{"id":1149,"date":"2014-07-14T09:42:44","date_gmt":"2014-07-14T13:42:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jeezjosie.com\/blog\/?p=1149"},"modified":"2014-07-21T01:32:51","modified_gmt":"2014-07-21T05:32:51","slug":"nida-tears-pt-iv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/jeezjosie.com\/blog\/2014\/07\/nida-tears-pt-iv\/","title":{"rendered":"N\u00eeda: Tears, pt IV"},"content":{"rendered":"

      Today\u2019s snippet, titled \u201cTears, pt IV\u201d, is a piece I wrote about my PC in Mark’s new (Good) Pathfinder Campaign.
\n      Be forewarned, there are mature themes and naughty language below.
\n– \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 –
\n      \t\u201cThat\u2019s it, there! You\u2019ve done it!\u201d
\n      \tN\u00eeda clapped her hands. The look of awe and joy on Monica\u2019s little face touched her and she wondered if she had ever been so innocent and prideful of her power. Though it was nearly forty years since she had first come to study with Master Sorvanir, she remembered the early days as if they were a fortnight past. I was not perhaps the wide-eyed ingenue that Monica will be, but I know I felt such pride and utter fascination for the whole process.<\/em>
\n      \tDespite her years and the rank that would have allowed her to assist older, more advanced apprentices, Arcanist N\u00eeda preferred to teach the earliest lessons to the new arrivals. There was a satisfaction in teaching a youth their first simple cantrips that no amount of powerful spells could give her; once the wonder was gone from the students and the Art was reduced to nothing more than a few rote gestures and some memorized incantations, N\u00eeda no longer saw any magic in practitioning magic.
\n      \tA knock on the classroom door startled her eldest student, an elven boy called Gorsha (short for a name that put even her own to shame – Gorynel\u2019wasathaswyn Reumbaelielnaroth), and he lost his focus. The spark incantation he had been working on fizzled and the foul curse that slipped from between his lips made her struggle to keep a straight-face.
\n      \t\u201cArcanist N\u00eeda?\u201d
\n      \t\u201cEnter, Mistress Yanagar!\u201d She left Monica\u2019s side to greet her old friend and escort the priestess in. \u201cPrentices, take your seats please. Attend, this is Mistress Yanagar, second to the High Priest Matthew.\u201d
\n      \tSix eager pupils slipped into their seats and turned their eyes upon Yanagar. The tiefling was showing her age this spring, N\u00eeda could not help but notice. She alone of N\u00eeda\u2019s first friends remained at the Legion\u2019s compound. Eber had been killed by a Dretch at the very beginning of the Fourth Crusade; but death in action had earned him a permanent spot on the Litany of Heroes. Bamalang had retired just three winters ago, returning to his village in Five Kings Mountains. Rosabee had died in childbirth just a few years after she and Harry had married and left Kenabres to raise their family and Harry had never returned to the city, choosing to bring the surviving children up away from the horrors of the Worldwound.
\n      \tShe could not blame him.
\n      She did, sometimes, but she knew she should not.
\n      \t\u201c…and so it is crucial even those apprentices who shall one day be Arcanists study with the holy texts of Our Lady.\u201d Yanagar had a tendency to drone on and several of the younger students were already fidgeting in their seats. \u201cWith that, I invite each of you to sit in on Divinist courses whenever your schedule allows. I know all too well, of course, how our Arcanist N\u00eeda likes to keep her prentices busy.\u201d
\n      \t\u201cNo time for mischief that way, Mistress. I seem to recall an incident some forty years ago involving a fish bladder, some twine, and a cupful of fresh white pepper!\u201d
\n      \tThe old woman blushed and chuckled, coughing a bit at the memory. \u201cI maintain that was not me. Harry was- Oh!\u201d
\n      \tN\u00eeda\u2019s smile faded at the name but as Yanagar muttered about forgetting something and shuffled back to the door, her curiosity washed away the momentary annoyance.
\n      \t\u201c…would lose my head if it weren\u2019t stuck on,\u201d the priestess was saying from the hall. She shuffled back into the classroom, dragging with her a smallish figure. \u201cArcanist N\u00eeda, meet your newest apprentice. This is- er\u2026 I am sorry, what was your name again?\u201d
\n      \tThe boy was no more than three feet tall, but he carried himself well. He stepped into the light and swirled his mottled brown cloak with flair.
\n      \t\u201cJovi Bluetoes, my lady, at your service.\u201d He reached into a pocket of his tunic and pulled out a roll of parchment, still sealed with creamy white wax. \u201cThis is for you, Arcanist N\u00eeda.\u201d
\n      \tShe accepted it with a wan smile and tucked it away, trying to conceal the sudden trembling of her fingers. Later, once her class had concluded and each of her pupils had successfully used the Spark incantation to light something on fire (most of them kept the flames contained to the provided scrap parchment, but Monica had accidentally set her neighbor\u2019s wimple to burn and Jovi, with surprising intuition, nearly set his whole table ablaze) N\u00eeda locked the outer door of her chamber with both the mechanical device and a spell.
\n      \tShe sat on the edge of her bed and regarded them plain seal for a long moment. Terendelev\u2019s profile, very well rendered all things considered, with a crossed staff and longsword behind it. N\u00eeda remembered the first time she had seen it, adorning the official announcement of Harry and Rosabee\u2019s nuptials. They had mingled their chosen paths with the sigil of the Legion, intending then to stay in Kenabres and fight the good fight. N\u00eeda recalled how little she had seen of Harry after his wedding and how sheepishly he had apologized for the distance, when he came to tell her that Rosabee was with child and that they were moving out of the city. Don\u2019t worry, N\u00eeda<\/em>, he had said, flashing that grin she never could stay mad at, I\u2019ll write to you. And once Rosabee drops the wee one, we\u2019ll like as not come home to the Legion. I\u2019m destined to the Crusades, ain\u2019t I?<\/em>
\n      \tN\u00eeda fingered the seal, pursing her lips.
\n      \tShe had received precisely three letters from Harry after he and Rosabee left the city.
\n      \tThe first, upon the arrival of their first child, Luda, a daughter named for the deceased Lord Ludovico who had been one of Harry\u2019s mentors.
\n      \tThe second, to announce the birth of their twins, Little Harry and Teren, a pair of boys who were described as having their mother\u2019s reddish curls and hazel eyes, but their father\u2019s irresistible smile.
\n      \tThe last, which had only been partially written in Harry\u2019s own hand, brought the bittersweet news of little Cela\u2019s arrival, and Rosabee\u2019s death shortly thereafter.
\n      \tShe was afraid to open it, immediately worried that another death would be named within.
\n      N\u00eeda cracked the seal with her thumbnail and unrolled the parchment. She held her breath.<\/p>\n

Dearest N\u00eeda:<\/p>\n

      \tI hope you will forgive my lapse. Life is complicated and busy, even here in the safe heart of Brevoy. There is no excuse for it, except the truth, which is that I couldn\u2019t hardly face the world – least of all you – when Rosabee died. And by the time I could, it were far too late to make amends.
\n      \tHow does the day find you?
\n      \tCan\u2019t hardly believe its been forty years. I imagine you\u2019re still just as lovely as you were then. Can\u2019t say the same for me and mine. Fat and old and white haired I am. Got more hair growing outta my nose and ears than old Master Ronald had on his pate. Bald as an egg, he were. Do you remember him? Some days I recall every day with the Silver Legion like it were last week. Some days I can\u2019t even remember me own name. The physicians say it\u2019ll only get worse.
\n      \tBugger them. I will find a way to hold on to my wits until the end, I will. See if I don\u2019t.
\n      \tThis ain\u2019t no time for melancholy. Begging your pardon. But I gotta ask you a favor, N\u00eeda.
\n      \tCarrying this letter will be my grandson, Jovi. His mama was your namesake, Cela. Cellie died four winters back, in childbed like her own mother. Jovi didn\u2019t ever know his papa. The fellow – named Cory Morrow I think – could not acknowledge the boy out of wedlock, and would not break his Holy Oaths to marry my little girl. He feared to lose his standing in some poncy sun-worshipping Order. What kind of a Paladin would abandon his own wee one, I ask you! Not the sort we fought with in the Silver Legion.
\n      \tHis sun-bitch did not protect him anyway. Fell from his mount on the way to Kenabres and broke his fucking neck. Good riddance anyway.
\n      \tJovi is a good boy, N\u00eeda, but he may have a wee too much of the Bluetoe blood. Charms the pants of folk, but doesn\u2019t seem to have the discipline to be a real warrior like his grand-dad.
\n      \tHe says he wants to join the Crusades. He don\u2019t really know what that means, of course. He hasn\u2019t watched his friends be rent by demons or put a blade through the heart of his enemy. Don\u2019t think he\u2019s put a blade through anything but a pat of butter, frankly.
\n      \tThe local school teacher was an apprentice to a hedge wizard in her youth and she says he\u2019s got the spark. Like his grandma Rosabee. And he was raised in a house what reveres Our Lady, the Inheritor. Maybe he\u2019ll be a priest, or maybe an arcanist. Who knows?
\n      \tWill you watch out for my little monkey, N\u00eeda? The boy is the last Bluetoes in my line. Luda\u2019s children are all Greenharts, Harry Two died without any issue (that we know about – but the boy was a lady\u2019s man), and Teren married a gnome – so there weren\u2019t no wee ones born.
\n      \tI love that kid as much as any grandpa must, more even. I didn\u2019t fight the good fight, not really. But he will. With your guidance, Jovi will work for Iomedae and maybe when we close that bitch for good – his hand will be one of those upon it.
\n      \tDon\u2019t know if you ever understood, and it is too late now for rehashing it all, but I always loved you, Celen\u00eedaneth, and I hope you know it.
\n            \t\tSincerest Regards,
\n                  \t\t\tHarry Thomas Bluetoes<\/p>\n

P.S. Do you still wear your wimple?\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

      N\u00eeda folded the letter and lay it upon her lap gingerly. A pair of moist tracks upon her cheeks were the only evidence of how deeply the request had touched her. After a long moment, she composed herself, dried her tears, and crossed the chamber to her desk. There, she began to write.<\/p>\n

\nHarry,
\n      \tOf course. I shall be honored to guide and watch over your grandson. You may trust that we – the Silver Legion and myself – will make of him the finest man he can be.
\n      \tAs his grandfather was.
\n      \tAs his grandfather is.
\n      \tI have always loved you too.
\n            \t\tMy Warmest Regards,
\n                  \t\t\tArcanist Celen\u00eedaneth Loshenthenniel,
\n                        \t\t\t\tof the Silver Legion
\nP.S. Yes.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

      Her own seal was a wreath of stylized elvish script spelling out her surname, with the staff of her rank set diagonally in the center, resting upon a five-pointed star. She pressed the matrix into the warm, snow-white wax.
\n      \u201cIt never is too late, Harry,\u201d she told the parchment, as if its recipient could hear her words. \u201cTo mend fences. Even if the cows have escaped, they can be penned once more when the damage is fixed.\u201d
\n      She supposed it wouldn\u2019t do to think about how little it mattered to mend a fence, once the cow grew too old and died.
\n– \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 –
\n\"Signed,
\nNote: Image is “King Jagiello Statue Central” by (Mulligand) from SXC.hu; edited by me<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Today\u2019s snippet, titled \u201cTears, pt IV\u201d, is a piece I wrote about my PC in Mark’s new (Good) Pathfinder Campaign.       Be forewarned, there are mature themes and naughty language below. – \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 –       \u201cThat\u2019s it, there! You\u2019ve done… <\/p>\n

Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,14,1],"tags":[4,170,121],"class_list":["post-1149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaming-2","category-snippet","category-uncategorized","tag-gaming","tag-nida","tag-pathfinder","xfolkentry","clearfix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/jeezjosie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/jeezjosie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/jeezjosie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jeezjosie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jeezjosie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1149"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/jeezjosie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1150,"href":"http:\/\/jeezjosie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1149\/revisions\/1150"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jeezjosie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/jeezjosie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jeezjosie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jeezjosie.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}