Edoras seemed so far away as the blood red moon above lit the rolling fields, yes the entire company could still feel it's shadow over them. Only a few hours ago they were ambushed and taken prisoner in the Bannerman's Rest (see HERE), a formerly pleasant tavern now in smoking ruins. Even less time ago they were freed from their captivity by Hawke's skill and a misshapen stranger's intervention...a stranger that Xanderian at least does not trust any more then she did the hospitality of The Bannerman's Rest. Trusted or no, they were still following the map that stranger had given them. Perhaps they rode into a trap, but they were all assuming that any trap was preferable to a prison cell and a quick noose for the "vile assassin" Addiela. They simply had no choice for the moment.
Looking around at her fellows in the moonlight as they sheltered off the road in a small thatch of trees, sister Addie looked cold and determined, as did Eduwiges. Nethrida was clearly focused on the task at hand, warily watching the road. Hawke, the hero of the hour, was still jittering, filled with fire and tension. The others were scattered about in the shadows, seeking to get some rest as they waited for the moon to set to ride the last few miles. At times they heard the baying of dogs in the distance, and knew they were being sought. Jail breaking, the killing of Edoras Guardsmen and the destruction of a tavern were all crimes of great weight in the Riddermark, not to be excused easily.
Away from the others, dark-eyed Calidis sat by herself, looking shaken by the recent danger and flight, clearly her first adventure away from the peace of Imladris was not turning out quite the way she had hoped. The pendant about her neck was blazing nearly as brightly as the blood moon above.
Taking advantage of the moment, Xanderian gripped Cyndwin by the hand and dragged her to stand before Calidis. They thus far had little time to even speak, this ancient daughter of the first born and the gold-haired Shieldmaiden, let alone to come to grips with the problem which so concerned Xanderian. Calidis had been too stunned with this strange new world, while Cyndwin had been just as overwhelmed with her return to a land she had thought she would never see again.
However, this fleeting moment of peace she had discovered in their flight had to be seized.
Xanderian cleared her throat and Calidis looked up at her, smiling suddenly as her new friend touched her cheek. "With all that has been going on, we have not had a moment to address the reason why I began this long journey, which is the riddle of the blue crystal, and Cyndwin's strange disappearance that we spoke of a world away in Rivendell (see HERE).'
Cyndwin nodded and touched her swordhilt almost protectively "To be fair, there have been more weighty matters to deal with!". The young daughter of the Westfold sounded far more confidant than she was.
Calidis inclined her head towards both Xanderian and Cyndwin and smiled wryly. "... I-Indeed. I hope the delay hasn't put either of you out of sorts."
Smiling, Xanderian settled next to her cousin. "Certainly not dear one....it has been a very complex time...but lest we lose this chance, my Cyndwin...perhaps it is time for Calidis Night Eye to see Warsong?"
Cyndwin paused, and slowly, reluctantly, slips the baldric off of her shoulder and extended her greatsword, hilt-first, toward Calidis, the blue crystal gleaming like a star at the crossguard. "Here she is...Warsong."
Nodding, Xanderian made a point of leaning away from the sword. 'In the hilt is all that remains of the gem which Cyndwin found...'
Despite recent events, Calidis seemed to find a more professional air about her as she glances at the blade. The frightened bystander fell away, replaced with the ageless scholar and craftswoman. "... May I hold it?"
Cyndwin swallowed hard, 'Certainly....' as Xanderian bit her lip...almost surprised at how nervous she suddenly was. One of her gloved hands gripped Cyndwin's tightly as if her lover may disappear at any moment.
Cyndwin passed the heavy blade to Calidis, distracted from her reluctance by the tight squeeze and shot Rian a reassuring smile.
Calidis studied the gem as Xanderian recounted the story for her again, 'As we walked in Carn Dum, the danger seemingly past...her hand slipped out of mine, as if she had paused to study some artifact or another as is her wont..and I turned....but she was gone, even her tracks in the dust were gone, as if she had never been. As if she had never graced the world at all."
Calidis nodded, looking up at her friend in sympathy as she heard her voice nearly break, and slipped her hands underneath the opposite ends off the blade, holding it with a sure air of experience. The adamant about her neck seemed to glow just a little brighter and the look in her bottomless eyes was somewhat 'far away' as she inspected it. She was silent for long minutes and seemed to be listening for something; a song or perhaps a voice like the one she heard when touching Heartbreaker, Xanderian's bow.
Xanderian watched Calidis, holding her breathe without thinking as Cyndwin looked on, eyes widening at the elf's sudden look of competence....and gave Xan a sidelong glance, whispering "oh...she truly IS a Loremistress!"
Glancing back at Cyndwin...the huntress tried to smile and failed. Cyndwin kissed her hand. "It will be fine, love...you'll see!"
Finally Calidis paused in her inspection and glanced towards Xanderian. "You spoke truly - not that I ever doubted you did... I can feel the contradiction of age in this sword. The metal sounds very young but there is an older note coming from that crystal. A much older note."
Xanderian nodded, 'The blade Warsong itself was forged by our dear friend Fillegedhiel...the gem affixed itself after Cyndwin reappeared'
"The curious thing..." Cyndwin added, "is that I didn't notice - somehow! - that the gem was there for a day or two...'
Calidis did not seem surprised, '"Indeed... And that affirms that the crystal has a will of its own. It is very unlike the trinkets I craft, which only act in accordance to whatever purpose I imbue them with."
"A will yes..." Xanderian explained as Cyndwin nodded. "Neither I nor Cyndwin have ever felt malice from it..at worse...it seems to be indifferent to all save Cyndwin'
Calidis nodded, still not seeming surprised."It is why I am... hesitant to try and engage with it as I did Lilta. Still, I think perhaps it can be reasoned with."
Cyndwin gasped softly. 'Reasoned with...You think it...aware? as we are?'
Calidis shook her head a little. "Not aware in the way that you and I are. But aware in a different manner... How do I explain?" She reached up and pointed to the adamant pendant about her neck. "This was made for me by my father. It is aware in such a fashion that, when I have need of it, it knows and does what it was made for. The crystal is similar except that it is not... bound."
The Shieldmaiden listened intently, a frown of concentration creasing her forehead as Calidis continued. 'Your stone, on the other hand It does not fulfill a single duty given by its maker. It fulfills whatever duty it decides to and can help or hinder whoever it chooses to. And, so far, it sounds like it chooses to pay attention to you."
Xanderian glanced up suddenly. 'Bound? To Cyndwin? Well, she discovered it...rescued it I suppose. Do you feel that it is indeed a fragment of the lamps as I suspected? That an echo of the great song is still vibrating it?'
Calidis sighed deeply and looked to Xanderian. "I cannot say for certain whether it is a fragment of the lanterns unless I engage with it. But... I am not so sure that is wise for me to do."
Xanderian nodded..."Learning more of your craft these weeks, sweet Night Eye, I agree..you should not speak with it...it is not Heartbreaker...Heartbreaker cannot be understood, but Lilta can be reasoned with within its own rules.,
'Why not, Lady? surely if there's no malice in it...?' Cyndwin was inspired by all this talk, and she wished to know more."
Calidis looked at the blonde woman coolly, but kindly. '"And yet it decided to take you wherever it willed. What it decides for itself is good-intentioned may not be so in our eyes. And if it is anything like Lilta--..." A hint of fear colors her expression for a moment.'
Xanderian put a hand on Cyndwin's shoulder. "The creation of all the world is not a thing to touch lightly, my Aza....and we know not how it would react. It rescued you, perhaps, from threat we did not see..but in doing so hid you away for a year..which for it was less than a second'
Cyndwin looked puzzled...raising one hand and smiling a bit "Wait, wait..you two are speaking above this poor Rider's head again! What is Lilta, and what do you mean, the creation of the world, love?"
Xanderian looked a bit awkward for a moment, but then continued. "Lilta...is Heartbreaker's true name...the spirit, or whatever it is, within the bow...it calls itself Lilta...and before our world was born, the great Valar sang a song, out of which all we know was formed, and the score of which all of history follows...this song, but just an echo of a fragment of a note, I feel is the tone you heard while sleeping in the crystal'
Calidis smiled wryly. "Lilta was... interesting to meet. Though I do not think she meant me any harm, there were some things she saw and showed me that-- Well, suffice it to say, I would practice even more caution should I ever engage with her in the future."
The huntress smiled. 'Just as she has sung to you, my Cyndwin, of battle and victory...and of things which have befallen me in the past...so it sang to Calidis, though I know not what visions she was shown."
Cyndwin looked wide-eyed at Xan, then back at Calidis..."and...you agree, loremistress, that my- this -fragment could truly be THAT old?"
Calidis nodded her head. "It is, in my view, a possibility. There is great age in its sound, older than I have heard before. Older than myself."
'And Calidis...." explained Xanderian, "Is no stripling such as I. She was mature when our enemy was but a bondservant'
Cyndwin shook her head slowly in wonder, then laughed and reached for Warsong again. "Well, anytime I can see such wonder and amazement in a pair of Firstborn Ladies, I shall count myself lucky!"
Calidis smiled a little more at that, seeing what her cousin Xanderian found in the brash blonde Rider. "Ah, but there are many among our kin who would still count my years as very few."
Somewhere in the distance, dogs bayed again in their pursuit, and Xanderian's voice dropped as her mood darkened for a moment. 'Sweet Calidis...my fear...as I have told you, is that Cyndwin may disappear again at the whim of the crystal...and that thought, it terrifies me. If we cannot know why it did what it did, IF it did what we think it did, then that fear rests like a sword, ever over my throat.'
Calidis nodded, '"... Perhaps I could engage with it, though I would certainly need Cyndwin's cooperation in such an attempt. If it is indifferent to all but her, I would not dare try to speak to it without her. It might be able to be reasoned with and persuaded to not do such a thing again because it does not sit well with Cyndwin."'
Xanderian looked at Cyndwin..unsure. "Such a thing would be between Cyndwin and yourself...and Warsong."
Cyndwin nodded bravely, hands on her hips, 'If you think it possible, Calidis, I would be happy to make the attempt, if only to ease the mind of my love. For what little it's worth in my judgement of such things, I ...how to say it - it seems diminished? lesser than when I first found it in Moria..."
Calidis sucked in a quiet breath and let it out slowly as she glanced at the crystal in the sword, feeling a moment of destiny had just been passed. "I will need time to prepare for an attempt. It is not something I would want to try while I'm still... overwrought with recent events." Obviously, she was still shaky from their company's escape from disaster and the bloodshed she had seen. "And I would perhaps need another to watch for any signs of distress and know when to try and break the contact physically."
Xanderian looked between the two of them, one her dearest love, and the other one of her newest friends, both so precious to her, and smiled. 'I will of course give what aid as I may, dear one...I would wish no harm to come to either of you due to my own perhaps childish fears".
Cyndwin snorted, 'Childish? Never! But yes, take what time you need to prepare of course, Loremistress!'
Calidis nodded resolutely, now committed. "Th-Then that's settled. I will endeavor to gather my strength in the coming days and... I will try not to let any upsets affect my mental clarity." The jewel about her neck seems to glow a little brighter having said that, yet she trembled just a bit.
Cyndwin took the blade in one hand, reaching out as if to steady her as Xanderian put her hand on the Elleth's other shoulder. 'I have perfect faith in you, dear Night Eye...'
Calidis smiled wryly and seemed to shrink in on herself a bit, though she still maintained her posturing. "I will be alright......but I think we should all steal a bit of sleep while we can. I suspect we will need it once we reach this cave the map describes."
Xanderian and Cyndwin both nodded and moved away, hand in hand, leaving the ring-sage alone with the stars and red-fringed moon. A quiet sleep did not come for her however, as she dreamt of massive lamps high above, blazing life out to the peaceful lands below...and then she saw their brutal, cataclysmic fall.
Always she remembered the cataclysmic fall most of all.
