Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

Posted: **Sun Jul 30, 2017 8:26 pm**

Ymiden 79th, 717

Nightshade stared down the letter clutched in her hands. The fat envelope that held the final words her father had addressed to her was terrifying in all honesty, and she couldn't begin herself to think of why. Her knuckles were starting to turn white, but that was beside the point. The letter itself felt heavy, like something made of metal was inside it. If the man who she'd talked with had been right, then there was. Specifically, there would be a key. Her mind wandered in regards to the place her father had called home, Yorskmir it was called. What kind of place was it? Had the people been kind to him for being an Avriel? Perhaps not, likely not when she thought about it realistically. But her mother had loved him and as far as Night knew he'd taken up a position of defending the town. So surely people must have liked him to a certain extent, right? There was only one way to know for certain. The letter, or more so the package, had begun to yellow with time and age. At the center was a wax seal that she barely recognized from her youth. It was a seal that her father had made for her mother a long time ago. Apparently, it had been attached to a joke that one day they would be rich, powerful, and nobility. They would even be royalty in Rynmere. The crack at Rynmere had of course been her father poking fun at the no Avriel allowed policy. That was the one rule she intended to break.

Placing a nail against the seal she took a deep breath and pressed, breaking it open. The letter wasn't hard to open from there. Out came not one key, like promised, but two and a large amount of paper. At the corners the paper had begun to crinkle, showing yellow with age. She looked at the first page and began to read.

Dear Nightshade,

I fear that one trial I won't be able to be there for you. That's a simple fact of life, but given circumstances, I fear that trial may come sooner than intended. As I write this now you are little more than 14 arcs and still practicing Avrielian Script. I had full intention of writing this to you in such, but I worried that you may either have forgotten it or never finished learning it. I hope that's never the case, as it could be useful even if the Avriel themselves cannot. Another fear of mine is one that I'm certain of. By the time you're reading this, you will be a warrior. It ran in my blood, in my whole family's blood. If you ever found yourself digging around Athart (Ethelynda forbid) you might find a tidbit on our family. Besides that, Karmin was a spit fire in her own regard, full of fight and full of life. It ran even in her blood. If you are anything like either of your parents, you are a fighter through and through.

And that's exactly why I worry. You have always been brave to the point of foolishness, selfless to the point of selfish martyrdom! You've never had a filter when it came to helping others if Grace is anything to go off of. Or any of the other members of the house for that matter. Why you put the spotlight on yourself I'll never come to understand, but you always have and I have a fear that you always will. And that's why I urge you to visit Yorskmir. See what has become of the place and find my basement. In there will be something of interest, items ranging from my old journals or weapons to even some guides on the world. If you're like Karmin, you won't stay in one place forever. You might stay there for a long time, maybe until you feel prepared enough to venture out, but if you're Karmin's daughter then eventually you’ll leave. When that day comes, there will be books in the basement written by your mother.

I don't know how many stories you remember, but your mother and I really did adventure the world. We went everywhere we could and the only place I became a criminal was Rynmere and Athart, the reasons being obvious. Through all our travels, your mother and I recorded everything we could come across, including people who could act as valuable allies. If you find even a fraction of our old books it could save you a lot of hassle. In addition to that, I've left behind a good number of my old weapons as well as some treasure I found in my adventuring days. Some swords or shields made out of rare metals, things that may be too expensive or rare for you to get your hands on. One last gift from me waits for you in Yorskmir. In the basement, check under the stairs. Behind there is a small door. Inside will be symbols for four immortals. They're the four immortals I always believed you most likely to follow. Well, more so three and one I hoped would ease your soul. I know it's likely been hard growing up a half-breed. Your mother and I are both very sorry for that, we left you to fend for yourself in a world that is truly unforgiving of your kind. But you're a strong girl. After all, you're Karmin's girl and you're also my girl.

Now that I've said everything I needed to say about Yorskmir, there's just one last thing I want to tell you because I'm not sure if I'll ever get the chance to tell you face to face. I love you, I love you more than anything else in the world and I am proud of you. No matter what you've done, what path you've decided to follow, or what roads you've painted with blood, I know that whatever it is you did with your life you did it because you thought it was the right thing to do. Not just for yourself, but for others as well. And for that, I could never be more proud. Know that, take that with you in your heart when times get rough, you'll always have someone on your side and someone looking up to you no matter where the pieces land. That's just the way that life works. Try your hardest, you get what you give.

I regret not being there to actually help you with these hurdles. I’ve done all that I could raising you to be a wonderful person, but it would have been so much better if everything worked out well. A mother to teach you the important lessons of life, grandparents to tell you stories, and more time with me teaching you how to protect yourself.

I wish I could have stayed around longer, I wish I could have counseled you in life, I wish I could have been stronger and found a deal that was better than the master’s. But for all of my strength with weaponry, I am not strong .I am a weak person who could never do anything of value without his wife. And that’s one of the reasons I’m proudest to say you took after your mother. In my youth I was a monster, and she was a saint. And in every aspect of life from your appearance to your nature you have taken after that beautiful and astounding woman.

I could have filled this letter with advice, words of wisdom, and all sorts of other things. But I’ve already done what I can and your mistakes are yours to make from here on out. There is no amount of ink or breath that can prepare a person for life. My advice wouldn’t be worth wasting how little ink I have to spend on something so very, very important. That’s why instead, I’d rather take the time to remind you that you were my greatest treasure, you were the reason I kept on living after Karmin died. You are the reason that I will do my best to keep on living. Until you actually watch me fade away in your arms, hold hope that I’m out there someone trying to watch your back.

On the back of this paper will be instructions as to how to get the third key. On the pages following is an extra special surprise.

Sincerely,
Evaryin Eld

Nightshade hadn't realized that she was crying until the tears had actually started to pool within her eyes, making the words blur. It was hard to force the tears back, but she managed to evade most. A couple still escaped her. She wiped them away quickly, holding the letter away from herself. She didn't want to ruin it was any tear stains. Holding it as far as she could while still trying to read it she looked at the next couple piece of paper. Something inside of her shattered when she realized what it was. Written in the neatest and most elegant hand writing Nightshade had ever seen was another letter from an entirely different person.

To my precious child,

If you are wondering why I’ve addressed the letter as such, that’s because as the situation stands I have no clue as to the gender you’ll take when you enter this world. A beautiful but dangerous little girl named for the Nightshade flower, or a strong boy who will be named Aconite after the deadly wolfs bane. Some of the local healers have even said that I might have two of you, in which case hopefully there will be one of you for each name.

It is uncertain whether you will ever receive this letter or not. Part of me hopes that you never will, part of me continues to hope that like all others this fit will eventually pass. Evaryin continues to tell me to have hope, but eventually it becomes hard for even one of Qylios' most loyal servants to see light in the darkness. For those who follow in the steps of medicine it’s rather plain what’s going to happen. I’m going to die. Just a couple months ago I was told that I’d already be dead. Do you know why I’m still alive? That’s right, I’m still alive because of you. With my last breath I want to bring into the world a being who I know will make it a better place, one who’s going to fight for justice. I already know you will, Every day you seem to just get stronger and stronger. If I could only have one last wish, I want to hear you just once before Famula takes me. If that can be so, I’ll die without regret.

I'm not exactly sure how to go about writing this... I've spent years writing letters to people all over the world from peasants to royalty. I've written nonstop with all the speed of someone running out of time, and for my labors I've written master pieces in half the time it would take others. And yet, for all that experience, I'm at a loss for words when trying to address my own child. That's only to be expected though, considering everything.

First of all, I didn’t realize what love was until I knew I was going to have you. Yes, I loved your father greatly, but there’s something special in having child. With a young life comes this certain beauty that makes you love everyone, love the world, love yourself! When I felt you kick for the first time I truly fell in love, I felt joy that couldn’t be described in any amount of words.

I never thought that you’d actually come to be. My body has always been weak. No matter how far we walked one way or another I’d end up having to ask your father for help. I came to believe that my body would be too weak to properly house a child. Especially after how many times your father and I tried. Sometimes it wouldn’t take, and sometimes it wouldn’t stay. And eventually you came! There is no way to express the joy you feel when you realize you can finally have a family, you can settle down and raise a young life to be a good person and send them off into the world with bright eyes.

And then it happened. With all the truth of Chiren’s loving hate for me a local doctor told me that I wasn’t going to survive. It had been true; my body was far too weak for a child. The doctor gave me a couple options. You weren’t going to survive, I wasn’t going to survive, or neither of us was going to survive. The doctor told me ways that would keep me alive, but it would have involved you dying. So I made my choice, in the end if anyone was going to survive then it had to be you. After this, my first fear was what would happen to you. What would happen to my baby? Would they wonder who I was, would they even care? Not even death could scare me more than the thought of not being able to be there at your side.

So I left to you in the basement of our house a treasure chest. In it I put everything I possible could that would tell you the kind of person that I was. As luck would have it, I always make a copy of a letter in case something goes wrong, and I was able to put a few in this chest. I’ve put inside drawings I made including self-portraits of myself and your father. I spent seasons tracking down our family, writing down their names, and roughly where you can find them. I wasn’t even aware we had Sev’ryn in our family, but apparently we do. Most importantly, I’ve written some extra letters to you. This letter is my formal goodbye; however, I’ve written countless letters long before I even knew I’d be able to have you. I even have letters from back when you were little more than a dream and I didn’t even know your father! In this treasure chest I’ve left some of my most valuable possessions as well. My favorite instrument and the music sheets to go with it, the perfume that was always my favorite to wear, the necklace my father gave me and the ring your father gave me, both given when I was about to get married. There’s no way to explain how good it was knowing your true blooded Etzori father approved of you marrying an Avriel!

And now that I’m done saying all of that that there’s something else very important I need to say, I'm sorry. A mother who dies is truly the worst kind of failure as a mother. I couldn't be there to watch you learn to speak, learn to walk, learn to fly. I couldn't help you learn how to cook or be there to watch you fall in love for the first time. I couldn't be there for you to cry with when you had your first heart break. I am inexcusably sorry for all my failures as a parent and I hope that one day you can find it in your heart to forgive me. And above all else, I hope you don't come to blame yourself for my death. I have always been sick, my death would come one way or another, and you are in no way linked to it. Instead, you're the best thing that ever happened in this life of mine, right next to meeting Evaryin! I hope that one day you discover this letter. I'm not sure if Evaryin will ever have the heart to give it to you. For all I know he might burn it the moment I'm done. It wouldn't be the first letter of mine he burned. If he had his way it wouldn't be the last either.

It could never compare to being able to tell you this in real life, but I want you to know how much I love you. More than all the suns and moons and stars in all of Idalos, you are the most precious being to ever be brought into my life and I’m so proud I had a hand in creating you. I'm so sorry that you're half avriel, I'm sorry that the world will always fight against you, I'm sorry that I couldn't be there to help you fight back. But know that it's by no means my choice. What's done is irreversible, I was born sick and there is no way to avoid that. Hopefully, this disease, whatever it might be, skips you. And hopefully, the plague child suffers for this, the root of all diseases, may she rot for not letting me meet my child. I just... I honestly don't know what to write. There are so many things I wish I could say to you but I have so little paper, ink, and of course time. If I could have my way I would live to see you grow and thrive, I would shower you with praises and gifts every day, I would make sure that the racism of the world could never touch, I would have you be the happiest child and woman in all the world over. But I can't. It isn't in my power, so for that, I have to say sorry.

I hope that by leaving you this letter and these presents, you will know how much I loved you. If it’s possible to feel love even after a person is gone, then let it be known I will love you till even you draw your final breath, no matter how far or soon into the future that will be. Know that life will be hard, there are hurdles for everyone and for some the hurdles are harder. Through it all though, know that I’ll be with you always.

Make sure your father doesn’t do anything stupid for me, and maybe one day pay a visit to my grave.

Sincerely,
Karmin Eld

If Night was beginning to cry at the end of her father's letter, she had broken out into waves of full on tears by the end of her mother's. There was no way she could have expected that. The tears were falling freely from her eyes as she furiously tried to keep them out of her view. Lovely, her mother's letter was completely covered in tears. Carefully, she set the paper down trying not to rip or smear it any more than she already had.

Posted: **Mon Aug 14, 2017 5:02 am**

After she composed herself and managed to stop the flow of tears Night turned over her father's letter to look at the instructions. "Go north of Etzos and soon you'll see, a murky dark cave of beasts set free, check it where only you or I could see. Seriously dad, a feking riddle?" She snapped upon seeing the directives. A cave north of Etzos with monsters. Wasn't that every cave north of Etzos? How was she supposed to track down a single cave with vague directions? At the bottom of the page was one last scribbling. It was in Avrielian Scrip, she recognized the words. "Look up?" Below the drawing was a star of some kind. It was a bit ugly and misshapen.

"Lovely, the hint is a riddle too. Thanks a lot, Dad," she drawled. Her expression had turned into a glare. He'd done this before. She couldn't bring a specific instance to mind, but she knew damn well he'd terrorized her with riddles before. It was best to head north and start looking as soon as possible considering this promised to be a long and hard chase. Stepping outside her home she reread the directions. It would be best to take flight and maybe try to see if she could find something noticeable, right? First, she headed the direction of Etzos itself, it would be best to start directly from the city. All things considered, it took very little time to get there. Her wings which had become strong and quick with age easily glided on the fastest wind currents and it took no time at all compared to those who were bound to the earth.

Hovering over the city, she took a moment to look down. Her eyes darted across the people she could see. From where she was hovering she could see most of Etzos, being as she was pretty high up. Small dots moved and rushed about, but they seemed like they were going at a snail's pace. Each one was completely absorbed in its own existence, not caring for others and certainly not caring for the being in the sky. Was this what it was like to be a bird? Or was this more so the point of view of the immortals? Honestly, she could believe either.

There was one small issue now. Was she supposed to be heading magnetic north, or true north? And if she was heading magnetic north, had the position of her destination changed at all? Maps needed to be rechecked and redrawn constantly to account for the difference, so she was quite familiar with the two. She figured it might be best to head true north, in which case her compass wasn't going to help her as much as she hoped. She’d need something else to help with the direction. If the sun rose in the east and started to set in the west then it would be easy enough to help her figure out. "Alright, it's a little bit past noon, so just a little bit west and that way is north!" She said glancing upwards for a couple moments. The hard part was trying not to burn her eyes. Her attention turned the direction she decided was north, spreading her wings as far as they would go and giving a particularly fierce flap. It was the most she could do to stretch them out as the situation stood.

With that, she started flying. Mostly the journey was long and arduous as she had to fly at a slower speed than she would have pleased. Sharp eyes scanned the ground. For once she was glad she couldn't see air currents. That would get really annoying after a while. With her eyes focused on the earth, she was sure to see whatever this grand hint was supposed to be. And she did, she saw a large deformed star that seemed to be the top of a giant rock. It was almost disgusting how perfectly it matched her father’s drawing. "Seriously dad?" She muttered. Her wings closed in slightly and her decline became steeper, she was careful of controlling her speed but it wasn't too much of an issue to her. She moved in large banking circles to she never lost sight of the rock. Finally, she managed to land on the rock itself. It was a lot bigger up close than it had been in the sky, and even then it'd been pretty big. Carefully, she picked her way across and down, flapping her wings now and then to make sure she didn't fall and slip. Her talons did her a great service as they gripped any surface they could get around.

Once she was safely on the ground she circled around until she found something she was actually expecting, an entrance. "When he said cave, I wasn't thinking crypt," she muttered to herself. It was true; the long dark passage which led into the cave sloped downwards slowly. It was far more crypt like than she preferred. But if this was the place then there wasn't much she could do about it. Squeezing her wings in tightly she stepped inside. Already she could feel that overwhelming sense of dread that came with being trapped.

Downwards her decent took her until she started to hear voices spoke in low growls. "I told you we shouldn' a taken the brats. Now we're stuck 'ere!" A man snarled in a voice that was best described as venomous. His acidic words didn't seem to bother his partner who quickly responded in turn.

"It was you who led them right to us. I said if we just killed the mother, took the kids, and sold 'em in Athart then no one would be the wiser. But no! You had to go and attack them while the father was still in the house; you had to actually be seen!" The second told him, his own voice sounding like he was moments away from stabbing his companion.

Ah, the small crimes Night stumbled upon like the world itself wanted her to solve them. Dead mother? Kidnapped children? Her hand was drawn to her sword the same way the compass needle was drawn to the north. There was no honor among murderers and thieves no matter what code they whispered to each other in a vain attempt to get someone they could use on their side. There was, however, honor among those who prevented something like this. Though she could refer to these two as common bandits, the term murderer came quicker to mind.

Advancing quietly, she kept her talons raised as to not make a single sound with them. She was never the best with stealth, so she just tried not to move. Keeping her breathing as silent as she could manage, she listened in and hoped one of them would stray too close to her. It would be so much easier if she could just take them out one at a time, but something told her this was about to become a two on one fight. There was the sound of crying in the background, possibly the children they’d mentioned earlier. Could a human being get more disgusting than this?

One of the men snarled. “I’m gonna go shut those brats up,” he said. Night already saw where this was going. Time for the reveal. The things she did for the innocent.

“Excuse me gentleman,” she said stepping out of her hiding spot. Both men jumped at the sound of her voice, drawing weapons and taking combative stances. They both looked to be experienced to a certain degree, but neither one seemed to have any advanced training. They’d be easy enough to deal with, but her mind traveled to a different idea. “Now, now, there’s no need for violence. I’d actually much rather make a deal and avoid any sort of killing today. I’m just here looking for… something. Now I noticed you mentioned children. Leave the children here and get out of the Etzos area, and I won’t hurt you. Instead, I’ll give you a chance to spend your lives making up for your crimes,” she said. The threat was made very seriously, but the pair just glanced at each other and started to laugh.

“Sure thing, girly. Sounds like something that someone knowing they’re at the disadvantage would say. Either way, I’d rather tear you apart. I always wondered what the inside of a flapper would look like,” one of the men sneered. They obviously didn’t seem to think her dangerous. The man charged at her. Pulling out Red Brand she moved to block the hit. Unfortunately she’d only brought one sword and no kind of shield with her, not necessarily expecting this kind of fight. She was able to activate Enduring Scales right as the second man lashed out at her, letting his weapon sink into her flesh. As luck would have it he aimed for her shoulder and hit with little more than a dagger, but the weapon sunk in effectively.

She made two mental notes to herself. Enduring Scales was equivalent to a fairly weak armor, and it was honestly crap for half the things she did in her daily life. Get a better ability or get some actual armor.

Moving back as far as she could manage she reassessed the situation. Her left shoulder was slowly beginning to leak blood, the knife having come loose when she jumped away from her two aggressors. She analyzed the situation as quickly and efficiently as she could. Both the thugs once again rushed her, trying to take her at the same time. A dirty tactic, but she’d just have to throw it right back in their faces. Taking them both at the same time would be easier compared to some of the fights she’d dealt with. She met their attack head on, using her wings to fake out her second enemy while trying to slash at the first with her blade. The weapon of her second enemy struck low, harmlessly going through feathers and missing her body, while her second foe didn’t have the time to dodge her attack. He was quickly impaled through the abdomen, the blade slipping in with a wet shlick.

The man fell to his knees clutching at his abdomen as the blade was easily removed. The blood started to escape him, pooling around his feet as it dripped out from his body. The life slowly drained from his eyes with a steady flow of red. He looked up at the woman, partially horrified and partially mystified. Everyone was the hero of their own story; no one ever believed that death would come for them. But it did, eventually it always did no matter what kind of person you were. You might think that nothing else in the world matters without you, there’s just nothingness, a kind of void where your own presence isn’t. How can you be expected to believe something you can’t watch, something in which you can’t interfere? You are the character, what else matters besides you? But the world keeps spinning long after the blood is done congealing.

The half-breed took another step back as the remaining man turned his gaze on what was once his companion. When he turned back to her, his face was full of ire and wrath. “You bitch!” He screamed. His wild attack was easy enough to dodge, he wasn’t thinking about his movements. His body language put them perfectly up on display.

“Is that not what you intended to do to me?” She questioned, as if the man could still be reasoned with now that he’d seen the mortality of his companion. Perhaps he’d be able to see his own mortality resting in the hands of a being that had already proven herself to be stronger. Of course, this wouldn’t be the case. Humanity was full of prideful beings that couldn’t accept the fact that no matter how strong they got there would always be a bigger fish. Night had accepted that a long time ago. Even if she became strong enough to slay immortals, there would be another force acting against her goals. Maybe a living force or maybe a natural force of the universe itself. The fact remained that there would be something stronger so it was always best to work with instead of fighting against. Unless working with proved to be beneficial to one side alone.

The man gave a screech, darting forward once more. He sounded desperate for blood, needy for it the same way someone might find need of air. Breathing a sigh she met his attack, grabbing his arm and moving him ever so slightly so it was her blade that found flesh, not his. The two were standing face to face now, his arm pivoted away from the half-breed while her sword had lodged itself deep into the cavity of his chest. They just stood there for a moment, his eyes locked with hers. The disgust and anger and wrath completely disappeared, the expression instead being replaced by the truly unthinkable fear of death. It was an emotion that someone only felt once if they were lucky, never if they were even more so, but it was a sensation that Nightshade was all too familiar with. It was the heavy and dreadful sensation; it was a deep sensation that caused a cold shiver to run straight down into the center of your being and right into your core. It was the sensation you got when you were nearly certain you were going to die. Your mind was flooded by thousands of questions, the most prominent being what was going to happen to you. Would you disappear? Was it all just over?

It became less shaking over time; you experienced it again and again when your line of work tended to fall into the line of combat. The first time she ever stopped feeling it was the day she actually cut off the body part of an immortal. Ever since Night realized she had enough power to score a debilitating hit on the plague child, the fear of death by all means became mundane. The eyes of this man said that he’d never felt such a fear, and that he’d never feel it again. The way the light almost seemed the flicker, like a candle fighting against a wind storm, was enough to prove without medical attention he would be dead in bits. Night had no supplies, little skill, and as such had no medical attention to offer.

She pulled back, allowing the blade to slip from his chest. The man slumped forward, his body falling against the earth as he started to give guttural moans and sobs. “I don’t want to die,” he whimpered.

“No one ever does,” Night said. A small flash of anger boiled in the pit of her gut, but she kept it down. She could make him suffer. She could disgrace his dying form in unspeakable ways, making him regret ever living in the first place. But she had more honor than that, she was above such revenge. Instead she continued to speak. “That didn’t stop you from stealing lives, it’s just your turn. Maybe Famula will be merciful and give you a chance to repent,” she growled. Her words came out like venom, but they were spoken in a chastising way. She almost sounded like she was scolding a child by the way her words curled into a dulled edge. The man went silent. As a final mercy she stabbed her blade into the base of her neck, severing the connection and ending the pain.

She sighed heavily, looking at the two dead men on the ground. If only she was stronger or better at talking. Maybe she’d be able to avoid more situations like this. Maybe she’d be able to convince people to turn themselves in and repent, instead of leaving the repentance of tainted souls in the hands of immortals she wasn’t completely sure she trusted. She’d met Ethelynda personally, at that point her beliefs of the immortal had been confirmed and her eternal loyalty had been earned. But besides the noble snake, Night had very few encounters with the other beings who took the position of gods. If there was one thing she did know about them, it was the fact she couldn’t trust all of them. Especially when she knew so little about some of them.

Her attention turned to a pair of small voices which echoed from the back of the cave. “Hello?” A tiny male voice weakly called out. She followed the noise, coming upon a pair of children. “Are you here to save up? Where’s our mama?” The little boy asked. There were two children, both in ragged stages of abuse and likely dragged the entire way to this cave. There was no telling where they had called home, but judging from the words of the men it was likely Etzos. Meaning they’d been dragged quite the ways.

“Yeah, I’m going to save you and take you home. But you need to tell me where home is first,” she said. Her voice took on a gentle tone, sweet like the scent of wild flowers and the taste of freshly baked treats smothered in honey. Her eyes turned soft and sympathetic as she took a hand of the little boy and little girl in each of her own. Her hands weren’t the softest, turned callous with years of swinging a blade and doing hard labor, but they seemed softer than they could have been all things considered. Above all they were careful, used to holding very lives in their grip they’d become soft in an entirely different way.

“We live on a farm a little ways from Etzos, we live there with mama and papa. Papa is always out in the field working while mama helps us do chores. Sometimes she’ll take us into town with her to buy things. Where are our mama and papa?” The little girl chipped in. She looked up at Night, questions seeming to dance in her eyes. “When the men came and took us away papa wasn’t there. They did something to mama and she had to lie down for a nap, just like the cows sometimes have to. She was leaking berry juice just like they do. Mama says we can’t drink the juice because we have to sell it,” she little girl continued.

The situation instantly became more delicate and harder to address. Night picked her words carefully. “Your papa is waiting for you back home. Your mama had to leave after she finished her nap. Sometimes, people have to leave us. Maybe they’ll come back, but sometimes they won’t. And even if you love these people, sometimes you have to let them leave because it’s just time for them to go. You can’t go looking for these people either, not until you’re much older,” she said.

“So mama is gone, we can’t see her again?” The boy asked. She could already see the heart break starting to form in his eyes. His voice sounded so broken, and so very familiar.

“Sometimes these things just happen. You have to make your mama proud now that she’s gone though, or else you’ll never get to see her again. If you’re good boys and good girls then maybe, one day, you’ll get to see your mama again,” Night told the child.

When they came to the cave entrance she paused for a moment to look around, if she couldn’t see anything then she’d have to come back for the key later. Such wouldn’t be the case as upon looking up she saw a small metallic gleam on the roof. “Clever bastard,” she muttered to herself as she grabbed it.

The children were looking at her as if they wanted to ask another question. Finally the girl spoke up. “Did your mama and papa already leave?” She asked.

“Yeah. My mama and papa both left a long time ago. I might see my papa again, but I don’t think I’ll ever get to meet my mama. She left the day I was born. But it’s okay, because I know she loves me even now. Come on little ones. I’ll take you to your papa,” she said. Taking a child under each wing she escorted the two newly motherless children home.

Posted: **Sun Aug 20, 2017 3:48 am**

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Skill Knowledge:
➳ Cartography: Rechecking for magnetic north
➳ Intelligence: Solving Riddles
➳ Intelligence: Context Clues
➳ Navigation: True north vs magnetic north
➳ Navigation: Using the sun's location to ascertain direction
➳ Negotiation: Doesn't work on the blood thirsty

Mark Knowledge:
➳ Taithir: Enduring Scales: Can't block everything
➳ Taithir: Enduring Scales: Very basic armor, not very good

Other Knowledge:
➳ Father: Proud of you
➳ Father: Left you gifts
➳ Mother: Proud of you
➳ Mother: loved you very much
➳ Mother: Is sorry
➳ Mother: Left you knowledge

➳ Avrielian Script: How to write 'look up'

Loot: 3 keys to father's basement
Injuries: A shoulder wound—the stab wound isn’t too deep but requires care. It will be healed in about 3-5 trials depending on how well you care for it.
Fame: Killing 2 bandits: +6, Victory in single combat: +4
Devotion:
[columns=2]Ethelynda: +15
+5 Defend an innocent
+5 Rescue an imprisoned innocent
+5 catch a murderer (they count!)

Ashan: +3
+3 Free/prevent children from enslavement (I feel like it totally counts! You go!)[/columns]

Points: 10
These points cannot be used for magic.

— ⟡ ⟡ ⟡ —

Comments:
Excellent, emotional read. The letters from both her parents—awww. The story is really in-depth and a great way to tie Night’s present with her past. I also always enjoy reading about mark abilities, even if they don’t work out entirely as planned. Things I never want to explain to children include … all of this!

I don’t see why this couldn’t be submitted for Right in the Feels! There is a lot of very strong emotional current through the whole piece, and it’s very poignant in the beginning and the end—great job.

Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

Key to the Past

Key to the Past

Key to the Past

Key to the Past