The Love of Alaurin and Ferond.

By: Caedyin Posted on: October 25, 2007

Almost two hundred and fifty years ago, there lived two lovers: Alaurin and Ferond. Alaurin was a Human woman of simple lineage who had a simple, plain beauty to her. She had doe-brown eyes and long blonde hair that hung down to her hips. She lived in Thera, where she had been training to become a town healer since she was very young. Her family was a family of regular means in the town and quietly but devotedly followed Gaia, the Earthmother. Their house stood near the edge of the Black Forest, allowing easy access to the many herbs needed for various healing potions and salves used in Alaurin's training.

Now, Alaurin's family was of a particular kind. They very firmly believed in arranged marriages. Alaurin's parents had meet through an arranged marriage, as had her grandparents, and her great-grandparents, and so on for as long as her family existed. She had been told many times growing up that her family was directly descended from an ancient, but noble Ashtan family. She was never quite sure if she believed that or not, but its validity was, in the end, meaningless. She, like her mother before her, would still meet her would-be husband, when she came of age at sixteen.

Having started her healer training at ten, and her domestic training even earlier at seven, when she finally reached the age of sixteen, Alaurin was more than ready to be the perfect wife. Like all girls, she had long imagined what her husband would be like and, in her mind, her husband would be a strapping, handsome, tall man who would either be a great and might noble or wise but powerful Druid. Growing up, she had prayed to Gaia many times, urgently hoping to have her husband be that of her dreams. In the last few years leading up to her sixteenth birthday, she had felt confident that Gaia would answer her prayers. After all, she had been devoted to Gaia all her life, regularly offering homage to the Earthmother and diligently following Her teachings. So, when her sixteenth birthday arrived, as she stood in front of her mirror, allowing her mother, Lanasy, to dote on her, making her as marvelously presentable as possible, she was almost sure that she was about to start a wondrous life.

The carriage finally arrived and, being blindfolded and bound, Alaurin got in and began her journey to meet her soon-to-be husband. Now, this sounds a bit odd, but you must remember that Alaurin's family was of a particular kind. They were very strict on abiding by tradition. The mothers would decide the appropriate of the pairing and then, when the time came, would do their best to make their offspring as attractive as possible. The fathers would handle the dowry issues and make arrangements for the couple to meet in a location known only to the fathers. The reason for this was that meeting in a location unknown to either bride or groom would help foster the two to work together as a couple, a vital ability necessary for a successful marriage. They would then have to find their way back to the parents of either the bride or groom. They would be provided plenty of supplies for the journey and, at the end, they would have become a true couple and be ready to live together for the rest of their lives.

The journey took several hours, no doubt because the carriage kept making random turns on its path, undoubtedly as a means of throwing any internal sense of direction Alaurin might have had. Needless to say, when the carriage finally stopped, Alaurin had long since lost track of her bearings and had no idea where she was. She was guided out of the carriage by the carriage driver and was lead along a path. She could tell by the feel of the path on her feet that the path was consisted of both dirt and pebbles. Suddenly, however, there was a change in the ground's texture and she felt she was suddenly walking on something smooth and, very likely, paved. She was guided to a bed, upon which she was directed to sit. Having done so, she heard the footsteps of her driver walk away. She wondered what would happen next, as her parents had simply told her that upon reaching her destination after the carriage ride, she would meet her husband.

She sat there for what seemed like hours and she was finally beginning to panic. All sorts of horrible ideas had begun to enter her head. What if her driver had been paid by rogues to bring her to their lair for them to do with her as she pleased? She had heard tales of Occultists who would sometimes kidnap virginal girls to use in their grotesque rituals. What if that had happened and the Occultists were just preparing to sacrifice her for some nefarious purpose!? Or what if it was something worse? She had heard of the existence of demons and she did not dare begin to imagine what her fate would be in demons were involved. Her breathing began to quicken as pure panic began to set in. As if this were a cue, she suddenly felt the ropes that bound her hands slacken. It must be time, she thought to her herself. She began to kick violently, trying to lash out at anyone or anything that might try to grab her. The bed beneath her made incredibly loud creaking noises in protest. She felt the ropes continue to slacken until they reached a point where she knew she could pry her hands free. But who was undoing the ropes? She kicked with all her might, but try as she did, she never made contact with anything. It then occurred to her that whatever was unbinding her could be flying so, in a spectacular display of dexterity, Alaurin managed to simultaneously pry her hands free and jump into the air, making a grabbing motion with her arms and hands. She had hoped to grab whatever was flying, but she caught nothing but empty air. She now stood in front of the bed on which she had previously sat, free of her bindings. She stood there for a moment, straining her ears to her any form of movement. She heard nothing. Finally, summoning up her courage, she slowly reached up and removed her blindfold.

Having gone so long in blackness, the sudden light that attacked her eyes blinded her, if only for a moment. As her vision slowly returned to normal, she could see that she was in a small, one-room abandoned house. The house was made of stone and, save for her bed and the empty bed on the other end of the house, was entirely empty. She spied movement in the corner of her eye and, frightened, turn to face her aggressor. Only, for an aggressor, it acted strangely. She could tell that it was a man; Human. Only, he was on the ground, sitting, facing the wall. One of his hands was rubbing his brow; the other was gripping a black piece of cloth. He had a thin, but taunt frame. His wiry muscles hinted towards a rough life of hard work. His hair was black and his skin was slightly tanned and weathered. He wore a ruffled white noble shirt, or rather, she could tell with her trained eye that it was a ruffled white shirt that had been made to look like it was of noble and exquisite design. The rest of his clothes were of similar design. Someone had clearly gone through great pains to make this gentleman appear as if he were a noble. It was then that her attention focused on the black piece of cloth in the man's hand. It was a blindfold. Almost immediately, like a spark of fire erupting from a hearth, she realized that this man was to be her husband. He, like her, had been doted on and been made to look his absolute best. And he, like her, had sat on the bed, bound and blindfolded. Before she knew it, she had let loose a gasp, alerting the man to her presence.

The man turned his head and looked up at her. His eyes were a startling bright forest green. A strand of his black hair fell across his face and he quickly moved it out of the way. He sat there, staring at her, for what seemed a lifetime before suddenly and quickly, getting to his feet.

"Oh, oh, sorry, ma'am!" he said.

Alaurin was taken aback. "It's alright...I guess..." she said, flabbergasted.

The man awkwardly offered his hand to her before quickly withdrawing it. She could tell he was incredibly embarrassed and nervous. And she couldn't blame him because she was feeling similar emotions. He walked over to his bed and sat down and, not knowing what else to do, she sat on her bed.

"Well, I...I guess I should introduce myself, huh?" the man asked.

And he began to introduce himself. His name was Ferond and he was from Shastaan. His family was, like hers, of average means. His father was a carpenter and so, growing up, Ferond served as his father's assistant and was able to pick up many carpentry skills. When he was sixteen, as part of a deal between his father and the Paladin Guild, he began training as Paladin. This year, he turned eighteen and came of age. He, like her, was dressed as good as possible before being blindfolded and driven to where they now sat. He admitted that he had arrived before she and had heard her come in, but knowing nothing of what to expect, said nothing. He, like her, had sat quietly, slowly beginning to think all sorts of things. He admitted that when he felt the ropes slacken, he too feared for the worst when began to hear creaking noises and decided to make a mad dash, which was stopped quickly and suddenly by his running into the wall. He was still recovering from this shock when he heard her gasp.

While he told his story, Alaurin looked over him. He wasn't at all what she had imagined and she silently cursed Gaia for her misfortune. Still, he seemed nice enough. She could see that he was just as nervous as she, so she made a conscious decision to not make it any worse. After all, this was to be her husband and she was going to spend the rest of her life with him and she had better make it as easy as possible. She smiled.

"Well, Ferond, I think maybe we should start trying to figure out where we are, don't you?" she suggested.

Ferond agreed and they both left the house. They found plenty of supplies nearby, all bundled in sacks and backpacks. Tethered to a nearby tree was a donkey, which was grazing contently on the brush. They took in the surroundings and discovered that they were high in the mountains. Dominating the sky was the peak of a mountain which Ferond had identified as Mount Sinope, which then meant that they were somewhere in the Siroccian Mountains. After loading the donkey with their supplies, they decided the best course of action was to follow a slightly treaded path that they felt sure their carriages had to have followed to get to where they were.

As they walked, they talked more about themselves. He explained that he was raised with the religious teachings of Phaestus, a God his father followed semi-devotedly. In the last two years of his Paladin training, however, he had begun to develop an appreciation for the teachings of Deucalion. He described his various hobbies, particularly important lessons he had learned and many other aspects of his identity. She followed suit.

Their discussion was interrupted when they came out of the Siroccians, near the banks of a river. At first, they were unsure which river they faced: the Pachacacha or the Zaphar. However, on seeing the Vashnar Mountains on the distant horizon, they deduced that they were on the banks of the Pachacacha. The area was lush with foliage and Alaurin had even found some wild myrrh growing nearby. After resting for a few hours on the bank, they decided to follow the river north, against the current, as this would bring them on the fringes of the Aureliana Forest, which was near Thera.

The walk did not take the long. The terrain was fairly flat and, as it was in the early evening, the temperature was still pleasant. Within an hour, they reached the outskirts of the Aureliana and, deciding to return to the road, followed the forest edge north, past Lake Vundamere and finally onto the Prelatorian Highway. They followed the road to Thera, where Alaurin’s parents greeted them warmly. Her parents informed them that they had made lodging arrangements at the Crystal Leaf Inn, which would serve as their honeymoon lodgings until they found their own place.

They spent their first few nights at the Inn, continuing to acquaint themselves with each other and finally, on one particularly romantic winter's night, consummating the marriage. However, as the winter continued to pass, Ferond began spending less and less time at the Inn. Whenever Alaurin brought up the subject, Ferond would get defensive and evasive and do his best to change the subject. In order to fill the day, Alaurin began spending more and more time at home with her parents and she felt sure that the marriage, while official and binding, would be nothing more than a formality. Not having the husband of her dreams was one thing, but having one that practically ignored her existence was another, and she began to curse Gaia daily. She even went so far as to forsake her healer abilities.

The days went by and eventually, the one-year anniversary of her marriage with Ferond approached. She had not seen him for months, having only last seen him as a member of a party heading towards Ashtan. Judging by the polished weapons and armor, she figured he was with his fellow Paladins. Neither had exchanged words and, though they had seen each other, neither had made an attempt to acknowledge the other's presence. It was then that she had decided that Ferond had placed his priorities on his Paladin training and that their marriage would be nothing more than a formality. After this realization, she began to praise Gaia for not allowing herself to get too attached to such a cold, distant man and she had spent the months since deep in her healer studies and renewing her devotion with Gaia. Thus, by the time came for her one-year anniversary, she barely thought of Ferond anymore. So, naturally, that was when he decided to show up at her parent's door, asking for her. At first, she was incredibly reluctant and bore great resentment towards the man, but her parents, being of the particular kind they were, insisted that, as his wife, it was her duty to attend to him when he needed her. She caved into her parent's entreaties and agreed to go with Ferond, believing him only after sex, likely for no other reason than an heir to induct into the Paladin Guild.

He lead her down the road that lead to the Crystal Leaf Inn, but when they past it and began to head to Lake Vundamere, Alaurin's suspicions were thrown and she became thoroughly confused. Had he bought a house in Shallam, where he could be near the Guild? And did he truly expect her to be content on living in a foreign city; HIS city? Her confusion increased when they turned off the Highway, towards the Siroccians. It did not take long before she recognized the path they were taking; it was the same path they had taken a year ago on their trip away from the abandoned house. This, however, did not ease her confusion. Why would he bring her this way? Was there perhaps some rite or tradition that her parents had not informed her about that allowed him to break the bonds of marriage from the place where they had been solidified? Had this been a year ago, she would have directly asked him, but they were both different people now and the air around Ferond indicated that anything but silence would be offensive.

They soon reached the bank of the Pachacacha and continued to head south, following it closely. They walked for a couple of hours before reaching a house, standing near the shore. She did not recognize the house, so figured they had traveled more south, towards the Shamtota Hills and Shallam. But it was before the house they stopped.

"Alaurin. Welcome to our home." said Ferond simply.

Alaurin looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean OUR home?" she asked in heated anger.

Ferond bowed his head and apologized for his behavior over the last year. He explained that, shortly after they had consummated their marriage, he began to think of their future. He knew that they could not stay at the Inn forever, so begun to think of places to live. Neither Thera, Ashtan, Shastaan or Shallam seemed appropriate, as he felt that he had done nothing to make himself worthy of living near Alaurin's family or to expect Alaurin to live near his. It was then he decided that the best option would be to build a house from scratch, and upon deciding this, he knew the perfect spot would be at the banks of the Pachacacha, near the Siroccians, where they had first emerged. He had recalled that Alaurin had found wild myrrh growing and, knowing that the banks of a river was rich soil and that myrrh was a valued commodity on the market, he knew that Alaurin's herbal knowledge could provide a decent source of income, which would only be supplemented by his Paladin earnings. Furthermore, it was close enough to Shallam that his Paladin training would not be a burden on either of them while still being close to Thera so that she might visit her family if she ever wished. But, building a house was an expensive endeavor and while he could save money on labor by doing it all himself, he would still need ample money for the materials. So, he had decided to dive into his Paladin training, taking up any and all assignments and duties that would pay him. Before he knew it, however, he had become so immersed in his duties that he had neglected Alaurin. One of his last duties was to accompany the senior Paladins to Ashtan on a diplomatic mission and, when he seen Alaurin, he was afraid that had he approached her, she would have rejected him. And while he knew that she would have had every right, he could not face the prospect of owning up to that dishonor to his fellow Paladins. Finally, having earned enough money, as their anniversary approached, the house had been completed.

"And so, I came for you. To show you. And to explain. And to apologize. My behavior was horrible and dishonorable and if you want a marriage annulment, I'm sure the Church would be willing to grant it, given my actions,†said Ferond.

"But why didn't you just tell me this was what you were doing?" asked Alaurin.

"I wanted it to be my gift to you. I know I'm not the most attractive man, or the most well off. And I saw the disappointment in your eyes when you first saw me a year ago, so I know I'm not what you wanted. But I wanted you to know that, despite all that, I'm committed to this marriage." Ferond explained.

She was never sure if his sincerity or her loneliness or by divine will caused her heart to melt, but it did. He had risked everything for this moment and then, this almost-Paladin, to whom honor and righteouness was among the highest virtues possible, had prostrated himself before her, practically begging her forgiveness. She could see something in his eyes: sorrow, grief, and most strikingly, hope. At that moment, she found she could no longer be cold towards him. She smiled towards him and felt compelled to run at him, embracing him in a long, loving hug.

They spent the next month reacquainting themselves with each other, both personally and physically. They also began setting up a garden of sorts, where Alaurin was able to grow myrrh, and in short order, had a small business of selling myrrh balls to passing adventurers. Ferond would leave early every morning and return every evening and tell her his stories of being a Paladin. This was the routine they had settled into and both were content to live like this for the rest of their lives.

Then, in 217 AF, Ferond brought word to Alaurin that Ashtan had declared war on the Church, accusing the Church of being a dangerous destructive force on the continent. As a Paladin, it was his duty to protect the Church from Ashtani attacks. He explained that he might not be able to return for days at a time and urged Alaurin to return to her parents, where she would not be as lonely. Alaurin steadfastly refused, saying that she would be the dutiful, loving wife and wait for him in their house until he returned. Furthermore, she had a business to run. At this, Ferond gave her a passionate kiss and left to Shallam.

The following year was a hard one, but Alaurin managed to get by. She was thankful, though depressed, that the aggression between Ashtan and the Church had caused the need of myrrh balls to rise so she always had more than enough money to buy supplies. The difficulty came from Ferond's absence. She quickly noticed just how accustomed she was to his presence in her bed at the end of the day. Every evening, she would look towards the horizon, hoping to see him. She never did. When he did come home, it was always very late at night. He would quietly enter into their bed, nestle himself close to her and fall asleep. He would be gone before she awoke.

As the next year dawned, she was unsure if she could make it by herself again. She had decided to go join Ferond in Shallam. She had saved enough money to allow her to stay at an inn for months and was in the process of packing her things when she received a visitor. It was her mother, Lanasy. Her mother bore horrible news: hostilities had escalated between Ashtan and the Church, causing Shallam to side with the Church in its war against Ashtan. With this escalation, the numbers of battles increased and the number of casualties along with it. Her mother had come to ask for her assistance as a healer for Ashtan. Torn between her filial loyalties and her loyalty to Ferond, she told her mother that she had to think about. Her mother left, but urged her to hurry, as the Ashtani's were short on healers and more unnecessary deaths were occurring with every passing day.

She spent the next several days, distracted from her work by her thoughts. She desperately hoped that Ferond would come home, to allow her to talk to him about what she should do, more so than she had ever hoped for him to be home before. Yet, deep down, she knew that he would not. There was a war going on, after all, and there was likely very little time to spare for a visit home. She cursed her distance from Shallam and her husband and briefly considered following through with her moving plans and relocate to Shallam. But her mother had informed her that many of her family's acquaintances and friends had become embroiled in the war and some had even died. Ashtan had always been an ally to Thera and she knew that the life she had growing up would very likely not have been possible had it not been for Ashtan. And that moment, she knew her decision had been made. With a sigh, she wrote a note to Ferond, explaining what had happened to her, made the proper preparations for leaving her house, and made her way to Ashtan.

The war showed Alaurin a side of life she had never seen before. It was not the dead bodies that bothered her. She followed Gaia; death was an aspect of life and nature. It was the wounded that would come to her. Some had simple wounds: punctures, slashes, and the like. Those were the easy cases. It was the more complicated wounds. Some would spontaneously lash out at her, as if possessed by no will of their own. Others had to be restrained, lest they run to the other side to meet their "true loves," even when many of them were already married. This was her first direct encounter with the effects of battles with Occultists, Druids, Paladins, Serpents and others. Their effects on their victims could truly be gruesome. At times, it seemed as if the wounded would never cease coming in from the various battles and skirmishes. But finally, after a year, the two cities made peace. The war was over and the number of wounded decreased significantly. With her primary job done, she stayed around to make sure her parents had settled in, and then hurried home. With the war over, she knew Ferond would be able to come home and she promised herself that she would be there, with the house all prepared, before he arrived.

She arrived at their house and was gladdened when she saw that Ferond had not returned. She knew it would not be too long before he arrived. Indeed, he could arrive at any time. Thus, so hurried to make the house presentable, as it had, in the last year, gathered dirt and dust and needed to be cleaned. It took her a few hours to clean the house to her satisfaction and when she had finished, she was pleased that Ferond had not returned. She decided to take a bath in the Pachacacha in order to be prepared all around for Ferond's return. By the time had finished and got redress, Ferond had still not returned. She decided to have dinner and then, finally, as the night began to get deep, to head to bed.

The next few days passed without incident. She spent each day, making sure everything was just so for Ferond's arrival. She had returned to her myrrh business and it was almost as it was before the conflict broke out. With the exception being that Ferond had yet to return home. One night, as she was preparing to go to bed, alone yet again, there came a knock at her door. She sprinted towards the door, opening it so hard that it slammed against the wall on which it was hinged. In the doorway stood a Paladin, in full gleaming armor. He silently handed her a letter and, upon her taking it into her hands, bowed low and left, never saying a word. Confused, she closed the door and opened the letter, reading it slowly. She fell to her knees and felt a torrent of tears seep from her eyes. She could not believe it. Ferond had died. The last major battle between Ashtan and Shallam had left him severely injured, having survived an arrow to his left eye. The battle also had left him with a punctured lung, the result of a well-placed blow from an Ashtani Druid. It was from this that led to his death.

She sat on the ground, her back propped up only by the door, for hours. A man who she had never before met had given everything he was and everything he had for her and she felt woefully inadequate in comparison. What had she ever done for him? What had she risked? What had she sacrificed? He had bought the materials that he used when he built the house and risking the security of their marriage. She had done nothing to that extent. Not even close! She began to cry uncontrollably. She cried because Ferond had died. She cried because he was an amazing husband. She cried because she was a horrible wife. She cried because she would never have a chance to prove herself worthy of Ferond's love. She cried all night and it was not until she saw the first vestiges of the morning light that she realized just how long it had truly been. She stood up and opened the door, letting the sunlight shine on her tear-stained face. As she stared at the Vashnar's, she suddenly how to show her devotion and love to Ferond. She walked to the bank of the Pachacacha and undressed herself. She slowly entered its gentle current, gritting her teeth against its cold. She continued walking into the river, until the water lapped her chin.

"Ferond, my love. Allow me now to show you the extent of my adoration for your amazing soul,†she said, her voice cracking from grief.

With that, she walked a few steps forward and disappeared beneath the river surface.

A month passed before the area and the house that stood there bore witness to another soul. When he arrived, weeds had long since invaded the myrrh farm and ivy had begun to follow the progress of the dirt and dust by covering the house. The man had figured that the house might be in this state and decided he would make it presentable when the person he was waiting for met him here. He began cleaning up the inside of the house and it was only after an hour of doing so that he spied a slightly yellowed letter near the front door. He walked over, knelt down, picked it up and read it. As he finished it, he swore he felt his literally break. He knew, then, why the person he had been waiting for had not been here before him. She had gone. She had read the note and considered him dead. And, given the letter, who could blame her. After all, it was not her fault that the war had caused clerical chaos in Shallam. While it was true he had suffered an arrow to his left eye, it was his fellow Paladin Farun who had died of a punctured lung. It was an understandable error, of course, but Ferond did not fool himself into thinking that it would be of much console to Alaurin.

He immediately made haste for Thera, hoping to find Alaurin there. Several hours later, he returned back to the house, having not found her in Thera, Ashton, or the Crystal Leaf Inn. He knew of no other place to search for her. He began to think what could possibly have happened and all sorts of horrid ideas popped into his head. Surely, none of those were accurate, so he decided that he would wait for Alaurin, for he knew that she would return.

He waited for several days, with no sign of Alaurin. It then hit him that she may have gone to Shallam and was waiting for him to return there. Thereby inspired, he left the house and practically ran to Shallam. Normally, the journey would have taken a few hours. At his pace, it took slightly over one. Once within the walls of the city, he began asking about, giving his most accurate description of his wife to anyone that passed him. Finding no success on the streets of the city, he went to his Guildhall and began asking around there. Finally, his Guildmaster told him that the Church had recently found the dead body of a woman who sounded as if she matched his description. Without even paying his respects, Ferond sprinted towards the Church.

Once there, and without following the proper protocol, he stormed into the Archprelate's office. Normally, such behavior would have caused a huge uproar. He could make out the anger in the Archprelate's face, but his inhibitions had long gone out the window. He described his wife and explained what his Guildmaster had informed him and demanded to see the body of the woman. Within seconds, the look on the Archprelate's face turned from anger to sorrow and silently left his office. Ferond followed him as he led him to the catacombs of the Church. After a few moments of walking past disturbingly dark and quiet shelves, they approached one that held the body of a woman. It was slightly bloated all around, and had a slight bluish tint to it. The woman had blonde hair that was draped over her shoulders and went down to her waist. The Archprelate began to describe how the Church had gotten the body. It had something to do with a fisherman and Pachacacha delta, but he heard little of the story as he was still processing the fact that there, before him, cold and lifeless, was his wife. His wife of a mere few years. His wife whom, from the moment he saw her, he was completely devoted to. He silently and slowly turned from the Archprelate and began walking away. He knew not where he was going. He knew only that he felt compelled to walk. She had drowned, the Archprelate had said, and had no signs of malcontent. That meant she killed herself. But why? He knew the answer to that question practically before he had asked it to himself. The letter he had found. That damn, cursed mistake that had said he had dead. He knew then that reading that had caused her to commit suicide. If only he had come home sooner! Then she would be alive and they would be living a happy life! But no. He had decided to stay in Shallam longer, following the orders of the healers, to fully allow his wounds to heal. What a fool he had been! What a weak, cowardly, pathetic fool! As he lay in a bed, being waited on by healers, comfortable and safe, his wife had been going through hell, thinking he was dead! What a horrible husband he had been! He had not been there to protect her, to care for her! And she had killed herself because of it. Had she not always kept the house in order? Had she not always prepared his food? Had she not always been there every night when he had come home? Had she not bravely faced the days without him, eagerly going about her work? Had she not been more of a wife than he could have possibly expected, given the circumstances of their marriage? And this was how he repaid her. By allowing her to suffer. Allowing her to take her own life. Such a cowardly and dishonorable man he had been. He had failed, both as a Paladin and, more importantly, as a husband. Thus, there was no way he could face her parents. Or his parents for that matter. In fact, there was no way he could ever show his face to anyone ever.

Finally coming out of his thoughts, he saw that he had walked back to the house. There it stood, coupled with the myrrh field where she had grown, tended, and sold myrrh balls to adventurers. And upon gazing on the house, Ferond began to cry horribly. He slowly began walking once again, praying from the depths of his soul for forgiveness from both Gaia and Deucalion. He had failed them both. He had failed to follow the precepts taught by Deucalion and caused the death of one of Gaia's followers. Such transgressions could not possibly be tolerated. He knew what he had to do. He had to make everything right. He had to make his wife's death not be in vain. He had to appease the Gods. And there was only one way to do both. Coming out of his thoughts once again, he saw that his body had, almost intuitively, lead him to where he had wanted to go. He stood at the summit of Mount Sinope and peered out over the rest of the Siroccian Mountains.

"Alaurin, my love, my wife, I have gone against the promises inherent in marriage and you paid the ultimate price. I have transgressed against your Goddess, Gaia, and by doing so, transgressed against mine, Deucalion. And so, to placate the Gods and yourself, I offer myself. May you see fit to grant your forgiveness!" he screamed into the open, frigid air before flinging himself off the summit and plummeting to his death.

The house of Ferond and Alaurin stood for many years thereafter. The foliage of the area eventually covered it before finally burning to the ground in a fire caused by a lightning strike. Their parents searched for someone who would know the fates of their suddenly missing children and they were only told of Alaurin's ultimate fate. Believing Ferond had murdered Alaurin, her parents cried foul against Ferond's parents, which caused a rift between the two for the rest of their lives. About seventy years later, an intrepid adventurer from the Fellowship of Explorers was exploring the Siroccian Mountains came upon a skeleton. At first, he thought nothing of it, as he had seen many such skeletons in his travels. But as he came close to the skeleton, a woman appeared before him. He could tell that this woman was divine, though, having not been trained in matters of theology, knew now which deity stood before him. She commanded him to sit so that she might relate the tale of this skeleton and, when she had finished the story, charged him with spreading the tale. At this, she vanished and he quickly ran to his home city of Hashan. There he obeyed the charge of the Goddess and that is how I have come to be able to relate the tale to you. May the story serve as an eternal testament to the love of Ferond and Alaurin and to give meaning to their deaths.