Arcaea/Dining Hall Late 08-09/Make Love, Not War
Cypreana looked down the list of the wounded at Arempos and screamed.
"Get me to him now!"
Upon which she and her men immediately pulled out of Ozrat.
Lady Cypreana Rossini (Dame of Sasat)
Carefully he pulled the flap of the tent aside, squinting momentarily as his eyes adjusted to the change from the glaring bright sunlight outside. Moving slowly due to a slight limp Aerywyn bent to enter, yet due to the light behind him one could only see his silhouette. When it was dark again, his smile could be easily seen. His face was a bit pale, and he still wore a some chainmail over his tunic despite his wound.
“Good morrow, Cypreana…", Aerywyn said smoothly. "I was told you came to visit me when I was resting."
Aerywyn Haerthorne Imperial Chancellor of Arcaea
Cypreana leaped up and flung her arms around Aerywyn.
"Arry! I was so worried about you. How is your leg? You shouldn't be up and about. Come, sit here." Cypreana cleared a place for Aerywyn to sit down. "Now tell me what happened. I am just so glad to see you again."
Lady Cypreana Rossini (Dame of Sasat)
Stiffening as her exuberance pushed him back a step onto his bad leg, Aerywyn couldn't help but smile and he quickly relaxed as she led him to a seat. He obediantly sat down, though not before he had tried to calm her down and answer her questions.
"I am fine, truly... the physicians reccomend a little movement, and it felt good enough for a bit of a walk."
He took slid a hand about her waist as they sat down, holding her hand in his, although there was a bit of sadness in his eyes at the memory.
"Suffice to say it is the business of war... and our unlucky little recconassaince group somehow found its way into an Ethialan army...", Aerywyn said, drifiting off at the end.
"But it eases my heart to know you are safe", he said smiling again.
Aerywyn Haerthorne Imperial Chancellor of Arcaea
With the energy of the batte still pumping through him, Aerywyn had lifted a rather indignant Cypreana onto his shoulders, and now strode towards her tent. There was a mischievous glint to his eyes, and he was almost playing as if they were just little boys and girls. Eventually, after being beaten about the ears a bit, and threatening to drop her into the mud in return, Aerywyn was forced to finally put her down gently in front of the tent flap.
He slowed down and softened up, though there was still an infectious cheerfulness about him as he stood before her puffing slightly. Gently, he offered a hand and opened the entrance to the tent.
“Sorry, Lady Cyp… had to get rid of a little of that energy…”, Aerywyn said a little abashed. “Shall we?”.
I can't help myself, he thought. Hell, I must look a fool... yet...
Aerywyn Haerthorne Imperial Chancellor of Arcaea
Cypreana blushed, and silently entered the tent.
Lady Cypreana Rossini (Dame of Sasat)
Being caught in the darkness once again, Aerywyn took hold of Cypreana from behind and softly kissed the nape of her neck. His breathing was infintely huskier now.
"Come then, lets wash off all this dirt..."
Aerywyn Haerthorne Imperial Chancellor of Arcaea
Sleep had always evaded him, at tonight had been no exception. For an hour had gone by as he lay silently, and not even the sleeping form beside him, her body rising and falling with every breath, her face serene and beautiful in the moonlight, not even that could help him sleep. He gave her a kiss, and could almost see a smile on her face. Sighing, Aerywyn disentangled himself from her arm and wearing only a loose pair of briggae, he wandered into the cool night air.
Eventually, barefoot, his feet had found their way out of the camp and to an outcrop a few miles away. Beneath it lay a ravine which ate the moonlight as wholly as a beast of blackest midnight. So he stopped his walking and lay there, staring at the starry sky. The rock was cold on his bare back, but he ignored it, searching for absolution.
His thoughts drifted to many things, but Aerywyn at some point or another thought of Cypreana, who he left behind beneath the warm furs in the tent. After a while he let the chaos within his mind subside and cascade into nothingness.
Then Aerywyn smiled.
It was starting to rain.
Aerywyn Haerthorne Imperial Chancellor of Arcaea
He blinked.
Aerywyn looked very hard at the sky, trying to understand he had just seen. Thoughts ran wild, crashing into each other and causing fires to break out all over his mind, in one huge mental catastrophe.
"Bloody hell..."
The rain was getting heavier.
Aerywyn Haerthorne Imperial Chancellor of Arcaea
The mist upon the moor kept them safe from the eyes of enemy scouts and from retribution, but as it hid each man from his companions, it began to isolate them in an eery manner. Whatever each rider’s personaly demons, Aerywyn suffered worst, and the others would remark upon the dawn that they heard strange sounds that nights journey.
The still mist played strange games with his mind, and to escape his childish fears Aerywyn hid deep within. Vau snorted as she felt her master upon her back, shivering uncontrollably. He saw shades moving within the fog, faceless creatures who emphasised the deafening silence of the place. Grasping what he could firmly, he wrapped his arms about his body and lay close to the mares head. Somehow he felt cold, despite the heavy clothes he wore. Yet he held fast to his courage, avoiding panic, and retreated farther into his mind…
He thought of many things, trying to focus on something. War did not do though, and neither did politics, for all the rhetoric aged and grew stale upon is tongue. When his thoughts strayed away from such concerns, he smiled, for he saw now Cypreana. Yet it was not long till the air perpetrated even those thoughts.
“Why didn’t I say goodbye…”, he said aloud, commenting on when he had left in the night a day ago.
“Is she worried… ah… maybe she doesn’t… does she know? Does she know that I…” Care.
“Gods… look at me…”, he whispered. “How can I defend… love… a woman when I can’t…”. His voice went from sudden shouting to trailing off.
Aerywyn felt his heart hang heavier with each passing thought and crumbling, and the sadness filling him made his face feel taut and his body aged like a weary and bitter old man. There was a point in his heart that agreed with his head, that the boy was being silly, but they both knew that the wisdom they had earned came at a price.
He would sleep soundly that night, the dreamless sleep of a tired man.
Aerywyn Haerthorne Imperial Chancellor of Arcaea
For months now, the regions of Ethiala had been in decline, yet none had suffered so much as the city of Talex, and no where else was the devastation so clear. As well as the toll taken upon its citizens by famine and starvation, plague had emptied it of all life and even the bandits stayed away, leaving the town council to contemplate their fate. It was a shocking realisation that such devastation could happen even when there was peace.
From here and there, lean faces peered at the soldiers in the street, yet all was not so hopeless. Crowds had cheered as the Arcaean forces had come to the city, protecting the ox carts laden with food from any greedy hands. Even though they were supposed to be foreign soldiers, the warmth with which they were greeted was suprising, and the people were too weary to start anything aggressive towards the new presence anyway.
Aerywyn sighed, lines of exhaustion under his eyes as he contemplated the strange situation. The army had maintained a degree of discipline even without the watching eyes of the marshal, yet in a way it was good Richter wasn’t here. After taking up temporary residence in the lower levels of the keep, the army had gone about making sure there was order and distributing the food. He slumped into an old oaken throne by the hearth like a bored lad, running a hand along the worn grain of the arm. It was one of the few things that hadn’t been stolen, since it was too heavy to carry out of the main hall.
'Hope Remton got the orders… we need more shipments soon.'
He listened to the silence, devoid of the normal sounds of men drinking and the rich hearth crackling with the life of the fire. From the stables, he heard a single horse whinny.
Numbers weren’t nearly high enough to ensure that order was maintained in the abandoned parts of the city, which included most of it, but with friendly smiles and giving hands they were able to confirm the image the locals had of Arcaeans. Suddenly, Aerywyn remembered that he was trying to relax, not to think about what needed doing. Silently his thoughts drifted to Cyp… again.
Aerywyn grinned as he reminisced about the white of her neck and chest, her warm smile giving way to heavier breathing…
“Ah… ‘bout time I made an honest woman out of her…”, he mused softly to himself.
Aerywyn Haerthorne Imperial Chancellor of Arcaea
"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Madelena had just read the list of injured and dead. Tenal was injured but no one had been able to get through to any of his men who had been scattered to find out just how badly her love was.
"Ferdinand!" she called her long and trusted Captain. He appeared in her tent immediately. "It's Tenal." Tears were welling in her eyes. "He's been wounded." By now her hands were shaking as she held up the parchment containing this news to him. "Take two other men and try and find him and his men. They must be scattered somewhere in the woods surrounding the battlefield. Just be careful!"
"Trust me Milady. All will be well. We'll find him and his men for you," and Captain Ferdinand was gone.
"Scar!" This time it was the apothecary's turn to enter her tent.
"Yes Milady?" he was wiping blood off his hands.
"I need a report of how we are faring."
"Two dead Milady. Buried already. Can't risk disease you understand. Your idea of them having different symbolized pendants around their neck for identification helped in one case. I have eight injured. Not sure if some of them will make it but I am doing my best. Sarah's making a good nurse. No nonsense kind of girl," he added approvingly.
"You will need to make time for Tenal," interjected Madelena.
"The Count is coming here?" asked Scar.
"I don't know. I hope so. He is wounded. Ferdinand and some others have gone to look for him and his men. Who knows what they will find. I know I shall not sleep tonight until they get back."
"Then I suggest I give you something to sleep," responded Scar practically. Without sleep you cannot lead and your men are depending on you.
Madelena acquiesced. She was too fraught with nervous exhaustion to do otherwise.
Lady Madelena Rossini Imperial Magistrate of Arcaea
