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<blockquote data-quote="Lylandra" data-source="post: 7542319" data-attributes="member: 6816692"><p><strong>Zafira and the Matriarch of Flint</strong></p><p></p><p>Session 33</p><p></p><p>After getting their issues sorted, Auryn expresses her wish to talk to her mother about her future plans. So she finally tells Galadin that she won't be able to stay in Pallita for much longer as she's still an RHC agent who has to fulfill her duties in Risur. Still this doesn't mean that she will neglect her people, which is why she'd eventually found her own enclave in Flint. She explains that this had originally been the idea of her Sahomi, but Kaealys and the Covenant made her realize that risuri and eladrin might be truly able to live together. </p><p></p><p>Galadin is still skeptical as her daughter might get a bit off track this time, but she does realize that Auryn is a Blooming now, which means she has both the clarity and authority of an adult woman. And which also means that she has every right to make her own path, so if her daughter wishes to become Matriarch of Flint, then so be it. </p><p></p><p>“But please, don't wait eight more years until you come visit us again, my dear. I'm still your mother and I'll be here whenever you need me. Don't try to shoulder the weight of the world all alone.”</p><p></p><p>Auryn grins in response, then nods her head towards Carlyle. “But I'm not alone at all. And don't worry. I'll return sooner or later.” </p><p></p><p>Auryn thanks Galadin for her trust and explains that there is one more thing she has to do before returning back to Risur: She needs to tell Zahir's mother the truth about her missing son. Galadin believes that she last heard about Zafira and her family residing in Vayatatou, a very secluded enclave. So we'd better ask one of the older residents from Pallita to guide us there. </p><p></p><p>Fortunately, we do manage to find someone who had been to Vayatatou before and who also volunteers to lead us through the 100 miles long path. Before we are allowed to leave Pallita though, Galadin asks for our presence once again as she wishes to send a gift to the King of Risur. She then presents a beautiful box with several larger vials of “Veteran's elixir”, a herbal essence meant to relieve older veterans from their ailments and bring back the strength of their best years. </p><p></p><p>We assume that King Aodhan will have the right kind of humor to understand and appreciate the gift (plus he <em>is</em> a veteran of Yerasol III) and agree to give the elixir to him as soon as we meet him again. We make Galadin also promise to send us a message should Pallita be in trouble (be that because of an approaching Borne or because some Mad King decides to expand again) or receive news about Kasvarina. </p><p></p><p>When we are finally about to leave the enclave, we are quite surprised to see all of its citizens gathered there. They make way for us and present colorful banners before singing the hymn of the new Matriarch's exodus and celebrating the future Matriarch of Flint.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #008000">(Well, they most likely heard that Auryn is from Flint and Galadin told them that her daughter might found her enclave in Flint, so... yeah, Matriarch of Flint it is. I wonder what Stanfield would say about his competitor)</span></p><p></p><p>We then travel a few days through the jungle of Elfaivar and manage to avoid the really dangerous beasts of these forests. After a rather long journey, we finally pass the border to an enclave that lies within a sinkhole so gigantic that it rivals a small valley. As soon as we tell the guards who we are and why we came here, one of them smiles broadly.</p><p></p><p>“Ah, the Matriarch of Flint and her honored Sahomi. We got a message that you'll come. Welcome to Vayatatou. Our Matriarch is eager to get to know you. We rarely get any visitors, you know.”</p><p></p><p>Auryn seems a bit baffled that her new title spread that quickly, but she plays along and pays the local matriarch her respect.</p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">(I'm pretty sure that it was Estelar who told them about our coming and Auryn being “Matriarch of Flint”. Guess that makes it somehow official now. Thanks, dad.)</span></p><p></p><p>We tell her some tales of the outside world, bring greetings from Pallita and warn her about the threats of the Colossus and King Vardanis. In return, she tells us a bit about Vayatatou and explains that her enclave is very secluded and well-defended, so no need to worry. It appears that their populace is rather large and we're also pretty surprised to hear that Vayatatouans tend to found rather large families and marry at quite the young age. </p><p></p><p>After that official part, we ask to visit one of their citizens, an eladrin named Zafira. The matriarch asks one of her many guards to accompany us to Zafira's home as getting lost is quite easy in her enclave. We find Zafira in one of the more elevated houses where she's reading stories to her children. She's quite surprised to see Auryn after all these years, especially in a place like this. Seeing her makes Zafira seem both relieved and nervous at the same time as she knows instantly that this has to be about her missing son Zahir who's clearly not arrived today. </p><p></p><p>“So the day has finally come where I learn about my Zahir's fate. Come with me, daughter of Galadin. We will need quite a few moments in solitude.”</p><p> </p><p>She leads Auryn to another room and then asks Auryn to tell her what happened after her son and she went missing. Auryn explains that she originally planned to leave Pallita on her own, but her best friend Zahir must have realized that something was amiss and so he approached her as soon as she wanted to leave her enclave. He knew he wouldn't be able to oppose Auryn, so he asked her to accompany her wherever she may go. Auryn knew she could easily overpower the youngling, but she didn't wish to physically or mentally harm her dearest branch-brother, so she tried to talk him out of it, albeit with little success. </p><p></p><p>“This mistake of mine would ultimately cost his life. If I hadn't allowed him to come with me, then Zahir would still be alive. Even if it was his decision to try protect me from these pirates.” Auryn states quietly and full of regret. </p><p></p><p>Tears fill Zafira's eyes as she finally knows for sure that Zahir won't come back to her. Still, she seems strangely relieved to know the truth. </p><p></p><p>“So my son died a warrior's death while trying to protect someone he loved. He died doing his duty. I know that he'd never been much of a fighter, and he would have never been your champion, much less your esteemed husband. Don't blame yourself so much for as long as Zahir was happy, I can understand your decision” </p><p></p><p>Auryn then takes Zafira's hands and makes a very personal confession: That losing Zahir and being imprisoned made her doubt the teachings of Seedism. But she then realized that Zahir's last stand would forever be engraved in her memory. That losing him would ultimately ensure that she'd never make such a mistake again. Zafira smiles faintly despite her tears and then thanks Auryn for ending her long uncertainty. She then asks Auryn to stay for a while as she'd like to perform a proper ceremony of grief for her dead son.</p><p></p><p>Some time later, we all partake in the grieving ceremony, which includes almost all of Vayatatou.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #008000">(Death is a rarity in young and safe enclaves like Vayatatou it seems. And it was quite fortunate for Auryn that Zafira didn't resent her for causing Zahir's death. She always had the impression that Zafira wanted her son to achieve better and she and Zahir even bonded over feeling pressured to meet certain expectations. Turns out that maybe Zahir projected too many societal expectations upon himself as well.</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">As an anecdote, Zahir would envy Auryn for being so strong and getting a path to glory prepared for her while Auryn envied Zahir for having the choice to abstain from the esteemed husband path altogether while her role was so pivotal for Elfaivar that she felt like she wasn't allowed to fail)</span></p><p></p><p>After that, we finally return to Flint to process all we saw and learned over the last weeks. Carlyle muses that Auryn's family will take some time to get accustomed to her partner while he had been subjected to so many new experiences that he'll need a while to sort it all out. But he found it a bit worrisome that all enclaves he came to visit had been completely different from one another. And this fact may trying to speak for a unified Elfaivar to the other nations nigh impossible. Right now, he fears, it would be much more likely to have one of the Mad King's “Empires” be recognized as “New Elfaivar” than a council of widely different enclaves.</p><p></p><p>Auryn cannot fully agree to Carlyle's assessment as the enclaves, different as they may be, still have a common system of beliefs, share a philosophy and have the same ultimate goal. But yes, daring to speak for all of them would be pretty pretentious.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lylandra, post: 7542319, member: 6816692"] [b]Zafira and the Matriarch of Flint[/b] Session 33 After getting their issues sorted, Auryn expresses her wish to talk to her mother about her future plans. So she finally tells Galadin that she won't be able to stay in Pallita for much longer as she's still an RHC agent who has to fulfill her duties in Risur. Still this doesn't mean that she will neglect her people, which is why she'd eventually found her own enclave in Flint. She explains that this had originally been the idea of her Sahomi, but Kaealys and the Covenant made her realize that risuri and eladrin might be truly able to live together. Galadin is still skeptical as her daughter might get a bit off track this time, but she does realize that Auryn is a Blooming now, which means she has both the clarity and authority of an adult woman. And which also means that she has every right to make her own path, so if her daughter wishes to become Matriarch of Flint, then so be it. “But please, don't wait eight more years until you come visit us again, my dear. I'm still your mother and I'll be here whenever you need me. Don't try to shoulder the weight of the world all alone.” Auryn grins in response, then nods her head towards Carlyle. “But I'm not alone at all. And don't worry. I'll return sooner or later.” Auryn thanks Galadin for her trust and explains that there is one more thing she has to do before returning back to Risur: She needs to tell Zahir's mother the truth about her missing son. Galadin believes that she last heard about Zafira and her family residing in Vayatatou, a very secluded enclave. So we'd better ask one of the older residents from Pallita to guide us there. Fortunately, we do manage to find someone who had been to Vayatatou before and who also volunteers to lead us through the 100 miles long path. Before we are allowed to leave Pallita though, Galadin asks for our presence once again as she wishes to send a gift to the King of Risur. She then presents a beautiful box with several larger vials of “Veteran's elixir”, a herbal essence meant to relieve older veterans from their ailments and bring back the strength of their best years. We assume that King Aodhan will have the right kind of humor to understand and appreciate the gift (plus he [I]is[/I] a veteran of Yerasol III) and agree to give the elixir to him as soon as we meet him again. We make Galadin also promise to send us a message should Pallita be in trouble (be that because of an approaching Borne or because some Mad King decides to expand again) or receive news about Kasvarina. When we are finally about to leave the enclave, we are quite surprised to see all of its citizens gathered there. They make way for us and present colorful banners before singing the hymn of the new Matriarch's exodus and celebrating the future Matriarch of Flint. [COLOR="#008000"](Well, they most likely heard that Auryn is from Flint and Galadin told them that her daughter might found her enclave in Flint, so... yeah, Matriarch of Flint it is. I wonder what Stanfield would say about his competitor)[/COLOR] We then travel a few days through the jungle of Elfaivar and manage to avoid the really dangerous beasts of these forests. After a rather long journey, we finally pass the border to an enclave that lies within a sinkhole so gigantic that it rivals a small valley. As soon as we tell the guards who we are and why we came here, one of them smiles broadly. “Ah, the Matriarch of Flint and her honored Sahomi. We got a message that you'll come. Welcome to Vayatatou. Our Matriarch is eager to get to know you. We rarely get any visitors, you know.” Auryn seems a bit baffled that her new title spread that quickly, but she plays along and pays the local matriarch her respect. [COLOR="#008000"] (I'm pretty sure that it was Estelar who told them about our coming and Auryn being “Matriarch of Flint”. Guess that makes it somehow official now. Thanks, dad.)[/COLOR] We tell her some tales of the outside world, bring greetings from Pallita and warn her about the threats of the Colossus and King Vardanis. In return, she tells us a bit about Vayatatou and explains that her enclave is very secluded and well-defended, so no need to worry. It appears that their populace is rather large and we're also pretty surprised to hear that Vayatatouans tend to found rather large families and marry at quite the young age. After that official part, we ask to visit one of their citizens, an eladrin named Zafira. The matriarch asks one of her many guards to accompany us to Zafira's home as getting lost is quite easy in her enclave. We find Zafira in one of the more elevated houses where she's reading stories to her children. She's quite surprised to see Auryn after all these years, especially in a place like this. Seeing her makes Zafira seem both relieved and nervous at the same time as she knows instantly that this has to be about her missing son Zahir who's clearly not arrived today. “So the day has finally come where I learn about my Zahir's fate. Come with me, daughter of Galadin. We will need quite a few moments in solitude.” She leads Auryn to another room and then asks Auryn to tell her what happened after her son and she went missing. Auryn explains that she originally planned to leave Pallita on her own, but her best friend Zahir must have realized that something was amiss and so he approached her as soon as she wanted to leave her enclave. He knew he wouldn't be able to oppose Auryn, so he asked her to accompany her wherever she may go. Auryn knew she could easily overpower the youngling, but she didn't wish to physically or mentally harm her dearest branch-brother, so she tried to talk him out of it, albeit with little success. “This mistake of mine would ultimately cost his life. If I hadn't allowed him to come with me, then Zahir would still be alive. Even if it was his decision to try protect me from these pirates.” Auryn states quietly and full of regret. Tears fill Zafira's eyes as she finally knows for sure that Zahir won't come back to her. Still, she seems strangely relieved to know the truth. “So my son died a warrior's death while trying to protect someone he loved. He died doing his duty. I know that he'd never been much of a fighter, and he would have never been your champion, much less your esteemed husband. Don't blame yourself so much for as long as Zahir was happy, I can understand your decision” Auryn then takes Zafira's hands and makes a very personal confession: That losing Zahir and being imprisoned made her doubt the teachings of Seedism. But she then realized that Zahir's last stand would forever be engraved in her memory. That losing him would ultimately ensure that she'd never make such a mistake again. Zafira smiles faintly despite her tears and then thanks Auryn for ending her long uncertainty. She then asks Auryn to stay for a while as she'd like to perform a proper ceremony of grief for her dead son. Some time later, we all partake in the grieving ceremony, which includes almost all of Vayatatou. [COLOR="#008000"](Death is a rarity in young and safe enclaves like Vayatatou it seems. And it was quite fortunate for Auryn that Zafira didn't resent her for causing Zahir's death. She always had the impression that Zafira wanted her son to achieve better and she and Zahir even bonded over feeling pressured to meet certain expectations. Turns out that maybe Zahir projected too many societal expectations upon himself as well. As an anecdote, Zahir would envy Auryn for being so strong and getting a path to glory prepared for her while Auryn envied Zahir for having the choice to abstain from the esteemed husband path altogether while her role was so pivotal for Elfaivar that she felt like she wasn't allowed to fail)[/COLOR] After that, we finally return to Flint to process all we saw and learned over the last weeks. Carlyle muses that Auryn's family will take some time to get accustomed to her partner while he had been subjected to so many new experiences that he'll need a while to sort it all out. But he found it a bit worrisome that all enclaves he came to visit had been completely different from one another. And this fact may trying to speak for a unified Elfaivar to the other nations nigh impossible. Right now, he fears, it would be much more likely to have one of the Mad King's “Empires” be recognized as “New Elfaivar” than a council of widely different enclaves. Auryn cannot fully agree to Carlyle's assessment as the enclaves, different as they may be, still have a common system of beliefs, share a philosophy and have the same ultimate goal. But yes, daring to speak for all of them would be pretty pretentious. [/QUOTE]
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