Lightstar Family/Yleina/Roleplay 19
Pyre
Yleina's funeral was a mostly private affair, held upon the same flat-topped cliff where their grandfather was laid to rest, decades ago. The waves did not crash as loudly today as before, but the wind blew strong nevertheless. Torches illuminated the small gathering of family members and nobles who were able to attend, while everyone waited those last few moments for the sun to begin its journey across the sky anew.
The pale girl lay upon the small pyre, and she appeared so much more frail now than ever. She had been adorned in a simple white gown, with floral embroidery decorating the neckline and sleeves. Her folded hands held a single rose, whose thorns had not been cut away; it symbolized her personality quite well--delicate, yet deadly. The only piece of jewelry upon her was a certain silver ring, embossed with the figure of a small, telltale unicorn.
Soon enough, the first rays of dawn peeked over the distant horizon. With a nod from his father, Xarnelf took the nearest torch and knelt down to light the pyre.
(Roleplay from Tharion Frostnova)
The flames quickly rose and within minutes the last sight of the woman he had loved was gone, replaced by fire and smoke. Tharion continued to stare at the fire long after others had broken away from the gathering, the increasing heat driving them to a distance where they talked amongst themselves and consoled one another. Xarnelf stood a distance from him, the two friends having not needed to speak with one another, each already knowing the pain that the other felt. After some time Tharion tore his gaze away and faced his friend.
"We could kill a thousand of them and it would never ease the pain or bring her back." Tharion gripped the other man's arm, his eyes ablaze with a new found intensity. "I am going to make sure that entire realm burns for this. The Aenil themselves won't be able to stop us."
Xarnelf stared back at his long-time friend with lifeless eyes at first, and barely held on to the man's arm-grasp, but then Tharion spoke, and those words cut through the numbness that had recently taken hold of his body. His grasp tightened with renewed strength, and his eyes gained some semblance of life, but words did not come to him yet. And so he merely nodded once, slowly, and then returned his gaze to the burning pyre.
Yes, Soliferum must burn...
(Enter Adaria Lightstar...)
A third figure watched silently, with tear-streaked cheeks, at a much further distance away from the flaming pyre. Her gaze flickered to the two men standing only a few feet away from the inferno, as one reached out to grasp the other's arm. Then she turned her eyes up and to the side, to find those of her sire, Wynlar.
"Father, I've made my decision to pick up the sword and fight," she said quietly, her voice slightly cracking. Then the girl coughed a couple times to clear her throat as best as she could. "I'm old enough now." She narrowed her eyes as she turned back to gaze at the flames, before whispering, "They need to pay for what they've done..."
Wynlar the merchant merely sighed, seeing the grim determination blazing within his daughter's dark-green eyes before she turned away. "Very well, Ada..." He placed an arm around her, drawing her near and kissing the side of her head once. "Very well..."
Despite the solemn occasion, Wynlar smiled briefly as he gazed sidelong at his only daughter, who possessed the same fiery passion as her late mother, the Aenil bless her soul. That exuberant passion and energy would see her through many adversities, he knew, despite her young age. Besides, he also knew that whatever he said would not persuade the girl to change her mind, for not only did she possess her mother's stubbornness, she had looked up to her cousin Yleina for many years as well.
And now, learning of her beloved idol's ignominious demise at the hands of the enemy had cut deeply into her spirit, but she was far from broken. Nay, far from broken indeed, for Adaria Lightstar had a personal vendetta to carry out, and she was not going to let anyone stand in her way....
