LaelethBackground
Laeleth sat nervously on the park bench. Her stomach hadn’t churned this much since she had gone for the title of Blademaster, and before that only during her Exaltation. What was she supposed to think? She hadn’t been making any nmoves about this herself, so Daelfer had done it. Behind her back. Without asking. The most infuriating thing about it was how he could make it all sound so reasonable. It just reminded her of what some of her Dawn Caste friends kept telling her: Eclipse Caste could convince a fish it could breathe water. Best friend or no, she new she had to plan some sort of vengeance on Daelfer for this. She tried to compose herself again, to sit in utter calm. She was fidgeting. Fidgeting, by the Unconquered Sun! She was sixty years old! She was a Blademaster and Exalted! She shouldn’t be fidgeting like a teenage girl!
But she just couldn’t contain her nervousness. They said that these unions were to promote harmony and goodwill between the Solars and the Lunars, but that didn’t seem to be able to stop her being nervous at the prospect of meeting her chosen mate. So many things were running through her head. Would she like him? Would he be nice? What sort of things would he like? Would they share common interests? And (rather guiltily she admitted to herself) would he be handsome? She stared at her hands in an effort to will her fingers to stop twisting themselves around each other. She then heard the sound of someone clearing their throat from close by. She kept her face down, blushing furiously at the thought that someone could approach so close to her without her noticing. Her nervousness rose to new peaks.
“You are Laeleth?” He asked. His voice was strong and sure, and contained no trace of the nervousness she herself felt. Not trusting herself to respond properly, she merely nodded her head, eyes fixed on her hands. “I am Ul’shar, of the Lunar Exalted. I was told we would meet here.” Nervously, she nodded again. She swore she could feel the amused smile she knew must be on his lips at her display. Taking a deep breath, she raised her head to look him straight in the eyes. And she fell in love.
Laeleth lay warm and secure in Ul’shar’s arms as the airship took off. The ceremony had been the happiest day of her life. They had made their vows before Luna and the Unconquered Sun, and she could feel the warmth of the bond that now lay between them. Their courtship had caused quite some stir. It had amused her peers no end about how the unfazeable Blademaster had become all nervous and shy when her betrothed had even walked into the room. Daelfer’s smug attitude at the reception of both parties to his little matchmaking scheme was tangible from across the room. Her students conspired to convince Ul’shar to turn up to practice sessions so that they could beat her during their lessons. It was all very embarrassing to her.
But here they were now, off for a honeymoon. This was also the first time off she had had in years. She intended to enjoy it. She snuggled deeper into the warmth of Ul’shar’s arms.
“I can’t believe that you would support them in this!” Ul’shar yelled. “The Deliberative is being unreasonable! Why can’t you see that?”
“The Deliberative are our elected leaders for a reason, Ul’shar. They are chosen by the gods themselves. How could they be wrong? Is our battle against the Great Enemy not going well? Do we not win victory after victory? If their methods seem a little harsh to you at times, think of the alternative. After all, what would happen if we lost?”
Ul’shar glared darkly at the ground. He couldn’t be angry at Laeleth, but his own agendas were now pulling at him. Things were moving quickly now. He had to be careful.
“As you say my love. Let us speak of this no more.”
Laeleth just nodded at him and smiled, and Ul’shar knew that he could not oppose her, of all people. He would make it work out somehow.
The fires raged around the city as Laeleth ran from section to section, working with others of the Dawn Caste to dispatch their foes. The Great Enemy had launched a desperate last assault on them in the hour of their defeat, but to what purpose? Their tactics seemed suicidal. In all her thousand years, she had yet to see the Great Enemy act so recklessly. It was almost as if they merely wanted to use their deaths to distract the Solars, but from what? As she paused for breath, Goriel, one of their best generals, approached her at a run. He started shouting to her, and she joined him as he ran on.
“We are betrayed!” He yelled in their haste. “There is a barrier up around the council room! We are working to pierce it, but it was raised from the inside, by someone who entered the council room during the fight. None of the Enemy made it this far. We must stop whatever it is the traitor is doing before it is too late!” Laeleth nodded in confirmation, and doubled her pace racing towards the council room. As she approached, she saw the shimmering of the barrier around the building housing the council room. Solars hammered against it and it flared against their strikes, but none could pierce it. She could feel the unmistakeable aura of the magic of their Enemy from within. Obviously they had used this traitor to fill some form of last vengeance for them as they died. She would have his head for this.
She swung Scion of Light around as she approached the barrier at a run, intending to strike a mighty blow against it. To her complete surprise, she passed straight through. Worried about being separated from her comrades, she tried to leave again but found she could not move back through the barrier. She saw Goriel approach. “Find the traitor! Stop him! We will join you as soon as we can!” Laeleth nodded in confirmation and turned towards the building, cautiously making her way inside. As she approached the council room, the aura of the Enemies’ Dark Magic grew stronger and she heard a low hum run through the building. As she entered the council chambers, she saw a large dark orb on a pedestal in the room, the unmistakeable aura of Dark Magic washing off of it in waves. Seeing no opposition she charged, raising Scion of Light above her head to strike a mighty blow against it as she yelled her fury. But Scion of Light merely slid off its surface, leaving not even a scratch. Then Laeleth froze as she heard a familiar voice behind her.
“It won’t break you know. You’re too late. It finishes as we speak.”
Laeleth turned, scarcely believing her senses. Her lover, Ul’shar, stood before her.
“What is happening here?” She asked, her confusion tainting her voice. Ul’shar laughed. He seemed… darker, somehow. Laeleth refused to believe what her senses were trying to tell her.
“My Masters knew they would not win, so they decided that revenge would suit them instead. So they had me place this here, as a final form of revenge against their destroyers. There are others like it around the world. You cannot stop their vengeance now.” Tears ran down her cheeks as Laeleth tried to disbelieve the evidence before her.
“You did this? Why, Ul’shar, why would you betray us?”
“Because of the insufferable arrogance of your kind!” He snarled. He immediately composed himself, and continued in a calmer tone. “The others like you are nothing but arrogant fools, thinking the gifts that the Unconquered Sun has given them make them fit to rule. They assume that there can be none better than them. I believe that their arrogance will now come to haunt them.” He finished with an evil smile.
“Why would you do this to us?” Laeleth sobbed.
“Not you, my love. Never you. Just them. You I want to protect. Come with me now, and my Masters will protect you from their wrath. We can flee this place, and when they bring about their own downfall, we will be there to save the world from their arrogance.”
“How could you my love? After all we have been through you betray us?”
“NOT YOU!” Ul’shar yelled. “Forsake your god, swear fealty to my Masters and we can be together! When this is all over we can be together in a world made better without the presence of their pride and arrogance. Throw away those false comrades of yours and come with me?”
“You would ask me to betray my god, my people!?” Laeleth yelled back. “It is not too late for you! Step away from the Darkness and come with me. We can help you. If I speak on your behalf, I’m sure the others will show leniency to you.”
“No! No, it is too late to turn back now.” For a brief instant, Laeleth saw the pain that flashed behind his eyes. “They promised me we could be together. For all time. I was promised. The Sidereals told me we would be torn apart by your duty to your people. I could not bear the thought. This way, we can be together. Come with me.” Ul’shar held out his hand to her.
Inside, she knew it was too late for him. She railed against her fate as she fought to keep from breaking down. She could not betray the Unconquered Sun, or her people. Even if he had turned his back on them for now, he would face them once more. Her faith was absolute. After all, it was their faults that had caused His displeasure. She could not forsake all that she was. Not even for the love of her life. And it was tearing her apart inside.
“Come with me.” Ul’shar implored, taking a step towards her. It was then that she felt the taint of the Enemy on him, and something inside her snapped. She screamed and hefted Scion of Light, and ran at her lover, tears streaming down her face. Filled with sorrow and confusion as she was, he easily avoided her strokes. “No! Please! Come with me! We will be together!” The sound of Laeleth’s broken heart was all that answered him, along with the fury of her blade.
When a blast of energy came between them as Ul’shar dodged it, they both noticed that the barrier was down, and Goriel stood at the entrance to the chambers. His face was ashen at the tableau before him. Ul’shar snarled with rage at the interruption. Then, a high pitched whine filled the room, coming from the orb. It then shattered. A look of resignation crossed Ul’shar’s features as more Solars moved into the room. He leapt backwards, his leap taking him up high to one of the windows above the chamber. He then looked down at Laeleth.
“We WILL be together again. This I swear to you.” And with that he was covered briefly in shadows, and then he was gone.
Scion of Light slipped from Laeleth’s numb grip and clattered to the floor. Others began approaching her as she fell to her knees. And as she cried into her hands, Goriel and the others stood slightly at bay, unsure of what to do to console the broken heart of their comrade and friend.
Daelfer knocked at the door before entering. But he already knew he wouldn’t get a response. She sat there in her bed as usual, staring out the window at the rising sun. It hurt him to see the woman he loved like a sister so… defenceless. It had been two weeks since the final battles with the Great Enemy, and still she lay in bed. She was the only Solar still wounded from the fight, even though her body had healed long ago. But he knew the wound to her heart ran deep. He tried hard to stop himself crying at the sight of her sitting there, looking so sad. Everyone seemed to know her story by now, and it weighed heavily on the hearts of many despite their victory. Daelfer sighed, and moved to her side with the soup prepared for her. She wouldn’t even eat unless you fed her. But he promised himself he would look after her until she got better. No matter how long it took. As he sat down next to her, she turned to face him. As always, she passively ate the food he gave her, but made little other sign that she even noticed he was there. He talked to her about the little things that were going on outside, of the little joys of life, of humorous tales he had heard. He didn’t know how much he was helping, but he couldn’t just leave her like this. Even his trick of moving the coin in and around his knuckles didn’t work, and that had always brought a smile to her face before. When he finished feeding her, he sighed and got up.
“I have to go for now Laeleth. I have some work that needs seeing to. But I’ll be back around lunchtime, and I’ll stay a little longer then.” He stood up and turned to leave. As he placed his hand on the doorknob, something happened that he hadn’t quite expected.
“Daelfer.” Came a quiet voice from behind him. He turned around, and saw her sitting there. Life was back in her eyes, even if it was but a spark, and tears ran down her cheeks. “I want to go outside.”
Daelfer practically dropped the tray he was carrying in excitement.
“Wait right here Laeleth. I’ll just go get you some clothes.” He ran from the room as fast as he could, calling for someone to help him.
She had gotten better over the past month, Daelfer thought. She no longer seemed to cry nearly as much, and she was doing almost everything by herself now. She still refused to leave her little room without him though. But she was talking to other people now. He could still feel her sorrow whenever he was with her, but she seemed to be trying to cope. He got the distinct impression she was trying so hard because she knew that seeing her so depressed was making him miserable too, and that just made him a little happier to know he was helping her to move on.
He had been a little disturbed when he had figured out that Laeleth was always staring in the same direction whenever he came to see her. The same direction that Ul’shar had disappeared to. It pained him to think she would carry this burden all her long life.
“Daelfer.” She started.
“Yes?”
“I want to work again. I will start training others again. I need something to get me out of my room.” Daelfer smiled, happy to know she was making an effort.
Daelfer sat in the theatre with mixed emotions. Laeleth had started taking roles in plays again, and the performance she gave as the tragic heroine was incredible. He had yet to see an audience who was not moved to tears by her performance these days. Without even using her Essence. She didn’t play the sort of roles that she had played before, that of the energetic companion and those so full of energy and life, so well, but at least she was getting out and living her life again. He still saw her glance forlornly in the same direction from time to time, and it always brought a tear to his eye to see it, but at least she was coping and getting on with her life. He had briefly considered trying to find her another companion. But he knew the vows made between lovers under the patronage of Luna and the Unconquered Sun were unbreakable. But she was catching up with old friends and making new ones. Though she would never be the same as she was before, at least she would be something at all.
The Uprising had been sudden, bloody and unexpected. Many Solar had died already at the hands of the Dragon-blooded. Laeleth felt her hatred at the betrayal burn in her blood. It was a small miracle that she and Daelfer had escaped the bloody coup, and only due to his abilities that they had made it this far. But their luck was running out. A pack of the Dragon-blooded was hot on their trail, and she did not think they could evade them this time. And there were too many for even her to fight. So they would make their stand soon, and they would die. All this was made worse by an itching in the back of her head, but she could not spare the time to explore it. And so she spied a cliff in the distance, and headed towards it.
“Once we make that cliff, you keep running. I will hold them off and rejoin you when I can.”
They shared a final look. Daelfer thought of arguing, but knew it was no good. He wasn’t very good in a fight, and he knew even Laeleth wouldn’t be able to defeat that many. At least this way, one of them might escape.
“Till we meet again in another life.” He said as she stopped and took up stance. She looked back at him and nodded her farewell, and he ran from her sight amongst the trees. And she turned to face her pursuers.
When they sighted her, they rushed to the attack yelling their battle cries. She launched herself into them silently, swinging Scion of Light around her, striking down Dragon-blooded left and right like the Reaper harvesting souls. But there were many of them, and only one of her. She began to tire, and then she began to make mistakes. Small cuts at first, but eventually her wounds mounted. When one crippled her left leg she cried out in pain and fell to the ground. She was spent. There was no fight left in her. She accepted that her death was near, even as they drew back from her falling form. But they would not take her weapon, as they had with others. She gathered her Essence, and sent Scion of Light Elsewhere. There was an angry murmur at this from her killers, before they moved in for the final blow.
And then they screamed once more. Shadows poured from the cliff in waves, engulfing the remaining Dragon-blooded. They screamed briefly in agony, and then there was silence. Finally, before her horrified eyes, the shadows coalesced and formed into a shape. A human shape. One that had haunted her dreams and nightmares for hundreds of years. Her lover. And she finally realised that was what the buzzing in her head had been. The sign of his approach. He stood amidst the slaughter and smiled.
“Did I not say we would be together?” His voice had changed. It was more sinister somehow. His skin seemed to have a dark mist that floated above its surface. And his eyes were pure darkness, black from edge to edge. She managed to look back at him, the hatred she felt sustaining her against his presence.
“We can never be together again.”
“Oh, but that is where you are wrong. Come with me, and this will be easier. Come with me of your own free will, and it will hurt far less.”
Laeleth just glared at him.
“I will never go with you again, Ul’shar, my betrayer.”
Ul’shar sighed. “I was hoping to avoid this. Oh, and I’m called Night’s Bloody Tears now.” He reached into his robes and pulled out a small, black box covered in intricate golden carvings. “This box will trap your soul for the journey to my Masters, where they will help make you mine again. I really don’t want to have to kill you, but this is the only way left to me now.”
Laeleth’s eyes widened in terror, and she tried to crawl away as best she could as he approached her. But she could not evade him. He stood over her, and his right arm formed into a lance of darkness. Determined not to die in fear, Laeleth instead stared into the eyes of her husband. He hesitated. And then he struck, laughing in his triumph as his lance pierced her heart.
“At least we shall be together again.” Laeleth stared deep into his eyes as the light faded from hers. And she mustered her last ebbing strength.
“Never.” She uttered with last breath. Night’s Bloody Tears laughed in his triumph. But soon he sensed something was wrong. His Masters seemed confused. The box was empty. What has happened? Where has her soul gone? He thought in panic. He felt his Masters answer him.
“Gone. Stolen away. Another with more claim to her than Us has taken her before We could.”
Night’s Bloody Tears trembled with anger. He had been so close. Then he screamed his rage at the sky.
Slowly, some sort of sense returned to Laeleth. Death had been distinctly… unpleasant. Eventually, she became aware of a figure standing before her. She ‘looked’ up, and there before her was the Unconquered Sun. She knew it instinctively. There, before her, was her god. Wherever ‘here’ was, as her perception of her surroundings seemed muted and twisted somehow.
“I am sorry that you had to suffer so much. I would have prevented it if I could.”
Laeleth felt humbled in his presence. “Your concern touches me, my Lord. But is that not now beyond me?” The Unconquered Sun seemed to shift uncomfortably.
“I regret to say that I need you yet. Would that I could see your soul free of your troubled memories as it is born again, I would have it so. But you will need your memories to aid in the task before you. I have need of you. Would you serve me again?”
Laeleth already knew what her answer would be. “Without question my Lord.”
“Though it may trouble you… Luna and I have seen the betrayal Night’s Bloody Tears has done. And we are saddened. We would see him punished for what he has done. I ask of you that you return to the world, and find a way to destroy him.”
Laeleth felt a surge of sorrow at what He asked. But she steeled her heart. Her god had asked this of her, and should she do this she would finally be saved from his tormenting presence in her mind. She looked down at her hands, and her resolve wavered. These hands that had held him, that he had held…
“My Lord, I feel I would be unable to do as you ask as I am. If you are to send me back, I will need a form different form. I could not bear to kill him with these hands.”
The Unconquered Sun seemed to pause for a while, as if he was talking to someone far away, or merely in a way she could not perceive.
“Very well, Luna and I will accede to your request. Though Luna will place some… restrictions on your form. Luna has asked that you be allowed to discover these on your own.”
Laeleth bowed to His wisdom.
“Then go, my Herald. Much time has already passed. And you have much you must learn.” As Laeleth flowed back into the world, the Unconquered Sun worried if she would be able to follow her true purpose… But she was amongst his best. And as much as she had faith in Him, He had faith in her.
Laeleth woke with a start, the memory of the lance of darkness fresh on her flesh as she came back to the world of the living. She felt… strange. And perhaps a little uncomfortable. When she examined herself, she found out why. Her new ‘form’ was male. She got up and explored a little, finding a still pond near where she had lain. As she looked at herself, she thought she looked much as she might if she had been male… Well, except that her hair appeared perhaps a little more sun bleached. And her eyes were completely white. From edge to edge. It was a little disconcerting to her, seeing eyes that seemed as though they should be blind, and knowing she was looking out of them. Her hearing was as sharp as ever though…
She stopped, a little confused. She wasn’t really a she right now, was she? He? Finding herself a little confused, she decided to stick with what she knew in her own head. At least she was wearing clothing. Looking around, she found herself to be in a manse. Broken down a little, but a manse none the less. She supposed the conflux of energies had been used to create her form and fix her soul to it. But she did feel somewhat… diminished. Her powers were definitely lessened. And while she could remember doing all the things she had done, sometimes she couldn’t seem to remember exactly how.
Deciding a walk might help clear her head, and help her gain a bit more familiarity with her new body, she decided to step out for some fresh air. After she attuned herself to this manse…
Over the long years, she learned a lot. Eventually, the male body stopped creeping her out so much. And she got used to the extra few inches of height. She even learned that if she caught sight of the full moon on that one night it was displayed in its full glory, she reverted to her original body. While it had been fun to be back to her old form again, suddenly being a woman had raised all sorts of problems for her socially and with her investigations. As much as it pained her to admit it, she would have to avoid it as much as possible, since she didn’t change back until the next full moon. Her anima was now a winged version of her true self. She wondered how much of this was necessary and how much Luna was laughing at her expense…
She also found that she could feel Ul’shar, and knew that he would sense her return to the world. It wasn’t too long, relatively speaking for someone as long lived as she, before he came for her again. Again he tried to convince her to join him, and again she died. Although her new appearance had surprised him somewhat. And time passed. Her first experience with the Wyld Hunt was an unpleasant one, especially since Ul’shar appeared at her final stand once more for a repeat performance of before. She really hated dying, and resolved to try and do it as little as possible. So she studied this ‘Illuminated Order’ as she searched for clues on how to defeat Night’s Bloody Tears.
She even once encountered a Ghost-Blooded named Shadow’s Wrath who seemed to be working directly for Night’s Bloody Tears. He seemed somewhat disturbed by his involvement in the interaction between her and her old lover. He was then somewhat distressed as his master tore the landscape around him to bits in the inevitable conclusion to any encounter between the Laeleth and Ul’shar. And somewhat shocked at the few revelations that the brief conversation revealed to him about how long this had been going on, and gained a glimpse as to the circumstances surrounding this tragic tale of theirs.
And so we are led to the current incarnation of Laeleth, who calls herself Laeth in this form. She has managed to survive for one hundred and twenty seven years in this body, and is beginning to feel her power return to its heights once again after all this time. She has even managed to finally retrieve Scion of Light from Elsewhere, and is happy to be reunited with her blade once more, though she has the presence of mind to store it Elsewhere while there are witnesses around.
Laeleth strode through the forests edge. She had seen chimney smoke up ahead, and welcomed the prospect of staying in a village tonight instead of settling for the cold forest floor. While hunting for meals was all very well and good, she still felt the need for an occasional home cooked meal, a warm bed and human companionship. She was kind of looking forward to it. It was then that she heard the shouts with her sharp ears, and heard the three people running through the growth towards her long before she saw them.
“Halt, Anathema, and face your fate!” One of the two lagging behind shouted. She could hear the ragged breathing of the one in front as he ran. She couldn’t pass this up. She had to save the poor kid. She met so few of her own kind anyway. She ghosted forward, and set herself up to ambush the approaching hunters. She was a little relieved to see they were but mortals, armed with swords and armoured in steel. And the boy they were pursuing bore the mark of the Eclipse Caste burning on his forehead. He must have only just Exalted, the poor child. He looked no more than seventeen.
As they approached, Laeleth grabbed the boy as he passed her. He was shocked and winded, and fell to the ground behind her as she stepped out to confront his pursuers.
“Leave the child alone. Go back where you came from. Or die.”
“You would aid an Anathema? Heretic!” One of them spat at her. The boy, still lying prone glanced hopefully towards his would be rescuer.
“Aid an Anathema?” Laeleth asked with a smirk. “I AM one of your so-called Anathema.” With that she drew Scion of Light from the very air itself. The towering grand daiklave seemed to stun the two men as much as the Dawn caste mark that now shone on the forehead of this suddenly imposing man.
But the men were either extremely brave or extremely stupid. They charged regardless. There was a brief shower of blood as Laeleth efficiently cut them both in two. She always regretted killing mortals, but sometimes they just left her no choice. It just made her hate the Immaculate Order so much more. She sheathed Scion of Light Elsewhere again and turned to offer the boy a hand up.
“Come on lad. We had best move along. Are you from that village?”
He merely nodded as she helped him up, his face a little pale. She guided him away from the corpses. “And I was so looking forward to a good meal…” she muttered under her breath.
“W-what’s going on?” The boy asked, almost in tears. “I was helping dad in the bakery, when I felt this sort of rush… Then everyone is yelling at me, even my own family, calling me Anathema. I know I can’t be Anathema. I’m not evil. I always tried to be a good person.” He heard his saviour sigh from beside him.
“Kid, you’ve got a lot to learn…” The strange man told him. For some reason though, this man who rescued him seemed somehow… familiar. As if he should know him. “What’s your name kid?”
“Dale.” Laeleth regarded him again. There was a sense of familiarity. But she couldn’t place it. This is why she hated reincarnation, all those faces over all those lifetimes… Sometimes she found her memory a little foggy.
“I’m Laeth. And until you can take care of yourself, I suggest we stick together.”
Over the next year, Dale learnt well. Laeleth taught him some of the truth about their kind, enough to sort out the lies of the Immaculate Order from the truth. She taught him how to control his Essence, and how to fire a bow and wield a sword.
“You’re getting better with the bow, Dale.” She told him one day. “You’ll be a better shot than me soon.” Dale beamed with pride at his teacher’s words. She found herself getting attached to the kid, and it was good to have someone to travel with again. It felt good to be teaching again too. She was still guided in her dreams by the Unconquered Sun occasionally, and his latent Caste abilities helped them both travel more easily.
And then one day, she caught him twirling a coin between his knuckles in a manner she hadn’t seen for centuries. And the sight was so familiar, that all the things she had seen from him finally clicked into place. And she recognised him. She laughed so hard when the realisation hit her she fell out of her chair. But when he asked what was so funny, she stopped. If she did relate their history, she might awaken unpleasant memories. It was bad enough she had to live with her own tormented memories; she didn’t want to inflict them on a dear old friend.
And then that night, the Unconquered Sun appeared to her again.
