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Post by Storyteller on Jan 31, 2021 22:57:35 GMT
As I proudly show Iritari the lock of hair that Árón gave to me, and I help the other two to complete their own braids, each with the other's hair, I say, diffidently, "Beloveds, will we be mating properly and publicly? And if so, oh, could we do it today? I do not want to go another day without it being known that I am mated to those whom my heart loves, without swearing before witnesses the oaths my heart sings hourly."
I look from Árón's noble warrior's face to Iritari's heartbreakingly lovely one and back again. I twine my fingers with Iritari's and look to Árón for the permission. It is, I have seen, the way we are.
Also, I cannot bear to be parted from Iritari, not even so far as to be out of reach of his hands.
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Post by Diocles on Feb 1, 2021 0:17:27 GMT
"Let it be done at once, at the rising of the moon," Árón says, taking your and Iritari's small hands in his strong ones. "I must woad your faces and arms in the ceremonial Kindor fashion, and you, Mairwyn, must invite our kinsman, Aethyl, to witness the mating ceremony."
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Post by Storyteller on Feb 1, 2021 0:32:39 GMT
"Of course, my beloved Árón," I say. "And I have found the design I wish for you to mark upon my face permanently, too." I briefly describe the two deep blue lines below my eyes that turn in corners to become a long blue stripe down each cheek and onto my neck. "It represents the tears that I wept for sorrow, which you, my loves, turned to tears of joy."
Then I say to Iritari, "Will you come with me, my sweetheart, to meet my cousin when I ask him to witness our mating?"
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Post by Diocles on Feb 1, 2021 0:35:19 GMT
Árón nods gravely. "Very well, darling. You have chosen well, and I will ink your face after the ceremony, when the woad is washed away. Now let me go find an ocean pool on this rocky beach, one where we may bathe comfortably after the ritual."
Iritari smiles at you. "Of course, my sweet one. Let's go find your cousin, for he is now my kinsman, too, and I long to have more friends!" You sense he was very lonely beneath the waves, in the enveloping darkness.
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Post by Storyteller on Feb 1, 2021 0:43:51 GMT
"Tell me," I say to him, lifting his hand to my lips to kiss it, and rejoicing to see the little silver bracelet still there. "Tell me ... everything! I long to know all that befell you, for I have longed for you every hour of your absence. My heart yearned for you, my Iritari, with each beat of it."
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Post by Diocles on Feb 1, 2021 0:48:25 GMT
"I thought the Ithacul would consume me," Iritari says with a shiver as he grips your hand. You walk on together slowly. "And they would have if their chief had not stood between me and them. He had a form of savage kindness, like a protector. I couldn't understand why, but now I do." The Zenji youth stops and kisses your lips, and his tenderness is a stark counterpoint to the rough dominance of Árón. You walk on. "Your prayers stayed his hand, and though his pod did not listen to Galadrin's will, the chief did, at least in part. He would not let me be consumed, but also he would not let me go." Iritari sighs. "And then came Árón, bursting in upon my dark dreams like some bright bird. He negotiated with the Ithacul, and they seemed to respect him, for he was as at home in their element as they were. Though they wanted to keep me, the Ithacul let me go. Do you think they feared our lord and Master?"
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Post by Storyteller on Feb 1, 2021 1:02:07 GMT
"I am sure that they did," I answer. "For our beloved lord, our sweet Master Árón, is mighty, and stands high in Galadrin's favor. The Ithacul would not dare to cross his word." I lean my head on Iritari's shoulder as I look up at the braid of my hair--now joined with Árón's--in Iritari's locks. "It was a bittersweet comfort to me to know that you had gone with a portion of me, as I treasured this of you. I did pray, Iritari, when I rose and when I slept, for you, that Galadrin's grace would preserve you and that you would return to the shore, but I never ... never dreamed that I would see you again! And yet my heart longed for you hopelessly." I feel the tears on my cheeks. "Oh, Iritari, your sweetness and your sacrifice inspired me to follow Galadrin, and I..." I swallow hard. "I tried to imitate you. I sacrificed myself and my chastity to an Ausir slave captain to save a Grorekathi caravan and my companions." I sigh. "Our lord Árón knows already, but I wanted to tell you, too, before we mate."
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Post by Diocles on Feb 1, 2021 1:13:52 GMT
Iritari does not judge you or call your experience shame, for you sacrificed yourself for the good of others. "It seems to be the way of things, my love. Ships sailing with sacrifices, and now what you've done. Perhaps Kailos lives because of these acts."
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Post by Storyteller on Feb 1, 2021 1:25:09 GMT
"I think it does," I say. "Love requires sacrifice." I can feel the easing of my burden just from speaking of it with Iritari. He understands! I kiss his lips, sweet and gentle, and I say, "What inspired me to follow Galadrin was first seeing your face. I realized then that I could never repay Galadrin for the beauty of you, and that you should love me--I owed a debt beyond reckoning! Then our lord Árón found me, and what shall I say? If I were obliged to crawl the length and breadth of Kailos on my knees, forbidden ever to see you or our lord Árón again, to spend eternity cast out of Alaxton's halls, I would still stand as debtor to the gods, for I could not repay, not with all that, the glory of being yours and our lord Árón's."
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Post by Diocles on Feb 1, 2021 1:36:04 GMT
"Árón is the best for us, isn't he?" Iritari sighs again. "But what of you becoming a mariness? Galadrin has saved me, but I feel no call to him, as you and our Master serve. Is this... wrong of me? I don't want to be ungrateful."
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Post by Storyteller on Feb 1, 2021 1:44:02 GMT
"No, not at all," I say. "If he were calling you to serve him, you would feel it. But you have done your service to Galadrin differently. You were a Sacrifice. That is a once-done, ever completed gift." Then I kiss his lips, his cheeks, and his eyelids. "You serve Galadrin best by belonging to our lord Árón. For me, were it not that I belonged to Galadrin as a Mariness, I would never have been able to return to you and our lord Árón. Cailean the River-god in Tir Na Og would not have released me for any other cause. So that is why I had to be a Mariness."
As I speak, I am understanding things more clearly than ever before. "Otherwise, like you, my service to Galadrin would have been fulfilled in serving our lord Árón."
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Post by Diocles on Feb 1, 2021 1:46:04 GMT
Iritari is stunned. "A river god kidnapped you? Imprisoned you?"
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Post by Storyteller on Feb 1, 2021 1:55:17 GMT
"Yes," I answer. "I had gone from Ravenwood to Tir Na Og--oh, how I hope that we can go there together someday, my love!--to seek out a horse for the figurine I gave to our lord Árón as a mating gift. As I walked by the riverside, Cailean rose out of the water and grabbed me, drawing me beneath the water." I realize that I have shared this with Iritari, and I kiss his hand. "I felt perhaps as you did. All was dark, and the water flowed over me so inexorably I thought that I must drown, but I could breathe. Yet all was dark, so dark, until his glowing eyes opened on me. He said to me that he would ... make me a goddess. That he would keep me at his side, and never would I leave Tir Na Og again. My heart broke in that instant, for not only was our lord Árón here in Kailos, but here, too, was where you had gone beneath the waves. How could I leave?"
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Post by Diocles on Feb 1, 2021 1:57:11 GMT
Iritari hugs you and weeps. "So you, too, have gone into imprisonment beneath the waves? You know how I feel then, more than anyone in Kailos! This only we share."
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Post by Storyteller on Feb 1, 2021 2:05:33 GMT
I cling to him and weep, too. "I had feared it, dreaded what was happening, but now, now I am glad of it! I am glad because it means that I can understand you, my love. Cailean the River-god surrounded me with his waters, kept me down in that darkness, and his eyes alone were light. He spoke to me of love, and of imprisonment. He swore that he would make a goddess, and that in time, my heart would turn toward him. He loved me already, and he told me that my heart would learn to see my only light in his face as already his eyes were the only light I should ever know."
I shake my head. "I opened my mouth to declare my love for you and for our lord Árón, but then I saw in his face, a god's face, your unmaking and our lord Árón's, too. If I gave as my reason for refusing him a mortal, he would strike down that mortal without hesitation. I had never been so afraid in my life."
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