Ecna, The Wise
Malle's companion was known as the wisest of the nobility in the Valley, as 'wise' was understood at that time.
"Ecna...stay with me...you know what I must do. Tell me, help me to do it correctly."
That the Lady knew or trusted Ecna to know such things was both frightening and powerful. Frightening because any venture out of THIS realm, whether to the Light or the Dark, was extremely dangerous. Powerful because such ventures aroused Ecna to the very core of her being, like no lover could, like no violent sport could.
And yes, Ecna had many robust lovers, both before and after marriage (this last being a deep violation of Valley law and tradition.) Ecna also had a great devotion to blood sports, she hunted boar with a spear...on foot, planting the shaft of the spear solidly into the earth to impale the charging male animal on the spear's tip.
But since she had begun to bleed, her mind had been taken to novel places. First, it had been only in her dreams. Then during quiet moments in the forest. Finally, these visions came whenever her mind was not otherwise occupied. It was frightening at first...actually, it always had been frightening, but as she learned to control these visions and use them for her own ends, they also thrilled her and that never got old.
As the only daughter and the eldest of her family, she had her pick of lovers in her 'free' youth. She favored the stout peasant boys, robust in body, untutored in mind. To her mind, the boys of her own class were too sophisticated and knowledgeable of a wider world.
The peasant youths were tied to the land, in one-room hovels they had, at least, heard their parents mating and spent their seed as silently as possible, in a room with at least a half dozen other 'sleepers'. Their first time with Ecna was invariably disastrous, as they were nervous and frightened being with the 'Master's' daughter. And as she aged, Ecna had, herself, a reputation as a formidable personality.
For all her intellectual and physical strengths, she was truly kind and patient with her young men. In truth, she was molding them into the sort of lover she preferred— no nonsense and of great endurance.
When Ecna married— and it was a love match, not an alliance— she married Jeremi. A surprising choice if one appreciated her earlier taste in men. But those men were solely for pleasure, Jeremi was her life choice, according to the Holy Ground. Ecna had made it clear to Jeremi that he would be her soul mate, but not exclusively her 'bedmate'.
They had met on Holy Ground. Ecna was delivering, as it turned out, the last of the babies of her 'free' youth. The daughter was extraordinarily large, and it had been a terrifically difficult birth. The lives of both mother and daughter were in the balance. Both survived and would thrive, but Ecna would never bear children again.
She cried more than she had ever cried in her life. Indeed, she used up all of her tears and would never cry again. And so, she confided in a young man, who was praying in the shade of one of the Sacred Trees. She assumed him a monk, a novice monk at least. In the years ahead, she would come to know that he was no monk.
That day, Jeremi was at the Holy Ground to clear his mind. He was of an age to wed. His family was not one to arrange 'power' marriages. Still, they made it subtly clear that he needed to move on. As fine a scholar that he was, he needed to train to run an estate as was proper for fine folk. It was clear from his demeanor that he was no warrior, also that he was not inclined to live out his life on Holy Ground.
He came here, to Holy Ground seeking clarity; instead, he found Ecna. They found each other. Ecna, at great loss, was empty. Jeremi was to fill her.
