A/N: I don't know where this fic came from, or why it decided to come to me. It popped in my head one night, and the only way to get it out, short of exorcism—which would exorcise me as well—is to write and publish it. So, here it is. You know the drill: read it, review it, (hopefully) love it.
P.S: For the benefit of this story, I said that 453 H.E. (the date given at the beginning of First Test, which has no bearing on any of my fics) was two years after the end of RotGs, making Daine eighteen and Numair thirty-two at that date.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or setting, only the deranged and insane method in which both are arranged in this fic. Don't sue, don't lynch, and don't ignore me!
Ad Perpetuam MemoriamHimura Seraphina
Where shadows and sunlight met under an ancient willow tree, where grassy bank and rippling book touched and waving branches kissed the cool waters, in an otherworldly place amid an otherwise normal forest, a graceful stone monument rested, seemingly untouched by sun, rain, wind, or age. Though it was mere yards from the Palace of the sovereign of Tortall, a crown held by the Conté line for six generations, amid the Royal Forest and accessible to many, there was a stillness much like that of a temple or holy place—space which, while of this world, was touched by another, by the spirit or hand of the gods. That sense of immortality kept some away, those who were disturbed by contemplation because looking inward showed them that which they did not wish to see. Still, others came, to think or reflect, to dream or imagine. And others, a mere few, came at any time, undisturbed by the scared feel of the air, taking comfort in it, or simply accepting it as a part of the world and, therefore themselves. They felt bound to the stillness, and through it, connected to that which it marked as an eternal reminder of that which had been and had passed.
Hic Sepultus
Numair Salmalin
born
Arram Draper
421 H.E. – 503 H.E.
Born One Man to Become Another
Called Betrayer While in Truth Betrayed
Who Lived the Words
Nam Et Ipsa Scientia Potestas Es
Who Gave All for King, Queen, and Realm
And Chose All Three to Serve
Who Faced a Man With All the Might of An Empire
Yet Dared to Speak and Think His Own Words
By His Voice Does One Man Live a Tree
And One Tree Walk as Man
Champion of Friendship, Faith, and Fidelity
Learned in All Arts of Magic and Science
Who Gave More to His Arts Than Ever He Gained
As Traitor, Exile, Peasant, Juggler, Spy, Teacher, Mage, and Hero
Was He Known
But At All Times a Student of Life
A Man of Honor
And Unfailingly Human
But First, Last, Always
Known By Those Titles Which He Chose:
Lover, Husband, Father
Grandfather
He Who Was Teacher Became Student
And Learned That Which Was Truth Beyond
All Knowledge of Book and Spell
Amor Est Vitae Essentia
For Every Battle Won, Spell Cast
And Deed Sung
Are Pale Specters of Greatness
Overshadowed By the Truth of His Life
To Love and to Be Loved by
One Woman
His Wife
In Aeternum
Hic Sepultus
Veralidaine Salmalin neé Sarrasri
called
Daine the Wildmage
435 H.E. – 503 H.E.
Born Both Bastard and Godborn
Daughter of the Mountains, Woods, and Hills
Who Proved the Words
Miseria Fortes Viros
Who Became A Woman Only Through the Loss
Of All That Was Dear
Who Stood Before Empire, Emperor and Self-Styled God
And in Face of It Both Laughed and Wept
Defender of All People, of Two Legs, Four, or None
Who Walked the Realms of Human, God, and Death
And Was Touched By Chaos' Hand
Who Loved Her Enemy and Defied the Gods
To Speak on His Behalf
Bastard, Orphan, Madwoman, Exile, Mage, Healer, and Hero
Who Gave Voice to Those With None
Who was Named Chosen and Bearer of Change
And Whose Love for all That was Beast
Made Her Yet More Human
Who Was, Above All Things Mortal and Immortal
Daughter, Lover, Wife
Mother, Grandmother
Who Found That Survival, Strength, and Honor
Were Not Enough to Truly Live
And Found in Life
Omnia Vincit Amor
All Sights, Wonders, and Truths
Found in the Realms of the Divine
Held not the Glory nor Greatness
Which Were Found in One Place
The Presence and Embrace of
One Man
Her Husband
In Aeternum
To Those Two Who Have Gone
Having Touched the Lives of King and Emperor
Beast and Man
Soldier and Peasant
Friend, Comrade, and Child
Into the Peace of The Black God's Embrace
Into the Wonders of the Realm of the Gods
Shall You Find Rest Where You Will Never
Be Without Cause or Purpose
To The Eternity Which You Have Earned
With Blood, Sweat, and Tears
Do Those Who Remain, And Who Follow, Send You
Knowing That Only Together Do You Venture
Into the Unknown
Sit Tibi Terra Levitas
Pax Vobiscum
Where shadows and sunlight met under an ancient willow tree, where grassy bank and rippling book touched and waving branches kissed the cool waters, in an otherworldly place amid an otherwise normal forest, a graceful stone monument rested, seemingly untouched by sun, rain, wind, or age.
Yup, I'm weird.
That's the fic, but I know some of you are frothing at the mouth about now, wanting to know what those random bits of gibberish are, so here's the Latin-English translation:
Ad perpetuam memoriam – to the eternal memory (of)
Hic sepultus – here lies buried…
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas es – knowledge is power
Amor est vitae essentia – love is the essence of life
In aeternum – for eternity
Miseria fortes viros – adversity tests strong men and women!
Omnia vincit amor – love conquers all things
Sit tibi terra levitas – may the earth rest lightly on you -- a benediction for the dead, often inscribed on tombstones and gravestones
Pax vobiscum – peace be with you (plural)
