Kilean's Story

Two strangers arrived at his cottage only a week earlier. Kilean Flaxfeeder would not have it said that he did not treat stranger and kin well. Welcoming them in for the night, they told of a strange war brewing on the horizon. They had to keep moving north but required a message borne to a compatriot who worried after their health. After much discussion, Kilean was convinced to carry a message to an innkeeper in Bear Hill, the nearest real town, on their behalf.

Two weeks later, travelling through spring brush and saplings, Kilean headed north having no where safe to go. Perhaps he could meet up with Jaern and Melinda at Ksern's Tears if he hurried. His travelling companion was in no condition for speed however, and Kilean wondered how long she could continue moving. He knew her only as Xanadria. She did not speak even despite the wounds gained in the ambush. His slight skill was barely enough to keep the wound clean, but it would have to do as he could think of no one to turn to for assistance.

The storm had come upon them too quick. This might prove advantageous, he thought, should we survive it. Weather had often been the friend of farmers and thieves alike, and in recent past, he had been both. With the storm overhead, they had to find shelter. The wind was cold enough to cut against their exposed flesh, and the rain ensured that they would be uncomfortable in what was left of their clothing for a while. It did mean that those tracking them from behind might lose their trail. A slim hope, but the only one left. If those that chased them knew Kilean's destination then all was lost. Yet, he could not give up...not while Xanadria held a look of determination firmly in her brow.

He found a group of Traveller's Pine and set out to make it as comfortable as possible for the two of them. The Pines were thick-needled enough to stop most of the rain and wind and the branches hung low enough to block casual notice. It would have to be enough. Farmer's insight kept his pack intact and still with rations. They had not been wet enough to need a fire and Kilean would be hesitant to light the smallest of fires even if they had needed it.

Xanadria rested against the trunk of the Pine. Her face relaxed yet those eyes seemed to burn with intensity even behind closed lids. Perhaps like him, she was recounting the events that forced them together that fateful night in Bear Hill. It began when Kilean found the Inn told to him in his farmhouse earlier in the week. When a moment arose, he delivered his message to the Innkeeper. He had not been sure that he spoke the words correctly. Later in his small room, the innkeeper spoke briefly with him again; the message had reached the proper ears. The Innkeeper made it known that delivery of the message furnished the small room and meal, in gratitude. Kilean planned to return home the next morning and accepted the return of hospitality.

Shouting outside in the halls ended further discussion; the Innkeeper seemed intent on not revealing his location. The sound of smashed doors, and the screams of patrons, mixed with a low crackling sound. Kilean's rural nose caught the scent before the innkeeper knew what was happening. Fire. If you cannot find the needle in the haystack, make the haystack disappear. Kilean applied some water to a cloth and held it to his nose. As he was about to find his own way out, the innkeeper made him promise to take his daughter away to Ksern's Tears. She would be no trouble, and was more important than he or his inn. Perhaps it was the smoke or the urgency of the innkeeper's plea, but Kilean agreed. The door cracked off its hinge and the marauders entered behind it.

It might have been that they recognized Kilean for his profession for they forced him out of the room while focussing on the innkeeper. Kilean let fear hold back his ego. Instead focussing on finding the daughter, Kilean wandered the smoke filled hall searching through opened doorways. The innkeeper's wife found him before too much longer. Her eyes were accusing, as if he had played any part in this fate. Still, she pulled a young woman, who Kilean was to learn was Xanadria, from inside the room out into the hall. Either the splinters of the broken door or some weapon wounded Xanadria. Some bread and cheese found its way into Kilean's hands and he found himself pushed outside with the young woman in tow. They wanted Xanadria alive and to Ksern's Tears... why Ksern's Tears?

Kilean watched the young woman while she rested. He was too distracted and fraught to do much else, and exhaustion had taken hold too long ago to release him now. He felt he could sleep a week, and not at all. Kilean found the young woman to be of a distracted sort of attractiveness. She probably had a dowry promised in Ksern's Tears and the parents wanted it claimed before discovery of their plight left Xanadria as homeless as themselves. Everyone knew Ksern's Tears for its mercenaries and law-free nature, yet strongly opposed to both Lord Fergol and Lady Jaffa. Kilean had rebuilt his farm a few times because of those sinister forces, but had otherwise survived their existence. If not dowry, what else did Xanadria have to offer in such a place?

They had travelled a half-day north before anyone else followed upon the roads. A lone rider, seemingly intent on the road beyond slowed only after passing them by a hairbreadth. Waiting ahead, the rider watched their approach. The rider slowly unsheathed a cruel looking blade. Something in the rider's eyes made Kilean cringe and for Xanadria to reach for his hand and squeeze it hard. Kilean was no soldier but he had to fend for himself occasionally. More importantly though, he knew how to get horses to react less than favourably to their riders. Emitting a low warbled whistle Kilean ignored the rider's questioning glance and focussed on the snorting horse. Kilean showed a sudden burst of speed directly at the horse then stopped completely. The horse, as calculated, did not like this show. Rearing, the rider fell hard despite his best intentions to stay mounted. Another burst of speed saw the horse stutter-stomp and the rider had landed in the wrong spot to avoid the blows. Kilean let the horse calm down before approaching. The rider was dead, or would be soon. Xanadria used her good hand to check the body thoroughly and seemed satisfied, but Kilean did not know what she was looking for to know if her satisfaction was in finding or not finding it.

They pulled the rider off the road. Any good tracker would understand what occurred here. Kilean knew few tricks of stealth, so he gave only a cursory brushing of the road. The horse could help them though. Unused to carrying the two strangers, the horse was reluctant to move beyond a fast walk for a while but slowly adjusted its attitude.

Kilean had no reason to believe the two of them were safe anywhere near Bear's Hill, so he opted for distance over comfort. Unfortunately, the horse would only allow them to go as far as Chendra's Hill before forcing them to rest. The horse collapsed and nearly pinned them under its heaving weight. Fortunately a stream was nearby and Xanadria helped water down the horse. Heat exhaustion and dehydration would kill a horse faster than a break, so the two had to act quickly. Kilean regretted having to push the animal, but until he knew why the enemy sought them, he was wary of taking it easy.

Xanadria's open eyes drew Kilean from his reverie. Even in the fading dusk, her eyes seemed to shine; their sparkle gave hope where all else failed. She made a sign for him to remain silent, and somehow Kilean knew that something was about to happen. Xanadria's lips moved but he heard only a strange utterance. Her hand suddenly flung forth and the movement made him flinch but something in her eyes made him believe he was in no harm. He did not feel harmed in any way though. Suddenly, Xanadria disappeared! He would have begun looking around but simultaneously one of the protective branches lifted in front of him. A small torch thrust into the protective under-branch followed soon by a murky faced dwarf.

With a frown the dwarf looked at the few belongings then shook his head and left the enclosure. Kilean could hear the dwarf circling the grove...looking for tracks no doubt. Xanadria reappeared as suddenly as she had gone but motioned for him to stay still. She left the shelter and Kilean heard a sudden cry of surprise. Xanadria's head reappeared under the branch and she motioned him out. He gathered their meager belongings and saw to the horse. Xanadria brought over another horse, presumably once belonging to the dwarf. The dwarf was on its hands and knees, its extremities buried underneath a blanket of earth. How did Kilean know that the dwarf would be dealt with... somehow? The wound that had plagued Xanadria now looked merely a stained mess and the young woman gave Kilean a tired smile. "Taymshtaysplain." She said briefly, barely audibly, as if that one undecipherable phrase would make things better. Somehow, it did.

Kilean came to understand Xanadria better, and she in turn became braver about speaking to him. They found gestures to assist them where words could not suffice and thus Kilean learned that Xanadria was half-Elven. In Ksern's Tears, she would be re-united with her father's people and they would do what was necessary to help Xanadria's mother back in Bear's Hill. Kilean had not met many of the fae races, as he had heard them referred. The idea that the fae were close enough in physique and desire to mate with his kind, human, was an odd contemplation. He had heard no word, other than man, to describe his people as he had heard other creatures named. When he asked her what word her father might use she blushed and refused to answer. She said her father had left the other elves for adventure but knowledge of the consummation with her mother would have been a point against him with the other elves. Xanadria was not sure whether jealousy or protective rage fueled such prejudice in her father's people. She visited her father in secret once every four years. She would decide this visit whether to stay with him or return to Bear's Hill forever. With what had occurred, Xanadria felt her decision made for her.

It had been days before Kilean had thought of his abandoned farm. While he had workers to tend the fields, he had initially feared they would organize a search for him, and seize the opportunity to succumb to the temptations of the big town. He did not begrudge them their leisure but that would leave him so much to have to take care of before being able to provide for himself again. However, it had been days since he had had such thoughts. Now he focussed on this new mission...to see Xanadria safely to her father.

Xanadria had a little bit of insight as to who the marauders were back at the inn. She had overheard some news that Lord Fergol was gearing up to take the town again. Lady Jaffa had scooped it up after Lord Fergol had established his power there then focussed to the north. This time, Lord Fergol sought to take it over "peacefully." Xanadria explained that that meant torture and intimidation rather than outright massacres. Lord Fergol did not care about the land but rather the people who lived there. The soldiers she heard speaking of military news quickly switched their tone to observations that were more rural once they realized the Innkeepers daughter doted on their every word. Xanadria had wished she could hear more of the outside world, but her mother and foster-father were very protective. Her father, Tillek was more forthright with his observations, some of which Xanadria shared with Kilean.

For many years, the Fae had kept themselves from involvement with the human politics disrupting the landscape around them. Some Fae, including Tillek, had scouted out the war situation and reported the details to their leaders. Lord Fergol's actions concerned the Fae because soon there would be no other force capable of stopping the warlord, including the Fae. The Fae decided upon an army-- to finish the sloppy human war themselves. Humans, by and large, were apt to follow rather than lead, were brutish in their desires, and unsophisticated in their arts. Tillek was no less brutal in his recounting of humans to Xanadria, probably in an effort to coerce her into his heritage or at least distance her from her heritage.

They rode without event through to the Winding Way where they discovered that they would have to ferry or swim to continue onward to Ksern's Tears. Xanadria's quiet charm proved useful and they and the horses were soon upon the fast-moving waterway. They thought themselves fortunate to have the raft to themselves until the rafter threw aside the pole and brandished a knife. Catching both passengers by surprise, the raft dashed against a rock outcropping by the rivers forceful volition. All were left to fend for themselves. Kilean had noted the shoreline with each resurfacing but he found that keeping a hold of Xanadria was less successful. The young woman was not comfortable with water, especially the one attempting to drown them. Her flailing forced Kilean under as often as the currents did. Finally, he was able to maneuver toward the reeds and bring Xanadria to the shore. The rafter cursed at them between swallows of water as he raced down the river. Kilean hoped the curses were only because of lost employment. Fortune stayed with them as they found themselves on the opposite shore. They were not blessed enough to have regained their horses.

Soaked and without supplies, the immediate need for air filled their minds. Kilean managed to coax Xanadria further up the embankment but she lay prone where he had dragged her. The young girl's face twisted with a mixture of exhaustion, pains, and anger. Kilean tried to quell his own frustration with a reminder that not everyone knew how to swim. The season had turned cooler as they travelled north over the two weeks. Kilean figured it would be best to find shelter before dark to protect them from temperature and wandering predators.

Kilean scouted the area and found some more Travellers Pine, and a bit farther off, a small farm. He left the decision to his companion. Xanadria replied with a tired lisp, "nootherstanigh". The Pine it was then. Once they safely settled under the Pine, a few trees in for added privacy, Kilean gathered kindling for a small fire. The loss of their belongings struck Kilean hard, but he was resourceful and had lived off the land most of his life. Using abilities still not fully revealed to him, Xanadria created their fire. Kilean did not figure this the night for explanations. With the wind whistling through the Pines, Kilean pondered their situation.

Xanadria's fire grew big enough to warm the side of them facing it, but still with wet clothes and strangers modesty, the slight wind made getting comfortable an onerous duty. They were too exhausted to speak and so they did not for a few hours. Kilean could not imagine what either Xanadria or he had done to bring out these denizens of the Lords Army against them. They were surely no more than footmen in some great scheme, yet Kilean knew such comparisons did not minimize the thread to their persons. Kilean took the quiet time to go over the events that had occurred.

He had delivered a message from two strangers. Upon delivering the message, the inn was attacked. The girl, Xanadria, is part fae, and the fae are gathering an army. Along their travel to Xanadria's father, and seemingly the Fae Army, the two have been onset with attackers. As much as Kilean did not like the possible conclusion he could not stop his mind from thinking that the Xanadria's death was a calculated attempt to either injure the Fae Army's morale or inspire them to join the cause. Unless...Kilean could not rule out that Xanadria's abilities might also be the concern.

Kilean's mental meandering uncovered other concerns that had before managed to lie beneath the surface. What if the two messengers he had welcomed into his home, were actually spies working for the other side? Could he, by following them, be bringing more danger to Xanadria?

Xanadria eventually came out of herself again, though shivering kept her from her previous enthusiasm. "We are on our way to Ksern's Tears as your mother bade..." he said, hesitant to share his concerns fully. "But," he added, "I met a few others who have already headed there. Now I am so confused that I am unsure whether they are friend or foe." Kilean retold the story of the two strangers, Jaern and Melinda, and their behest that he deliver the fated message. "Do you know of them?"

Xanadria listened to Kilean's tale but betrayed no knowledge of the two. She did ask Kilean to repeat the message again, as she had the first time they spoke. Kilean restated the words--- "Theter drop Sonja fasha alse the refa. All wenstri fetaks gol isma te." Xanadria played with the words in a soft murmur over and over. The dim firelight did not hide the blanching of the girl's face as she began piecing together the clues. About to ask what she thought, Xanadria interrupted Kilean with a gasp. "Iwilldieitherway." Kilean felt like an invisible punch laid him flat. It took Kilean a few moments to translate what the girl had said, and a few more to give her a hug and comfort her until he was brave enough to ask what she meant.

Xanadria shook with quiet tears for many moments. Kilean said softly, holding her still, "Why ever shall that be your end dear friend?" Circumstance muted Kilean's amazement at his eloquence. Xanadria wiped her moist eyes and replied through stuttering sobs, "I...am...the...mate."

Kilean pondered Xanadria's revelation but felt no closer to the heart of the matter. Mate? What did that have to do with anything? The farmer did not let his curiosity push the girl beyond her comfort. Fortunately, as she found her calm, she was able to tell the rest of it. Her mother had betrothed Xanadria to Lord Fergol; she would be wed in her sixteenth year. Rumour in the wind of military activity made her mother uneasy, and she sent word to Xanadria's father to take the girl into hiding. Kilean began to see a bit more of the picture, but little more of the puzzle. "It is not uncommon for mothers to want a better life for their daughters," he reasoned, "even if it means the local warmonger."

Xanadria gave Kilean a startled look. "He's...Evil." Xanadria went on to give Kilean a brief education in the vile acts of both Lord Fergol and Lady Jaffa caused throughout the land. Kilean was not ignorant of the mannerisms of the military, but had never concerned himself with it in the past. Xanadria's knowledge of the military situation was startling for one almost half his age. The half-fae youth went on to exclaim how the Lord would have girls promised to him across the land looking for the Mate. She and a few others of the village were chosen for that inspection, but the other girls had left years before, and had yet to return.

The Mate was a prophecy foretold by Shik'a Fregn, a prophet known even to Kilean. Xanadria skimmed the tale enough to state that the Mate would be the sole-possibility of uniting the Lands from sea to sea. The girls voice quivered again as she slowly said, "They...hunt...us...for...me."

Xanadria's explanation gave Kilean the running start he needed to fill in the blanks. He was not sure what the delivered message said, but hunting for this Mate seemed logical enough reason to explain the mysterious attacks on them. It was likely that all "named" girls were in danger. Perhaps Jaern and Melinda had found this knowledge and were seeking to send messengers across the land to protect the other unsuspecting waifs. Or perhaps...

Kilean had watched her while she talked: confidence brewing within her as she spoke about army movements and limitations, razing farms and towns, and how the armies gathered the other girls. He was out on a logical limb and decided to move further. Xanadria possessed abilities he had never fathomed. The girl was half-fae, half-human, thus being a unity by birth. Could it be that Xanadria was the Mate after all? Kilean wondered about the nomination requirements. He wandered back from that fantastic limb and thought of their present predicament.

Whether his charge would fulfill the prophecy was not for him to decide. Perhaps knowing more of the message might help figure out their next move so he asked, "What did the rest of the message mean?" Xanadria, who was caught in a quiet reverie of her own, said distractedly that the "surprise" attack planned against Lady Jaffa by her father's people would end in failure should she die. Kilean felt another punch take his breath. Surprise attack? Xanadria had mentioned the Fae Army briefly when they first spoke. It seemed an ill-kept surprise if so many knew about it.

Xanadria told Kilean that she needed to get to Ksern's Tears to warn the Army of their fate. She spoke her hope that her father might know what to do about the rest of the prophecy and the message. Going to Ksern's Tears had always been the plan, originally just to see the girl to safety. Now it seemed to be tantamount that they arrive, to ensure the safety of the Fae Army. Yet, something bothered Kilean about the plan. The simple farmer could not put his finger on what troubled him so he left it to simmer in the back of his mind. He needed to--no, they needed to come up with a means to survive the travel to Ksern's Tears. For now, however, they needed some rest.

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