Legends of Belariath

Mychalyna

Cursed.

That was what Kolyn had called the little baby girl that his daughter had brought into the world; the baby that, as the days progressed, obviously was without sight. He said that his granddaughter was cursed for the “sins of her parents”. That the God of Fate had made her blind because his daughter, Flora, had taken up with some starving artist type, completely disgracing not only herself, but her well-bred family as well.

Flora had a different way of viewing it all. She was sixteen when she met her Roderick as she walked along the shore near their family estate in Whitecliff Harbor on the Isle of Aera. He was penniless but like no man she had ever met before. Her father was wanting to marry her off to the son of a wealthy friend, but when Roderick asked to “capture her loveliness” through his art Flora fell in love with him. (For the most part, he was a humble yet talented carpenter, but he also enjoyed sketching with charcoal.)

When Flora’s father found out, he went into a rage. Kolyn, a man with quite the noble pedigree and no lack of wealth, forbade her of seeing Roderick again, and Roderick—a true gentleman at heart—was determined to prove that he could be good enough to make her and her father happy. Living near the sea, Roderick had witnessed men who came home with untold wealth. He did not know if Fate had such luck in store for him, but he had to try. He would go off to see and make a name for himself. Then, he would return to claim Flora as his bride.

Flora swore to wait for him, and the night before he set off on his quest, she met him on the beach where they had met for the first time. That was where they consummated the marriage that was never to be. Nearly a year later, Roderick had yet to return but Flora had a special reminder. Mychalyna was her mother’s pride and joy, and that of her grandmother as well. Kolyn disapproved, of course, and ignored the girl when he wasn’t making snide, hurtful remarks. Flora and Francesca (Mycha’s grandmother) more than made up for his lack of affection with their own. The only problem was that she was an adventurous child and terribly curious. She would knock priceless heirlooms off of their stands because she liked the sound. She would wander into the kitchen to sample the sweets when they were still burning hot. Since her hands substituted as her eyes, she was always touching everything. That was when Francesca and Flora decided to teach the child how to play the harp.

From then on, she was hooked. When minstrels came to entertain on occasions that they had guests, Mychalyna would beg them to teach her new songs. She had quite the ear for it all, and by the age of seven, her fingers could dance across the strings in a way that could bring forth joy in her listeners or induce tears.

She was happy. Every day, her mother would take her to walk along the shore that held such beautiful memories for her and Mycha’s father. Even after all those years, she was confident that he would return for the both of them. What none of them knew was that Kolyn had hired a mage to control the wind… a mage who had the power to keep Roderick away.

When Mycha was eight, Flora fell ill. No one understood the illness, and no one understood how to heal her. She laid in bed, slowly fading. Still, she was unwilling to let go… worried what would happen to her daughter if she was left in Kolyn’s care. (Sweet Grandmother Francesca had passed the year previous.)

Then, one day a man with a rather debonair manner came, demanding to see Flora. It was Roderick. Against all odds, he had made it back to be with his love. He was shocked to discover that they had a daughter, (Letters sent from one to the other had been intercepted by Kolyn.) but just like Flora had been sure, he wanted to take them both away. For Flora, it was too late. Every last ounce of strength she owned had been used waiting for him. She died in his embrace, after begging him to take Mychalyna.

Roderick, it turned out, had become quite wealthy. He had become the captain of a ship, and he made a living by transporting goods—some of which were not entirely… allowed. At first, not knowing what to do with Mycha, he tried to settle down. He bought a little cottage, and they lived there for a few months. The lure of the sea called to him now, though, and before long he took Mycha for her first voyage.

She adored it, and the men aboard his ship—a nice lot, diamonds in the rough, one might say—all took to her. One even was teaching her to play the fiddle! Roderick made a small harp for her, a beautiful thing with intricate carvings decorating it, and she would play for everyone. Such was her life for the next several years. Mycha grew from a child to a young woman on that ship.

Since it was designed for smuggling, the ship (named The Steadfast Bride in honor of Flora) had been built for speed. Roderick felt that there wasn’t a ship on the water that could catch her, but one night they were caught unawares. Mycha awoke to the sounds of cannons being fired and the screams of the lads and men who were like her own flesh and blood.

The pirates who had attacked them reserved no mercy for the men aboard the Bride. Every last one was slaughtered. When they found Mycha huddled in the Captain’s Cabin all alone, however, they had other intentions. Men who spent months at sea were rarely graced with the presence of such a sweet, delicate young girl after all. Roderick had been saved for last, and he begged and pleaded for them to spare her. The young bard still has nightmares of that night…

By some grace of Fate, Mycha managed to stave off the lusty pirates. She played to whatever sympathies some of them still had. She would sing songs of long lost loves… She would remind them of the sweethearts and mothers and daughters that they had back home. The very thought of it all made her want to retch, but she would pretend to have a fondness for one over another, so that they would be so distracted fighting over her that they would fail to realize that none had yet claimed her.

Somehow, she made it through nearly a week until they made port. When all of the men left the ship for a night of drunken debauchery in the town, Mycha managed to get past her guard and make her escape. She had nothing the clothes on her back and whatever else she could stuff into the large satchel (which included some of the pirate captain’s coin and her precious harp).

She spent the next year or so traveling from one place to the next, doing what she knows and loves best… singing and playing the harp. Part of her enjoyed the adventurous, nomadic existence, but she was constantly worried that the pirates might find her or that some other terrible fate might befall her. She was constantly vulnerable, and part of her wanted only to find a place to settle down.

Somehow, that desire led her to Nanthalion.

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