Chapter One
The soul is a peculiar thing. Should it wither and fail the fallout is said to belong to its keeper. When the soul of the great elf king, Gulrosh failed he simply faded away. Yet, when the soul of man is withered and dead his body marches on empty. As I said, the soul is a peculiar thing.
This is not the story of Gulrosh, nor is it the tale of mankind. This is the story of Rina, a simple jewelry maker from the small bay city of Skalpta and though this story may belong to her I find it does not start with her; nor end with her. Our tale begins a hundred years before her birth, in the house of Eldrid.
The house of Eldrid had ruled Balimar since the land was new. The name Balimar had been
given to both the large woodland region and the kingdom hidden within it. King Dwaelan had four children who were to be the future of the house of Eldrid, but only one would rule. The firstborn, much to the king’s delight was a boy whom Queen Kari wanted to name after her husband’s father, Waelan.
Next came Dasra, a girl who even as an infant had a fierce and intelligent gaze. Her brother grew up strong and brave while she yearned for knowledge and order. Several years later, Athlan, another healthy boy was born to Dwaelan and Kari. He was joyful and laughed every chance he got.
He became known for his rowdy antics in his youth and this reputation followed him. Soon after their last son started schooling, the royal family had their last child. Shael, a girl with the need to be in nature. It seemed to call to her. She was a joyful youth and her presence in the house of Eldrid brought many a smile to her father’s stern face.
As the children of Eldrid grew older they married and settled down into jobs for the house. Everyone was sorted into appropriate positions, with the exception of Shael. Her father had offered her plenty of respectable placements in which she could study or commune with nature, but she declined them all.
As she grew, she became rather fascinated in the existence of magical creatures hidden behind fae borders. She wanted to create a position for finding and recording them along with trying to reason with the fae people as whole.
She hoped to perhaps dissipate some of the mystery and fear. When trying to persuade her father of the need for this position, a fight followed that would change the course of the house of Eldrid, forever.
“If the fae wanted everyone to know of their goings on they would make themselves known.” Dwaelan stated, growing frustrated.
“I can’t explain it, father. I’m drawn toward it like a moth toward a flame.” Shael’s face furrowed as she paced the room.
“This is not our place! We are Elves, our matters are our own. As are those matters that belong to the fae.” He raised his voice; his daughter froze in watching him. “This is becoming less a fascination and more of an obsession. You need to drop it.”
“I’m not obsessed.” Shael retorted, coming back to herself. “Perhaps the wanting means something… I think it does.”
“These are the thoughts of a child, Shael!” His face grew cold. “You need to take your place in the house. You need to grow up!”
The king watched with a face as stiff and stern as stone while his daughter’s eyes began to cloud like the omen of a storm. They stood there a moment, neither one moving. Her eyes searched over her father while an idea that had been spurned long ago arose in her mind.
Just as quickly as the cloudy ominous look took over, it melted away with her decision. Shael continued to look her father over. His pale blonde hair hung long and straight. The tips of his porcelain ears could be seen through his many thin strands. The lightweight, filigree crown that sat across his forehead and temples was made of silver.
This shiny metallic accessory seemed to bring out the bright blue of his eyes. His tall cheekbones and slender face were poised in stern fashion though the small creases beside his eyes proved he had known laughter. The pale blue and pristine white of his robes only seemed to lighten the pale flesh color of his skin.
“Goodnight, Shael.” Dwaelan finally broke through the thick silence.
“Goodnight, Father.” She answered him, taking a few steps toward him. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” He answered, with a curious face.
Shael exited the room and left the house of Eldrid. She left the whole of Balimar behind and fled to lead a life of her own without the standards and rules of her house. Rumors that the forgotten princess had settled down in the northern most bay of elvish territory, Skalpta.
Her leaving took a great toll on the remaining members of Eldrid, but none so much as the king. In the first years of his daughter’s leaving, Dwaelan did search for her but all he found were bad leads and rumors. He then thought she would return on her own but as he waited his children and wife watched the life drain away from him.
As his heart withered with the loss of his joyful daughter his health began to fail him. He died twenty years after she fled, living for only three hundred and eighty-six years he had a short elven life. This left Queen Kari to rule in his stead until one of her children proved worthy to take over for her beloved Dwaelan.
In the years that followed Waelan had two children with his wife Enla. A boy named Rash and a girl named Aila. Athlan had a bastard son by the name of Brant who was cared for by Kari as if he were her own. Aila was the pride of the house of Eldrid. She was fiercely intelligent, compassionate, elegant, and brave.
She inherited the looks of her grandfather whose beautiful fair features were still spoken of. Those are the things her house and her people knew about her. Waelan and Dasra had been ruling together under their mother’s council so Aila had been raised to be the possible future queen of Balimar due to her brother’s lack of interest in schooling or anything structured.
Her father and Aunt had given her an errand for the house after she came of age. Aila was to journey through Elaros to the eastern border of Rafton in order to set up an exchange route for the dwarf kingdom that had taken over the region.
It was in that settlement outside of Rafton that Shael met a human man by the name of Clark Griffin. The two fell in love and continued seeing each other in secret through Aila’s elven magic and Clark’s ability to journey into Balimar.
Aila became pregnant with Clark’s child. To have a child out of wedlock would bring a considerable amount of upheaval to the house of Eldrid but to have a half-elf would tarnish the reputation of her family. Her child would have been raised in the shadows, never to live a life of its own. Aila told Clark of the child and he disappeared from her life, leaving her to face the future alone.
The thought of running grew louder and louder in her mind as the months rolled by, but she remembered the cautionary tale of her grandfather’s death. In remembering her grandfather, she remembered Shael, the forgotten princess who was rumored to be in Skalpta.
After Dwaelan’s death her siblings stopped searching for her, Shael hadn’t seen any of them in a century. From those few thoughts an idea arose, and from that a plan. In her second month of pregnancy, Aila’s mother began searching for prospective husbands.
In her fourth month of pregnancy she had become betrothed to Castian from the house of Belrae. He originated in Elaros and controlled a sizable army. Alia found him to be reasonable and thoughtful. After agreeing to be married she announced her need for adventure before settling down and requested some time to travel.
Her house gladly gifted her the time she asked for, seeing as to how seemingly appropriate she had always behaved. On her way out of the gates Aila found her Aunt waiting for her with a sharp gaze.
“You’re leaving.” Dasra stated calmly, looking up at her niece who was on horseback.
“Not for long.” Aila tried to force a smile to her lips but it felt and looked more like a nervous grimace.
“Why?” Her aunt probed, settling her gaze on the eyes of Aila.
“A little adventure before my life begins. Is that so odd?” She tried to play down her defensiveness poorly.
“For you?” Dasra smiled, feeling her answers growing closer. “Waelan may be willing to believe this is normal. I, myself, find it quite odd.”
“I- I just-” Aila sighed heavily, her hand inadvertently fell onto her stomach. She pressed her palm over it protectively. “I need to go on a small journey. Alone. That’s all.”
“I see.” Dasra’s eyes grew wide with recognition. She saw the tears in Aila’s gaze and knew she was going to be gone for a few months on this supposed journey.
“I’ll see you soon, Aunt Dasra.” She nodded, hoping to be allowed to pass onto the road beyond Balimar walls.
“Be safe, Aila. Come home soon.” She stepped aside as her brother’s daughter rode out of sight with a full pack and no guard.
She knew Aila had left to part with her ill-gotten child and her heart hurt for Aila. Yet, in another way she was proud of her niece. Aila seemed to be making a sacrifice for the house of Eldrid.
A willing, and very large, sacrifice it was to leave her child in the arms of another. All to protect her family name. Aila left Balimar and headed toward the rumors of the forgotten princess in Skalpta.
Aila hugged the border of Skjald on her journey north so as to not be seen by other elves. She entered Skalpta in eight days and went to a travelers’ hostel on the bay called Riders Inn. She began asking around and found no one willing to speak of the rumors following Shael.
She spent the night on a bench in the corner, clutching her small belly bulge with both hands for safe keeping. Aila awoke to find a strange woman sitting on the tabletop in front of her, looking her over with Aila’s own bag in her lap.
“What are you doing?” She started, jolting awake.
“Sitting.” The woman answered with a calm tone though her eyes seemed a bit worried.
“Who are you?” Aila questioned, eyeballing her bag. She thought of reaching out and grabbing it, but the woman was strangely calm which stifled her aggressive thoughts.
“Whose asking?” She asked in response, handing Aila the satchel she had stolen.
“I-” She paused, “I am a traveler looking for the forgotten princess.”
“Why do you seek her? And why here? Nothing ever happens in Skalpta, everyone knows that.” The woman looked curious. The hood over her hair didn’t hide her elven features.
“I have something for her.” Aila said quietly, straightening her cloak over her body.
“I may be able to help you.” The woman smiled a bit. “Come with me.”
“How do I know I can trust you?” Aila asked after taking a few steps to follow the stranger.
“You don’t.” The woman stated calmly as she continued walking up the road.
