Something New
I had a productive morning today and thought I would share some of what I wrote while enjoying my sunrise time. So, I have been working a bit on fleshing out the back history of the characters and realms of the Valaraii Rising Trilogy. I guess you could call them prequels of a. sort. They’re not yet anything full-fledged, just stories and. scraps of stories. This morning I wrote about Falinor’s and Syllé’s first meeting when she was simply a child set loose in MithTerra. See what you think:
The elf walking into the Dragon’s Lair pub was furious. His bloodstained cloak drew a few penetrating glances, but any identifying features like his black hair, strong elven frame, or famous dragon-etched armor were fully hidden within the confines of his cloak. Seemingly oblivious to the stares, his brown eyes flashing with fury within his hood, Falinor weaved his way to a far table where he could sit with his back against the wall and scan the other occupants of the pub. Falinor, indisputably the greatest warrior to walk the lands of MithTerra, had felt the darkness for a century or more growing and corrupting lands, peoples, and even those who were supposed to be incorruptible, elves. This new phenomenon had been titled Dréor, and Falinor had had the unfortunate circumstance of meeting a disciple of one of those beasts just before he’d entered Norolin.
Falinor had no home. The only kingdom he might have called home he had left over a century before when the only female he ever considered as a mate, Azrul, chose Thallan, king of Aelgalad as her husband. Because of their long history and friendship, Falinor could not ignore Azrul’s urgent summons to return to Aelgalad. He had thought seeing Azrul again might be hard, but Falinor was too struck by her obvious worry and a disturbing undercurrent of darkness in Aelgalad to notice any past regrets or discomfort. Her request had been simple—decipher the reason King Arterius had chosen to remove Calarta from the reach of any in MithTerra. Azrul seemed to believe Arterius’ reasons were key to deciphering who the Dréor stalking Aelgalad’s halls might be. Falinor got the impression that Azrul had her suspicions but never pressed her for any details, a decision he would ultimately regret. In hindsight, Falinor should have guessed based on the task she gave him.
Now, as he sat with his back against the wall of the Dragon’s Lair, Falinor realized how truly alone he was. No kingdom. No family. And now, thanks to a betrayal by one in his company, no allies. The only thought that gave Falinor any comfort was knowing he had ended the life of the elf who had knowingly led them into the trap before she or her Vikari allies could kill him, but the battle had cost him—his entire party, his trust in anyone but himself, his sense of safety. Falinor was alone and that knowledge seeped through him, chilling him to his core.
As Falinor sat in his corner eyeing the other patrons wondering which ones were waiting to end him, the elf was startled by a whiff of lavender and then the room in front of him shifted out of focus. Suddenly, a voice he knew in his soul called his name. Accompanying High Queen Sedivar’s voice came an image of a child, a young girl with uncontrollably curly brown hair and precocious blue eyes walking a road slightly north of Norolin. From the image’s vantage point above the child, Falinor could see a warg pack quickly closing in. Falinor closed his eyes so he wouldn’t have to see what he knew would happen, but the vision was still in front of him.
“I have chosen you as this child’s protector,” High Queen Sedivar’s voice resonated through his mind. “I bequeath her to your care. She is special. Train her. Watch over her. Guide her.” Here, the high queen paused, giving Falinor a slight break from the power of her voice. “Her name is Sylémar.”
Suddenly, the room came sharply into focus, and Falinor could once again hear the raucous noise of the pub’s patrons. Without another thought, Falinor shot out of the Dragon’s Lair and was soon galloping up the road north of Norolin that he had seen in his vision.
Coming around a curve, Falinor caught sight of the girl standing in the middle of the road watching the warg pack, which had surrounded her, slowly creep towards her. Before the elf could react, he was horrified to see the pack leap as one at the defenseless child. He was too late, but instead of fleeing, Falinor continued up the road. He was startled to make out the child crawling out from under the melee of the warg pack’s attack and start running towards him, a smug grin on her face. Reaching the child just as the pack realized their prey had evaded them, Falinor reached down and snatched her off the road. Swiftly, he urged his horse back to Norolin with the warg pack howling in frustration at their heels