Glade of Solace - Norran: Shadow's Speech

Solace Woods


 * Though the Solace Woods and deep as they spread across the stretch of the Forest District's untouched terrain, there are places even within that orchestra of life where one can find respite and peace. The area known as the Solace Glade is one of them.


 * Though relatively close to the Lomasa Road to the south, the world of politics and civilization is still hidden behind a vast wall of shardwood,river oak, and maple; the boundary of timber flanking this curious clearing on all sides, cutting one off from the Empire beyond the kingdom of nature within.


 * The glade itself is a peaceful place dominated by short, downy grasses, bursts of tiny colorful flowers, and a small rocky lagoon to the east of the dell that gurgles with crystal water. A blackened path of earth in the middle of the clearing marks the location of a frequently used site for camp fires, and it is no doubt that location which many Knights spend their time here.


 * It is around that campsite that one soon understands why this location is special, for circles around that patch of dark earth stand eight statues at equidistance lengths from each other. One of those statues depicts Emperor Talus Kahar II, shield in hand, with sword pointing towards the ground at his feet.


 * The other seven depict what one might assume to be some of the very first Captains of the Emperor's Blades, their armor ornate, beautiful, and from an utterly different period of time. Though their armor is different, and through they are are nameless as they are silent, their devotion to the Empire and her People is no less apparently upon their weather-worn features.

Easily noticed at a distance, even more so at this time of night, is the smoke from a small campfire situated in the glade. In the middle resides the camp of one armored Lomasa, bearing his full regalia as he sits on a log he'd apparently rolled out from the woods. He currently remains quiet, his sabre Sul'thraze rested across his lap as he idly wipes away at it with a cloth. His pack of the Watch, full of supplies and provisions, rests nearby where he can keep an eye on it. An obsidian-forged half-pike rests near one of the two bedrolls laid out nearby, neither of them occupied for the moment. An unlit brass lantern, still mostly filled with oil, also rests nearby. Every now and again, Norran reaches for the steel dagger buried before the fire to pull it out and idly shift sticks in the fire.

Fire-dazzle and floating sparks block out stars for a man in front of a camp-fire. Makes it hard to see past the glow of the flames, too, into the night past the space where the fire pushes it back. Shadow reigns, there, in the dark spaces between trees, in the long black cast by the statues as they stand their silent vigil above the Duke. It is out in those shadows that two burning coals move closer to the man and his fire.

A Shadowbeast does step quietly into the firelight - a young mage who bears its name, moving up past the stony emperor himself, a calloused hand resting on the statue's base. His eyes, look past the fire to the Duke, that odd radiance paling in the yellow glow of burning wood.

"I like 't here." Come the soft words - "Allus felt.. peaceful. Nae quite welcome, but.. th' statues ne'er left me feelin' wantin', th' way men do."

Without sight, Norran does still have his other senses. Although he doesn't react to Kael's appearance, merely continuing to polish the blade resting in his lap, he also doesn't act in any greater surprise than a faint raising of his brow. "It'd be a far cry more peaceful without the stony eyes staring at you while you sleep, or a sword pointing at you. I'd have liked a bit more shade, but it's far better than a hollow skull in the Outlands," replies the Lomasa conversationally, emerald eyes not straying from his sabre as he carries a serious expression. "What brings you out to such a set-off part of the Forest District?"

"Ye did." Almost fondly, Kael pats that statue's base.. and moves slowly to the fire, his bare and scarred torso casting a long shadow behind, into the dark. "S' nae any keep here. N' nonsense. Nobody I need t' fret 'n worry with - I donnae much ken all th' titles 'n bowin' an' such anyway." Curiously, he watches the Duke's work.. "S' where I used t' live. that way.." He nods west - "In th' wild past Apple Village. Well, one o' th' places. After I got this, anyroad." He touches the long, white scar - "were nae safe down in th' swamps, anymore."

All.. just conversation. "do y' hate me, Norran?" It's an oddly .. guileless question, the young man's eyes sad. "I.. feel like y' do. Y' used t' nae - I remember ye offerin' me.. well, more 'n I hae a right to. But.. m' nae good 't kennin' people - tell me 'm wrong?"

"It seemed quite the other way around. You and Celeste may think it had been fine to forget all that was while we were in the Outlands, but venturing outside the Aegis changed nothing. You took to show me disrespect with little care of it, so I thought it not best to reward your behavior with any respect of mine own," bluntly responds Norran with a faint chuckle, shaking his head slowly as he reaches a nearby branch to settle on the fire. He reaches a hand to grip Sul'thraze's hilt, inspecting the blade before sliding it easily into a baldric resting nearby. "Hate? Far too strong a word. I hate very few. Disappointment, likely to be more appropriate. I was as kind to you as I am Master Temple...perhaps you think my behavior harsh, but realize this: we are all bound by Imperial Law, but I was born to nobility, and you were not. Preach all you'd like of all of us being equal, but that is not how things are. Perhaps in Crown's Refuge, but not here. My lofty title may grant me certain rights, but it also gives me responsibility. Your title of Freelander does the same to you."

Kael considers that, gravely.. and when he speaks, it is soft - "Norran? Y' ne'er asked /why/. S' funny. Y' ne'er did." He crouches there, and looks into the fire - "Y' called me a dog, o' poked fun 't me fer bein' one. Y' meant well, 'n I took 't badly - s' why I said what I did 'n snarled at ye. S' been a while since then, an' I hae changed enough that if y' called m' that now, woul' nae bother me 't all. But then, 't did." He looks up to study the Duke, "I lived, fer .. s' best I kin tell.. five years, 's a wolf. Nae a man pretendin' t' be one, as th' Beast y' saw there. I lost m'self, Norran. All that I were, gone."

A breath, then, quietly - "Y' are a noble. I am nae, wi' ne'er be. But I hae fought 'n wrangled and dreamed o' bein' a /man/, nae a half-thing. Wi' ne'er really be that. But a man is nae a title - we wi' nae be equals. Ye are right, there. I am nothin' ye kin dream o' bein'... an' yer world I kin ne'er be part of. But.. y' allus treated me like a /man/. 'till then. Ye were one o' th' few." Quietly.. "Y' dissapoined me, too. I looked up t' ye - tried t' be like ye. An'.. y' hurt me. Deep.. an', 't seemed then, y' did nae care about that."

"Then I suppose I'm as guilty of being ignorant of your background as you are of mine," Norran responds with a low chuckle, resting his hands on his armored knees as he considers Kael. "I was raised a Lord, landless, but still noble. I became a Viscount when I took my birthright of Riverhold, and should I ever lose my position as Duke I'll likely become a Count. I was born and raised to lead and rule, I may have been born with far more privilege and Imperials than you, but none of it was free. I am held responsible for my House and my lands, kept under a closer watch. I do not have the freedom to go about befriending all freelanders I meet and spending all of my time with whomever I wish, even when I was a Lord. Celeste ignores this, but I was raised not to bring shame to my family." He breathes a sigh, shrugging his shoulders as he tosses the dagger's point back into the ground. "Regardless. I seek my place as a Knight like any other."

Kael nods, slowly. "I wi' allus be yer friend, y' ken. E'en if I ne'er get t' sit 'ere, like this, 'n talk t' ye again. I donnae ferget so easy." Thoughtful, the young mage offers - "I heard 's why ye were here. What this place 's for - s' one o' th' things y' must do, afore .. well, whate'er else happens, happens."

Quietly, he goes on, as his eyes flick back down to the fire - "Norran.. yer a Duke, an' soon y' wi' be a Knight, like th' old stories. Y' wi' be - 's in ye as plain s' th' stars were sayin' it t' ye. Can I ask ye a favor, though - 's a friend? S' a man?"

"A favor, hm? Well, now you've my curiousity," replies the Duke with a small chuckle, brow raised as he eyes Kael curiously. "Go ahead then, Master Firelight. Ask away. I couldn't imagine what it could be."

"Yer.. about t' make a promise. An'.. yer about t' be sommat no one hae seen in Fastheld fer.. well, since m' grand-da's time, and past him." Quiet and soft, Kael speaks as his eyes stay on the fire - "What it /is/.. well, th' law hae a lot t' say, but I ken better 'n most that /law/ an' /truth/ are nae th' same. What it /is/.. ye wi' be one o' th' first t' decide." He looks up to Norran - "Ye 'n I share that, did y' ken? S' far as I know, I were th' first." He taps his cheek, then looks back down to the fire. "Ye wi' be th' one t' decide fer all what bein' a Knight /means/ - yer choices wi' matter twice 'n three times any who follow ye. What 'm askin' is simple - make 'em th' best ye can, Norran - I hae faith y' are nae doin' this because y' just.. want t' be one - yer a bigger man 'n that. But.. s' more 'een than old promises 'n old stories comin' back.. y' kin make 't be more. Wi' be yer power, an' yer word. An' is a mighty heavy thing t' carry."

"I've been a Bladesman for two years, Master Firelight. The notion of Knighthood may be loftier and more free, but the most important part - honor and duty to Fastheld's people - rests the same. I'll serve as a Knight of the Imperial Crown as well as I did a professional Knight under the Blademaster," replies Norran honestly enough, emerald eyes lifting to settle on Kael as he tilts his head in contemplation of him. "Is that all? Milora should be returning from her errand sooner or later, I suppose."

Kael nods. "S' all. " He stands, carefully - "I donnae believe y' ken, yet - but y' will. I hope. An' when y' do, maybe.. maybe y' wi' remember." He smiles, wryly - "Light keep ye, Norran - an' grant ye vision."

"Light be with you, Master Firelight. Perhaps I'll see you some other time. I'll tell Milora you've sent your greetings when you return," replies Norran to Kael as he begins to depart, taking his claymore from his scabbard as he tends to cleaning it. "You know where to find me, if needed."

"... aye, I do." Kael nods, and turns to head for the shadows, already looking up at the night sky - "S' a beautiful night, still." His eyes flare red, his soft steps turning into the whirring of wings as the great raven takes flight, pulling up into the starry expanse.

''Return to Season 6 (2007)