Kariavau

Kari looked up as Mez approached, carrying an old crate, nailed shut, and worn at the edges. Across the top was a seal of some sort, blurred and faded, the edges of it hard to make out yet, very obviously a single rose, twined with a ribbon bearing the letters K on one strand, and D on the other. He looked to the old woman one last time and with her nod handed the box to the girl. Kari just held it for a moment, quite unsure whether she really wanted to know what had been kept from her for so long. "Go on...open it up...it's your life...your people...." Izzy said with neither sweetness nor malice in her words, it was just a fact. The wood gave way pretty easily as she pried up the edge with her dagger, the strong smell of musty dampness making her eyes water a moment as she set down the lid and sheathed her blade. She ran her fingertips along the parchment, trembling fingers tracing it's seal and the ribbon around it. She retrieved the note and opened it, letting her eyes settle for the first time on the handwriting of the woman who gave her life, Darianne.

My little love Kari,

You don't remember me, but I am your mother. I hope your life has not been too hard, though I fear with the way of our people, it has been. As I write this letter our village is torn in war, some returning to the old ways, some clinging to the new, others just fight because they feel they are losing power. You are not safe with me now, I was a fool to think it, and now I will pay the ultimate price to give you a chance at a decent life, or life at all, as I fear your presence here would end in your death.

My name is Darianne, my people are Gorbesh, your people are Gorbesh. There is unrest in our clan, some of us wishing to return to the old ways of our people. We mean no harm but, the elders here, they won't accept it, won't let us go peacefully. We wish to seek refuge with our Kaldaran brothers to the west but the journey is long and dangerous and I fear in my heart few of us will make it. Even your father, Kvou, does not know, in his hard, cold, eyes, I would be a traitor, banished, locked up, and you would be taken from me. For this reason I am entrusting you to the care of my most cherished friend, Izgard. She will take care of you, see that you are not harmed, her abilities as a healer afford her much lenience and she will flee with you to the safety of our sister clan to the North. Your life will not be as I had hoped but you will live.

Please know I love you, and...mourn the loss of our life together, my precious girl, my Kari-girl.

Darianne

The words stung like a thousand tiny bees in her chest. What started as a few small tears now rolled like a stream down her cheeks. She picked up the second note, studying the outside a moment before opening it to read.

To the daughter of General Kvou Dulkanov:

It is with regret I pen this note. Your father served us well, his death brought both heart ache and shame to his people. I served with him for 25 years, he was my best friend and blood brother and I loved him. The official word you will get will differ from what I tell you but, this is not from a Gorbesh official this is from your father's best friend.

We swore our lives to our people. While we have not always agreed with the decisions of our elders, we carry out our orders without question, openly. A group of our kin sought the solace of our Kaldaran brothers to the west but, our elders, who feared change and clung to their power desperately, with an iron fist, ordered that anyone who travelled the path to the west be eliminated. Our patrol was on edge, knowing we were about to kill our own people, we had been peaceful for so long, many of the soldiers had never taken a life. Your father led them, as his duty demanded and the group was cut down in a matter of minutes. As dawn broke, we carried our kin one by one to the burial fires, hoping the gods would have mercy on them, most of us hoping to find the same mercy for taking their lives. I saw her first, your mother, her red hair unmistakable in the early morning sun. My steps quickened, trying desperately to get to her first but, he saw me, followed the path I was taking, looking ahead of me to the body of his wife. He tore past me in a dead run, falling to his knees as he pushed back the hood of her cloak and cradled her to him. It was as if the world stopped turning in that moment, his cry of despair chilling us to the bone. He scooped her up and carried her home, no one daring defy him, or question, or even catch his empty eyes in their gaze. He found his home empty, you were gone, and simple note left on the table with a red rose. I stood in the door, frozen in fear and sadness as he read it. "Gone..." he whispered, "my Kari-girl is gone...Darianne.....gone..." His voice was so quiet I had to strain to listen, my eyes shut tight against my own hot tears. In that instance his blade was drawn and his body fell to the floor, and I could not save him. I buried two friends that day. And, began my search for you. Izzy...she loves you dearly, and will take care of you and will know when you're ready for the story of your people. I'm sorry...that I can not bring you a happier one...but it is something you need to know.

Your Servant and Guardian, Mezgorik

Kari sat motionless, eyes searching the contents of the crate, an official letter from the Gorbesh Army, and a dried red rose tied with a faded white silk ribbon bearing the initials K and D. She looked up from the box and stared at Mez, almost, in disbelief, this old man, frail and odd, nothing like the man who penned the note she held in her hand, nothing like a soldier. "M-Mez?" She almost whimpered. "Yes, Kari, twas me, I was there." Her eyes studied the bent frame that loomed over her, shrinking back for a moment from a gentle hand that reached to comfort her. "You knew all this time....you...killed people....you...were a soldier...?" He nodded then turned, quietly disappearing into the back of his cottage, emerging with a leather sheath in his hand. "This was his..." She took the sheath and laid it in front of her then slowly drew the sword, it's once shining surface now marred with a bit of rust. She placed it back in it's cover and took a deep breath as she picked it all up and stood. "I...am going home..." Izzy followed a few paces back, Mez watching from his door, tears spilling out from his vibrant blue eyes.

In the days that followed it was as if nothing had ever happened. She never spoke of it, the crate and sword hidden, somewhere with the hurt. "It's time I make a life for myself...I'm going to Crossing," she said flatly. Izzy nodded, she'd been planning this day for years, though it didn't ease the ache in the old woman's heart. "Here," she said as she handed Kari a velvet pouch, "not much but all they had between them...was meant for you." Kari never blinked, or even acknowledged the offer. She hugged Izzy, careful not to even touch the pouch, then kissed her wrinkled cheek. "I love you, Izzy, I will send word when I get there and find a place to live, you can join me any time." Izzy nodded, "I know Kari-girl...I love you too." The next morning she was gone before the sun rose, Crossing at the horizon, her entire life behind her, save the small bundle on her back, and the sword at her side.

She spent her days in the local libraries and guilds, listening and learning and her nights at an inn north of town at a village called Kaerna. One day as she started her walk to town, she saw an older man, carrying a sword like the one she hid under her bed. He was dressed in plate armor and carried a shield emblazoned with the visage of a lion. She stood in his path, unintentionally, just staring, unable to move, feeling as if he had stepped from her dreams. "Miss? Ye...ok?" He asked in a smooth, deep voice. "I...who....what are you?" She said, her voice soft and shaky. He chuckled, lifting the visor on his helm. "Depends who ye ask, miss. To some I am a silly bundle of tin, to others a hearty warrior, and to Darius...well....he thinks I need more skill." He paused but she didn't speak, her eyes fixed on his claymore, "Name's Thornridge, miss, Sir Thornridge of the Paladin's Guild, at your service." She nodded, "K-Kari...and...you said paladin?" "Yes, miss, paladin..." he thumped his shield with a gauntleted hand, "servant of Chadatru, the Just." She curtsied, and brushed past him quickly, not stopping until she stood before Darius, beginning her journey to find herself among all the pieces.

Last Revised: 10/31/03