Chapter Five: From Far Away.
Iasa snored loudly as his reverie slipped into sleep. His head bobbed forward as his crossed legs struggled to keep him upright.
Katla could not help but snicker. Iasa looked even more the fool when she watched him try to sleep in the stance of reverie.
Xarlion looked at Iasa as soon as he saw Katla's muffled laughter, but he did not smile. His eyes turned back to the mouth of the cave. The worried look never left Xarlion's face.
Katla looked at Xarlion an sighed. She understood that he was frantically worried.
Xarlion's children were late in meeting them, over a week late.
"This is not normal." Xarlion mumbled aloud to himself. He wanted to go search for his children, but he was torn. His duty to protect Katla and Iasa was just as important.
Iasa and Katla would not survive without him there to instruct them, his children, on the other hand, were born to the life of being rangers. The mothers of his children had all been rangers, like himself. Xarlion had to trust in the capability of his offspring to come to the cave.
"Let me take watch for a while. You need to rest."
"I am too worried to rest, Katla."
"And I do not like feeling like a burden, which I know I to you. Come back here by the fire and let me watch for a while. I am perfectly capable of defending this drab cave."
"You will make a good mother, if you ever decide to have children. You are mothering me already." Xarlion rose and stretched his arms and legs to remove the stiffness in his joints from sitting near the mouth of the cave too long. He walked over to the bed Katla had made for him by the fire and grunted as he lay down. He was asleep as soon as his head relaxed on the cold dirt floor.
Katla sat near the mouth of the cave and drew her sword. She placed the sword on the ground next to her as she scanned the scenery outside.
Iasa's snoring bothered her, she could not concentrate.
After putting up with the obnoxious sound for several minutes, she stood, walked to Iasa and pushed him onto his side.
Iasa groaned in protest which prompted Katla to give him a kick in the shin.
Iasa mumbled something about 'stupid Nymil' before rolling over and falling back into a deep slumber.
Katla hoped Iasa had a huge headache when he woke.
Over the last week, Iasa had been nothing but a terrible nuisance to Katla. She tried to tell herself that Iasa was just sick of the cave, but she knew it was more than that.
Most of the wine they brought with them was gone, thanks to Iasa.
Katla valued Iasa's friendship, but she had never fallen in love with him, as Iasa often hoped she would. Now, because of Iasa's inflexible anger, even their friendship was in question.
Katla sighed as she went back to her post of guarding the cave.
A storm was rolling in.
Katla hoped that Xarlion's children made it to the cave before it hit.
It was late fall, and winter was fast coming. She did not cherish the thought of having to find the youngsters dead in the snow.
As Katla turned her eyes lower, she caught an odd glint in the dawning light. At first, she thought it could be a reflection of dew, but as she studied the place where she saw the light, she noticed slight movement.
Katla watched the pine tree for several more moments before she caught the light of a pair of eyes staring back at her.
She was not sure if the creature in the trees had noticed her watching it or not.
Katla grabbed a few pebbles from the mouth of the cave and tossed them at Xarlion and Iasa to wake them up.
Xarlion sat upright immediately and stared at Katla as she put a finger to her lips. He nodded and carefully roused Iasa from his deep slumber.
"What?" Iasa howled as Xarlion quickly covered Iasa's mouth with one hand while bringing a finger to his lips with the other.
Iasa winced, rubbed his aching head and pulled his sword. Iasa did not want a fight, but he knew he was probably in for one.
Katla motioned to Xarlion and used the finger speech to convey what she had seen in the trees.
"Are you sure it is not just a raccoon or other tree-living animal?" Xarlion signed.
"Yes, unless raccoons have blue eyes." she signed back.
Xarlion sat beside Katla and handed her bow to her.
"Best give them a warning shot first. It could be a frightened traveler." Xarlion whispered.
"What is going on?" Iasa walked toward his two companions.
"Shh!" Both Xarlion and Katla said as Katla readied her bow.
Katla aimed for her target.
A squeal came from among the trees as she loosed the arrow, causing it to fly askance.
A young girl lunged for Katla with a knife. "You will not hurt him!"
"Joraine! You have given away our position!" a voice shouted from the spot Katla had aimed.
Katla dodged the girl and tossed her aside, but was unable to dodge the attack of arrows that rained upon her. One arrow hit her shoulder, another, her arm and another her leg.
Before she could lunge for her sword, a couple of young men tackled her to the ground.
She struggled to escape their grasp. Her struggling caused the wounds from the arrows to tear and the blood to flow more profusely.
"Xarlion!" She screamed.
Xarlion was scolding the girl who had attacked, paying no attention to Katla.
Iasa started to charge at the young men who had Katla pinned down, but Xarlion tripped him on his way out.
"Husband! Help me!" Katla screamed at the top of her lungs. She quickly fell to unconsciousness.
The two who tackled Katla quickly rose and cursed at themselves.
A bolt of lightening hit a nearby tree, causing the two archers to quickly scramble down.
"All of you hellions get inside!" Xarlion yelled before looking down at Katla. "Gods! What have you done? Damn it! Get Katla inside and bind her up before she bleeds to death! How in the hell could you have been so stupid!" Xarlion continued to roar as he drug Iasa into the cave and the two youngsters drug Katla inside. "I told you before I left that I would have others with me, but none of you were listening!"
"Father, it is my fault, I thought bandits took over the cave again."
"You are damn right it is your fault, Rowan. You are the oldest. I have taught you better than this."
"No father, it is my fault, Rowan sent me to scout the cave and all I saw was the silver hair. I thought it was a Drow until she stepped outside." the girl who tackled Katla spouted out.
"How many times have I told you, Joraine, to be patient and confirm your target before you attack?"
"Several..."
"Good, now hope you can keep your new mother from bleeding to death before she has a chance to properly meet her."
"And who is that?" an older girl said as she pointed to Iasa.
"Katla's drunk of a cousin, Airlia, now work your clerical skills on my bride, now!"
"I am not a drunk!" Iasa quickly protested.
The cave became a cacophony of noise and chaos as Xarlion and his children tried to make sure Katla was alright.
Iasa moved slowly to a corner of the cave and scowled at the group. "Filthy half-breeds." He muttered under his breath.
Katla woke to five sullen faces looking over her. She sat up in a panic, but winced as the pain from her wounds kept her from doing anything.
Katla's eyes rounded in fear. She wondered if Xarlion and Iasa were dead.
As the thought of her friends' deaths touched her mind, Katla could not stop the small tears that instantly sprang.
"You are finally awake!"
"Do you still hurt bad?"
"I have another healing spell prepared."
"I have an extra potion for the pain."
"I'm sorry I shot you."
As the five youngsters stood over her, constantly interrupting each other's words, Katla broke loose into full crying.
Katla covered her face as best she could and let the tears fall in earnest. Nothing was real to Katla anymore but the tears. She felt as if everything around her was fading away.
Katla had never let herself cry like that before. It was as disturbing as it was cleansing to her troubled heart.
Suddenly her captors fell silent for a few moments, except for a gasp or two.
"Father! come here quick!" one of the two girls shouted.
Katla did not lift her face from her hands. She was crying so fully now, that she felt that she could not stop.
"What is the matter Airlia? Is Katla ..." Xarlion started before he saw Katla.
Dozens of small purple flowers were springing up all around Katla. For each tear she shed, another small flower grew up out of the earthen floor.
Within moments, Katla was surrounded by the flowers.
The sweet scent of the flowers filled the cave.
"Is that why you promised to marry Katla, father, because she was different?"
"Yes, Joraine, because she was different." Xarlion said slowly as he gazed in wonder at the miracle happening before his eyes. "And because she is a kind and special person."
"What are you doing?" Iasa said as he pushed through to get to Katla.
As Iasa noticed the flowers, he pushed Xarlion and his children away as he tried to shield her from their view. "Don't look! Please! Don't look at her like this!" Iasa pleaded in panic.
Xarlion noticed that Katla's aura was brighter.
Within the aura, another image, floated around Katla, as if Xarlion were seeing her through an image in stained glass.
the image superimposed over Katla was that of an incredibly beautiful elven woman wearing shimmering robes.
The image had dark hair that seemed to dance with starlight, and skin paler than the moon.
Iasa panicked, knelt down and shook Katla. "Katla, snap out of it. You have to stop crying like this! Please! Stop crying so hard! You are doing it again. It is not good for his grace to see this, not now!"
"Iasa?" Katla asked as she slowly rose her head.
"Yes Katla, I am fine we are all fine, it was a misunderstanding."
"Orsino, go get Katla some cool water to wash her face." Xarlion ordered as he slowly knelt by Katla.
"Get away from her. Don't you see what you and your spawn have done?"
"Iasa, calm down. Please explain all of this."
"It is part of the curse of the elf-bane you fool. If she cries too deeply, the flowers spring up. If I had not stopped her from crying, they would have grown around her and suffocated her. Katla's sister called it 'tears of penance'. She's paying for a crime before it is done, or one she is not guilty of to begin with. I hope you can carry her on our journey, she may go into a reverie that will take her days to break from."
"You knew about this and did not tell me?" Xarlion pushed Iasa aside, took Katla in his arms, cradled her and rocked back and forth as if she were one of his own children who was in pain.
"Only three of us knew. Isolder, Sandrine and myself. She did this right after she saw an assassin kill her mother."
Slowly Katla's tears subsided. She looked up at Xarlion and then over at Iasa.
"You are alive."
"Yes. I must apologize. My youngest daughter is not very good at scouting, yet my oldest sent her to do so. She saw your hair and instantly thought you were a drow, without stopping to check otherwise."
"She must have problems seeing. Perhaps we should find a gnome doctor to see if she needs spectacles."
"What?"
"A gnome. One of those tiny people who like to tinker with mechanical objects."
"No, I mean spectacles."
"Oh, they are hard to explain. The gnome doctor who came to The Isle to try and find out why I was mute tried to explain them to me. He said they were kind of like a spyglass, only there are two lenses, one for each eye, and they only magnify things a little. He wore a pair of them himself."
"Hm, something to think about I suppose. "
"Are you going to be alright, Katla? You don't feel yourself slipping into reverie?"
"No, Iasa, but I do have one hell of a headache. Always happens when I sleep instead of meditate. I have never really discovered why."
A male voice, inside Katla's head replied. "Because part of your soul is elsewhere, seeking for you to find and release it from torment."
"Did you say something?" Katla asked of the boy who stood over her and Xarlion with a bowl and a cloth in his hands.
"No. Here is the water, father. It is nice and cold."
"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"
"Oh, um, yes. Hello, I am Orisino, Xarlion's third child. I will be twenty six in the spring."
Katla studied the young man. Other than slightly human features, he looked very much like his father.
Katla blinked a couple of times as she considered Orisino's age. She pushed Xarlion away from her, and quickly stood up. She ignored the pain in her shoulder and leg as she put her hands on her hips and frowned at Xarlion. "He is only a few years younger than I am and you expect me to be a mother to him? Gods! You wanted to adopt me, not wed me."
"Now Katla."
"And he is the middle child? Are any of your children older than me?"
"Yes one."
"Oh! I see, you wanted a child-bride to give you more sons. This time, sons that would be eligible for the throne."
"Calm down Katla."
Katla made a sign with her fingers, and winked as she continued to berate Xarlion.
Xarlion had to stifle a smile as he realized she was starting her act for him already.
Katla finished her tirade and stomped out of the cave for fresh air, and to keep herself from laughing in front of Iasa and Xarlion's brood.
"It seems our new mother doesn't like you much, father." Airlia said with a sigh.
"I told you that if I returned to your grandmother she would have an arranged marriage for me. That is what happened. Katla and I hardly know each other. That is why Iasa is here." Xarlion put his arm around Iasa's shoulders and gave him a good shake. "He is here to help us learn about each other, and perhaps to keep us from killing each other in the process."
"Well I Like her." Joraine said as she braided her light red curls.
"I don't" Solass, Joraine's twin brother, replied.
All was going according to plan
Katla went over the names and looks of Xarlion's children as they traveled east. "Rowan looks like his father only darker skinned. Airlia has black hair and green eyes. Both Roland and Airlia's mother, Shalaya, was originally from Calimshan, but met Xarlion in Waterdeep. Orisino is the image of his father with softer features slightly more golden skin and dark eyes. Orinsio's mother, Chocho, was from Kara-Tur. Xarlion rescued her from slave traders. Solass and Joraine are twins with red curly hair and golden flecks within their blue eyes. Their mother, Tanya, was from Cormyr. I must remember them if I meet them again in my travels."
"The queen will be furious when she learns of this." Iasa muttered in Katla's ear as they stopped in a small village to acquire horses.
"She will not know of it."
"But,"
"No buts, Iasa. If Xarlion had wanted her to know he would have said something before now."
"Duty demands that the queen knows about her half-breed grandchildren."
"The queen has enough to worry about. Amnestra and her daughter, living in misery in Evereska, Lamuril, traipsing about who knows where, causing problems. The list goes on. She does not need one more worry. Besides, I think she knows about them and has chosen to keep silent. You do know how hard it is to keep secrets from Amlauril?"
"No, Katla, I do not."
"She knows your father is plotting to overthrow her and that your brother, Iagron and two of my brothers are plotting with him."
"Lies."
"No, Iasa. My mother and Iagron became lovers shortly after I was born. She was part of the plot to overthrow the queen and king. Father found out about her plotting and persuaded her out of her deceit and back into his bed. That is why Iagron murdered her."
"NO!" Iasa said as he looked at Katla's face. "It can not be." He looked more deeply at Katla and realized that there was no way she could lie about something so important. "Why didn't you ever tell me that it was my brother that murdered her?"
"Father told me not to tell you. He was afraid that it would cause the insanity your eldest brothers had to take root in you as well. Isolder loves you, as if you were one of his own sons." Katla said as she faced Iasa and put her hands on Iasa's shoulders.
"Katla." Iasa's face grew slightly red. "I love you more than life itself. Please, take your hands off of me, before I pull you into my arms and embarrass myself in front of your betrothed."
"What is going on here?" Xarlion walked up to them to inform them that they would have to share horses for at least part of the trip.
"Nothing. I just told something to Iasa I should have a long time ago."
"Well, we need to get going. Winter is on our heels. We want to beat the high snows before we reach Cormanthor. Iasa, you will ride with Airlia, Katla will ride with me."
Iasa made a growling sound, but did as Xarlion asked.
As the group traveled east, Iasa mellowed. He found the company of Xarlion's children more pleasant than he first thought he would, despite his deep jealousy of their father.
Iasa sat by the campfire and stared into the flames as the rest told stories and made jests at each other.
"I see that you do have the spirit to be an adventurer. Once we reach the city on the eastern side of Cormanthor Forest, you may decide to leave out little group and strike out on your own."
"I would never leave you like that, Katla and you know it."
"I'm not in love with you Iasa, I feel a love for you, like that of one of my brothers, but nothing more."
"Yes, but that could change?"
"Possibly, but not now. Father was right. I am too young to really understand those sorts of feelings."
"You are not in love with Xarlion?"
"Once I was infatuated with him, but that feeling fled quickly. We are friends."
"Then why marry him?"
"Because my mother, the queen, decided it." Xarlion said as he handed a small loaf of bread to Iasa. "In truth, we never planned on marrying. I just wanted to help her get off of the island and away from politics. The only way Isolder, or my mother for that matter, would have allowed that was through a royal marriage."
"Then you have lied to me, and you have lied to your children."
"He didn't lie to us, Iasa" Rowan interjected, "We knew he had no intention of marrying again, at least not for a while. He just understands what it is like to be an outcast among your own kind."
"Then why the farce?"
"Because my children and I are going to disappear. I entrusted Katla to help us in exchange for helping her. She wants to help you too. She knows you do not want to be involved at Straankeep. We just were not yet sure we could trust you with the secret yet."
"I see"
"You can admit, Iasa, that you have been pretty spoiled in your upbringing."
"Yes, Katla. Your father is largely responsible for that. You are just as spoiled."
"But you never had to live with the heartache of being the elf-bane. You don't even know who you are yet. You have so many talents that you stifled in caring for me."
"Katla is right." Xarlion said, "You need to find your own place in the world, not let someone else dictate your actions. You are already showing great promise as a ranger, Airlia has said so."
"Yes, I have." Airlia interjected, "You have enormous talent for it. I bet no one on the island ever encouraged you to pursue that profession."
"No, they didn't. I was given the impression that such an occupation was below my station. But now, I honestly can say I am calmer and happier than I ever was in studying arcana or simple marshal skills. I am enjoying being in the wilds."
"That settles it, Iasa, " Katla said as she stood and dusted the crumbs from her shirt, "You will learn the ways of a ranger. If that is what the gods have called you to do, who can fault them?"
Iasa smiled "None!"
"Hide!" Xarlion waved his arms to signal that all of them should stay hidden from the group heading towards them on the trail.
Katla looked to see a long line of creatures in homespun garments. The creatures were tied together by a long rope and their heads were covered by some sort of crude hoods.
Two heavily armored guards held the line, one guard at the head and one at the rear. The guards hummed a serene song as they pulled the line of eight female slaves with them.
"Who are they?" Iasa signed with his hands to Xarlion.
"Not sure. I have never seen armor like that before. They do not look like Zhentarim or Thayan slavers. Calimshites rarely come this far to gather their own slaves for their markets." Xarlion signed back.
Katla drew her sword as she hid behind a group of tall bushes. She peeked through in time to see one of the hoods from one of the slaves accidentally fall to the ground.
"They are elves!" Katla signed to Rowan who was above her in a tree.
Katla was glad that Xarlion's children knew sign language. It helped to keep things quiet when danger was near.
Solass and Joraine must have noticed the elf slave as well.
Without a signal from their father, the twins stepped in front of the first guard.
"Release your prisoners and you will go free unharmed." Solass stated in a clear, stern voice.
The guard stopped, dropped the rope and laughed in a feminine voice as she pulled her sword.
The line of slaves stopped at the drop of the rope.
Xarlion, Katla, and the rest of their party jumped out to surround the rear guard as well as guard the front one.
The guard at the rear laughed, dropped the rope, but did not draw her sword.
"I think these highwaymen have mistaken us, Marthelle."
"Indeed, Tereva, indeed, if they are thieves."
The hoods and ropes fell away from the line of slaves. All of the slaves carried ornate daggers and readied themselves to attack.
All of the females in the guise of slaves were elves or half-elves.
"If you want gold or jewels, we have none." One of the 'slaves' hissed out as she strode up to Orisino to get a better look at him. "You are very handsome."
"Get back in line, Kalpa. You know the rules. You are not to speak to the natives."
"I am sorry, priestess, I just found him so captivating. I did not expect to see our kind in this place."
"True." Marthelle dropped her sword and carefully pulled off her helmet. Gold braids of hair fell to her shoulder. "I do believe there is a misunderstanding here. "
"What on Toril are you talking about?" Solass shouted.
"Toril, is that what this land is called?"
Katla stepped forward and pushed Solass aside. "You don't need to make this worse, Solass. Toril is the name of the world, don't you know that? This is the southern part of Cormanthor Forest, near the southwestern border to Cormyr. We thought you were slavers on your way to the western markets."
Marthelle looked at Tereva as the so called slaves looked at each other and laughed.
"We are not slaves, we are pilgrims." Kalpa blurted out.
"True. I am priestess Marthelle and that is priestess Tereva. The one in simple clothing are our postulates. We follow Apima, the goddess of magic and learning. As part of our training, we are teleported to another place to learn the ways of others. How well the postulates learn in an unusual environment determines their clerical rank once vows are taken."
"Lower your weapons, children." Xarlion instructed. "They are of no danger."
"Would you care to camp with us? We can tell you a bit about this area." Orisino said. His eyes never left Kalpa's and his smile warmed the slight blush on his face.
"If your leader approves, then I think it will be a fine idea." Tereva said as she shook her head and chuckled.
"Father, do you think it will be alright if they camped with us?"
Xarlion smiled. "Yes, it should be fine, son."
Iasa sat watching the fire. The pigeon stew and the squirrels on a stick smelled good, but the conversation bored him.
Orisino was mooning over Kalpa, not knowing whether to say something to the red-haired half-elf girl.
Tereva had rolled out a parchment with star charts, similar to star maps used by sailors. she had a variety of small tools she was using to compare the sky to her map."
The rest were listening attentively to Marthelle's history of Nyärith, the place where the pilgrims had come from.
"Nyärith was once one large continent, but a catastrophe happened, a terrible earthquake, making cracks in the ground of the entire continent. Magical creatures of slime who took elf form, only they were blacker than night, came out of the crevices and attacked all who dwelled on Nyärith. With the slime elves were creatures with the heads of squids."
Xarlion nodded at Marthelle's words. "Drow priests of Ghaunadaur, and Illithid."
"Yes, I believe that is what they were called. All who dwelled on Nyärith were ruled by dragons in those days. The people were no more than cattle used to feed their dragon masters. It quickly became apparent that the slime people and the squid people were working with the dragons. The Slime Lords became our overseers and tormentors. The Squid Lords used our people for horrible experiments. They were sometimes more wicked than the dragons themselves. The good people prayed to the gods of wind and water for help. The gods answered by widening the cracks in the ground. Much of the continent sank, but it also killed the dragon king, drove most of the dragons and all of the Slime Lords and Squid Lords from our home. Four pieces of the continent remain, along with several islands. We still call the entire land Nyärith, but each continent has its own name now as well."
"Amazing." Katla said as she grabbed a fully cooked squirrel and carefully picked the meat from the bones.
"The island continent we come from is called Nemuit, the northeastern kingdom. The temple of the Theurges of Apima lies in Nemuit's capital city, Galthbrith."
"Lady Marthelle, I am certain we are still on the same world Nyärith sits upon. The stars are in different alignment, but the moon and it's tears are the same as well as the constellations." Tereva said as she put her star charts away.
"How will you get home?" Katla asked with concern.
"When the goddess decides our pilgrimage should end, we receive a warning , and a portal opens for us."
Katla nodded as she stood and stepped from the fire. She sat next to Iasa and slipped into reverie.
Over the next few days, Katla, Iasa, Xarlion and his children told the history of Faerun, and its various peoples, to the pilgrims as they traveled together.
Marthelle had originally planned to go west, but the idea of seeing the ruins of the Cormanthor court, Myth Drannor, and other such wonders were too tempting for her and her acolytes to pass up.
Marthelle insisted, despite the dangers involved, that they take a short side trip to see the ruins in the Farsea Marshes.
"This is madness, Marthelle. That place is only full of disease and death." Xarlion warned sternly.
"Yes, but I need to see this glass structure you spoke of. I do not need to do more than have Tereva sketch the ruin, then we will leave it. Believe me, we have a very good reason for doing so."
"My children will wait for you here then. I do not wish to endanger my family in that horrid place."
"Very well, give us two days, then you may journey on ."
"Who in the hells do you think you are talking to, priestess! You do not order Xarlion Moonflower, son of the queen of all the elves around as a servant!" Iasa blurted out.
"Yeah! and more so, our mother, although illegitimate, was the daughter of the King of Cormyr. so you should show us some respect! We are all of royal blood!" Solass continues Iasa's rant.
"Oh! I see. You failed to mention that in all of your stories. A prince on a pilgrimage? I am sorry, I did not mean to disrespect you, Xarlion. I am just so used to keeping my acolytes in line, my tongue runs away from me."
"Stop it, Solass, Iasa. You both know I renounced my title. I have no wish to be involved in petty politics."
"I am sorry, your grace."
"Iasa?"
"Perhaps I am in need of much more guidance."
"Well, we will let you settle your troubles on your own. We do not want to lose the light, if it is as dangerous as you claim. We shall see you in two days."
During the slight argument, Orisino and Kapla exchanged well wished and a heated kiss.
Orisino proclaimed his love for Kapla and urged her to keep herself safe.
Two days passed and there was no sign of Mathelle and her party of pilgrims.
"Come on, we need to get north. The snows will still catch us, but hopefully we will reach the Ranger's rest before they get too deep."
"Can we wait one more day, father?"
"No, Orisino. You heard Mathelle's instructions. She was right to tell us not to wait up for them."
"But I am going to court Kapla! She is the reason our paths crossed, don't you see, father? Corellon sent me someone to take to wife. I will not leave her."
Xarlion sighed and shook his head. "Very well, we may wait for one day in order to gather extra roots and supplies, but no longer than that. We will be hard pressed to make it to Kamiel's lodge before the deeper snows."
"Thank you, father."
"You coddle him too much," Iasa whispered to Xarlion.
"No, I have been in love. I understand him, and a few more supplies will not do us harm."
"I agree, Iasa." Katla said," Rowan also has an affection for one of the pilgrims, but he is keeping more quiet about it. Rowan is much like his grandfather in that respect."
Iasa grumbled but joined Airlia in going out to hunt.
"Airlia is in love with Iasa. Does that bother you, Katla?"
"No, Xarlion. As I have said before, I have no feelings for him in that manner. Besides, Corellon would be jealous if I did."
Xarlion nodded as he and Katla packed up the rest of their belongings. "In truth, I hope they do return. Mathelle's appearance may mean more than just finding mates for two of my sons."
"How so?"
"My mother's minions and enemies know nothing about the continent of Nyärith. I hope to go with them when their portal appears. It seems a more reasonable solution than simply faking my death, especially since Iasa can not hold his tongue for long. I know he will inform my family of the ruse and the reason eventually."
"I will miss you then."
"You will not come? The myth of the elf-bane does not exist on Nyärith."
"I can not go. I have too many duties that I can not leave. Ilyrana told me that it was my destiny to become an Astral Knight. My father's sword will be passed to me. I doubt that there are Astral Knights on Nyärith."
"I see. I will miss you then as well. You have been a very good friend to me, in some ways, you have grown more so since we have traveled together. I began to think marrying you might do my heart some good."
"I am sorry, Xarlion. You are a dear friend, but I could never marry you knowing that it may incur the wrath of Corellon."
Xarlion simply nodded.
Author's notes:
The continent of Nyärith was one my husband and me made up for an alternate setting in the Forgotten Realms.
We took an old map of Toril we had from a very old edition of DnD and found a continent to the east of Kara-Tur. On the map, it shows an Australia-shaped continent as being unknown lands. A more modern version of this map is on page 231 of The DnD, Forgotten Realms campaign setting book.
Since then, the location and feel of Nyärith has taken many forms.
If anyone is intereste in using Katla as an NPC in one of your campaigns, e-mail me.
I have stats for Katla from this point, up until she obtains the rank of godhood.
I also have stats for Iasa Straan, Iagron Straan, Isolder Wisteria, and most of Xarlion's children somewhere.
I have maps of Nyärith and stats on its peoples, climate, religions and such, but I will have to find the disc that contains them within the huge pile of discs I am rumaging through right now.
As for the names:
Most of the names came from an old baby name book.
Others came from variations of words in the Elven Dictionary put out by The Grey Company.
The Grey Company dictionary is one of the most comprehensive and is avilable on the net at Review