Tarmard

Aedric tries to deal with his celebrity status in the Sylvan Kingdom of Tarmard as he gets to know his grandmother, Queen Mathlyn.

2.

Tarmard

 

There was no place to hide.   This thought kept coming back to his mind as he was led around the beautiful wooded valley that was the Sylvan Kingdom of Tarmard.

Queen Mathlyn was not the type to make a humble entrance, and within minutes of their teleportation there, the whole community knew they had arrived.

 

All around him were joyous, smiling Sylvan faces, and it made him wonder why they would be so thrilled to see a half-breed.   But Mathlyn seemed not to consider him that, and instead, proudly proclaimed to everyone that they met that he was her grandson Aedric, son of Naella, the King’s eldest daughter.

 

The news always seemed to send the Wood Elves into great excitement when they were informed of it.   He had never seen such excitement over such unimportant news.   Aedric just smiled politely and greeted the masses that were so infatuated with him.

 

He received a whirlwind tour of the Kingdom and it was late afternoon by the time the grand tour ended with a great banquet in the Royal Feasting Hall.

 

He sat beside the Queen and a multitude of aunts and cousins, while an endless army of servants catered to his every need.   All of them were nearly awestruck by him (especially the young women, who all seemed to be quite pretty) and they would hang on his every word or expression.

 

He felt utterly trapped.    Glancing far down the table, he found Snoe, who had donned the green and brown colors of a Sylvan Elf maiden.   She was known to many of the Sylvan Elves who were thrilled to learn of the recovery of her voice and happily sat and talked to her.

 

The setting was warm and merry, though somewhat more sober than usual, Mathlyn told him, as the King and his soldiers were away assisting Westmark.

The thought of the men out fighting against Earl Redburr’s forces, while he sat surrounded by children and hundreds of fetching dark-eyed, flirting Elven ladies, shamed the young Paladin.  He fidgeted in his seat as he kept wondering about how the battle had gone.

 

Before him was placed some of the most delightful food that he had ever tasted, as well as flagons of the famous, non-alcoholic Sylvan Honey Mead.   But Aedric could not help but feel like an imposter.   He didn’t deserve such generosity.

 

A lovely serving maid leaned over him, offering him not only more bread, but a glance at her rather buxom (by Sylvan standards) bosom, so he nodded, with a slight smile as she batted her pretty brown eyes flirtatiously.

 

There truly was no escape.   He turned to Mathlyn, who sat beside him smiling serenely.

“Are you enjoying yourself, child?”  She asked pleasantly, but her eyes told him that she already knew what he was experiencing.

“It is overwhelming, Your Majesty.”

She frowned, holding up a finger, “No, no, I am not ‘Your Majesty’, child, but ‘Amilyo’.   For it pleases me to hear my second eldest grandchild call me by that title.”

“I’m sorry… Amilyo.   I was trained in etiquette and I wasn’t allowed as a child to refer to either of my parents in a familiar fashion.”

The beautiful lady looked horrified, “You were not allowed to call your parents but by their titles?   Even in private?”

“My father would never allow it, but mother would not mind it when I slipped.”

“Oh child, how horrible!   Your mother was reared in an atmosphere of love and affection.   It is the nature of our people towards each other and to those they respect.   I am so sorry that you were denied such a wonderful environment.”

“Well, my foster parents are quite affectionate.”

Mathlyn smiled, “Alis and Aeric are good people.   I have not seen either one in perhaps 50 years.   They share the agelessness of Aurei and Eleazar, do they not?”

“Yes, ma’am, I believe they do.”

Mathlyn glanced down the table to where Snoe was in the middle of a conversation with some Elven girls, and nodded, “Snoe and her siblings will share that immortality, you know.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that.”

Mathlyn sighed, “It is a tough lot to bear, child.   To not age while those around you, even those you love, age normally.”

“I can’t imagine that.”

The Sylvan queen laughed at his statement, “Can’t you?”

He looked at her, puzzled, “What do you mean, Amilyo?”

“Child, surely you know!   Your father ate of the white fruit of the so-called ‘Faesidhe Tree’.   He would have been immortal, had he not been killed.”

“That is what Duke Dullerm told me.”

“That immortality extends to one generation of children if one of their parents ate of that fruit.   However, your mother was immortal too, child!”

Aedric’s jaw dropped open, “What?”

“You didn’t know?!   Child, she didn’t tell you anything about her parents?”

“I knew she was your daughter.”

“…But not who we were.   King Travin is a Sylvan Elf, Aedric, and he is not immortal, though like most Elves, he ages very slowly.   However, as you may have heard, I am not a Sylvan Elf.   Your next question will be ‘What are you then?’   I shall tell you.   Have you heard of the Inion Sidhe, child?”

 

The words seemed vaguely familiar to him, like something he had heard once, long ago, but could not remember.   He shook his head.

 

Mathlyn leaned back into her chair, “It would take too long to tell the entire tale, but the Inion Sidhe were a group of 70 maidens that were created originally to guard and administer to the Great Tree.   For many years they did this, until the ancestors of the Faesidhe found them in the Great Forest.   These Elves coveted the tree, as well as the Inion Sidhe, for the maidens were all fair in form.   After a great while, the Elves conquered them and forced themselves on most of the maidens.”

“Their offspring were the first of the race that would become the Faesidhe.   But not all the maidens were violated by these males.   Several hid in the forest and fled to the mountains in the north.  Most have since been killed, but not all of them.”

Mathlyn smiled slightly and Aedric realized that she referred to herself.

“Wow.” It was all he could think to say, but she continued.

“I was a master of hiding, Aedric, until King Travin saw me.   He was kind, gentle and patient. He was so unlike the Faesidhe that I fell in love with him.   I do not mean to portray your father’s people systematically as evil, Aedric, but many were consumed by greed and pride.”

Aedric nodded, “As was my father.   I only recently realized this.   Go on, Amilyo; it is fascinating to learn.”

“He brought me back here as his Queen and the Sylvan people embraced me as one of their own.   Truly there is no nobler  a race of Elves than the Woodland Elves, but they too have been persecuted by the Faesidhe.”

“How old are you, Amilyo?”   He dared to ask.

She leaned in to share the secret, her brown eyes sparkling, “Dear child, I do not know exactly, but I do know I am over 4,000 years old.”

“Unbelievable!”  He exclaimed, and then quickly adding, “I mean, you don’t even look any older than my mother, Amilyo.”

“None of the Inion Sidhe age, child.   I look the same as I did when I first was created.”

“Created?” Aedric asked, surprised.

“Why yes, child, I have no father or mother.   I thought my tale explained that.    You see, when God created this world, He made the great healing tree to heal the races.   You have heard the tale about the Elder Sidhe and how they were responsible for creating all the worlds and universes except for the Prime World.   This was allowed by the Creator God, but He had told the Elder Sidhe that one day the races they had created would be gathered together in one place under his absolute authority and they would be judged for what they had created.”

“So before the races were brought here, God brought those Elder Sidhe who had created all the worlds, here to be judged.”

“They met with God in the Clearing of the Ages, and as He slowly tried each of them; weighing their deeds and their intent, one of these godlike Sidhe named Mórálach looked at the great tree and knew that he would soon be cast into Hell for his evil creations. “

“So as a last act of rebellion, he used the remainder of the power that had been given to each of them, to make one last creation.   Mórálach created the Inion Sidhe, and he gave us the task of guarding and administrating the area around the Great Tree.   It was not as God intended, and for that act of creation - and it is said other cruel and evil things he did --- Mórálach was thrown into Hell.”

 

Aedric was amazed by the tale, “Why would creating the Inion Sidhe be a bad thing?”

“The Creator God wanted all races to come freely to the Great Tree and eat.   But the Inion Sidhe guarding it hampered that freedom, though we would allow anyone to come.   Our creation brought out the evil of the ancestors of the Faesidhe, and as a result, what God made for all people is now used mainly by a handful of Elves.”

“Well then, why wouldn’t He just destroy or remove the Inion Sidhe?   Wouldn’t that have restored things?”

“The Creator God knew we were born innocent, so He gave us the same chance that He gave everyone during the Great Gathering.   Mórálach didn’t create us to be evil.   In fact, we were one of very few of his creations " I am told " that were not evil or ghastly.    Perhaps Mórálach understood that sometimes innocence and beauty can bring out even greater evil than a diabolical mind. “

“We were not evil, but our appearance and responsibilities brought out greed and lust from the ancestors of the Faesidhe.      As a result, the Faesidhe coveted the great tree.”

 

“So you were created and not born?”

“Yes, but I can tell you that few of my sisters bore any love for Mórálach.   God began using us for His purposes, but your father’s people began thwarting His will.   So, yes, I have lived since just before the time of the Great Gathering and have lived through the vast changes that this world has experienced.    As Mórálach created us only as females, my sisters and I could only reproduce with the Elven races.   This was part of his design to bring corruption and evil, of course.”

“What happened to the others?   Your sisters?”

“Most were taken " some against their will- by the Elven men, and after several generations their descendants became known as the Faesidhe.

“All Inion Sidhe bear only female children, but only the first child born inherits the immortality from their mother.     My sisters and their firstborn daughters do not age, but even immortality does not protect a person from violence.   All of my sisters except two have died violent deaths, Aedric.   The remaining two were those who escaped capture by the ancestors of the Faesidhe and now live in seclusion.”

 

“Those of my sisters that had children left 24 firstborn daughters who were also immortal.  Of these 24 of my nieces, none survive.   Every one of them, Aedric, was killed due to jealousy, lust or greed.   Oh, their deaths were spread over nearly 3,000 years, but every one of them died.”

“Some of them had children, of course, and their firstborn children also inherited their immortality, but this was the last generation that this immortality was extended.   I knew of 14 children of my nieces " and they were both male and female in this generation.   Three of them still live, and those that died " like their mothers before them"all died due to war or violence.”

 

Aedric shook his head slowly, “It would almost seem like their immortality was a curse.”

Mathlyn nodded gravely, “Many see it that way.   Your mother was my oldest child, Aedric.   I thought that perhaps both she and I could avoid this ‘curse’ by living among the Sylvan Elves.   But your father wanted to suppress any attempt by the Sylvan people to expand their power and holdings, so he threatened war against us unless we gave my oldest child to him as a concubine.”

“It was the most horrible thing I ever had to do, Aedric.   I knew it would seal her fate " sooner or later"but our people were not numerous enough to stop the Faesidhe.”

 

She bowed her head, crying softly at the thought and Aedric took her hand, which caused her to look up and smile slightly through her tears, “That is why I rejoiced to see you, child.   Through your father and mother you have inherited immortality and you will pass this ‘curse’ off on any children that you sire.   It is indeed both a blessing and a curse.   Snoe’s parents understand that now, I fear.”

 

“So you are saying that I will not age?”   Aedric asked, not sure he wanted confirmation after hearing her tale.

“No " you will stop aging very soon " at the peak of your youth.    It is ironic, really, for so many of the Elves " who are long lived anyway"long for immortality.   Especially the Faesidhe and the Drow races.   But once they have gained this ‘blessing’ they realize it is not what it truly seems to be.”

“So you have seen many people age and die.”   Aedric said, looking into her lovely, sad eyes.

“I’ve seen even my own children age " thankfully they are not that old and still are vigorous and young"but all of them ages like any other Elf.   In at best, 2,000 years, all of them will die of old age, as will my dear husband in a far nearer time.”

Aedric took that in for a long moment and Mathlyn seemed to understand and sat patiently as he thought.  Finally he drew a deep breath and spoke, “I don’t think that is a blessing at all.   It’s a curse, Amilyo… and you say that I too bear it.   How can I " knowing this"ever hope to live?   Everyone will die before me!”

 

Mathlyn patted his hand, “It is why so many cursed as we are do not marry.   So few of the Inion Sidhe desired children, for they knew the horror of remaining ageless while others whithered around them.”

“So shall I then spend my life alone?”  He asked, somewhat rhetorically.

 

Mathlyn smiled, a secret smile, “Thankfully, my child, there are those as cursed as we are, and we can covet their friendship.   The Dullerms and even your foster parents share this curse, as well as Reverend Mother Zeatt and her husband, Sir Alvis.   Your foster siblings will also not age, nor does Zeatt and Alvis’ daughter.”

“I have heard that Zeatt has an elder daughter named Sophia, who is a Watcher, along with her husband; a Drow named Khord.   Then there are the Dullerms’ son and their remaining three daughters; Amala, Aidan and of course Snoe.”

 

Something in her voice when she mentioned Snoe made Aedric look up at her.  The look in her eyes told him that she had insight into something that he had not even considered or dwelled upon.   His expression apparently amused her, for the lovely lady burst into almost musical laughter as she patted his shoulder.

 

“Oh my dear grandchild!   You are so unsure, yet fearful of being certain!  Sweet child, do not fear; everything occurs in due course, and what Yesh wills to be, will be.”  She leaned in closer to him so that her words would not be heard by those around them, “Do you know that I was a follower of Yesh when He walked the earth?”

“Really?”  Her words seemed so ridiculous, except for the deep, ageless wisdom in her eyes.  They betrayed her great age, though by all other signs, she would have been barely older than him.

“Oh yes, I had spent a considerable time hiding in the forest and had grown rather wild " I mean by this that I did not care for any one around me except for the animals and woodland creatures.” 

 “When Yesh was preaching, not long before His death, He was told of the ‘wild nymph of the forest’ and one of His followers asked if God even cared for such creatures.    He replied that God did indeed and He led His followers into Menel Thavan  -- that is the forest of the huge great trees that the Sylvan people of the southlands call ‘Heaven’s Pillars’.”

 

“I’ve heard of that place!  It is said that the trees are nearly as wide as the Great Faesidhe Tree.”  Aedric exclaimed, curious of the place.

“They are indeed.   It is a wonderful place, Aedric, and I lived there for hundreds of years, undisturbed.   But Yesh led His followers directly into the forest and those same animals that I had befriended led me to Him.”

“And it was actually Yesh?”

“Oh yes, He was flesh and blood like us, child.   I had hidden within an old dead tree trunk and He simply walked up near to me and said, ‘Daughter of the forest, come forth and speak to me.’   I was terrified, Aedric, but His voice compelled me and I went, though I didn’t want to go.   He bid His followers to leave for a while and He had me sit on a log.”

“We talked for nearly an hour, Aedric, and when our conversation was finished, I knew without a doubt that I had spoken to the Creator God in the flesh!   Immediately I began to follow Him with the others.   There were several women that followed Him, including His Elven mother.”

“Were you there when He was put to death?”

“Yes, child.   He placed His mother’s care into my hands and bid me to take her into Menel Thavan " which is near the city of Fedoloth, where Yesh was put to death.   There were hundreds of city guards surrounding us, Aedric, when Yesh placed His mother into my care, and all of those guards were hostile to Yesh and to His followers.   But do you know that every one of those guards parted without a word or even a harsh glance, when I led her out of the city.   No one stopped us, not even Soric seemed to notice our departure.”

“So you took her back to the forest of the great trees?”

“Yes and she was distraught, Aedric.   I tended to her the best that I could, but she would not be comforted, and wept and mourned her only son.   For three days I fretted over her, until, as the sun just lit the forest in the east, Yesh appeared to us!   He had defeated death and lived again.    It was the most profound joy I have ever experienced.   He spoke to us both and then vanished, after telling us where to find His followers.”

“We went back into the city and rejoiced with His followers.   Then, after Soric began persecuting us, we separated and spread throughout the world.”

 

Aedric was amazed at the tale, “So where did you go?”

 

“I couldn’t go into Menel Thavan, so I travelled north " returning in stealth first to the Faesidhe forest, then on north into the mountains, where I lived in the forests, recounting my testimony of Yesh to the Shepherds and Dwarven merchants from time to time.   I always came into their camps as they sat around their campfires in the dark of night and I became known as ‘The Lady of the Forest’ or ‘The Banshee of Yesh’ and several other titles.   I was still living there when Prince Travin found me and convinced me to marry him.”

 

“That’s an incredible story, Amilyo.”  He responded when she finished speaking.

“I’ll tell you more at another time.   What I want you to understand from all of this, child, is that there is a place for even us ageless ones, in this world.   Do not be discouraged or fearful of facing life!    True, there is much pain and much to contend against, but there is also joy, laughter… and even love.”

 

Again her words made him glance over at her, but she had a slight smile and she winked at him as if sharing in a secret, then without another word to him, stood up, excused herself and went over to speak to some of her ladies-in-waiting.   Aedric wondered after her quick departure and pondered her words.

Reviews

[Elina]

"...thrilled to learn of her recovery of her voice..." You could probably take out the first "her" and replace it with "the."
"...to guard and administer the Great Tree." I'm not positive, but I think there should be another "to" after "administer."
"...there is no nobler of a race of Elves..." You can take out the first "of."
"So as a last act of rebellion, he used the last of the power that had been given to each of them, to make one last creation." This has an overabundance of "last." Haha...you may want to rework this sentence.
"...and for that act " and it is said others--- Mórálach was thrown..." Not sure if this is referring to other Sidhe that were thrown into hell, or other acts that caused Móralách to be thrown into hell. ?
"...compelled me to go and I went, though I didn’t want to go." You can take out a "go."

I really enjoyed this chapter; all the information and history were so wonderfully written.

[Eddie Davis]

Thank you, Elina.

[Dhaye]

I like this Chapter. The tale of the creation, the tree, and Yesh-- those are some things I relate with the stories in the Bible. The tale of creation, and the tree, are like those in the Old Testament, and Yesh like Jesus in the New Testament.
I don't know if I'm right but that's my perception on this chapter.

You have extensive concepts and ideas about fantasy. Superb!

[Eddie Davis]

Thanks, Dhaye, you are right in your perception.