Legends of Belariath

Tamryn

“Well what is it? Boy or girl?” The irritable ruler asked his favorite subject and best friend.

Donnel Kathahles grinned at his liege, his proud smile beaming. “Edgar, it is a boy! Me and Matilda are the proud parents of a baby boy!” For a brief moment Donnel forgot the man before him was his king and grabbed the larger man, swinging him around in his joy. This was more exciting to him than when they had overthrown the hostile rule of Edgar’s brother. That had been a bloody campaign. But now he was a father and all that was changed. The midwife had just told him the good news. He set his lord down, coughing a bit to recover decorum, but Edgar Glamorgan was his best friend as well as his liege and he was too excited to care about protocol.

Edgar clapped Donnel on the back. “That is wonderful news! What are you going to name the lad?” Edgar did not mind Donnel’s actions. He had been his greatest general in the campaigns that got him his rule, and the man was now his greatest knight and champion. There were few people in the world that Edgar trusted completely, but Donnel was and he was one of the best warriors in the kingdom. He was glad to finally see the man able to start a family of his own.

“Tamryn is the name Matilda and I have chosen for him. It was that or Dahlana, but he was a boy so Tamryn it is.” He grinned, but the moment was brought short by the midwife tugging a bit at his sleeve. He turned smiling brightly, but seeing the look in the woman’s eyes his quickly changed.

“Sir, I am afraid there is a problem…..”

* * *

Tamryn ran through his father’s workshop watching the older man’s broad form as he hammered the metal into its desired shape. His father smithy was deep in the bowels of the keep and it serviced the king’s troops. One of his father’s apprentices was at work on the Dragon’s lungs, the name Donnel used for the forge bellows with his son. Today there was another man with them that Tamryn didn’t recognize.

Jacon Wintermane watched the young lad’s movements with a grin and nodded to the boy’s father. “Donnel I know you gave up your blade to raise your son after Matilda’s death, but the King would like to see the boy get the training he deserves as a squire. You were his greatest knight, it is only fitting your son should be raised as a noble and given that opportunity.”

Donnel watched the Guard Captain with tired eyes. “Jacon, I gave up my claim and my sword to settle down and raise my son. A warrior’s life was too risky for me to try and lead. I needed to make sure I lived for my son. In truth I want to see him grow old and safe as well. If it means he has a commoners life then so be it.”

Jacon sighed. “Donnel I am sorry, but the King wishes this and I am not sure he can be dissuaded. He believes you are being a damn stubborn fool. His words, not mine.” The man says holding up his hands defensively. “Either way I will promise you I will look after him with great care. As if he were my own child.”

Donnel sighed, knowing how Edgar could be when he was worked up about something. He decided he would give the boy a say. He turned to Tamryn. “Well son, what do you think? Would you like to be a squire and train to be a knight?”

Tamryn hadn’t been able to follow most of his father’s conversation with the other man, but his eyes grew large as cups as his father asked him that question. “Oh can I father? I will do my best I promise to if you let me!” He pleaded.

Donnel again sighed, turning to the other man. “Allright then Jacon, it seem you will have you a new squire.” Donnel quietly prayed the decision was the right one.

* * *

Tamryn’s blade danced along the orc’s as they fought. This was the teenager’s first outing since his vigil into knighthood, and he was leading a fair contingent of the King’s guard. The had come upon a large caravan of farmgoods from local farmer headed into the city that was being ambushed by an orc tribe’s patrol. He turned suddenly, his movement caused the orc’s momentum to carry him forwards causing him to stumble. This gave Tamryn time to slip his blade between the beasts ribs. He quickly turned from the dead creature.

“To me, men! Protect the wagons and the farmers!’ He shouted the order as he moved forward driving his blade to the hilt into an orc abdomen that was engaged with one of his troops. Seeing another of his guard in similar shape he hurled a dagger from his side into the creatures arm, giving the man the opportunity to strike the creature dead.

Tamryn then laid eyes upon something that stopped him in his tracks. There amongst the wagons was a dark haired slip of a girl. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she stood over the body of a dead orc with a bloody dagger in her hands. Her clothes placed her as a farmer, but she had a fire in her that Tamryn had never saw in any other creature. Her head turned to meet his and he was instantly caught by her eyes as they locked. Those lovely eyes, looking into his, flinched. It took him a second to realize what was wrong and then he was looking down at the blade protruding from his stomach. Bloody hells.

Tamryn fell, around him he could barely hear the voices of his troops.

“Camp is secure.”

“Sir Tamryn is injured! Quick, get the healer!”

The last thing he remembered was the girl leaning down to him and looking into his eyes. “My name is Alyssa. Stay with us….” And then blackness came.

* * *

“Edgar, he wants to marry her. Please, grant me this one boon and release the lad, as a favor to me.” Donnel pleaded with the liege.

Edgar hrrmphed. “You do realize we can’t just have our knights, who we put a lot of work in suddenly stop so they can become farmer and pop our babies. It would set a horrible example.”

Donnel watched his king. “Edgar, you know he is only a knight at your insistence. This is the life more like I would have wanted for him. When he first began to learn the ways of a knight the boy was so engrossed. He loved it, but he loves her more. He wants to give it up to be with her so he won’t be in danger. He just wants to raise a family safe and sound. Please Edgar, release him from his oath. If not for me then do it for Matilda. She gave her life to see the boy born. Isn’t this better than him ending up dead on some battlefield?”

The king nodded, knowing already he would bend to his old friends request, but it would cause hostility from those in his court who would see the lad as a lost asset. His skills had progressed rapidly. “Allright Donnel. It shall be as you request. There will be hell to pay from Duke Gregor over the lad stepping down, but I will make sure the man bends and accepts my decree.” The king grinned at his old friend.

Donnel smiled and let out a long sigh of relief. His son would no longer be out swinging a sword, but now working as a farmer, safe from any battles for king and country. That he was doing it for love, was all the better, because he couldn’t see his son being content with a quiet life any other way. The two men shook hands.

* * *

Tamryn drove his cart down the road. He knew instinctively that his wife and father were probably preparing some type of birthday “to do” on this his 27th season. He had stayed a second day on his trip selling their produce in the larger neighboring town from their village, though his memory was still cloudy from all the liquor the catgirl serving wench had plied him with. He smiled knowing the extra time would help them prepare. He didn’t mind letting her spoil him like that. Alyssa took more enjoyment out of those kinds of things than he did.

Tam was glad his father had decided to leave the king’s service and become the village blacksmith. He knew his father wanted to be close to them, especially since they had recently found out Alyssa was with child. Tam sometimes missed being a knight. He had truly loved the sword and working with it, but he would give it up any day for the love of his life in his arms at the end of the day.

He smiled to himself as he drove the wagon towards their home. But something inside of him fell as he saw smoke in the distance. Oh gods. Could there be a fire in the village. There was so much smoke. He spurred the pull horses on with a sharp flick of the reigns and road hard towards town. As he turned the last bend his ice blue eyes showed horror. The scene before him almost caused him to retch. The village has been gutted by fire, some of which was still ablaze and sputtering smoke. This must have happened yesterday at the latest. There we bodies, hacked and charred lying here and there. Oh gods no. Please oh no.

Tamryn drove his wagon hard for the farmstead that had been his not far from the village center and there he saw his house burnt badly, but still standing for the most. He was heedless of any possible dangers to himself as he leaped to the ground and ran hard for he door, which was busted inwards. He moved inside and there he saw the sight that killed something inside of him. Lying on the floor was several of bodies. Most were the bodies of what Tamryn would guess were soldiers. But near the center of them was the two that mattered to him. With a blood chilling cry Tamryn moved to his knees amidst the bodies and pulled the bodies of his pregnant wife and father into his arms. He laid back his head with a howl. “Noooooo!!” He yelled loudly, his ears shedding dirt stained tears. “Oh no. No no.” He wailed. How could this happen. Grief over took him and he wasn’t sure how long he sat there screaming into the heavens.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he began to return to a sensed form of thought. It was cold though, almost he felt as if he was watching himself from the outside. He noted the bodies around his love ones. He knew his father had bought the lives of him and Tamryn’s love with a high price in blood. Tamryn shifted through the bodies trying to find a marking that would place them, but they had been removed. If the soldiers had worn anything to identify them it had been removed.

Tamryn carefully carried out the bodies of his love and dead child within her and his father. He carefully removed a mithril heart shaped locket from around her neck. He had given her that when he had told her he was giving up the blade. He worked for the rest of that day, occasionally fighting back tears as he dug their graves. He looked upwards at the heavens and spat a hateful glare. “You gods are hateful creatures. This should have been me dead with her. Why am I alive? I don’t want to be.” He sighs and says his peace to those he loves and then he gathers up his things.

While going through the house he finds wrapped up in his fathers things the sword Tamryn had only seen twice before in his life. He wrapped it back up taking the dulled grey blade with him. It didn’t look like much, it was long with etches running in an odd pattern from the blade tips down to a hollow point in the blade where it met the hilt. He knew it was a special blade and one that had been in his family a long time, but as much as thoughts of vengeance filled his mind, he had to find out more information and he needed to increase his skills. For now the blade would have to wait.

He took the wagon now and headed towards an outlying farm, which he preyed would be fine still. There he found his uncle. He wept anew as he told his father’s brother about this tragedy. The older man comforted Tamryn as best as he could, but in the end his advice was that Tamryn should seek the distant town of Nanthalion, beyond this kingdom and within the lands of Emperor Stormbringer. He cautioned the boy saying the laws there were different and he would need to be careful. He also gave the boy a shield he had of his fathers and a powerful mustang warhorse that would carry him there with speed. Gathering his things and mounting up, Tamryn thanked his uncle promising to visit again when he had avenged his father’s death. He then set off for distant Nanthalion.

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