One Final Chance

[High_On_Math 404]

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Several Years Ago:

     Luthriel and Remon walked into Cloud Temple together.  There, before their eyes, a dark elf infant lay at the base of a tree, abandoned.  Remon picked it up, "Who would leave a baby at Cloud Temple?"  Luth's eye widened, "An awful person.  Can I hold them?  Can I see the baby?" Remon gave the little thing to her, and she held it with her remaining arm.  "What do . . . what do you feed a baby who doesn't have a mother?" She asked Remon.  "How would I know?!" he replied.  She smiled fondly at the girl, "We'll figure this out."

 

A week later:

     Luthriel and Remon stood in the center of Ebonwood.  She stared at him with a hollow, melancholy look on her face, "The baby- I lost her," she muttered, almost in a whisper.  Remon, however, didn't seem too phased, "How? What happened?" he asked.

"I do ne remember!" Her eye began to swell with tears, "I was- was walking in the Ebonwood carrying the girl, and then- I do ne remember anything!  But a sick feeling, as though I remember the feeling of losing her.  When I try to think of it, all I can recall are the feelings."

 

"And? What kind of feelings?"

 

"Sick, Anxiety, as though I know I am going to die soon, and the child too would die."

 

"Luthriel, you died.  I can't say for certain, but it sounds like you did die."

 

"What?! Ne- I'm ne undead!"

 

"You are."

 

"Then I'm wrong!" she muttered, "I'm ne meant to be here, I'm ne meant to be here. . . . but even then, it's ne me I should be weeping for! The girl, what do you think happened to her!?  There's ne thing I can do - I failed.  Ne thing I can do to save her.  I do ne even know where to begin looking."

 

Remon shrugged apathetically, "You are not wrong.  Plenty of people are undead."

 

"What is wrong with you?!  Why are you ne - You act as though ne thing happened to the girl!"

 

"Nothing really phases me, anymore, after Kivdrona"

 

The events of the past year:

Luthriel stared at the empty bookshelves where countless blank books used to rest, waiting to receive the inked form of Iolas's words from beyond the grave.  She'd done her duty.  She'd spread his message.  All of Almaris now knew of the rumors: That Nim'bur was a servant of a daemon, and that he had killed Iolas.  She'd spoken with a paladin, and he'd agreed to apprehend Nim'bur if she could confirm the rumors to be true.  Soon, she would move back into that fateful Urguani manor and become a housemate of that kha once again.

 

The Xionist ghosts had said that daemons and anguls were responsible for the suffering of descendent kind.  She could believe at least that much of their message.  Another ghost had told her that perhaps, the reason she'd consistently lost any family she had over the years was because she loved them too much.  She'd loved family more than Godan, and thus, fate, the unstoppable servant of Godan's will, would take them from her.  It was not a half-elf's place to be happy, but to bear the curses that others cannot.  Looking down at the hound sitting next to her, she smiled slightly.  People cared for her, her dogs cared for her, Godan cared for her.  She just was not meant to have the family that she'd wanted.  Instead, she'd have to look forward.  She would find a way to protect descendent kind from Hell.  No matter who else had failed, she would succeed.  She had to.

 

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Luthriel returned from Kivdrona, missing her spear which had proven oh-so-useless in the battle against the . . . . the thing.  At least she had notes.  Information was what they had gone there for, anyway.  She walked into Edvard's forge, eager to share her discoveries with someone.  Veronna was there . . . delivering the news of Minuvas's death-state.  Any excitement that Luthriel had from her adventure vanished.

"NE!"

And thus began the woman's annoying rants about the importance of mandragora and blood lotus tea.

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Ebonwood died as Minuvas was comatose.  Elvenesse had threatened their princedom, and with a weak military force, comatose leader, and growing numbers of enemies, Veronna, now the leader of Ebonwood, had done what she thought was best to protect Ebonwood's people.  She'd submitted to Elvenesse's demands, and commanded Ebonwood's people to forsake their homes.

 

Luthriel stared at a picture on the wall, "Refugee again." she muttered.  Taking it off the wall with her only hand, which was an atronach hand, she muttered, "And still a pathetic one.  At least can I be a refugee with ten fingers?"  She stared out the window, "Maybe it's Godan's will that I ne have a home, either.  I suppose I will move to Nim'bur's place and begin prying him for information about daemons."  A long moment of silence followed, before she began crying.  Two dogs came up to her.  On sniffed her, then went back to sniffing the room.  Another sat next to her.  "Godan, dogs die!  They die younger than any human does.  And you- you do ne care!  Ne that you should, but- how am I supposed to do what is right when- when there's ne hope!  We all go to hell when we die, and surely do we all die.  You do nothing.  You created us with free will, expecting us to solve our problems ourselves, but what good is a will when my strength is so small?!  The only thing left to do is to resign myself to my fate and to find comfort here, in this life, but you continue to take everything from me!"

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The door of some large yet lonely manor in Urguan swung open.

 

"Nim'bur!" A woman's voice called out, "I'm moving back in! Oh, and maybe you could help me meet that daemon the rumors say you serve? Also- I'll need a large amount of space for . . . organic herb concoction creation"

 

The manor felt sickeningly empty.  Nim'bur approached from the stairs, not a daemon spawn but still a normal, friendly kha, though his eyes were blindfolded.

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In an empty cellar, Luthriel sat on a dirt floor, her back leaning up against the wall.

"There's ne point to my life.  I keep finding a home and then having to flee it, finding a family and then they turn on me or vanish.  Ne point in trying anymore."

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Walking one last time through the streets of Providence, Luthriel spotted Remon . . . 

Or, rather, a strange body wearing her friend's clothes.  Yet as she spoke to him, she realized it was him.  Something had happened.  Something that he wouldn't tell her.

As she stared at this person, a young boy ran up to them.

"Hello, do you know anybody who works at the orphanage?"

Luthriel looked down at the child absent-mindedly, still worried for Remon, "Ti, I do.  Why?"

"I don't have a family and was wondering if I could live there."

Remon replied, "Oren is no place for an orphan.  Go to the Vale, for it is safer there."

"But I've always lived here in Oren-"

Luthriel looked down once again on the boy, "If you would like, you may live with me. I'm living in a manor with much space.  It is ne a home, but it is . . . well it's more than a house, at least to me." The welcoming words rung out in a cold and hollow voice filled with melancholy.

"Really?! Thank you!!!!"

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 The trio arrived at Nim'bur's manor.  Remon took Luthriel aside.

"You're being cruel.  To bring an orphan to a house you yourself have said is not a home." Remon said in a stern tone.

"It's only because of the memories I have here.  This- this is the house where I took in the insane homeless man, Morbane.  There, by the door, is where he killed his pet fox.  The kitchen is where he told his young children that I was their mother.  And that road out the window . . . it's where my husband chased after Morbane, trying to kill him in revenge for what he did to me." she motioned to her missing eye, "And again, in the kitchen, I lay on the floor, a cripple, in between Morbane and the Druids, begging them not to hurt him, for he was a vampire.  And downstairs, is the room where I used to live with my husband.  And again, in the kitchen is where I last saw him . . . where he first saw me a cripple, held me and told me he would never leave me again, and then disappeared forever.  And upstairs . . . upstairs is where I left a girl . . . who I had adopted.  Out of guilt, I chose to abandon her rather than to make amends.

 

The boy has none of the memories I have, and this house doesn't have to be "

"Luthriel, you're not in a position to take care of a child.  You'll hurt him more.  Look at yourself, you are being selfish.  Take the child to the Haenseni orphanage, where he'll be safe.  But not only are you hurting him, but you're hurting yourself, too.  You'll fail.  You'll bring yourself more pain.  If you want a family this much, join the Azdrazi."

"But you told me ne to talk to them!"

"That was before I knew you were going to adopt a child."

 

The discussion continued, becoming desperately heated.  Remon continued pressing Luthriel, telling her that adopting the child would only bring more pain.

 

Ralphy overheard, and began crying.  Remon walked over, comforting the child in a soft voice, casting a glare to Luthriel.

"I knew I shouldn't have left the forest!  All I wanted was a family! I didn't- everyone I always talk to, I hurt!  My mom died giving birth to me.  I shouldn't have come here."

Luthriel walked over, muttering, "Remon was ne saying that you were going to hurt me.  He was saying that I was going to hurt you."

Suddenly, she ran out of the house, crying.

 

After a long conversation with Ralphy, Remon emerged from the house to find Luthriel crying on the front porch. "Go and comfort your son." he said.  She looked at Remon with pain in her eyes, unsure of what to do.  Ralphy declared that he did not want to be a bother to people, and that he was going to live in the forest again.

 

Remon approached Luthriel, whispering, "I'll give you one final chance.  Keep him safe.  Make sure he lives a happy life.  And if you don't . . . he won't be the only one to suffer, believe me.  Am I clear?"

 

And with that, Remon left Luthriel with her new son, Ralphy.

Edited April 19, 2022 by High_On_Math

[satinkira 6003]

Thrush, as he was now known, gazed upon the house which Luthriel resided. I fear for her. Pain has been her constant companion, and all those who know her seem to be infected with it. He considers deeply, eventually stowing away his bow.

One last chance.

[High_On_Math 404]

OOC: Satinkira asked me to change a phrase.  I was unsure if I should mention this for sake of metagamers, but he was ok with it.  the new phrasing reads:

 

"Nothing really phases me, anymore, after Kivdrona"

[Markisstreaming 521]

I played Ralphy and this is pretty much how it went. It was a wholesome RP and I'd love to do it again.

[RandomRhunes 146]

[!] A blindfolded kharajyr of much public intrigue strode unknowingly amidst a home far too large for him.

Edited April 19, 2022 by RandomRhunes