Ascending Legends

[BookWyrm]

Dayn laid his hand over Arryn's, gently rubbing it as he laid there trying to get the courage to tell her. Slowly he rolled around, face to face with her as he laid a hand against her neck, his thumb rubbing her lower cheek lightly. "I've been hearing.......someone, in my dreams. It revolves around the moon. All of them revolve around the moon. And last night I saw it mourning....the tears like black streaks falling down it's face. I don't know what it all means, but its been happening since I.....well....ever since I became a wolf."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn thought over what he said, then quietly mused, "Maybe lycanthropy brings you closer to the boundaries between planes. Not going to take a guess at which planes, but... I don't know. Maybe you're connected to something now." Arryn nestled lightly up against Dayn's chest, pulling up the covers. "I'm not going to say I know thses things, but I can take shots in the dark, make theories, all of that. Maybe I could be of some use to you that way."

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn smiled as he gently kissed Arryn's head as he snuggled up to her. "She was crying for you, Arryn. The moon I mean, the moon was crying for you. At least, that was what I felt when I saw it. I don't understand it all, but I feel like the moon has a presence to it. Something....benevolent, though I'm not sure most people would be able to know. But I wanted you to know that. I'm not sure why, but maybe it cares because I do." Dayn closed his eyes, trying to relax some as he thought over all the events and craziness since they arrived in Riverbend. "Thank you Arryn. If nothing more I know you're here with me, and that's good enough for me."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn smiled and closed her eyes, saying, "That's nice of the moon, caring about what you care for. I'm glad I can help you, my love." Arryn let herself relax and fell asleep, though this time she had dreams. She saw her dad, but she couldn't tell what they were talking about. Something about training and Dayn and nightmares, she was pretty sure. She did recall a snippet of their conversation, though. "So, you got hurt?" "Shanked, in the stomach. Hurt pretty badly, not going to lie. I'm fine now though, just sore." "Take care of yourself, alright? I don't want to be seeing you soon. I miss you, but I'd rather you be alive." "I'm fine, Da, and besides, Dayn's taking good care of me." Her father smiled, and said, "Good." Their conversation continued, as did their practice.


Arryn woke up, mumbling, "Da...?" She opened her eyes and looked at Dayn, a bit confused. Oh, right.... She nestled against his chest again and fell back to sleep.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn stood on the edge of a vast lake with nothing but the moon in the sky above him. He looked down, watching the water ripple against his legs as the wind blew gently across the surface of the water. Dayn looked up at the moon and smiled, only to feel a warmth coming off from the moon as it hovered over the water. Dayn looked around him, suddenly realizing that Arryn was nowhere to be seen. "Arryn?"





She is safe.





Dayn turned back to the moon, tilting his head as he stared at it. "Who are you? Why are you helping me?" Dayn suddenly saw a figure standing out in the water. It was distinctly feminine, that much was obvious. Slowly it approached him, the water of the lake obviously not very deep. As she closed in Dayn noticed that she was wearing a white gown with lacy edges. Dayn felt tears coming unbidden to his eyes as the figure came into view, a smile on her face. "Kara?" The woman smiled. "Hello Dayn." He ran to her, wrapping his arms around her as the tears began to fall. "But, how?"





"Sometimes things can't be easily explained." She pulled back and wiped the tears from his face, though she began to cry herself. "I have missed you dearly." Dayn laughed, trying his best not to lose it. "Kara, I'm.....I'm...."





"Shhh....don't even try to blame yourself for that. You have nothing to be ashamed of."





"Gods I've missed you so much."





"I've missed you too. But it looks like you're doing good now. Arryn seems like she's been good for you."


Dayn looked up at Kara, his eyes red and blurry. "Don't feel bad Dayn, I like her from what I've seen. She's good to you, and she's good for you. I know I can't have you now, so it's good that someone can."





"I have so many regrets about that night, mostly I wish I could have seen Lia grow into a beautiful woman in her own right."





Kara smiled as she turned to the side. "I wondered when you'd bring her up." Dayn's knees became weak when he saw her. She stood at the average height for what would have been her age. She had his eyes and her mother's looks. "Lia?" "Da." Dayn ran to her, scooping her into his arms to a chorus of laughter and tears. "Oh Lia!" Dayn spun her around before tossing her into the air, Lia giggling and screaming with glee as he caught her. "Da! Do it again Da!" Dayn laughed as he spun her around again before tossing her, then catching her and holding her tightly to his chest.


"Da, mum says you're a wolf now. Can I see, please?"


Dayn smiled as he sat her down on the shore of the lake before shifting in front of Lia, who clapped and giggled with delight. "Da, you're so big and fluffy!" <And I can do so many things! Climb onto my back Lia. Now, hold on tight!> For what seemed like hours Dayn ran and played with Lia and Kara. They laughed and ran and played until they could no longer hold themselves up and then they all laid together and stared up into the night sky. Finally, though, Kara broke the silence.


"Dayn, honey, I'm afraid we have to leave."


Dayn laid there, Kara laying against his chest, and felt his heart beginning to break. "I know."





"We will be with you Dayn." Kara placed her hand over Dayn's heart. "Here, always, with every beat."


Dayn was crying now. "I know."





Kara wrapped her arms around Dayn's neck as they sat up, holding the embrace for several minutes. "Dayn, take care of Arryn. Love her like you loved me."





"I will, I swear to you I will." Dayn and Kara shared a short kiss before the three of them stood. Dayn hugged Lia one last time before watching the two of them walk back into the lake, hand in hand, and slowly disappear. Dayn looked back up at the moon, feeling the warmth radiating on him before slowly waking up.


Dayn slowly opened his eyes, feeling damp against his face where he had been crying in the real world as well as the dream. He wiped his eyes off as he sat up, braced against the head board, and let what tears would come fall, but these were tears of joy, not sorrow.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn sat up stiffly when Dayn moved, suddenly awake. "Dayn? Dayn, love, what's wrong?" Arryn moved closer to Dayn, wiping off his tears, very concerned. "Did you have a nightmare, mo chroi? Can I not help you?"

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn smiled as he shook his head. "Its not that. Its not a nightmare at all." Dayn put his hand over Arryn's and held it tightly as he continued. "I don't know how to explain it.....but, I was standing in a shallow lake, the full moon in the sky. Kara was there. It was really her, it wasn't some illusion. And Lia was there! She was so tall for her age. Arryn, I don't know how this happened. I've never felt something so vivid, so real. I don't know if it was a dream or if for a moment I had crossed over."


Dayn pulled Arryn close, holding her tightly before pulling back and laughing. "Lia asked me about the wolf. She wasn't scared when I shifted, either. We ran and played for hours it felt. I wish you could have been there, Arryn. I wish you could have met them."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn smiled, saying, "I'm so glad to hear that, love. You had me worried for a minute. Y'know, I believe you... I've been having dreams with my Da, and they're so real. Maybe it's because we're so close to Samhein...?" Arryn gave him a quick kiss before saying, "I hope not. I like seeing you so happy." (Sorry for short post)

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn smiled, kissed Arryn before leaning back and resting a little longer. It wasn't necessarily morning yet, but judging from the brightening sky it wasn't far off. "Have you ever thought about settling down somewhere? I mean, I don't know if I could give up traveling altogether, but have you ever thought about finding a place to call home? Not that it would mean giving up the life of wandering, but just to have somewhere to come back to and unwind, somewhere consistent to winter every year."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn looked at Dayn, thinking. "Well, I'd not be against having someplace to winter... though our definitions of winter may be a tad bit different. I admit, it does sound quite nice.... Having some place to celebrate Yule at... A place where you could drop some of your heftier equipment... I could keep alchemy stuff there, the heavy equipment. It'd have to be somewhere pretty central, but not too far South... I doubt you'd like wintering in Rorich.... Some place with plenty of land, that'd be nice. A warm house, not too big, with a big sitting room around the hearth. Might be nice to be near our families - not too close, necessarily, but not too far." Arryn smiled at the idea, then sighed. "I don't know if I could ever give up wandering either, but just some place to winter at... it'd be nice. A half-way point between our families, maybe; I know your sisters would be heartbroken to see you gone, and... well, I'm not sure how my mother is... I dropped in last year, during spring, for two days, but I don't remember much about it...."





Arryn looked back up at Dayn and smiled, reassuring him that she was fine despite how her musings had turned dark. "I may have just jumped to the assumption that you meant someplace to winter together."

 

[BookWyrm]

"I had hoped you would, because that is exactly what I meant." Dayn smiled, overjoyed that Arryn had caught on. "I was thinking about looking around, since we have been delayed a few more days, if nothing more than asking around about land." Dayn walked over to his pack and pulled out a map before bringing it back over and laying it out beside Arryn. "I thought that we might plan out some areas to search while we are traveling, somewhere between Rorich and Riverbend, but not too close like you said. So, what strikes your fancy?"

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn looked at the map, saying, "We have to avoid the woods East of here, and South for a few days, heck, maybe Northeast and plain East of here... Getting a place against the mountains comes with risks of avalanche... Looks like there's a bit of space here on the map, close to the forest to the NorthWest, that looks like meadow near it, I'd like that, personally. Then there's here by the river and the woods.... Neither of these are far from roads either, which would be good." Arryn looked up at him with bright eyes, saying, "This would be wonderful once I'm able to go back to Rorich." She looked back to the map, then asked him, "Well, what do you think?"

 

[BookWyrm]

"I'd like to see the area to the NorthWest, the meadow near the woods. I also want to see the spot near the river, but if it is too low the river will flood for sure." Dayn looked over at Arryn, seeing the glint in her eyes, and smiled. It was good to she her bright eyed and happy. He leaned in and kissed her cheek before looking back at the map. He went back to his pack and pulled out a box, opening it to take out a thin piece of charcoal before circling the two spots on the map. "There, so we'll have a reference point to remember it by. When we get some time to ourselves we can ride out and look at both spots." As Dayn put the map and his charcoal box up he thought about what their home would look like. "Hmm...a warm home, nothing to big, but a sitting room around a hearth. Well, I definitely don't want a home as big as my families manor, but something decent, a little room to breath I guess. I'm not too picky." Dayn sat down next to Arryn and rolled over, laying his head in her lap, gently, as he looked up at her. "What would you like love? A simple home, an underground wheel house, or something somewhere in between?"

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn played with Dayn's hair, pondering his question, smiling. "Simple. With a spacious roofed porch out front. Has to be built to last, needs to be safe if we're to drop our equipment off." Arryn looked out the window and paused. That was sunlight.... "Is it the morning after I was stabbed, or have I slept through a whole day...?"

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn looked out the window and had to think for a minute about what day it was. When it occurred to him he almost laughed. "I think we might have lost a day love.' Dayn counted over recent events, coming up with the same conclusion. "I guess we did stay in bed a whole day."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn smiled and rolled her eyes. "That's wonderful news." She paused, thinking. She put her hand over the wound on her stomach, feeling the slightest warmth as the healing sped up. "I've got a bit of mana, but not enough to really do anything yet." She looked at Dayn, thought for a moment, then said, "You hardly have eaten anything this whole time. You must be hungry, love."

 

[BookWyrm]

"I've learned to survive off of the love of a caring woman." Dayn smiled as he carefully sat up and kissed Arryn slowly. "But, food actually doesn't sound bad. I'll be back." In a few minutes Dayn returned with two bowls of steaming chicken soup. "Oh, this is going to be soooo good." Dayn handed Arryn her bowl as he sat down, slowly sipping some of the broth as he let it cool off.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn waited for her soup o cool some before having a spoonful and nodding appreciatively. After a few moment, she said, "Y'know, I'm surprised none of your family has come to visit us. I mean, someone had to have found the corpse in the alley, the knife with my blood, and they probably think you're still wounded. And then there's your sisters, whom I would not doubt have asked your parents to come and see you. I mean, I only saw your family for a few minutes, but they seemed really caring."

 

[BookWyrm]

"Now that you mention it, with the festival over and the whole incident the other night, I am surprised myself." Dayn wondered what his family had been up too about the same time there was a knock at the door. Dayn got up, grabbed his dagger out of habit, and walked over to the door, opening it to find one of the hands that tended to the chores about the inn. "This came for you today good Master. Have a nice day." Dayn closed the door and looked at the letter. It was sealed with his family crest.





"It would seem that my family has been rather busy with the council, but they are having a dinner tonight and have extended an invitation. Hmm...that's kind of odd, what would the council be wanting now?" Dayn folded up the letter and placed it on the desk next with his knife. "That would explain why they've been absent though." Dayn sat back down beside Arryn, laying a hand gently on her neck before lightly massaging her. "It would seem that we are dining at the manor tonight."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn sighed, letting Dayn proceed with the massage. "Wonderful to know. Shame I don't have anything nicer than my travel clothes, but I'll make it work somehow." Arryn leaned over and kissed Dayn, before straightening up and saying, "I know they don't care about it, but I do. I mean, I am your girl, so it makes you look good if I look good." She looked at Dayn and smiled thoughtfully, saying, "What do you think your family would say if they knew my past?"

 

[BookWyrm]

"What do you think my family would say if they knew my present?" Dayn looked at Arryn thoughtfully, understanding what she meant. "Do I think they would disown you because you led a raid team against black market traffickers? No. Do I think they would disown me because I'm a lycanthrope?" Dayn drifted off, looking at nothing in particular. "I don't know."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn took his hand and said, "I don't think they would. They seem like fair people. All they have to do is allow you to shift, and they'll see that you're in complete control. There's very little risk with you." Trying to lighten the mood, she smiled and added, "And anyway, they can't disown me because I'm not a blood relation, so, yeah." Arryn set down her empty bowl and reached into her pack and pulled out her sketchbook and the tin of charcoal sticks, taking a stick in her fingers, saying, "So, what do you want this house to look like? You talk, I'll draw." She was just looking for a way that they could occupy their time before they had to get ready to leave, and lightening the mood didn't seem like a bad idea either.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn laughed, running his hand through his hair as he thought over ideas. "Well, seeing as how it would be our home, I think that we should both decide on what it will look like. Tell you what, I'll think on it tonight, when we get back to our room tonight we can share the thoughts and work it out from there, alright?"





The rest of the afternoon went by at a leisurely pace up until it was time for them to arrive at the Manor. When they had bathed and dressed Dayn led Arryn downstairs only to find a carriage waiting for them outside the Inn. "Master Dayn, Mistress Arryn, I am here to take you to your dinner this evening. Please, right this way." Dayn assisted Arryn into the carriage before stepping in himself. "Well, it would seem we get to arrive in a fashionable manner tonight." Dayn kept a rather serious look on his face before crossing his eyes and sticking his tongue out. He hated "fashionable" things, especially if the other nobility loved them. It was just a waste to him.


The carriage carried them across the bridge and veered right, heading towards the walled off section of the city. "The whole complex is not our home, just the back half. The front is the barracks and guard quarters, below it is the gaol and dungeon. Past the next wall is the courtyard that leads into the manor. It was designed after the old ways, where a castle would consist of several large buildings and the estate would sit at it's heart, all of it walled where it needed to be. Personally I think it is all just too much. A small home could be filled with the more joy and love than this stone monstrosity. But, for most of my life, this has been home."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn looked out the window of the carriage, then back at him, commenting, "Awful pretty to be called a monstrosity, though I agree that it is very big. I can't imagine trying not to get lost in your own home...." She squinted at the entire complex, then smiled mischievously and added, "Y'know, I think the whole population of Rorich could fit just in your manor, however, the trick yould be keeping them all from killing each other, not fitting them in."

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn smiled as he looked out at his old home. "All of us kids call it a monstrosity, it's even bigger on the inside. Once you get inside the wall that divides the barracks and gaol from the Manor everything else is connected. Stables, kitchen, dinning room, all of the bedrooms, the armory, too many rooms to count to be honest. But my room has always been the best. It is at the far wing, the round tower that overlooks the bend of the river. The whole upper story is my room, or my old room. I choose it because it had two levels. The lower level is the bedroom, the upper level I had furnished into a library and observatory."





The carriage pulled to a stop, the door opening a moment later, with the servant holding out a hand for Arryn. "Ladies first, I do believe." Dayn leaned in to whisper. "We're gonna have to put up with the servants, they stick to the noble laws religiously."