A Turn About the Campsite

"That you would say it makes me glad, for it is truly what I wish to believe. I hope to someday make her very happy indeed. If ever she is ready for that, I'm willing to take whatever steps that need be taken for her. And even if I should fail, the effort alone has made me a better man, and I have her to thank for that." Zaistrun straightened back up and arched his neck again to look at the horizon.

"To be honest, the whole bake sale was a joint venture between Sarala and I to get his majesty to look at women. I felt that he needed to get married for the kingdom's stability, and she felt that her brother needed a woman in his life other than me. We discovered the silly local custom and entreated a good portion of well to do singles within the kingdom's elite to join in the fun. Thad's only stipulation to join in on the festivities was that Sarala also do so, and so I bought her baked goods out of courtesy and as a co-conspirator as well as for personal reasons.

"Now that our lord is engaged, I don't have as much concern for him as long as they both are willing to produce heirs. And I'm not too concerned about that, due to the readiness he had to agree to the proposal. When his majesty and I had first met, I was nearly convinced that he had no inclinations toward the fairer sex whatsoever. When we met you I learned that he did indeed find the fairer sex attractive, and my fears were allayed. I doubt I would have consented to his being king, as it would leave everyone in a lurch when he died."

He sighed, stiffly as he could manage. "But there is the shadow you speak of. A calamity so vast as to engulf kingdoms bigger than our own is coming, and I can see his reticence to pursue a future other than one preparing for the inevitable. But the future is what we will be fighting for, and having children would motivate one to fight all the harder. It's not the only reason for them, but they are also a reason to hope, and without hope we surely will fall."

"My dear Zaistrun. . ." Wynn began slowly, a little taken aback by the topic of conversation, not to mention his off-handed comment about the king's attraction to her when he had never treated her as anything but a friend! She chalked that up to misunderstanding and moved past it. "It is noble of you to be so concerned about the continuity of the kingdom, but truly I do not believe you need to spend time worrying about His Majesty's. . .well. . .interests."

"Not having met Queen Feluanil, I certainly cannot comment on her dedication to this union, but King Thaddeus' need not be questioned. He is a man of his word and of estimable character. He understands his duty to the realm and will attend to his obligations in that regard. Whether the Queen bears children by the culmination of events or not, you will find that he needs no additional motivation to give every ounce of his strength and even beyond to the defeating of this threat. This I know without conjecture."

The aasimar offered him a reassuring smile and turned her face back toward the stars before continuing.

"I am curious about your opinion of the fey queen, my friend. It seems I will be leading a delegation to attempt to meet with her following our business in Kirya, so the more information I have of her going in, the better. Do you believer her intentions toward our king to be goodly?"

Zaistrun's good mood was souring. Tension came back into his face. "I have four brothers. One has given up women altogether and taken to pleasing men. One has no interest in anything but battlefield maneuvers and hardtack, so no woman of stature will take interest in him. One has a line of women from here to Highdelve with possibly a fair amount of bastards trailing behind them, so he cannot be satisfied by one woman and no one of note will take note of him. My final brother ran off with my mother and who knows what he is even doing or if he is alive. Even my cousin Kesten had been disowned but had he not he would never have left his commoner wife. I've been so fixated on the one woman that does not want me besides the families being opposed to the match. My father is displeased with our inability to produce an heir or even give him hope that he shall ever see a legitimate grandchild."

"It's terribly vexing to him. it's likely that there will never be another Garess to run the Greyhaven mines within a generation. My worries for the king come from the darkness surrounding my own family, and how easily lost from Golarion we might be. One would think that five sons would be enough to keep the family going, but no. Seeing the end of his line, father has succumbed to the darkness, and should I ruin myself to please him and who knows what I would become then."

The young sorcerer pulled his hand up out of the grass and took a look at it, as it' had begun to sink in the soft soil, and had come up with flecks of black dirt on it in the fading light. "Any family can be undone completely in just one generation. It's not a false fear, Lady. Not to me. I have enough respect for the man to not wish what I've seen on him, nor would I wish it on many I have no respect for altogether." He pulled his other hand up off of the ground and wiped them together, catching the soft earth into a ball and then flicked it away.

As opposed to the heavy words he had just spoken, the next ones marked a shift in attitude bordering on flippant. "As for the Queen, who can say? I know she is strong-willed, intelligent and beautiful. She exhibits self-control and commands respect. She is a capable war general, and has excellent birthing hips. She has not an equal in all of Avistan, excepting the king's sister who loves shadows too much to be a proper queen."

It seemed terribly odd to the aasimar that no one seemed to have any concerns regarding this fey queen's intentions. That there would be so much worry surrounding the king's ability to produce an heir and yet, no one would see to ensure by some sort of contract that the nation would remain within the Medvyed bloodline. If King Thaddeus were to fall (or even die of old age!), would Queen Feluanil, whose lifespan was almost ensured to be vastly longer, reign in his place? Did she want their children to rule Novastasia, or did she want to rule herself?

These seemed to be questions that should engender a bit more concern!

"I understand your fears and your anxiety in this area, Magister. You have made them quite clear over the last two years. As your friend, I am simply trying to ease your worry in this area, for truly you have so many other things to devote your attention to that you do have control over. Do not think that I have not offered prayers to the powers of Fate and Fortune regarding these matters, but I have also spoken to the king about his impending union.

"Please know that King Thaddeus has every desire to put forth every effort to make this marriage fulfilling and even happy, as he has ever a hopeful heart. For him, children are a part of that fulfillment. So when I say to you that you need not worry about His Majesty's intentions, it is only because I have heard his intentions first-hand from his own lips."

"I wouldn't expect the King to have anything but good intentions, but good is often the enemy of great." The sorcerer stopped at the end of the sentence with a protracted pause before continuing as if he were changing horses. "However if you tell me not to worry, I can accept that. I know intrinsically that I cannot do or pay attention to everything, and it is a fault of mine to pay attention to things that are not my business. I'll let you and the king handle this as I have little experience in it, and I will focus on the area in which I excel. I had already begun the process of letting this particular worry go, so doing so completely should be simple."

"I am also glad that you will be going to see her, as it is important that you understand her. I am not one for understanding people, except how they behave in groups according to my religious beliefs. Dealing with individuals is not my strength, however I am determined to shore up that with more experience before I attempt to smooth relations with heads of state, if I ever am capable of doing anything but enraging them. I have been contemplating for some months to attempt to make another friend through my own initiative. I might someday have as many as five friends, but I really don't know what that would do to me."

Wynnsaren chuckled warmly at the extraordinarily driven young man.

"Quality is ever more important than quantity I have found. Especially in this area. For my own part, I would rather have one or two good friends who truly know me than a hundred fair-weather types that avert their gaze when some of my darker visions reach maturation."

"And friends are a painful thing to lose once the mission is over," she thought to herself.

Her eyes shifted subtly to regard the Magister and she wondered what he would feel when her time in Novastasia was up. He was a hard read. As hard as any she'd met, and she knew she'd only cracked the surface of the heavy burden he carried by simply growing up in the Garess family. . .with such a mother. . .

Wynn knew she'd miss him when she left. She would miss their awkward conversations and trying to get him to smile. She'd miss their tea times and philosophical discussions about life, love, and legislation, but if she were honest with herself, she wasn't sure if Zaistrun would miss her or simply miss being able to check another box off the 'friend' list. It wasn't that he was cold or calculating in a cruel manner, but it was just the way he dealt with the world around him. A consequence of a difficult upbringing.

Though the aasimar hoped for a good deal more time, she couldn't say just how long she yet had among this company. The events in Kirya should be very telling. The gods had revealed to her that "it had begun" and once that ball started rolling downhill, it could only pick up momentum. As strongly as she felt that Matsuro Shi would be ready for this challenge, she very privately hoped that she herself would be ready for the darkness to come, for the challenge of this mission went far, far beyond any others that she'd ever been sent on and Wynnsaren had every intention of living through this!

After her few words on the subject of friends, his friend had fallen into a short silence while her eyes were far away. She was probably tired. It had been a long hard day of riding after being completely unconscious for a couple weeks. It was bound to happen. To help her save face, he decided to be the first to turn in.

"I agree with you on that point without reservation." He paused for a moment, wondering how to exactly phrase the next part. "I would rather you did not tell anyone, but after all that magic I cast today and that wonderful orb you showed me, I'm getting a bit tired. A good amount of sleep would do me well, I imagine." He stood up and waved his fingers in the air, muttering some arcane words while his vestments cleared themselves of dirt and grass.

"I am looking forward to resuming our Tea Times when you are able. There's a few new ideas I had on which I would like your opinion." He gave her a courtly bow. "Until next time, my lady."

"I look forward to it as well, Lord Zaistrun," she smiled after recovering from her brief, thoughtful reverie. "Thank you again for the thoughtfulness you showed me during my infirmity and for your arcane insight this evening. I find myself quite in your debt."

Wynnsaren returned his bow, as deeply as her seat upon the grass allowed, and watched as he clambered up the rope into the small extradimensional space to join the others.

The very thought of it again caused a claustrophobic flutter in her middle and brought a painful grimace to her face. At least the space would afford them all a peaceful night's sleep, one that she as well was in desperate need of.

After a few moments alone with the night, the aasimar uttered a little sigh of resignation and got to her feet, brushing off her riding leathers and pulling Winter's cloak tightly about her shoulders before heading over to the rope. She might not have her stars to sing her to sleep tonight, but she had his. Hopefully her friends wouldn't mind a bit of music to sleep by.