Lightstar Family/Xarnelf/Roleplay 32
Revelation in Ornaz
The sun neared its zenith, but little sunlight permeated the rather thick forest canopy to reach the ground on which the small camp stood. It was situated in the northwestern part of Ornaz, where the foliage appeared densest. The site was close enough to Ethialan lands for access to quick and relatively safe scouting opportunities yet still well hidden enough to prevent discovery by nothing less than the most observant and prying eyes.
Thirteen tents lay scattered in disorganized piles throughout the campground, whose diameter measured close to a quarter of a mile. The majority of the Farsighters sat around cross-legged on the earth in groups of four or five, some of them fletching more arrows while others carved new ones. Half a dozen men were posted up in the tree branches on lookout duty at the perimeter. Another handful were out in neighboring Hupar and Talex, learning how to scout more effectively under the guidance of the troop's two newly hired scouts from the guild in Ornaz.
Xarnelf observed the nearby proceedings detachedly as he leaned back against a tree with his legs folded under him. His journal lay on his lap, opened to an entry dated over four months ago, just before the coming of the last winter and a few weeks after the sudden disappearance of the Lady Arella. It spoke of a pleasant encounter with Lady Lyria de Atrebain of Arcaea, a knight of Saex, in the region of Lasop.
They had apparently traveled together on the road to Remton at the beginning of his quest for information, chatting idly along the way. Though she had heard no rumors regarding the possible whereabouts of the missing Arcangela, she did inform him of King Yarah's presence in the city of Remton, who might know more than she.
An entry a week later discussed the young knight's exchange of letters with the Imperator, who graciously granted him access to the famous Arcaean Library, a place renowned for its many collected tomes of history and miscellaneous facts. His comments revealed that he had found nothing regarding the mysterious Book of Promises, which seemed to him at the time to possess a very suspicious and questionable nature.
Xarnelf must have re-read his writings from this period for over two score times already since he had recovered as best as he could from both his unexplained, temporary illness and his grandfather's passing, events which occured almost simultaneously. The family's physicians never did discover what caused the three Lightstars to succumb to the identical fever and headaches within the same time frame; they had long since attributed the symptoms to supernatural forces, which had left his father Vehc greatly troubled and depressed for an extended period of time afterwards.
Try as he might, and even after studying the observations written within his own journal, the young knight still could not recall to memory even a tiny fragment of the whole experience. It was as if it had never happened, but evidence of its real occurence was very clear and plentiful. He had only to ask his trusted friend and captain, Urjintah Feralgem, or even any of his Farsighters, to know that they had indeed entered the city of Remton in their search.
The noble looked back down with a frown and began skimming the pages once more, a small part of him clutching desperately to the hope that he would, that he must, eventually find some clue which he had previously missed. Besides, there was not much else to do while they all awaited the orders that were supposed to come soon.
Xarnelf skipped over a passage describing his last tavern visit to a boisterous establishment aptly named The Cheerful Cup, which had yielded no positive results, similar to all of the other inns and bars that he had entered in Remton. He was in the process of turning the page when a sudden, uncharacteristic gust of wind blew through the camp, raising quite a few heads but, more significantly, causing a single leaf to fall from an overhead tree and land on the bottom half of the page on the left side.
Without thinking, he moved his hand to brush aside the leaf, but as he did so, his eye fell on the section that vaguely described a peculiar confrontation with an unknown person. During his previous readings of that particular part, he had always assumed the assailant to be nothing more than a simple street thug or thief. This time though, he perceived his comments in a different light, and the sudden realization hit him like a bucket of cold water, sending tingling chills up and down his spine. He thought to himself:
That was no ordinary man....But that means...It must have been an--
He gasped in surprise. Immediately after making the connection, Xarnelf's head began throbbing with waves of increasing heat and pain, causing him to grit his teeth and squinch his eyes together in agony. A couple heartbeats later, his jaws jerked apart in a silent scream, and his eyes opened wide in shock as his entire body trembled uncontrollably.
In his mind's eye, he was inexplicably thrust back across time and space to the exact moment of that encounter with the stranger in the streets. He relived the experience in vivid detail: the initial blow to his stomach causing him to lose his breath, the second hit to his forehead making him fall to the cobblestoned road, the mocking, singsong voice from seemingly another world reciting the phrase from the Book of Promises, and the final warning fading away in haunting echoes--the final threat.
After what seemed like an eternity laying on the street in his mind with the ominous voice ringing in his head, he came back to his present senses and recognized where he really was. For a long moment, Xarnelf sat dazed as the words repeated themselves in his swirling head:
So shall His retribution be dealt upon the heads of those seeking to meddle in affairs that concern them not.
So shall His equilibrium be maintained, for every action must have its corresponding consequence wrought. -Promises XIII:IV
Firstborn, you have been warned today.
Pursue, and the eldest shall pay.
The words quickened in their tempo, rising in volume with each passing second:
So shall His retribution be dealt...you have been warned...so shall His equilibrium be maintained...the eldest shall pay...upon the heads of those seeking to meddle...firstborn...every action must have...pursue...corresponding consequence wrought......FIRSTBORN..RETRIBUTION..THE ELDEST..EQUILIBRIUM..SHALL PAY..PROMISES..THE ELDEST SHALL PAYYY...
Xarnelf screamed, placing his hands and arms around his head and ears, trying to block out the sounds that only he could hear. The men near him looked up in surprise from their fletching.
"Sir, are you alright?...Sir?" a sergeant asked in concern while moving to the noble's side. Receiving no response, he turned to the man closest to him. "Geoffrey! Get the captain over here and find the healer, quickly!"
The man nodded and ran off in haste and confusion. By the time Urjintah arrived a couple minutes later, Xarnelf had calmed down and was taking deep breaths with his eyes closed. A dozen men crowded around in worry.
"Make way! Move! Give him some room! Back off, I say!" Captain Feralgem elbowed his way through the gathered Farsighters and crouched at his friend's side. "Xarne? Are you--"
The knight held up a hand while his eyes remained closed. "I'm fine now, Jint."
"What--"
"I don't know what happened." He opened his eyes and focused on Urjintah. "I don't know what happened, but I remember now. I remember everything."
Taken aback by Xarnelf's words, the captain opened his mouth but found no words to say. He proceeded to close it and open it once more but was interrupted before he could utter a syllable.
"I think I understand why now." The young noble looked down at his journal with a crazed glint in his eye. He glanced back up at his childhood friend. "It all makes sense now. The riot, the villagers, the disappearance, the quest, the encounter, the Book....Promises," he whispered the last word in seeming awe.
Shaking his head roughly, Xarnelf moved to get up to his feet. Urjintah gave him a helping hand and then heard someone shuffling towards them from behind his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw the healer Arvutiel squeeze through the crowd with a wrinkled and worried expression.
"'Ey dere, whut's tha mattur, sire? Nay tha hedaick aigen, is't?"
"Don't worry, Arvutiel, my head is fine; I can manage." He turned to Captain Feralgem. "I must report my grave discovery to Lord Orphen. He will hopefully understand more of the matter. Prepare the men for travel, Jint. We leave at sunset for the capital."
Urjintah saw his friend's unwavering determination and merely nodded briskly before turning to the still gathered crowd. "You heard him! Go pack up your tents, boys! We are moving out!"
Xarnelf sat back down against the tree as he sorted through his jumbled thoughts. He knew beyond the shadow of a doubt now that the fevers and the headaches that he, his father, and his grandfather experienced were intentionally caused, it would appear, by the Aenil themselves. For what purpose they would do such a thing, he knew not for certain at this point. He hoped Lord Orphen would be able to shed some light on the matter.
Gazing at the scene below him, Xarutek found himself in a rather awkward and discombobulated situation. The Aenil could not believe what just happened right before his very eyes.
Impossible! No way!
The price, he had to pay!
What was done should still be done;
No one can break it, save one...
He ruffled his grey wings in deep thought, considering the possible implications. Why would she do this, if it was indeed her doing? Still contemplating the matter, Xarutek unfurled his feathered appendages and leaped up, vanishing from mortal sight.
