Legends of Belariath
Toris
Toris, born to a Torian family, was taken away and hidden with a family of sylvan elves far to the east of where she was born. She never knew her family and was told nothing by the elves who raised her. It wasn't until she was 12 and 1/2 summers old when something strange happened to her as she was in the forest. Toris felt a strange sensation course through her, strange markings began to from on her body. They spread all over her and that frightened her. Toris blacked out from the experience and was found by the elves who were caring for her. She awoke sometime the next day and saw two worried faces hovering over her. She was asked what had happened, but even she did not understand what was happening to her. That was until, after about a week when something even more terrifying happened. The elves who were caring for her went out into the forest to gather herbs, and they never returned. Toris was getting worried until then she felt some sort of strange power course all around and through her. She looked at herself as her skin began to turn a stone-like gray and she couldn't move. She was terrified, but only until the spell was completed, then she was lost in a sea of pure white. A cold yet blissful feeling swept over her as she was placed into a state of suspended animation through unknown sorcery
. It wasn't until after a time unknown to her that she had awoken within the place where she was raised. However, it was in ruins and no one lived there anymore. When she did awaken, she was terrified. That was until, a strange figure approached her. This person was shrouded in a veil of magic, all features could not be known to her and it spoke in a voice that seemed to neither male nor female. It said ”Listen to me, Toris, and listen well. You have been cursed, and the only way to rid yourself of this curse, is to find your twin brother, Reikimaru.” Toris was stunned at this, for she had never known that she had a brother, much less him being a twin. She asked nervously “H-how can I f-find him?” this person replied ”You must seek out the Torian, Rei-Kai. He is the key to finding your brother. But be warned, he is also responsible for your curse as well.” Toris was shocked and couldn't utter a reply. ”Also, you must beware of the darkness within him and you must be aware that he has taken the appearance of your brother as well.” Toris, for all the fear and shock that she was feeling, nodded her head in understanding. “Y-yes, I will find him and I w-will find my brother.” This person seemed amused at this and then created a mystical mirror to show Toris something she hadn't known before. Her hair and wings had changed slightly, besides the markings that adorned her face and body. Her hair was long and black with red strips as were her large wings. She gasped at this sight, wondering if this was also part of her curse. ”Go now, child. Go now and seek out the Torian, Rei-Kai. Follow his trail and find the whereabouts of your brother, Reikimaru.”Toris accepted, and although this was all so new to her and she understood so little of it, she knew it was her responsibility and her destiny to find her brother and the one called Rei-Kai. And so it was, that after many years of traveling, she had reached the town of Nanthalion, where Rei-Kai's last known stop was known to her from a few of the townsfolk that were traveling on business. Now, at the age of 27 summers, she enters Nanthalion in search of the Torian, Rei-Kai.
It did not take her long to locate the Torian known as Rei-Kai, and upon meeting with him, she felt a strange connection with him. At first she believed it to be the curse that the mysterious person had told her about. For a moment, she was furious with that thought in mind, but what surprised her most of all was how Rei-Kai appeared. He looked identical to her, except that he was a bit taller and seemed much stronger than herself. ”Also, you must beware of the darkness within him and you must be aware that he has taken the appearance of your brother as well.” Those words rang out in her mind and only seemed to fuel her suspicions and anger towards the man before her. Yet he did not seem afraid, his gaze upon her unsettled her. The color of his eyes and the calmness within them unnerved her, made her afraid of him, and yet she felt something within her, telling her that he would not bring her to harm. “Who are you?” His words broke the silence of the air about them, the forest trail seeming as deathly quiet as a grave as they stood there. At first she did not answer, but she pushed herself through her fears to speak. “I’m…Toris. You must be…Rei-Kai…r-right?” He looked slightly surprised that she knew who he was, but she did appear identical to him, and this strange bond seemed to connect them. Neither seemed to speak for a moment, and still Toris seemed upset about something, but after a time they began to talk. Toris at first listened to his story, of who he really was, and what had befallen him. She didn’t believe him at first until he got to the part about the ritual being done on him, and the figure he described who was there. Only then did she realize that he, Rei-Kai, was in fact, her brother. She felt anger towards the one who had tricked her, and the person who had truly cursed them, but that was quickly swept away as a feeling of happiness overcame her. She had found her brother, someone truly related to her, and he was strong. He would be there for her, and she now had one desire; to honor his name and become like him, become strong, and do what she believes is right for herself.