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Sacrifice (Amaria & Mr. M)

Gil pretended to think for a moment. "Well, I could eat..." he demurred, but then smiled and offered the crook of his elbow as if they were heading to the dance floor. "I am fascinated by the whole thing. Have you ever done this with a human before? I have no idea if my reactions and sensations were at all normal..."

He escorted her out into the night, seeming huge and broad next to her short, lithe frame. Greycloak watched them go, and then some instinct made him glance around at Jayden, catching just a flicker of his reaction. Recalling some of the heedrin's reactions toward Merna, and being quite sophisticated enough to know what that meant, he groaned. "Let me up, please, Kieden; I should check up on your brother."

He sauntered up near Jayden as more teasing was going on. "Oh, that's not so bad," he interjected. "Once, when I was learning, my teacher told me he was teaching me the Wood-Chopping style. Because that's all I'd be qualified to do with a blade. My father... what a jokester!" He clapped a hand on Jayden's shoulder in a friendly manner. "Come on, Jayden, my friend... would you walk with me?"

Greycloak simply would not take no for an answer, and so regardless of his willingness, Jayden was soon moving away from the covered walkway exit. "Tell me, my good sir, do you know of anyplace we might obtain something... stronger to drink? Youv'e got lovely table wine, here, but surely your master artisans have made great strides in distillery as well..."
 
"Stronger drink? I hate to disappoint but what you see here is consider strong drink already." Jayden walked along with Tom after few nervous glances towards the walkway. They ended up in a smaller room that branched from the dinning hall. Here is where the extra food was kept until it was arranged and ready to be brought to the main table. "But it is diluted some, over there is the original form," He pointed to a row of tall bottles. "It's strong in its concentrated form, maybe you would like it, I don't even care for it in its diluted state." Jayden was agitated and didn't hide it from the human. Away from the dinning room he allowed his brow to furrow and he paced as he spoke with Tom...



Merna and Gil walked slowly in silence for a short time, Merna truly did need to collect her thoughts and clear her mind, maybe it was too soon after the flurry of activity the past couple of days. "There's not much to explain and to be honest, I just needed to leave the room. A little peace to regain some strength, but no need to worry, I'll be back to normal after a full nights rest." she squeezed his arm gently, reassuring him. She didn't need another person fawning over her needlessly, she had enough of those.

"Soul color is no different than why the grass is green and the sky blue, it is just its nature. Your gray coloring just reflects the wolf in your name as Tom's gray and brown is for the rock and root. Jayden's is green and mine is a pale blue. What is really impressive is Venrick's, his is even larger than Tom's and it's a fiery red. His soul name is Dragon master. He does not have soul sight but he has a bond with dragons that allows him to command them, and hear their thoughts." she smiled.

"That was the first human naming I have done. I have witnessed a few and even was a second for one other." her smile took on a mischievous air. "With humans, a lot of their current emotions are revealed in their name searches and I must say, you handled it much better than the one I did for Jayden." she laughed. "It took him fifteen minutes to your one, to concentrate on freeing his mind rather than my...gown."
 
Greycloak nodded and sighed. "Sometimes, though, what you need is a good venting, and to be honest? Sometimes you need a good drunk on for that. I don't know how it is with heedrin, but the human male is frequently too stoic and... well, manly, I suppose, to let loose when they need to. That's why I recommend a judicious application of spirits, in the liquid, not the literal, sense." He reached up and grabbed one of the tall bottles. "To be frank? Few people start off liking the stuff." He uncorked the bottle and sniffed, then drew back with a look of appreciation. "But the taste isn't the point of it, after all..."

~

Gil patted Merna's hand with his free hand when she squeezed his arm. He wasn't going to fawn over her in the sense of badgering her to rest and recuperate, but he could not have honestly made any guarantees about any other applications of the term. He nodded with her explanations, and his eyebrows rose when she spoke of Venrick's soul name.

But of course, when she referenced her gown, his entire face felt hot in the cool night air. But he saw how she laughed, and he couldn't suppress a smile of his own. "Well... I do apologize for the rudeness. But I also think no council of judgment would convict me, or the other man." He smiled at her, then looked away, feeling unaccountably shy. He rarely felt shy around women these days, ever since he'd gained confidence in himself through his investigations; it was interesting in its own right that it seemed to be happening here and now.

He let loose a breath, trying to exhale the nervousness. He tried to change the topic. "Wolfguard. You know, many humans think of wolves as ravaging, vicious beasts. I've never found them to be so, but it's in the fairy tales and scare stories of our culture. Some humans would think being named after one might be an ill omen. But I rather think it's not, not really. It feels... noble, maybe?"

"So, now that I have a soul name... what do I do with it?"
 
Jayden knew exactly why Tom ushered him from the room, and it agitated him even more. Even the human noticed. "Let loose...vent? Why would you feel I need to let loose?" he failed miserably at guarding his emotions. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall then paced the room. "And you can't possibly be considering drinking all that. One bottle is enough for four people to drink with some to spare!" he stared at him incredulously.

He could not tell if Tom ignored him on purpose or simply expected him to go on, but Jayden found himself opening up to him.
"Ten years, Tom. That's how long I've known her." his voice was low almost a whisper. "I met her at her soul naming, my mother performed it. After that she came here often, she enjoyed stopping here and studying from my father's large selection of books. We spent a lot of time pouring over those books, well mainly her, I'm no scholar. I was only there because she was there. I even went on a few of her travels with her to other tribes and villages, but that had to stop once I began my final schooling." he sighed. "I'm afraid I'm nothing more than a brother to her..a little brother at that, she is three years my senior."

~
"Do with it? It's a name similar to your given name, but you can also allow it to be enchanted in armor like Faelnir mentioned." Oh your armor. You will need to be up early to have a fitting. It will take most of the day to finish it. Jayden should be around to fetch you and Tom first light, so you should rest soon. I'm sure you are just as tired as I am." she stopped walking and turned to face him. "I will be ...busy for most of the morning but I'll be sure to come by for noon meal. Faelnir has the bad habit of missing meals when he gets caught up in his crafting."
 
"One bottle is enough for four of your people, or mine?" Greycloak asked with a smile, taking a sip. He blinked as the strong, fruity flavor exploded on his tongue and burned so nicely going down. He gazed at the bottle appreciatively before looking back at Jayden. "And at what point do you consider it 'enough?' Enough to enjoy your meal? Enough to get drunk? Enough to share?" He thereafter kept the bottle angled a little bit toward Jayden when he wasn't drinking himself. Should the smaller man wish to take a sample, he wanted it to be convenient.

He then fell quiet and just waited, gazing at the young man and sipping at the liqueur, and sure enough, he opened up. Greycloak listened as Jayden started talking about Merna. He nodded; he'd not only seen it hundreds of times, he'd lived it at least thrice. Maybe not with ten years, but still. "And it's not a brother you wish to be, I take it? I rather gathered that she's a bit aware of your interest."

~

"Do with it? It's a name similar to your given name, but you can also allow it to be enchanted in armor like Faelnir mentioned."

"Well, I didn't know," he said, and realized it sounded a bit too defensive. He chuckled a bit, taking the edge of whine out of his words with a show of his good humor about it. "I've never had one before."

"Oh your armor..." He listened to the plan, nodding. It sounded like it was quite reasonable. He smiled at her offer to visit the fitting. "You don't have to, if you're busy, but if you do come by, I'll greatly look forward to seeing you." He shook his head ruefully. "You know, you keep saying I don't owe you anything, but it seems as if you've done me some wonderful favors, starting with saving my life, and I've given you... well, I hope some good belly laughs, but that's about it. I do hope one day you'll allow me to repay you."
 
"Oh she is aware..." he let his words trail off. Jayden was surprised he had revealed this much to the human. He abruptly changed the subject to something more pleasant, not wanting to delve too far into such intimate thoughts. "Stronghold, Root of the Tree. Impressive, friend. Merna always has a glimpse of what a soul name might be, so when she decided to reveal yours, we all knew it would be something special." he declined Tom's offer to drink from the undiluted bottle of kelfa. He was sure the human would be drunk before the night was through.

~

"The privilege of reading your soul name was payment enough for me, I thank you for that honor. Even before that you have given me much. After what I saw in that grove.... well, I've never seen such a gathering of corrupt souls, meeting you and your men in the midst of that was a relief." she smiled and patted his arm. "We should go back, I fear I have kept you too myself for too long. You and Tom have a busy day tomorrow and need rest. I shall leave to my rooms from here, so I bid you good night and well met, Gil." she hesitated before she walked away. "And tell Tom that all emotions are made known in a soul search and I'm honored at his ...compliment. He does indeed have a large...soul." a rare grin spread across her face as she laughed and headed towards her room.
 
"Oh, my good friend, take it from a man who's been through many loves and losses. It's not good to set your heart on someone who hasn't set theirs on you in return. One can always hope, but if you cling too hard, hope can turn dark. Just a word from one who's been there," he said, and took another swig. It was excellent stuff; if he didn't end up sharing, he was sure he would be drunk before the night was through.

"Yes, Stronghold. It sounds... defensive. Supportive. Protective. I suppose that fits. I mean, that's what I do for Mr. Darkwood, after all." He grinned at the heedrin. "That's what the humor is about, you know. He can get too serious, too absorbed in his thoughts and plans and brooding. That's a lot of worry, he gets tight like an overdrawn bowstring. So I relieve that tension, that pressure, with comedy. You might call me his comic relief." He nodded. "Yes, I quite like the sound of that."

~

"Good night, and well met, Merna," he replied softly. And at her addendum, he laughed softly. "Yes, he'll be pleased to hear that. And embarrassed. Which is why I'll tell him." His gaze lingered after her as she left, until she disappeared from sight. Then he heaved a wistful sigh, and turned back to the party to find Greycloak.

He was complimented at least a dozen times, and warned to go to bed early at least half that much, before he finally was able to track down Greycloak and Jayden in the pantry. He paused in the doorway, listening to his best friend chuckle about something, and shook his head. If anyone could be relied upon to find booze in the middle of a heedrin village...
 
"Comic relief? I can see that as well. Are you sure you should drink all that? I'm surprised you're still standing after a bottle and a half." to be safe Jayden motioned to one of the heedrin boys there to help serve, to come remove the remaining bottles. Tom did have an armor fitting to sit through tomorrow and Faelnir would not go easy just because his subject had a hangover.

He did not want to admit he was comforted, and at the same time, more irritated by Tom's words. It was a confusing enough matter without his reasonable advice. For now he would watch, he would never think of pushing Merna, but he would not easily give in to a human no less.

There was really no time to act on any of this, he had the duties his father was bound to assign to him. He was sure his father Venrick intended to send him to address the messengers to the neighboring tribes on Adale Hold's behalf. He would probably spend most of to tomorrow in council with them as soon as he delivered Tom and Gil to Faelnir's.

"Jayden, Mr. Greycloak," Leia came into the room after much searching, exasperated to find them hiding in here away from everyone. "The meal has come to an end and father has requested that you to escort the humans to the guest rooms." Leia turned to Tom and eyed him curiously as he held the kelfa bottle. "You'll be happy to know a room of sufficient standards has been specially prepared for you." she paused. "Are you ...feeling well, Mr. Greycloak?"
 
"I am feeling quite well, Miss Leia, thank you so terribly much for asking." Greycloak hopped up, only marginally unsteady, and bowed to her in a courtly manner. He was feeling expansive, effusive. Drunk, in other words. He had always been a happy drunk, and he was indeed intoxicated. "Ah, but if only you had a significantly older sister of significantly lower moral fiber... but if wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak." He chuckled to himself.

Gil chose this moment to step out from the other doorway. "Don't worry, Leia, he's fine. I've seen him like this dozens... hundreds of times. I'm a little perturbed he didn't wait for me..."

"That's because your tolerance is so much lower than mine, sir!" Greycloak casually tossed the half-full bottle to Gil, who caught it by the neck easily, and sniffed. "It's called kelfa, it's the undiluted version of what we had for dinner. That ought to be enough for you to catch up, lightweight," the older man chuckled. Then added a belated "sir."

Gil chuckled as well. "All right, all right. Let's just head to our rooms and see what we can see. We have an early morning, and a long fitting to deal with." He gestured to the door, past Leia. "By all means, lead the way."
 
"Very well, as you say sir," she eyed Jayden as if Tom's drunk state was his fault somehow. "But I'll have you know I am sixteen an adult by heedrin standards." she glided from the room, with the air of a young queen, expecting them to follow, and they did.

"My sister and I have prepared a chamber for you with beds of a more accommodating size." After a short walk they ended up only a few rooms over from the first guest room they were in. This room had significantly larger furniture, the beds, chairs and table a more standard size for humans. "I hope you find this to your liking. If there is anything you need you have but to ask, friends of Jayden." she bowed respectfully and left, her job complete.

"I will take my leave also. I'll be here in the morning to escort you to Faelnir's but I must attend to my father after that, so I'll leave you in the hands of Merna or one of my siblings. Good night and well met, friends...and thank you Mr. Greycloak, I will think on your advice." with a nod he left.
 
After the door closed, Gil tipped his head at Greycloak. "Advice?"

"Oh, that. Nothing more than the usual. Young man, headstrong, head-over-heels. You know how it is." Greycloak knew for a fact that Gil knew how it was; he'd seen the man in that very state.

"Ah," Gil nodded. He also remembered the exchange between Jayden and Merna. Then he flushed a bit because of his own reaction to Merna recently. He took a swig from the bottle to cover his reaction. "Oh, and before I forget, Merna compliments you on the size of your, ahem, soul." He smirked. "And she's honored by your compliment, in return."

"I'm not sure I gave her a compliment, beyond the usual."

"It seems all emotions are made known in a soul search. Therefore..."

"Oh." Greycloak grew slightly alarmed. "Oh!" Then he relaxed on one of the beds. "Ah, well. Maybe I won't remember that tomorrow."

"You always say that," said Gil, finishing off the bottle and reclining on another bed in a gentle haze. Yes, this was much more comfortable. More comfortable than home, honestly. "And yet you never black out."

Greycloak sighed. "A man can hope."

They chatted a while longer, just the usual catch-up between two old friends. Soon they fell into companionable silence, and thereafter into sleep.

They woke with the dawn, more rested than they had been in weeks. They were ready to go when the knock on the door came to summon them to Faelnir's.
 
Jayden greeted the men that morning, in his green cloak and heedrin armor. Full armor that was gold but glimmered a fiery red at angles depending on how the light caught it. The armor was not like human armor but was made of a rare metal and enchanted by the heedrins, it fit him closely, like a normal shirt or tunic would but had the power to resist the strongest of blows. He even had his sword at his side, and carried his helmet under his left arm.

"Good day and well met. It seems I will be accompanying you most of the day until my father summons me, he is in counsel with Hold leaders at the moment and will be occupied most of the morning. I trust you slept well?" he glanced at Tom to see if his gluttonous consumption of kelfa had any lingering effects. "It seems Anora insists on a good practice fight and practice with her is not really practice, the woman does not know the meaning of hold back. Her practice is no different than war, remember this if she sweetly offers to spar with you." He leaned closer, "Her soul name is Slayer, one of the few heedrin with one word soul names, but you did not hear that from me. Come this way, if we are late Faelnir will be even more irritable than usual." he walked quickly off, his armor putting him in a ready mode that caused him to walk faster than usual.
 
When Jayden came to the door, they were both ready to go, dressed only in their clothing, their light armor and weapons stacked neatly on a side table for storage. Gil actually looked the worse for last night's wear, despite having consumed only about a third as much kelfa as Greycloak. They both were impressed with Jayden's armor; it was the first heedren armor they'd had a chance to see close-up.

"Well met, indeed, my friend," Greycloak nodded, taking the responsibility for carrying the conversation until Gil's hangover passed. "If that's the case with Anora, we shall indeed politely decline. I'm not even sure how well I'd do against a standard heedrin in sparring, much less against someone going all-out."

They hurried after Jayden, recognizing the hustle in his step. There was something about being in armor that put you on edge, and that's how it should be. The humans continued to marvel at daily life in the heedrin compound. It wasn't so much that they did things differently, though that was certainly true in some cases, but it was also how similar some of their chores and activities were to those of human villages that was equally as intriguing. Finally, though, they arrived at the smithy, and braced themselves for their "ordeal."
 
He was well in front of the humans which was good for them, because as soon as he entered Faelnir's, through the tunnel like entrance, Anora set upon him with her sword. Jayden, having little time to draw and deflect, relied on his speed to quickly spin out of harms way and then draw his blade. After a hurried moment of amazing sword play Anora finally stopped, barely out of breath.

"You are slow, Jayden, it has been too long."

"Forgive me, you are correct it has been some." he bowed respectfully sheathing his sword. "Your skill has not diminished in the least, Swordmage." He addressed her with her title instead of her name.

"Ah! Don't be so serious Jayden, you make it so fun to tease, you make the humans think all heedrin are as serious as you and Lady Merna. Come now, out of Faelnirs way before he curses both of us. Good day and well met Mr. Greycloak, Mr. Darkwood." she nodded and walked through a far door. "When your ready Jayden."


"Yes yes, by all means take your sword play else where." Faelnir growled playfully to his wife as she passed by him on her way out.

"Good day and well met, fine Sirs. Let's skip the formalities and get straight to business, no time to waste. Now, which of you will honor the Hold Elder Venrick by bearing armour enchanted with Stacia's soul name? Hm? I presume you Mr. Greycloak, for reasons Merna has asked me to remain silent upon, if it is fine by you. Stacia's soul name is Storm Rider, by the way. Quite an odd one for the delicate thing she was, but did she ever have a temper." he rattled on as he adjusted several thigns about his shop. It looked no different than a human smithy with the exception of a large platform to the right, lined with suits of heedrin armor in various stages of completion.
 
As they entered the forge, and Anora attacked, they were taken aback by the speed and ferocity of the blows. They could follow it, but even Gil, one of the three best swordmen in his former cohort, would have been hard-pressed to match even Jayden's performance. Anora's was quite out of his league.

They returned her greeting politely, bowing at the waist, and then greeted Faelnir as he came in. The ceiling of the forge was higher than many buildings, so it felt just about normal to the men. "We are not ones to stand on formality, Mr. Faelnir," Gil said with a smile. "So yes, let's get to it."

They looked at each other in surprise at the smith's reveal of Merna's suggestion. Greycloak answered a little haltingly. "Well... if that's what... Lady Merna suggested? Then we have no reason to doubt her. I just... I feel unworthy of the honor. But who am I to refuse it?"

"Yes, let Mr. Greycloak take the first fitting, I'm afraid I'm not entirely up to speed this morning, as yet." Gil found some drinking water in a pitcher to the side, and nursed a cupful carefully while his older friend smirked.
 
"Very well then, shall we, this way Tom. Do you mind please Faelnir is fine by me, friend of Jayden. I took the liberties of forming the outer shell last night, that is the easy part." He walked over to the platform and retrieved one of chest armor pieces, a gray blue breast plate. "All heedrin armor has a main color and an underlying color that is only seen in certain reflections and angles of the metal. The wearer also influences the shine of the garment. You have seen the color of Jaydens, yes? No doubt, hopping about in trees is possible with heedrin armor, it is surely light enough, but you may think the color impractical. It changes color but only within the range of colors already implanted in metal itself. The color are chosen by the wearer and the soul name." He handed the metal to Tom to inspect and the chest plate immediately changed to a lighter shade of gray, the blue barely visible.
 
Greycloak blinked in surprise as the metal shifted in his hands. "That's amazing," he said, and he hefted the breastplate, surprised again by its lightness. "Good grief, this is like a feather! Astounding!"

He angled the plate, and then tried mentally willing it to change color again. Perhaps he could use something like that in a situation; would color changing be considered a surprise attack?

"If it came to stealth in the forest," he said meditatively as he concentrated, "I would think a good camouflage cloak over the armor would be more effective. But then, I usually leave the stealth up to others..."
 
"Ah! A cloak could be arranged but you would have to ask lady Merna about that. But fear not even without a cloak no matter what color the armor, if you do not wish to be seen...you won't." his eyes twinkled as he spoke. Armor was Faelnir's life and he could talk for hours on the subject if he could find someone to listen that long and Tom was asking all the right questions for him.

"But that is for another time for now I ask that you strip down a few layers, bare chested is best but people come and go here so if you are overly modest I suppose I can work with that though I won't guarantee the fit no matter how much it's enchanted." he took the chest piece from Tom as he spoke.

For the next few hours Faelnir alternated between holding up the armor to Toms body, mumbling about a fit and then taking it over to a special table. At the table he would hold his hands over it and it would glow faintly its shape adjusting visibly here and there. His actions were very similar to Merna's during the soul naming but they took much more time, since this process was done for each individual piece of Tom's armor. Chest piece shoulder piece, gauntlets, even the groin piece that hung below the chest armor, which was extremely awkward even for Faelnir, it was the part he hated the most, but because of its position needed much attention for a proper and comfortable fit. "Movement, gentlemen, movement must not be hindered. And as you know many a man has been killed or rendered helpless by an arrow aimed at the leg joint."

It was well past lunch when Merna entered with Leia. Leia carrying food and followed closely by Kieden. And Merna carrying and odd assortment of packages wrapped in cloth. They appeared to somewhat heavy as she laid them on one of Faelnirs tables.

Know longer at the formal dinner Leia and Kieden both worm casual browns and greens,but still ornate enough to bring attention to their place as Hold Elders children. Merna on the other hand worn her armor complete with quiver and bow slung over her shoulder. He rhair was back and knotted in a loop just above her neck wisps of dark brown and golden hair falling around her face. Her armor consisted of a one sleeve tight vest of shimmering blue, her bow arm was completely exposed with only a fingerless glove on her right hand. Her legs were covered in similar blue as the vest, but hugged her form closely which was well shaped and tone.

"Good afternoon all and well met. I trust Faelnir has forgotten to feed his victims as usual." she glanced around the room, eyes stopping on Tom and his newly finished armor. "She stepped close after setting down all her packages, running a hand over Toms armor. "Impressive as usual Faelnir! I would not think your skill could get any better but it seems to with every piece!" she spoke in awe as she studied Tom. "It fits well, no?"
 
At Faelnir's comments about modesty, Gil couldn't repress a snicker. Greycloak shot him a look, and sighed. "No, modesty ought not to be a problem. I," and he stressed this as if it were an excuse, looking at Gil with an innocent expression, "have nothing to be ashamed about."

Both of the men were fascinated by Faelnir's process, particularly the magical aspects. They could talk reasonably about armor from an end-user perspective, but the construction was less their area of expertise. But they had been at fittings before. In fact, when Faelnir's uncomfortableness with the codpiece fitting became apparent, Greycloak quipped to break the tension, as was his wont. "Actually, good sir, if you could leave a lot of space in there, I'd like to impress the ladies."

Gil caught the spirit of it, and chuckled. "Actually, it might be good to make that a quick-release; he does a lot of urinating just before battle, like when the enemy is running up."

"Well, sir, better than the automatic pop-open function every time you see a pretty miller's daughter or a comely washerwoman," Greycloak smiled and winked. He looked down at the armorsmith. "Actually, sir, be sure to account for Mr. Darkwood's big brass balls, as well. As you must admit, it takes a weighty pair to bring us to the point where we're being fitted for special armor like this."

He smiled and chuckled with the older heedrin. "Ah, pay us no nevermind, Faelnir, my friend, and don't worry about offending me. You're a professional, and I have every confidence you've no designs upon me; I'd be a poor substitute for your wife in just about every capacity." He smiled again, hoping he'd alleviated some of the fellow's discomfort.

When the ladies entered, followed by Kieden, the humans stood politely at attention. Gil felt suddenly shy in just his shirt and pants; he'd stripped down a bit knowing he was to be the next to be fitted, and also because it was quite warm in there. Greycloak, on the other hand, was just finishing up. Both men were impressed with Merna's warrior equipment. "It fits well, no?" she asked, and Greycloak nodded.

"It fits amazingly, ma'am. Faelnir is a wonder." Greycloak flexed his arms demonstratively. "It's almost like I'm wearing no more than a jacket." He nodded at the packages. "Pardon my curiosity, but those seem weighty. I'm almost done here, I could help you carry those to your destination."
 
"Yes lunch, excellent idea Merna, though I suspect it was young Leia's idea, I see you have been busy yourself. Are those what I think they are, my lady?" his sharp eyes twinkled again and he winked at Merna. Before she could reply he was peeking in the large hamper Leia was carrying. "It will be a good tie to break me away from these two, they weary a man with their banter and chatter." He smiled as he spoke dodging a well aimed smack from Leia.

"They are for everyone lord Faelnir, quit your stealing!" she piped, still trying to swat his hand.

"Yes indeed they are what you think." Separating the bundles gave a clue to what was wrapped within.

"I helped her! it took all morning! And she even made me get up early for it." Kieden could not hide his excitement.

She peeked then presented one of them to Tom. The way she held it there was no doubt it was a sword. This is one of many forged by my father years ago, he was the Westwood's finest swordsmith and made many before his death, only four remain and this is one of them. I took the liberties of... placing part of my soul name on this sword, Tom." After the wrapped sword was firmly in his hands she knelt before him. It would honor me greatly if you would take this sword, enchanted with my soul name. As a gift to you, Tommarika Greycloak , I present Lady Wind, receive you my gift?"

"So close your mouth and open it already Mr. Greycloak!" Kieden was now bouncing and received a prompt swat from his sister.

"Settle down you." but she too was eager to see the sword, it was already wrapped when she met with Merna in the walkway.
 
Gil blinked at his friend, who was also shocked by the turn of events. Kieden was not kidding when he bade Greycloak to close his mouth; he was agape at what was being offered. When he finally found his voice, he stammered a little before he said, "My lady, Merna, I-I don't think I'm worthy of this honor. But if you believe so, then I will accept Lady Wind with the utmost respect and gratitude."

He hesitantly unwrapped the bindings to uncover the sword hilt, almost afraid of damaging it and shaming himself and his species in some manner. Once he grasped the hilt, he let the rest of the covering drop, unveiling the weapon in an unintentionally dramatic manner.
 
"...Oh Merna, it's magnificent!" Leia gazed at it in awe.

"Indeed it is, it has been some time since I have seen the work of your father, never fails to impress me." even Faelnir was in awe of the bright blade. "Lady Wind suits you well."

Merna retrieved the other sword and approached Gil. This time her face flushed as she presented the second sword.

"And for you, Gil." she whispered softly as she approached him sword in hand. "It would honor me greatly if you would take this sword, enchanted with my soul name. As a gift to you, Gilgamesh Darkwood , I present Lady Light, receive you my gift?" she knelt before him holding up the sword to him.
 
Though hardly formally dressed, Gil drew himself up to his full height, and his noble lineage (or at least the "persona" of nobility that he must have been raised around) was quite apparent. His voice was soft but clear when he spoke, and his tone was serious. "I gladly receive your gift, Lady Merna, in the honor and spirit in which it is given. I will be proud to carry and wield Lady Light in service to you and your people, and for justice everywhere."

He took the sword from its wrappings, having some idea of what to expect, thanks to Greycloak. It was a marvelous piece of weaponry, almost more an object d'art than a fighting blade. But he had no doubt it was quite battle-worthy, despite its lightness and beauty, and likely tougher and sharper than any of the weapons he'd owned in his life. That was the way of heedrin manufacture, it seemed; they didn't turn out so many as humans, but what they created was worth any ten of man's best efforts.

After examining it, and showing it off to the gathered people, he held it in a salute position, and bowed his head to Merna in thanks. And then, it was like the sense of regal formality just faded, like it were a spirit that had temporarily possessed him, and he was back to being Gil again, not any less noble of heart and mind, but much more relaxed and warm than his "noble" persona could allow. He murmured, "New armor, new weaponry, the finest available... you would think this was a mission of dread import or something." He tried to smile, to make light of it, but his eyes were worried still.
 
For a moment Merna's face clouded over as if a shadow had passed over her. Kieden exchanged looks with her, his face blank. The exchange happened quickly but not before Faelnir's sharp eyes noticed. He knew in time the reason would make itself known should she choose to share.

"The finest available indeed, I made it. And we still have yours to work on after we eat, Gil." though he had already had more than his share, nibbling from the basket while the others were distracted by the gifting.

"I'm glad I brought more than enough. " Leia squeezed between Faelnir and the hamper. "You get no more!"

"But this drains me, surely you know that, I need to regain my strength." he said with a wink. No heedrin smith was drained by one suit of armor.

"Here then." she handed him an apple and moved the hamper, struggling with its weight.

They all had a good laugh while enjoying their makeshift picnic. Merna noticed the air of conflict floating beneath the surface. Thinking on the whole reason Gil and Tom were even here was enough to sober anyone. She had spent most of the morning on the swords with thoughts of what they might face almost distracting her from her task, but with Kiedens help she had completed it.

The day moved on and they all stayed as Gil was fitted for his suit of armor teased and taunted by young Kieden and even Leia. They both were amazed still at the large size of human men, commenting on each piece Faelnir sized onto Gil. Faelnir threatened to kick them out if they didn't quit but it was clear he enjoyed their joking. Merna was having a hard time joining in, she stayed on one end of the room, occasionally smiling but her face would return to that distracted clouded state.
 
As the others were distracted with the teasing, and Gil was taking it good-naturedly, Greycloak ambled to the back of the room, and sat near Merna. He was still marveling at his new equipment, trying to shake the feeling that he was wearing some kind of play armor, something a child might wear, made of bark and paper or whatever, so light and airy it all. It was going to take some getting used to.

"My lady, I want to thank you again for the gift. I hope to honor you with its use. But I have to ask; what clouds your lovely face so much, my lady?" His tone was light, but his voice was soft, low enough even for heedrin ears to miss from across the room, but he had every confidence Merna would hear him quite clearly. "If there's anything I can do to help, even just listen, by all means, please enlist me."
 
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