Legends of Belariath
Mozenwrathe
The Villain Apparent - And Chose The Wrong Route II
(excerpted from a longer "interview" of sorts with Prydain Mozenwrathe)*This was actually taken two years before the return of Prydain to Nanthalion and Valencia. For a ten year span, he had vanished from the two cities and spent time far and away. At points of time, he had in fact been completely outside of the known empire of Lord Stormbringer. The "twin cities" referenced by Prydain are in fact within the realms held by the known empire, but not commonly traveled to by those in Nanthalion currently.*
Some people believe that being married within this realm held by force and fury means something. To be honest with you all, it doesn't mean any more than the value placed on it by the two (or more) people involved. That, of course, and whomever is trying to break them up. Whether it be through slavery, kidnapping or death, marriage is about as fragile as glass when it comes down to it.
Will I ever get married? Possibly. Given the callous way I tend to look at life, finding someone that would put up with me is not bloody likely. I don't tend to be a romantic sort. And that's usually pretty big on reasons why people get married within any land to begin with: love. I am not exactly a paragon of a passion or a champion of cherishing. I've dropped swords I have worked on in the heat of battle and picked them up afterwards with more concern than I've stroked the bottom of a beautiful lass. It's not to say that I don't care about someone I have been in bed with, it is just that I normally don't care about whomever has been riding my thighs and heating my loins. If anything, normally it is just a matter of convenience. When you look like I do, women are normally looking for a good time on the mattress and then send you on your merry way. The one they want is normally a little shorter, a lot paler, and has plenty of money and influence in the town you are in.
Which brings me to the second reason most people get married: prestige and influence. I have no money. I have grand castle to invite legions into. I have nothing to do with the royalty of any nation or the nobility of any land. I am just a smith. I make things with steel and other metals, I get paid, I go and spend the money. That is it. For years I have traveled from village to village and town to town, slowly working on building up my skills. I have not stayed long in any one place for a while now. There has been no desire for me to build false attachments to people or aspire to heights that have nothing to do with me. If people want to do the whole social climbing thing, they can make themselves a ladder with a group of friends and find a tree. I want nothing to do with such individuals. They would only ruin my concentration as I try to develop my skills. At the same time, I have no need to "marry rich." If I want money, I will go and earn it. If not through my smithing skills, I have other talents I can harness. Yes, that -does- mean I can cook.
One more cause of marriage within these regions is the belief that you are protected in some way the moment your name is attached to another. That's a loud load of nonsense if I have ever heard one. It simply means if someone harms you, another now has a legitimate claim to seek retribution - or at least your recovery. Attaching your name to another means you gain all their enemies - whether you have heard of them or not. The protection only comes when the person you marry is too strong to be attacked head on, and too greatly feared or respected to have skulduggery used on them. I can't say I am a juggernaut of any kind: social, physical, magical, political and so on to nausea and infinity. My best defense is that nobody cares enough about me to keep track of me. Even those I have offended can't find me if I don't want them to. Not that I am some sort of sneak in the shadows, but when I leave a region, I am gone. The few who want to find me that bad normally end up running into people that want to find -them.- That would no longer be the case if I was married. People may not be able to find me, but they would definitely work hard on finding those I was closest to. And as I do not have a small army to lay waste to anyone that offends me, being the sword and shield to another would be challenging at best.
Weddings in the twin cities between those with a lot of money and time on their hands tends to be a spectacle. It is a glamour event, filled with fancy dresses and ornate robes, short tempered priestesses and sadistic druids. Those who believe themselves paramount and powerful flock to them, in order to parade around in their finery - or completely naked except for some well-placed gemstones of note. The union of the two (or three, sometimes four) people is of less importance than what sort of chaos the guests - invited and otherwise - get up to. The entire procession is about as sacred as a new moon's festival in the High Forest, and yet it's treated like some soirée to mingle and mate underneath some fallen curtains. I heard rumours of one such marriage having an avatar of Calastra - some elven goddess or whatever - drop in and curse the masses, but I've seen no such proof of that. Then again, I did hear that some of the bards and merchants of Arme`nosse Maranwe-Lisse' have been speechless for the past few weeks - literally. Perhaps there is something to that story after all, but it's not my concern. The elves and half-elves can do whatever they want to each other, as long as they pay me when I finish my job. I think I got an invite to that wedding, but I was busy working.
Oh, there was one thing that you just reminded me of. The fact there are "purists" about that have distinct issues with torians marrying humans, or elves getting handfasted to vulpani, and so on and so forth. To those that want to do that, I say to them this: fine, just don't expect me to clean up after your messes. That's it. I don't care whom they want to bind their lives and souls to. I have far more important things to worry about than if Kardish the sithian wants to be entwined with Reloshia the ogre. If those who have their pikestaffs twirling in their butts and vibrating are so concerned, why didn't -they- offer themselves to begin with? Secondly, half of them are so uninviting personality-wise that they have no choice but to wreck and ravage the dreams and fantasies of others. Misery loves company, and what better company than a pitchfork-carrying, torch-waving mob of sad, pathetic, hopeless individuals looking to drag down others into the masses.
So my view on marriage for myself? It's a rather dim one. For others? Why not. If there is ever a woman that can put up with me and all my fault and flaws, I will consider it. After all, living life alone is fine. Living life lonely isn't. I refuse to believe I was placed on Belariath to just sit here and stew in my own juices of suffering. No, I deserve happiness as much as the next man. And if being mated to someone in the eyes of the gods and of mortals is the way to do it, so be it. It just won't be right this second. After all, I have a feeling that I won't be staying around this region for much longer.