The Frozen Shore

A lone figure stood, under dim moonlight, facing the bitterly cold ocean waves that crashed against the Frozen Shore with hostile roars. The figure wore a heavy cloak, with hood draped back. The weight of it pulled on his aged shoulders, but he remained stern in his stance. His pale eyes, sunken deep within an almost skeletal face, searched the stars that faintly glittered along the distant horizon.

The corners of his frail lips turned downward as the sound of footsteps interrupted his thoughts.

"Master..." a husky voice said. "May I approach?"

The figure's head turned toward the other. He regarded his servant with obvious contempt, then simply nodded.

A stalky man approached cautiously. "News from the MesTarii... One of Selucian's Tears have been located."

The Master's fading pupils changed to appear more like the angular slits of a cat's. He inclined his head slightly and spoke. The tone of his voice was low and hoarse. "Selucian's Tears... At last." He turned back toward the crashing waves. "Selucian," he whispered into the night, "you were so clever... But you were never going to win."

There was a short moment of silence before the aged figure turned back toward his servant. "And where, exactly, is the stone located?"

The stalky man responded, "It has just recently come into the possession of a Yuaelan man... Of House Kornan, I believe."

"Kornan?" His stare dropped as his thoughts focused on recalling the name. He then looked back up. "Greh'Yaelos Kornan?"

"Yes, Master. Do you know of him?"

The Master nodded. "I know of him... How interesting." The hint of a smile developed on his stern face. "This will fit in perfectly."

"Shall I obtain the stone for you?"

The Master raised an eyebrow. "The use of the word 'obtain' makes you sound almost human." He then regarded the shorter man coldly. "Do not forget your place. The more appropriate word would have been 'fetch', where you are more mutt than man."

The servant lowered his head and fearfully took a step backward.

"And the answer to your question is no. I do not need you to take any action. I will handle it from here." He lifted his arm, revealing a pale, cold hand with skinny fingers and long fingernails. A quick wave dismissed the servant. He looked back out at the icy ocean. A short, hoarse laugh escaped his throat. "A stone in the hands of the son of Ulagreh Kornan... Yes, this will fit in perfectly."

To My Dear Friend and Colleague,

I write to you this day to express my sincerest sympathy for the tragedy I have recently learned befell you. I would have communicated this support much sooner, but the news just reached me by word from our mutual acquaintance, Osias Laedon. I will not reprove you for the neglect in communication. The news was sorrowful indeed and now is hardly the time for reproach. And I feel far too much anguish for your misfortune to harbor any enmity.

My dear friend, I cannot presume to offer words of consolation that will heal your pain, but please accept my sympathies and counsel nonetheless.

Osias tells me that he was in Pairlu for a period of two weeks, during which time he witnessed you eat only once. As you know very well, Osias has never been a man of embellishment, and so this news concerned me. Think then, of how much more concerned I became when he proceeded to inform me of your present appearance... That you have become frail, you rarely sleep, and say few words to anyone. He assures me that you have not become a hermit, that you still accept company graciously, but your depression certainly runs deep.

Selucian, your mind has always been something of wonder and envy among more than just I. But Osias has expressed unease in reference to your current state of mind. You have been an influence in too many lives, and have been too great a legend to allow all that to collapse now. Do not depart like this, old friend. Please do not allow yourself to sink into your despair, especially after all that you have discovered and conquered. For our world to witness the disintegration of a mind which previously had been an icon of strength and self control... well, that would be a calamity. It would be a devastating example of failure and defeat. Who would persevere afterward, when they compare their situation with yours and say to themselves, "Surely I cannot if the august Selucian could not."

Forgive my harshness, dear friend. I weep at the thought of the pain my words will bring you. But I fear if no one counsels with you thus, that we will soon lose you. And I would rather seek you to repair our friendship, than seek you... and find you not at all.

Selucian, as you are aware, I never had the opportunity to meet your late wife, Essysne. I am sorry for that. It saddens me that I was too preoccupied with my studies here in Naavrus that I postponed such a meeting. Your communications, and the talk of others, have made it clear in my mind that you regarded her highly. I trust your judgement more than any other, and so I have no doubt that she was truly remarkable. She will be missed by many more than you. Fear not that her name will be forgotten. This knowledge will not lessen your grief, I am sure, but perhaps it will add comfort.

The circumstances of your Cherished are still unclear to me, but I will not request a recount until a time when you are ready. Though, without a full knowledge it is impossible to know whether or not some of my words have been taken with offense. I ask forgiveness now, for my ignorance and any words which were taken without appreciation...

(Scribe's Notation: The complimentary close and signature were indecipherable due to water damage occuring sometime during the years that Selucian Dantares kept the letter in his possession. But it is believed that this communication was sent from Dedalus Hespiiro, Master Astronomer and lifelong friend to Master Selucian. This determination was made approximately one century ago here within the College of History in Pairlu. ~Malien Waleran)

Dionné

Selucian sat down on a smooth boulder while he examined his whereabouts. He had to be close now, because he recognized the fallen tree in front of him. But had he turned left after it or kept going forward? He could navigate through the streets of Pairlu blind easily enough. Yet the forests of West Pelisir kept him wandering in circles. He didn't mind so much, though. These woods were always calm and quiet, and the air was fresh and fragrant. He felt at peace here, and could have remained sitting on the boulder through the remainder of the evening except for the tingling excitement that kept his feet fidgeting in the soft ground beneath him.

It was now nearly the same time as it had been the evening before when he had encountered the beautiful maiden that had since captured his every thought. His entire being refused to be put at ease until he had seen her again... or at least learned her name.

As he sat contemplating on his boulder a doe stepped cautiously toward him from between two trees. It paused mid-step and stared at him as he held his breath, afraid that he might scare it away. When he had not moved for the space of almost a minute the doe stepped closer. It paused again, but more briefly this time, and then continued moving closer still.

When it was within arm's reach Selucian ventured to speak, because he did not know what else to do. "Good evening, small one," he said softly.The doe's ears stood upright and it stopped suddenly, as though his words froze it in place. Selucian began to raise his arm slowly and outstretch it toward the deer. "Please, do not run away." He smiled at the creature. "But if you do, I shall still consider myself favored by the Gods because of your quiet visit."

The doe's ears and stance relaxed. Selucian's fingers touched its nose lightly. He expected it to immediately bolt away from him and disappear into the woods. But it did not. Instead it stepped even closer and smelled his body.

The two made eye contact again, and then the does turned and walked slowly to the fallen tree ahead of them. It looked back, as though to see if he were following.

Selucian, suprised, pointed at himself. "You desire for me to follow you?"

The doe bounded over the dead trunk and then resumed its slow pace northward.

Selucian rubbed his chin. "How peculiar," he muttered. But then he rose to his feet and followed after the deer.

It was a short time later that Selucian and the deer entered the glade that he remembered so clearly from the evening before. "Amazing," he said, and then looked down at the creature next to him. "How did you-"

"Pela'anispé."

The doe immediately bounded away, heading toward the source of the sound. The female voice came from behind the pale tree with fuscia colored blossoms at the far end of the glade.

Selucian realized that he was holding his breath anxiously when a light-footed young woman walked gracefully from behind the tree and into view. Her delicate wings fluttered as she smiled at him in recognition.

"You are here..." Selucian caught himself gaping at her and promptly closed his mouth.

The doe now stood beside the woman and was licking friendily at her fingertips. The woman indicated the doe with a nod and repeated, "Pela'anispé."

"Ahh...I see." Selucian pointed at the deer. "She is your pet?"

The woman tilted her head slightly, "Pet?" she repeated.

Selucian nodded excitedly and stepped toward her. "Yes, pet. That is to say, she belongs to you." He tried to come up with some sort of sign language as he spoke. Fumbling with his wristband, he continued, "Like this... This wristband is my possession. It belongs to me."

She wrinkled her nose and shook her head.

"Well, if not a pet, then... a friend?"

"Friend?" She thought about the word. Then, patting the doe softly on the head, she nodded. "Friend." She then indicated all the small animals and birds around the glade. "Friends."

"How fascinating," Selucian commented in wonder. He was near to her now. "And was that this one's name? Pela... Pela'anispe?"

She laughed at his attempt to pronounce such an unfamiliar word, but nodded afirmatively.

He looked down at the doe then and said, "Well, Pela'anispé, thank you for leading me here. I am in your debt." He put his hand on his chest and addressed them both. "My name is Selucian."

She placed her hand on her chest, as he had done, and said, "Essynse."

The Capture

The troop's commander grabbed one of his soldiers by the shoulder. "Don't go any further," he warned.

The soldier looked back at him irritably. "But we have him, cahpo. I heard the snare-"

"Just wait a little longer." The Commander kept his hand on the man's shoulder as his eyes searched the dense jungle growth before them. He would not allow them to move from where they crouched, quietly waiting, until he was absolutely sure.

Another soldier spoke from behind."Cahpo, I heard it spring also. We need wait no longer."

"He is there for the taking," another added.

The Commander spun on his heels and glared at his men behind him. "Your impatience will be our doom!" He tried to keep his voice down, despite his anger. "I do not think you trully realize how dangerous this assisgnment is!"

"But he is one man, cahpo."

"He is a Zregman!" the Commander snapped in reply. "And one zregman is equal to all six of you!" He shook his head in annoyance at their ignorance. "Not only that, but he is now like a scydrion in a trap. Twice as dangerous because he is backed into a corner! The Zregii value freedom and independence more highly than you can imagine. They do not go quietly when threatened!"

The first soldier grinned at his brothers-in-arms. "He will go quietly enough when he is surrounded by our spears. And if that doesn't work, he will break under the sting of our whips."

The Commander backhanded the soldier and sent him sprawling. With all their attention now fixed, he said, "You have all seen Zregii warriors with their famous tattoos, but have you ever learned the process of that tattooing? Well, let me just say, the pain is more than any of you have had to bear, and the process is not over quickly. And many of them do their own." He glowered down at the fallen soldier. "Pain, sirrah, is not a threat to one such as him."

The Commander then stepped over the soldier and quietly moved a branch with large, wide leaves aside. He strained to peer through the foliage and catch sight of their snared target. As his mind evaluated possible approaches he muttered, more to himself, "How ironic that it is Zregii jewels that fund this assignment..."

From the Journal of Selucian (while in K'sep)

I, Selucian Dantares, have never struggled for words. It is a fact that I take pride in. Very few have had the opportunity to study under the great orator and writer, Crusforo. I count myself among those select few... But how do I even begin to describe in words what has transpired today. As I reflect on it, it seems to me as a dream... one I do not soon want to wake from, for the image has captured my soul! The memory of her beauty alone still fills my eyes with tears. Alas! I find that I perhaps may be a sentimental and emotional man after all!

I shall do my best to explain.

I have come to the woods beyond K'sep in search of the mineral called Zsusmer. But what I have found is fast becoming far more valuable to me... I came upon her while traversing the woodland with little on my mind but the description of the mineral I saught. In truth, she was aware of my presence long before I was aware of hers.

I had just pushed aside a branch and entered a calm glade that was shadowed under the canopy of towering sycamores. I was staring at the ground like a fool, when I heard the sweetest sounding voice that has ever touched my ears. I looked up, startled, and discovered a maiden sitting before me beneath a pale tree with fuscia colored blossoms that seemed to glow. She did not run away at my sudden intrusion. Indeed, she did not appear afraid at all.

She spoke again... her language was unfamiliar to me, but the tone was kind. I stumbled through an apology for having invaded her solitude and she rose gracefully to her feet. It was then that I saw the small, delicate wings that grew from her back. I have read about beings of myth, but the sight left me gaping at her in wonder. She laughed at my obvious awe, and then walked toward me with a fluid grace that can only be found in those of her kind.
She curiously touched my cheek and laughed at the courseness of my stubble. My heart grew warm at the feel of her touch, and without thought I reached up and gently took her hand. I must have been lost to good sense and sound mind, for I would never have been so bold in any other circumstance. My boldness must have amused her because she laughed and her teal eyes glittered.
But that was the end of our meeting. She spun around and dashed into the forest that surrounded our peaceful glade, and I was left with the lingering sound of her laughter and the memory of her face hovering before my eyes.
I will return to that spot again in the morning... I cannot help but hope that she, by some miracle, will think to do the same.

~Selucian Dantares

Visitor

Ulgrez pushed the iron gate outward, indifferent to the screech of the hinges, and stepped out onto the vacant street. It was dark now, and shadows were kept at bay only by the periodic street lamps whose flames licked at the refreshing night air.

"Finally got bored in there, eh, Ulgrez?" The question came from the guard who sat on a barrel positioned next to the gate.

Ulgrez put his hands on his hips and strecthed his back. "I'm just getting bored in general."

The guard smirked at that. "Try sitting here for hours and hours with nothin' to do but stare across this ole' street at vacant buildings." He stood up and stretched his back as well.

Ulgrez cocked one eyebrow and surveyed the multiple levels of dark windows opposite them. "I have never taken the time notice... Are they all vacant?"

"Everyone within a half a league on either side of us moved out when the Capt'n moved in. And I doubt anyone new will take their places."

Ulgrez laughed scornfully. "You'ld probably do the same if you were one of them. You clam up tighter than anyone I've seen anytime he passes you."

The guard defended, "Well the Capt'n doesn't have the friendliest of reputations!"

Suddenly Ulgrez held up a finger to silence the man as he turned his head to look down the lamplit street.

Four dark figures stood a short distance away in the shadows between two lamp posts. As Ulgrez and the guard stared on, they stepped out onto the street and made their way toward the Black Captain's enclosed villa. They all wore cloaks so their features could not be identified.

"Now who do you suppose-"

"Shut-up!" Ulgrez snapped at him. He then turned back toward the figures and shouted, "I would stop right where you are unless you don't mind the idea of being fed to Greh'Yaelos Kornan's pet sharks!"

Their pace slowed only slightly and the figure foremost among them replied, "Is that name supposed to scare us?" It was a female voice with an edgy tone that cut like a razor.

Both men in front of the gate immediately recognized the accent and the guard spat, "L'disian!" He spun around to grab a spear that leaned against the wall.

Ulgrez had already pulled a dagger from his belt and was marching forward angrily to intercept the figures. "I don't know who you are, or what you think you're doing here but-"

He didn't have a chance to finish. With a simple snap of the female's fingers the cloaked individual beside her leapt forward with unusual strength and smacked the blade from Ulgrez's grip, while the other hand grasped his neck. The hood of the cloak had fallen back and Ulgrez had a split second to identify some features.

It was a man that attacked, or at least had been a man, because his eyes and snarl contained a viciousness that Ulgrez considered inhuman. His hair was dark and dissheveled, and his eyebrows were thick. But before Ulgrez noticed more, the man roughly threw him to the ground and bounded on top of him. Ulgrez was tall with thick shoulders and had never had a problem holding his own in a brawl, but this shorter opponent attacked with such a wild aggression that it was all Ulgrez could do just to defend himself, let alone rise to his feet. Sharpened fingernails tore into the flesh of Ulgrez's shoulder while the other hand balled into a fist and slammed into Ulgrez's head repeatedly.

At that point the guard drove the point of his spear into the attacker's leg. The howl that erupted from his lips was more out of annoyance than pain. He angrily snatched the shaft from the guard's grasp, just as Ulgrez reached upward and back-handed him across the jaw. Offbalance now, the man unintentionally opened himself up to an onslaught from Ulgrez and the guard.

Ulgrez soon threw his weight against the man's knees and shoved him backward, and then jumped up onto his feet to grab at his fallen dagger. He briefly caught sight of one of the other figures leaping toward the guard as he bent downward. Then he heard his companion's scream just as firelight from a nearby lamp post glinted off a devilish blade and Ulgrez was forced to halt in his tracks. The blade was held firmly against his neck by the female figure who he had at least identified as being L'disian. The hood of her cloak still hung low over her face, masking her features, but wicked yellow eyes seemed to glow through the darkness.

"You react instinctively and without panic... I am impressed," she said with a hint of amusement. The malicious edge to her voice still remained though.

Ulgrez's fierce glare did not waiver. "I have been in worse situations."

"I believe you have." A smile revealed beautiful white teeth with sharp canines. "But it can quickly become much... much worse. You do not want to imagine what I am capable of."

There was silence for a moment. Finally Ulgrez asked steadily, "What do you want?"

She seemed pleased because the spiteful smile returned, but the blade remained tight against his neck. He could feel blood begining to soak into his tunic. She replied, "Take me to your Captain."

From the Record of Huntley, Knight of the Order of Arthus. (Translated and recorded by Malien Waleran, Scribe at the College of History in Pairlu)

Today my Brothers and I have acquired the body of Essynse. At long last she will receive a proper burial and be laid down into serenity. May the spirit of her beloved husband, Selucian, now finally retire from this land and rest in peace.

I wonder if it is coincidence that this day falls on the 189th anniversary of her tragic death. For this evening will bring the third visit of the Herald of Spring ~ translator's note; the Herald of Spring is a comet which can be seen in the northern hemisphere every 63 years, and it "heralds" in the end of the north's "Long Winter" (which lasts for three years prior) ~ Three stones, three tears, for three periods between the Herald's renewal.

I pray that fortune will show us favor. I have sent Arcello to Dionne ~ translator's note; Dionne is the name of the site where Selucian and Essynse were believed to be married ~ in order to begin the construction of her tomb. No one shall be allowed to disturb her while her soul rests in the eternities. The Kesepians have vowed to protect the secret of Dionne which will be of great aide in keeping RiMaud from being able to locate and desecrate it.
~ Further translation of Sir Huntley's writings will be completed once Master Berardus allows me into the vault in the Library of Historical Records ~