War of the Races - The Verdant Realm

Tungl Maerborg, pt 2

With a triumphant smile, Glenna swept out of the room and down the hallway. She walked with her head in the clouds all the way home, Tungl Maerborg, Moon Maiden's Castle, a massive estate with a large castle with white walls and spiraling towers. A breeze picked up and she could smell the ocean. Her floating, star-filled hair whipped and whirled in the breeze, but it always returned to its ebb and flow like that of a black flame above her head. Her bare feet padded on white marble until large iron-bound oak doors greeted her.

“Good afternoon my lady,” The House Steward greeted her in a neutral tone, “How was your walk from the temple?”

“It was… invigorating Loh’gan,” She replied as she sauntered past him.

“Ahem,” Loh’gan cleared his throat before following, and continued, “Lady Glenna, your mother wishes to see you before you retreat to your rooms.”

“Is it really that urgent,” She asked, a tinge of annoyance in her voice.

“I got the feeling that it was, my lady,” He answered.

“Then lead the way, Loh’gan,” She answered with a resigned sigh.

As he led the way, Glenna followed him through the grand hallways to the garden. The white marble porch became stairs that turned into lush green grass as she stepped down into the lawn. Loh'gan proceeded in front of her through rolling sculpted hillsides and meticulously kept gardens artfully designed to bring attention to bright flower beds, clipped bushes in a variety of shapes, and large silver trees with thick trunks and tops that reach heights greater than some buildings. Loh’gan led her to a small depression in the landscaping centered between the trees where a small moonpool resided. Behind it stood a large torii made of ebonheart wood with a large crescent moon above it, and before the moonpool was a circular altar with its top carved in the moon's likeness.

Cryst’veyhl Moonlilly sat on a bench and watched the water ripple as flies landed on its surface, scuttled across, and then took flight once again. Across the pool, sitting on its bank of carefully placed stones that acted as the border of the pool, Yul’Anahaen Moonlilly sat with her dress flipped up so that it trailed out behind her allowing her to feel the warmth of the stone beneath her bare bottom while dipping her toes into the cool water.

“Hello, grandmother,” Glenna greeted Cryst’veyhl with a curtsy. Turning to Yul’Anahaen, who was staring into the depths of the moonpool, she curtsied and said, “Hello, mother.”

“Salutations, child,” Yul'Anahaen answered from the poolside.

Yul’Anahaen looked very much like her daughter, and Cryst’veyhl was an even older version of them both. Having just reached her majority at the age of one-hundred and seventy, Glenna was only seventeen percent of her possible lifetime and her appearance reflected it. She was young, she still retained a youthful softness to her face and body that bespoke her age. However, Yul’Anahaen was three and a half centuries old. Still not quite middle-aged, and her beauty matched her age well. Having lived only thirty-five percent of her life her beauty was that of Glenna's, only she was a blooming rose where her daughter was a ripe bud. Where Glenna had the softness of youth, Yul’Anahaen’s face was slimmed out and sharpened with maturity. Her breasts rivaled Glenna’s in size and magnificence, but the youthful fat on the rest of her body was gone, leaving toned muscles, broadened hips, and a thickening to her buttocks that bespoke of the thirteen children she had carried and birthed in the last one-hundred and seventy years.

Cryst’veyhl Moonlilly was another one-hundred and ninety years older than Yul'Anahaen, her eldest daughter. She was a regal five-hundred and thirty years old with only fifty-three percent life lived. As part of the enchantment encompassing their people, nottalfar hair doesn’t turn white with age like the other prime races or even other alfari. Cryst'veyhl's hair moved to-and-fro above her head like a black-flamed portal to a star-filled midnight sky that rose up seven feet above her head. Upon her forehead sat a moon-tiara of the head priestess, and upon her bare shoulders rode the mantle of House Moonlilly. In appearance, she was slightly more mature than Yul’Anahaen. Where Glenna was a rosebud and Yul'Anahaen was a blooming rose, Cryst'veyhl was at her peak, a rose in full bloom. Only the slightest of wrinkles showed at the corners of her eyes, otherwise, her bosom was fuller, her waist was only a little thicker and her hips were only a little broader.

“So, where is great-grandmother,” Glenna asked as she swiveled her head, looking around exaggeratedly, “If she were here then we could get whatever this is overall in one go, right?”

“What do you think this is,” Cryst'veyhl asked as she patted the bench beside her, beckoning Glenna to come and sit beside her.

“I thought it was going to be another speech about my obligations to my people, my religion, my House, and just what you expect me to do on your behalf,” Glenna mumbled.

“Yes, yes,” Yul’Anahaen sighed and waved a hand dismissively, “And yet, if you did not know your obligations to House Moonlilly by now, then we would have failed in your education long ago. No, today we are here to congratulate you, daughter. You must have been truly remarkable on your missionary tour of Annwyn!”

“Yes,” Cryst’veyhl continued with a husky chuckle, “House Tunglelvist and House Gaihl both made incredibly strong offers for your hand in marriage to their sons Hurdikihl and Ordwalf, and yet, no matter the offers, House Vale countered quite persistently.”

“How did they take being outbid,” Glenna asked her grandmother.

“Not well, Glenna, not well,” Yul'Anahaen answered, “However, this is the nature of things. They must do what is in the best interest of their families, and we must do what is best for ours.”

“So, mother,” Glenna asked, not fooled for a second that this meeting was purely congratulatory, “What is it you would have me do for my House once I'm married to Summerset Vale?”

“Nothing,” Yul’Anahaen answered, this time looking up from her distractions in the moonpool to gaze piercingly at her daughter, “As I said before, I have secured all that I want from them while negotiating your bride price.”

“Really? Nothing?” Glenna asked, her tone thick with disbelief.

“All I want from you, daughter, is for you to go and live a long and fruitful life,” Yul’Anahaen answered with a warm smile.

“I… I… don’t know what to say. Thank you, mother!” Glenna gasped in relief, and then giggled before leaning back on the bench and sighing as muscles she hadn’t realized were tight from stress started to relax.

“Your mother’s words are true, but not completely as altruistic as she would lead you to believe,” Cryst’veyhl chuckled as she patted Glenna’s thigh, “Though, after seeing your reaction just now, I understand your mother’s negotiating everything she wants from the marriage alliance openly from the start.”

“Of course, I would! Are you implying that I don’t always act in good faith for my family’s benefit,” Yul’Anahaen asked in mock surprise and insult, “You wound me, mother!”

Cryst’veyhl’s laughing sounded like clear crystal chimes before becoming a chuckle and then a sigh before she responded, “It is said a good negotiator knows how to use the carrot and the stick to get the best result. However, a truly masterful negotiator knows when to use them, and to what measure. There were times I thought Yul’Anahaen was going to chase that poor Anthiehl Vale right out of the house and down to the gate, but then, at other times, I thought she just might invite him to her bed even though his wife was standing right there.”

“He is a very fine specimen of his s*x,” Yul’Anahaen chuckled as she reminisced over the villralfar’s broad shoulders, wild platinum hair, piercing golden eyes, and athletically muscled body, “I would be lying if I said that the thought hadn’t passed through my mind. He would make an outstanding donor for the next child I make…”

“Mother! Don’t be crass,” Glenna gasped with a wave of her hand, rejecting the image the thought brought to mind.

“What?” Yul'Anahaen retorted as if insulted and placed a hand on her breast as if clutching a broken heart, “Do I seem too old now to take a man to my bed? Have I grown ugly, and unable to seduce him? Or, am I so old that you think I am uninterested in him or the thought of having children?”

“No, not at all, mother,” Glenna answered defensively while shaking her head, “It’s just, well, mother, you have always struck me as a bit too mercenary. You work and think only of the family, of our House. I have never seen you make a move that wasn’t thoroughly thought out and reasoned. You don’t make decisions based on your feelings, and so, I wouldn’t expect you to change now.”

Yul’Anahaen looked back at her pool, but her hand still clutched her breast as she whispered, “You are quite right, daughter. Quite… right. Everything I do is for the furtherance of House Moonlilly. Of course, I could wish that you were a little more mercenary, but still, I am not without heart. I too wish that I could dash off into the wilds with a handsome alfar and live a wild, carefree life of adventure while dancing through the woods under Seline's moonlight…”

Glenna’s mouth fell open in her surprise. She had never seen her mother so… open, and vulnerable.

Yul’Anahaen finished with a soft sigh while looking into the moonpool’s rippling reflections, then with a sudden shudder, she came out of her reverie, stood up, and walked across to take her daughter's hands. Pulling Glenna up in front of her, she purred, “After tonight House Moonlilly will be aligned with House Vale. We will be their exclusive partner in trafficking and trading felidae-alfari throughout Folkvangr. They will also use our ships for transport overseas, and as their partners, we will use our trade contacts in Alfheim and Vanaheim. The only exception to our exclusive partnership is a pre-existing contract with an Asgardian House that transports their wares throughout Thrudheim and across Atlantis to Asgard in the north and to the lands of Breidablik in the south. This marriage alliance, Glenna, lasts as long as you and Summerset are alive, well, and married…”

“So, what happens should something untoward befall me, or Summerset,” Glenna asked.

“The villralfar and dokkalfar both practice a form of levirate and sororate marriage customs called bloderfingir and brudrgjalda,” Cryst’veyhl explained as she examined her fingernails, “Basically, if you die, then under the custom of brudrgjalda we must replace you with a near relative. One of your sisters, or even Yul’Anahaen herself, should it become necessary. However, should Summerset die unexpectedly, then, under their custom of bloderfingir, you would have already undergone a ritual where you are wed to the next heir to House Vale.”

“Is there another heir?” Glenna asked as her brows furrowed. She couldn’t remember meeting any brothers, sisters, or even cousins when she met Summerset seventy years ago.

“No,” Cryst’veyhl answered with a shake of her head, “Their family line is dying out. For the last three generations, women married to their lords have been having problems carrying their pregnancies to full-term. Some of it may be breeding. The villralfar, like many nottalfar and ljosalfar nobles, have limited their already limited breeding pools by insisting on marriage alliances within classes. Now they are forced, like so many of us, to marry outside their people to bring in new blood.

“That seems reasonable,” Glenna answered, as if it were news to her, but in actuality had known for some time. She and Summerset had talked for many hours on many occasions about the plight befalling not just House Vale but all of the prime races.

Cryst'veyhl nodded before continuing, “Another reason they seek an alliance with us is that they believe there to be subversion in their midst. It is thought that there is an unknown force actively poisoning the ladies of House Vale once it becomes known they are with child. Either way, that is another reason they are seeking an alignment with House Moonlilly. As a priestess and a noble, it is well known that I, like my mother and her mother before her, have not married. Our house is a matriarchy, and we, as priestesses of Seline, make sure that the sons and daughters of Moonlilly are clean-blooded.”

Yul’Anahaen nodded her agreement as she added, “Along that same vein of reasoning, we as priestesses of Seline also specialize in healing and fertility.”

Glenna smiled knowingly as she nodded while saying, “And no doubt you used all of their ills and need to negotiate to our advantage.”

“Of course,” Yul’Anahaen retorted, her tone implying that it should have been obvious.

“Okay, so, now you know the basics, and Glen'nathel, congratulations,” Yul’Anadaen said, bringing the meeting to a conclusion, “Now, go on to your room. You have many preparations before your wedding tonight beneath Seline’s Moon!”

“Yes, mother!” Glenna agreed with an excited smile.

With a quick curtsy to her mother and her grandmother, she hurried away.

——(!)——

After Glenna left, a breeze picked up and blew cool air off inland of the Ocean of Ahti. Janaspi and Poma opened the windows so that the moist air would cool the room. Summerset spent the rest of the day lying on the bed counting the hours as, one by one, his ladies came over to lay down beside him and snuggle up before taking cat naps. At agonizing length, the sun began its slow descent toward the horizon and Summerset rose up and walked out onto the balcony to watch. Janaspi, ever alert to his slightest movement, crawled off the bed and padded over to slide an arm around his waist. With the vacancy of his warmth, the others roused, and Summerset and Janaspi were quickly joined by the rest. Together, they watched the sun descend into the waves of the ocean in a flaming red fireball that lit up the sky in a myriad of colors.

“Only a few more hours now,” Summerset mumbled.

“Yes, my lord,” Janaspi answered, though she knew he required no answer.

“Have you had any more visions since the last one,” He asked, as he turned to admire her profile.

She turned her bright blue eyes to him and smiled. They almost glowed, as they soaked up all of the remaining light in the sky around them as she whispered, “No, my lord.”

Searching her eyes for knowledge, following every curve and edge of her face, he admired the arc of her brow. Her long thick lashes. The fullness of her cheekbones. Their lovely sweep to her jaw. The squared-off edges of her jaw below her long, pointed, white ears were filled with furry white tufts of fur on top and back, but with soft pink skin inside. He loved the way her ears twitched when she was annoyed, or when she was excited. The way that she laid her ears back and he could trace their edges from their points all the way to her jaw and chin in the straight lines of a V. He loved the way her nose was wide across the bridge, but short and turned up at the tip, and he especially loved her wide, plump, pink mouth. Leaning in, he kissed her because he couldn’t refuse himself the pleasure of the caress of her mouth on his lips. When he withdrew she sighed, and he grinned as he requested, “Please, recount your vision to me once more.”

“Of course my love,” She sighed into his mouth before stepping back and reigning in her growing desire, “The vision begins with the full moon high in a night sky filled with twinkling stars. Beneath its glory, the Guardian of a dying land sits upon a high outcropping with a tall tree at his back. Upon the outcropping and surrounding him and a tree he sits beneath is fertile ground. Sharp jagged rocks are just below and curving around the outside cropping and the jagged rocks are a babbling brook. The Guardian is a lion. The Lion of Luama. He has dark brown fur and a platinum mane. Without despairing from the death all around him, he confidently lifts his head up and roars at the beaming light of the moon. The fertile earth below him rumbles, three spiders crawl and three snakes slither out from beneath the rocks. The tree shakes, and twenty birds take flight. The babbling brook sings, and three sirens join its song, heralding the arrival of a Champion. A great wind blows in from the west and clashes with the wind from the east. A great tempest ensues and spiders and snakes, the birds take wing and the sirens are all stirred up by the Guardian’s mighty roar at the moon. The Moon, for her part, weeps and sheds three tears that fall upon the forest below the Guardian. Stunned by the Moon's gift, the Guardian charges forth to find the tears and quickly acquires two of them, but the third is covered over and hidden away by the forest until the appointed time of the Champion's arrival.”

“Tell me again, my lovely Janaspi, what is the meaning of the vision?” He asked for the hundredth time since she told him of it years before.

“My lord, the full moon is the goddess Seline, and the Guardian is you. The dying land is the Verdant Realm. With confidence, my lord roars out to the goddesses in an effort to heal his family. Seline hears your plea and weeps, but she is not the only goddess that takes notice. Gaia, in her trembling, stirs up the spiders and the snakes. Lauma shudders, and the daughters of the eagle take wing. Amphitrite sings, and her daughters join her. This is the meaning of the spiders, the eagles, and the sirens. They are events that herald the coming of a champion, but that is not you. Rather, they are reserved for the Champion that is to come, and with the rewards, three daughters of the spider, three daughters of the snake, twenty daughters of the eagle, and three daughters of the water. Zephyra will bring the winds of change, and she will battle with her sister Eurunia, and in their excitement, they will cause calamity until they are tamed. However, Zephyra, just as all her sister goddesses do, supports the Guardian and makes certain his plea is heard, and the path to the Champion is open. When Seline hears the Guardian’s plea, she is moved to shed three tears. Each tear is an anointed daughter of Seline, the shaman, the priestess, and the messenger. With the retrieval of the first tear, the healing of the land will begin. Upon gathering the second tear, fate is sealed and the Champion will be born. The third tear is hidden away for she is meant for the Champion. Of the two tears that you gather, my lord, the first was me. The second is Glen'nathel Moonlilly, and the third is hidden from my sight.”

“I understand Glenna being one of the tears since she is a priestess of Seline,” Summerset said as he mulled over the riddle, “But I don’t understand why you are, I've never seen you act like a shaman?”

“My lord, my mother is the shaman of our tribe, and I was raised from birth to be one as well. I have simply never had any reason to use it since I became your mate. Also, you well know that the primes do not worship anyone god exclusively,” She chided mildly. She loved him dearly, but sometimes even he, as open-minded as he was, still had to have the obvious pointed out, “Kainda and Wyeth, for example, their tribes worship Gaia. Fahlene and Nephele’s tribes worship Zephyra. Poma and Urielle’s tribes worship Lauma, and I, along with all my tribe, worship Seline.”

“So, do all of the animal tribes worship one of these four goddesses,” Summerset asked, feeling naive that he hadn’t seen the correlation before.

“Yes, these and others,” Janaspi answered with a nod.

“So, how do you know you are one of Seline’s tears?” He asked while slowly running his fingers through the fur on her lower back.

She answered with a shrug before leaning on him and mumbling it into his chest, “I just know. It’s hard to explain. It’s like knowing that you are female or male, or like knowing who you are. Though, I was surprised when I felt a kinship with Glenna as soon as I met her. I knew almost instantly that she was my sister-tear, and yet, she doesn’t seem to know what she is herself.”

“Hmm,” Summerset grunted.

Looking away, he stood there with Janaspi and the others and watched the final rays of the day's light fade away over the horizon. As the heavens turned dark purple-headed towards black, he gave Janaspi and Urielle a one-armed squeeze. He accepted their caresses until they leaned in and kissed him. However, before their persistence turned into more, he stepped back and turned away before beckoning them to follow as they sighed dejectedly, “It’s time to get ready to head to Tungl Maerborg, and we must all dress for the occasion!”