Rain and Brimstone
Valen stood near the bank of the Dark River, gazing out at the black waters. A permanent scowl had fixed itself on his lips, and his handsome face was twisted in a familiar expression of anger. His eyes, a disconcerting turquoise, were not fixed on the softly lapping surface; rather they were focused in the past, on a memory...
Such a memory, to make him scowl so!
Nathyrra frowned thoughtfully as she watched the tiefling from a little way away. He had been happy, for a time, but now his persona had lapsed back into the familiar standoffish attitude. It was hard to get more than a few sentences out of him, nowadays.
Nathyrra remembered the conversation she'd had with him in frightening detail. It was after the battle with Mephistopheles, and Valen had stormed out of the Lolth temple, his face a mixture of sorrow and anger. Anger won over, however.
"What's happened?" Nathyrra had said, falling into step beside him. Valen had not glanced at her.
"The battle is over. We have won. She has commitments...people who depend on her..." he muttered, under his breath, his steps brisk.
It took a moment for Nathyrra to catch on to his train of thought. "As do you, I suppose?"
"I don't know what I thought," said Valen, slowing, "Once it was over...I suppose I just assumed..."
"You'd be together, forever? Love doesn't work like that, Valen," Nathyrra had said, hoping that would help. It didn't.
He had stopped by the My'athar public house and turned on her, his eyes flashing. "What would you know of love, drow? Have you ever been in love? No? You'd sooner kill a man than kiss him! So don't you speak to me of love! Now if you will excuse me," he had scathed, "I have to help Commander Imloth with the wounded troops."
Valen's temper was a truly frightening thing, once unleashed. It was considering this, then, that Nathyrra approached the sullen tiefling.
"Lith My'athar is restored," she said. "Both the Seer's people and those who remain of Maeviir house are safe. You're not needed here, Valen."
"The Seer needs me," he grunted.
"Maybe. Or is it you, who needs her?" Nathyrra turned away, exasperated, and strode towards the temple.
Imloth, a few guards, and the Seer were inside. The Seer was seated on the throne underneath the great carving of Lolth, her staff aglow at her side. Her eyes were closed.
Imloth strode forward to block Nathyrra's approach. "Shh!" he hissed. "The Seer is having a vision."
They both stood aside and waited. The Seer did not move or speak, and she hardly seemed to breathe. It was as if she had been turned to stone.
"How long has she been like this?" Nathyrra whispered to the Commander. He shook his head.
"An hour, maybe. No-one can wake her."
"Who would want to, if she is having a vision?"
The minutes passed in silence. After a moment, the Seer's lips moved, voicing words no one could hear.
The Seer opened her eyes, looking in confusion at her surroundings. She recollected herself quickly enough and stood, walking to Nathyrra. "Where is Valen?" Her voice was soft, but commanding.
"The tiefling?" frowned Nathyrra. "He's sulking, as usual. By the docks."
"Send for him," the Seer said, gazing into the middle distance. Her lips had a curious smile on them. "Tell him it's time..."
"Time for what, Seer?" Valen stood at the bottom of the steps, looking up at the seated figure. The Seer had her staff resting across her lap, and was looking down at the tiefling with a benevolent expression.
"Time for you to leave Lith My'athar, Valen," she said.
All but Commander Imloth and Nathyrra had been sent from the room. Both of them looked up in surprise, but no-one was more surprised than Valen, who stared at the Seer as if she were a stranger.
"Leave? Now? Why?"
"It has been many days and many nights since the defeat of the Valsharess and Mephistopheles. The armies have been rebuilt, house Maeviir is cooperating ever since the ...tragic... death of Matron Myrune, and I am in perfect health. Why do you remain here, Valen?"
Valen frowned. "It is my duty, Seer. My duty to the people."
"The people?" The Seer frowned. "No, Valen. It is your duty to me that keeps you bound here. I may have given you the incentive, but you were the one who freed yourself from a life of servitude. You were the one who sought me out. And now you must be the one to make a choice for yourself. I cannot force you to leave, the same as I cannot force you to stay."
Valen looked down, a pained expression crossing his features. His tail twisted agitatedly behind him.
"You must make a choice, Valen." The Seer watched with an air of expectance.
Nathyrra and Imloth looked at each other. There was an atmosphere of a future hanging in the balance, of fate tipping some grand scale...
Valen glanced up, and opened his mouth to speak...