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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Before - Legends "Legends of the Force"(epic drama with OCs), book 1, 32 Chapters, FIN

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by AzureAngel2, Jan 7, 2016.

  1. DarthUncle

    DarthUncle Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2005
    [face_plain]

    yeah, intense. I have to say, in a way it is fitting to your feelings this week, and I think, a proper goodby to your childhood friend, given how this story started germinating from your childhood playing. Also, since I only now found time to read about the previous update, I got Heulwen's birth, beautiful, serene scenes, puncutated with a vision of Sheev Palpatine, a nice, though chilling for what it means, view of little Nagina, the OC from the Rage story and various drabbles and celtic song challenges - so did he use her then already to ward of Isabeau?!!? - and then I got a little peace again, followed by this harrowing, kinetic scene. What did Lucien do/witness?! Great foreshadowing and parallel with Padme and Anakin/Darth Vader's story too.
     
  2. DARTH_MU

    DARTH_MU Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 9, 2005
    NOOOOOOOOOOO.

    look at monitor in disbelief.

    :(
     
  3. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha: I am touched by so many sweet words. Thank you! But I fear you need to wait for a long time. Isa is not finished yet and after her Sionnach & Grianán tell their stories. Only then Lucien will begin his tale.



    Cowgirl Jedi 1701: In the original version this scene was also there, I just altered the action sequences a slight bit.



    DarthUncle: You have the eyes of an eagle and a sharp brain. I will write a vignette about the "meeting" between Sheev & Isa soon-ish.



    DARTH_MU: Sometimes the future is already written. Sometimes, not always.
     
  4. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    What was Lucien doing? Was he responsible?
     
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  5. DarthUncle

    DarthUncle Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2005
    If I recall correctly, in the earlier version of the story, there was a good reason Lucien was there to witness it - but while for a long time the reader followed Isabeau's belief (in that version) that he had to have been the one to kill her, I think he wasn't actually the killer. He did have a certain culpability, for, as usual, being too self-confident, and too assured he would be able to control events, I believe.

    Of course, while the current story is largely the same story, the particulars have evolved and his motives and actions could be different, either/both, less and more menacing :)
     
  6. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Listen to DarthUncle you must earlybird-obi-wan.

    * tries to look as cute and innocent as a fat, pink unicorn that has its mouth smeared with chocolate


    (Still Chapter 25!)



    *******************************************************************

    Sereno's broken body is taken down to the ice cellar. His wife, already wrapped in white cotton shrouds, is placed next to him.

    My ever generous step-brother had instructed the royal Shesha guards and Èleos where to find her sad remains.

    It appears that Gwenynen has been slain about two miles away from the stronghold. I cannot imagine anyone being bold enough to attack a person while collecting mushrooms. Not on Draconis anyway. Perhaps I am not imaginative enough.

    It angers me that the Force tries to help me out in an unwelcome way.

    The voice is that of a man, but I cannot see his face. His words encircle me like a pack of animals.

    It was just before dawn. They came out of nowhere. A hunting party of Tusken Raiders. Your mother had gone out early, like she always did, to pick mushrooms that grow on the vaporators. From the tracks, she was about halfway home when they took her. Those Tuskens walk like men, but they're vicious, mindless monsters.”

    I shake my head and stare at the medical examiner, a specialist send by Misera all the way from Cunabula, who is just about to finish her report to me. She is a skinny thing with dark hair.

    “Ugly bite marks, indicating a large predator, are all over the princess' body.”

    “Any idea who is responsible for them?”

    She shrugs. “I reckon it was a wolf. Perhaps it had been a sick individual, infected by rabies or another maddening illness.”

    “To be on the safe side, please test her for rabies and the baby, too!” I ask and stare out of the window.

    Sionnach and her two sons bid my step-brother good-bye in the castle yard.

    I smirk.

    Luçien is send on a tricky mission to the Adar tribe. He is to inform them about Gwenynen's demise. Against tradition she is to be buried on the Holy Isle. Agathos and Narthex want to have a tribal burial at Fan Cill. Who am I to oppose the two men?

    The place of her burial site does not matter to me. But the fact that she is dead and gone.

    What I still do not buy is the story of my step-brother being out on a hunt. He claims that he basically fell over the corpse. There is something awfully wrong about it.

    Of course Luçien has a hunting lodge in the midst of Ceilonwyn. The past months secret service showed me digital pictures of it. I also know him to be an excellent hunter, despite of being a male Lidérc. Yet my instincts tell me that this is not the whole story.

    The problem with the crown witness is that she is considered too young and too traumatised to be questioned. The main priestess of the Holy Isle advised me against reading Heulween.

    Down in the castle yard there is some excitement.

    While his children wave bravely, my step-brother slowly rides away on Czarny, his black horse. My heart is not sorry for him. Not even at the sight of his bend body that speaks of guilt and misery.

    One fine day I will find out about his exactly role in the entire drama.

    The medical examiner humbly takes her leave of me.

    It annoys me that I cannot overcome myself to visit the castle vaults. It certainly will devastate my memories of Sereno and Gwenynen. Of the vibrant love that they had shared in life.

    Then a vision of the future makes my already bad mood even worse.

    “The shroud of the dark side has fallen”, says the little green man to a bold headed coloured man and a bearded white man.

    I know for certain that there are no zombies here in the mountains. The winter had stopped them. Force lightening had burned entire armies of the Undead. But the dark side looms in the shadows of Dún Barr anyway. Yet it is not in the hallways and the many rooms. It is in our very hearts. None is safe. Especially not the Force-sensitives.

    The far away future has not finished to whisper into my ears. This time its even sends unwelcome sneak previews over my iris.

    An old man passes by military forces. His eyes are as yellowish as that of a desert hawk. They are the only thing to be seen under his deep hood. His fingers are but thin claws around a walking stick.

    ”Everything is according to plan, Lord Vader.”

    A cackling, mad laugh follows his words.

    An unbelievingly cold breath answers. It comes from the depths of despair, impotence and self-loathing.

    I stumble back into the presence, and tear a window open.

    But it is too late. The cold has taken possession of my soul already. It is there ever since I have seen the light in Sereno's eyes go out.

    While the autumn rains whip my face, Daná enters the room.

    “There is something in the woods.”

    Luçien has not passed the drawbridge yet, sweety.”

    She comes to stand right next to me. Her face is as bony as that of a desert fox. “I am not talking about him. There is some kind of being that kills for joy.”

    I am not interested to listen to any more theories. “Gwenynen should not have been out there on her own then,” I conclude frostily. “She was alien to the forest lands around us. Somebody should have joined her.”

    “My sister-in-law was as free as a sunbeam, falling through the tree tops,” the girl sulks.

    “She certainly is as disembodied as a sunbeam now.”

    “There is no reason to be cruel.”

    “Face it, sweety!” My eyes burn into hers. “Life is cruel and unfair. All we are is dust in the desert wind.”

    “There is more to life than that,” she sniffs.

    “Take it from me. There are no mysteries, no big revelations. We all die the very way we entered this misery in the first place, confused and smeared with blood.”

    Pale and in tears, Daná leaves the room. I do not care.

    The rain, soaking my dress, has increased in the meantime.

    When Death truly waits in Ceilonwyn, then I hope it will get Luçien on his way to Gwenynen's kin.

    ********************************************************************

    (To be continued! Also for Kahara, DARTH_MU, WarmNyota_SweetAyesha, DarthUncle & DarthUncle)
     
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  7. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Excellent and very understandable emotions. Grief for the tragic end to a sweet beautiful love @};- and anger at what she thinks is Lucien's role in the entire thing. [face_thinking]
     
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  8. DARTH_MU

    DARTH_MU Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 9, 2005
    Two people.... Just gone.
    It also seems that there is an orphan.
    Well, at least sounds like Isa is taking care of her. So that's something.
    But hm... Isa suspect Lucien?
     
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  9. DarthUncle

    DarthUncle Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2005
    Aww, Isabeau lets her sadness lash out at Dana and the world. Is it deliberate to have a vision of the Tusken taking Shmi, shadowing not just Serenno losing it and trying to kill Lucien for being at or near the scene (or Lucien, or the wolf to lose it and kill), but also shadow that perhaps that wolf isn't really a mindless killer, just as the Tusken aren't really - and given that in your story, the Tusken seem to sort of be offshoots of Isabeau's culture, is it also a shadow of Isa feeling the loss of family, or is that all overanalyis by me? I'll credit you with it anyway :D

    But wow, Isabeau can be sarcarstic, what a burn:
    ... but maybe she is also, in dismissing Dana, missing a clue ...
     
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  10. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Again powerful visions of the future. Is Lucien really bad?
     
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  11. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha: Isa is 100% feline and cats are never easy. Not as characters and not in their actions.





    DARTH_MU: Isa finds it even suspicious when her step-brother is breathing. They certainly have a history of miscommunication and pain.



    DarthUncle: You always find the bread crumbs in the middle of the forest, dear! [face_love]



    earlybird-obi-wan: You should know after 12 years that I work with shades of grey. ;) That I have difficulties staying in black and white terms. Let us agree that his judgement is extremely bad at times. When acting like Judge Dredd this is a lousy flaw:




    And now the update, also for Kahara:


    (Still Chapter 25!)



    ********************************************************************

    Fate is not kind. My step-brother is back one day later and visibly unharmed. Via him the Adar tribe asks me to send them the bodies. I give my permission, but I do not join the actual funeral ceremony. Nothing can make me leave the castle grounds. I want to be left on my own.

    To die because of a broken heart – les ennui as the city folk of Montségur – is the most stupid reason in the entire universe. It does not seem right. Sereno had always been so strong and compassionate.

    One gloomy afternoon, exactly one week after the burial, I am sitting in a rocking chair in the library. My fingernails scratch through the wood of the armrests, leaving ugly marks.

    Luçien sits nearby, pretending to read a book. He does not even possess the decency to hold it up the right way. I hate him so much.

    My breath comes out in hot, angry puffs.

    A side door on the upper gallery opens and my nostrils take in the scent of Gregory Fry, the High Chamberlain.

    I raise my head in his direction, trying to play nice. This diligent, loyal and respectable gentleman has nothing to do with my current anger. “Yes, please?”

    Lord MacDubh is in the entrance hall, Holy Consort.”

    The Elfin foster father of Sereno. Of course, I totally forgot to notify him about the drama that had occurred in this very library.

    “Give me a moment, dear Gregory!” I beg.

    “Certainly, milady.”

    The discrete closing of a door can be heard.

    In my head I count down until ten, then I scream with all my might, “Merci beaucoup!”

    My step-brother drops his book in shock. “I never meant to...” he starts.

    My face is close to his within heartbeats, but I keep my hands of his throat. “I was not talking about you. Not even with you. You are worth less than a grain of dust under my shoes.”

    I leave him right where he is, slamming the door in my wake.

    This is not a meeting that I look forward to and afterwards there is a little baby girl, who is more important than revenge.

    “Heulwen should have been enough for you to go on, you fool,” I mutter.

    My winter boots clack loudly over the heated floor boards of the castle. I want the Shesha and everybody else to notice me.

    I stop in front of the royal nursery. Inside it Éleos sits astride in a Yoga position, the sleeping Heulwen in his lap.

    “Why did he do it?” I confront the young man.

    Éleos looks up, his face calm and even. “The past years we found out that we even could communicate with one another when we were on opposite sides of the planet. Yet in the end, not even I knew that he would go so far.”

    I bang one of my fists against a cupboard which is close at hand. “I want to understand. Lord MacDubh is waiting for me, keen on a suitable explanation, too.”

    “My brother and his wife were soul-bound like a bantha and its nomad rider.”

    “L'emme sœur?”I echo, looking unconvinced. Soul mates?

    Éleos begins fondling the baby. “Isa, since when are strong personalities incapable of giving in to utter despair? Look at yourself and at how outraged you are. You of all persons in this castle should understand that everyone possesses both strengths and weaknesses. Stop blaming Sereno for having loved too much!”

    “That cannot happen to you, can it?” I confront him, my arms crossed. “Loving too much, I mean.”

    “Love and compassion are central to my life.” He smiles that half shy, half witty smile he possesses since his early childhood. “You are the face of love. Heulwen is a product of love. When you see it this way, one could say that love is all around me.”

    “This is why you keep your emotions so hard in check?” I snort.

    “To be a Force user comes with much responsibility.”

    ********************************************************************

    While holding Heulwen firmly, Éleos gives me a lecture about those very responsibilities. Explains that he feels them towards his family, including me.

    I do not like the fact he speaks about me as if I am an old woman already, fragile and helpless. Too senile to protect House Tjiehenet any longer. His wish to found a paladin order is almost an insult to me. The Shesha will be even less thrilled about his idea than me.

    “I know you have this dream since ages, but I fear it will get very crowded at court when you go through with it,” I argue.

    “We would be in the background, discreet and reliable,” Éleos insists in a charming way.

    I dread having a bunch of young men stumbling around me. The thought that one of them could end up in my bedroom makes me sick. “Why not forming a monk order, that redraws itself from the rest of the universe and is philosophical from dusk until dawn?” I suggest.

    “We Force users owe it to the common good to effect the universe, make it a better place.”

    “Well, Luçien once said something similar to me, and look where that got him, us,” I sigh.

    Gracefully, Èleos rises with Heulween in his arms. “Father and Grandfather are with Lord MacDubh, but we should join them now, don't you think?”

    I run a weary hand over my head.

    “You are very presentable, Isa,” he assures me. “The pride and glory of House Tjiehenet.”

    If such a compliment comes from Èleos, then I can buy it from him without hesitation. He is always truthful and never exaggerating.
     
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  12. DarthUncle

    DarthUncle Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2005
    The image of Lucien doing a Judge Dredd impression, very fitting, though probably in a more smooth and feral way.

    Where to start, there is a lot here! I imagine Lucien and Isa sitting there both pretending nothing is the matter, but their tails and furs standing up straight, like two cats who know now is not the time to go at each others throats, so they'll have to pretend they don't care, but are seething to do something about it.

    And then you transfer to the balming presence of Eleos and that sensible, and sweet in its way, talk, where he helps her gather courage for the thing she knows she needs to do, while they also both grieve for Serreno, and we learn about more of the customs of the world they inhabit. It all comes together very well.
     
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  13. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Dark and light. Isa against her step-brother. And a monk-order forming?
     
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  14. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    DarthUncle: You did it again, being 100% right. Luc would indeed be smooth and feral doing a Judge Dredd impression, about the tension between the step siblings and about Èleos being a Force healer in his own special way with reasoning & sympathy.


    earlybird-obi-wan: Yes, a monk order is on its way. Faithful paladins of the Force.
     
  15. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    DarthUncle, earlybird-obi-wan, DARTH_MU, Kahara, Darth_Furio & WarmNyota_SweetAyesha here is the next round of my Isa fanfic.

    Please enjoy yourselves!



    Chapter 26:


    The next day I have to find out that Éleos is not the only one who thinks that giving is better than taking away.

    From my wooden throne, a nasty piece of uncomfortable furniture, I grant Luçien the darkest look I am capable off.

    His 'gift' for the entire royal household is about four sun years senior to Caelestris. It has long silky hair of a dark brown, that reaches onto very muscular shoulders. The face has that particular type of weathered tan which a life under the open skies brings with it.

    “Draň Syn od Kerb from the Eastern Prairies?” I repeat.

    Under normal circumstances I would have laughed until my ribs hurt, but the face of Agathos is by far too serious. “You should be happy for Caelestris instead of regarding it as another intrigue spun by His Lordship,” he says.

    “What else could it be?” My eyes narrow as I wrinkle my nose. “The whole thing is simply ridiculous. I refuse to believe it.”

    “Isa!” somebody yelps in front of me.

    I focus my attention on Caelestris, who is flushed. “Yes, dear?”

    She storms up the podium and holds her golden wedding ring so close to my face that it almost gets stuck in one of my nostrils.

    “This marriage is for real,” she pants with a comical mixture rage and panic. “A priest of Parhelion married us in the forest yesterday. It was so romantic. Draň wanted to surprise me and Lord Ankoù arranged everything for him.”

    I roll my eyes towards the ceiling, staring at the wonderful wood carvings.

    There is no such thing as an unselfish act of Luçien. There are always plots within plots. And yet again I have no idea of the final plan, or the reason behind it.

    “This marriage is invalid,” I state regally. “You are no member of the Amnionian state church. This turns your so-called wedding ring into a little trinket. Nothing more and nothing less.”

    Hectic red spots spread to cover the face of the dauphine, but Draň Syn od Kerb pats her left underarm. “Let me deal with this, my precious,” he purrs.

    I rise from my throne, acting as I believe Arcānā would have done in my place. Each gesture is royal, each word poisonous. “Celestris is not yours, milord, but property of the Draconian crown.”

    The smile of the tribal lord reveals a lot of white teeth in return. “If you wish, dear Marquise Riwalan, we can have another wedding ceremony. One that is more appropriate in your critical eyes.”

    My laughter is throaty, sensual almost. “The cult of Ischáh does only know the visiting rights of a male partner. There is no necessity for marriage rituals.”

    “Excellent.” Draň Syn od Kerb grins even wider. “Then my dear wife and I will rejoice in the bond that we already have.”

    “I will not allow that.”

    While saying so I cross my arms right over my breasts, wishing I would have any daggers on me. One would go straight into the throat of this bulky goat. The other one would cut off the flow of intrigues that Luçien keeps me busy with.

    “His Excellency, the archbishop of Polysýndeton, will not react happily in hearing about your refusal,” my step-brother dares to say to me in a reproachful tone.

    “Let me get the High Priestess of Cunabula for tea then,” I snap back. “She will play chess with the leftovers of your clergyman when she is finished with him. Or she will feed the zombies in...”

    Agathos reaches out for me, placing a hand on my right shoulder. “Isabeau, please let go of your disappointment and rage! This family needs some happy moments once in a while.”

    I stare at him in utter disgust. “We have Heulwen, the legacy of Sereno and Gwenynen. If it would not have been for my all so honoured step-brother her parents would both be still alive and well.”

    “Dear sister of mine.” Sionnach O'Conghaile steps in front of Luçien as if she wants to catch the accusations that I have just made. “My lord and husband did no harm to them. The opposite is the case.”

    ********************************************************************

    Knowing Luçien for the man that he truly is, I fail to believe the Elfin woman. Her love blinds her. “Silly little fool.”

    “As a healer I know that your wounds go very deep, dear sister of mine.” Sionnach O'Conghaile is full of honest regret. Tears are hanging in her long eyelashes. “But please give love a chance to grow under this roof.”

    People who believe in the power of love are helpless romantics. There are things that cannot be healed.

    The young woman is gasping for air. The Force choke squeezes it out of her. Her lovely face is a mask of horror and disbelief. Then her body, heavy with child, is thrown through the air and collides with a wall.

    I blink the vision away, not wishing to see more. The human female in it has been too familiar to me. And so are her abusive husband and his future.

    “Love or an obsession that will go utterly wrong?” I ask aloud.

    Not being able to stand the shocked faces around me, I leave the throne room.

    Clairvoyants of the desert tribes choose loneliness at a certain point. It is not due to the fact that the burden of their visions is too heavy to bear. Nor do they seek solitude on purpose. It is more the disappointment with their environment that fails to believe in them.

    ********************************************************************

    Draň Syn od Kerb stays on. His belongings arrive, including luscious gifts for his young wife and his father-in-law: hand-woven carpets, animal pelts, a wagon full of bottles with an alcoholic liquid called vodka and a dozen proud prairie horses.

    Agathos welcomes the tribal lord with all his heart. The rest of the family is shy with him.

    It is known that the people in the East have given up their faith in Ischáh, the Great Mother, long ago. There are rumours, but nothing solid really.

    I wait another week before I allow Éleos to have his paladin order. He wants to seek out twelve men of pure heart from all the corners of this sun system. They are to be the Praetorian guard.

    We have a private audience in the royal rose garden, because I cannot stand the stupid throne. I rather sit on a garden bench surrounded by greenery.

    “How long will you be gone?” I inquire, playing with the petals of a fat rose bud next to me. It is pink and somehow cute.

    “As long as the Force wills it,” Èleos says. He stands in front of me with his hands hidden inside his paladin robe.

    I roll my eyes. “This is what I have to tell the pivy council? That the Force wills it?”

    He laughs amused. “They are all Draconian women from the Holy Isle. Of course they will understand.”

    “Can´t you give me something more essential? A clear number of days? Weeks, perhaps?”

    There is nothing but calm serenity in his features.

    “And they say that Lidérc are mysterious creatures.” I let go of the rose.

    “I am sorry, Isa. But things are what they are, a great mystery. The Force will send me to different planets and places.”

    “You might as well bring back some little bird-like creatures with big eyes to guard this family,” I joke.

    “Do not underestimate the enormity of the Force!” the prince advices me. “It lives in each of us, but not all can use it.”

    Thinking of my weird future visions I guess that I would be better off without it.

    We talk on for a good while, the autumn sun warming us. For this time of the year it is an extra ordinary day. Servants bring us hot tea and local cookies. Otherwise we are able to stay undisturbed by other family members or suitors.

    When it is finally time for Èleos to go, I give him the traditional blessing of my people. Not of his.

    ********************************************************************

    (To be continued!)
     
  16. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Superb interplay of emotions and outlooks! Agathos insists on love and happiness and a rational head. Isabeau is disillusioned and bitter against what she feels are Lucien's crimes, despite the denials of Sionnach. It is up to the reader to discover through coming events if the defenders of Lucien are naive or if Isabeau in this instance is leaning too far in the opposite direction. [face_thinking]
     
  17. Darth_Furio

    Darth_Furio Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Apr 17, 2008
    I've never supported Lucien, too selfish. Nicely done Azure. The interactions are great. :D
     
  18. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    the Force is swirling. Who is the good one?
     
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  19. Cowgirl Jedi 1701

    Cowgirl Jedi 1701 Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 21, 2016
    I still don't trust Lucien, but Sionnach seems honest. Perhaps not the smartest person, because, after all, she did marry Lucien, but honest. So if she says it's not Lucien's fault, then I'm inclined to believe her. At least for now. After all, we still don't have all the facts about what happened.
     
  20. DarthUncle

    DarthUncle Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2005
    Good points @cowgirl-Jedi-1701, Sionnach doesn't seem like she is a good liar. I feel Isabeau is unwisely harsh here, for it is wise to keep your friends close and enemies closer. For now, though I do not quite like what I read from Dran, it would be good to keep in close contact with the newlyweds. But, the story makes very clear why she doesn't. I will hope for the best, but prepare for bad, I guess, AzureAngel2!
     
  21. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005


    @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha: Perfect analysis as usual! Keep going!




    @Darth_Furio: Your comments are also great! Thanks for taking the time to read!





    @Cowgirl Jedi 1701: I could say a lot about "that marriage", but that would be too much of a spoiler! Just keep reading!





    @DarthUncle: I am happy to have you back from your home country in one piece and also back online with your sharp comments!



    (Still Chapter 26!)

    ********************************************************************

    Draň Syn od Kerb stays on. After a week his belongings arrive, including luscious gifts for his young wife and his father-in-law: hand-woven carpets, animal pelts, a wagon full of bottles with an alcoholic liquid called vodka and a dozen proud prairie horses.

    Agathos welcomes the tribal lord with all his heart. The rest of the family is shy with him.

    It is known that the people in the East have given up their faith in Ischáh, the Great Mother, long ago. There are rumours, but nothing solid really.

    I wait another week before I allow Éleos to have his paladin order. He wants to seek out twelve men of pure heart from all the corners of this sun system. They are to be the Praetorian guard.

    We have a private audience in the royal rose garden, because I cannot stand the stupid throne. I rather sit on a garden bench surrounded by greenery.

    “How long will you be gone?” I inquire, playing with the petals of a fat rose bud next to me. It is pink and somehow cute.

    “As long as the Force wills it,” Èleos says. He stands in front of me with his hands hidden inside his paladin robe.

    I roll my eyes. “This is what I have to tell the privy council? That the Force wills it?”

    He laughs amused. “They are all Draconian women from the Holy Isle. Of course they will understand.”

    “Can't you give me something more essential? A clear number of days? Weeks, perhaps?”

    There is nothing but calm serenity in his features.

    I let go of the rose. “And they say that Lidérc are mysterious beings.”

    “I am sorry, Isa. But things are what they are, a great mystery. The Force will send me to different planets and places.”

    “You might as well bring back some little bird-like creatures with big eyes to guard this family,” I joke.

    “Do not underestimate the enormity of the Force!” the prince advices me. “It lives in each of us, but not all can use it.”

    Thinking of my weird future visions I guess that I would be better off without it.

    We speak on for a good while, the autumn sun warming us.

    For this time of the year it is an extra ordinary dry day.

    The steward himself brings us hot tea and local cookies. Otherwise we are able to stay undisturbed by others.

    When it is finally time for Èleos to go, I give him the traditional blessing of my people. Not of his.

    I lean my brow against his, stating, “May your steps be safe and soundless!”

    We start rubbing our noses against each other.

    “No worries, Isa! I'll be back!”

    My true father had said something similar to me when the men of House Ankoù had attacked our camp. Not much later he had been beheaded.

    ********************************************************************

    The young men arrive about one year later. How exactly Éleos has found them remains his secret. He is not willing to tell me, but we agree that he leads the entire group into the throne room for my inspection.

    I have not dressed up for the occasion for I am not a queen. Foremost I am a warrior and so I wear my sweaty training gear still: army trousers and a tight tank top. The sweatbands are still in place, too. One on my head, the other two on each wrist.

    Misera, my sparing partner and a valuable member of the Draconian Secret Service, stands next to the throne. Together we gaze at the pot-pourri of Force users from all over our sun system.

    Various Elves with different racial backgrounds.

    Weather-proved humans from the world-wide ocean of Amnion.

    Ophidea from different corners of the realm.

    Even a taciturn desert son of my own home world is among them.

    I gaze a bit longer at the unmasked face of the juvenile who is barely twenty. Like Luçien and myself he is only a half-blood. His skin has a bronze taint like mine. Lavender eyes gaze mutely up at me. His face is as vacant as an empty wine glass. But his scent carries memories of my home planet with it.

    My nasal wings flatter.

    His clothing is still sprinkled with the tales of the desert winds. He was the last to join Èleos and boarded the royal star ship only today.

    I take another deep breath, because there is a scent that is hard to sort in, but somehow familiar to me. It is the perfume of a woman, mixed with her tears.

    My olfactory centre is very much like a huge library. If I would be a true felidae, I could process things much, much quicker. But there is too much human inside me.

    Deeper and deeper I dig into my memories, reaching my teenage years.

    By now I am sure that frankincense, myrrh and labdanum are the basis of the perfume. For the middle note rose, cinnamon, styrax and calamus has been used. The top note is jasmine.

    I reach my childhood days, still looking for the owner of that particular perfume.

    My heart starts beating faster and faster, while my brain fills in the missing links.

    “You bring us a second scion of House Ankoù?” I thunder. “One is enough already!”

    The paladin does not blink when I am suddenly air-born. His stance stays the same, even when I end up standing behind him and press a dagger against his throat. I draw some blood.

    Èleos is not overly concerned about my outbreak of scorn, too.

    “Beg for your life, flea!” I roar, my nostrils still wide. Drivel runs unladylike down a corner of my mouth.

    The young man answers with a melodic voice, “I am one with the Force and the Force is with me.”

    I lower my weapon and push him away from me as far as I can. “You bring imbeciles like this to court?” I ask Èleos.

    “That was the plan all along, Isa.” He shrugs. “Devoted servants of the Force, able to stand the constant tension within this family. The powers of dark and light are with...”

    My hysterical laughter echoes from the walls of the throne room.

    Èleos stops speaking altogether.

    “Well, let this one stay!” I walk back to the empty throne. “As a constant reminder for his cousin Luçien that there is more in life than running around with a war mask and having a bad attitude.”

    “My liege?”

    “Yes, Valiant?” I turn around ever so slowly to face the new scion of House Ankoù.

    “So you do remember me?” he asks happily.

    “It is a question of survival to know one's enemies,” I snap back.

    If Chevalier Valiant Ankoù is upset with my answer, he does not show it. Neither his face nor his eyes give anything away. “I live to serve House Tjiehenet.”

    “Which is to be seen.” My fingernails run over the marks that I already left in the armrests. “If Èleos trusts you, then you deserve a chance to stay on in this household.”

    He bows briskly and while he does, I see a spark in his eyes that I have not witnessed in a very long time. Perhaps I am getting senile already and start imagining things.

    My fingernails increase their pressure on the wood below them and I try not to blush.

    A knowing smile, just for two heartbeats, appears on his lips.

    I am too old for an adventure and he is definitely too young for me. We are not blood cousins, yet his family took me in and adopted me as their own. But then again, I was cast out of theirs midst and I am regent of this realm. I do not need to explain myself to anyone.

    “Èleos, a word!” I speak and wave him closer.

    The prince has enough presence of mind to send all of his twelve paladins out.

    I run my tongue over my lips. “Do you guys have any special food you need to eat in future? Not that you are vegetarians or even worse, vegans.”

    “No, Isa,” he laughs, but a certain tension is still in body.

    “Is there a vow of chastity that I need to know of?” I inquire as casually as possible.

    “As long love does not get in the way of our service to House Tjiehenet, all is fine.” He seems amused. “But if you have to know, I decided for myself to live as abstinent as possible. If any of the others decides to follow my example, I would be honoured. In the end we are a brotherhood of like-minded persons, all highly Force-sensitive. We still need to find out what the Force demands of us.”

    I tick my fingers against my lips, trying to keep my triumphant smile hidden. “Misera, do you copy?”

    “Otherwise I would have protested,” the elderly woman gives back with a dirty grin.

    Èleos is half-way on his way out, when he turns around and states, “Isa, do not play with Valiant's feelings just for the fun of it,”

    “That child?” I wave my hand. “I am far away from interested.”

    “Which is to be seen,” he muses.

    ********************************************************************

    (To be continued!)
     
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  22. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Sweet leavetaking with Eleos & fascinating reception for Valiant. [face_thinking] First she wants to toss him out ;) and then LOL welcome him especially [face_mischief]
     
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  23. Cowgirl Jedi 1701

    Cowgirl Jedi 1701 Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 21, 2016
    I sense that Valiant will be an interesting addition to the group.
     
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  24. Darth_Furio

    Darth_Furio Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Apr 17, 2008
    It may not be love, but there's something else going on for sure. ;)
     
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  25. Cowgirl Jedi 1701

    Cowgirl Jedi 1701 Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 21, 2016

    Obviously. ;);)=P~
     
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