The Fall of the Society

Chapter 38: New Companions

     "What happened next?" Rose asked in an almost desperate tone. "Did she allow you to stay with her?"

     "She slept for a very long time, and I kept expecting soldiers from Kullerin to show up to try and claim vengeance, but it never happened. It turned out that the neighboring, much smaller holds found out about the death of the lord and used it as an opportunity to sack his keep and end the slave trade he had established. This did not come as a surprise as he often target them to get victims. Anyways, when she finally awoke, she told me that she had been abducted from the woods near the town she lived in that was three to four days away on foot. She agreed to let me escort her to her home and that she would make a final decision about my service to her then."

     "My attraction to her was not one of physical desire, or to even be her partner in any way, it was much more than that. The way she walked and moved, her voice and demeanor. It is a very difficult thing to explain but I just needed to follow her. On the way back to her village, I eventually got to the point to where we were talking freely and joking. We had become friends, but her fear of my violence was still there. She admitted that she had no feelings beyond friendship for me which caught me by surprise because I had no desire for that sort of thing with her."

     "Once back in her village, I discovered why she was so special. She had the ability to heal people with her touch. Many in the surrounding areas revered her as a holy woman, but I just thought she was like me, a kindred spirit, and that was where my desire to be near her came from. Her village rested in an area outside the control of the surrounding keeps, causing it to be lawless and full of people who wished to take advantage of others, which is how she got caught in the first place. She used her healing power to help those in the village in return for food and other items, but before she met me was often forced to heal bandits and raiders that were hurt in the process of their evil deeds. Healing took a lot from her and the extent of the injury could leave her drained and weak for days. She did not ask me to stay and keep the peace in the town, but that is what I did. When she noticed what I was doing she only asked that I only use the amount of force that is necessary at that time. I agreed and things went smoothly. We were happy, she was back to helping others as she wished to do, and I was able to provide her with protection and friendship, which was what I wanted to do."

     "It had been almost one hundred years since I left the protection of my mother and wandered into the world by myself, and I could not remember a time in which I had ever been happier. After a few years of this arrangement, she fell in love with a trader from another village. She felt guilty at first because she thought she had put me in a difficult situation, when in fact she had not. I encouraged her to follow her heart and told her that I would always be there to protect her. Things progressed and she was soon being wed to the man. Her happiness radiated from her, making everyone in the town happier, but happy times often bring about sad times."

     "My protection of the village had created us enemies, and her desire for me not to kill unless I had to do so, caused the forces which wished us harm to increase. As it turned out, someone I had turned away from the village had started recruiting others in the area in hopes of overpowering and claiming her as their own. Their attempt on the village was violent, and overwhelming. I was unable to protect anyone except her. She was forced to watch everyone else in the town get murdered. Her husband was mortally wounded in the battle, but her powers would not come to her through her sadness. It was probably a good thing because the act would have claimed her life. I responded to their violence in turn, something I had never done in front of her since the day I freed her, and this time my fury was far more severe. There was a look in my eye, that struck a fear so deep in her that she could no longer look at me. Our connection was broken, she was so pure, and I had no right to be in her presence. She sat cradling her dying husband's head in her lap, tears streaming down her beautiful face, reflecting the fires of the now burning village. As a final act of service to her, I knelt beside them, cleaned the grime of war from my arm, and sliced my flesh with a clean blade, allowing my blood to flow into the stab wound in his chest. His breathing became lighter, and his skin regained color. He remained weak for a couple of days, in which time I buried the dead from the town, men, women, and children alike and I burned the dead of those that attacked us. When my task was finished, and he had healed, I escorted them to the town her husband had previously lived."

     "After parting ways, I traveled far and wide. I even joined crews going out to sea. I learned a great deal in my time traveling, most specifically that even though some people are good, humans as a race are evil. Every adventure I took eventually ended in blood, causing me to change course to a new destination. The whole time I deeply missed her, and I just now realized I never told you her name. Her name was Seralynn, and she was never far from my thoughts. We had been separated for almost twenty years when I decided to go back to see her. I had been through shipwrecks, countless battles, the discovery of new lands, and many other things but nothing ever parted her from me."

     "I was unsure of what to expect when I made my way back to her, half expecting she would not want to see me. She was as beautiful as the day I had left her, but she had aged. My appearance had not changed in all the time I was away, and I was amazed that she was not surprised by this. We talked days, exchanging stories of the time we were apart. She told me that after I had left that her powers had waned and never fully returned to her. In that time, she had become pregnant and had a daughter. Her daughter's name was Gwendalynn. I hate to admit it, but the very first time I laid eyes on her, I was in love. She radiated beauty and innocence, long blazing red hair, bright silver eyes, and perfect and fair skin. She moved like her mother, elegantly and proudly. I believe Seralynn could tell how I felt at once, but she did not bring it up. Instead she insisted that I stay and begin protecting her again. I agreed, even though I knew she did not need protection anymore. Her husband had died a few years prior, but she said he was never the same after the day that our village was destroyed."

      "The time flew by as I grew closer to Gwendalynn and her mother, and soon Seralynn showed her age. Her health began to fail and on her death bed she refused to let me help her the way I had helped her husband. Though she was grateful for my offer, she wanted to pass naturally. My sadness was deep, which may be why she did it, but she gave me her blessing in loving Gwendalynn. I remained by her side until she died, Gwendalynn with me the entire time. Once she had passed Gwen told me she did not want to remain there, that she wanted to travel as I had done."

     "After the funeral, we packed her things and gave the house to a family that lived nearby and left. We never looked back, we only looked to the future. While I was saddened by Seralynn's death, the way she approached it gave me satisfaction. She had not feared death anymore, she had lived her life and was happy with the legacy she had left behind. Gwen was like her mother in some ways, but much more daring and adventurous. We traveled to so many places and for so long that I could have never guessed that she held a secret, a very big secret that I am not even sure she was aware of."