Peace of mind

[Meriel Pelith]

((anyone in relation to Meriel feel free to post something if you like))

As Meriel sat once more upon the wooden log in front of the fire, across the fields of Runewick, a content smile crossed her lips. It was still early in the morning, the sun had barely risen over the mountain pass and dew drops sparkled on many grass blades below her feet. No one was awake yet, just nature itself began to stir to the early morning sunlight, there was the occasional rustle in the undergrowth and the faint song of a bird, greeting the new day. Meriel felt at peace. A feeling she thought she had lost a long, long time ago and never as much as dared to hope it would return. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she watched the crackling fire, then lifted a hand to run it through her short, chocolate brown hair. Unlike most of her kind, Meriel wore her hair short. There was this image people had of her kind: Graceful, timeless, fair, with long beautiful flowing hair, braided and with silvery accessories woven into it, dressed in white, perfect dresses. Then you’d put Meriel next to that image, and weren’t so sure anymore whether she was an elf at all. Sure, she had the arrogance needed to be purest of all elven kind, but something about her looks was off. The black dress, the brown short hair, that seductive look. She was dark and tainted. And she didn’t mind one least bit. She had struggled for the longest of times being herself, struggled with what her past had made of her, but in the last 20 years she had left that behind. Absentmindedly she touched her chest, a little below the collarbone, where once a blackstone was set, identifying her as a member of the temple. Sometimes, in quiet moments, she felt an aching emptiness in her chest, that haunted at her. She knew she wasn’t entirely healed. She knew she hadn’t escaped forever. But she also knew that this was the best she could do. And she would enjoy every single moment of it, while it lasted. Oh, and enjoyment she had! The elfess reached into her bag to pull out a book. Twice now, when trying to read the book about magical theory, a handsome elf had appeared out of nowhere to demand her attention otherwise. Maelon being the last one. He was young, Meriel could easily tell. He was crude and funny. He made her laugh out loud with his inappropriate comments. Like herself, he seemed to possess so little characteristics of what you would expect of an elf. It sparked Meriel’s curiosity, she found herself wondering about him… but she wouldn’t make that mistake. She didn’t care for his story, just as much as she didn’t care for getting attached. Knowing someone’s history, was the first step into a direction she wasn’t willing to take. She had already made that mistake with Avariel. He’d gotten close to her. She actually cared about him, that she even found herself worrying over his condition. And then there was Alyan. And he was certainly Meriel’s favourite toy. Making him suffer, crushing his ego, brought so much pleasure to Meriel. When he looked at her yesterday with dark eyes, as she walked off with Avariel, it made her heart skip in a way, that she felt silly about. She was wondering how long it would take him to regret to ever have met her. He played this game well and Meriel was pleasantly surprised to find the other day, that he was manipulating her, the same way she was manipulating him. But he was no match. She’d ruin him for sure. In a way, it was a little sad even.
”Maybe you should consider having meaningful and deeper relationships, Meriel.”, Djironnyma had said the other day, which she regarded with a sarcastic chuckle. “I’m fine, Djironnyma.”, she had replied. “Things are so much easier this way.”

[Alessaina]

He couldn't decide which he liked more about her, the snarky, almost indifferent attitude she generally flung in his face, or running his hands through her cropped silken hair. The war in his head raged on as he deliberated the two things and it was affecting his hunting. Alyan had been on a power trip when he'd first arrived in Runewick. To his surprise, there was a small and frail, yet beautiful elfess that caught his attention immediately. Upon sitting down at that fire for the first time, he knew the game had begun.

And that's what it was. A game.

She teased, she cared, she was indifferent. She paraded her other conquest in front of him with a coy smile. But Alyan didn't give up. Meriel was using him, he knew that. But he was using her too, to an extent. The head games were only the beginning though, but she didn't need to know that.

As he plucked an arrow from his prey, he looked out at the sunrise subconsciously wondering where Meriel was.

[Alessaina]

Stupid.

That's what he was. He thought that maybe lightening the mood would get her to relax and have a little bit of fun for once. Pushing her into the lake had seemed to work at first. Hearing Meriel laugh like that was contagious, and soon, Alyan too was in the water and they were splashing each other.

But things changed.

Her defenses were gone, but the distance between them could have been like a sea for all the good his words did. And so he left her alone on that small island, fed up with playing the game.

[Meriel Pelith]

The elfess shivered. But it wasn't just the coldness attracted by her wet clothes, that made her tremble uncontrollably. She didn't understand what just happened. She had seen Alyan, and she was ready to play, luring him away to toy with him. And the next thing she knew, they ended up in the water, after he was so fed up with her constant games. She should have been angry, or upset, but instead she just laughed. She laughed, with no pretense, with no ulterior motive. A laugh that was not meant to please, or to seduce, or to be polite. It was a genuine laugh. And with that the walls came tumbling down. Even before this, she had known that she liked Alyans presence far too much for her own good. Which was also the reason why she was so needlessly cruel to him. She wanted to break him. Wanted to prove, that he was wrong for her. No, that she was wrong for him. As if proving with all force, that he would not be able to bear her, would make her feel better about being on her own.

And now? She had what she wanted. She was on her own again. It was what she had tried to achieve, wasn't it? But there was no satisfaction, no triumph, nothing that comforted her. After all, it wasn't her little game that made him leave. He had stepped past her walls, she had felt vulnerable and pulled together ever little strength she had left to distance herself from him, pushing him away with all her force. She could not. She would not. Just a look into his eyes, and Meriel knew... nothing good would ever come of it.

'Out in the distance the order was heard. And the soldier was killed, still waiting for her word. And while queen kept on strangling in the solitude she preferred,... the battle continued on.', echoed the words of the poem in her head, that she had recited a few nights ago.

[Meriel Pelith]

It was the right thing to do; to push him away. Whatever Alyan was looking for, whatever he was searching, he wouldn’t find it in Meriel. Everything she touched withered. Her heart was a heavily guarded place. No one got in. Even Alyan, who Meriel had been genuinely been fond of, only had scratched the surface. But the truth was, that there was nothing behind those walls. Whoever tried to get past her defense, was only to find a barren, empty space that held nothing but painful memories. She wouldn’t let Alyan walk right into this demise. She cared too much for him, to allow him to get hurt any further by her. So she let him go, she pushed him away and now she was done with it, knowing he was better off this way. And so was she.

She took a deep breath after she set foot back into Runewick. Even though she hadn’t been here for long, she already associated this place with ‘home’. She felt at ease in the lush forests and the river shore. As she sat on the bridge that lead to Yewdale, dipping her toes into the water below her, she pondered about her little journey to Cadomyr and everything that happened since.

[Avariel]

The elf sits on an old wall and looks over the trees. He was trying to find somebody who could help him so hard, but nobody understood the tail he was trying to tell. No one understood, that he was guarding a darkness. They had compassion with him, thinking, he was a poor boy... Meriel tried to rescue him ... the elfess from the wilderness tried to use him... but nobody UNDERSTOOD what was really inside him... The elf sighed. Hopefully he would be strong enough to tame the darkness for another century. He would stick with Meriel... she seemed to get close to understanding.. perhaps she would be able to discover his secret...

[Meriel Pelith]

”I’m leaving.”, Meriel had said as she packed her few belongings into a bag. ”And where do you go to where Mas doesn’t follow?”, was Thurimbrands reply. He was such a fool. He understood nothing. Everyone feared the month of Mas, but she… she was shaken to the core as she had heard of everything that happened. Dark Portals, Undead, Blood raining from the sky. This was Gobaith all over again. She could not be in the middle of such things. For so many years she had felt relatively safe wandering the lands, knowing that the gods weren’t paying any attention to her, as long as she didn’t pay any attention to them. She even avoided speaking out their names, wherever possible. And she was happy with this arrangement, even if deep down she knew, this wouldn’t last forever. She was not willing to give up this peace she had found though.
And even though Thurimbrand could not fully grasp why Meriel acted the way she did, how she could possibly be so scared, he was right, when he mentioned, that she wasn’t alone here in Runewick. He might not be able to protect her, but others would be. And Meriel found that he was right. Runewick was a safe place. And she trusted Djironnyma. She could run off, not knowing exactly where to, or put her faith into the people around her. As difficult as this might be for her. And yet… maybe she was protected inside these walls from whatever darkness lingered out there -
but was anyone able to protect her, from herself…?

[Alytys Lamar]

She still was in surprise, emotions, names and actions from her past rushed through her mind and blood.
Meriel was so much related to her life - it has always felt like a empty hole after she left with the boy.
Edward- the name gave her still a shiver down the spine, greatest love and hate at once. Not to count all the others.
She thought about Silas, Gryphius, Aristeaus, Taylor and Manny . The past was at life, once again she felt the heat of Varshikar on her skin - it felt all like it happened just yesterday.
This elfess seems to be bond to her life - or what a tomfoolery should it be to met her again at this forsaken place ?

A little smile curled her lips - and she still looks like a innocent young thing - isn't that unfair ?
She had to chuckle, running with her hands through the long, silky hair.
Seems it was time to visit Runewick and ... the other ghost of her life - Djironyma.

[Meriel Pelith]

As Meriel sat on one of the many balconies of Runewicks Academy, gazing out in the night sky, she exhaled a deep sigh. How did she get involved in all of this, she wondered, although she already knew the answer to that. ”This is what happens when you start caring. That’s why I usually don’t.”, she had said to Thurimbrand. But it was too late for that now. She cared for Avariel, cared for his well-being. She was worried about him and what was going to happen. The brown haired elfess glanced down to her bag, where a half empty bottle of red wine was stowed away, but didn’t reach for it. Her head still felt heavy from before, not to forget the vivid memory she still had of that unbearable headache after the ritual. She couldn’t deal with this. As much as she hated the self-pity she found herself in, she still couldn’t shake off the feeling that she was the one to blame for what happened. Wasn’t this what she kept preaching to everyone around her? Everything she touched, broke. In this case Avariel. In a way, Meriel should know better though: Ritual or not – it didn’t change what Avariel was, or the darkness that he carried inside of him. That was not her fault. Yet, whatever she did, was the trigger to set lose this series of unfortunate events. The elfess stood and walked to the rail of the balcony, looking out into the darkness. Somewhere out there Avariel roamed, all alone. She had tried to find him, she had tried to talk to him, but she hadn’t been of any help. She wondered if she should just stay away. In the end, she would only make things worse.

And then she thought of Thurimbrand, who had left her room just a short while ago. Nothing happened. At least nothing one would normally assume to happen given the situation. He made things even more difficult for her. He was so young, he could merely call himself a man, as much as he tried to prove her wrong. She kept telling him, that she wasn’t interested and that, for his own sake, shouldn’t pursue her any further. She put him down infront of others too. But the kiss they had shared just a moment ago, made her out to be a liar. To her own annoyance, she found, that he was right: She wanted him. As much as she tried to shake him off and to ignore him: She had admired his persistence. He made her laugh with the foolish things he said to her and ever since the ritual, ever since she felt this weak, she found herself attracted to his light, seeking his presence. She hadn’t changed her mind though. She knew nothing good would come from this and certainly did not share his naïve ideas. She would hurt him. And she didn’t want to. She was only trying to protect him.

[Avariel]

Avariel sat on a hill and looked over the trees. His memory returned and he could remember the last few days and his life before the magic accident clearly now, but when he thought of Gina or Kiira, they felt like strangers. There was no happiness, when he thought of them. Avariels mind went to the day Vern slew his drow wife and the chase after. He had been laying in wait at the Inn to kill some of the persons involved. When he saw Caldarion leave Lia, he wanted to take the chance and kill her and her babies... but Ranwyln was there and hindered him. Later on, in Runewick, he shot down an innocent woman, so strong the darkness had grown.
But now, he sat there in peace. "Falyame, this amazing woman has really hit me with her words", he thought. "Could she be right? Could an elf really change entirely? Can I destroy the darkness and set myself free?" He sighed deeply. "Yes, Falyame showed him a way. But he would have to give up everything." Avariel sighed again, then he looked at the setting sun. He raised and took up his bow, it was time to seek revenge.