A sad night {Abraxius storyline}

[Damira]

 There was no thunderstorm that night, and nothing to disturb the calm. Still, Damira couldn’t find sleep, no matter how hard she tried.
The old Kalmir knew there was something disturbing his beloved daughter. He went to her room to see what he could do.
“Damira, my pretty, he said as he knocked on the oaken door. Are you ok?”
Damira wiped her tears before to respond. “Aye, Father, you can come in.” The old man opened slowly the door, and went to sit next to the young woman. She smiled, in an attempt to hide her feelings.
“I know I’m old, started Kalmir, I’m not yet blind, you know? Something is really making you anxious.” She looked at her father, trying to smile even harder. “This must be difficult to stand all of this, sweetheart, but I know you have what it takes. You were born strong. Like your mother. You will make it, that I can tell.”

Damira couldn’t hold it anymore. Tears started running down her cheeks, rolling to her chin, and fall on the bed curtain. “A friend of mine, Father, one I thought I could trust, just betrayed us today. Friends disappear slowly, and I start to feel less confident about this. I don’t know if our plan will work, she sobbed slowly, with a voice filled with both anger and sadness.”
“Trust Rease, Damira. He knows what he does. He is no mere bartender, you know that. You will be successful, as the empire is still very strong, and the soldiers of Market Vale are strong allies. And, don’t forget, you are a Queen, my dear.”
Damira laughed a bit. “I have no land, Father. What kind of Queen has no land? The title his Holiness gave to me is responsibility towards my kinsmen, not wealth and power.”
Kalmir wiped his daughter’s tears with his handkerchief, and replied.
“Aye, a responsibility that you are ready to hold. You are not a child anymore. I don’t like seeing you risk your life like this, but I suppose it’s in your blood. And you succeed more than me or your mother. You have plenty of what it takes to lead an army to that war, and, since you believe in it more than the followers of the Dark Lord, you will convince you kinsmen to follow you, and win. War has never been easy. You need to trust your allies and you abilities. I know I will still be alive when the darkness falls, to give birth to a new dawn, a new peaceful life. I trust you, Damira. As does everyone else.” He smiled.

Damira smiled back at him, and this time, it was sincere. She hugged her father as she said: “Thank you, Father. For you, and for the people who trust in us, we will win”

[Fangedwolf]

The night wore on and yet the High Priest was still awake, still in the circle of power he had used to complete the ritual with Gorn earlier, and to send his message to Rease.  However the night was indeed not over yet, and he still had enough power to do this one last thing before he could rest.

Damira's upset had caused a rift in her otherwise firm temperment, one that he now used to slip into her dreams, though it was not as easy for him as it had been earlier, either through her own strength or the fact his own was waning through overwork.  He would however not falter or show any weakness however.

"Damira" his voice would cause her thoughts to stir towards him, and the scene in whatever dream she was having would change until she would find herself standing in a beautiful forest, maple trees and cherry blossoms around them, small lanterns lighting the trees.  "Damira" he would say again, and her attention would be drawn from the surrounding land to the figure that stood quietly there, his hazel eyes watching her calmly.  As he had been dressed before when speaking with Rease, again he was merely dressed in simple shirt and trousers, his hair tied back in a tail.

"The war is taking its toll on you.  You have been given a burden heavy on your shoulders with little reward."  He was entirely non-threatening as he stood there.  "It doesnt have to be this way.  Wouldn't you rather have land and power that go with that hollow title of yours?  Stop this fighting against us and it could be yours.  As distasteful as it may seem to you, he is not a difficult being to follow.  Those loyal reap the benifits of his power.  You could be one of those people Damira.  Think what you might achieve joined with us.  The peace you dream of could be a reality."

And like a mist in a strong breeze he would be gone, leaving her breathing in the sweet smell of flowers, the rustle of bamboo that would linger in her thoughts even as she woke, the sense of peace that he offered, one that would slip through her attempts to grasp it once more as she awoke more fully.

[Bogoras]

<ooc> Nice

[Damira]

The birds singing the arrival of a new day in the growing city of Market Vale woke Damira early, and still disturbed by her dream. A dream? It was so… real. She could have touched Najaal. “Or hit him”, she thought.

The shaken warrior packed her things, and grabbed her statue of Shyna, her faithful golden unicorn. She was going to visit an old friend, who could advise her. Even though Aradiel was mad at her for joining the Empire’s forces, he would not hold any grudge. But why did Damira join the Empire to begin with? The only vow she had made was to follow her heart, she was known by most for her fierce independence and her solitary hunts.

She was hunting alone when she was younger for one main reason: she hated to kill. Even the foulest scum. Even the most evil demon. Sometimes, when giving the finale blow, she was crying. But that was a time ago. Now the grown-up Damira was not afraid to destroy her enemies, or the enemies of the innocents.

Then she met Lord Xenon, the so-called Slayer. She still laughed when she thought about how that ever-smiling elf was nicknamed the Slayer. Everything for him was a game. Needless to say, Damira was astonished to learn he was serving a human emperor, even more when she learned he was a king. He offered her to join his ranks, to serve him. She refused, as she never pledged allegiance to anyone before. She was serving justice. That’s the vow she had made to her mother. Lord Xenon accepted Damira’s decision, and they tagged along for a bit. They became good friends. It’s probably that way that the Emperor himself heard of Damira’s prowess, and asked for an audience with the lady paladin.

Damira was charmed at first sight by the Emperor Manamoto. Not charmed with love, but with respect. He had a lot of charisma, and convinced Damira to join him, and help to unify the land. The world united at last. What was only a dream until then had morphed into a project, led by the Holy One.

[Damira]

The harp’s chords were shaking at the strokes of a thin, but yet firm, pale hand. The sound it was producing was gathering some animals around the elf, mostly birds and rodents. The slow melody could be heard from far in the calm forest.

Guided by the music of her friend, Damira rode her unircorn slowly, taking the opportunity to reassemble her thoughts. She didn’t take time to locate Aradiel amongst the little pack of animals. She called Shyna back to her porcelain statue, and went to sit beside the elf.

Slowly, the music ended, as Aradiel posed his harp on the side of a tree. “It’s been a long time, Your Majesty, he greeted the paladin sarcastically. What brings your Highness to this filthy forest?”

“Cut it out, please. I’m not in the mood.” She said as she posed her head on his shoulder. The elf shivered. The contact of Damira on him always had this effect. The strong woman was still acting as she was as a young girl towards him. And it was bringing back memories. “You know what I think about all of this, Damira. I don’t trust that self-proclaimed emperor.” He smiled. “What brings you here? You don’t look well at all.”

She slowly began to tell the story to her old friend, old friend of her father as well. He listened patiently, waiting to be sure she was finished, before to reply.
“Who does he think he is? Najaal, you said? Meh, a good manipulator, may I say.” The disgust could be seen on all the traits of his seemingly ever young face. “Don’t forget that he follows a dead man. No good can come from it. The dead….”
She knew the story. And so she cut straight, by completing the elf’s sentence. “…Don’t belong on the surface, I know. They belong within Gaïa. But that’s not the point, here. It’s about what he knows about me. That’s what I fear. Of course I don’t want to join Abraxius’ ranks.”

Aradiel smiled again. “Have you ever heard of magic? It’s a really deep science that allows to break the laws of nature, or influence them directly. He probably read your mind while you were asleep. Or, more probably sensed your fear and desolation. You are mentally weak at the moment, Damira, you need to strengthen yourself.” He put a comforting hand on the young lady’s shoulders. “If you need my help, I will gladly get out of my exile in this forest, and give the best I can. I will help you getting stronger.”

Damira had a forced laugh. “Najaal told me I was carrying a burden too heavy for my shoulders. Maybe he’s right. I don’t have what it takes to take this war to a good end. Heroes only win in tales. The winners in real life are the wise and the coward. There is no place for a big head like me.” Aradiel interrupted the young queen by putting a finger on her lips. This gesture was not perceived the wrong way; Damira and Aradiel always have been close to each other. In other circumstances, they might have ended up being lovers. But now it was different. They were like a brother and a sister.

“That burden is yours to carry, my dear. You are strong enough to do so. With the proper aid, that burden of yours shall become light, enough for you to live with it, and never grow tired of carrying it. Forget about what that priest proposed. Forget about the wealth and lands he promised. Forget about the peace he told you would come. A peace under the reign of the dead is worse than death itself. Life must rule above all. I know how you feel, for I have known many amongst my friends, who were craving for wealth and fame equal to the talent they had. They are now either dead, either…I prefer not to know what the others became.” Aradiel stared at the grass for a moment, uninterrupted by Damira, who were listening avidly to the wise advices of her elf companion. He continued.
“I shall go to see that priest. And that elf who has been turned into a demon as well.”

Without saying any further, he used the gnarled wooden staff he had lying on the floor to help him raise. After a good stretching, he grabbed the feathers of a giant bird that came right beside him, as if it were silently called for its services, and went right through the trees, slowly gaining to the sky, leaving the paladin with her new, determined thoughts.