Forgotten Tales

Maiden of Ravens Gate

Maiden of Raven's Gate

I walked around in the wooden hall room wondering what to do. I have wanted to start to start a long term project for a long time, but nothing came to me and I wasn't very creative either. After I while I sat down in my armchair and continued to think. Just then Ulea, my wife walked in from the other room and smiled at me. She looked beautiful as ever with her braided hair, green eyes and the small scar on her left cheek.

She had just come back after fishing and she smelled wonderful like the sea: calm, blue clean water and the smell of sea salt. She came to me and sat down on my lap and leaned back onto me.

She whispered in my ear "What are you thinking about?" I whispered back "I have decided to write a tale, but I haven't the slightest idea what it should be about." She laughed in the most wonderful way and whispered again in my ear "Write a tale about the thing you love the most." Then she got up and went back outside probably headed for the meadows.

There weren't many tales back then in the first age.

Then the thought hit me, I shall write about the thing I loved the most. So I hurried to the writing table and opened up my new green leather bound book.

I picked up the quill and dipped in the ink and wrote nice and clearly on the first page: Maiden of Raven's Gate a common man's tale. It was a simple tale, my story. It wasn't a long wondrous tale filled with detail and action, but it was about how I meet my wife, therefore I considered it very dear. And so I began writing:

Once upon a time in Aeris, there lived two men. They lived far away from the capital, far away from all the wars and bloodshed. One's name was Pipflur and the other's name was Duriel. Both of them were best friends and never deserted each other. One day while they were walking in the meadow discussing normal things when they both spotted a beautiful woman. She was kneeling and picking flowers and mushrooms of all sorts. In the cool autumn breeze her hair swayed in the wind and she looked beautiful. Both of them instantly fell in love with the woman.

Both of them would watch her all day long, behind each other's backs. She would come to the meadow every day, pick flowers and other things and go away unaware of the two friends silently watching her.

Eventually they acquired enough courage to actually follow her all the way home. Pipflur went first, he followed her all the way back home and learned a lot a returned home without uttering a word to Duriel. Two moons later Duriel followed her home a learned the same things. Her name was Naὸime. She was born into a rich merchant's family but was not spoilt by the riches unlike her brethren. She had two elder brothers.

Day after day both of them would return to the meadow and watch her play for a while in the tall green grass. Eventually one day both of them got sick of just watching her from the shadows, they both decided to go and talk to her and befriend her. Duriel went first and befriended her. They talked for a while and left in the evening. The next day Pipflur came to talk to her he found Duriel already there talking to her.

At first Pipflur was quite surprised that Duriel was there, he approached her and became her friend. Once it was time to leave both of them left together, and when Pipflur asked Duriel who he was to her he said that he was a friend.

Pipflur believed him and they continued to be friends. Both of them believed each other that they were only a friend to her, although they weren't. Over a period of time, both of them grew closer and closer to her and they began to suspect each other of liking her. Then slowly and secretly they began to hate each other, they turned on each other but didn't express it out loud, they knew only one of them could have the girl.

Naὸime also soon began to like both of them, but was having a hard time choosing between both of them. They both were nice, charming and worth her time. Soon, both Pipflur and Duriel realized that she like both of them but could not decide.