Ascending Legends

[Dragongal]

Arryn thought for a moment, then said, "Gee, do you still have those little wire griffins with griffin feathers?" Gee nodded, reaching under the counter and produced a small griffin figure made from copperwire with short, griffin fluff feathers attached by pressing into the copper while warm. Arryn looked around and pointed out a brass and copper maple leaf pendant to Dayn. "What'd you think about that, love?"

 

[BookWyrm]

"They are perfect!" Dayn reached into his pouch and produced two gold coins for each piece. "Here, it would be a crime not to pay for such art work." Dayn knew that four gold coins was considerably more than the price would be for both pieces, but that was the point. He smiled as he hand Gee the coins before putting a finger to his lips. "Don't fuss, this'll be our secret."

 

[Dragongal]

Gee looked at him with wide eyes, then to Arryn, who smiled and nodded, thanking her and taking the pieces, putting them in her belt pouch. She took Dayn's hand and led him down the street. There were artisan, carpenters, even a toymaker, all of it handmade and with a slightly rustic air. She stopped him at another metal stand run by an old, bearded dwarf with glasses. "Dia duit, Atria! Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú? Agus is é atá sé?" Arryn smiled and replied, "Bhí mé go maith. Tá sé mo fhear." She smiled ot Dayn, then said, "Omer, do you have any of those wrapped gems I made still?" Omer smiled and replied, "Aye, a silver and a copper. Would you like to see them?" "Yes please." Omer walked back into another toom and brought out a silver and copper wire-wrapped gem. The copper was artistically wrapped around a foggy grey-white crystal, and the silver was similarly wrapped around an amber-ish crystal shard. She looked at Dayn and said, "Every mage needs some crystals to keep a reserve trick in. Like the copper one?" The silver was obviously not an option.

 

[BookWyrm]

"A reserve trick?", Dayn chuckled at the idea. He took the copper wrapped crystal and inspected it carefully. The design was exquisite and handsomely designed. "Yes, this is incredible actually. I haven't seen that crystal before though. What is it exactly?"

 

[Dragongal]

"Northern Quartz, lad. You can find it in the mountains if you're diligent. Isn't the best for mages, but it's good." Arryn placed afew silvers on the counter, knowing he'd paid her less when he'd bought it from her. Since Dayn already had it, she thanked Omer and continued on. Arryn smiled and took his hand as they walked away, quietly explaining, "I used to wire wrap gems for sale, when I was real young, it helped us get some extra money. I didn't as much once Night's Ascension started, but even then it was fun for me, relaxing. Norim took care of Ma and I, but we didn't want to take too much from him, and some extra money was nice. Thing is, after the incident, my hands weren't steady enough. I don't know if they are yet. I used to be able to make a lace wrap around the crystals using wire, but what you have there was what I made last year when I visited. I was freed from my absolute insanity a few weeks before, and saw that I needed money to survive. It's not very high quality. It frustrated me so much.... I knew I could do it at one time, but then I couldn't." She shrugged. "It's not the worst thing I've seen though."


“Atria!” a small young girl yelled happily, running to her. Arryn smiled, kneeling down and hugging the child quickly, then holding her at arm’s length. “Abby, it’s been terribly long! Have you been practicing while I was gone?” The little girl nodded happily. “I did make doors disappear now! It’s almost impossible to see the diff’ence.” Polaris said, “Very good! But remember, it’s ‘can’, not ‘did’. You haven’t given up the books I brought you for practice, have you?” Abby shook her head. Another couple of children joined her, clamoring for Atria's attention. One small boy asked, “Why’re you here, Arryn? Need to talk to Matthias or your mam?” “Well, no, not quite, we dropped in for a... visit. This is Dayn, my fiance,” she said, gesturing to Dayn. She didn't want to worry the kids with the truth.


Some of the children looked past her at Dayn, with a mix of awe and fear. One young boy ignored him, though, asking, “Atria, why’d you leave?" Arryn was quiet a few seconds, then said, “I had to. I didn’t get much choice.” Luckily, before the child could ask another question, the other children grabbed him and ran off in a scattered flock. Arryn turned to Dayn with a rather apologetic smile, taking his hand again. “I should have accounted for them, I’m sorry. I didn't want to scare them and say why we showed up.”

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn's eyebrows came together as he watched the children suddenly storm out from the woodwork and swarm Arryn. He didn't mind kids, two younger sisters helped that along, but he hated seeing some of them stare at him in fear. Kids had a way of staring past your exterior and straight into your inner being. Gods I hope none of them are that sharp. Dayn's somewhat dumbstruck look turned to a smirk as the children scattered just as quickly as they came. "Don't apologize love, it is perfectly alright. I am going to admit that I'm jealous. You said I was popular in my home town? Have you realized just how many of these people love you?" Dayn took Arryn's hands and pulled her close for a short kiss before spinning her out and smiling. "I just hope that kids aren't gifted with magically enhanced senses like they seem to be, otherwise my cover might be blown."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn smiled back and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before continuing with their walk. She didn't are about the people who were around, if they had a problem with it, she had a dagger. "It's only because we've only spoken with dwarves at the moment, love. And the kids don't know about... everything. Don't worry about them, they get a bit nervous around adult men they don't know. They were really young when everything went down with the businessmen, most of them around four to six, and they've heard the stories, too. They don't listen to rumors as much as they do to gifts and kindness. I confess to having played games with them many a time on break," she said with a laugh.


Her smile faded as she saw an old man in white robes. She gripped Dayn's hand more firmly, her expression clearly showing that it wasn't from fear, but rather trying to restrain herself. He smiled as he approached, though it was clearly only on the surface. A few of the people around them turned to look, fearing that there'd be a fight. "Miss Eleran, as beautiful - and armed - as ever. To what do we owe the... pleasure... of your returning?” “Inder. As much of an ass as ever. I don’t see how it’s your concern.” “Miss Eleran, everything - “ Arryn quietly said, “Don’t call me that.” “I am sorry for how we left things, Miss Eleran, but -" “Stop calling me that!” she snapped. “You feign manners, but we both know you'd rather call me bitch. Why hide yourself? Scared you'll prove yourself as how people see you?” There were a few quiet gasps from the people around them.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn's heart suddenly began to pound in his chest as the "priest" came into view. He could feel Arryn's hatred seething within her, and it stirred within him as well. Whether Dayn or Arryn knew it or not they were now connected more deeply than they had been before. Arryn was his betrothed, his lover, his co-alpha, and Dayn's protective instincts were suddenly on over drive. No man was going to come at her and expect him to stand down. "I would advise you not to push your boundaries, putredo." Dayn knew the language of the scholars, as he expected Inder would as well. "Nor would I advise you to insult my betrothed in front of me. Leuia aut panni protecturum vos faciatis."

 

[Dragongal]

There was some murmuring from the crowd at Dayn's claiming her as his betrothed. Inder kept a straight face, and clear voice, saying, "Well... this is an unexpected turn. I did not know Miss Eleran was engaged, or to such a scholar. I, of course, assume you know of her past - " "He does very well, Inder. Unlike you, I have some sense of honor." "Well, very well then. Welcome back, Miss Eleran, and welcomes to her betrothed as well." As the old man walked away, Arryn's nose twitched in a way that said she was contemplating doing something violent, but holding back. She turned to Dayn and smiled to him slightly. "Thanks, love."

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn never blinked nor lowered his eyes from where they had locked against Inder's. As the putredo turned and walked away the faint desire to charge him and tear his throat out flashed through Dayn's mind. But as he calmed down he looked around at the crowd that was gathered around. Probably not a good idea to do that right now. Dayn eyed the priest as he walked away. He felt like making some form of obscene gesture, but common sense was starting to take over where pure instinct had been.


Finally Dayn turned back to Arryn and smiled. He loved receiving praise from her. It had a way of making him stand taller, hold out his chest with pride, but her expressing her love for him had a way of building him up more than even her praise did. "Always love." Dayn knew the eyes of the crowd were upon them as he kissed her, but he didn't care about what they thought. "Now that the interruption is taken care of, how about we get back to where we left off?"

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn smiled widely, and said, "Well, there's a man who sells all kinds of gems he gets from the mountains, and of course you have to try some mountain delicacies -" "Atria, lass!" Atria smiled and sighed heavily. "Remember what i said about the dwarves?" Norim walked up to them, a number of dwarves with him. "Atria, yeh never introduced me to yeh'r friend! I thought you was all alonesome when you came to help us." Arryn smiled and said, "I was a bit distracted. Norim, this is Dayn Braegland, my fiance." "Fiance!? When ye were here a year ago, yeh we'rent e'en courtin'. Unless it were secret, Ah suppose." He looked Dayn over quickly, then stuck out his hand. "Norim Cavecoat. Ye'evah need a favor, just ask. Anything for Atria's man. Figurin' you stay good to her, o'course. Otherwise we'd have to kill yeh." Arryn put her face in her palm, shaking her head slightly.

 

[BookWyrm]

No offense Norim, but I wouldn't count on it. Dayn gripped the offered hand in a firm handshake. "It's a pleasure Sir. I've heard about what you've done for my love and her family. You have my deepest gratitude, and perhaps it is I who needs to extend the favor."

 

[Dragongal]

Norim laughed heartily, saying, "No, lad, yeh spend yehr time with her, Ah've got me whole crew. We'll have to have a festival, seein' as how Atria's returned, and engaged at that." "No, Norim, please, not a festival. We'll do that when we get my name cleared, but for now, please. You can throw a ball or a party, but no festival, I beg you." "Well, if'n yeh're beggin', Ah cannae deny you. A party it shall be, on the nearest available date. 'Twas nice meetin' you, Mistah Dayn, now we'll let yeh two get back to the markets." Right, I didn't mention his title. Okay. Arryn took Dayn's hand again with a smile, and began walking. They finished through the markets without further incident, and it was dark now. They'd gotten plates of finely cooked goat's meat to take back to their borrowed house, before sitting down at the table to eat. Arryn had her head on her hand as she ate, and nearly fell asleep. While she had enjoyed their time immensely, she was very tired.

 

[BookWyrm]

The day had been full of surprises, some expected, some not so much, but Dayn couldn't have been a happier man. Despite all of that though Dayn couldn't help but think about the putredo, Inder. Just thinking about him made Dayn growl, if he was a wolf his hackles would stand on end. He was just wrong, and Dayn could sense it all over him. But he let the priest drift from his mind as they wandered through the incredible markets. Dayn laughed when they ordered goats meat for supper. "I haven't had goat since the campaign! That was one my fonder memories from that whole mess."





Back at their temporary home Dayn looked over at Arryn and gave her a half smile. "Your looking awful drowsy there love. Is the goat that bland?"

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn shook her head, smiling slightly and looking at her half-eaten plate of food. "It's real good, like i remember it, but I'm just tired. You're the injured one, aren't you supposed to be tired first?" she laughed quietly. "Can we just go to bed, love?" Once Dayn was done with his food - she refused to budge before that, despite being tired - they went to bed. Arryn nestled as closely against Dayn as she could, one arm across his chest and her free hand holding his, before drifting off to sleep.


A few hours later, Arryn sat bolt upright, panting, her heart in her throat. She felt tears running from her eyes, but didn't move to wipe them. Her back and arms hurt terribly, as did her right shoulder; she'd revisited the church nightmare again. As if the nightmares weren't enough, she was seeing things again as well. There was the priest from the village over who was saying that people should have listened to him and killed her while she was down, Tomlain, burnt as he had been when he'd died, and another banshee. She didn't get so dragged into these hallucinations as she had last time. But it still hurt terribly. "Please stop..." she whimpered. She buried her face in her pillow, covering her ears, hoping Dayn would wake to tell her it was okay, even if she'd feel guilty about his losing sleep.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn wrapped his arms protectively around Arryn and pulled her against his chest. He had felt a something, a warning or pain, in his sleep. He knew immediately that something was wrong with Arryn. He had woken up to find her crying, her head stuffed into her pillow before he had taken her into his arms. "It's alright," he said softly, trying to soothe her pain, "it's okay Arryn. I'm here Arryn." His one hand held the back of her head as she pressed into his chest. The other he slid down her arm, the sensation just another reassurance that he was here and real, before taking her hand and placing it over his chest, letting her feel his every breath and steady heart beat. "Feel my heart beat, feel my breathing." Dayn took a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before exhaling. "Just relax Arryn, let the tears fall if they want to, but relax. Match your breathing with mine, match your heart beat with mine. I am here for you love, and I'm not going anywhere."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn let herself cry, holding onto Dayn tightly. She tried to follow his advice and breathe slowly, but she lost track of his heartbeat every time she heard a scream. After a short time had passed, she managed to calm down a bit, tired from crying. “I saw it all again… I took half the team, ten members… May wasn’t supposed to come, but she begged, and she was the best trapper I’d ever seen, so I justified bringing her by the thought that she could trap fresh meat for us. She was younger than any of us, at thirteen, but she was brilliant. We got the tip and it all checked out, we examined the place from the outside, and it checked out, and….” Arryn paused, taking a few moments to recollect herself. “Supposedly, there was a secret passage under the pulpit…. I was standing there, by the pulpit, trying to move it, but it wouldn’t budge…. and that’s when the banshees came in…. Later, Matthias and I went back in the morning, but I couldn’t even get near the building.” Arryn nuzzled against his neck, murmuring, “It hurts…. My scars still hurt….”

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn felt his heart cry out in pain for Arryn, and suddenly it all made sense to him. Their empathetic bond had only been strengthened by their union, and it had been the sensation, the knowing Arryn was upset, that had woken him in his sleep. He gently moved his hand away from her scars and to the small of her back, softly rubbing his thumb over her back. He felt helpless against this. He could protect her from anything in the world but these nightmares, these horrid memories that attacked her when she was vulnerable. It broke him more than anything else could, but he still had to be strong for her. I will learn the signs, I know I can. I just need to be able to sense them coming on and catch them before this happens again.





"Do you want me try and massage your back? It might help ease it off some. I can use a salve if you like." Dayn was trying his hardest to find some way to help ease this pain, both physically and emotionally.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn closed her eyes. “No… thank you, but I just want to be close to you at the moment,” she said quietly, nestling in his arms. She wasn’t crying anymore, she was just tired and dispirited. After a little while, she managed to fall asleep again, one hand still on his chest, the other holding onto his arm.


In the morning, she woke up before him, and just ddin’t move, wanting to let him sleep, enjoying the intimacy of being tucked against his chest, wrapped in his arms. After a bit, she carefully slipped away from him, walking silently to the kitchen. This was probably the only food she could cook that didn’t turn out a catastrophe; she’d had to cook it many a time on the path, and it almost always turned out well. She mixed everything up, kneaded the dough, cut it, and fried it up quietly, plating up the portions while the tea boiled. When she was finished, she had numerous soda farls a common Northern breakfast. She set them on the table along with a few jars of different jams, some apple slices, and two mugs of tea. She walked back to the bed and gently kissed Dayn. “Love, it’s morning. I made breakfast.”

 

[BookWyrm]

"Huh?" Dayn woke slowly, his head still fog shrouded as he sat up and stretched before rubbing his cheek. He felt and heard the stubble that had been growing out over the past several, well since his near death experience. "Oh, wow. Breakfast." Dayn could smell the fresh cooked goods as Arryn sat down next to him. "That smells great." Dayn grabbed on of the soda farls and spread some jam over it before taking a bite, and then shoving the whole thing in his mouth, packing his cheeks full like a chipmunk. "Dis errlly gord.", he mumbled through a stuffed mouth. Sure, it wasn't proper by any means, but he figured Arryn could use a laugh. He would have laughed himself if he wasn't scared of choking on the delicious treat.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn smiled at his praise, proud of her achievement, laughing slightly at his silliness.She had to admit, she’d done pretty well making the breakfast. It was nice to eat something so reminiscent of old times, and even better that Dayn also liked it. She didn’t like thinking about last night, but this morning, it was luckily behind her. She sipped her tea, then said, “Thanks for last night, by the way.” While she didn’t want to bring it all back up, she felt that she owed him some thanks.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn smiled as he reached over and caressed Arryn's cheek. "Always love." He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss before quickly shoving an apple slice in the front of his mouth and smiling. He was trying his best not to laugh, otherwise he'd spit the apple at her, which could only end in an uproar of laughter and soar sides.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn laughed at Dayn, then said, “Oh, love. Sometimes I wonder if you didn’t completely heal after that hit on your head.” She smiled as she ate her food, then said, “Well, I have to talk to Ma today, but I’m sure you’d be bored by that. Maybe later I could show you some of the better parts of the woods around Rorich, and we should visit Libro soon. What would you like to do while I talk to Ma? Stick with me, or find something else to do? I still don’t want you pushing yourself yet.”

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn could think of a few things to do, but all of them involved a slight bit of risk of being seen. Better not, Arryn would kill me. "If you'd rather me stay than I can, but I don't mind going with you." Dayn took a moment to finish off his food. "Unless you have something private you are wanting to talk with Lenza about or something. I mean, I don't want to infringe upon the time you get to spend with her. I know you don't see her very much."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn shook her head, smiling slightly. "No, you're welcome to come if you wish. There's no market today, so if you wanted anything, you'd have to go into the stores and they're not very interesting anyway. You won't catch much game unless I show you where to hunt or fish. Who knows, maybe Mother would like to speak to you anyway." Now that Dayn was healthy enough to fight, he could go wherever he wished; her fear had only been leaving him unguarded and unable to defend himself. Arryn cleaned up, then grabbed her pack, though they were only going next door. She took his hand with a smile. "I'm very happy that I can see my mother even with you around... I had begun to think it'd never happen. Fate is odd, for certain."





In her old house, Arryn apologized for not visiting yesterday, as she'd promised, and put her bag on the table. "I did keep to the promise i made you," she said to Lenza, opening her bag. She pulled out her sketchbook, opening to a page with pressed wysteria flowers, explaining how she'd found them and what they were called, though she clearly mispronounced the name. She then opened to the dogwood flower she'd plucked while at the riverside with Dayn. "Dayn said they were called King's Blood around Low Rock, or dogwood, commonly." Lenza glanced at Dayn with a smile on her face. She was glad to see such things as these which she hadn't seen before, and Arryn was clearly quite happy to show her that she'd kept her promise.