Blood on the Moon

"Well in all fairness, who would not be distracted by bringing a tiny, innocent life into this world?" Wynnsaren smiled and continued plucking at a loose seam she'd found on the arm of her chair. "No one could hold such a thing against you. Even with distractions, I have faith that you would do what needed to be done in the end. That is just who you are. Sure, you might drive yourself a bit mad in the process, but what fun is life without a touch of madness?

"Just a touch," she assured with a queer smirk.

"You could simply ask the queen to inform you of any changes to her condition. I assume she would comply with your wishes on the matter would she not? While there may be things she is unable to divulge to you about the prophecy, certainly she would be honest with you about such personal matters."

Wynn paused at her unraveling of the chair and looked up at King Thaddeus. "Or am I being completely naive?"

"Heh," Thaddeus shrugged widely. "Who can say? There have been many things that I didn't expect an answer from and I get... and more that I see as perfectly natural knowledge... that I apparently shouldn't concern myself with.

"Honestly, I think she'll tell me. The only way she wouldn't, is if the distraction would keep me from doing something I'm meant to. Possible perhaps, but I agree it's unlikely.

"Though, unfortunately, if she believes something like that is the case then there's nothing I'll be able to say that will change her mind.

"She can be very...." stubborn, pigheaded, obstinate... the descriptions flitted through his mind silently as he searched for something more diplomatic. Finally he settled with, "Headstrong. Especially when it comes to keeping me on the right path."

"It is so frustrating when we are only given the details which we must know in a given situation," Wynnsaren sincerely sympathized. "A bit like being completely blind and led through a maze by a voice shouting simple directions. Left! Right! Turn! Stop! Forward!"

She shook her head and sighed a little sigh. "I have been on both sides. I have been the led and I have been the leader. Sometimes the gods just shout directions at me as I stumble through life and sometimes -- though thankfully such is not the case with you, the focus of my gods-given purpose must not be made aware of the plans Fate has for him.

"Either way it comes down to a single choice. Do you trust the voice?"

The aasimar smiled and fixed her gaze upon the king. "You trust your goddess. You trusted me when I met you in the forest those years ago. Do you trust your queen?" She asked plainly. "She has a mission which she must see through and it seems to me that she is single-mindedly focused upon seeing that through to the end. No one likes to be led around blindly, but do you trust her to lead you down the right path?"

Thaddeus thought for a moment. One thing he had grown accustomed to was thinking before he spoke. It was a by product of your word being your bond or in his case, law. A poorly thought word could lead to disastrous consequences and he desperately wanted to avoid that. This was a peculiar question though, and he found himself thinking a bit longer then usual.

"I believe I do," he said finally with confidence. "Perhaps I've simply surrendered to the fate, or perhaps I've seen enough signs of what's coming, but I do trust her to do what is right. I think playing this game will in fact save lives. That's the important thing really."

He may never be sure exactly what Feluanil's goals were. Whether she was putting her own people's lives in front of his... or if it was best for everyone. It didn't really matter to Thad anymore. The king should have priorities, but the paladin couldn't weigh one group against the other. Whether they saved the fey lives, or the human' lives, he trusted that this road would lead to some good for someone!

Wynn thumped the heel of her hand on the chair's arm. "Yes, that is it exactly," she chuckled. "That was precisely the point of acceptance that I came to as well in this life, when I turned from being dragged along my path to willingly chasing down my stars! We may not have the freedom to shape our lives exactly how we intended them to be, but we know that through our lives, others will be blessed. And is that not the best way to spend a life?" she offered rhetorically.

The oracle's lambent eyes appreciatively studied the man sitting before her. He had aged. Yes, a bit worn and weary perhaps but through the trials burdens he shouldered, the king had matured a great deal over these last six months, and that lit a fire of excitement and anxiety beneath her that had gone dormant of late. He was close. . .so close to the man she'd foreseen that he could be! A man of renown. A king of legend!

Had Queen Feluanil been here at the time, Wynn would have kissed her soundly, for it was undoubtedly her hand that had helped to sharpen his edge!

"I am glad for you, Your Majesty," she continued, making a token attempt at sobriety. "This admission will bring you a great deal of peace. In your heart, in your mind and in undoubtedly in your marriage."

Thaddeus twitched at the unexpected outburst, but soon was grinning along. It did him good to see his Wynn this way. She had spent much of her time in a somber mood, broken occasionally with bouts of silliness, but those were few and the closer they came to the prophecy the fewer they had been. Sequestering in Skywatch and limiting their time together hadn't helped, but truthfully she hadn't been the same since the dark powers used her to attack him.

It was good to see her like this again.

"I hope you're right my friend. Peace has been hard fought, but I hear that peace hard fought is appreciated more.

"Tell me, you've told me many stories of your past... which one was it that brought you to the point of acceptance? Did it feel as much like a surrender as mine I wonder?"

"That is a story which I have not shared with you, Your Majesty."

Shame. Even after all these years, she could not avoid the sinking feeling in the pit of her gut at the mere thought of that time in her life. The aasimar's eyes dulled and she averted her gaze from that of the paladin-king. "I would do so if you asked it of me, but I wonder. . . in the telling, if your opinion of me would change."

Wynnsaren lifted herself off the chair and floated over to the table to retrieve her empty glass. "The tale is Ksenija's," she sighed as if that should explain much. "I have told you of her before, of what was left of me after being ripped away from my life in the Storval Plateau. I have spoken to you of my time in Ustalav and my successful mission there only to fall into the hands of an over-zealous inquisitor, but that particular tale took place after my return to Korvosa."

She returned to the king with glass in hand and an apologetic half-smile. "Ksenija's stories are never pleasant," Wynn motioned to the half-imbibed bottle with a bleak smile. "Would you mind terribly?"

"Not at all," Thaddeus said as he reached for the bottle. Moments later both glasses were refilled.

A slight frown crossed his face as he considered her ominous tone. In his mind they had a solid enough foundation that he couldn't imagine any particular story that would cause him to think less of her. Especially since she had already debunked the child eating rumors from... Galt, if he recalled correctly.

"Tell me, when you tell these stories, there are Wynnsaren's stories and there Ksenija's stories... Do you really see them as vastly different people?

"I'll admit, there are differences between Thaddeus the boy, the paladin, and the king... but I don't see the dividing line strong enough to be different people. My stories are still 'my' story. Just, different parts of it."

Wynnsaren offered her thanks for the refill and instead of taking her chair once more, she floated over to the nearby window.

"They are all my story in the sense that I am responsible for the consequences -- that those experiences altered my perceptions in one way or another, but. . . How do I explain this," she muttered to the moon. After a sip of wine, she began again. "Thaddeus the boy, the paladin and the king have much in common, as you say. A family, friends, a homeland or at least a region of familiarity. Your roots in this land run deep.

"This has not been my experience. I have no family. I have not had friends that could span the different segments of my life. I have had no land to which I can hold binding ties. I do not have roots buried in this world, but branches that reach upward to the heavens. When I try to tether myself to anything. . .or anyone," she added softly, "those lines are cut. I am adrift."

Wynn looked over her shoulder toward the king. "Mere facts, no regrets," the corners of her lips lifted slightly. "Of course this is nothing you do not already know, but I say these things in order to better explain.

"When Tsukiko was taken to the Storval Plateau, she started over with nothing. When Yiska was taken back to Crown of the World, it was the same. Ksenija, Gilraen, and now Wynnsaren. . . The dividing lines between these phases of my life are so distinct that it is easier for me to accept them as former lives that have passed, rather than to hope or pine or desire things that had once been."

As she turned fully, the light of the moon streamed down over her shoulder, bathing her in crimson light. "Do you understand?" The question was so near a plea as to make no difference, and it sounded much like madness in her own hearing. "This is how I have learned to cope with what Fate has dealt me. I live, I learn lessons, I die and I am reborn as another.

"And do you know what really spins my head around?!" She asked rhetorically. "What I have been using as a coping mechanism all my life, is exactly what the gods have been doing with me on a much larger scale," she laughed at the absurdity of it. "For thousands of years, I live, I learn lessons, I die and I am reborn as another!

"Now, with the Recollector, I am putting all the pieces back together. All of those lives are becoming. . .me." Wynnsaren stretched out one arm on the window sill and tapped a fingernail against the wood thoughtfully. "Maybe one day soon I will be ready to accept all of my lives back into the fold, but I do not think I am quite there yet."

"I hope this Recollection helps," Thad said wincing. It was difficult for him to truly put himself in her shoes. He doubted he'd ever truly understand what so many lives meant.

"I've heard... that some long-lived races do something similar. Something to give beginnings and endings meaning. Different phases of their lives. Though I've only heard of them. Feluanil describes it as being timeless. When I've attempted to understand, I've been informed it's beyond me.

"I suspect your situation is quite different then her's.... you may have been around quite some time, but you're still mortal. Living these lives in an order of sorts."

He shook his head in bewilderment. "It really is mind-boggling what you've been through..."

The aasimar smiled fondly at her king and friend. "Likewise, it is mind-boggling to me what life must be like for you. I cannot conceive of what life might be to have such history in a place. A family line spanning out behind you for generations and making plans for it to stretch far into the future! You will be able to tell your children about whom they came from. Their grandfather and grandmother, great grandfather and great grandmother, and so on, and they will take pride in knowing their history. There can be no appropriate value with which that can be ascribed! You must feel. . . anchored by this understanding -- secured by the sense of belonging it must bring!"

Taking a long swallow of wine, she tilted her ear toward the stars and the familiar song they sang each night. As always, she felt torn. The human half of her longed for exactly what King Thaddeus had -- something tangible with which she could anchor herself to this world, but the celestial creature heard the song and ached for the familiarity of another home of which Wynnsaren knew nothing.

"Aside from yourself and the prophecy to be fulfilled, do you believe that your queen has any attachments to this land, or does her heart lie firmly in the First World? And just to be clear, I am not so old as you infer, Your Majesty," she teasingly scolded. "You are only very, very young. 'Timeless' is not something that is easy for me to grasp either. In fact, I feel rather timefull at the moment, if you catch my meaning. I am persistently aware that there is a deadline to make!

"Ehhh... attachments?" Thaddeus hated trying to decipher his wife's emotional status. It never ended well.

"I'm really not sure. I think the timeless aspect skews perspective something terrible. I think that is the cause of most of the friction I feel around her. I see what is happening now as so very important... She doesn't always agree. She's much more big picture... bigger then than I can comprehend."

He laughed at the young comment. He didn't feel young. Responsibility did that he guessed. However considering the company he kept he must seem like a child.

"So, not as old as I infer? Have you tracked down a solid beginning yet to these new memories?"

"No," she shook her head indicating the negative. "Not yet. After these sessions of recollection, it still takes time to fully absorb the vast amount of information relayed to me through this orb. Slowly these memories are returning but it is certainly a process, not immediate knowledge of my past lives.

"I have a few more sessions -- a few more months worth of trips to the Mwangi before my time there is complete. It seems the remembrances are coming back in the reverse, so it should be some time yet before we get all the way back to the beginning."

Feeling much more comfortable with the new topics of conversation, Wynnsaren glided back to her chair beside the king.

"The age I was referring to is my age in this life. As I will only be seventy-six this autumn, I do not consider myself decrepit quite yet," she grinned. "However, if your comment was in reference to my entire span of lives, then I have estimated that to be somewhere over eight thousand years. . . around the time of Old Mage Jatembe who created this orb, and the first prophecies of The Dreamer.

"So yes," she reluctantly conceded. "Okay, if you are counting all of my lives, which is completely unfair seeing as I do not even remember them all yet, than I am older than dirt." Wynn stuck her tongue out at the king and laughed. "I tease Rasven about robbing the cradle, but so far he has made no objection to being affianced to an older woman."

Chuckling, the aasimar leaned comfortably against the side of her chair and crossed her legs.

"Queen Feluanil, I suppose, is neither old nor young. She just. . . is," she considered. "One day I hope to have the opportunity to know her better, though I do not presume to have the same access to Her Majesty as you have granted me. I shall not be waiting for her in darkened rooms."

Thad sighed dramatically. "So you were waiting there the whole time." Thad shook his head in exaggerated disappointment. "I had half hoped that you'd mysteriously arrived and I had an excuse for being so unobservant... Again."

No helmet, no chaos, no specific attempt to hide (he imagined). Nope, this was just a case of the king being distracted by things on his mind. It was something that he had to work on, especially when at war. The shadows could have held much more then a long absent friend to share a drink with.

"You'll have to promise not to tell the others... If this gets out, Sir Paido will be start designing saddle or backpack for me to wear so he'll never leave my side," the king teased with a grin.

"As for Feluanil, I'm certain she'd speak with you. She seems to make herself available to subjects as... per her station I suppose. Not particularly friendly, but at least approachable.

"Whether you'll actually understand her any better is ever the source of debate, but I'm sure you'll have the opportunity if you wish."

"I do not think I should hope to understand her," Wynnsaren grinned, tracing her thumb along the edge of her glass. "Never have I understood the fey. . . How much less a queen of fey! To know her however would be something indeed! The stories she must be able to tell!!"

A wistful sigh preceded a swallow of wine.

"Still, my station does not grant me frivolous audience with the queen. I am not longer on the council and still thought by many to have gotten away with high treason. I am a peasant with regicidal tendencies -- why stir things up further," she shrugged.

"There will be much change after the fulfillment of prophecy and maybe the opportunity will present itself at that time. Once my purpose here is complete, while I may no longer be named a citizen of Novastasia, I am. . .planning," the word stuck in the back of her throat, "to remain in the area if the gods allow. Perhaps there will be more chance for frivolity in the future.

"But speaking of stories, did you have the opportunity to read your wedding present from the Queen? The book seemed a thoughtful and meaningful gift."

"Oh yes..." Thaddeus said rising from his chair. A few steps away he pulled the old woodcarved book carefully from the shelf of his favorites or most read books.

"It is old... and it is interesting," Thaddeus stated simply. "The story... is confusing at best. I'm not certain if it's a cultural barrier or age one. It's certainly not like the fairy tales that I grew up hearing.

"The note in the front of it being true caught my eye as well. Admittedly most of the fictitious stories always claim to be true as well, but somehow I suspect this isn't a simple bard lie..."

He gently flipped through the pages showing them off. "The story as it were is fairly simplistic. Bird steals boy's spoon... epic quest to retrieve it... realization that bird never had it in the first place. The rhyme is non-existent... and really I find the story to be based on the pictures. To just read the story aloud to a child or someone... it isn't much there. But the artwork shows a lot more. Battles with birds, lakes with monsters in it, He has a sword while chasing the bird... but it isn't mentioned until the end where he 'trades the sword for a spoon and bird...' There's even a map at the back to let you trace this journey. No landmarks from this area I recognize... perhaps the First World?"

He eyed her with a meaningful look. "Yes, the story ends with an unnamed fey-woman being traded a sword. Let's just say that since meeting with Evindra I've re-read this a few times. I have this... feeling that there's more to this gift than what it first appeared."

He sighed dramatically and sat back down. Taking another drink he grinned sheepishly. "Of course, I have made it an unpleasant habit of second-guessing and endlessly scrutinizing everything Feluanil says or does... It's a distinct possibility that the book was meant as a gift and has no bearing whatsoever on the greater scheme of life..."

Wynnsaren arched a single brow and eyed him skeptically. "You do not believe that any more than I, " she scoffed, calling his bluff. "I may not know your queen as well as you but I am quite confident that she does nothing without precise intent. No. . .she has designs on shaping you into whom you must be to fulfill prophecy. I cannot see her turning down this opportunity of gift-giving to present you with something of sentimental or monetary value.

"So let us assume for a moment that the sword in the story is a literal representation of this sword you are to retrieve from Irovetti. Who do you think is the bird? What does the spoon signify?"

"Ohhhhh I have no idea," Thad sighed in frustration. " The bird is an antagonist of some sort... It took the spoon. Irrovetti is my largest enemy right now and he has the sword... But the swords not the spoon is it? Or is it implying the sword became the spoon? The bird never had it in the first place? "

He shrugged and laughed at the absurdity of the story. "Perhaps the story doesn't really apply to 'me' being in Zuddigers shoes? Perhaps this is just the origin of the sword? How it came into Evindra's possession in the first place."

"I suppose there are too few pieces collected thus far to start putting that puzzle together," Wynnsaren smiled. "Perhaps when you get the sword, Evindra will be able to tell you more. It is an exciting puzzle," she offered appreciatively before finishing the last of her wine.

"You have mentioned that you will need the armies to go after Irovetti and take your vengeance. . .and the sword. How much longer do you have here in Akiros before you depart?"

"A few days. The armies are already on their way. As soon as we take care of our business here... and see what kind of war we can even afford, it'll be time for us to teleport to Fort Datzig and complete the invasion." His face scrunched up at the word. It didn't sit right on his tongue.

Despite being a warrior and being rather good at killing and death, Thaddeus hated war. There was a difference between placing himself in danger and killing an enemy... and sending ill-trained farmers and merchants into battle. Even when they won the loss of life was staggering.

He sighed sadly. "I'm not entirely pleased with this route. It's one thing to do everything you can to protect the people of our kingdom... it's another to cross into another king's land and kill his people. This is what I've been falsely accused of for months now...

"Still, I didn't start this. Feluanil supports this decision. Though she's more pragmatic then I am. She takes more an 'Us or Them' mentality and keeping them on the defensive means they aren't hear killing my people.

"It's true, just... hard for me to accept I suppose."

Wynnsaren swirled the crimson liquid that remained in her glass as she listened and watched the king's expressions. The ex-ambassador part of her wanted to press him for more information. What was the plan after Irovetti had fallen? As far as she remembered the mad king had no one in line of succession for the throne. . . Would Novastasia absorb Pitax or appoint a new king over her? If the former, she wondered what the ramifications would be regarding their edge-of-the-knife relations with Mivon, who had been waiting for just that kind of excuse to go to war with their northerly neighbors.

But that wasn't why she'd come. . .

The burden of Fate weighed heavily on King Thaddeus' shoulders, but so did the burden of rulership. She'd hoped that his marriage would bring him a confidant -- a support system to bolster his courage and resolve precisely during these times, but sadly this had not been the case. He seemed more isolated than the had the last time they'd spoken.

"I am sorry," the aasimar murmured aloud as the words skipped across her mind. "For what you have had to endure of late. The blood, the loss of life. . . I know my own experiences still haunt me," she empathized. "I am also sorry for not being here to talk with, as a friend if not your ambassador. You helped me through a great deal of pain after the siege and I have not been here to aid you"

Wynn clenched her jaw tightly and issued a long exhale. "Due to inexorable matters I do not have much time, my king, but I have a day left to me in Akiros. That day is yours. If you can make any use of me. . .if I can aid you in any matter whether great or small, you have but to name it."

Thaddeus raised an eyebrow. He considered asking her to lead one of the armies but wisely didn't mention it. While he recognized her leadership potential... he knew she didn't see her last stint as General as the same success that he did.

Speaking of which.

"Well, I'd appreciate it if you could check in with your Ambassador replacement. It must be difficult to be appointed to that position just to watch us descend into war. I'm sure she'd appreciate any advice you'd care to offer about the neighbors.

"She's done decently so far. This time the elves actually sent some soldiers to help. I hadn't really expected that... Still, she's not you. Whenever you wish to reclaim it the job is yours."

He knew that her time was best spent deciphering Skywatch, and that the duties of the kingdom were a distraction. Still... he had hoped that once the prophecy was fulfilled... Of course that was before she told him about her betrothal.

"For as long as you plan on staying down south of course..."

"You are very kind, Your Majesty. . ." The aasimar's lips turned up in a wistful half smile. "I enjoyed my time as Novastasia's ambassador. I miss it, in fact, and while I would truly enjoy coming back to the position someday, it would be a serious conflict of interest to do so while engaged to such a powerful political figure in another nation.

"Besides, there is still the minor fact that I tried to murder you. . . The truth of the situation matters little to our neighbors," she explained again as she'd tried before, knowing that the paladin-king despised such attitudes. "My name has been tarnished among the nations and therefore I will not be able to serve you as well as your new ambassador who has performed admirably under such duress."

Wynn finished her wine and set the glass aside. "I will go to her tomorrow as you ask. I am sure there are ways in which I could be of help to her, especially concerning problematic Mivon as I have spent so much time there among the High Council." She winced and shook her head. "That will be a tricky business once Irovetti and his armies fall. . .but I am sure that is the last thing you wish to discuss this evening."

Offering an apologetic smile, Wynnsaren slid to the edge of her seat, adopting a more proper position as the king was used to seeing from his former ambassador.

"I know I should not keep you, my king. No doubt you have much to attend to. . .sleep likely being foremost on the list, but I wished to see you as far too much time has slipped between us."

Thaddeus chuckled to himself. He was aware how unlikely it was that she ever return to the ambassador role. Still, he could hope.

"I don't know... with our neighbors, 'attempted murder' may be their favorite thing about you... It's a common ground rarely found between Nobles and diplomats. Still, that would lead to all kinds of awkwardness.

"As for Mivon... yeah, I'm still not sure what I'm going to do when this war is over. Dangerous decisions all around. I hope that I find the one that will keep Mivon at ease and keep Pitax from striking again in a few years." He shook his head in frustration as options that seemed to fit one criteria kept passing through his mind. One, but not both. One thing he was sure of, this battle was going to take a toll on his armies... and the odds of them being prepared to push back Mivon if they chose to take advantage... were not good.

"And that's why I value my ambassador's so much." The king forced a grin. It was too rare lately to see his friend to stay bogged down in the depressing thoughts. "I'll do the fighting... Others can keep track of all the names on that council."

Wynnsaren subtly shook her head in distaste, brushing her palms against the leather covering her legs. "The names on their High Council are the easy part. I find that it is the intrigues between them that prove most difficult. . .and treacherous to navigate. I look forward to comparing notes with your current ambassador to see if she has found the same to be true."

The oracle rose from her seat and bowed grandly before the king. "Thank you for allowing me to interrupt your evening, Your Highness," she smiled. "It was good to see you once again, but now I must return to Skywatch and put a few things in order before I make my official visit to Akiros tomorrow morning."