Chapter 13 ( Kerari Follows An Old Friend )

Valudaz and Miralania walked from the Rage Gale Keep and into the streets of the vast city. Daz, lost in his pain and mourning blindly walked not looking where he was going. Miralania looked up at the ancient buildings built of metal and glass. Some bits of glass still adorned the giant windows that graced the skyline. Jagged metal and glass hung from many of the tall buildings above certain levels. The upper levels having fallen to ruin and turned into grassy gardens with ivy growing up the old iron and steel.The Empire State Building still stood proudly where it always has newly retrofitted with gossamer tendrils of silk that shimmied in the breeze.

Suddenly! A gauntleted hand grasped her shoulder and screamed,” YOU! You killed my mother and father! I would know you anywhere!” The beautiful fawn turned slightly and moved her shoulder and spoke quietly.” I am no longer that person.” Young Slayde Rehnquist , nephew of the king unsheathed his sword and motioned for her to do the same. Acquiescing as cordially as she could, she stepped back and drew her sword and dropped into a battle stance. Slayde screamed at her,” You are gonna pay for what you did.” And swung hard at her. She quickly blocked his blow with her gauntlet and parried quickly always countering him in every offensive move he advanced at her. She countered him with ease and never took the upper hand. This warrior was quite powerful and strong and quite deeply hurt from loosing his family she responded as placidly as she could get to change his mind. “ She looked at him and said through the fighting.” I will not kill you. I was twisted against my will before. I was risen from the dead and bent to the biding of another. Now that I am in my right mind, I would never have hurt them had I known what I was doing.”

For three hours they battled hard, until Slayde had to rest. He stepped back and she allowed him. Looking at him and smiling offering her hand,” Would you like to go get ale and refresh ourselves?” Looking her up and down and weighing his options, he spoke clearly,” Anyone who could fight me for that long and not take the upper hand when she apparently had option to do so on a few occasions is enough to convince me that you indeed have changed. Who are you?” The beautiful fawn before him bowed gracefully and spoke softly,” I am Princess Miralania True Shot, I am a fawn of the Glenn and I do not even know if my father knows if I am still alive or not.” Tilting her head.. Well. I was dead. And you?”

Slayde stood to his full six foot, nine inch frame and bowed slightly from the hip speaking quickly,” I am Slayde Rehnquist, next in line to Rage Gale throne if my uncle does not have a child. Though I hope he does, I am really not interested in finding a wife and having children. Besides, I do not want to be king. Come let’s go get something to drink, I am bloody well parched.” Looking at her frame he spoke. “Why would someone as delicately featured as you choose to be a Paladin?” She looked at him soulfully and spoke softly.” One simply does not choose to be a Paladin. We are called and trained tirelessly in the tasks we are given to ensure that the lines of the Scions are always protected.” The young man tilted his head slightly and spoke. “ scions? I thought they died out long ago before the great rift of the moon a thousand years ago.” 
The young woman smiled and shook her head. “ No, there are five living scions still alive this day. The paladins and the Watchers know of them. YOU are a Paladin how do you not know of the scions? Were you not trained by old Thibideau?” The young man shook his head in the negative and took a deep sigh. “I was trained by his brother in arms. I am a paladin of the Crystal Hand. First into the battle or the best healers of the bunch. I was trained by Reginald Hadrion.”

Valudaz walked along the road after the altercation had worked it’s self out and pondered things. He was reminiscing the moments of his wedding day. The wind blew through Alitha’s hair and made the ribbon blow across her face. He just looked at the street and didn’t look up, memories flooded his mind in rapid succession. A beautiful white haired elf looked up from the market as he walked by, plate boots clanking the street as he passed and felt and odd pull to follow him so she camouflaged herself and began to follow him several paces behind and watched him breathless. The elf was Lord Valudus’s son Daz. She had known him for many, many years. They were young together in Avalon. Though he was a thousand years older than she .He was the best Blade smith she had ever known. He made the swords for kings of many generations or a very long time. She observed his gate and demeanor as he clanked his way towards the paladin district where the St.Patricks Cathedral stood.

 She stood watching as he entered the door and slowly followed behind him, as quietly as she could. She knew he had been through quite the ordeal and how much of his past he remembered she could not know. He bowed respectfully as he entered the chapel and walked towards the monks at front of the cathedral singing their vespers and strode up to the altar and knelt there and began to weep. Deep soul wrenching sobs that caught in his throat. Deeply keening and wracked with grief and guilt over the loss of Alitha. He had lost his whole world and his mother along with a few friends and comrades in arms. He life was in shambles and he could not get Lucifer's whispers out of his head.

When a young female priest came forward. And quietly laid a hand on his shoulder and spoke softly,” Lord Valudaz your wife’s body has been laid to rest north of the city in the farm lands near her family estate. That is all we could do.” Hikari handed him a lit candle as he silently nodded his head. And spoke in a choked voice,” Alitha was brave to the end. I wasn’t going to kill her. She made me remember who I was. Why? She didn’t give me a chance.” Hikari, had listened to Alithas confessions before that fateful day. " There really was nothing you could do Daz. Her mental state after loosing you and the baby caused her mind to shatter. She just couldn't take anymore emotional blows."

He took the candle that had been offered and began to light the candle when Alitha’s ghost shimmered into view.” Daz! My love, you did it! You broke free. I can be at rest now my prince.” As he reached toward her, she faded into the black and tears rolled down the big paladins face as he lit the candle on the table before him. Suddenly! all the candles lit on their own and sun beams shone through the stained glass window onto his armor. The Light still wanted him!

Kerari sat in astounded silence as she watched the man before her. She pulled her cowl over her head and looked down at the hymnal as he walked back down the aisle and looked her way as he exited the building. She seemed familiar to him however, he could not place it. Letting out a long breath she began to rise when Hikari placed a hand on her shoulder.” He has been trough much these past two years.” The beautiful rogue nodded silently and turned to leave then stopped.” I don’t know why I was drawn to him. I cannot explain it. I have known him for the one thousand five hundred years of my existence. We have not seen one another in a quite a long time. Almost four hundred years have passed since we were living in Avalon. We live in the same grove he just went his own way. I have always had a connection to Daz. Was his wife elven as well?” Hikari shook her head no and took a deep breath. “ Alitha was human and a rogue like you. They loved each other deeply. He lived two thousand years before she came into his life and he had only just begun to live when they wed. That is all I can tell you, the rest is private.”

Kerari nodded and left the cathedral and walked down the street quietly thinking to herself,” Why am I so worried about one paladin?” Lost in her thoughts she wound her way through the streets of Rage Gale back to the market. Her mind kept wandering as she packed up her potions, tinctures and herbs. She remembered the two of them playing in the dirt by the lake covered in mud running through the grove laughing tracking mud through his mother’s home. Time marched on and they went their separate ways and lost track of one another. Shaking off the tears in her eyes. She really did miss him. He was her best friend and always thought they would be mated someday. Apparently he didn't feel the same way about her. All she wanted to do was go to comfort him but she kept her distance out of respect for his situation. His aura was darker than she remembered and wondered what had happened.

Kerari’s Apothecary had done quite well. She was quite skilled in the art of herbal healing techniques and potion making she also had dabbled a bit with transmutation.. She loved to skirt the edges of a battleground and offer her assistance in healing the wounded soldiers. She also loved to just explore the hidden parts of the united states and learn the history that lay hidden beneath the ground and procure what she could to buy more herbs and medical supplies. She had places to be and monsters to kill and armor to plunder. She was tracking a beautiful set of armor that she had heard tales of for many years. She packed the maps shed found hidden in old rest stops along the hyways and byways of this country. She kind of found where she thought it might be but she would have to go there and find out to be sure.

Two days later she began packing her bags for her trip out of town. She was traveling south west toward a cavern system in Kansas now named Molatair rumored to have abundant treasure. It was about thirty miles out side of Big Bone Lick. If she had figured it out right she could slip in and get what she wanted and get out without being detected. Hopefully was the key word though. One never knew what hid in the depths of caverns or vaults in this day and age. Some things were civil and others , well, they were not.

There was a sound at the door and the young elf looked up to see her sister Sherari walk through and smile. Looking at her sister’s bags she spoke quickly,” Where are you going? “The older sister looked up and spoke quickly,” The salt caves in Molatir want to go with me?” Sherarielooked at her sister and smiled.” You are going after the armor aren’t you?” her sister nodded silently with a Cheshire cat grin." How long have you been trying to find that damn set? I bet it isn't there and you'll have to look someplace else but I am game. Lets go someone's gonna have to keep you from dying." Sherari said as she sighed sotly

Back In Avalon…..( The first human allowed in Avalon for circa …..Like ever.)

Rahnyah and Val came back to Avalon to inform Madeline that Ishellia had been brought back to life. Rahnyah was tired and went to take a shower. She was finishing her bathing ritual and getting her gown back on and sliding her arm into her robe when she heard Andronus’s voice coming from down the hallway. Stepping from her chamber she walked quietly so as not to disturb him. She stopped at the edge of the doorway to listen to what was being said. Young Thomas was asking him questions with rapid fire.

” Mr. druid, why do the stags let you ride on them?” The old druid looked at him and guided him to his bed and helped him get in and gently covered him up.” Ok I will tell you, only if you promise to go to sleep.” The young boy nodded and leaned back on his pillow as the old druid began to speak.

” A long, long time ago back when the fairies were still young and the earth was still brand new there was an alliance made between the animals of the forest and the elves. We agreed to celebrate the rhythms of the earth together. Each year three stag sacrificed their lives so we might be fed along with all the vegetables and fruit we grew. We honored them and remembered their spirits in ceremony and song. We danced around the fires of Beltane and mated the women we loved . the young men would jump the fires as their first rite of passage before their first big hunt. The great leader of the stags Cernunos one year offered up his life so that the life of his son would not fall to the cycle of life. He would give anything for his beloved son. He would one day be the great Stag and father the younglings of the forest. King Valudus stepped in and said that no other stag shall be slain in the forests of Avalon. Only common deer may be slain. The brown deer only and the only time a mother could slay a doe while in gravitum was to procure the soft hides of the fawn for the birthing blanket. Because the skin of the fawn inside was soft and tender for the baby being born.

The white deer of our forests sighed their relief and Cernunos stepped forward and lowered his mighty head to the ground and bade Valudus to step astride him. From that moment forward over eight thousand years ago, The white deer have given their lives to take us where we need to go. They are bound by blood and honor and oath of generations La-Olam. That means forever. Where ever, whenever we call, they will thunder their way to us. ”Tommy sat wide eyed as Rahnyah leaned against the door jam . The old druid took a deep breath and Andronus began to say a little rhyme for the boy as he gestured for him to lay back and covered his little shoulders up.

” The wolves have all chased the last of their prey. Please dear boy go to sleep I say. The Tigers have settled with kits at their feet Oh dear boy ..Go the fuck to sleep!”

Rahnyah could barely stifle a laugh as she continued to watch the two together. It felt like home. It did not seem that in three short days they would be gathering the masses to fight for the end of the evil that lurked in the dark places of the Earth. She smiled as she left the two behind and made her way outside to see Val talking with a few Lorthramarians , discussing who would hold his council.

The dragons were gathering at the base of the woods near the hills when Ambrosious, hand in hand with Rhiannon came into view. Great huge tears brimmed the eyes of the old druid. “ I never thought I would live to see the day I would be invited in among you.”

Rahnyah smiled, “I am sure even Ishellia in her state, were to come I would not keep her from her home. Her things are where they belong with a few of my things added to them. I have a few new robes she would love. That plate armor must be so awful. The leather and the chaffing. You know us ladies don’t like to chaffe. It makes us cranky.”

Rhiannon winked at the human and touched her arm and smiled as she walked by and into her mothers home, Ambrosious by her side. She walked into her mother's embrace and kissed her cheek and sat down at the table laden with food for late evening meal. The young lad had eaten earlier so they could speak of the things they needed to without the interruption of the young one. It had been so long since a young one graced the lives of the grove.

Rahnyah looked up at the men. “You do know I wont Keep Ishellia from her home right? I don’t care if she did die. This is her home. Valudus you will just have to come to grips with that as well.” She said as she turned and walked back into the house. She is my best friend and this is her house and I will always let her come here. Period."

Val turned stunned,” Well, I guess she told us.”