A Call to Action in Seasonal

It seems that I have a minute to sort things through and look at Lirael’s journal. At least while the bigwigs discuss and argue about the next course of action that “should '' be taken with Lirael and Landriss deaths, along with the release of Merlin. 

After reading the journal I did find the vial of Ambrosia that Lirael mentioned, amongst the other things that Lirael spoke of and sat there debating the fate that it might bring if I drank it. I know full well that gifts like this often carry two sides, but at this juncture in time, being better able to use my skills is a necessary fact of the direction my life is taking me. Without another thought I downed the draught. While it was the sweetest nectar I have ever tasted, whether it worked the way that Lirael claimed it would is something that I will learn...

Well let's get back to what's been happening.

After our meeting with the Headmaster, it was a matter of hurry and wait to see what our next move would be. Yaran went back to teaching and I was his shadow. We made plans, thoughts of what the future might hold and all that kind of discussions that happen when we are placed in situations where we are not in control of our own destiny.

Three days later while we walking back from the practice field in full gear, Yaran suddenly disappeared. I sadly walked to the Headmaster’s office and advised him that Yaran had suddenly disappeared and that probably meant that Lirael was dead. We talked for a while and I returned to my quarters to begin packing.

We had previously agreed that I would leave for Seasonal if Yaran replaced Lirael. Though I was supposed to wait to leave for Seasonal until the next morning or when I heard from Yaran. I was getting very antsy just waiting and went to the training field and worked up a sweat to alleviate some of the nervous energy that I had accumulated.

Then one of the docents came running and told me that I was summoned to the Headmasters office and to go there without delay. When I got there I found Yaran in The Headmaster's office with another strange looking male. When I got there he recounted the events that unfolded in Unvail and the King’s Palace.

Yaran’s Tale

Yaran teleported in from the Palace with a man named Merlin and after I arrived in the Headmaster's office, told us his story.

When he had arrived in Unvail, he could see Lirael’s armor and dust around it, with a woman looking perplexed at what was left of him. Yaran, thinking quickly on his feet, approached the woman and stated that he was there to bring the boy’s belongings to Natasha for examination. She demurred to him and had him sign a receipt for the items – his armor, sword, and bag. They got to talking about the changes at Unvail and with Natasha’s appearance how things might change. Before he left she gave him a book to look at in his spare time.

After walking down the hall, he found an empty room and teleported to the King’s Palace using the scroll the Headmaster had given him. Where he immediately was taken to the King. He delivered his news and Lirael’s possessions. The King solemnly took the journal and went through it. At one point he made a sad chuckling sound and then a few minutes later put the book down. Yaran said there was a lot of debate about releasing Merlin, who would most likely be a wild card and could not be completely trusted based on his previous actions. Finally, it was decided to go ahead and release him.

The King’s mystic had foreseen this might be a possibility and three of the King’s knights, one old and gray one and two younger ones stepped forward to accompany Yaran into the Rose Gate. They knew the gravity of the situation and had offered themselves up for the greater good of the kingdom to be traded for the release of Merlin. 

Yaran told us that while the King wanted him to remain at the Palace, he knew that he needed to come back here to collect me and advise us of what was going on. Then something kept pulling him to go to Seasonal with me. The King gave him everything of Lirael’s, except the armor which had the only known portal to where his Knighter were. At that point Merlin told everyone that he would be accompanying Yaran for at least the next few days. They teleported to the Academy and Yaran asked that I be summoned to the Headmaster’s office immediately.

Then with conviction Yaran stated that he had an unyielding pull to go to Seasonal. Merlin, who seemed lost in thought regarding the circumstances that he found himself in and his divided loyalties, suddenly looked around and announced we needed to go to Seasonal. We decided to use the Academy’s teleportation circle, to get there as soon as possible, because events were rapidly overtaking us and see why it was so important for us to be there. I ran back to my room, suited up in my armor and gear, then proceeded to prepare myself for whatever would occur over the next few hours. We met at the teleportation circle and off we went to Seasonal.

Walking towards the Red Rooster Tavern
Microsoft AI Image Creator - 2024

Once in Seasonal, Merlin suddenly stopped and said that the Dragonborn walking by was a Chosen of Minwa. Merlin, then cast an improved invisibility spell upon me, while Yaran approached the Dragonborn identified himself and discussed that he was also a Chosen of Minwa. The Dragonborn then gave his name as Darkvane. Who told us that he and others had been staying at the Red Rooster and that he was returning there.

Merlin now seemed to know exactly where he was going and rushed through the main door and up the stairs, with us trailing behind him. Just as Merlin slammed a door open and went in and he was launched back out just as quickly. As he was propelled back and prone into the hallway. Amidst the chaos, a female Eladrin Elf I now know as Princess Helena emerged, her voice cutting through the tumult with a stern reprimand, "Next time knock!" Behind her, growls and wolf-like howls added a discordant symphony to the scene.

The female Orc who had been at the door when we went by her, responded to the commotion, and raced up the hallway with her sword drawn. Princess Helena, unruffled, instructed her to arrange for repairs and to add the cost to her tab, assuring that everything was under control.

At that point Yaran motioned to me and that we should go into the room now. 

Unveiling Shadows

Once Yaran helped Merlin back up, they entered the room again, this time a bit more gingerly. We followed, eager to unravel the mysteries unfolding within. Amidst the tumult of raised voices, angry words, a bit of chaos, and eventual quietness as the Princess told everyone to “Shut up.”

Looking around the room Yaran chose the moment to reveal his true identity. Declaring himself as Thornandir Garland, the King's brother. He then knelt before Princess Helena, pledging his allegiance to both her and the King, showing her the Knight of the Realm amulet that could only be attuned by the King to one person, as testimony. The Princess’s eyes went wide with emotion.

Then as a somber hush settled over the room as Thornandir stood and delivered even weightier news—Lirael and Landriss, valiant companions on this journey, were no more, they had been killed fighting a being named Natasha in Unvail. The gravity of their loss hung in the air, casting shadows upon our collective spirit.

In the door was a tall, cloaked figure, who came forward and stopped before me. Merlin made a slight bow as it passed by him. I barely noticed it, for It was as though only it and I existed in that moment. I could see that the figure was a beautiful female with blue skin beneath her hood and then she looked into my eyes. She looked deep into my soul and I felt as if I was being judged and after what felt like an eternity, in my mind the words came to me “You have been chosen.” I was passed a card face down.

I snapped out of whatever trance it had placed me under and the others were all looking at me in awe. I was bathed in a regal blue radiance which was dissipating. The one in the robe looked at Thornandir and said “You have other obligations to fulfill, now that you have brought this one to me -- your time as a Chosen one is at its end.”

After that things were a blur, Thornandir told his story regarding how he had been teleported when Lirael died and was able to retrieve his belongings. He handed me Lirael's journal and his bag of holding, saying as a friend of Lirael’s and now one of the Chosen that I should be carrying these. Then he asked me to read that last entry, with the ominous words scribed and signed as Natasha. His gaze, both sad and resolute, left no room for dissent as he emphasized the emergence of her as a new, possibly more perilous, adversary than even Gantz had been. Merlin concurred and started off on a tangent, which the Princess quickly stopped.

 I read the entry.

A swell of emotions cascaded through the room, marked by tears and silence from the listeners when I finished. Thornandir, in his wisdom, approached the Princess and Scathach in a quiet conversation that promised solace. From the fragments I overheard, it appeared he offered her refuge at the Academy, a sanctuary amid the tumult. Then he and the Princess went into the other room and spoke quietly. When they returned there was a look of hope in both of their eyes.

The threads of fate, intricately woven, unfolded a tapestry of loss and potential redemption, leaving us to grapple with the echoes of a fallen demi-god now arisen and the unspoken challenges that lay ahead.

They were all still talking and discussing what we should do next, since this seemed to be above my pay grade, with Princesses, Lords, Master Whatever Merlin is, and Masters doing most of the talking. I found a quieter spot in the other room, sat down and read Lirael’s journal more closely. Then I looked through his, now my bag of holding. It contained many of the things that he talked about and the one that interested me most was the vial of Ambrosia. 

I pulled out the vial of Ambrosia, then sat there debating whether to face whatever fate that drinking it might bring. I know full well that gifts like this often carry two sides, but at this juncture in time, I knew that I needed to be better at my skills for the journey ahead and with the decision made I downed the vial. I saw out of the corner of my eye Merlin watching me through the door and he nodded, then I heard inside my head “Good choice.”