House Sorena Ch. 01

"If that's your wish, my beloved child, I will honor it. There is no hope that your goddess, your Lawgiver will intervene?"

"It is by Her grace that I am here."

"A chance to say goodbye. I am overwhelmed by the gesture." He sighed and nodded. "The road your House leads those of us who marry into it is a hard one. It seems that just as I fall in love with your beauty, your bright lives wink out. There are times I regret immortality for the pain it brings. I shall grieve for your mother, for you and for Moril, dear heart, when all the trees that are saplings today have grown old and fallen back into the earth. Yet I would not change places with anyone else. The four years I had with Theláyna, your mother, were the happiest of my life. I was blessed by thirty-nine wonderful years with you as my child. I have been immensely proud of you, Brianna. Loving, kind and moral, and a superb warrior. I will raise my granddaughter, and honor my pledges to your House. But as much as I tell Dayanna of your love for her, and the love between you and Moril, it will never be truly real for her. She is only three years old, Brianna, and even if she is three-quarters human, she is too young. A child needs to be held, nurtured, and loved every day in order to grow up healthy, strong, and whole. I fear her memory of you, despite all I endeavor, will fade away."

A tear rolled down Brianna's cheek.

Aelfin's voice shook. "Oh, what a cruelty to make the dead weep! I know you did not choose this, and I do not seek to hurt you, my child."

"Hold me, Basha."

Aelfin reached out, still not quite believing she was there. When he felt her warm flesh, he embraced her with a rough fierceness and tears filled his eyes. "How long can you stay?"

"Until dawn. Then I will take Moril with me."

"Your Lawgiver's hand is heavy on your House. Is there anything you can tell me?" He relaxed their embrace to look at her face and into her eyes.

"My daughter's heart is strong and true, and whatever path she follows, support her choices. No matter how dark it appears or how painful it is, believe that she will choose correctly. She will see her own share of sorrow and hard choices, and even with free will, there is nothing that we can do to change that, for the gods have an interest in her. Her path will be harder still for you, my gentle, loving father. Yes, I use the elvish word for father and not the language of my mother."

"Basha and father mean the same thing. Neither your faith nor your use of your mother's tongue gave me trouble. You are my daughter, Brianna, and nothing will change that."

"Another reason why I loved you so." Her grey eyes sparkled.

"After we make it home, I will return to look for your sword," Aelfin promised.

Brianna shook her head.

"But it's Dayanna's birthright," he protested. "As I understand it, the sword cannot be used by evil, but it's absence will certainly affect the future."

"There is no need," she assured him. "With my death, the power of the blade is dormant, and by the Lawgiver's will, Berek is now safely stored in my chest in Cedardale, waiting for the time my Dayanna becomes a woman." She brushed his cheek. "Basha, I was allowed to speak with Diora, who keeps watch over my Dayanna. A rescue party is on their way and will be here sometime tomorrow. Stay here and be safe. There are more giants scouring the pass."

"So much effort to kill us! Why?"

Brianna looked at him sadly. "We are pawns in a greater game. The Sharlan Empire and their rivals, the Kiroean Hegemony, far across the northern ocean are drawing us into their wars. The Sharlans have signed a treaty with our neighbors, the Northumbrians. The Kiroeans aid the giants, both to distract us and to fill their need for slaves."

Aelfin shook his head. "That is ill news, daughter, but because our time is short, I am loathe to spend any more talking of politics and war. Because of your human blood, I knew old age would one day overtake you and I would have to say goodbye. You weren't even forty summers! There is so much I want to say, Brianna, but I would need a thousand years to even begin." He kissed her forehead.

"When there is love, even silence can be eloquent. What more do we need?"

He nodded, and they held each other, content with the intimacy of touch.

All too soon, the sky began to lighten with the first sun's rise.

Brianna broke their embrace, putting her hand on Aelfin's chest. "His ashes, please."

Aelfin retrieved the sack.

Brianna gestured and the bag floated in the air, opening. The ashes floated gently out and swirled in the air, Brianna's face full of anxious anticipation. "Come to me, my beloved husband!" she called, and Aelfin felt great power within her voice. Variegated lights flickered and danced, solidifying into a human shape. For a moment, Aelfin saw Moril, hale and hearty once again. Brianna embraced her husband, kissing him passionately, and in the brief seconds they held each other, their shapes blurred, becoming golden humanoids. When they broke apart, Aelfin recognized neither one of them. And yet, he had no doubt who they were.

"I must leave, Basha," came her voice. Moril's voice echoed hers. As their forms faded before his eyes, Brianna spoke one last time. "I love you, Father. Temper your grief with the thought that one day, we shall meet again. This has been promised to me." And they were gone.

Aelfin wiped his eyes. He saw Melithia sitting up, her large, green eyes focused on him. He walked over to her.

"So they are now namarutna, free-willed angels to their Lawgiver," she observed. "I had wondered what namarutna looked like. Greeks cross the Styx to Elysium or Tartarus, Valkyries collect Norse warriors slain in battle while their death goddess takes everyone else, and we wait in the Halls of the Dead until the Maker chooses otherwise. Myriad are the ways of the gods," she said thoughtfully. Then she looked away. "I'm sorry, Aelfin. I felt her arrival and awakened, but I did not mean to eavesdrop."

"There is nothing to apologize for. We are in the wilderness, hunted and in hiding. Besides, you have been Brianna's dear and true friend, as well as my own, and I know she treasured your counsel. I do not mind sharing this with you."

The priestess smiled. "Thank you."

"You heard her request also?"

She nodded.

Aelfin looked sheepish as he hunkered down beside her. "If I'm to raise my granddaughter in her parents' home, I will have to take care of her."

Melithia nodded, curiously following his words.

"Their home is east, beyond the bounds of Cedardale," he continued. I can't ask anyone to leave our homeland on her account, though I'm sure some would do so for her family's sake. I can hunt, fish, track, fight, even conjure some minor magic. But all is lost without your help. Melithia, will you teach me how to cook?"

She blinked in astonishment, then quietly convulsed with laughter.

Aelfin frowned. "I fail to see what is so funny. I can dry meat and I know how to make a good smokehouse, but I just never learned how to cook. And when Dayanna is old enough, I would like you to teach her as well."

"Oh, Aelfin! You are full of surprises!" She gasped, struggling to regain her breath. "Students are always coming to me, seeking to learn my magic of earth and tree and the healing arts. I shared a few secrets with Brianna, including that apple cobbler recipe you were always pestering her to make. Don't look so surprised. Yes, that was my recipe! I am honored and accept your petition to become my apprentice. We will both know in a short time whether you can cook or whether you should be banned henceforth from all kitchens. Agreed?"

Aelfin nodded solemnly. "Agreed. What sort of payment should I provide?"

Melithia had offered her services freely as a gift. She frowned, all trace of humor gone, a hard edge to her voice. "I helped bring Dayanna into the world. I want the best for her, and not just for the sake of the debt we all owe her family, but for also for Dayanna's own sake, as well as for you and the memory of Brianna and Moril. They were good people, and your grief is shared by us all." She paused to scratch at a smudge of dirt on her nose, realizing that even in his grief, he had acted to protect their friendship. "Of course, Aelfin, you have the right of it. There are rules, and if you don't follow them, catastrophe follows. All right. Aelfin Thorn, do you agree to abide by all that I tell you, obeying me in all things, keeping true my interests while you are in my House until your apprenticeship is completed or terminated by mutual agreement?"

"I accept the conditions and pledge to abide by them."

"I, Melithia Coriander, promise for my part, to reveal my knowledge to you, as you become ready, providing those things that are needful for your welfare, and keeping your life safe to the best of my ability while you remain my apprentice." She held out her hand, and Aelfin touched it to his forehead. "As for the apprentice petition gift, I have seen your leatherwork. Two pair of boots I require of you. One pair for summer and one for winter, due at the completion of your training. If the culinary skill proves beyond you, you need only provide a winter pair. What I teach Dayanna and what I charge her will be between her and myself. Fair enough?"

"Yes, Mistress."

There was no trace of teasing or mockery in his voice. Yet her eyes narrowed, irritated. "I'm only a hundred years older than you, Aelfin. Once we are in the kitchen, you will have no doubt of our roles. But that is for the future. Don't overdo it."

"As you wish."

Melithia looked up at him, thinking about Aelfin and his mortal granddaughter, and what lay ahead for them both. Seeing the ache in his eyes, she took his hand. At her encouragement, he sat beside her and she leaned against him. The two old friends talked of little things and nothing, affirming their connection and connectedness by the light of the new day.

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