too, seemed to be holding a collective breath to see what came next.

Sedorohein

 

[Sedorohein]

Both Carnaduin and the grove around them seemed to understand the importance of the moment as all grew still. There was a pause as the old man took the babe in his arms before he began to speak. The air began to vibrate with power and when the sound finally escaped his lips the music from earlier filled the air.

Some in the grove would hear nothing, others only the musical notes that continued to play, and only a select few would hear the words he spoke. Although, he seemed to whisper to the child, for those that heard the words it was like he was speaking directly into their ear.

"To live is to dream. To live is to desire. To live is to hope. And to live is to strive. Fates may know the end, but we may enjoy the journey. Let all be witnessed, mortals, elements, and divine alike that this be the beginning of new life and a new path. For they shall be the first step on this unwalked road. I speak their name Fielynn."

Only the old man saw the strings of fate that would tie themselves and to the child and also their mother, but a soft smile traced his lips. A rainbow of magical energy flowed into the child as the signs of blight warped, at first taking on a purplish hue before even receding. When all was done the only signs of blight on this child were the now vibrant violet eyes.

At this moment, Carnaduin turned back and handed the child to Elinyra before speaking, this time only she would be the one to hear.

"As they were the first step, you shall be the second, I have already warned you of my price and it always comes due. Will you still walk this path, the path of a trailblazer."

Elinyra Derwinthir

 

[Elinyra Derwinthir]

Regardless of whether or not they could hear the words, most of the gathering burst into cheers. The landscape itself almost seemed to brighten a bit, as if a dreary morning fog had been driven away by liquid sunlight pouring down each shivering tree branch.

Fielynn cooed as she returned into the comfort of her mother's arms. Elinyra smiled at her and kissed her forehead tenderly before shifting her own gaze back to Carnaduin.

"Yes. I accept your price." For this chance, she resolved that she'd walk to the ends of the world and back if necessary.

Already families were assembling toward the front of the group, staying a respectful distance but fidgeting, eager for their chance at this miracle.

Sedorohein

 

[Sedorohein]

"Then may all hear this vow, I name you Elinyra, trailblazer, leader, and dreamer. Where you step flowers and dreams shall fallow. Now, speak my true name. Only you shall know this name and guard it with your life..."

As these words were spoken, and his hands now free, he began to pluck at these invisible strengths connected to air, earth, water, and even the light around them as it plated his chosen music. While this did not create actual music sensed by the ear, it more added a grand atmosphere so that all understood the majesty of the situation.

"Sedorohein."

The name made the air shiver as once it was said, it was like the entire grove wanted to echo the name, but was cut off from uttering the words again. The brightness in the grove shifted, as the leaves and trees developed a strange reflective nature where light would bounce off in strange way or pass right through in others adding a new wonderment to this area.

Elinyra Derwinthir

 

[Elinyra Derwinthir]

There was great power in a true name: this was something Elinyra had some experience with, and so she understood the gravity of the agreement they'd made.

"Sedorohein," she whispered, although she knew no one else would hear what she had spoken. Even the breeze would keep this profound secret between them.

She keenly felt the grove around them take in a life-giving breath, and even the lands beyond; the woods and hills, the streams and ponds and all of their inhabitants. All at once, like a swimmer coming up for air. The suffocating weight of the decay was not only lifting, but transmuting into something new. Something brighter.

The others looked around in awe at the change in the nearby flora. With the exception of the few dour faces that Elinyra recognized as druids who followed Mannan's teachings, it seemed that whatever influence he'd hoped to use against Carnaduin's plan had been destroyed by the display before them.

Looking behind her, she saw that Mannan was already wandering away.

Sedorohein

 

[Sedorohein]

As he heard Elinyra whisper his true name a smile spread onto his face. Normally, giving away such important information would be terrifying, and it was, but in the best way possible. A shiver went down Sedorohein's spine as the uttering of his name was the signal for the beginning of a new story.

"Fantastic, now let's celebrate!"

Sedo did get a large spike of pleasure at seeing the fallen faces of Mannan and his followers, but they were quickly dismissed as he was sure they would only be dust in the annals of history.

With a wave of his hand, a similar transformation to Elinyra and Fielynn began to occur with the rest of the crowd although in a more subdued manner. They would receive benefits from this pact, but only the first two would serve as his chosen champions for the future ahead.

Elinyra Derwinthir

 

[Elinyra Derwinthir]

Elinyra's heart had been trapped in an arctic Spring, still semi-frozen in winter's grasp even as the light that was her new daughter shone on the horizon. But now, as magical energy came coursing through her once again, she saw summer come roaring in with all the might of a wildfire. Within that swell were yet traces of death and mutation, but now also of life and growth. It felt, at least in that moment, complete.

Jubilant cheers rose from those who had been changed, this time with a note of empowerment in their voices. Whatever the future held, however they would define themselves in this future, life was again worth celebrating.

"Come, please tell us what you'd like to eat and drink and we shall make a feast for you!" Arthur exclaimed to Carnaduin, who was undeniably going to be the guest of honor. Though their resources had been increasingly scarce, Elinyra had the distinct feeling that was about to change.

She thought this singular occasion should be more than one of celebration. It should be the beginning of a season of plenty.

Perhaps Tir na Nog felt the same, for all around them new, wild growth burst from every branch, crack and forlorn patch of bare soil. A gaudy efflorescence of flowers crowned the trees and carpeted the ground. All manner of insects buzzed and flitted about, intent on their task of turning bloom into harvest.

Sedorohein

 

[Sedorohein]

Sedorohein was already beginning to get into the party spirit as he watched the happiness erupt across the faces of the crowd. There was nothing better than a party to wipe away the past in one big swoop.

"Oh just bring out whatever you consider your best. What would you suggest Elinyra? I want to experience what you have to offer and get to know you all, no better way to do that than with food and drink."

Sadly, there was no possible way this grove's libations would live up to the wonderful food and beverages of the fae, but the party being in his honor would make up for it. After all, he enjoyed being celebrated.

To add to it all, the fae swished out his pointer finger and once again music filled the air, but this time in everyone's ears. The music urges them all to laugh, sing, dance, and release their desires into the world.

It was time to have some fun.

Elinyra Derwinthir

 

[Elinyra Derwinthir]

"A ripe ffrwythwy is quite good, depending on how you feel about the texture. And, well, I wouldn't quite call it 'wine', but some of the brews we've been experimenting with are decent... or at least interesting," she said. She moved to put Fielynn back in her basket, but with all the excitement about, she was meant with a loud babble of protest. She resigned herself to carrying the baby on her hip instead.

"I may have lost some of me flesh, but sure'n stone I will never lose me craft!" An unquestionably dwarven voice called out proudly from a stout shrub among the group, which was now more of a loose cluster of folk either scattering to put together the party or simply expressing their enjoyment of their newfound freedom by dancing with the music.

"A roast! We should have a roast!"

"I have some bubbling good sponge in the house. I'm going to make some real bread!"

"Oooh, could we get some of those jars we found and fill them with fireflies for lamps?"

"I can't remember the last time I danced. It was before I had those twigs for legs.... well, at least they're proper legs again even if they make me look like I grew out of a stump..."

"It must have been a stump from the loveliest tree, then."

---

Elinyra felt a sense of pride, even of belonging, as the townsfolk gathered for the celebration under a unified banner of change. She felt it even more as she heard about how they'd already discovered new talents within themselves: how vines and trees had tangled around a razorbeast when it tried to escape a hunter, how a brewer's beer had fermented by itself in only a few hours.

Long piecemeal tables of fallen logs, extra building material and whatever else the townsfolk had found filled the main street -- or where it had been. The crude dirt road that usually joined the houses had grown over with fragrant thyme and clover. The tables were laden with the fruits of the forest (which had provided plenty), drink and a roast hog that looked slightly less like a mutant in its cooked state. The surrounding trees were festooned with lacy ivy vines in place of ribbons, and the children had hung a few jars of fireflies from them in anticipation of the celebration carrying on long past their bedtimes.

Seated beside Sedorohein, Elinyra watched with a long-awaited happiness. It reminded her of what she'd left behind in the Falwood, but she found that it didn't make her miss the old times, or the old ways. She wanted to see what the new ways would bring for --

What do we call ourselves? We're not afflicted. We're not of the blight anymore.

She gave this some thought as she took a long draught of the beer in front of her. With the little one in bed for the night and being watchfully minded for her, she could do a little celebrating herself.

Sedorohein

 

[Sedorohein]

As soon as celebrations had gotten underway, while many of the adults quickly hurried to prepare whatever they could find, Sedo happily busied himself by dancing and playing with the children. They were usually more fun than adults anyway.

Only when he had been informed that the festivities were ready did he finally leave his young friends to enjoy the party. Sedorohein happily sat in his seat of honor as he watched formerly blighted celebrate around him. He had the warm smile of a father watching his children play. Even he had not been entirely sure how his powers would interact with the people, but it seemed his magics were powering the formerly stagnant energies of the grove more than control them.

That was likely for the better. No, Sedorohein's own affinities would influence them in more subtle ways as time wore on. They might begin to notice they were more confident in their decision-making, prone to display their emotions, and more willing to take risks.

These were necessary if these people were to truly live up to his definition of what it truly meant to live. The fun for him would come in watching how it all played out.

He reached for his cup of beer and as he gripped the mug, the liquid glowed with ethereal colors.

"See how much fun there is in the world when there is nothing to hold you down."

Elinyra Derwinthir