Custom Pt. 10 - Homecoming

Talos had spoken for over an hour without interruption in the rich halls of Tor Valliya before King Galalrimon, Second of his Name, passed down his verdict to all present. Casiama wept tearfully as Talos held her hand before hundreds of onlookers.

In the end, Talos couldn't save Casiama from her fate. He knew it was an impossible task before he began, but would have regretted it for the rest of his life if he hadn't tried. He was human, after all. He was accustomed to defying the inevitable.

--

Casiama departed the great city of Tor Valliya, turning her back on it forever. She trotted down the wide, paved elven road for the last time atop a brilliant white horse, liberated from the royal stables before her departure. Unbeknownst to her family, Casiama still held the greatest relics of her ancestors within her personal plane, having not found an appropriate opportunity to bring up the subject before being thrown out of her home.

The man she had grown to love and trust above all others rode beside her on his bay, whistling a catchy tune she couldn't recognize. She turned her head towards him and smiled.

The man had defended her in her weakest moment, giving his all for her happiness even if victory meant that they wouldn't ever see each other again. The man had, unbeknownst to her, actually known her father in a past life, and she felt as if there was a good story to be told there.

Tears welled in her eyes with silent thanks as she looked him over, wondering if perhaps exile wasn't the better outcome.

"So where do we go from here?" Casiama asked, unsuccessfully concealing her tears. "Maybe to, er, that city where Alanna went?" she added unconvincingly, not especially wanting to see the sorceress any time soon.

Talos pondered silently for several moments, and Casiama wondered what he was thinking. She was briefly jealous of Alanna's empathetic gift before Talos answered.

"Remember back in the Borderland forest, when you told me about the Lady and her eternal-life-energy-ring-thing?" he asked her, not trying his best to hide his contempt for the divine.

Casiama merely nodded meekly towards him, gazing into his piercing eyes as he spoke.

"Would you like to see it?"

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Author's Note: And so ends "Custom". It will be followed by another ten-part series titled "Elan", a much more complex narrative with all the same characters and more.

I'd like to state my appreciation for any reader who has made it this far, and would like to apologize for the lack of on-paper sexytimes between Talos and Casiama. While it's completely intentional in a literary sense, I understand it's obviously not ideal. This is rectified in "Elan".