Crimson Twilight: Dusk
Chapter 15: Paths not taken
"I beg your pardon for the intrusion, Knight Commander Sialsanderin, but your father requests for your presence at your manor this evening." The servant from Sialsanderin Manor said. "He adds that it is a matter of importance to him." He left hurriedly as soon as he delievered those words, as if he was some thief who had taken a cheap shot at one of Prontera's finest knights. He accidentally caught a glimpse of the First Knight Commander and nearly panicked. A glimpse of the fury from her almost sent him running. His fellow servants had warned him before that First Knight Commander Eliarainne Sialsanderin never appreciated a call from her father. As soon as he was out of sight, he stopped to catch his breath, wondering if he was being far too underpaid for this job.
Eliarainne continued to glare balefully at the messenger until he ran off. With the man out of sight, she refocused her attention on her injured friend. Seihanine was still recovering from the wound she received from the abysmal knight-archer. They were in the military hospital, one of the largest buildings in Prontera's military district. Around noon time, a day after contact with Orcville was cut off, the Xalascent siblings came into Prontera escorted by Sir Althamas. Seihanine was badly hurt and was immediately rushed to the hospital where Silmeia began healing her. Kreizen had been frantic but the sight of Silmeia calmed him down. That was just a few hours ago. When his sister was out of danger, Kreizen went off to see to his business in Prontera. Silmeia had asked Seihanine to stay and rest for a while before heading off herself. A healing spell had prevented further bleeding but the huntress still needed to rest to regain full use of her left shoulder. Eliarainne had questioned both Xalascents about the cause of the colony's fall. Kreizen had provided two answers. 'The Orc Hero and the Orc Lord eh?' She thought. Seihanine's words cut through her reverie.
"Get going, Rainne. You're going to be late for your weekly berating."
Eliarainne's eyes narrowed. Weekly berating sounded quite right for it. She was never in good relations with her father ever since she told him she wanted to be a swordswoman instead of a merchant. He been against her training with the regular army, her ascension to knighthood and, most of all, her partnership with Makaelthos. She had gone against his wishes each time and he had made it clear that he wasn't going to stop trying. Every week he would ask her to join him for dinner and to hear the same harangue he had about almost everything she held dear in her life. "You must have met him to know that, Sei." She replied.
Seihanine wrinkled her nose in disgust when she answered. "Kreizen has had some dealings with him before, both of them being blacksmiths and all. Kreizen says he makes good work, at least. I just don't like the way he looks at his "payonese competitors" or that arrogant, patronizing tone he uses. I swear, Rainne if he tries-"
Eliarainne raised a hand. She was too used to threats against her father. She had made a few choice ones of her own. "I know what you mean. I have to go, Sei. Say hello to Kreizen for me." Seihanine gave a curt nod as she left.
It was already late afternoon when Eliarainne made her way slowly towards her family's home. She had ignored the pecopeco pulled carriage waiting for her outside the hospital and rode astride Bristle instead. Sialsanderin Manor stood out even among the opulent homes of the city's resident merchants over at the northeastern district, the area where most of Prontera's rich residents had their homes. Its primary resident was Cafilex Sialsanderin, her father. She did not live there with him. Instead she kept her own quarters in Prontera's knight barracks by the military district; staying in a room adjacent to the quarters of her partner, Makaelthos. She was more comfortable with that arrangement than having to stay in her family's house. If she only had her way, she would never return to this place. Like her father, the manor never changed.
"Eliarainne, my love!" Someone called out from behind Eliarainne. "Come, take my arm and we will walk together to our house!"
Surprised, Eliarainne turned Bristle around and faced the one who spoke. For a moment, she was quiet; unsure of what exactly she heard. She was sure she heard her name but the rest of the words didn't make any sense. There was a merchant in front of her. He was garbed in a gray long sleeved shirt, a red vest and baggy pantaloons with large pockets. The colors were gaudy; good for attracting attention from customers. She vaguely recalled seeing the face before. There was something particularly irritating about the smug look on this merchant's face.
A patrol of knights stopped to look as well. They heard the merchant quite clearly and the implications piqued both curiosity and concern. Calling the First Knight Commander "my love" was tantamount to suicide. She had once beaten Skirmisher Gardzen up so badly in the arena that it took several sanctuary spells to put him back in shape. All of that was because he had called her "Rainne", a nickname she allowed only her closest friends to use. "My love" would probably merit a death sentence; double that if Sir Makaelthos was around.
Eliarainne stared down long and hard at a merchant. Long, blond hair fell neatly down the sides of his face, his gray eyes, heavy eyelids and long aquiline nose reflected an annoying confidence; the sort that she loved bashing out of the faces of her enemies. "You've got a lot of nerve calling me like that, merchant." She growled. "Who sent you to slander me?"
The merchant's eyebrows rose in mock surprise. "Slander?" He asked. "You misunderstand me, love. We are already engaged as per our fathers' agreement." Desire gleamed within his eyes as he moved closer to Eliarainne and whispered. "I must say I'm looking forward to seeing you in a dress. Armor really doesn't suit you."
Eliarainne quivered in fury. She reached instinctively for her lance. The knights near them looked about; trying to spot her partner. Sir Makaelthos Solcry was the only person the First Knight Commander listened to during her more violent moods. The patrol leader stepped up warily, realizing that it fell to him and his companions to break up any violence that erupted. He braced himself for a struggle. "Get out of my sight, merchant. Eliarainne finally said. "And tell your father to engage you to someone else because I have no intention of marrying for the sake of mine." Her tone low and menacing; almost as if she dared the merchant to ignore her words and continue to try and "woo" her. The merchant backed off, no one, no matter how confident, would dare call her threat. The passing knights sighed with relief as Eliarainne turned her back and rode on.
"What do you mean we're engaged!" Eliarainne's shout reverberated across the dining hall. Her fists slammed on her family's banquet table; causing everything on it to shake.
Her father, Cafilex, looked sternly at her from the opposite end of the ten foot long table. "What I mean, Eliarainne, is that I have arranged for your marriage with Eldorius Sevrisn." He answered sternly. "He's an excellent merchant, on his way to becoming a blacksmith. It is for your own good!"
Eliarainne glared at her father with enough fury to give pause to a mob of orcs. "You know nothing of what's good for me!" She spat. "I've heard of Clan Sevrisn before. They have a widespread business here in Prontera and the only reason you want me to marry that sniveling fool, Eldorius, is so you can consolidate some business merger!"
Cafilex banged his own fists on he table. Several bowls of food turned over; spilling their contents on the table. "You're wrong!" He shouted. "I'm doing this to refocus your attention from that ridiculous profession of yours and concentrate on running the business!"
Eliarainne grit her teeth in an effort to control herself. Ridiculous profession? She had killed people for that insult! She loved no other profession more than knighthood and she was more than willing to take on anyone who challenged that love. "Is that what you think of the knights, father?" She asked. She knew the answer of course. It puzzled even her why she continued to ask it every week.
Cafilex's face went livid. His dark, bushy beard seemed to quiver as he spat out each word. "The knights? The knights are all fools, Eliarainne! They were fools to accept you for training when you should have begun learning our family's business. They were bigger fools for letting you ascend to knighthood when you should have been a full-fledged blacksmith by that time! Don't you see how you've wasted your life, Eliarainne? I can earn three times your monthly salary in one week! Marrying Eldorius will at least replace your lost potential."
Eliarainne stood up. The discussion was a lost cause as usual. There was no point in talking to her father once he started looking down on what she did. His harangue merited no response. She knew what Prontera's knights did first hand. She kept the capital safe and enforced its edicts so fat blacksmiths and merchants like her father could get rich safely. It was a constantly perilous and often thankless job. Learning from Makaelthos, she had long mastered taking both gratitude and ingratitude in stride. She took a deep breath and started on a different topic. She didn't want the knights to be involved in her personal problems. "What about how I feel about the whole matter, father?" She asked. "You would cart me off to the highest bidder like a chunk of emperium?"
Cafilex rose from his own seat. "And who would you marry, Eliarainne?" He asked. "You are twenty-three years old, a few more years and the young men will think of you as an old maid wrapped in metal and behaving like a man! After that, they'll just think of you as one! Would you prefer that worthless ditch knight, Solcry? What future could he possibly offer you or our business?"
Eliarainne slammed her fist on the table so hard that the wood splintered. More food spilled and several pieces of crockery fell from the table; shattering on the marble floor.
"Don't you dare insult Makaelthos!" She shouted. "You don't even have the nerve to say that to his face without a battalion of bodyguards backing you up! So I'm growing out my usefulness for you, eh? You said it yourself, father, I'm twenty-three years old; far too old to be bothering myself with pleasing you in everything! Let "the young men"-" She said the phrase with a mocking falsetto. "-think what they want! I wouldn't curse a half-dead orc woman with a horrid fate like marrying one of them. Swinish, worthless people living off their parents' wealth, sipping wine and scratching their balls at the slightest itch! Drooling over every passing maidservant while knights like me deal with things that would have them piss so hard that they'd punch holes in their pants! So yes, father, give me some ditch-raised soldier of Prontera any time! I'll marry him and be done with you and your merchants!"
Cafilex raised his voice to a roar. "What filth have you dragged your tongue in? You take his side? That bastard thief in armor has polluted your mind completely, Eliarainne!" When Eliarainne turned to leave without an answer. Cafilex continued to shout as his daughter turned her back to him. "How dare you turn your back to me? We're not done yet!"
Eliarainne grabbed hold of the halberd she often carried with her indoors. The weapon's bladed end struck the wall to her right; breaking a gaping hole on the thick marble. Cafilex stepped back in fear. He had often witnessed his daughter's fury but not once had she resorted to something like this. For a brief moment, he could have sworn his daughter's irises turned red while the whites of her eyes turned black. Her grit teeth revealed sharp, pointed fangs. The blacksmith blinked and the horrifying moment passed.
"We're done, father!" Eliarainne snarled. "And if that bastard worm, Eldorius, leers at me again; hinting any sort of marriage…I'll kill him! I'll lay him on the ground, gut him and kill him! And then I'll kill-" She stopped herself, realizing what she was about to say. Then she simply left the room, slamming the door behind her. Several more slammed doors followed and she was gone from the manor.
Cafilex Sialsanderin was silent as his only daughter stormed out of the manor. For the first time in his arguments with her, he was fearing for his life. He owed that behavior once more to that ditch knight she spent so much time with.
Eliarainne hurried out of the manor. The blasted house was…suffocating her. It was too confined and kept reminding her of the constant quarrels she had with her father. She had done all she could to keep her temper in check but, for a brief moment, she got so angry that she seemed to black out. The next moment she found herself holding a halberd to the wall. 'Something is wrong.' She thought. 'It's the first time I threatened my father like that.' She felt her head starting to throb. It was the first sign of an incoming headache. She dismissed her uncalled for violence to the mounting stress of her work. Reports have been piling in all morning and afternoon ever since the orc invasion. She rode towards a tavern. 'It's his entire fault anyway! Marriage…how dare he plan it without considering me?' She clenched her fists. The more she thought of the whole thing, the angrier she got. By the time she reached the tavern, she had worked herself to a fury. Knights returning from their patrols recognized the symptoms and scampered to get out of her way. Her head was throbbing at full force as she entered the tavern. 'Ditch knight, the man says! Any other knight would have cracked his jaws open for that!' As if to answer her thoughts, Makaelthos's voice made her look up. He was by the bar, a glass of his favorite Morroc wine beside him.
"So how did it go with your father?" Makaelthos asked.
She sat beside him; her fury was still throbbing in her head. "Miserable as usual!" She snapped. "Baelthran! Payon spirits and bring the bottle!"
Baelthran was the barkeep of Eliarainne's favorite tavern. Fat, middle-aged and balding; he looked like the typical barkeep in the old stories Eliarainne read as a child. He returned with a clean glass and a bottle of the potent, clear liquid simply known as Payon spirits. She found it difficult to believe it was distilled from mountain-grown potatoes but she didn't care so long as it kicked her in the head like it did. Baelthran looked at Makaelthos in concern and discreetly gestured that he was leaving it to the crusader to moderate his partner's drinking. Eliarainne filled her glass with the spirits and drank it empty with one pull. She relaxed a bit as the throbbing was replaced by a mind numbing state that was brought on by the Payon spirits. Makaelthos took a sip from his own glass. He knew better than to suggest anything to his partner right away.
"Hey, Makaelthos." Eliarainne nudged her partner gently. He didn't answer but he did give her his attention. "What do you think would have happened if I had trained as a blacksmith instead of a knight?"
Makaelthos took another sip of his wine before replying. "Then you would have become one." He answered. "Kreizen would be overjoyed and I will doubtlessly spend my time listening to you two compare notes on both crafting and trashing either unsatisfied customers or foolish competition."
Eliarainne drained her second glass. "But then, I probably wouldn't have met you or Kreizen." She said. "If I had let my father have his way I would have probably been stuck in some private merchant's guild while the rest of you had your adventures."
Makaelthos looked back to those days. The time he spent with his companions was the last year of his swordsman days. "Maybe, but I think we would have ended up dead if we adventured without you."
Eliarainne smiled a bit before draining her third glass. Makaelthos suddenly fell into a thoughtful silence. "Hey, Makaelthos." She poked him out of his thoughts.
Makaelthos looked up again. "Yes?"
Eliarainne drained her fourth glass. By that time, Makaelthos noticed that her cheeks were already flushed and her bright hazel eyes were glassy and slightly unfocused.
"Why did you choose to become a crusader anyway?" She asked.
Makaelthos remained silent. He had been in conversations with a drunk Eliarainne before. She usually let him stay silent while she was sober but she poked and prodded once she started downing drinks. Still, this was the first time in five years that she prodded him about his past decisions. The argument between her and her father must have been much worse.
The dream of crusaderhood had appeared so distant back then. If he hadn't chosen it he would have become one of those rogue knights; riding with Trynis and the rest of NightKnife. Prontera would have put a price on his head. Who knows, it might have been Eliarainne who would have come to collect. "You could say that it was inspired by someone." He answered.
Eliarainne drained her sixth glass. She was finding it difficult to talk coherently. "Inspired…eh?" She said. "What about your parents?"
Makaelthos tried to remember his own parents. It was impossible. His earliest memories were of his childhood with Trynis Eviskrae. They lived under the care of Kallifen, a retired assassin who served as Trynis's bodyguard.
"Makaelthos?" His partner prodded him.
He focused on her; clearing his mind of unwanted memories of Trynis. Eliarainne looked ready to tip over and fall snoring across the bar. The other patrons, while there were few of them, watched him cautiously. "I think you've had enough." He said.
Eliarainne drained her seventh glass and set it down on the bar hard. "Leave me alone!" She groused. "I'll say if I...had 'nuff!"
Makaelthos discreetly signaled for Baelthran to take the bottle away. The evening was getting late anyway. "We should turn in for the night, Eliarainne." He said. "We have work in the morning."
Eliarainne stared glassily at Makaelthos. "And to think he wants me to marry some merchant." She laughed.
Makaelthos helped his partner rise to her feet. He sighed as he put her arm around his shoulder and walked towards the knight barracks. Her flush deepened. He could not guess whether it was from drunkenness or embarrassment. It was likely from both.
"Thanks." She whispered.
Makaelthos watched as a couple of knights from the First Knight Division passed them. The two saluted him before moving on. The sight of the crusader helping their drunken Knight Commander was a familiar sight to them. Although, the Knight Commander seemed drunker than usual. It happened whenever she visited her father.
The First Knight Division hated Cafilex Sialsanderin. His frequent meddling caused their Knight Commander to either drink or go berserk. Both cases were considered equally dangerous. Either the Knight Commander would trash someone after her visit or get drunk and trash someone in the morning when her mood was darkened by hangover.
Makaelthos then accompanied Eliarainne to her quarters; half-carrying and half-dragging her there. She staggered inside and began to remove her armor. Without much success though. Her fingers fumbled at the straps and buckles and her blurry eyesight wasn't helping either. He shook his head and began to undo the buckles and straps that held her full plate in place. She shifted uncomfortably as he placed her breastplate on the stand where she kept it. He untied the strings on her gauntlets; placing them on the table and then unstrapped her halberd and the short sword she had buckled to her waist. He even undid the overlapping metal plates that formed an armored skirt over the cloth one she wore. He stopped at her leggings and boots though. Time and again he had helped her with her armor when she was like this. He never undid her boots or her leggings. He was reminded too much of things he did before. That much he left to her.
"Sorry." She said, her voice already husky and slurred.
Makaelthos prepared to leave. "No need for that." He answered. "Try to drink more slowly next time though."
Eliarainne mustered a smile. The flush on her cheeks deepened as she looked at Makaelthos.
"If I had to marry one of my father's candidates-"
Makaelthos stopped momentarily.
"I'd sooner marry you."
Makaelthos concealed a slight smile of amusement. "That's the Payon spirits talking." He replied. "Get some sleep, Eliarainne, you really need it now."
Eliarainne forced a chuckle and watched as her partner entered his own quarters. When she was sure that he was gone, she let out the sigh she had been holding in. 'Is it…?' She asked herself.
There was no need to change clothes. She wore a simple red shirt underneath her armor as well as a plain skirt that was concealed by the metal one she wore as part of her armor. The clothes were comfortable enough to sleep in. She fumbled with her boots and then let them drop on the floor. Her armored leggings were a bit of a problem. After hopping about trying to get the leggings off, she finally succeeded. She let them drop the floor; she was too tired and drunk to bother with tidiness. Another problem appeared before her though. Eight beds confronted her; each one was identical to her real bed.
Makaelthos stared at his own quarters. His room, no more than twenty feet on all sides, was a simple combination of all the essentials of a house. His bed was to the right side, nothing more but a simple mattress on top of a large wooden box. Another mattress was laid out on the floor next to it. Next to the beds was a chest for his clothes and personal items. A small table, good for two, four if they didn't mind sitting at close proximity, was a few feet from the bed. Cooking utensils, a working oven and a sink dominated the right side of the room. Khaesilya was leaning on the dining table. She had fallen asleep trying to wait for him. "If she wasn't a swordsman then-" He said to himself.
A voice, a familiar, female voice spoke behind him. "We would still be working together, Makaelthos."
Makaelthos did not bother turning. He spoke the name on instinct.
"Trynis Eviskrae."