Rebirth: Lady of the River

Chapter Four: Valeria

He was taken away, kicking and screaming like a child throwing a tantrum. I doubted anyone would miss such a foul and awful man. Perhaps the Thagallians were doing Sebia a favor by ridding them of such a self-righteous and arrogant man. Either way, I didn't feel bad that he wouldn't make it through the night. What kind of person beat a defenseless and bound woman?

A coward, I told myself, thinking of the times before, as an adolescent. The time when I'd had pretty dresses and gone to a wonderful prep school. The time when my father had been alive and mother had still been herself. Before the accident.

"My lady," I lifted my head to gaze up at the Enchanter, Emrys. He stooped before me, his long, silken gold hair falling in front of his fair face. "I'd like to apologize. I should have prevented that barbarian from doing what he did, but... I was playing the part as his officer. I could not draw too much attention before we were on the proper place on the board. Young Ser Friseal told me that you were injured quite badly when he and his raven, Iain discovered you."

He was pretty. Very pretty. I don't think I'd ever seen a man with such an ambiguously lovely face, perfectly sculpted cheekbones, and winged golden brows above liquid emerald eyes. He had a straight nose and solid jaw, perhaps the sharpness of it contrasting with the elegance of his eyes. 

"I harbor no ill feelings," I told him honestly. "You did nothing to me and I understand the predicament that you were in. You did not wish to blow your cover and you did tell him not to lay a hand on me."

"I still might have done more. I see you are well now that the manacles were removed, but that does not change the fact the past few days must have been torture," Emrys continued, still not convinced he had made it clear that he was sorry. 

"If you're so insistent, perhaps you could help me understand a few things then," I suggested, watching as one of his delicate brows arched. "I'm a bit... lost as to what's going on. I understand so far that Sebia and Thagallia do not get along."

"Hm," Emrys pursed his lips. "I did suspect if you'd be omnipotent... but you were so quiet. I suppose the Goddess cannot hand us all of our solutions on a silver platter," the enchanter remarked, plopping down beside me. "Yes, Thagallia and Sebia have been at odds with one another for decades now."

"Are you Thagallian?" I think I knew the answer to that. Emrys did not feel like the rest of them. 

"No, I am not. I am an ally, but my homeland is across the Bordburg Sea in Wynval. The Bordburg is the ocean on Thagallia's coast."

"Why was Ceolred calling the Thagallians monsters?"

"The Sebians believe that the Thagallians have always been cursed. Truth be told, they've always been sub-human. To you and I, they may appear to be just like us, but they are not. They are all shapeshifters and while they adhere to human politics, commerce, and culture, there is also a deeper culture that only they can fathom. Their faces are human most of the time, but their souls and hearts are that of wolves. As you heard Ser Faolan Glynn, Ceolred is to face the Trial by the Moon.

"He will be released into the woods at night with two Wolves at his heels, Gronow and Llyod. They will hunt him and kill him. If the Goddess wills it, she will spare him, but I highly doubt it. Ceolred will die tonight beneath the moon's eyes."

I shivered at the thought, glancing back out at them. "So... they're werewolves? Part man and part human."

"No, I wouldn't call them that. They're shapeshifters. Lycans are creatures driven by instinct and madness beneath the full moon. The Thagallians retain their memories and intelligence in their wolf forms. But for those who do not understand their culture, it is easy to mistake them for their terrible counterparts. Sebia had done this since their most recent kind ascended to the throne. I suspect it is due to his own jealousy that the woman he loved left him for a Thagallian that he proclaimed the entire kingdom to be fill with monsters. 

"King Ulster ushered in a new religion and sanct against magic and magic beings. Those that wield magic or are magic, by birth, like the Thagallians, were proclaimed as daemons or evil creatures. In the eyes of their 'God' we need to be re-educated or purged. Thus far, Sebia has conquered Kroterra to the north and Yeniel to the south. Thagallia is the last kingdom on the continent of Idora that has not fallen beneath King Ulster's crusade. 

"Each kingdom he 'converts' he shackles the mages and condemns the non-humans. Those who resist are killed, the others who submit become slaves. Only humans are allowed to live in peace and only so long as they cannot use magic."

I swallowed at the thought, realizing that if I had really been brought to the capitol, that I would have been killed just as Ceolred was chittering about. "And Ceolred said that Thagallia is blighted."

Emrys pursed his lips and nodded. "King Ulster may condemn others using magic, but make no mistake, he'll certainly make use of it when it's convenient to him. There are various kind of manacles like the ones you wore; others can be used to enslave the mages so that a person with the master to the bracelet can control them. Ulster sent Shades - that is what we call these enslaved mages - into Thagallia to reap the land and people. Their magic polluted the very soil and native creatures, cutting off a large food supply for the locals. He proclaims that it was God's doing and that Thagallia is rotting because of the monsters that dwell within it... And people believe him. Why wouldn't they when he's indoctrinated them into his perfect religion?

"The foul will be punished by God, so it must be true that the monstrous Thagallians are now being punished. 

"Fortunately, Thagallia trades in coal, gemstones, and salt. With these trades still available, they're able to trade with kingdoms in Obrith, like my home Wynval. Those resources have been keeping Thagallia from starving, but it's still not enough. Convoys like this plunder the roads in Sebia. It's not preferrable, but nothing about this situation is," Emrys admitted with a tight lipped smile. 

It was a lot of information to be thrown at me at once and I doubted I would remember all of the names, but I could gather enough. Sebia was bad and was trying to finish a g******e that had consumed the continent. Who knew if they'd even stop at Thagallia or if they'd try to cross the ocean and impose these ideals on even more kingdoms. All out of spite and hatred.

A shiver dragged down my spine as I thought about my place in all of this. I was an outsider who knew nothing about this strange, magical world, and yet I was this Lady of the Rill who was supposed to save Thagallia. My brain hurt just considering it. How had I gone from a homeless seamstress to a messiah? I didn't have the knowledge or the tact to take on such an important position. 

"Lady Valeria?" Emrys prompted, probably witnessing my descent into doubt and worry.

"Uh, yes?"

"This was all destined to happen. Do not doubt yourself. You have already proven that you have stronger magic than you think. I saw your feet last night and yet today, they're completely healed. This is not a talent or skill that many are gifted with. You are the Lady of the Rill and your abilities have been whispered about for years," Emrys told me.

"That doesn't make me feel much better," I admitted, the reverence in which he spoke to me about my prophecy was overwhelming and it elevated me into a position of a being more than human. I had no poise or elegance, how was I supposed to be this Lady? I probably wasn't going to be anything like they were hoping. They probably hoped for a fearless and eloquent lady who knew what to do and how to fix everything.

"Right... that might still be a bit... overwhelming," Emrys realized, thinking back on the way he had phrased it. "It will come. Be yourself."

That made me feel a bit better. "Is there more food?"

"You're still hungry? I thought you ate three bowls already?"

"Ceolred didn't feed me for 2 days," I reminded him.

"I should turn him into a turtle before the trials so it's easier for the Wolves to catch him," Emrys snorted, irritably. "I'll fetch it for you."

The enchanter left me in my bundle of furs, giving me a second to look around the camp as the light of day was beginning to flee. People were watching me, no doubt because they knew about the prophecy. For a moment, it all felt familiar, the memories returning to me despite having been pushed deep down to the recesses of my mind. 

"They'll all be watching you because it is your debut amongst the other young ladies," father had told me as the maid brushed through my hair. He was expectant and proud, but I wasn't as pretty as the other girls, so I worried about all the eyes that would be on me. "Even if you feel uncomfortable, remember who you are. No one can take that away from you."

That was one of my last memories of him before he'd died in the accident. Even those memories felt fake, the idea that I had once lived in a manor, forlorn and lost. Everything had been taken in a moment, the plinth ripped out from under me and my mother as she descended into her own sorrow and madness. Father had told me no one could take my name away from me and yet they had.

"What happens now?" I asked Emrys as he returned with more food.

"What do you mean?"

"Where are we going after this?"

"To Thagallia. I suspect to their capitol to announce your discovery."

I swallowed a large mouthful of stew and grimaced. Just as it had been as a preteen, I would have another debut and expectations thrown my way. Only this time I was supposed to save a kingdom.