As A Stranger Or A Friend?: The Swallow And The Drowned Sailor

Mariel - 6 Sun's Dawn, 1246 A.D.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to steal away tonight." I said softly as we left the inn we'd stayed at the night before.

"Why no?" He asked with a disappointed frown.

"I promised the children I would spend the evening with them. We are to bake an apple galette." I explained.

"I have never had one of those 'fore." He teased with a wink.

"The children were really looking forward to spending time with me..." I replied, not quite knowing how else to tell him he wouldn't be able to join us.

"Aye then. Will let ye's 'lone." He replied with a laugh as he offered me his arm.

I took it with a small smile and let him lead us along at a leisurely pace.

He dutifully returned me to the Copperpot's cabin, said his goodbyes, and went away. Yula was predictably excited upon my return, demanding to know all that had happened. I recounted most of the details to her, leaving some more private parts of the story between Axtapor and me, but I found it hard to keep my mind from wandering back to his request. Weaving a cord with someone was no small thing; in fact, some didn't participate in the weaving ceremony at all, despite it being the way that Solas Week should be concluded.

The tradition stemmed from Mother Mazvah gifting a handwoven charm to her beloved Axeses on the day of Solas itself. It was braided using only the finest of silk ribbons and made to be several feet long so he could wear it around his shoulders whenever he rode into battle. He adored the gesture and the cord so much that instead of weaving a new one to give her, he proposed that they should simply add to the one she'd made. So, each year the two added to it on Solas Day, and by the time they passed, the cord had grown to be well over one hundred feet long. It was used to bind their coffins together when they were interred, so they could remain with one another even in their eternal rest, becoming the physical manifestation of their bond.

The practice was immediately adopted across all of Oepus, not just for the embodiment romantic love but for other types of bonds too. However, because cords were representative of bonds, they must always be weaved in pairs, or else they would bind nothing. Between friends, a cord could mean strength and happiness for a more prosperous friendship. Between family members, it could represent care and kindness as a reminder always to treasure one another. And between lovers like Axtapor and I...needless to say, it was special, monumental even, because, in many parts of Oepus, including my home island of Naren, it was the way that couples announced their intentions of marriage. Did he know that? Did he want to—?

"Oh, Anna, you're so lucky!" Yula's pouty voice snapped me from my thoughts.

"P-Pardon?" I asked, nearly dropping the pale of warm water I'd been holding.

"Not so many women get to meet a dashing man like your Tevex and dance the night away under the fireworks!" She said, dumping the water from her bucket into the basin at her feet, then twirled girlishly.

"Tevex?" I asked with some surprise.

"Yes, well, he didn't give us his name, but he seems like a Tevex." She declared.

"Does he?"

"I don't know. Auntie Hilde said he did." She replied with a giggle.

"I suppose he does." I agreed with a soft smile, then came to add my share of water to the basin.

In truth, the name was strange and didn't suit him at all, but then again, I'd always known him by some form of his true name, so perhaps that was why I didn't think so. I was sure it was awkward for him too, hearing me be addressed by a name other than my own.