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Part 7 : Letters


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#1 Weyoun

Posted 27 October 2002 - 05:40 PM

 
Growing Up Part 7 : Letters


Hi, momma!

Well, we've made it safely to Suldenesselar. I'll bet you're wondering right now, 'Suldenesselar?', but that is where our journey took us. The elven archer Z'hana took us to an elven caravan led by her sister, who was none other than the arch-mage Xarsh! Do you remember daddy telling us stories about her and her friends' adventures in Icewind Dale?

We've been hanging around Suldenesselar for two days now and the victory celebration was wonderful. Gerty got so drunk she almost fell out of the treetops and even Glyill seemed to enjoy herself a little. We got to meet Queen Ellesime and she thanked us for our service to the elven nation! Of course, Gerty was more interested in the reward, but Lenny smacked her in the back of the head... That kept her quiet...

All-in-all, we've had some pretty good times here. I wish I could tell you more about the caravan, but Ellesime asked me to keep quiet about this, so I'll tell your all about it in person next time I see you.

But not all was fun. Yalafein and myself have been very nervous too, although Yalafein more than me, I think. Some of the elves won't talk to us, or even openly threaten us if we don't leave their sight. But I guess that was to be expected, since there's a hostile Drow settlement nearby... Still, it kinda hurts. Did the elves do that to you too, momma? Making you feel unwelcome? I know you and daddy almost stayed two months in Suldenesselar, and I've only been here for two days, so I can only imagine how they treated you about then. Of course, you were pretty powerful already, so they probably didn't dare to attack you, but I think the only thing keeping the elves from attacking me is my reputation as an adventurer and the fact that I am the daughter of two of the saviors of the city. One day, you're going to have to tell me the complete story about this 'Irenicus', momma... The elves here are very tight-lipped about the whole thing...

Anyway, you'll never guess who I met too! Shivon! Yeah, Shivon... The one who made me cry a lot. The one who you threatened to kill for me if he kept making me sad. It turned out he never got my letters and that the letters he sent never got to me. Shivon suspected his mother of this, but we haven't spoken since we arrived in Suldenesselar, so I don't know the whole truth...

I'm standing at a platform, overlooking the dark forests below. It's night here now, and the stars are beautiful. We'll be leaving for Trademeet tomorrow, the autumn-festival has started, so we might as well partake before looking for a new job! Besides, a good friend promised to meet me there in a few days, and I haven't seen him for a long time. Didn't Valas say he'd be staging a farce on the festival for charity, before theater season starts?

By the time the runner reaches the Keep, we should already be there. Give daddy, Rauva and aunty Imoen my love... I hope to see you again soon...

Your Loving Daughter,
Vierna...


***

' Should I really bother momma with my troubled lovelife?' Vierna thought as she put her quill back in her pouch. She sighed heavily and leaned on the railing. Taking another look at the forest below, she once again considered how special this elven city was. It was a city, yet not a city. The connection to nature which she possessed, normally severed in towns and cities, was still deeply rooted in every part of Suldenesselar. Vierna lent back against the railing and decided to send her mother the letter as she had written it. 'She always likes to know about stuff like that,' Vierna smiled. 'I'm still her little girl after all! She put a wax seal on her letter and put it in her pouch, ready to be given to a runner.

Vierna noticed the streets of the elven were almost empty. It seemed many of the elves were inside their homes to referee. She also noticed a few young couples strolling through the city. It reminded her of Yalafein. He hadn't left his room since the party got to the city, apparently worried about the 'wicked' surface elves. Even though it was clear to him that the elves were not the evil creatures he had expected them to be, it seemed that three-hundred years of indoctrination was hard to break out of. Funny though, that the elves allowed Brimstone to enter the city. The Hell Hound didn't like the heights much, and gave railings a wide berth, but it felt kinda nice to have her friend sleep on the end of her bed. Brimstone's presence was quite comforting to her at the moment.

"Hey there, hi there!" sounded from behind her. Turning around, Vierna noticed her floating friend the Spectator had snuck up on her... again.

"Hey, Spec," Vierna greeted.

"Some party, eh?" Spec chuckled. "Man, the last time I drank so much was at my brother Vijay's bachelor party. Just thinking back at that bash gives me gas. But most fondly, I remember that Hive Mother that floated out of the cake. She had such delicate pupils..."

"Yeah, kinda nice," Vierna conceded. "So, what are your plans for the future?"

"Hey, I'm glad you asked!" Spec said, eyestalks twitching. "I'm finally getting a job I like! Xarsh told me she'll let me stay on the surface this job! They're taking the mythal stuff to Evermeet, you know, and I'll be joining the elves who bring it there! Gosh, I'm so excited! Xarsh told me it was almost certain she'll let me stay on as guardian even after the mythal-stuff is delivered!"

"Good for you!" Vierna replied. "They don't let Drow in Evermeet, you know, nor any other race, so I guess you're pretty lucky."

"Hey, you alright?" Spec asked. "You seem pretty glum..."

Vierna sighed heavily. "No... It's... I just have a pretty difficult decision to make...."

"You don't know what kind of socks to wear tomorrow? Are you afraid green socks will clash with your red armor?" Spec chuckled.

"No!" Vierna giggled for the first time in days. "It's just that... well... I have to choose between... two men..."

"Take 'em both," Spec said.

"You sound like my mother," Vierna chuckled.

"Hey, Drow girls are pretty easy around males. I was once summoned by a young priestess, only seventy-five and she had a harem of thirty males," Spec said. "She dropped 'em all and took off with her servantgirl. Hmmm. Correction, Drow girls are pretty easy around everybody!"

"I might be a Drow girl," Vierna said, "but I think love is more important than, you know, that, so I guess I'm not as loose as the others of my kind..."

"Well, you could always flip a coin," Spec suggested. "I never did that though. Kinda tough when you ain't got no hands!"

"Maybe not..." Vierna giggled. "But perhaps the Trademeet festival will ease my mind a bit..."

"Well, it's your life," Spec replied. "But I think you'd better make up your mind soon... Things like this might fester in your mind until your brain explodes. I've seen that happen to a Mindflayer once... Nasty business..."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," Vierna conceded.

"Hey, I gotta get back to my chest before some dork steals the mythal! I only took a short break to get an ale," Spec said.

"Isn't that against some rule?" Vierna wondered.

"Nah!" Spec said. "I had Z'hana cover for me! But, kiddo, I wish you luck. You'll need it."

"Thanks," Vierna whispered while the beholder slipped back to the temple. "Hey, Spec?" Vierna called after him. "Why did that young Drow summon you in the first place?"

"Ey?" Spec turned around. "Oh, that... Well, let's just say that she liked to be watched whenever she... Ermmm, we'll leave it at that..."

Vierna waved goodbye and considered that she truly was very different from her Drow in in many ways.

---

Shivon strolled through the town, in silent contemplation. For two days he was trying to gather up the courage to speak to Vierna. And for two days, he always chickened out at the last moment. What would he say to her? 'Hey, I love you and I'm sorry my mother intercepted my letters, but hey, let's pretend it never happened!' Ridiculous. Shivon feared that the damage between the two was too great to mend. And then there was the added complication of Yalafein. Shivon took solace in the fact that Vierna could be happy with that Drow. Like they said, 'Love someone enough to let that person go?'. But still, his heart ached whenever he thought of Vierna not being in his future.

Shivon opened the door to his small home. In elven cities, there were no locked doors. There were no thieves either. The entire elven society was based upon trust and cooperation, something the human settlements lacked in abundance. Shivon prepared to enter his home, which he shared with two other mage-students. He was so glad when he able to leave his parental home, away from his mother's yoke. He felt kinda guilty about leaving his father alone with his mother, but he simply had to get away from his mother's meddling...

"WUUUFFFFF," he heard from behind him. Turning around, he noticed Brimstone standing behind him, looking at the elf intently.

"Oh, hello Brimstone," Shivon smiled. Almost immediately, Brimstone sped forwards and blocked Shivon's path to the door.

"Brimstone?" Shivon asked with confusion.

"WUUUUUFFFFFF!" Answered Brimstone and nudged the elf away from the door.

"What?" Shivon wondered. "Do you want me to follow you?"

"WUUUFFF!" Brimstone answered enthusiatically.

"Okay, okay," Shivon smiled. "Lead the way..."

Shivon and Brimstone walked across the streets of Suldenesselar for what seemed like ages. When Shivon and Brimstone came to a split in the road, Brimstone sped forwards and blocked the left road by growling softly. Shivon decided it was better to follow the Hell Hound and eventually, Shivon and Brimstone came to an observation platform. Shivon noticed a white-haired Drow leaning on the railing, obviously observing the forest.

"No..." Shivon whispered. "I can't... I don't know what to say to..."

Shivon was answered with a low threatening growl.

"But I don't know what to say..."

"Who's there?" Vierna turned around and scanned her surroundings. "Don't think I didn't hear you!"

Just then, Brimstone nudged his head against Shivon's back, pushing him forward and into plain sight.

"Shiv?"

"V-v-v-vierna?"

"Hey," she smiled. "Why didn't you come see me sooner?"

"I-i-i-i-i-i-i..." Shivon stammered, "thought you'd rather be... with Yalafein."

Noticing Shivon's sadness, Vierna managed a half-smile and motioned him to join her at the railing. "Didn't you ever have, you know," Vierna asked, "another lover?"

"No!" Shivon said adamantly. "I-i-i... Y-you were the only one on my mind... all the time,"

"You, you," Vierna stammered. "You waited for me? For over twenty years?"

"Y-yes..." Shivon said. "You are worth the wait. And I've never loved another..."

Vierna couldn't help but feel very ashamed. In all that time, she had tried to forget Shivon instead of holding on. She had tried to find new love, while Shivon had never, ever forgotten about her. And now that she found him again, she had just found a new love. That made what she was about to say very much more difficult.

"Shiv, I... I care about you... deeply, but," Vierna stammered, "I think we should leave the past be the past. This could only hurt us in the long run. I'm sorry, but... It's too late for us to mend our rift... It's simply too late and we've grown apart too much. I'm sorry. Very sorry." Vierna broke out in tears.

"I..." Shivon sniffed. "I love you, Vierna. I-I hope you'll be happy, and I... I..." Shivon then noticed a little letter sticking out from Vierna's pouch. 'There is only one person responsible for this!' Shivon thought wryly. Hugging Vierna one more time, Shivon suddenly spurted off, leaving Vierna to wonder if both their broken hearts would ever be healed.

In the meantime, Brimstone's ears drooped in disappointment. His gambit failed.

---

"Shivon!" Sis'rayna smiled as her son walked in the home where she and her husband, the ranger Valandis, lived and worked. "What a nice surprise, son! But why didn't you come to see me when you first came back from your trip? You've not been talking to that little Drow bitch, haven't you? You know I've forbidden it."

Sis'rayna was taken aback when she noticed Shivon's face wore a mask of fury. "I see only one bitch here, mother," Shivon replied.

"Ah," Sis'rayna said, not catching on to Shivon's intent. "Then you have finally stopped pining for that piece of filth."

"Vierna's a hero, mother," Shivon menaced. "What good have you done lately?"

"Oh, come on!" Sis'rayna shouted. "A Drow's a Drow! No doubt her actions are all part of some elaborate ruse to gain..."

Shivon said nothing, but instead walked past his mother and headed towards her desk in the living room. Without hesitation, he cast a magic missle at the locked drawer. Five colored orbs shot from his hands and crashed into the lock. Before his mother could stop him, Shivon reached into the drawer and pulled out... "Letters... Dozens of Letters! OUR LETTERS!" Shivon uncharacteristically shouted.

"What did you expect!" Sis'rayna retorted. "I cannot let you be taken in by a filthy Drow! Once she gets her hooks in you, she'll..."

A bolt of lightning crashed at Sis'rayna's feet, silencing her abruptly. "My son," she said in astonishment.

"Don't TALK to me!" Shivon shouted. "NEVER TALK TO ME AGAIN!" That said, the crying elven boy grabbed all the letters and sped out of the door...

"Shivon!" Sis'rayna shouted after him. "You come back here right this instant!!"

"I... I love you," she whispered after him when it became clear he would not turn around.

"This must stop," Valandis, who had observed the exchange from the door opening, said. "I've lived with this mad obsession of yours for year now, but I've had enough."

"Oh, be silent," Sis'rayna replied. "He'll come to his senses."

"Will he?" Valandis added. "He's been pining away for her for years! He's dying inside! Once piece at a time every single day. I've had enough. I can no longer live with you mad obsession. I am a ranger, Sis'rayna! And yet I've followed you to a city. Sure, it's an elven city, but still... I miss being around nature. What happened to you, Sis'rayna? You were always so loving and open..."

"That DROW happened! That evil, wicked Drow! Things weren't so bad when Lord De'Arnese ruled the lands, but... things really went downhill when that Viconia moved in. And now her daughter is after my son!" Sis'rayna spat.

"From what I've seen," Valandis said. "Viconia is a loving mother. I think you only hate her because you coudn't stand a Drow being higher up on the social ladder than you were!"

"Oh, please!" Sis'rayna chuckled. "I'm not jealous of her of all people."

But Valandis didn't rise to the bait. "Sis'rayna, this cannot continue. I cannot live like this any longer. I love you... I am bonded to you... But if you carry this on, I am afraid that I should... divorce you..."

"Di-divorce?" Sis'rayna stepped back in disbelief. In the history of the elven nation across the worlds, there was only one elven divorce known. "You... You can't! No elves on Toril have ever divorced! What would everybody think of us?"

Valandis mood darkened and his face fell. He was impassively calm as he spoke his next words. "Your son never wants to see you again. Your husband just threatened to divorce you. And all you are worried about is what the neighbors will think? What your highbrow friends will think?"

Sis'rayna fell silent.

"What happened to you? What happened to the girl I married? What happened to the rebellious gold elf who defied her noble family and eloped with a moonelven woodsman?" Valandis asked.

"She... she... she was buried under p-pride..." Sis'rayna admitted.

"Dig her up, Sis'rayna," Valandis said. "Change or lose everything..."

Valandis stepped out of the door, leaving Sis'rayna to think.

---

'Shivon... Why don't you write back? I miss you so...'

'Shivon, I love you... Please don't ignore me anymore...'

'Shivon, my heart aches for you...'

These were only a few of the many pleads in Vierna's letters she had been sending to Suldenesselar over the years. His own letters were in the bunch as well, with letters spanning from his early years as a mage apprentice to only the one he had sent her only last month! Shivon remembered how he put all his emotions, feelings and experiences in those letters as he wrote to Vierna all what had happened to him over the years... And Vierna had never read them... He hated his mother for doing this to him. He hated his mother for doing this to Vierna.

'Vierna... I hope you are well...'

'Vierna, I love you so much...'

Vierna, I miss you...'

He put the letters in his bag with the rest of his possessions. He decided he would join Vierna's party. He decided he would win back Vierna's heart. Yalafein or no Yalafein, Shivon decided he would fight for the girl he loved.

---

"What do you mean, they left!" Shivon said as he questioned the innkeeper.

"Your friend left rather abruptly," the innkeeper replied. "Her gnomish companion was kinda irate about the whole thing, but she followed as well..."

"Where, where did they go?" Shivon asked. "Please tell me!"

"I don't rightly know," she replied. "I think I heard the paladin mention Trademeet..."

"Trademeet? Where does that lie?" Shivon asked.

"Oh," the innkeeper said, "it's to the north of here. I believe your mother does most of her business there."

"Please, let's not talk about my mother."

"Here, I'll give you a map, but if you want to catch up on them you're out of luck. They are travelling on horseback."

Shivon's spirit fell a little, but soon regained his full determination. He would fight for Vierna's love...

---

"I still don't understand why we had to take off in the middle of the night!" Gerty said as she lighted the campfire.

"I'm rather glad to be out of that elven-infested city!" Yalafein chuckled.

"Oh, you would! Little mister 'Drow-fears-elves' wimpy weaponmaster!" Gerty joked.

"I am NOT wimpy!" Yalafein retorted. "But being surrounded by enemies is not good for one's health in the long run..."

"Is that why so many Drow don't live past their two-hundredth birthdayparty?" Lenny asked.

"You bet..." Yalafein snickered.

"Sorry, guys," Vierna said as she lay her bedroll at a moderate distance from the fire, "but I just had to get out of there..."

"I understand," Glyill said and put her hand on Vierna's shoulder. Apparently, the half-elven Ilmatarian had caught on to Vierna's plight and understood her dillemma. Vierna patted Glyill's hand two times and lay back on her bedroll. She had to leave Suldenesselar, or she would have come back on her decision to leave the past behind. She only hope choosing to stay with Yalafein was the right choice. The Drow ranger petted Brimstone's head and studied Yalafein for a while. He was watching the fire burn, and was blissfully unaware of Vierna's inner turmoil.

"Pardon me?" a voice sounded from the other side of camp. All head turned to face the two human males who had just walked into camp. They were both quite odd fellows. One was long and thin and seemed a bit dim. The other one was a porty man with a tiny moustance and a round face. Both were dressed in strange blue uniforms, but the stangest of their attire were their hats. Long and white they were, and covered most of their hair and necks. It seemed they had come from the direction of Trademeet.

"Excuse me?" the porty man asked, "But can you tell us the way back to the French Foreign Legion?"

"Hmmm," Lenny said. "I don't think I've ever heard of that particular Order before..."

"What's a French?" Gerty asked. "Is it some kind of turnip?"

"You seem a long way from home," Glyill observed.

"Didn't you come from Trademeet?" Vierna asked.

"Yes," the porty man said while fiddling with his bowtie, "but I'm afraid they didn't know anything either."

"Sorry, but I don't think we can help you," Lenny said.

"Well, Stan," the porty man told the thin man, "that's another fine mess you've gotten us into! 'Let's spend the night in that desert temple where that eerie blue light is coming from', indeed!"

"I'm sorry, Ollie, but," the thin man called Stan replied and started to sob.

"Oh, come on!" Ollie said. "Thanks for trying to help us, ma'am."

As soon as they came, the two silly men were off, undoubtedly on their way to many more silly adventures.

"How about that?" Gerty said. "Reminds me of the time my uncle Jan and I went fishing on the Sea of Swords. After three days of drifting, we came across a red-nosed-turnipshark who demanded us to hand over our turnips of be sung to. And let me tell you, being sung to by a tone-deaf shark isn't pretty..."

Vierna put her head on her pillow and drifted into slumber as Gerty droned on about the turnip-shark. Perhaps partaking in the joys of the autumn festival in Trademeet would improve her spirits... but she truly doubted it...
 

Btw, the two man at the end are a cameo of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.




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