The Gift of a Boon - Yinmaris & Queen Merla
Jun 2, 2023 15:57:40 GMT
Merla, the Daughter of Summer, Velania Kalugina, and 1 more like this
Post by Yinmaris on Jun 2, 2023 15:57:40 GMT
A slightly haggard and exhausted looking summer eladrin sits on his bed in a nice room at the Four Fair Winds Inn in Daring Heights. Yinmaris takes off his hat, boots and jacket muttering to himself, “I forgot how tiring walking in this world is, I really should have gotten some of those honey dipped pastries to go.” He smiles while thinking of his most recent adventure and leans back into the bed’s mattress fully, lying down and scooting up to the head of the bed.
Yinmaris’ eyes close for a restful trance on top of the comfortable duvet and bed sheets. As he rests he repeats a mantra in his mind to help his focus.
“Think of Home. Think of Harmony.”
His mind drifts off with the memory of the first meeting with Queen Merla and the harmonised trilogy of song that she had once sung all that time ago. He wasn’t sure when his memory manifested into a dream, or whether it was something else that brought it out and made it real. Much like in dreams, Yinmaris did not know how he got to the bright, warm courtyard surrounded with its trees full of purple, pink, and white flowers, but he was here, and he is not alone.
“You came. How delightful! Something told me you would.”
Yinmaris turns. Standing behind him is the Bright-Bladed Queen, Merla.
“Oh, Your Majesty.” Yinmaris bows deeply to the Queen. “It is good to see you! To be honest I did not know that could happen across worlds. I remember this was how we first met, it seems that memory brought me back in a more literal way than I thought.” His eyes blink as though acclimatising to the brightness of the Summer side of the Feywild. “How are you, Your Majesty? It has been a while since we last spoke and with letters I find it a struggle to do more than give you updates on how things fare with carrying Song in Kantas.”
It does seem despite Yinmaris’ encounter with the wizard and the consequences therein that he is in high spirits. Seeing him thus makes her smile.
“I enjoy your letters,” the Queen confides, tilting her head in a nod of appreciation. “Every one of them. They are a reminder that not long ago I was like you, Yinmaris — fresh faced and excited for what the world could hold.”
Her smile is as wistful as it is warm, as Merla looks around the courtyard. She takes a deep breath and it is like the whole world does too. When she exhales, petals fall from the trees in a swirl of wind and music.
“But I am well. Busy… but doing quite well.”
Was that slight hesitancy something more, or just a rest between notes?
“And yourself? Your return to Kantas could not have been timed better, it seems. Any word of the blue haired wizard?”
Yinmaris takes note of the mention of Merla’s past and the pause whilst he looks around the courtyard, taking a breath in.
“Regrettably nothing yet but I’m trying to go for a methodical approach. She came from Faerün to a place on the North Coast of Kantas so realistically she must have passed through a city at some point. I’m currently making contacts around Daring Heights. I think she could have used some of the services in Portal Plaza there to get to the tower even though she seemed able to teleport with ease. So hopefully this coming week I can find something about her so I can get this mark dealt with and Seraphina will be able to get the Codex back because right now the blue-haired wizard is an enigma wrapped in a villainous mystery. Which does intrigue me admittedly. Although I think the more worrying thing is the being she serves, Alatar who seems to be a Demon Wizard or a Wizard who became a Demon. He seems to be a true force to be reckoned with.”
Yinmaris’ face deceives him as he hesitates to speak, then his brow furrows from thinking and looks up to Merla.
“Your Majesty, I have a question and it’s been one I’ve had since joining the quest to the wizard tower. Do you believe in serendipity or destiny?” His Queen looks at him. Yin hastily continues. “I only ask because the circumstances with which I found out about the job was through such an odd event. I’d left the Feylight Garden Theatre after watching a show to head back to the Fair Winds when a loose piece of paper — which must have been dropped by whoever was placing the advertisement, probably Aries — flew rather effectively right into my face. I don’t know what to make of it but it does feel like it can’t have been a coincidence. I just don’t know what to make of it.”
Queen Merla studies him for what feels like a long time, the gold ring in her flowering eyes spinning in time with the soft music all around them.
“There are forces beyond our own that are constantly moving, always scheming. It can seem like serendipitous destiny at times. But it is not.” Her gaze slips away, momentarily looking off into some middle distance, a mercurial smile tugging at her lips. “I do not believe in such things.”
Then she opens her arms wide, taking in the setting they are in with a slow and deliberate spin.
“It is always a choice to accept what is given to you, Yinmaris. The gift of patronage, the boon of friendship, the opportunity to help those in need. Each step you take, every note you play is a choice to be who you are. If you stay the same then…” She comes back around, truly perceiving the young eladrin before her, “…yes, it can seem like Fate and nothing more.”
Yinmaris’ face relaxes as he looks into Queen Merla’s eyes and listens to her words, he smiles contently as though hearing what he needed to.
“Thank you, I thought that was the case. It was just a funny thing that happened. Thank you for the clarity there, I do much prefer thinking that the choice to go to the tower and giving my name was fully my choice rather than some weird machinations of another, I find the idea of destiny rather limiting.”
“I could not agree more,” the fey Queen says, her eyes sparkling with mirthful mischief.
Merla’s arms drift back down, one of them coming to rest upon the hilt of a rapier by her side.
“Is that all you came to speak to me about, or is there something more?” his Queen asks.
Yinmaris smiles and begins to bow while saying, “No Your Majesty, there was noth…” He stops, head cocking to the side in confusion while looking down at Queen Merla’s side. That weapon wasn’t there before. Yinmaris rises from his half bow.
“Apologies, Your Majesty for keeping you. I know you are busy, but was that blade always there? I don’t know if it’s this dreamscape but I could have sworn it wasn’t there before.”
The mirth that had been building in the Queen’s eyes spills over, becoming a delighted smile. “Oh, this?” She glances down briefly. “Perhaps it has been here the whole time. It is surely something unique.”
Merla does not pull it from the sheath, rather it seems to slide out of its own accord, carried on the same wind made of notes and petals as before. It shines with a vibrant green light, pure and wild as any magic from the Realm of Fey. Yinmaris feels a pull to reach out to it, to take it.
“Tell me. What do you see, Yinmaris Iathrana, when you look upon this blade?”
Yinmaris’s right hand reaches toward the grip of the rapier. The blade thrums with magic, the faint sound of a flute echoing from it. The rapier’s thin blade seems to react to the hopeful tune, switching between a vibrant green and a vivid yellow. It takes a moment, but Yinmaris does take hold of the rapier. As his eyes are filled with possibility, the rapier’s basket hilt shifts, the flute’s melody changing it into different colourful metals. In the span of a second or what could be aeons, the design that wraps around the whole hilt becomes a golden treble clef. In between the spaces of the treble clef are smaller designs of flowers and other musical notes, as if ready to leap out into the space around his hand at a moment’s notice.
The young eladrin looks up from marvelling at the rapier into the mirthful gaze of Queen Merla. “I see a beacon of light, a way to guard against the Dark. I feel possibility and adventure. But also I see hope, hope in its purest form, and a way to give people hope. Is this rapier for me, Your Majesty?”
“Should you desire to have this Boon, then it shall be yours, Yinmaris.”
“I do desire this Boon. Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The Queen of Harmony lets go of the rapier and the full weight of its form falls into Yinmaris’ hand. As it does, the dream around him surges with a cacophony of music, as if there’s ten, fifty, a hundred, thousands of instruments all playing at once. He winces but the sound is already retreating, pulling back so only the airy sound of a flute remains.
“Should you ever need to inspire the stars with the Light you bear, this blade will be there for you,” Queen Merla says. He looks up, sees her warm bright smile even as everything around them begins to dim, the dream fading. Yinmaris feels pride radiating off her at his choice and his intentions. It makes his heart skip a beat.
“Just as I am always here with you,” she adds, voice echoing, a hand reaching out to touch his chest. She sounds so far away but Yinmaris feels the warmth of her touch as the last of the light held in his Queen’s smile rises up and flies away.
As Yin wakes up with a smile, feeling Queen Merla’s pride at his choice, he stretches, yawns and opens his eyes to witness the sunrise excited to see what the new day brings.
“Hopefully it includes a nice tea and breakfast, I’m feeling peckish,” he mutters to himself.
As he sits up to put on his jacket and boots he spots a new addition to his belt, a familiar rapier with the same sheath that he saw in the dream. His eyes light up with glee at the sight as he picks up the belt and puts it on. Yin then looks in the mirror. His mind drifts off to the times his mother and father would disparage him for not wanting to be a knight when he said he’d rather be a bard. It seems his parents and him were both wrong on who he was and what he’d become. He’s found his fit. It’s somewhere in between knight and bard; and it feels good.
Yinmaris’ eyes close for a restful trance on top of the comfortable duvet and bed sheets. As he rests he repeats a mantra in his mind to help his focus.
“Think of Home. Think of Harmony.”
His mind drifts off with the memory of the first meeting with Queen Merla and the harmonised trilogy of song that she had once sung all that time ago. He wasn’t sure when his memory manifested into a dream, or whether it was something else that brought it out and made it real. Much like in dreams, Yinmaris did not know how he got to the bright, warm courtyard surrounded with its trees full of purple, pink, and white flowers, but he was here, and he is not alone.
“You came. How delightful! Something told me you would.”
Yinmaris turns. Standing behind him is the Bright-Bladed Queen, Merla.
“Oh, Your Majesty.” Yinmaris bows deeply to the Queen. “It is good to see you! To be honest I did not know that could happen across worlds. I remember this was how we first met, it seems that memory brought me back in a more literal way than I thought.” His eyes blink as though acclimatising to the brightness of the Summer side of the Feywild. “How are you, Your Majesty? It has been a while since we last spoke and with letters I find it a struggle to do more than give you updates on how things fare with carrying Song in Kantas.”
It does seem despite Yinmaris’ encounter with the wizard and the consequences therein that he is in high spirits. Seeing him thus makes her smile.
“I enjoy your letters,” the Queen confides, tilting her head in a nod of appreciation. “Every one of them. They are a reminder that not long ago I was like you, Yinmaris — fresh faced and excited for what the world could hold.”
Her smile is as wistful as it is warm, as Merla looks around the courtyard. She takes a deep breath and it is like the whole world does too. When she exhales, petals fall from the trees in a swirl of wind and music.
“But I am well. Busy… but doing quite well.”
Was that slight hesitancy something more, or just a rest between notes?
“And yourself? Your return to Kantas could not have been timed better, it seems. Any word of the blue haired wizard?”
Yinmaris takes note of the mention of Merla’s past and the pause whilst he looks around the courtyard, taking a breath in.
“Regrettably nothing yet but I’m trying to go for a methodical approach. She came from Faerün to a place on the North Coast of Kantas so realistically she must have passed through a city at some point. I’m currently making contacts around Daring Heights. I think she could have used some of the services in Portal Plaza there to get to the tower even though she seemed able to teleport with ease. So hopefully this coming week I can find something about her so I can get this mark dealt with and Seraphina will be able to get the Codex back because right now the blue-haired wizard is an enigma wrapped in a villainous mystery. Which does intrigue me admittedly. Although I think the more worrying thing is the being she serves, Alatar who seems to be a Demon Wizard or a Wizard who became a Demon. He seems to be a true force to be reckoned with.”
Yinmaris’ face deceives him as he hesitates to speak, then his brow furrows from thinking and looks up to Merla.
“Your Majesty, I have a question and it’s been one I’ve had since joining the quest to the wizard tower. Do you believe in serendipity or destiny?” His Queen looks at him. Yin hastily continues. “I only ask because the circumstances with which I found out about the job was through such an odd event. I’d left the Feylight Garden Theatre after watching a show to head back to the Fair Winds when a loose piece of paper — which must have been dropped by whoever was placing the advertisement, probably Aries — flew rather effectively right into my face. I don’t know what to make of it but it does feel like it can’t have been a coincidence. I just don’t know what to make of it.”
Queen Merla studies him for what feels like a long time, the gold ring in her flowering eyes spinning in time with the soft music all around them.
“There are forces beyond our own that are constantly moving, always scheming. It can seem like serendipitous destiny at times. But it is not.” Her gaze slips away, momentarily looking off into some middle distance, a mercurial smile tugging at her lips. “I do not believe in such things.”
Then she opens her arms wide, taking in the setting they are in with a slow and deliberate spin.
“It is always a choice to accept what is given to you, Yinmaris. The gift of patronage, the boon of friendship, the opportunity to help those in need. Each step you take, every note you play is a choice to be who you are. If you stay the same then…” She comes back around, truly perceiving the young eladrin before her, “…yes, it can seem like Fate and nothing more.”
Yinmaris’ face relaxes as he looks into Queen Merla’s eyes and listens to her words, he smiles contently as though hearing what he needed to.
“Thank you, I thought that was the case. It was just a funny thing that happened. Thank you for the clarity there, I do much prefer thinking that the choice to go to the tower and giving my name was fully my choice rather than some weird machinations of another, I find the idea of destiny rather limiting.”
“I could not agree more,” the fey Queen says, her eyes sparkling with mirthful mischief.
Merla’s arms drift back down, one of them coming to rest upon the hilt of a rapier by her side.
“Is that all you came to speak to me about, or is there something more?” his Queen asks.
Yinmaris smiles and begins to bow while saying, “No Your Majesty, there was noth…” He stops, head cocking to the side in confusion while looking down at Queen Merla’s side. That weapon wasn’t there before. Yinmaris rises from his half bow.
“Apologies, Your Majesty for keeping you. I know you are busy, but was that blade always there? I don’t know if it’s this dreamscape but I could have sworn it wasn’t there before.”
The mirth that had been building in the Queen’s eyes spills over, becoming a delighted smile. “Oh, this?” She glances down briefly. “Perhaps it has been here the whole time. It is surely something unique.”
Merla does not pull it from the sheath, rather it seems to slide out of its own accord, carried on the same wind made of notes and petals as before. It shines with a vibrant green light, pure and wild as any magic from the Realm of Fey. Yinmaris feels a pull to reach out to it, to take it.
“Tell me. What do you see, Yinmaris Iathrana, when you look upon this blade?”
Yinmaris’s right hand reaches toward the grip of the rapier. The blade thrums with magic, the faint sound of a flute echoing from it. The rapier’s thin blade seems to react to the hopeful tune, switching between a vibrant green and a vivid yellow. It takes a moment, but Yinmaris does take hold of the rapier. As his eyes are filled with possibility, the rapier’s basket hilt shifts, the flute’s melody changing it into different colourful metals. In the span of a second or what could be aeons, the design that wraps around the whole hilt becomes a golden treble clef. In between the spaces of the treble clef are smaller designs of flowers and other musical notes, as if ready to leap out into the space around his hand at a moment’s notice.
The young eladrin looks up from marvelling at the rapier into the mirthful gaze of Queen Merla. “I see a beacon of light, a way to guard against the Dark. I feel possibility and adventure. But also I see hope, hope in its purest form, and a way to give people hope. Is this rapier for me, Your Majesty?”
“Should you desire to have this Boon, then it shall be yours, Yinmaris.”
“I do desire this Boon. Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The Queen of Harmony lets go of the rapier and the full weight of its form falls into Yinmaris’ hand. As it does, the dream around him surges with a cacophony of music, as if there’s ten, fifty, a hundred, thousands of instruments all playing at once. He winces but the sound is already retreating, pulling back so only the airy sound of a flute remains.
“Should you ever need to inspire the stars with the Light you bear, this blade will be there for you,” Queen Merla says. He looks up, sees her warm bright smile even as everything around them begins to dim, the dream fading. Yinmaris feels pride radiating off her at his choice and his intentions. It makes his heart skip a beat.
“Just as I am always here with you,” she adds, voice echoing, a hand reaching out to touch his chest. She sounds so far away but Yinmaris feels the warmth of her touch as the last of the light held in his Queen’s smile rises up and flies away.
As Yin wakes up with a smile, feeling Queen Merla’s pride at his choice, he stretches, yawns and opens his eyes to witness the sunrise excited to see what the new day brings.
“Hopefully it includes a nice tea and breakfast, I’m feeling peckish,” he mutters to himself.
As he sits up to put on his jacket and boots he spots a new addition to his belt, a familiar rapier with the same sheath that he saw in the dream. His eyes light up with glee at the sight as he picks up the belt and puts it on. Yin then looks in the mirror. His mind drifts off to the times his mother and father would disparage him for not wanting to be a knight when he said he’d rather be a bard. It seems his parents and him were both wrong on who he was and what he’d become. He’s found his fit. It’s somewhere in between knight and bard; and it feels good.