Lildidaru's Story
Chapter 1
She sat fuming, slowly and expertly drawing a wet-stone along the edges of her sword. If she had bothered to look around she would have noticed the others in the tavern trying their best to not attract attention of this female paladin elf. Lildidaru , born to a heroic Warrior Elf Father named Morrigan and to a High Cleric Mother who unremembered her name so no other magic user could control or damage her. Both met on a battlefield as they were in a war with the Crushbone Orcs. These were the most fierce orcs of this time in all of Norrath. Here it was the Great Warrior Morrigan gave his life to save the beautiful High Cleric. The Warrior was struck down by the infamous and powerful Dark Elf Lord named ambassador D'Vinn. In saving her life it gave her the time to complete the spell that turned the tide of the battle for the Elves to win the war. The High Cleric not willing to count the life of this Great Warrior as a waste; and at great peril to herself brought this Warrior back to life. They fell madly in love and for the first time in centuries produced an elf child who was proficient as a warrior, even learning the forbidden teachings of the highest martial arts, to the best in her class in the magic arts which made her into the young paladin sitting at the tavern today; sulking at the words of the High Cleric.
She had gone into the assembly room and asked, no begged to lead the small band of elf warriors to the cave of the ice-dragon that had taken up residence in the nearby ice-caves. They needed to destroy this dragon before it started terrorizing the country-side. She knew how to fight as her many exploits proved. Her tactic skills were better than any of these that had come forward to volunteer for this mission. But The Council had backed the High Elf that had taken over since her mothers' death, when he stated the leadership of this adventure would go to another. Thats when she had stormed out to wind up at her favorite tavern to think, to plan, yes to plan. Unknown to her there was a great magic user in the assembly when she was in there and had followed her. He had loved her for many years now and she didn't even know he existed. But he would wait. He sat now sending small amounts of calming energy toward her to help clear her mind. He knew what she was going to do even before she had decided.
She picked up her mug and drained it in one gulp and slamming down the metal mug with enough energy to dent it again she jumped up and went to get her supplies ready for her journey. Her shadow followed at a distance behind her shaking his head. She headed for home and as she got there she went straight to a secret place under her floor to get her special weapons she had found in her fathers possession when he finally passed away. The first to come out was a silvery rope chain that her father had gotten from when the dark elf had killed him that time. It had a magical property to stretch as far as need and to hold anything it came in contact with. She felt she might need it. Then standing up she made sure she had her dagger and with her sword snug against her back she picked her shield up she had received from her mother and strode out into the night. If she had bothered to look she would have noticed another with a pack that he slowly dwindled into a very small bundle and putting it into a wallet draped over his shoulder picked up his shield; with the crescent moon and three stars and the midnight darkness that seemed to draw anything it came in contact with, and his magical mace began his journey behind her.
She seemed to be in a hurry and walked briskly along the forest path that was well known to her as if she was trying to catch up with someone. After a while she had started to slow down as her anger began to dissipate. She finally came to a small river she knew she had to cross and with her night vision she slowly made it across and as she started down the other side of the mountain path she stopped, she knew she heard something. She leaped to a nearby boulder and waited focusing on the path in front of her. She didn't have to wait long as an male elf came walking along the path behind her. With his weapons and clothes she could tell he was a magic user. She threw a small light spell at his feet to show him she could have just as well killed him if she had wanted to. He stopped and turning toward her smiled and said," Ah, there you are. I was hoping to catch up with you and we could join forces as it were and do this adventure together." She just looked at him for a moment then said,"No, What I do, I do alone. Now, Go away and leave me be." He took a step toward her and she raised her hand and caused a red glow to form around it and he stopped. She said,"I mean it, go away." And with that she seemed to disappear. The only thing that was spoken was one word but it seem to echo forever onward, "Magnificent". With that he slowly walked on hoping to reach her again.
Two and half days later he came up to the ice-cave's mouth and after checking himself and supplies he strode inside only to hear the screams of an angry dragon and elves in battle. He hurried on to view a horror he hoped he would never see again. Elves were strewn around like rag dolls, The dragon was huge, bigger even than at first reported. With a single breath it had frozen three elves in their tracks and with its powerful tail had smashed them to particles of frozen dust. The rest of the warriors were striving valiantly to conquer this behemoth but one could tell they would not be able to kill this dragon. As he watched he saw a blur out of the corner of his eyes as a female elf leaped to the top of a nearby ledge and jumped with a mighty leap to the back of the dragon and then as she started to strike into the great dragons neck she looked up and on the ledge was her arch enemy, The Dark Lord D'Vinn. Anger consumed her and with a scream of vengeance she leaped at the dark lord and missed the ledge as the dragon moved to strike another spot in this battle. She came tumbling to the cave floor in a heap to unfold and move out of the way. The magic user RiverStar almost lost his head as he thought his one love was about to die. He cast a sunburst of flame at the dragon which caused the skin of the dragon to burst in blisters and to bubble. It screamed in pain and Lildidaru jumped on a boulder nearby and then leaped to the top of the ledge only to find the dark lord on the dragons back trying to heal the dragon as fast as he could. She leaped again to the back of the dragon as RiverStar leaped also to its back. She reached to her belt and threw the end of her rope to the tail of the dragon and it wrapped itself tight on the tail. She then threw the other end to a stalactite and it wrapped onto it and the dragon was caught in one position and it found it could not move from it. It kept thrashing trying to get free but Lildidaru jumped twice upwards to the heart of the beast and looking around saw the dark lord on the top ledge again and saluting her with a hand to his head with one small movement he was gone again. Lildidaru screamed her frustration but knowing the dragon was still here she took out her frustration on the dragon. With one mighty plunge she slid her fathers sword into the great dragons right side straight into its heart but the dragon even though it screamed in pain could not die until feeling another's hand on hers felt the sword begin to swell with a heat that was like ten suns. As the sword began to melt into the dragons heart, RiverStar threw his shield outward in front of the dragon and with one word it began to grow to the size to fit the dragon and the dragon began to be pulled into the midnight darkness that was the "veil of nothingness". Then with a small popping sound the dragon was gone and Lildidaru feeling her strength start to fade from the abuse of the battle began to sink down on the floor. The last thing she heard before she slept was, "My Beloved, You are beautiful beyond words, and my heart sings for you with a deep burning fire". "Sleep now, and when you awake we should talk about our lives together" "My Love."
Chapter 2
Lildidaru awoke feeling groggy, "what happened?" she thought "am i dead?" "No" said Faidean speaking softly, "I was the one who saved you" Lildidaru snapped awake in an instant, "who are you?" she asked the handsome elf kneeling beside her. "I am Faidean Cleric of Tunare and I am at your service." Lildidaru was feeling quite disoriented asked, "Where am I?" "You are in my home in Felwithe, I have been caring for you since you fell asleep." "Please allow me to say you are even more beautiful up close than you are from afar." Faidean smiled gently "Me? Beautiful?" she scoffed, "I am not beautiful" Lildidaru looked at Faidean clearly confused and thought to herself "How can he call me beautiful? I am a hardened warrior, made for battle. Not some Lady in the Court just waiting to be wooed." "But you are." Faidean replied. "Please relax and sleep as I have given you a healing potion and it will take a little time for you to heal properly." And with that said Faidean gets up from the side of her bed where she lay and left to gather what was needed for a proper meal when she would awaken . He had everything prepared the following afternoon when she staggered from the bedroom where she had lain. As she came into the kitchen she could smell the food and it made he realize just how much she was hungry. He hurried to pull her chair out from the table as proper ettiquet; though she saw this, she didn't want anything to do with this young cleric. After all she was a warrior and warriors fight not get married. And just the thought of having babies turned her stomache. She acted as if she didn't notice he had held her chair out for her and pulled the other chair out for herself and plopped wearily into it and started grabbing dishs and with her hands started raking food onto a platter in front of her and began to eat as if she was starving. He stood with his mouth open for only a moment and slowly sank into the chair he had pulled out for her and even though he was appalled at the way she was using her hands to rake the food onto her platter instead of using the utensils that were there for that purpose he didn't say anything about it. He started taking the platters of food and slowly he would take the food off them using the utensils and trying to keep the frown from his face and stay smiling at her as she acted more like a barbarian than an elf. He ate slowly watching her as she would bite into the meat and with food dangling from her mouth would grab her gobblet and swallow great gulps of wine to wash it down noisily and then use the back of her hand to wipe her mouth and do it all over again. She knew he was watching and hoped he would just be so angry and upset he would go away and quit all this wooing stuff she had no time for now, maybe later when her journey was over but not right now. Her manners turned his stomache but he wasn't about to let her get away now, he had loved her for many years now. He had been not too far away in classes she had been in when she was at the academy learning about magic. He knew her story. All of it. Nothing really mattered to him but her. He had always been on the sidelines where she was concerned; but, now she was in his kitchen, and it wasn't the way he had planned but maybe with a little time he thought. When she was full she sat back and burped loudly wiping her hands on her mouth then wiped her hands on her clothes. Oh, she digusted herself but she was hoping to make this man ao disgusted he wouldn't want anything to do with her. She knew she smelled, she hadn't had a proper bath since the battle with the dragon. Oh she was going to miss her magical rope. She reached for her sword, her fathers' sword, and then she remembered it was gone. It was destroyed in the battle with the dragon and her enemy was still out there and her without a weapon. Her face reflected her feelings about her fathers' sword and Faidean thinking it was something to do with him asked,"Is there something else you needed?" "No." Yes", she replied fighting the tears trying to come into her eyes. "My Fathers' sword, did you see my sword after the battle?" He paused for a moment then told her how her sword had been melted by the heat spell and had destroyed the dragon and how he had opened his sheild to send the dragon away into nothingness. She started to weep for the loss of her sword as that had been the one thing she had always counted on as if she were leaning on her father all the time. Now he was truly gone. Faidean got up from the table and walked to a wooden chest in the corner of the room and pulled out a big leather wrapped bundle and brought it over to her and after clearing her mess she had created while eating he lay this bundle down in front of her. Then he turned without a word and began to clean up the table and the floor while Lildidaru looked up at him and since he didn't say anything she began to open this bundle to find her pack , her silver rope and the most exquisit sword she had ever seen. It was a long two handed sword, longer than she was tall. The hilt of the sword was encrusted with jewels that sparkled in the light of the moon bathing her through the window left open for fresh air, it had a single blade made of the sharpest metal split down the center. Lildidaru was in awe of this beautiful sword, "Where did you get this?" she asked. The only thing Faidean said was, "This was left when the dragon expired, I know it is yours to make up for what was lost." Then turned back to his chores. Lildidaru carried the bundle back to the bedroom and lay back down on the bed, wore out from all the food she had consumed and she was still healing. She lay there relaxing and slowly drifting off to sleep listening to his soft noises in the background which made her feel comforted somehow. Like this was the way maybe her mother may have felt when she was with father. Her hand caressed the hilt of her new sword like it was an old friend as she drifted off to sleep. To dream.
She awoke again the next day and she lay there listening for him. His noises came from the other room. She got up and slowly made her way into the room only to find him taking a bath in the most beautiful and the biggest tub she had ever seen, and then she gasped as she realized he was nakid. He heard the noise behind him and turned and jumped out of the tub grabbing a towel which dropped on the floor and he was fumbling around trying to get it and cover himself only to make it that much worse because he became tangled up in it and fell all sprawled out for her to get a good look at him. He blushed with embarassment and stammered a few unintelligent words while trying to cover himself up. She looked down at him as if she couldn't tell he was nakid but inside, her mind was telling her how good looking and how strong he looked. All muscled like that. He was gorgeous. She looked at the tub and asked,"Is that water warm?" "The water is warm and stays clean while I bathe ... uuuhhh ... you bathe because I used a magic spell on them." "Of course you did", she said as she began to take off her dirty leathers and when she was nakid she stepped by him and slowly sank into the water letting her sore muscles loosen before she grabbed the soap and started her bath. She looked over at him while he stood looking like he wanted to run and told him, "well, Your all dirty again rolling on the floor. Come on and climb in and get cleaned and you may scrub my back...
Later as she was brushing her hair, wearing one of his loose robes, she began to notice a flowery smell around her. She looked about and saw there were flowers everywhere. They were beautiful, and all so perfect but this was not her. She was a warrior not a Courtier who requires this stuff for whatever they use it for. She got up and walked to the other room where he was magically decorating every inch of the room with some kind of flowers or another. He was absorbed in what he was doing and he was smiling and humming to himself while doing it. She Yelled at him in disgust, "Do you think this is me? Do you think I want this type of thing around me? I am a warrior not a tavern girl. Get rid of this now!" With a wave of his hand all of the flowers were gone so quickly you would not have known they were there at all. Then she really looked at him for the first time and saw how devastated he was and said, "Ok, one flower. Only one. There. Put it there on that chest and that better be the only one." With a flick of a finger there appeared one beautiful exotic flower on the chest where he had gotten her bundle out of (and to this day throughout their married life she never saw another flower in their house but that is another story.) She grabbed him by the front of his robe he was wearing and pulled him toward the table and told him to sit down they had some things to talk about. "Look," she said. "I am not ready to settle down for marriage yet. I am looking for the Dark Elf Lord D'Vinn to kill him for him killing my father. Until that is done my life is not my own. But, I will tell you what. You prove your love for me and I will maybe, I said maybe, join with you for awhile at least. What do you say?" He looked at her realizing he had to do something or he may lose her for good. "I agree", was all he said. Then she told him what he had to do."Get me the ancient prismatic bow from the sleepers tomb." and thinks this should get rid of him once and for all, as this item is known only to those of legends he'll never find it. Faidean stands there aghast as he knows how difficult it is to obtain this particular item, but he knows if this is what she wants him to do then he will get her the bow she desires, hoping that if he proves himself she will see what she means to him.
CHAPTER THREE
Faidean was in turmoil, ever since the one he loved had given him a quest, and he had agreed. He Had Agreed! What possessed him to agree to such a thing! He always thought everything out very carefully, planned everything out to the last detail. He went outside into his garden. He loved out here, so quiet, so peaceful. He took his tunic off and stood in the night air in his boots and pants only allowing the night air to caress his body as he began to move in the ancient art of "moralraytinistiartlir astraraetirsae". This always relaxed him as it helped to clear his mind and took him to a new level oc concentration to perform. He moved ever so slow as he began and as the next thirty minutes continued, he began to build up strength and speed until he was moving so fast he became a blur. When he was through his body was sweating and took a towel he kept on a rack on the wall of his house he had put there for this sort of things. He began to wipe the sweat from his body and when he was through he began to make preparations to meditate. He laid his mat out and slowly sank down on it. What was wrong with him tonight? He couldn't find that peace he normally found by now. He always loved being out here, but, he felt so restless. He knew he should try to control his thoughts, he knew what was wrong but how could he fix it? She was so infuriating. So frustrating. Why did he let her do this to him? Couldn't she tell all he wanted was to love her? "Stop it!" he thought to himself, then with a small nervous chuckle positioned himself to begin his meditation exercises. Slowly he began to sink into that nothingness he so loved. He slowed his breathing to the point that if someone were to examine him now he would appear as one that was dead. His heartbeat was very slow, his breath was almost non-existant. His mind though soared. And then, it began to happen, as a small pinpoint of light at first. His spirit was drawn to it as a moth to a flame. He could see something. What was it? His mind acted like a thirsty animal when it knew water was nearby. His spirit was floating over ... a place ... ruins ... a cave? ... no a tomb... yes a tomb...a light began to take shape... a bow... it was a bow and it seemed to float over this tomb... if he could just touch it ... but it was always just out of his reach... and then it struck ... something seemed to leap at his spirit and snap at him ... and it was hungry! And with a yell he jumped backwards out of its reach and he fell over and leaped up and stood in a defensive pose to ward off ...nothing. Nothing was there. He looked around, looked up into the sky, nothing was there. He was safe. But he knew what he had to do. He grabbed his tunic and towel and went back inside to bathe and get ready to research the archives in the academy for anything on that tomb.
He spent the next two weeks searching then just when he thought to give up, he found something. There it was. He recognised a word of magic. As he mouthed the word it seemed to bring other words to the front to be read. Thats when it hit him. Of course. This was an ancient. The ancients, it was rumored had special powers. If they wished to hide something they would hide it in plain sight. It would have to be someone of magic to be able to read and find out anything about the ancients and their resting place. Excitedly he began to read and to write. He had discovered the secrets. The parchments and scrolls seemed to want to give him the information he desired. He had maps and the secrets of the maze and the whereabouts of a magical mace that would help him in his journey. He knew he would be gone for a long time. He had four quests to make now. He had to get a "magical key" to get into the place to get the mace. Then he had to get the mace. Then go to another place use the mace to get the one item that would satisfy the hungry gaurdian to the tomb that held the Prismatic Bow of the Ancient. He hoped the ancient was willing to give up this bow. He sure didn't want to go through all of these trials just to get there and not acheive his goals.
He went about gathering his notes and crolls together and saying his goodbyes to his friends there left to gather supplies together for his long journey. He looked at his collection of supplies and decided he would need a couple mules and a horse or two. After about two more weeks; at the beginning of fall weather he was ready to go. He walked over to Lildidaru's house where she had moved back into after she had gotten well and knocked on the door. She was home. She was, in fact drinking a cup of tea by the fire and knowing who it was and not wanting his company tonight decided she wouldn't say anything. After a few minutes he knew she was there and since she didn't invite him in he turned and got up on one of his horses and turned its head north into the cold night and rode off leading the rest of his small train of supplies, not knowing what was going to happen. He hoped this quest was worth it. As he thought of her he realized, To him she was worth it. And with that he rode off in the night.
CHAPTER FOUR
A male elf stood beside a warm fire, the sounds of a bubbling stew sat beside the fire on a rock to cool. He sat with a bowl in his hands and slowly ate looking around. The sounds of the land all around him. He smiled a knowing smile when a fat rabbit slowly made its way across the meadow. Too bad he had to leave this place. It just teamed with life. He had made it to the first tomb and had gotten the "key" without any problems whatever. It lay within the cave by a sarcophogas with alot of other artifacts lying around. It looked like a great battle had taken place there but even the metal swords that lay about had rusted and rotted away. The sarcophogas had lain closed when he had approached and had knelt beside it to give honor to the ancient who lay there in rest. As he had knelt there the spirit of the ancient elf had met with him and he must have impressed him quite a bit as the ancient elf had led him to a hidden room that contained scrolls with magic spells written on them. He was told they contained extremely powerful spells that once unlocked from the scroll would be forever written in his memory. An unbidden thought crept in on his meandering pondering. The ancient elf had called him the "Star of Heaven". He wasn't quite sure what that was about. Maybe it had to be something to do with the design of his shield. Now he was about fifty miles from there with the object and was heading for his next stop.
Two days later he standing on the spot the map said was where the next location was supposed to be. The notes he had copied down said there should be a shrine or a temple here, but he looked around the area and saw nothing. He walked back to his horses and pulled the huge jewel that was the "key" and walked back to the spot his map said was dead center of the area. He looked around and walked about a thousand steps in every direction and back to the center, and nothing. He was very angry for coming here and taking up this quest. With an angry shout at himself he threw the jewel to the ground; and as the jewel hit, it burst with a shattering sound. Thats when the ground fell out from beneath him. He fell trying to right himself and with a thought started a spell to float just as he hit the floor of a shrine. He lay stunned thinking this was the end. Oh he hurt. Everything hurt. His senses slowly returned and realizing he still had an unfinished spell he uncast it. Chuckling to himself he decided he didn't need it after all. He cast a light spell; but it didn't work. He tried again. Still didn't work. Then he remembered something he had read; that magic may not work in this one because of the magical mace. The ones who had placed the mace in here made it so nobody could detect it through magic or weild it in here. So, he thought, I guess I'll just have to do this the old fashioned way. He began to look around him and saw against the wall of this cavern a torch in an iron wall mount. He walked to it and using his flint he lit the torch and pulling it out of the mount began to examine his area better. He found other torchs which he lit as he went along and discovered this place was bigger than at first thought. He kept walking and lighting torchs until he came back to his first torch he had lit. He took his torch and held it close to the ground to be sure of his path and found to his chagrin a big chasm in front of him and a path of what looked like stones at first glance. He reached into his wallet inside his cloak and pulled out his notes and read that he was to walk across the path to the center of the shrine where the gods lay sleeping. The mace is in the hand of god it said. "Ok", He thought. "I guess I know where I have to go" "I hope the god stays sleeping". With that he adjusted his cloak and began to step on what he discovered were small tree trunks buried into the floor of the cave. They were wobbly, as he step on each one he was forced to keep his balance while trying to go forward. He finally made it after what seemed to be hours of stepping and as he stepped to solid ground the logs fell leaving him stranded on the wrong side. Then he noticed the shrine. It was built out of a white marble and decorations of gold and jewels. A kings ransom of jewels. His first thought was he could really use the money that these jewels could bring in the selling of them; but, he knew he couldn't deface the shrine by taking them. The doorway was open, inviting him inside. He slowly made his way up the thirteen steps to the dorrway and then with a sigh he stepped inside. There in the middle of the room was an altar and a statue stood to the back of the altar with its hands palm side down as if he was trying to hold something down. Faidean slowly made his way to the statue and saw there was no mace here. The statue wasn't holding any mace. He examined the statue and then the altar. He went all the way around the altar and didn't find any clue to the where abouts of the mace. He finally walked to the back of the room and leaned against the wall with a sigh, as his tiredness seem to hit him finally. He held the torch so it would reflect off the gold trim and examined every nuance and then he noticed the torch itself. There was a small breeze coming from the wall behind him. He began to hit everything to make the wall open. He would tap the jewels and push on strategic places of the trim. Then he walked back to the altar and sat down on it to think. He looked at the statue and then thought,"The sleeping god holds the mace in his hand". This statue could be the sleeping god if you look at it one way. He stepped up to the statue and held the torch up to see its' face and saw this statue was looking to the left while holding its' hands downward. He walked to the wall beside the left and began to touch places and jewels and then one of the jewels pulled out of its spot. His first thought was oh no he broke something, then he heard and felt something heavy moving. Sliding. He looked toward the sound and the top of the altar was moving toward the statue and stopped as it touched its hands. He looked inside the altar and saw steps leading down. He stepped inside the altar and as he bagan to go lower the lid began to shut itself again. He kept going. He got to the bottom and followed the hallway to the end of its destination and there in a huge room he saw a statue laying on what appeared to be a sarcophogas. He thought, "Not again." But he stepped up to the sarcophagus and knelt to honor the fallen ancient elf and then he got back up and as he looked at the statue on the top he noticed it held a mace set with jewels and looked as if it was made of gold. He tried to pull it from the statue and then stopped and thought, "this is too easy". The ancient ones wouldn't just put it out in the open for anyone to find. He began to look around and then he saw a small opening that a key should fit into. He looked around for something that would fit then saw the necklace the statue was wearing was actually the right shape to fit the hole. He slipped it into the lock and the lid slid sideways slowly. There, in the sarcophogus lay the ancient one and he held the mace in his hands. He slowly reached in and tokk the mace and respectfully pulled the mace out until he had cleared the grave. He stepped back and kelt once again and in the elf tongue thanked the ancient one for the mace. He heard a rumble like thunder and a voice echoed in his head, "Welcome, Star of Heavens". "It is now yours and all it is, is now yours." With that and tears in his eyes he left as the roof began to fall in. He moved to the wall and hugged it as the ceiling began to come down and as the sky could be seen finally he said to himself, I wis I was out of this place before it falls on me." And he was. He was standing by his horses with the mace still in his hands.