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Elea sang softly, practicing the newest epic song that she had decided to learn. Several weeks had past since the group returned from the battles in the sewers. Their quest for the medallion that Britage needed to help cure his mutation was successful. She had increasingly become more and more restless as time passed. There was no word on the caravan being completed nor of plans to seek out the 5th and final piece to Britage's cure; an unknown, ancient artifact.
This left the old map of the hidden temple in Greenplain. Elea was just itching to find and explore it. She finished the last note of the song, letting the power of the music envelope her. There was a moment of perfect contentment. Rare these days.
"So, when are you leaving?" A male voice from behind her asked, breaking the silence.
'Tymora's curse! I hate it when he does that!' She thought as her heart hammered in her chest from surprise. Elea knew the voice well. It was that of her host, Bretonius. Showing no outward sign of surprise, she did not turn around. "Oh, you are going to let us go?"
"You were not and are not a prisoner here, my Lady."
Feeling proud of her outward calmness, she turned gracefully, looking at the archmage. "No?" She smiled. "Then we will leave tomorrow at first light." She casually began to gather necessary items for the quest letting her heart calm.
Bretonius smiled fondly at her. "I just wanted to be sure that I knew everything I needed to about you and your past." He settled into a stately chair by the fire, watching the young bard thinking up and setting up her plans for her adventure. "Do be careful, Elea."
"Tower, could you let Donnan know that I'd like to see him my chambers?" She called out to the air and then looked at Bretonius. "When have I not been careful?" She asked with a grin then held up a hand to stop the mage as he began to answer. "Never mind. Don't answer that."
Bretonius studied his nails. "Your mother, Sharlynn, is doing well. She is quite happy now."
Elea smiled. "That's good to hear." She thought about it a moment. 'Perhaps I should visit.'
"Your Uncle is sick in mind and body."
Her smiled faded. "I could have told you that." She revised her earlier musings. 'On second thought, the visit can wait.'
"No. I mean his mind is gone. He is a sick, demented man." He glanced up, watching for her reactions.
Elea did not respond, only nodded as she distracted herself with her preparations. The mere mention of her Uncle, El'Auth, brought back memories that she would rather forget. She tried to ignore the cold queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
He rose from the chair, turning as if to go then pausing, commented. "Oh yes, your human half brother is doing well, too. At 22, he's just recently married."
It took a moment for his statement to sink in and a moment more for some of the implications of this to come crashing down. "Half-brother?" She asked dumbly. "Human?"
At this point, there was a knock on the door, then Donnan, with all his usual flair, strutted in. "Hello, hello. When a beautiful lady says that she wishes to see me in her chambers, I hurry as fast as I can!" His thick Flannish was thicker than normal as he flirted outrageously.
Elea ignored Donnan, her intense gaze focused on Bretonius. "My half-brother?" She asked again. Then she looked at Donnan with a curiously shocked and vacant look on her face.
Bretonius took this opportunity to quietly disappear.
Elea saw Bretonius leave and began to sputter, incoherent for a moment, then looked at Donnan. "I have a half-brother?" It was a cross between a question and a statement.
"Ah! I must congratulate your mother when I see her next." Donnan was unfazed.
"My -human- half brother. He's 22." Elea stated, to get her point across to her best friend and confidant, who knew almost everything about her. Including that she was the product of an assault by a human against her mother.
Donnan paused a moment, doing mental calculations of the fact that Elea was about 20 years older than he and so her Father lived at least 20 year longer than previous believed; his face growing serious. "You know what this means." Elea nodded. "You have a Father and a half brother."
Elea turned her back and started stuffing items into her bag. "No. What it means is that we leave at first light for the temple."
"You can not just ignore this! You have a family; a father!" This was important to Donnan because his own father, a professional Duelist, had run out on he and his mother when he was still a child.
Elea glared at Donnan. "Yes, I can. Bretonius says that we can leave tomorrow for the temple." She looked at Donnan's face, seeing the boiling emotions there. "Please Donnan, I can't deal with this now. Please." Her eyes silently begging him to let it be.
Donnan puffed up to continue the 'discussion' and then let out a breath. "OK." He conceded. He could tell that Elea had had quite a shock and needed some time to think about the idea that her father was alive and not dead as she was lead to believe.
***
As it turned out, Elea and Donnan did not leave the next day. A myriad of circumstances kept the two in the Tower to quietly make preparations. Elea's curiosity finally got the best of her.
"Tower, is Bretonius busy?" She asked to the air.
There was pause as the Tower sought out the Archmage. [A bit of background into that - information that Elea does not know.] "No. He can see you." Came the bodiless reply.
"Take me to him." No sooner than the words were spoken, Elea was standing in one of the many gardens throughout the tower. She turned to him. "OK. Tell me about them."
Bretonius was not surprised. He knew, eventually, Elea would want to know the facts. He gestured for her to sit as he gathered his thoughts. "As you know, your mother and her parents were from Celen. Your Uncle petitioned and then was adopted into the LongRunner Clan - notoriously Elven centric and isolationist." He steepled his fingers together, looking at Elea over them. "Your grandparents were also very proper Elves. Not as bad as the LongRunner Clan, just proper."
Elea nods, listening intently.
"Your Father is Reynald Braddon. Lord Braddon, the 3rd Earl of Metrik, the Capital city of the Veluna. He now is the Duke of Furyondi. He was the Cassandraen Ambassador to Celen. From the moment he saw your mother, he loved her. He behaved as proper gentleman would and a good friendship bloomed. Then he decided that he wanted to marry Sharlynn. He went through all the proper channels, getting permission from his family and even from Emperor Damon the First." Bretonius paused, letting this information sink in.
She let out a slow breath, going over this information in her mind. It was killing her inside to know that her mother had lied to her all these years. She nodded for him to go on.
"After all that your father did, your grandparents steadfastly refused to give their permission or blessing. Sharlynn, being the proper Elven maiden that she was, conceded to her parents wishes. Reynald was heartbroken and tried many times to convince her to defy her parents. He was sure that if she did, your grandparents would concede as well."
Elea nodded, leaning forward. "So, what happened?"
Bretonius waved a hand at the impatient bard. "Your father turned to another for help. To the one person who would know if any charm spell would work on an Elf. He -"
"Who would dare such a thing?!" Elea interrupted angrily. She knew that only another Elf could know what, if any, charm spells would work on one of her kind.
"Ta-Mar." Bretonius watched Elea's outrage expression turn to a look of surprise. Ta-Mar was widely remembered and respected as one of the greatest Elven magi of all time. He continued, "Reynald went to Ta-Mar for help who made a charm spell for your mother. He thought that it was good match." Elea was quiet as Bretonius spoke. "The charm spell worked. Reynald and Sharlynn began to romantically see each other. Your grandparents did concede, rather than lose their only daughter. However, your UncleÉ"
He stopped and looked at her, knowing how young she really was. "Elea, this might be difficult for you."
She nodded, jaw tightening. "Go on."
"Your Uncle was obsessed with your mother - his sister. There were feelings that he should not have had. In any case, he discovered the charm spell and had another cast a counter spell to it." He watched Elea's face go pale but continued on. She needed to know this. "Sharlynn felt betrayed and your grandparents declared that she had been assaulted. The wedding was canceled. But, by this time, your mother was pregnant with you. At this point, your grandparents moved your mother North, to the Veseve Forest, with your Uncle to watch over her and her child."
"I see." Elea had no idea what to think.
"They felt it best that you never know of your father. And Elea, you are the spitting image of Sharlynn. That is why your Uncle hurt you the way he did. By the time you left home, he could not reliably tell the difference between the two of you. After he gave you that scar, we decided that he would never do anything like that again."
"I know. That's why I left." Her voice was soft and neutral. She emotionally distanced herself from that memory.
"You do not understand. We... took care of matters. It is why he lies in bed, raving mindlessly." He smiled a cold smile. "Just think of me as a Godfather of sorts."
Numb with shock at the thought that Bretonius had known of her since birth, Elea simply nodded. "Yeah, OK Dad." o
"No. I'm not your father. Reynald Braddon is." He fumbled in his robes for a moment and handed her a small box. "That brings me to something else."
Elea looked at the small box, afraid to open in but compelled to. It was no surprise to see the lady's royal signet ring. She lifted it out of the box, dispassionately admiring the craftsmanship of the gold ring that signified her heritage.
"Why me? Why now?" She asked, not really expecting an answer
"We decided that it would be given to you when we thought your were ready."
Elea pondered that statement. "We decided... when -we- thought you were ready." She repeated to herself. "Who is we?"
"Myself, my mentor, Ta-Mar and your father, Reynald."
She nodded calmly as if this were the most natural answer in the world.
"Also, here is this." Bretonius pulled out a scroll and handed it to her. "I will be keeping it safe with me."
She read it. It was a Proclamation stating that Reynald Braddon, Third Earl of Metrik, Duke of Furyondi, acknowledged the birth of his daughter. It was dated the date of her birth and sealed with his own, personal signet ring. She compared the seal to her ring. It was the same, only larger.
"Your brother, Matthew, does not know of your existence at this time. He rules Metrik and is heir to the Duchy of Furyondi. Married to Morena, a strong willed woman." Bretonius leaned forward. "Elea, you are the first born."
For a moment, she did not understand his intensity. Then her eyes widened. "Oh no! No! I'm not schooled to rule. And I will not take that away from Matthew." She shook her head emphatically and thrust the scroll back to Bretonius.
He accepted it, tucking it safely into his robes then handed her a long gold chain. "I am not asking you to. But know this, Matthew's wife is barren. If he cannot find another wife to bear him a child, your child would rightfully, and with great necessity, be the next in line for the Earldom of Metrik as well as the heir to the Duchy of Furyondi." o
Elea did not want to even consider that possibility. "No." She shook her head. "I'm not pregnant. I'm not going to get pregnant. I'm not going to rule. I won't even think about this." She closed her eyes a moment. "I think I need Donnan to hear this." She reacted automatically, putting the ring on the chain and slipping it over her head. She was not going to wear it in public. That would be suicide. "He's level headed. He'll make sense of this for me."
Bretonius smiled. "Ah yes, Donnan. You two have a common ancestor on your mother's side." His voice was light as if he was merely commenting on the weather.
She looked at Bretonius, shocked.
He waved placating hands at her. "William Braddon, your Human Grandfather, was the first Earl of Metrik. Assigned by the then King Damon 1st. Actually he was the third Earl. Your father, Reynald Braddon, was name after his father was made Duke of Furyondy. Shurengyla is your mother and Uncle's great-Aunt. Ta-Mar's actual grandson is your mother's father." He paused, trying to keep the facts straight in his head as he recounted the story for Elea. "Donnan is related by the other son King Damon's second son and was placed in Ta-mar's charge for safe keeping and there by taking care of who was the rightful heir to the throne."
Elea's mind reeled. She was descendant from Ta-Mar and Donnan was descendant from the Emperors of the Cassandraen Empire? This was too much to believe. [For that particular story: Times Past.]
As if he was reading her mind, Bretonius smiled. "If you still doubt, you have heard that only the females of the royal bloodline can wield the sword, Gaxis?" He turned at pointed to the left. Following his direction, Elea saw a what looked to be a sword impaling a large stone.
At this point, Donnan strolled in and followed Elea and Bretonius' gaze. "Ah, tis a wonderful decoration, Bretonius. A classic look."
"Go on, Elea. She is yours." Bretonius gently urged.
Elea looked at the archmage and then walked to the stone. She wrapped her hand about the hilt of the long sword and pulled gently. It slid out with a soft *shhhhhk*; as if sliding out of a sheath. She was amazed at how natural the blade felt in her hand. She tried a few practice swings, the blade moving as if it were an extension of her body.
Donnan's eyebrows bounced in surprise. He knew Elea's blade of choice was the rapier and not the long sword. Yet, she was wielding it as if she were born to it. Immediately, he figured "Gaxis" for a magical sword.
"Now, to make my point, EleaÉ" Bretonius motioned her to him. "Place the sword upon the ground." Elea did as instructed. "Now, Donnan, would you please pick up the sword?"
Donnan grinned and strutted over. "Certainly, good Sir." He bent down and grabbed the hilt. The sword did not budge. He frowned and pulled harder, making a show of it. Panting as he stopped. "Ah, it must have been the workout this morning." He commented, acting as if he were covering his embarrassment. He was not embarrassed at all. He had expected it to be unmovable.
Elea smiled, leaned over and picked up the sword with ease. Bretonius handed her a jeweled sheath for the magic sword.
"Oh, that's not going to attract any attention." Donnan commented dryly, sharp eyes appraising its value.
"There is one other thing to know about this sword." Bretonius continued as if he had not heard Donnan. "You can call this sword to you."
Elea frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Place the sword over there and then come back here." He watched as she complied. "Now. Open your hand and think about the sword in your hand. Concentrate and it will be there."
She obeyed and yelped as the sword was suddenly in her hand, promptly dropping it to the ground, where it popped back into her hand. This time she held on to it, grinning from ear to ear. "Now this could be useful."
Donnan watched with interested, wondering if this was why Elea wanted him here.
Elea saw Donnan watching her and remembered that she had had him summoned. She realized that he knew nothing of her previous conversation with Bretonius. Suddenly, she did not know where to start. Finally, she sheathed the sword and then took the necklace with her signet ring from around her neck and tossed it to him.
He caught it with a deft flick of the hand and then examined the ring. "Ahhh. This is very beautiful. It looks likeÉ" He paused as certain implications bloomed in his mind. Signet rings belonged to royalty. Elea had been wearing the ring about her neck. Therefore, Elea was royalty? His mind spun, turning these ideas over.
"Oh yes, Donnan, you have Elven blood in you. We are related." Elea smiled at the shocked look on Donnan's face. Honestly, she had wanted to surprise and shock him as much as she had been. She knew that somewhere, deep within Bretonius, he had enjoyed shattering her world view.
As Donnan began to sputter, Elea relented. She knew he was thinking that they, for some odd reason, might be brother and sister. She told him of their common ancestor and how that came to be. Then she went on to tell him all the Bretonius had told her of her family and let him read the Proclamation acknowledging her birth. "You have to go see him, Elea." Donnan's gaze upon her was intense. He moved to her, handing her the necklace and ring of her birthright.
"I will. After the temple." She did not look at him as she slipped the necklace over her head, tucking the ring into her shirt.
"He is an old man, dying. He may not be around for you to visit later." Donnan was steadfast in his thought. The temple could wait. He turned to Bretonius. "Tell her - " and found himself speaking to the air. "I hate it when he does that." He muttered and turned back to Elea to continue the 'discussion' when there was a *thud* behind him.
Elea and Donnan both looked and saw that a large leather-bound book had thudded to the table. They walked over to it and read the title. It was military history book. "I suppose we are to read this?" Donnan asked.
In reply, the book opened. To both of their surprise, it has opened to a section on great military commanders. One in particular caught their eye: Janort of Furyondi, Donnan's father. As they read on, they discovered that Janort was not the Duelist that ran off with a tavern wench. He was in fact, a member of a Paladin order, the Order of the Hart and that he had been captured in battle. It took some time, but they read all about him, his battles, his awards and his capture by the enemy in Iuz, the city of Skulls. It was believed that he was still alive, as they would not kill a Paladin of the Hart. He was too much of a prize; a status symbol.
Donnan sat down heavily. Elea sat near him, understanding exactly what he was going through. As she had found out that her father was not a long dead, raping brigand, Donnan's father did not abandon him and his mother. He looked up. "Momma. I wonder if she knows of this. I have to talk to her."
Almost immediately, a crystal ball appeared. The Tower voice floated through the air. "You may speak to her now. She is in a dream."
He looked into the ball and saw the image of Genivive, his mother. Softly, with great care and love, he spoke. "Momma? Can you hear me? It's Donnan."
"Yes, son. I can. You haven't written in a while. I miss you." Elea quietly listened.
"I'm not done writing it yet, Momma." Donnan began.
She interrupted him. "I never see you. Do you remember to wear clean underwear?"
Donnan blushed. "Yes. Yes, I do. Elea is here, Momma." He paused. "I need to talk to you about Papa."
"Yes. Your father. Such a great man. A knight." Her voice was sleepy.
"You knew?" Donnan was surprised.
"Yes. Of course I did. He was a Commander. Fought bravely." Her pride was evident.
He was shocked. "Is that why you never remarried? Why did you never tell me?" His voice shook with emotion.
"And then what would happen? You would do something foolish like try to rescue him. And you would die." She began to ramble. "Boys never listen to their mothers. Never do. Boys will be boys."
Bretonius reappeared, motioning that time was short. Donnan nodded. "I have to go now, Momma. I love you."
"Be careful, son. I miss you." Her voice faded away and briefly, in the crystal ball, they saw her eyes flutter open just before the image faded away.
Donnan looked troubled. All he had believed was false. Then it dawned on him, his father was still alive! "Bretonius, you know where my father is, don't you." It was a statement. Not a question.
Bretonius nodded. "I do. And before you go running off willy-nilly to rescue him, stop and think. You are not ready and neither is she." He indicated Elea who was looking at the pommel of her new sword.
"But they'll kill him!" Donnan was adamant. He was going to rescue his father.
"No. They won't. He is too much of a prize to them." Bretonius was calm.
"Donnan, we will go to the Temple, then visit my father and brother to gain allies and then we will rescue your father." Elea sheathed her sword. Her voice was soft, neutral, almost detached.
"What is it with you and this temple?! Why do we have to go to it?" Donnan was clearly frustrated.
"She has a Destiny there." Both Elea and Donnan looked up Bretonius' words. "And so do you, Donnan."
"What?! Then I won't go!" Elea snapped. "I am not some pawn of Destiny."
"Fine." Donnan agreed immediately. "We go to visit your father first."
Bretonius only smiled as he watched the pair struggle within themselves.
Elea inwardly screamed. She had to go to that temple. She needed to. "No. I want to go. I'm going with or without you, Donnan." 'Tymora, give me strength!' Ironic how she did not wish to be a pawn of Destiny but she prayed to the Goddess of Luck.
"Of course, I am going with you." Donnan decided to let Elea figure out what she wanted to do and then to see how the cards landed. He would support her all the way as he knew she would support him.
She turned and looked at Bretonius. "How much of this is your doing? Huh? You've known me since birth, you did whatever it was you did to my uncle after he slashed my face, you got me and Donnan to meet up together again. How much of this "Destiny" is a plan of you an Ta-Mar?" She paced furiously.
"Your uncle slashed your face?" Donnan's quite voice cut through her frustration. "Elea?"
Elea looked at Donnan's shocked expression. 'Oh hell. I forgot. He didn't know.' She turned to him, trying to find the words. "I - He - " She stumbled a bit. "Yes. El'Auth did this to me." She watched the storm clouds gather in her face. "And he did a lot of other terrible things to me. It's why I left. I wish he were dead!"
"I will take care of that." Donnan growled.
She sighed. "No worries. Bretonius addled his mind."
"Would you like to see him?" Bretonius waved his hand and El'Auth appeared in the crystal ball. "In fact, if you really want him dead, Elea, you can do it. Right here, right now. All you need do is touch the crystal ball and he dies." They stared at the archmage in a fascinated horror.
As Donnan looked at the jibbering madman in the crystal ball, his anger drained away. "He is sick. Enfeebled."
Elea paced about the table, looking at the crystal ball. "It would be a mercy killing." She muttered to herself. "Putting a sick beast out of it's misery."
"Elea! You cannot do this. He is an old man, unarmed, in bed!" He would not believe that Elea could kill anyone in their bed.
Bretonius sat down, watching. "He is sick, deranged. He cannot tell the difference between the mother or the daughter now. Would you like to hear what he is saying?"
"No! No. That's fine." Elea continued to pace, looking at the crystal ball and the object of her fear and hatred. She could feel her anger rise and recede, then feel it drain away. She could not kill him. He was to be pitied now.
"Are you sure? It's quite interesting." Bretonius pressed her.
Donnan turned on Bretonius "Why are you doing this to her?!"
"She has a choice to make."
"Why like this? You can't do this to her." Donnan thought he was going to strangle the mage with his bare hands.
Bretonius was unmovable. "She wants to kill him. Here's her chance."
Donnan sputtered, "I can't - "
Elea interrupted them both. "Don't speak of me as if I'm not here. And if I was going to do it, I would have done it already!" She turned on her heel and stalked out of the garden, leaving Bretonius and Donnan to stare after her.
She stomped through the tower blindly. Too many things whirled in her head. Too many revelations. Too many choices. She found herself at what she privately considered to be 'her' workout room. Not knowing what else to do, Elea proceeded to tear the place apart, practicing with Gaxis for the next couple of hours. She pressed herself into exhaustion, until all her anger and fear had been worked out. Then she curled up on the floor and wept until she could cry no more.
Some minutes later, hot, sweaty and dishelved, she gathered herself together, feeling a lot better. Calmer. In control. She wiped at her face and cleared her throat. "Tower, take me to the mirror that shows the inner soul, please." There are a slight vertigo feeling as the tower immediately teleported her to her destination.
She arrived in an unfamiliar stone corridor. Elea had been avoiding this ever since she had heard of the mirror. She did not want to see her soul, afraid of what she might see. She had not been pious or devout but she had tried to be a good person. Taking a breath, she walked to the mirror and looked in. With a small gasp, she blinked in surprise. In the mirror, she was dressed regally in a beautiful gown befitting royalty. The scar on her face was gone and she saw that she was wearing the royal signet ring. The image smiled at her and spoke within her mind. "You made the right choice, Elea."
She stepped back and smiled. Perhaps things were going to work out after all. "Tower, please take me to my room." She was prepared for the teleportation feeling but was not prepared for the sight that met her eyes as she entered her chambers. Roses everywhere of every color and hue. She took a breath and smiled, noting a bath already drawn for her. "By Tymora's handÉ what is this?" She picked up a rose and caressed it to her cheek. Then she spotted a note on her bed. Curious, she crossed the room and looked at it.
A single line in an elegant cursive: "I believe in you. -D"
Grinning at the thoughtfulness of her friend, she striped and slipped into the awaiting bath. Life was about to get really interesting. She knew it and Donnan knew it. It was good that the two of them were such good and caring friends.
Several hours later, Elea heard a knock at her door. She put her book down and closed her robe. It was Donnan. "Hello! Come in."
He swaggered in, grinning from ear to ear, looking at the roses about the room. "Hello Elea. Feeling better?" She nodded. He sniffed a couple of times. "And what is all this?" He asked as if he did not know.
"Thank you for the roses, Donnan. They were a wonderful idea." She gave him a hug and offered him a seat and a drink. "What brings you here?"
He settled in, sipping the wine. "I couldn't sleep. Could you?"
She shook her head. "No. I was reading."
Donnan gave her a sly grin. "Are you hungry?" She shook her head. "It's too late to spar. Hmmm. So, what can we do to past the time until dawn?" He made it almost seem like an innocent question.
Elea laughed softly, understanding what Donnan was hinting at. 'Not a bad idea. A nice way to start an adventure.' She rose and looked into the dancing flames of the fire. "Oh, I don't know. Do you have anything in mind?"
Donnan came up behind her, slipping his arms about her waist, murmuring in her ear. "Now that you ask, I have an idea or two."
She smiled, turned in his arms and wrapped her arms about his neck. "Really?" She leaned up on tiptoe and kissed him with a gentle passion.
He mmm-hmmmmed, pulling her close to him.
[Fade to black.]
Continue on to: 6. Temple Tricks & Temptations