Bard's Tale 01 - the Beginning

A Tale from Skyra - Bardic Cycle

Date: March 04, 2095

Locations: New Brittany, Ayerdine's Crossing, and City of the Suns

All characters participating in sexual activity are over the age of eighteen. Some are a lot older, and a few are even immortal; regardless, all have given their consent before participating and to the telling of this tale.

Please note that there are inferences to consenting incest and lesbian encounters. Neither are a focus. However, if such things bother you, please move along.

For those curious, there is a map of New Brittany already posted here on Literotica on my page. I have scanned in the rough pencil maps of the other areas, and I'm considering digitizing them, but so far only the Caloren States has received the full treatment yet via Freehand 7. However, that very venerable program is showing its age; it was released in 1996. I am trying to teach myself Fantasy Cartographer 3 Plus. I have made it through the first set of tutorials, and partway through the next set. I will see if I can accept the results. Anyway, that's a whole separate discussion.

The Landers family have been around for a long time. It is part of the long running history of my running a certain famous role-playing game since the summer of 1975 -- you knew I was older than dirt, right? I'm certain I had some teachers and fellow students who were actual dinosaurs.

The following stories in this series, though, would not have been possible without the man who created and ran a certain a young half-elf, and who graciously gave me permission to write stories that include his character. I will do my best to live up to his trust.

This is slow to start, but have patience. There's a lot of relevant background to the story. Once the players and their situation are established, subsequent tales should move along. This story, though, is the beginning, so there's a lot to tell.

For those who want more right away, "Afternoon Break" is part of the series, though it's eleven years in the future from where this tale begins. Whatever happens in these tales remain totally my fault and are the result of my faulty memory. Later on, realizing that time is really not such a good friend to me, I began taking copious notes. In any event, for those who have waited a really long time for another tale from Skyra, here you go.

With my reader incapacitated, I'm back to doing my edits solo. No doubt I will be gobsmacked by all the idiotic errors I discover once this is online. In any event, please enjoy! Slainté

* * * * *

Part 1

* * * * *

Tia Janna Landers pulled the fur-lined cloak a bit tighter about her shoulders, glancing up at the grey sky. The third sun was just a hour above the eastern horizon, and had already slipped behind the clouds. Mother Morgan, her father's fifth wife, had said it would rain intermittently for the next two days, then clear up. More importantly, there would be no snow for at least a week. Tia took comfort in her weather forecast. Mage and part-fay, Mother Morgan was very rarely wrong about anything, including the weather.

It was still a week before the official end of winter. However, people were always using magic to fuss with the weather, tweaking it locally and not realizing that casting

control weather

in one place could and often did mean a sudden change elsewhere. Sometimes an extreme change. Yet such didn't worry her. Traveling in the snow for an experienced adventurer such as herself and her two sisters was well within their abilities. But why slog through snow and endure the cold if you didn't have to?

Tia was arguably one of the most powerful priestesses in the Kingdom of Tildor and the surrounding regions. The three that actually were more powerful immediately came to her mind were Mikel Landers, Lord of New Brittany and her father, Dianne Starshine, the Duchess of Biyandi, and Valeeta Ramon, the Eldest and temple high priestess in Sharaton-Charlottesville, Tildor's capital twin-cities.

She had a good relationship with all of her parents, and she was good friends with the other two. Truth to tell, she loved her father greatly -- as did most of his children. Somehow, even with five wives, he managed to spend time here and there with each of his children. With his children now grown, though, most of his time was spent keeping five active, vibrant women with strong, healthy sexual appetites happy. Any personal time spent with her father when growing up had been more precious for that fact.

Mikel Landers was warrior, mage, and high priest; and it was due to his influence that both Tia and her younger sister Tahna had joined the church, spending a lot of their early careers working with their father. Equally as important as their father's involvement, Tia knew, was the fact that each of his wives treated each child as if they were her own. Hungry babies were fed with equal parts love and milk based on need, not on who birthed the infant.

As they grew older, all six adults showered their children with love and attention, while demanding each child apply their best to whatever task or skill put before them. Mother Morgan and Mother Charmain, for example, whenever they weren't in their magical laboratory, were always cooking something delicious. Though she rarely got a chance to use her culinary skills these days, under their tutelage, Tia had become a terrific chef in her own right. For the last decade, during their winters in New Brittany, as often as not, treats consumed by the household were actually prepared by Tia, and it pleased her that their mothers received the praise. To Tia, it was testament to her own skill, and a gift to the women who'd taught her. Her mothers often knew the truth, and their loving, appreciative hugs were more than enough.

Her birth mother, Frínulas, was a peerless swordswoman, and was often sought out by the officers and knights from the nearby Kingdom of the Wood Elves. They sometimes called Frínulas

caraduin

, the red river, for when her swords were drawn in battle, the blood of her enemies became as a flood. Yet as much as she tried to do her share for the household, Tia's mother was hopeless in the kitchen. Whenever it was her turn to cook dinner, Frínulas cooked breakfast, the only meal she could passably prepare. As soon as she was able, Tia quietly lent her a hand aiding her mother's sincere effort to contribute to feeding the family. Bacon, eggs, ham, and toast. By common understanding, everyone praised her mother's simple fare, for her few attempts even at porridge or pancakes had almost always ended disastrously, and had included a lot of smoke. Her mother's porridge bore more than a passing resemblance to glue -- at least until Tia became her official helper. What mattered was that her mother made the effort. For Tia, best of all was that after the clean up -- whenever everyone else was gone -- were long hugs and whispered thanks. And it was the glow of helping others that eventually led Tia to becoming a priestess.

Smiling at the memory, Tia inhaled the cool March air, then took in the morning bustle of New Brittany.

There were less than three hundred people in the settlement, making it a village. Larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town. It was situated on the easternmost edge of the forest claimed by the Kingdom of the Wood Elves, nestled at the confluence of the Seine River and its tributary, Little Seine.

Directly east across the Seine was dangerous wilderness. Immediately to the south, across the Little Seine, was Tanta Darglen, a land claimed by brownies under the rule of Connover, their king. A small kingdom of pixies kept to their island, Solum Tahir, west of New Brittany. While there was trade between New Brittany and their fay neighbors -- by mutual agreement, no one trespassed on lands claimed by the other without good cause. And, in times of peril, each rallied to the defense of the other.

The constraints of available land however would normally have made it impossible to feed the many humans living in New Brittany. The magic of her father and Mothers Charmain and Morgan, however, gave New Brittany three harvests every growing season. There simply wasn't enough arable land under the plow otherwise, and without the extra food, many residents would be forced to leave.

Along with about three dozen homes, there were two temples within New Brittany itself -- both Ba'lorian, overseen by Mikel Landers, lord and high priest. One was to the mother goddess, Li Var Dayanna and the other -- an open-air stone pavilion -- was dedicated to Rena, the Lawgiver. Public buildings consisted of the mill, the three-story armory-keep, the town hall, and the

Bon Chance Inn

. West, near the Landers homestead, there was the bakery, furniture workshop, kilns, a second armory, as well as an archery range, gymnasium, and an impressive magical laboratory, as well as the three-story Landers manor. Further west still was the Great Circle, used for ceremonies dedicated to the Celtic gods. Almost half of the villagers were Breton Celts, though there were some Irish, too. The two main groups either worshipped Cerridwen and Cernnunos or the Tuathans. Holidays, regardless of faith, were openly participated in by the entire village.

On this particular brisk spring morning, a caravan gathered at the north road. It was the first one of the year. Some boxes loaded onto the wagons contained furniture crafted by the McIntyre wood shops, while others carried finely made cook- and dinnerware from the kilns of the McLeods.

By tradition, Tia and her two sisters departed New Brittany on the first caravan. It was why Tia stood near the armory with her two huge steamer trunks on the ground beside her. She also carried her full travel pack. At the very top of her pack, wrapped in three tins were six dozen freshly baked cookies. Two were ranger, two were orange spice, and the last two were double-chocolate and pecan.

Late the night before, when most people were sound asleep, Tia had been discovered in the kitchen baking cookies by Mother Charmain. To Tia's surprise and delight, instead of returning to bed, the older woman stayed and helped. Two hours later, while Tia packed her cookies, another dozen-dozen were stored in snack bins for the household to eat. When they were done, the two women each enjoyed a glass of cold milk, several freshly warm cookies, and quiet company before retiring to their beds. Mother Charmain's help had saved her hours, allowing Tia to get more sleep than she'd expected.

Tia Landers and her sisters inherited their mother's bronzed coloring. Tia's black hair and brown eyes came from her father. At one-hundred-seventy centimeters and fifty-nine kilos, many would say that Tia was more cute, even bordering on plain than actually being pretty. While she didn't exercise quite as often as she knew she should, Tia was deceptively strong, and blessed with an incisive and deep intellect, and an even deeper wisdom. Many might see her and initially dismiss her as just another face in a crowd. But once she began speaking, people listened. A skilled orator and experienced diplomat, she could also call upon the power granted to her as a high priestess.

Under her tartan shawl -- a gift from her half-sister Elenna McIntyre -- Tia wore an indigo-colored tunic, soft brown boots and earth-brown trousers. Over the trousers, which she wore for warmth, was her ankle-length skirt, colored with wide pastel bands of purple at the base, blue, green, yellow, orange, and ending in red at the waist, secured by a wide black leather belt. The rainbow colors marked her as a priestess of the goddess Rena, in Her aspect as the Lawgiver.

Seventy-five this year, Tia had the body of a twenty-two year old woman. Like her younger, full-sisters Tahna and Mindal, she had paid the funds demanded by Mothers Charmain and Morgan for their magic of youth. Twice youth was restored by Mother Morgan's specially crafted magical philters, each bottle restoring twelve years of youth -- and three times by Mother Charmain's witch magic, each casting restoring ten years to her body. Their parents had a rule. If you were in trouble, and they knew about it, they'd help -- no question. But if you sought magic or power for personal gain? Well, you paid like everyone else. No discounts and certainly no freebies, and if they had concerns, they would talk to you first. Magic was power, and power had to be earned.

Tia knew that one day the magic granting her body renewed youth would simply fail to work. If she was lucky, when that happened, she'd never benefit from its bestowed youth again. More dangerous by far, however, and the more likely event was the increasing chance the spell would not only fail during a subsequent casting, but that the failure would also unravel all the previous spells. If such happened, all of the erased years would rush back an instant. It might not be fatal, but if it was -- well, Mother Morgan had casually told Tia that she wouldn't feel a thing. Mother Morgan was a sweetheart, but being part-fay and probably immortal as well -- she sometimes had a darker side to her humor.

Because of the size of the village, New Brittany had quickly become a collection of several dozen closely-interconnected families. Most of the children had to go north, to City of the Suns to seek mates, and only some these returned. Space for new homes was difficult to come by, so many simply left to build their lives elsewhere.

Tia looked around the village square again for sign of either her carriage or her two sisters, and hoping to see both. Mindal, the youngest sister, could almost be counted on to be running late. Tahna, on the other hand, was almost always on time or early.

The north wind was picking up, sending a chill down Tia's back, adding to her worry. The caravan was nearly ready to leave! Where were her sisters? Where was their carriage?

For decades, weather permitting, the Three Landers Sisters left their home in New Brittany with the first spring caravan heading north. Their first stop was City of the Suns, capital of the Duchy of Biyandi, within the Kingdom of Tildor. While Tia assisted Duchess Dianne with temple duties, and Tahna assisted Tia, Mindal plied her bardic skills in various tavern or music hall gigs. In between Mindal's many, many parties. Twenty years earlier, they three had purchased part ownership of one of the better inns, the

Pixie Palace

. Situated just off the Avenue of Trees in the Merchant Quarter, near the Noble Quarter, this gave them their own permanent suite of rooms within the city, which they promptly altered to their tastes. Installing running water and indoor plumbing had been enormously expensive, but in the years since, the inn had also benefitted, and in turn, the luxury had been repaid with higher, wealthier clientele. Adding in refrigeration for the food stores had been another expense, but again, was repaid with increased yearly dividends.

After about two months in City of the Suns, when church business tasks were caught up -- or as much as they were going to be -- the sisters packed up and continued upriver to Sharaton-Charlottesville, Tildor's capital.

Tia felt a bit sad thinking about the Prince Caernach, Tildor's first ruler. He had died right in New Brittany, in 2083, twelve years ago come this summer. On that fateful summer day, however, the wards to the Well of the Worlds had been breached, due to meddling from some adventurers seeking treasure! Prince Caernach, her own parents, and a dozen others -- including several gods! -- had fought desperately to re-imprison those few that had escaped, and to re-seal the well before the remaining prisoners became aware of the situation. The prince had been the sole casualty.

It was said that his first wife, Princess Charlotte, died the following year from grief. Princess Shara, the survivor, buried her co-wife, then to the shock of her family and people, resumed her maiden name and packed up her belongings, before heading west into the wilderness.

The prince's heir, Dorothy Donalda Moramorian, was crowned Queen of Tildor in the summer of 2084.

Tia thought she could understand Charlotte's choice to give up and fade away. The prince and his wives had been married for more than sixty years. While Shara was a quarter-elven, Caernach and Charlotte had both been blessed with long life by the Lawgiver herself. Even with the support of her co-wife and sister in deed if not in fact, the loss of her husband proved too great for Charlotte to bear for long.

Tia knew that if she lost either Tahna or Mindal, it would be a deep wound to her heart. For while many of their siblings took spouses as they grew up, raising children and growing old together, the three sisters had lived a semi-nomadic life, drawing on their love for each other for companionship as the decades passed by.

Tia's identical twin sister, Theodonra Landers Tanner, was now an old woman. She was happily married with a large family as well as having an illustrious career first as respected barrister and now Chief Magistrate on the Queen's Bench. She and her husband Timony were approaching their own sixtieth anniversary. With that thought, she realized they were both getting old. Contemplating how the survivor might react to losing their beloved partner, however, didn't bear thinking about. Just as disturbing was the reality that while she herself had the body of a young, vibrant woman, her twin sister might die soon of old age.

Not now

, Tia told herself, and firmly put such thoughts away.

Part of the trip to the capital was so the sisters could visit Tia's twin. For Tia, as much as she was happy for her twin sister, such happiness nibbled at her subconscious. While Tia, Tahna, and Mindal traveled about, year after year, helping others, remaining together as semi-nomads as the years seemed to pass them by, Tia wondered if in giving her life to the church and helping others, she had needlessly denied her own happiness.

Although, strictly speaking, the three sisters weren't alone in their youth. Mother Galamindöl's children were half-elves, and six or seven decades did not have the same impact on them. Mother Morgan's children, too, being part fay, likewise aged much slower than their human half-siblings.

We're like butterflies

, Tia thought.

We flit from place to place, never staying long, never putting down roots. It's just the three of us. I love helping others and I love my sisters dearly. But now, sometimes I feel so alone.

While Tia was lost in contemplation, Tahna Khrysanna Landers, five years Tia's junior, quietly joined her sister.

Similar in skin coloring, with long black hair and brown eyes, Tahna was a couple centimeters taller, and had a slightly narrower face, and had also inherited their mother's leaner, warrior's build. Whereas Tia's hair was often loose and fell to her shoulders, Tahna kept her long hair braided and tied in a fighting queue. When loose, her raven locks brushed her butt cheeks. Her long hair was her sole admission to personal vanity. Washing and maintaining the hair could be a real chore, but it was one she did not mind doing.

As a warrior monk, Tahna rarely packed anything more than the bare essentials, preferring a monk's austerity. Her focus was on serving the church and keeping her two sisters safe. Worldly possessions were a distraction. While Tahna was quite capable of sneaking up on Tia, she rarely chose to do so. Even though she'd taken no special efforts at being quiet, her sister remained lost in thought.

Giving Tia the once-over, the warrior monk smiled in approval. Tia had put some colored ribbons into her hair, accentuating the color bands of her skirt. Seeing the dark circles under her eyes, though, caused Tahna to frown. What had caused her sister's lack of sleep?