Bardic Cycle
Date: March 26, 2095, early morning
Locations: City of the Suns, Duchy of Biyandi; Wood Haven, Kingdom of the Wood Elves; and Malganna, Caloren States
Note: This story contains magic and sometimes psionics (mental powers). It's about Reison Whisper Wind, a young half-elf who wants to become a bard, and his three newlywed human wives -- the high priestess Tia, the warrior monk Tahna, and the bard Mindal. All three women are much older than he is, and are quite powerful; they have purchased expensive magic to restore their bodies to that of twenty-year-old women.
In this third adventure, their idyllic honeymoon is interrupted with the revelation of a horrific crime involving a cruelly murdered child. I do not dwell on the event itself, but it touches directly upon the Whisper Wind family. That said, the ending is somewhat upbeat.
Still just me writing. No reader nor editor, so I get all the blame. Slainté!
* * * * *
"I'm sorry," were the first words Tia heard.
She had been drifting, but suddenly found herself standing. Looking around, she was dressed as she often was, as a priestess of the Lawgiver, in her indigo tunic, broad black belt, and rainbow banded full-length skirt. Tia thought at first the ground was covered in fog, but there were no other features around. The night sky above her was brilliant with the light of both moons -- the much larger, green-hued Sandahl and the bright yellow, faster-moving Pax.
Then she noticed someone standing before her. It was the Dark Warrior, the ebony-skinned warrior-monk in Her black gi.
"Goddess!" Tia tried to drop to her knees, but found herself unable to move.
"Please, Tia, remain standing. I like to face someone when I am apologizing. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that whatever happens, you did nothing wrong. Quite the reverse, actually. Just know that the decision was mine and mine alone, and I'm sorry, but it had to be. Later on, you will understand the why of it. Remember, Tia. You did nothing wrong, and what happened was through no fault of your own. Focus on what you need to do, and everything else will come together. That's all that I wanted to tell you."
"I don't understand," the priestess replied.
"I know I'm not being clear, but this is for the best. Understanding will come later. Remember, Tia, love and family are important parts of our lives. Know your family and love them. You will have your heart's desire soon enough. Now sleep, beloved daughter. Sleep, and be at peace."
With those words, the ebony woman touched Tia on her forehead. She felt herself falling slowly backward. As clouds billowed and swallowed her, her thoughts faded, falling into darkness deeper than the night sky above her.
* * * * *
The next morning found Tia at the breakfast table, smiling to herself.
She had awakened in the arms of her husband, and after kissing and touching each other, still reveling in the newness of the other, they had progressed to a really nice, slow yet intense morning of making love. When they both reached their climax, rather than it being driving, intense and mind-blowing release, it was instead a suffusion of warmth and joy, intimate and comforting. Afterward, they'd held each other, giddy and caressing amidst affectionate kisses.
When her husband began to doze, she gently extricated herself and got up for the day. Just thinking about that fact made her heart skip a beat. Since Mindal was the only wife still in bed with him, and out of consideration for her sister, she spelled him so that his body was able to respond if approached. Knowing Mindal, if he was still in bed, she'd take full advantage of his presence.
Grabbing a robe and heading out to the other room, Tia had a leisurely bath, and then chatted with Tahna while they had breakfast together. Already up, the monk stopped her stretching exercises and sat with her, sipping her morning coffee, and at Tia's urging, ate some eggs, with cheese and ham, and had a muffin with jam.
A single look from the monk conveyed all her gratitude for the comfort she'd given to her the night before. After years of suppressing her emotions, they would be coming out now, and might at times overwhelm her.
As they ate, Tia suddenly frowned. While Mindal was still probably very horny, why shouldn't Tahna get some intimate time with their husband. It would be good for them both.
Tia encouraged her sister to return to bed and snuggle in with Reison, reminding her how nicely he'd made her feel each time, and to savor her time with him. If Tahna had her time with him, she thought, well, then after some time to recoup while bestowing some affection, he should be able to rock the bard's world next, and last longer besides.
As Tia finished writing her dispatches at the table, she heard muffled gasps and smiled to herself. Tahna seemed to be enjoying herself, and that pleased her immensely.
Putting away her writing, she took the rest of her breakfast to the chair by the bay window. Opening it for the morning air, she watched the people moving about on the street below as she nibbled at the rest of her meal and sipped hot tea.
All things considered, it was thus far a strange yet remarkably satisfying honeymoon. A new husband for them all and her sisters were healing nicely. Taking a moment, the priestess made a deliberate point of thanking the Lawgiver for sending him into their lives. Once she was done, she sat back, sipped tea, and enjoyed people-watching.
Mindal was just coming awake as Reison and Tahna lay entwined together, basking in the afterglow, when Tia entered the room. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she smiled at them both.
"Have a good time? I'm so glad." She held out a paper to Reison, holding it to show him its contents. "I've made a list of our immediate family for you, Reison. Names, dates of birth -- including our brothers who died -- so that you know who they are. I've also included a few children, like our nephew Mike, and our siblings Mikel Jon and Ehvona, all of whom live here in City of the Suns. So that got me to thinking. Do you have any aunts and uncles? Any cousins? But that also got me to thinking about your sister. What did she die of, and when was that?"
"She was thirteen when she disappeared. That was five years ago."
"Disappeared?" Tia asked. "I thought she died. What happened?"
"We don't know. She went out to visit some friends and never arrived. My parents and their friends searched for months. Even a couple of mages were hired to help. I was told later that the trail seemed to lead toward Tildor's capital, but then it went cold."
Closing her eyes, Tia clasped her holy symbol in both her hands. Her mouth moved, yet no words were discernable. There was a short pause, and nothing for a several seconds. Then, with a look of alarm, she jumped up.
This result alarmed Tahna. Getting up, she asked, "What's happened, Tia?"
Going to her dresser and clothes stand, Tia cast off her sun dress began to put on her robes. "I am commanded to find her."
A glance at Reison, then Tahna hopped out of bed, reaching for her gi. "I'm going with you."
Tia just nodded, tossing aside her lounge wear. Quickly donning fresh underclothes and her clerical garb. Pulling on her boots and rapidly affixing the laces.
"Wait!" Reison said, getting off the bed. "What do you mean, you're commanded to find her? Do you know where Miriel is at? Tia, you are not going without me. You're my wives and Miriel is my sister. If there's a chance we can find her, I want to be there, too."
Mindal threw off her blankets and quickly pulled on clothing. Without further discussion, all of them dressed for travel.
When she was ready, Tia announced, "There are preliminaries to be done first. Reison, do you have anything of hers? Anything at all? It will make things faster if you do."
He nodded. "I have a small locket with a few strands of her hair. She gave it to me for my fifteenth birthday, shortly before she vanished. Because we had to be home-schooled, we became pretty close. My parents helped her get the locket, of course, but Miriel picked it out and saved her money to buy it for me. It's not even real silver, but it's an important keepsake. I carry it with me everywhere."
Reaching into his pack, he dug around for a bit, then pulled out a small swatch of velvet, revealing a simple, thin, and somewhat tarnished silver chain with a small round locket. He handed it to Tia, then resumed gathering his gear.
Tia beamed at him. "This is perfect. It will help immensely."
Out in the lounge area, Tia gathered candles and incense, lighting both. Once the protection circle was in place, she cleared her mind and cast the spell to summon an aerial servant.
Standing back, away from the magic circle, Reison and the other two sisters watched the hazy creature materialize before the priestess.
Whispering to Tahna, he asked, "Aren't those the same creatures she called in the fight against the thieves?"
Tahna just nodded.
"She calls them a lot. Is it an easy spell?"
Mindal shook her head. "A different sphere, but it's on par with raising the dead."
Reison blinked, then remembered all the lives she's brought back on the trip to the city. Tia was a powerful priestess, and he was coming to understand just how formidable she was. And was both pleased and amazed all over again that she loved him.
Opening the locket, Tia carefully removed a single strand of hair and gave it to the elemental spirit, then carefully set the locket aside. Reaching into a pouch on her hip, she then produced a pearl and gave it to the spirit as well.
"In Her Holy Name, I command you. Find the owner of this hair," Tia instructed. "When you have located her, crush the pearl and I will come to you. Now go!"
"
By Her Holy Name
," was the ghostly acknowledgment. The aerial servant knelt, then vanished.
Tia gave the locket back to Reison, who put it carefully into his pack. "You might as well relax. This might take a while. Hours at least. Maybe days even. If she was taken off plane, we'll know where they exited at. If that's what happened, it will a lot more difficult, but not impossible to follow the trail."
Curious about them, Reison asked, "That creature, the servant. What is it? Do you think it will find my sister?"
"They're from the elemental plane of air. Aerial servants are faultless trackers. With the hair you provided, a magical link can be established. They aren't very bright, and can't really fight, but are useful for doing basic tasks, like holding someone or trying to block an attack."
"That sounds like a bouncer."
"Yes," Tia answered with a smile. "That's one way to think of them. Tell us about your sister, Reison. It'll help pass the time, and it may help us in finding her."
For a few hours, he talked of his blonde-haired, blue-eyed little sister. It was obvious he had been her protective big brother, and her disappearance had been a difficult hurdle in his young life.
Tia asked Mindal to take him to the table and go over the family list, and fill in anything that she'd missed or that he had questions on. Reison was surprised to learn that Mother Charmain, like Reison's mother, had also come from Preston.
"What was her clan?" he asked.
"MacBride."
He just shook his head and laughed.
Perplexed, Mindal glared. "What so funny? MacBride is a good Irish name! It's as good as O'Hara!"
"It is indeed," he reassured her. "MacBride means servant of Brigit. You've told me she follows the Welsh ways, and pays homage to Cerridwen and Cernunnos. But I'm struck by the coincidences, my bonnie songbird."
