A Mark of Air and Darkness (Kavel and Nathalie RP)
Sept 8, 2022 15:46:14 GMT
Riah and Velania Kalugina like this
Post by Andy D on Sept 8, 2022 15:46:14 GMT
Written with great appreciation for, and with, the real world, fey-like wonder, Riah
The following takes place during:
Summer Court Lovin’ - 01/09/2022 - A Kavel Perspective
It is an expansion of the chapter ‘Spirit and Body Together Again’
An Unexpected Welcome Back
The adventurers recently rescued the Damphenite Tangle’s Spiritual Leader, Nathalie Walnut from her entanglement on the Spirit Road. The rescue party was led by the Goliath who is dating the Sprite leader. Party and Sprite together defeated the evil on the Spirit Road to their relief and joy. However, as they were about to return, it was observed that one member of the rescue party wore the mark of an enemy…
The Dawnland adventurers were escorted away from the lower Tangle’s ritual area. They were led back to a more public area higher up in the Tangle, and were asked to wait in a comfortable area - under the watchful eyes of armed guards.
Nathalie, finally back in her body, held an urgent meeting with her top warriors. This meeting wasn’t just to discuss her dangerous absence for two days. It was about the mark the adventurer Derthaad carried.
Questions
The meeting with the chief warriors was brief. Nathalie immediately sought Kavel afterwards, and brought him to a separate room, where she could get some answers from her rescuer, her potential lover, and the man who led someone with a hostile mark into her realm…
Kavel spoke first.
“Nathalie? Is Derthaad okay to be here? I’ve adventured and fought alongside him for a while now. I’m sure he means no harm to anyone here. He only came here to make sure I got here safely. The tattoo he has, I doubt it’s a symbol of allegiance.”
Nathalie kept her silence. So, Kavel continued, “it’s just like these two magical tattoos I have - gifts from a magical person.” As Kavel mentioned his own ‘marks’, he pointed to his dragon tattoo on his right bicep, and the raven tattoo on the right side of his neck. “Derthaad, has the mark covered up now - he doesn't want to cause any trouble.”
Nathalie’s eyes pierced Kavel’s the whole time as he said his piece, explaining what he knew of his comrade Derthaad and their history. Nathalie did not relax. But, the poise of her body changed from a spring ready to leap to a tightly wrapped cord, still ready to act if the need should arise. Nathalie now spoke:
"Given the ties the greater Court has to the Dawnlands I would have thought recent history would not be so easily forgotten. Or were you not there a year ago when everything was in pandemonium here?"
"I was new to the Dawnlands a year ago," Kavel began. "Before the Gith invasion a few weeks ago, the biggest threat I remember facing in the Dawnlands was led by a man named Langstrom and a metal being. I helped kill a simulacrum of both of them that were causing chaos in our capital and port. Other adventures put an end to their, I believe, godly and destructive plans. The adventurers involved all gathered in our Fort and were rewarded by a godly woman with the dagger you saw in the Spirit Road. It was only after that event that I came to the Feywild for the first time. Twice to the Witching Court, and now twice to the Summer Court."
Kavel paused, then looked at Nathalie and said apologetically, "I'm sorry. I do not believe I am familiar with the pandemonium you are speaking of?"
"But you know of the man who allied himself to the modron – Langston Farstep and Jack. Did you know together they were the ones who killed the previous Fey Ascendant, Queen Sarastra? Her murder was what sent the Fey Courts into chaos, what saw the Summer Court expand whilst the Wandering Court diminished. It was the most Unseelie activity seen in recent years, so blatant and obvious the like that has not been in centuries." She turns away to look out into the Tangle, at her people flying about their duties. A patrol of scouts on their way to search the depths of the tangle. A cadre of sprites bringing up a chunk of crystal the size of a fairy bed.
"They say even the most trusted of allies could be an Unseelie agent in disguise..."
These two people had not seen each other since a fateful night during the Summer Court’s Summer celebration. They were not currently looking at each other how you might expect young lovers separated by almost three months would. Any sense of longing was not apparent.
"I am not an agent of your enemies. If you require proof, Nathalie - okay. I think that is fair after what you have explained. I will make myself available for whatever magical truth spell someone in your court might possess. This is not a problem for me."
Before continuing, Kavel breathed in deeply through his nose and then exhaled from his mouth. He was unsure if more ignorance from his lips would be received poorly from the woman he was attracted to. He caught this moment of anxiety as it brought his focus away from the present. So, he took a deep breath to re-centre himself, before anxiety made him speak defensively.
"But... Nathalie, I do not know who/what is Unseelie? I am guessing the same as the Wandering Court, and this is where the person who gave Derthaad his left palm mark is from? The horrible actions of Langston Farstep and the modron, and all the politics are mostly unknown to me. I am not a leader like you. I do not know anything to do with the Courts. I am strong and am able to defend my new home, and so I did. And I came to the Summer Court to recruit Gemstone Dragons to help defend my home again. I didn't meet with you to infiltrate your trust. I met with you, because I was lucky that my party's sugar-driven guide led us the wrong way to The Court of Harmony."
Nathalie studied Kavel. He felt more than just her eyes looking at him, as she did. Kavel felt the stone beneath his feet, the crystal, even the light discerning the truth in his words. Finally after what may have only been a second or as long as a minute the Sprite leader blinked, and the pressure that had been building in the air released.
“I believe you, that you do not know what an Unseelie is.” A rueful smile curled Nathalie’s lips. “As amusing as it is to hear you call the River King and his ilk Unseelie, they are not an Unseelie court. The Unseelie are said to have cabals, tribes, sects. So there may be some in the Changeable King’s brood. But if there is, he is unaware or… just doesn’t care.” She scowls. “It’s almost worse.”
Nathalie came up to the tall man, reached out to take his hand to study the tattoos marking his body. “These markings you have. You called them gifts. Are they not symbols of those stronger than you for services rendered to them?”
Kavel held Nathalie’s hands and took a moment to just experience the warmth of her hands and his, connecting their bodies together. He started guiding Nathalie’s right hand towards a tattoo, but paused to look into her eyes, and thought, “she has powerful magical insight behind those eyes, and they are so beautiful.”
Tattoo Tour
“Look at this one Nathalie,” Kavel said, guiding Nathalie’s fingers to his inner, right bicep. This was a reward from a very huge dragon called Kurtz. He was my friend Silvia’s warlock patron. When I came to Silvia’s aid, Mr. Kurtz gave me the dragon tattoo, which I think looks like a mountain, when I do this,” Kavel flexed his right bicep. “You see? Just like my home in Faerun. The tattoo has one casting of the Hex spell. When used, the tattoo will disappear.”
Kavel guided Nathalie’s left hand to the right of his neck, where the raven tattoo was. “This was from my friend Sparks’ warlock patron. It grants me one casting of the Fly spell. Again, when casted, it will vanish.”
“And now these,” Kavel removed the leather wraps from his hands to fully display what the Metal Bros had given him. “These silver tattoos of Dwarven runes - these are truly gifts. The other ones were ‘rewards’, and disposable.”
Kavel flared his fingers wide, then made fists, and unclenched them again. “I used to be amazing with a polearm. I trained hard to be a master. But, I sacrificed my polearm memories to claim back the memories of a friend. My unique poleaxe was damaged in the process. Friends of mine gave me that poleaxe; the Metal Bros - living suits of armour. When I showed them the damage to the poleaxe and explained how it happened, they showed me a book on Stonehand Fighting Techniques; Dwarven Mixed Martial Arts. They took the time to teach me. Dwarven MMA suits my strong fighting style. You have experienced it,” Kavel said with a smile. “Remember when I grappled you to the floor? This was before you escaped my pin and hit me hard with your swords. At the Su… Ver… your Summer Court celebration - I cannot pronounce it,” Kavel smiled. “The Metal Bros and I all got these matching tattoos to commemorate our training together.”
“Lastly,” the smile on the Half-Giant’s face returned to a neutral expression as he pointed to one of the two tribal fanged tattoos on the outside of his upper arms. “These are not one-time spells or made from magical ink. These are normal tattoos. They are to commemorate my fallen goliath brothers; Tim and Sampon. My surviving brother from the recent Gith invasion, Kruger, also has these tattoos. Tim and Sampson became werewolves at some point, and they did well managing the negative effects of the curse, and they fought to the end defending our home as Goliath-Werewolves. Kruger and I thought the fangs were a nice way to remember them.”
Nathalie’s eyes trailed over Kavel’s body, seeing the new marks, since she last saw him. The changes, the scars. One side of her mouth lifted in a smile, but it faded quickly as Kavel finished his speech.
“All you described to me counters a point you made earlier.” Her eyes lifted up to lock back onto the Half-Giant. “Tattoos, marks, gifts — call them what you will. They are a symbol of a pact, a tie, an allegiance. To a mighty dragon, to a Raven, to your brothers, to yourself.” She tapped each tattoo precisely and pointedly. A spark of heat followed each touch but they faded quickly. She took a step back, away from his arms, making him see her and understand how serious she was as she said, “a gift from the fey is never free. Nothing is given without something else being taken away. Your friend, if he is such and not aligned with those who’d bring anarchy to me and mine, is on borrowed luck. He cannot stay past the day. I have a responsibility to tell the Summer Queen what I know and once she knows…” Nathalie took a breath. “It would be best to keep him away from the Court until he has separated himself from such an association.”
Kavel went quiet. He didn’t consider the tattoos significant, but he grossly misjudged how others would - and not for the first time he has misjudged magic. He wondered whether he should spend more time learning about the history of the Dawnlands and the activities of the adventurers past and present. He hadn’t considered whether the magical items he had received could have negative ramifications. Should the people of the Daring Council make it clearer to adventurers what gifts they should be apprehensive about? Even if fault could be found with the Council, Kavel accepted that it was he who organised the trip to the Summer Court. He should have been as diligent with historical preparations as he was with transport logistics and gifts. A mistake to learn from.
“Okay,” Kavel began, “Thank you Nathalie.”
Kavel took a look at the Tangle, where Nathalie’s eyes went earlier, observing the many flying people going about their daily business.
“Thank you for letting Derthaad stay for the night, in your home, even though he carries an enemy's mark on his body. I will make sure he knows to inform the other adventurers who have the mark. I suspect they also are not aware of what they have done accepting it. They will all know not to come to the Summer Court until their marks are removed.”
The Half-Giant tapped his dragon and raven tattoos, “I think these are not harmful, but I will vett more closely what magical gifts I accept as reward. Especially as magic is not my specialty.”
“I am sorry Nathalie.” Kavel said, looking at the Spiritual Leader of the Damphenite Tangle. “I didn't mean to bring you trouble that you must now report upwards. I put a lot of focus on my preparation to get here. But, now I see I could have done better by spending some time researching the politics of the Courts.”
Nathalie gave an amused, low laugh. “Even I do not know every nuance between the Courts, Kavel. To an outsider, our ways seem strange and… incomprehensible at best, or so I’m told. Until you, I had not much experience with folk not of my realm.” Before I said we tend to live in the here and now, but even then, our memories are long when it comes to certain things.”
“Do you need to question my comrades? I’m sure they will all cooperate.”
Nathalie smiled, and there was a bit of that spark of mischief in it Kavel remembered from Saliysuli Veránal. “As for questioning your comrades, perhaps later. You and I have other things to discuss. Like the promise you kept.”
Nathalie stepped in close, the glow of her wings casting her face in alluring shadows as Nathalie’s eyes traced over Kavel’s face, waiting for him to speak.
The goliath’s eyes smiled as Nathalie entered his space and stayed there. Kavel’s eyes darted quickly around Nathalie’s face and body; so close to his. Nathalie’s posture seemed more relaxed now - perhaps a little tense, but not battle-ready. Kavel’s eyes darted back quickly to Nathalie’s face. Her eyes confirmed that whilst his gaze had cheekily moved across her body, hers had remained up at his visage.
Kavel extended his hands towards Nathalie and shuffled a little closer towards her. One hand resting on her hip, the other her waist.
“I meant to come back sooner,” Kavel looked straight into Nathalie’s eyes as he spoke, trying as best as he could to convey his thoughts not just through words, but more directly still. “I am very happy I am finally here with you now.”
Kavel’s eyes looked down at Nathalie’s golden lips, and then back up to her eyes, and he climbed his hip resting hand to the back of Nathalie’s head and pulled her gently in for a kiss.
Kavel felt a smile against his lips as Nathalie kissed him back, bringing one hand up to rest on his strong arm, the other cupping the back of his head.
Their kiss lasted, but not long enough as Nathalie pulled back just a little to look into Kavel’s eyes again.
“I have been looking into ways you could visit more frequently. There is an item we could make, together, that would allow you to travel here or for me to travel to you.”
“Yes,” Kavel said with immediate enthusiasm and smiled, “Yes. I want that. I want to see you, and be here more often, and for you to come to the Dawnlands too.”
Kavel’s smile turned a little silly, as he continued, “call me foolish, if you wish. But, I am going to ignore whatever lesson I just learnt about fey deals and accept your item without question.”
Nathalie blinked in surprise, then shook her head muttering something in the musical language her man doesn't know. She gave Kavel a sidelong look, then, “Alright. I will tell my people to prepare for the ritual. In the meantime, you should speak to your friend. We will have time later for more personal training sessions.” She grins, the light of mischief dancing in her eyes.
The usual stoic expression on Kavel’s face, which had broken for a smile, had now given way to the largest grin he’s ever made. He is both happy, and very excited.
“Okay. Ritual and personal training. It sounds like you have a very fun and energetic evening planned out for us.” Kavel spoke through his grinning face. “But,” and his smile lowered a little, “you have been gone for two days. If you need to take things easy. I understand. I would be happy to just comfort you. And we can leave the gifts I bought, and made until tomorrow?”
“Every day is an opportunity to train… but perhaps you are right. A day spent in our hot springs would be just the right kind of recovery needed for everyone.” You May invite your friends, even the marked one. There will be an armed guard nearby but you won’t even notice them. Now what is this about gifts?”
“That sounds lovely. Thank you.” Kavel replied, “and, I will show you the gift I made. Let me get my bag.”
The Statuettes
Kavel opened his bag and pulled out what would be two, two foot, objects at his regular height. The objects were wrapped in cloth. The one intended for Nathlie was heavier.
Kavel came back to Nathalie, and with the lighter of the two objects in hand he explained, “I don’t have much to remind me of you. No portrait. But, I am good at carving wood. So I got a piece of walnut wood and… here, look.” Kavel removed the cloth to reveal the wooden statue he carved of Nathalie.
“Look, I carved you with the clothing and weapons you had at the celebration. Your pose is your stance, as we stood opposite each other in the ring.” Kavel handed the wood statue to Nathalie. “But, this statuette is for me. So, I thought you might want one of me, and since I am mountain-born, and I can carve stone well…”
Reaching down, Kavel picked up the other wrapped item off of the floor and undid the cloth. “Look. A stone statuette of me, as I was, looking back at you that day. What do you think? Do you like them?”
A warm flush appeared on Nathalie’s golden green skin. Nathalie's expression was stunned, and a little embarrassed, but she hid it quickly as she stepped forward to examine the statue of Kavel and then the one of herself.
"It is..." She cleared her throat. "They are extraordinary pieces. Though you are a warrior you show incredible, artistic prowess as well." Nathalie chanced a glance at Kavel before she went back to studying the one of herself. "A curious wood. It... matches my hair."
“You like it then? I am pleased.” Kavel took back the Nathalie statue and packed it away. Bag now on shoulder, Kavel walked back to Natalie, kissed her gently on the cheek as she held the Kavel statue, and then he kissed her again on her lips.
Looking into Nathalie’s eyes, and playing with her hair a little as he did, Kavel said, “I will go speak to my friends now, and wait to be retrieved for the ritual.”
"Yes. Good. Do that..." Nathalie looks like she is about to let him go when she grabs his arm and plants another deep kiss on his lips, the humidity rising around them. Then it's over and Nathalie is calling for her people, casting another lingering look over her shoulder with a smile before she takes off to prepare what needs to be done.
The Ritual
Kavel rejoined his comrades for a short time, explaining the situation with the mark. Everyone felt more relaxed knowing things went well. News of an evening at the Hot Springs was well received, too.
Kavel was brought back down to the meditation circle where he found Nathalie before. The area had been cleaned up back to a pristine condition.
The Half-Giant, foreign to this culture's ways, obeyed everything he was instructed to do. First, he and Nathalie stripped to their underwear. They were both given two halves of a bangle shaped to fit over their right forearm close to their wrists. They both held the bangle intended for the other - what they held was theirs to give and receive, and two halves of a whole.
Blindfolds were placed over their eyes.
Kavel was instructed on how to perform the bonding ritual. When performed, Kavel and Nathalie started a distance apart in the circle, and danced a choreography that mixed gentle movements and fighting movements together. Gentle ones for each other, fighting ones’ for enemies that would keep them apart.
It felt to Kavel like he was back on the Spirit Road, but at the same time he never left his body, as far as he knew anyway. When the lovers reached the point in the ritual where they were standing within reach of each other - and they knew instinctively when that moment was - they stopped, reached out, and put the crystal bangle on their partner’s arm.
“With this I bind myself to you,” they said in union, witnessed by the Elite Sprites around them. “On the new moon we will meet, renewing our bond, reaffirming this gift. If we fail to walk the Spirit Road to each other when the moon's eye is closed, the Spirit Road will be forever closed to me. Only you can set me free from this bond."
The two bangles, side by side fused together temporarily and when they unfused, their characteristics seemed closer alike than they were before the bond.
It was explained to Kavel that the bond magic of the ritual bangles was so powerful, only Nathalie would be able to free him from this bargain, if he so wished. The bangles, despite how light they felt to the Goliath, seemed indestructible.
The blindfolds were removed.
Kavel and Nathalie gazed deeply and passionately into each other's eyes as they held each other's right hand, whilst touching their own bangle with their left hand. Their eyes warmly embraced, as they stood sharing the same space communicating their joy for each other through their eyes alone.
The witnesses began to leave. Perhaps out of a sense of politeness…
A lot was being communicated through the lovers eyes. They may have agreed earlier to simply spend the evening relaxing after the worrying and exhaustive time on the Spirit Road. But, at that moment, both individuals' fatigue had been subdued by the devotion they felt for each other, and symbolised by the ceremonial bond.
Kavel put word to what his eyes hungrily desired. “I want y…”
Nathalie pulled Kavel’s arm, and turned herself so they both faced the same direction, and at the same time, she made clear, “not here!” She led them away to a secluded area, where they were free to engage in a rigorous personal training session. When the lovers eventually got to the Hot Springs, fatigue had finally caught up with them. When it came time to rest, they shared a long, well-deserved slumber in each other’s arms.
The Next Day
The couple stayed in bed in the morning for as long as they could, before Kavel had to leave with his comrades.
Kavel asked Nathalie if the ritual they undertook was a fey marriage. Nathalie was unfamiliar with the term ‘marriage’. When Kavel explained, Nathalie said it might be the same, but the vows they took were more binding because of the magic.
As Kavel considered the information, he pondered whether to get his lover a ring, when he returned to his own plane…
The following takes place during:
Summer Court Lovin’ - 01/09/2022 - A Kavel Perspective
It is an expansion of the chapter ‘Spirit and Body Together Again’
An Unexpected Welcome Back
The adventurers recently rescued the Damphenite Tangle’s Spiritual Leader, Nathalie Walnut from her entanglement on the Spirit Road. The rescue party was led by the Goliath who is dating the Sprite leader. Party and Sprite together defeated the evil on the Spirit Road to their relief and joy. However, as they were about to return, it was observed that one member of the rescue party wore the mark of an enemy…
The Dawnland adventurers were escorted away from the lower Tangle’s ritual area. They were led back to a more public area higher up in the Tangle, and were asked to wait in a comfortable area - under the watchful eyes of armed guards.
Nathalie, finally back in her body, held an urgent meeting with her top warriors. This meeting wasn’t just to discuss her dangerous absence for two days. It was about the mark the adventurer Derthaad carried.
Questions
The meeting with the chief warriors was brief. Nathalie immediately sought Kavel afterwards, and brought him to a separate room, where she could get some answers from her rescuer, her potential lover, and the man who led someone with a hostile mark into her realm…
Kavel spoke first.
“Nathalie? Is Derthaad okay to be here? I’ve adventured and fought alongside him for a while now. I’m sure he means no harm to anyone here. He only came here to make sure I got here safely. The tattoo he has, I doubt it’s a symbol of allegiance.”
Nathalie kept her silence. So, Kavel continued, “it’s just like these two magical tattoos I have - gifts from a magical person.” As Kavel mentioned his own ‘marks’, he pointed to his dragon tattoo on his right bicep, and the raven tattoo on the right side of his neck. “Derthaad, has the mark covered up now - he doesn't want to cause any trouble.”
Nathalie’s eyes pierced Kavel’s the whole time as he said his piece, explaining what he knew of his comrade Derthaad and their history. Nathalie did not relax. But, the poise of her body changed from a spring ready to leap to a tightly wrapped cord, still ready to act if the need should arise. Nathalie now spoke:
"Given the ties the greater Court has to the Dawnlands I would have thought recent history would not be so easily forgotten. Or were you not there a year ago when everything was in pandemonium here?"
"I was new to the Dawnlands a year ago," Kavel began. "Before the Gith invasion a few weeks ago, the biggest threat I remember facing in the Dawnlands was led by a man named Langstrom and a metal being. I helped kill a simulacrum of both of them that were causing chaos in our capital and port. Other adventures put an end to their, I believe, godly and destructive plans. The adventurers involved all gathered in our Fort and were rewarded by a godly woman with the dagger you saw in the Spirit Road. It was only after that event that I came to the Feywild for the first time. Twice to the Witching Court, and now twice to the Summer Court."
Kavel paused, then looked at Nathalie and said apologetically, "I'm sorry. I do not believe I am familiar with the pandemonium you are speaking of?"
"But you know of the man who allied himself to the modron – Langston Farstep and Jack. Did you know together they were the ones who killed the previous Fey Ascendant, Queen Sarastra? Her murder was what sent the Fey Courts into chaos, what saw the Summer Court expand whilst the Wandering Court diminished. It was the most Unseelie activity seen in recent years, so blatant and obvious the like that has not been in centuries." She turns away to look out into the Tangle, at her people flying about their duties. A patrol of scouts on their way to search the depths of the tangle. A cadre of sprites bringing up a chunk of crystal the size of a fairy bed.
"They say even the most trusted of allies could be an Unseelie agent in disguise..."
These two people had not seen each other since a fateful night during the Summer Court’s Summer celebration. They were not currently looking at each other how you might expect young lovers separated by almost three months would. Any sense of longing was not apparent.
"I am not an agent of your enemies. If you require proof, Nathalie - okay. I think that is fair after what you have explained. I will make myself available for whatever magical truth spell someone in your court might possess. This is not a problem for me."
Before continuing, Kavel breathed in deeply through his nose and then exhaled from his mouth. He was unsure if more ignorance from his lips would be received poorly from the woman he was attracted to. He caught this moment of anxiety as it brought his focus away from the present. So, he took a deep breath to re-centre himself, before anxiety made him speak defensively.
"But... Nathalie, I do not know who/what is Unseelie? I am guessing the same as the Wandering Court, and this is where the person who gave Derthaad his left palm mark is from? The horrible actions of Langston Farstep and the modron, and all the politics are mostly unknown to me. I am not a leader like you. I do not know anything to do with the Courts. I am strong and am able to defend my new home, and so I did. And I came to the Summer Court to recruit Gemstone Dragons to help defend my home again. I didn't meet with you to infiltrate your trust. I met with you, because I was lucky that my party's sugar-driven guide led us the wrong way to The Court of Harmony."
Nathalie studied Kavel. He felt more than just her eyes looking at him, as she did. Kavel felt the stone beneath his feet, the crystal, even the light discerning the truth in his words. Finally after what may have only been a second or as long as a minute the Sprite leader blinked, and the pressure that had been building in the air released.
“I believe you, that you do not know what an Unseelie is.” A rueful smile curled Nathalie’s lips. “As amusing as it is to hear you call the River King and his ilk Unseelie, they are not an Unseelie court. The Unseelie are said to have cabals, tribes, sects. So there may be some in the Changeable King’s brood. But if there is, he is unaware or… just doesn’t care.” She scowls. “It’s almost worse.”
Nathalie came up to the tall man, reached out to take his hand to study the tattoos marking his body. “These markings you have. You called them gifts. Are they not symbols of those stronger than you for services rendered to them?”
Kavel held Nathalie’s hands and took a moment to just experience the warmth of her hands and his, connecting their bodies together. He started guiding Nathalie’s right hand towards a tattoo, but paused to look into her eyes, and thought, “she has powerful magical insight behind those eyes, and they are so beautiful.”
Tattoo Tour
“Look at this one Nathalie,” Kavel said, guiding Nathalie’s fingers to his inner, right bicep. This was a reward from a very huge dragon called Kurtz. He was my friend Silvia’s warlock patron. When I came to Silvia’s aid, Mr. Kurtz gave me the dragon tattoo, which I think looks like a mountain, when I do this,” Kavel flexed his right bicep. “You see? Just like my home in Faerun. The tattoo has one casting of the Hex spell. When used, the tattoo will disappear.”
Kavel guided Nathalie’s left hand to the right of his neck, where the raven tattoo was. “This was from my friend Sparks’ warlock patron. It grants me one casting of the Fly spell. Again, when casted, it will vanish.”
“And now these,” Kavel removed the leather wraps from his hands to fully display what the Metal Bros had given him. “These silver tattoos of Dwarven runes - these are truly gifts. The other ones were ‘rewards’, and disposable.”
Kavel flared his fingers wide, then made fists, and unclenched them again. “I used to be amazing with a polearm. I trained hard to be a master. But, I sacrificed my polearm memories to claim back the memories of a friend. My unique poleaxe was damaged in the process. Friends of mine gave me that poleaxe; the Metal Bros - living suits of armour. When I showed them the damage to the poleaxe and explained how it happened, they showed me a book on Stonehand Fighting Techniques; Dwarven Mixed Martial Arts. They took the time to teach me. Dwarven MMA suits my strong fighting style. You have experienced it,” Kavel said with a smile. “Remember when I grappled you to the floor? This was before you escaped my pin and hit me hard with your swords. At the Su… Ver… your Summer Court celebration - I cannot pronounce it,” Kavel smiled. “The Metal Bros and I all got these matching tattoos to commemorate our training together.”
“Lastly,” the smile on the Half-Giant’s face returned to a neutral expression as he pointed to one of the two tribal fanged tattoos on the outside of his upper arms. “These are not one-time spells or made from magical ink. These are normal tattoos. They are to commemorate my fallen goliath brothers; Tim and Sampon. My surviving brother from the recent Gith invasion, Kruger, also has these tattoos. Tim and Sampson became werewolves at some point, and they did well managing the negative effects of the curse, and they fought to the end defending our home as Goliath-Werewolves. Kruger and I thought the fangs were a nice way to remember them.”
Nathalie’s eyes trailed over Kavel’s body, seeing the new marks, since she last saw him. The changes, the scars. One side of her mouth lifted in a smile, but it faded quickly as Kavel finished his speech.
“All you described to me counters a point you made earlier.” Her eyes lifted up to lock back onto the Half-Giant. “Tattoos, marks, gifts — call them what you will. They are a symbol of a pact, a tie, an allegiance. To a mighty dragon, to a Raven, to your brothers, to yourself.” She tapped each tattoo precisely and pointedly. A spark of heat followed each touch but they faded quickly. She took a step back, away from his arms, making him see her and understand how serious she was as she said, “a gift from the fey is never free. Nothing is given without something else being taken away. Your friend, if he is such and not aligned with those who’d bring anarchy to me and mine, is on borrowed luck. He cannot stay past the day. I have a responsibility to tell the Summer Queen what I know and once she knows…” Nathalie took a breath. “It would be best to keep him away from the Court until he has separated himself from such an association.”
Kavel went quiet. He didn’t consider the tattoos significant, but he grossly misjudged how others would - and not for the first time he has misjudged magic. He wondered whether he should spend more time learning about the history of the Dawnlands and the activities of the adventurers past and present. He hadn’t considered whether the magical items he had received could have negative ramifications. Should the people of the Daring Council make it clearer to adventurers what gifts they should be apprehensive about? Even if fault could be found with the Council, Kavel accepted that it was he who organised the trip to the Summer Court. He should have been as diligent with historical preparations as he was with transport logistics and gifts. A mistake to learn from.
“Okay,” Kavel began, “Thank you Nathalie.”
Kavel took a look at the Tangle, where Nathalie’s eyes went earlier, observing the many flying people going about their daily business.
“Thank you for letting Derthaad stay for the night, in your home, even though he carries an enemy's mark on his body. I will make sure he knows to inform the other adventurers who have the mark. I suspect they also are not aware of what they have done accepting it. They will all know not to come to the Summer Court until their marks are removed.”
The Half-Giant tapped his dragon and raven tattoos, “I think these are not harmful, but I will vett more closely what magical gifts I accept as reward. Especially as magic is not my specialty.”
“I am sorry Nathalie.” Kavel said, looking at the Spiritual Leader of the Damphenite Tangle. “I didn't mean to bring you trouble that you must now report upwards. I put a lot of focus on my preparation to get here. But, now I see I could have done better by spending some time researching the politics of the Courts.”
Nathalie gave an amused, low laugh. “Even I do not know every nuance between the Courts, Kavel. To an outsider, our ways seem strange and… incomprehensible at best, or so I’m told. Until you, I had not much experience with folk not of my realm.” Before I said we tend to live in the here and now, but even then, our memories are long when it comes to certain things.”
“Do you need to question my comrades? I’m sure they will all cooperate.”
Nathalie smiled, and there was a bit of that spark of mischief in it Kavel remembered from Saliysuli Veránal. “As for questioning your comrades, perhaps later. You and I have other things to discuss. Like the promise you kept.”
Nathalie stepped in close, the glow of her wings casting her face in alluring shadows as Nathalie’s eyes traced over Kavel’s face, waiting for him to speak.
The goliath’s eyes smiled as Nathalie entered his space and stayed there. Kavel’s eyes darted quickly around Nathalie’s face and body; so close to his. Nathalie’s posture seemed more relaxed now - perhaps a little tense, but not battle-ready. Kavel’s eyes darted back quickly to Nathalie’s face. Her eyes confirmed that whilst his gaze had cheekily moved across her body, hers had remained up at his visage.
Kavel extended his hands towards Nathalie and shuffled a little closer towards her. One hand resting on her hip, the other her waist.
“I meant to come back sooner,” Kavel looked straight into Nathalie’s eyes as he spoke, trying as best as he could to convey his thoughts not just through words, but more directly still. “I am very happy I am finally here with you now.”
Kavel’s eyes looked down at Nathalie’s golden lips, and then back up to her eyes, and he climbed his hip resting hand to the back of Nathalie’s head and pulled her gently in for a kiss.
Kavel felt a smile against his lips as Nathalie kissed him back, bringing one hand up to rest on his strong arm, the other cupping the back of his head.
Their kiss lasted, but not long enough as Nathalie pulled back just a little to look into Kavel’s eyes again.
“I have been looking into ways you could visit more frequently. There is an item we could make, together, that would allow you to travel here or for me to travel to you.”
“Yes,” Kavel said with immediate enthusiasm and smiled, “Yes. I want that. I want to see you, and be here more often, and for you to come to the Dawnlands too.”
Kavel’s smile turned a little silly, as he continued, “call me foolish, if you wish. But, I am going to ignore whatever lesson I just learnt about fey deals and accept your item without question.”
Nathalie blinked in surprise, then shook her head muttering something in the musical language her man doesn't know. She gave Kavel a sidelong look, then, “Alright. I will tell my people to prepare for the ritual. In the meantime, you should speak to your friend. We will have time later for more personal training sessions.” She grins, the light of mischief dancing in her eyes.
The usual stoic expression on Kavel’s face, which had broken for a smile, had now given way to the largest grin he’s ever made. He is both happy, and very excited.
“Okay. Ritual and personal training. It sounds like you have a very fun and energetic evening planned out for us.” Kavel spoke through his grinning face. “But,” and his smile lowered a little, “you have been gone for two days. If you need to take things easy. I understand. I would be happy to just comfort you. And we can leave the gifts I bought, and made until tomorrow?”
“Every day is an opportunity to train… but perhaps you are right. A day spent in our hot springs would be just the right kind of recovery needed for everyone.” You May invite your friends, even the marked one. There will be an armed guard nearby but you won’t even notice them. Now what is this about gifts?”
“That sounds lovely. Thank you.” Kavel replied, “and, I will show you the gift I made. Let me get my bag.”
The Statuettes
Kavel opened his bag and pulled out what would be two, two foot, objects at his regular height. The objects were wrapped in cloth. The one intended for Nathlie was heavier.
Kavel came back to Nathalie, and with the lighter of the two objects in hand he explained, “I don’t have much to remind me of you. No portrait. But, I am good at carving wood. So I got a piece of walnut wood and… here, look.” Kavel removed the cloth to reveal the wooden statue he carved of Nathalie.
“Look, I carved you with the clothing and weapons you had at the celebration. Your pose is your stance, as we stood opposite each other in the ring.” Kavel handed the wood statue to Nathalie. “But, this statuette is for me. So, I thought you might want one of me, and since I am mountain-born, and I can carve stone well…”
Reaching down, Kavel picked up the other wrapped item off of the floor and undid the cloth. “Look. A stone statuette of me, as I was, looking back at you that day. What do you think? Do you like them?”
A warm flush appeared on Nathalie’s golden green skin. Nathalie's expression was stunned, and a little embarrassed, but she hid it quickly as she stepped forward to examine the statue of Kavel and then the one of herself.
"It is..." She cleared her throat. "They are extraordinary pieces. Though you are a warrior you show incredible, artistic prowess as well." Nathalie chanced a glance at Kavel before she went back to studying the one of herself. "A curious wood. It... matches my hair."
“You like it then? I am pleased.” Kavel took back the Nathalie statue and packed it away. Bag now on shoulder, Kavel walked back to Natalie, kissed her gently on the cheek as she held the Kavel statue, and then he kissed her again on her lips.
Looking into Nathalie’s eyes, and playing with her hair a little as he did, Kavel said, “I will go speak to my friends now, and wait to be retrieved for the ritual.”
"Yes. Good. Do that..." Nathalie looks like she is about to let him go when she grabs his arm and plants another deep kiss on his lips, the humidity rising around them. Then it's over and Nathalie is calling for her people, casting another lingering look over her shoulder with a smile before she takes off to prepare what needs to be done.
The Ritual
Kavel rejoined his comrades for a short time, explaining the situation with the mark. Everyone felt more relaxed knowing things went well. News of an evening at the Hot Springs was well received, too.
Kavel was brought back down to the meditation circle where he found Nathalie before. The area had been cleaned up back to a pristine condition.
The Half-Giant, foreign to this culture's ways, obeyed everything he was instructed to do. First, he and Nathalie stripped to their underwear. They were both given two halves of a bangle shaped to fit over their right forearm close to their wrists. They both held the bangle intended for the other - what they held was theirs to give and receive, and two halves of a whole.
Blindfolds were placed over their eyes.
Kavel was instructed on how to perform the bonding ritual. When performed, Kavel and Nathalie started a distance apart in the circle, and danced a choreography that mixed gentle movements and fighting movements together. Gentle ones for each other, fighting ones’ for enemies that would keep them apart.
It felt to Kavel like he was back on the Spirit Road, but at the same time he never left his body, as far as he knew anyway. When the lovers reached the point in the ritual where they were standing within reach of each other - and they knew instinctively when that moment was - they stopped, reached out, and put the crystal bangle on their partner’s arm.
“With this I bind myself to you,” they said in union, witnessed by the Elite Sprites around them. “On the new moon we will meet, renewing our bond, reaffirming this gift. If we fail to walk the Spirit Road to each other when the moon's eye is closed, the Spirit Road will be forever closed to me. Only you can set me free from this bond."
The two bangles, side by side fused together temporarily and when they unfused, their characteristics seemed closer alike than they were before the bond.
It was explained to Kavel that the bond magic of the ritual bangles was so powerful, only Nathalie would be able to free him from this bargain, if he so wished. The bangles, despite how light they felt to the Goliath, seemed indestructible.
The blindfolds were removed.
Kavel and Nathalie gazed deeply and passionately into each other's eyes as they held each other's right hand, whilst touching their own bangle with their left hand. Their eyes warmly embraced, as they stood sharing the same space communicating their joy for each other through their eyes alone.
The witnesses began to leave. Perhaps out of a sense of politeness…
A lot was being communicated through the lovers eyes. They may have agreed earlier to simply spend the evening relaxing after the worrying and exhaustive time on the Spirit Road. But, at that moment, both individuals' fatigue had been subdued by the devotion they felt for each other, and symbolised by the ceremonial bond.
Kavel put word to what his eyes hungrily desired. “I want y…”
Nathalie pulled Kavel’s arm, and turned herself so they both faced the same direction, and at the same time, she made clear, “not here!” She led them away to a secluded area, where they were free to engage in a rigorous personal training session. When the lovers eventually got to the Hot Springs, fatigue had finally caught up with them. When it came time to rest, they shared a long, well-deserved slumber in each other’s arms.
The Next Day
The couple stayed in bed in the morning for as long as they could, before Kavel had to leave with his comrades.
Kavel asked Nathalie if the ritual they undertook was a fey marriage. Nathalie was unfamiliar with the term ‘marriage’. When Kavel explained, Nathalie said it might be the same, but the vows they took were more binding because of the magic.
As Kavel considered the information, he pondered whether to get his lover a ring, when he returned to his own plane…