An Elysarian Tale

Lady Aleura guides her horse Bronwyn slowly through the forest,
until she comes to the banks of the river Barka. Deciding that this might be
a good location to stop, setup camp, and clean Lord Kasdar's wounds;
she half lifts, half drags his body to the riverside. As she leans over him
and wipes the blood from his face; waves of guilt tear through her. "This is
my entire fault... what have I done?" she sobs. Lord Kasdar looks into her
eyes for a moment before muttering "Everything will be alright." and he
slowly drifts into unconsciousness. Lady Aleura wipes the tears from her
cheeks. Crying will do no good, not now, she thinks to herself. She slowly
and gently eases the plates of his armor from his nearly lifeless body,
revealing his wounded flesh. She gently cleans the wound with fresh water
from the river, then proceeds to walk into the woods gathering herbs to
make a balm. As she returns she places the balm on his wounds and wraps
them with some cloth. She then proceeds to gather berries so that he may
at least have something to eat when he awakens, and then heads back
down to the river and bathes herself clean, washing his blood from her
body.

Drifting in and out of consciousness Lord Kasdar wakes
momentarily every so often muttering worried phrases about the poor
people of his land and how he should have done more to protect them
from the destruction that washed over the land. Hearing his muttering,
Lady Aleura moves to his side and whispers "You fought so bravely... you
could have done no more my lord." As she speaks an image of him
standing there, defying the demon that was about to drag her into the
depths of the earth, comes to her mind. Why had he saved her, when only
a short while before he had learned why she had been sent... to entrap him
into marriage so that her parents could control his lands? She lowers her
head, disgusted with herself.

Lord Kasdar violently shakes and screams throughout the nights, If
there was anyone alive in those woods they surely would have heard his
screams. But alas there was no one to hear his screams except the worried
Lady Aleura... After 3 days of hanging on the edge of death he finally
wakes for a few moments startled to see Lady Aleura there beside him,
looking particularly worried. She stares down at him wondering if he is still
in a feverish trance or whether he is truly awake. Lord Kasdar looks at her
an asks, "Are we the only ones alive? And where are we this doesn't look
like my castle or my gardens." Lady Aleura lowers her head, unable to
look him in the eyes. "Your palace... and the gardens are no more. I
brought us here, it is a safe place, protected by the spirits of these
woods." she says. "And what of my people what has become of them? I
must get back to check on them." and with that last breath Lord Kasdar
drifts back into unconsciousness. Lady Aleura bursts into tears as he falls
back, finally letting loose her sadness. How could she tell him that so many
were dead? Staring at his weak and wounded body, she prays to the gods
that he would survive. "Don't let him die now... for he has been through so
much", she says; then she clasps her hand around the amulet hanging
around her neck, removes it and places it around his. "Take this, brave
lord, let the strength of urho guide you to health." Feeling weak as it parts
from the amulet she has worn since childhood, she falls into a deep sleep.

Lord Kasdar wakes partway through the night, feeling sore but
otherwise not to badly hurt. As he looks over and sees Lady Aleura, lying
on the ground, he moves her onto his bedroll and covers her with a
blanket. After covering her up he takes a moment to survey the
surroundings. It appears that he is quite a way away from his beloved
castle and his people. During his survey he notices the strange amulet
hanging around his neck, wonders where it came from, and why he is
wearing it. When he hears a rustle in the brush just to the east. He grabs a
branch that had fallen from the trees and proceeds to investigate the noise.
After a few moments he sees a small pig that must have gotten away from
its master, catches it, starts a fire, begins to prepare the beast and goes out
to look for wood to keep the fire going. The smell of roasting pig awakens
Lady Aleura; she rubs her eyes and sits upright still wrapped in her
blanket. Unsure of what to say she remains silent, watching him intently.
Lord Kasdar looks over at her as she sits up then goes back to gathering
wood, after he feels there is enough to keep the fire going for awhile he
pulls up a large log, sits down in front of the fire, and bades her to join
him. She hesitantly gets up and sits beside him, finally finding the courage
to speak, she says, "why didn't you just leave me to die?" Lord Kasdar
looks over at her and says, "with all the destruction going on around us
one more life lost would have done no good, I couldn't allow another
person to die whilst I stood there watching." " What has become of my
lands and my people, did none survive?" Lady Aleura hesitates for a
moment and says, " Not that I know of sire, I have seen none here at least.
And… you almost lost your own life. I know owe you mine. I don't expect
you to trust me, or even want me to stay with you, but I am your servant;
tell me to go and I shall at once."

Lord Kasdar looked at her and said, "I do not wish for you to leave
as I also owe you a debt for tending to my wounds, all was not your fault
as I am sure all the wounds didn't come from the demon I battled." "But I
betrayed you for the sake of my family and power. I tried to … trap you,
and get you to marry me even though I had no feelings for you." Lady
Aleura said. Lord Kasdar said then went on to ask, "did I slay the foul
creature?" Lady Aleura shakes her head and says, "the creature fled… still
alive my lord."