Mercenaries of the Gods: Chronicle One - Stories

Thrack's First Step

Our wedding was a simple affair. It took place in the spring under the blossoms of the family plum tree on a pleasantly warm day under a clear sky. My dearest wore the most beautiful red dress, and I wore the best cloths I could muster on my meager budget. Her lily painted fan covered her face revealing only those magnificent eyes of hers. Our vows were exchanged as the wind causes a shower of petals upon us. The beauty of that magnificent day has never been surpassed in my mind. 

While the marriage bore no children, we were beyond happy in our humble life. Many fond memories tattooed themselves onto my mind during that time. Upon my shoulder she would sit and joyously play with my dreadlocks while making our way to the market. Many winters dotted with playful snowball fights and that sly smirk she gifted me after striking my face. Her standing behind me with her smooth arms around my shoulders while I sat before a fire after a long day in the fields. Blissful nights of passion and becoming one under the stars. Of all the chapters of my life, this was the most serene. After some time, our parents departed this plane and moved to the mortal coil returning to the incarnation cycle, so the family homestead moved to our ownership. I cherish some two hundred twelve years of peace while we shared existence together on our small, perfect rice farm. That was, and will forever be, my heaven. 

My skill finishes crafting a red panda pendant out of wood. Red pandas are my Ying Yue's favorite. My fingers remove sixteen thick strands from my head. Weaving the strands together, my hands create two strings made of eight hairs each. I wind them together and carefully feed them through the pendant. Tomorrow, she departs for the mortal coil to see her kin. That may sound odd but visiting one's ancestors on the mortal coil was a very common tradition here. If you did not know, this place spawned the technique Morothoth and Alan taught Zaidu during the Tiamat debacle. Under normal circumstance I would accompany my dear Ying Yue, but due to my nature and home plane, that wasn't feasible. 

She dawns the pendant and places one of her prized gold earnings upon the tip of my left tusk. A wonderful dinner of fish and rice is enjoyed, and we spend one more memorial night together. As the sun rises, her perfect form awakes on my chest. She wears not but my pendant when she honors my lips with a kiss. My arms wrap around my dearest as I cherish her soft body upon mine one last time. Our breakfast is grand affair with a playful mood. While I do the dishes, she dons her finest dress and prepares what she need for her journey. The monk from the local temple arrives to facilitate the ritual, as is custom. Our lips dance one last time and the monk escorts my dearest Ying Yue to the wood line. We give each other one last parting smile then they disappear into the woods. Patiently I await word from the monk. That moment seems to take a decade. While scanning the wood line, I spy the saffron robe emerge and his smile speaks success. 

Total she was to be gone only two weeks thanks to the fluidity of time and shape of existences. My cunning planned a most wonderful surprise for her. Much of that time I spent expanding the master bedroom, for she spoke of wanting it larger for some time. With little time to spare, I complete the expansion and must hurry to prepare for her return. From the market I purchase the freshest fish, some perfectly ripe seasonal fruit and a few lilies, her favorite. Cheerfully, I put on my best cloths and wait wanting time to move faster. At high noon drizzle descended. I don my rice hat and wait on the old stump out front of our lovely home. My eyes eagerly scan for a hint of the beauty I missed with all my soul as I hold the flowers. 

Fifteen days later as a small bird sits upon my hat and withered flowers drape over my grip. While my hope remains defiant, my heart and soul scream in the most agonizing of all torture. The sun just crosses mid-day, and my tired eyes keep scanning. My breathing stops when my ears pickup footsteps and my spirit jumps in excitement. My head flings to the right and I see the saffron robes. My eyes well with tears as my soul cracks, splinters and then shatters into dust.