Feather

a.k.a. Kynthia Tethys Aturanneutos

a.k.a. Orevuxah Arrarahd (Blackfeather Silverleaf)

          The human nation of Apollonios is a small pastoral city state consisting primarily of rolling hills and fertile river valleys. It’s nearest neighbor is the elven state Enialkesirchas a land of hills covered by ancient forests. The rulers of the two states have traditionally shared a close relationship, and mutually profitable trade partnership.

          The current ruler of Apollonios is the lord Sinon Ceyx Aturanneutos, the hereditary and popular ruler. The ruler of neighboring Enialkesirchas is the elven duke Maskithar Arrarahd. The both are married, Lord Sinon to the Lady Basilia Akilina the daughter of another nearby human realm Philonica, and duke Maskithar to the duchess Ivaelphu. With the close relationship the two states shared the rulers and their families and entourages would visit back and forth at least once a year, with the Aturanneutos spending time in the elven city, or the Arrarahds spending time in the human city.

          But 19 years ago, an event happened that severely strained the relationship between the two states. Philonica has long been rumored to have been jointly founded by elves and humans, and indeed there is the largest population of elves outside of any elven state not to mention a greater number of half-elves then in any other land. Further many of the humans possess an exotic look that one could characterize as elven, this goes for the ruling family as well as the commoners. That lady Basilia possessed an “otherworldly” beauty is a fact, and duke Maskithar is possessed of the almost androgynous beauty common to his people. Seeing each other several times a year, it could be understood that they might find a mutual attraction, and no one can blame them for choosing to consummate it one cool autumn night. It was a brief and one time affair that would have lasting repercussions for both kingdoms. Although this would not become apparent for nine months.

          When the lady Basilia was discovered to be with child, there was a degree of celebration in the land. The royal family already had a child, but the elder child was a daughter, and there was hope that this next child would be the long awaited son, and heir. However a an augury conducted at nearby Wundai, a temple to Apollo revealed potential trouble. The unborn child could cause a war between the states of Apollonios and Enialkesirchas. This revelation put a damper on the celebrations, and sent lord Sinon to work trying to further strengthen the ties between the two states to forestall such a tragedy. Only lady Basilia understood the true meaning behind the prophecy and prayed daily to the gods that what she feared might not be.

          Unfortunately lady Basilia’s prayers were unanswered (or perhaps as a punishment from Hera for her infidelity) for she gave birth to a child that made apparent her affair. The child’s elven features were distinct and undeniable. The duke could only forgive his wife (and barely at that) because the child was a female, and not a male and potential heir. Thus began the life of Kynthia Tethys Aturanneutos.

          Kynthia grew up very lonely. Her mother was deeply ashamed of her indiscretion and to her, young Kynthia was a constant reminder. Her step-father wanted nothing to do with her, and made this abundantly clear. Her older sister was doted on by both her parents, and saw Kynthia as a rival. None of her human relatives cared in the least and were content to ignore her, as long as she kept to herself, and on the few occasions Kynthia didn’t keep to herself, they made it clear that she should. Kynthia was entrusted to servants to care for and raise. Occasionally servants trusted with the task of raising an unwanted child will feel pity for her, and come to love her, but in Kynthia’s case this never happened. The people of the land blamed her (however unjustly) for the straining of relations between Apollonios and Enialkesirchas, and the subsequent economic hardships this caused.

          Over time the relationship between the two noble families was patched up somewhat, though they never regained their previous closeness. But the mutual visits again began, and Kynthia had the opportunity to meet the elven side of her heritage. However the situation was not much better. Her elven father was deeply ashamed of his actions and how close it brought the two states to war, and much like Basilia saw Kynthia as a constant reminder of his shame. Ivaelphu, her elven step-mother, openly despised her, for a number of reasons. Ivaelphu’s feelings were mirrored by her children, Kynthia’s elven siblings, who gave Kynthia the elven name Orevuxah which translated as black feather, and had the same connotation as the human phrase black sheep. The sole exception to this treatment was the elven family’s oldest child Donalushtas, who took pity on his young half sister, and was old enough and independent enough to go against his mother in this instance. Likewise her father’s grandfather, her great-grandfather also warmed a little to his half human great-granddaughter.

          But the visits to Enialkesirchas were seldom, and Kynthia was left mostly to herself, in her human family’s house. When she was merely six, an unfortunate incident left her with a broken leg. She had been climbing a tree in the orchard, and had fallen. There was some suspicion that one of her cousins might have caused the fall, but Kynthia never made an accusations, perhaps feeling that it would have been an exercise in futility. As she was recovering she became fascinated with the practices of the healers from Wundai, and barraged them with questions every chance she got. Lineus, a young acolyte of Apollo was pleased, and shared as much of his knowledge of healing as Kynthia cared to study. It was also during this time that she made the acquaintance of one of her family’s servants Oneidas. The family’s venerable seneschal, was somewhat flattered by the attention the pretty young child displayed in his work, and enjoying her company he taught her about business, and economics. Weather Kynthia was truly interested in such things or was just eager for the company of another person, she spent much of her time in Oneidas’s company, even after she was well enough to go out again.

          On one of her infrequent visits with her elven family Donalushtas took her on a trip into the true primeval forest, a place were humans had never set foot, and few elves did either. Her brother was an accomplished ranger, and it was fortunate that he was or they might not have survived. As it was the pack of worgs managed to catch him by surprise. While Donalushtas held off the pack with his sword, Kynthia picked up his bow, and attempted to use it as she had seen him do in times before. Fortunately she lacked the strength to draw the weapon, fortunate, because she lacked any skill with it, and would in all likelihood have been as much a danger to herself and her brother as to the worgs.

          When they returned his family was scandalized that he would expose himself to such danger especially to take a half-breed into an area that was considered all but sacred to the elven people. His response was an enigmatic smile, and to calmly say that it was alright with Artemis. Although he never took her there again, he did begin to teach her the art of archery so venerated by the elven people.

          In the interim, Kynthia had discovered that her family’s palace had it’s share of secret passages. Possibly her elven blood in conjunction with her boredom, enabled her to discover these, and so she had found a way to escape her dreary palace life and find some excitement. She had no need of a disguise as she was almost never seen outside of the palace, and few people would be likely to recognize her. Further while rare, half-elves were not unheard of in Apollonios, and so her heritage did not make her stand out. Consequently she was easy to ignore, just another half-elf waif wandering the streets of the big city. Roaming the city of Apollonios anonymously was an education in itself. She saw the way the common people worked hard to scratch out a living, and wondered what her family did to earn it’s living. Sure she had been taught some weaving, and to play the lyre with some skill, but these seemed more past times then occupations. Her occasional afternoons spent with Oneidas became even more enlightening, as she could see for herself much of what he was explaining in abstract.

          She also made some friends amongst the common folk. She never let them on to her true identity, merely calling herself Feather, a play on her elven name. The group she fell in with however was not the best friends she could have found. Their activities straddled the fence of what was legal and what was not, and they didn’t worry about which side their activities landed them on. Kynthia, or Feather as she now considered herself, was just happy to finally have friends, and never considered the consequences of her actions. The results being that when things went wrong Feather was the one left holding the bag. She was taken to the watch station and wondered what her fate would be, especially when the constable began trying to decide if she should be tried before the magistrate, or taken before the lord. Fortunately Feather was saved when Oneidas arrived at the station to see to some business. Understandably, Oneidas was quite shocked to see Kynthia sitting in the waiting room, in chains. Just what brought him there, and what he told the constable she never found out. All she knew was that after a few minutes of discussion with the constable, she was being conducted by Oneidas from the station discreetly back to the palace.

          Needless to say Kynthia did not venture from the palace for a while after that. Of course she had no such reservations on her rare visits to Enialkesirchas, always enjoying the outings she took with her half-brother. However on her next visit her favorite brother was away, and after being rebuffed several times she turned to her great-grandfather who informed her that he was away dealing with an orc incursion, but should be back in a few days. His return was much sooner, and he was badly injured, mortally so. Kynthia used the little knowledge of healing she had, and was soon joined by the local clerics of Apollo. Her brother pulled through, and told that the orc warband was larger then anticipated, and while they had managed to beat it back, it had been a costly victory. It was then that the assassin struck. His attack killed Donalushtas and the next eldest elven child, and gravely injured everyone there.

          Kynthia was devastated by the loss of Donalushtas. For it also cost her, her great-grandfather, who unable to bear the loss of his great-grandson, departed the mortal world for the distant homeland of the elves. Kynthia spent a month in a deep depression, mourning the loss of the only two members of her family to ever treat her kindly. In a deep depression, Feather once again began leaving her family’s palace to wander the streets of Apollonios. This time she was looking for companionship of any type. This was not hard to find as over the years she had begun to mature into a very attractive young woman. The exotic beauty of her elven heritage melding nicely with her human ancestry to produce an attractive although not necessarily beautiful package. She had no trouble finding interested partners, and was more then willing to trade her body for a few hours of affection weather it was real or not.

          It was on such affair that brought her to the attention of Wundai. She had formed a more or less steady relationship with Ginamene one of the acolytes there, and one day while coming to visit her, encountered someone who knew her. It was Lineus the acolyte who had tended to her injuries long ago, and was now a full fledged priest of the temple. Surprised to see the child of the ruling family at the temple unaccompanied, he asked her what brought her to Wundai. This led to a brief and pleasant conversation in which he asked her if she remembered th healing skills he had once begun to teach her. When she responded in the affirmative he could see in her eyes that she would be interested, and offered to have her trained at the temple. Kynthia considered this briefly and remembered Donalushtas’s devotion to Artemis, and her own desire to fit in, decided that accepting a position at a temple to Apollo would be an excellent choice. Sponsored by both Ginamene and Lineus, she was accepted, and tested to discover what aptitudes she had. The testing revealed that while she did have some aptitude with healing, she had an even stronger aptitude for magic, both arcane and divine. This caused some consternation as it was the custom to train new acolytes in whatever area they had the most aptitude. After some discussion, it was decided that Kynthia would be trained as both a cleric, and a wizard. (Although primarily thought of as a temple, Wundai is also the center for arcane teaching in Apollonios.)

          For one of the few times in her life, Kynthia was truly happy. She excelled in the study of magic, even if the related skills of both clerics and wizards came to her with difficulty. She also developed a fondness for Philotitus, her arcane instructor. For a year or so, Kynthia was truly happy and content, even her sexual escapades took a back seat to her new found love for magic. Naturally it couldn’t last.

          Kynthia had never mentioned to her parents that she was an acolyte at Wundai, not that they would have cared over much what she did or so she thought. However at the age of seventeen her step-father had decided to marry her in order to secure an alliance with a neighboring city state. Kynthia was less then pleased with this, and told her step-father so in no uncertain terms. As she saw it, her step-father had ignored her all her life, and now that she was nearly an adult he was going to pop up and dictate her future to her? She didn’t think so. Sinon coldly explained to her that as the daughter of a noble family it was expected that she would marry another noble and that she had no choice in the matter. Kynthia started to respond, a scathing retort about noble families in general and hers in particular forming on her lips, but then she stopped herself and considered. The worst that could happen would be that she ended up in a loveless marriage, and that would be little different from her life now. Seeing no reason to argue further, she told her step-father that she would marry, just as soon as she finished her training. Upon hearing that she was an acolyte at Wundai Sinon went ballistic. Not only could her being a priestess ruin her value in such a marriage (most nobles consider the clergy to be lower class, and although important, not worthy of associating with the upper class) but he had heard of what goes on between the female acolytes at the temples, and delivering his daughter in anything less then a virginal state could ruin the alliance he sought to forge. Sinon flat out forbid Kynthia to ever set foot in Wundai again. Kynthia tried reason, argument, yelling, and even tearful pleading to change her step-father’s mind, all to no avail. Finally she resorted to the magic she had been learning, and paralyzed her father. While he was held immobile she gathered a few things, and fled to Wundai.

          Ginamene was the first person she encountered upon her arrival at Wundai. The look on Kynthia’s face made it clear that something was terribly wrong. Concerned Ginamene asked her friend what was troubling her. In a burst of tears the whole story came out. Ginamene realized that this could be problematic not just for Kynthia but for Wundai as a whole, quickly took her to the high priestess. The high priestess, more then Ginamene, realizing the seriousness of this issue, quickly convened a meeting of the temple hierarchy. The meeting was involved, and led to no obvious solutions. Kynthia’s instructors spoke of her aptitude, and her potential, and what a shame it would be to see that lost especially considering her desire to learn, and the apparent favor she seemed to have in the eyes of Apollo. While they were discussing the possibility of reaching an agreement with Lord Aturanneutos, Sinon arrived with an entourage of guards and demanded that his daughter be turned over to him. The clergy attempted to discuss the matter with him, but beyond furious at the actions of his step-daughter, he would not hear it. Finally, sorrowfully, the high priestess explained to Kynthia that Wundai could not afford to get into a fight with Lord Aturanneutos, not over the fate of a single acolyte, no matter how promising she might be, and that much as they disliked it, she had to return to her step-father. Kynthia bid a tearful farewell to Philotitus, Lineus, and Ginamene, before exiting Wundai for the last time.

          Her step-father furious at her earlier actions ordered the disconcerted guards to gag Kynthia, and bind her hands, before taking her back to the palace. Once there, she was placed in her room, where Sinon explained that she would be married as soon as possible, and that they would be departing in the morning to meet her betrothed.

          Kynthia having no intention of going through with this marriage, not after the way her step-father had treated her, began to work at her bonds. Fortunately the guards extremely surprised at Sinon’s order had not bound her very tightly, so after an hour or so, she managed to work her way free. Once free she wrote four quick letters, one each for Ginamene, Lineus, Philotitus, and the high priestess of Wundai. She then packed a handful of her belongings, and made her escape through a secret passage in her room that no one else was aware of. Her first stop was Oneidas to whom she entrusted the letters, asking that he have them delivered in the morning. She did not tell Oneidas of her plans, nor did he ask, but he could tell this would in all likelihood be the last time he ever saw Kynthia.

          As she was making her way through the darkened passages of the palace on her way to the kitchen, she nearly tripped over a halfling, who was likewise skulking about. The halfling tried to threaten Kynthia to be silent, but Kynthia merely smiled and explained that all she needed to do was scream, and a score of guards would be there in seconds. On the other hand if the halfling promised to take her along, Kynthia could show her the safest way to the most valuable treasures, and then the quickest way out of the palace. The halfling considered this offer for a moment, then accepted. Thus began the partnership between Kynthia, and the halfling rogue Merla.

          Kynthia introduced herself as Feather, and never again identified herself as either Kynthia Tethys Aturanneutos or Orevuxah Arrarahd. As far as she was concerned she had forever turned her back on her previous life, and so those names no longer had meaning to her. Merla for her part never knew who Feather really was deciding that she must have been a servant in the palace who desired the excitement of an adventuring life. After all, many palaces had a royal wizard, and no few kept a cleric on hand, Feather could have served any number of roles.

Copyright 2004 by George Embley.