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16th of MidYear, 428 3E
Not everyone is happy about Thorinor and Sarasvati expecting their first child. Shortly after the news was publicly announced, Master Neloth - who has still not given up on the idea of having Sarasvati as his highborn Telvanni bride - was seen (and heard) ranting in the middle of town. Witnesses say that he was going on and on about "that rat-faced antlered freak from the forest". In fact his reaction was so over the top that witnesses feared that the old Telvanni had lost his mind.
At one point he stopped yelling long enough to step off the sidewalk and kick a rock...which lead to more yelling since he managed to injure his toes. Holding his foot off the ground, Neloth yelled, "Damn you, Rat Face! This is your fault!"
By then law enforcement along with Saje showed up and used a calming spell to get Neloth to quiet down before taking him to a holding cell to cool off. At least all the noise Neloth was making seemed to solve a problem the town has been having, at least for now.
The small herd of tarpans that roam the nearby wilderness have been spending more and more time within the town itself. This is a problem because they tend to push their way into gardens and relieve themselves wherever they wish. Not to mention the fact that tarpans can be aggressive, so town residents certainly don't want them hanging around the school house or any place where people frequently come and go, like the grocery store and the business building.
At the last town hall meeting the problem with the tarpans was brought up. Some felt the animals should be destroyed and then the meat, hides, bones, and hooves should be distributed to anyone who had a use for them. Others felt the tarpans should be rounded up and sold to anyone who wished to tame and train them. Vemyn and Therana said that if the tarpans were slain, they wanted the carcasses so they could make tarpan zombies out of them. Aryc's immediate response was, "You're not doing that!"
In the end Neloth solved the problem with his yelling. The tarpans, bothered by the loud rantings of what appeared to be a mad-mer, laid back their ears and galloped out of town. Hopefully they will now remain in the wilderness where their presence doesn't hurt anyone or cause any damage.
Now for more family news. At this point I'm starting to wonder if indriks have been summoned here from Summerset and now roam unseen through the Ascadian Isles. These beautiful nature spirits who take the form of a deer-like creature with colorful feathers rather than hooves, are known to bless the region in which they live and cause everything to..."blossom".
The reason I say this is because my sister stopped by the farm this afternoon while Neldor was attending the day's class at AIU. Right away I noticed she seemed a bit tense about something. As we sat down on the living room sofa, Acacia turned toward me and said, "The reason I stopped by is I have a couple of things I wanted to tell you in person."
"What is it?" I asked, fearing the worse due to how uneasy she appeared to be.
A tiny smile appeared on her lips as she announced softly, "First, you're going to be an auntie. I just found out that I'm pregnant."
Now very puzzled by her demeanor, I replied, "That's wonderful. I'm happy for you, but...why do you look so uneasy? Surely Darkfell is over the moon about this."
Acacia assured me, "He is. We're both happy about this. That's not why I'm feeling uneasy. It's...the other reason I'm here. The Grand Council has decided what to do about our father and grandmother."
Placing my hands on my knees, I asked warily, "Execution?"
In spite of my father banishing me to Vvardenfell, and in spite of the fact that is he, quite honestly, an awful person, I don't want him or grandmother dead, though admittedly that would make things much easier for a lot of people.
After slowly shaking her head, Acacia explained, "No. They are being placed under a...'town arrest'. In our town."
Widening my eyes, I exclaimed softly, "No! Please tell me you're joking."
Again shaking her head, she replied, "I wish I was. Aryc told me about this himself and he knew this would not be happy news for either of us. The former king and queen mother are going to be placed in the manor across the road from the bakery. There will be guards assigned to the manor, both to protect them and to make sure neither of them are plotting to regain power." With a bitter laugh, she added, "Except for Aryc and Saje, most of the members of the Grand Council thought that the former king will be more likely to behave himself since his two daughters are here."
Also letting out a bitter laugh, I responded with, "Since they know how devious he is, one would think they would know that Helseth even views his own children as pawns. I don't believe that he loves either one of us."
"Neither do I," Acacia agreed. Placing her hands on her belly, she sighed and continued, "Why did this have to happen now? I don't want our father or grandmother anywhere near my child."
Leaning toward her a bit, I said firmly, "Don't allow this to steal your joy. Helseth has no power now. He has no say over our lives, and certainly no say over your little one." Softening my tone, I added, "That being said, I completely understand your concern. I know I would be feeling the same way that you do right now if I were expecting."
Acacia smiled a bit as she said, "This is almost exactly what Darkfell said when I passed the news about the former king along to him." She laughed as she added, "Well, not the last part about feeling the same way if he were expecting."
Pushing my hair away from my face, I confided to her, "Neldor and I have been considering starting our own family now, especially since Thorinor and Sarasvati are having one. And now you and Darkfell, but now...I really don't like the fact that the mer who once had the power to order our deaths living only a few miles away."
It was then Acacia's turn to lean forward and say, "I'm going to throw your words right back at you; don't let that mer steal your joy. If you and Neldor want to have children, then that's what you should do." Pretending to pout, she added in good humor, "Besides, I want to be an auntie, too."
Reaching out and taking her hand in mine, I stated as an affirmation, "He can't hurt us now. Nor can he hurt our husbands or our children."
Following a solemn nod, she agreed, "Exactly. We'll keep reminding each other of that. Helseth isn't a king anymore. He has no power. No say. We won't even have to see him at all if we don't want to. We are free. He is not."
With a sigh, I commented, "I still wish he and grandmother's 'town arrest' would have been somewhere else."
As we rose to our feet, Acacia replied, "So do I. We can always hope that the Grand Council will decide to move him and grandmother elsewhere. Even a different town on Vvardenfell would be better than here, even though the mainland would be preferable."
Before she headed out Acacia mentioned with a laugh that the cravings have already begun and that she can't get enough of our Rosewood banana flavored milk. Of course this meant that I happily placed some bottles of the stuff in a basket for her and told her there would be more on the way, courtesy of our milk cow Dolly.
After seeing my sister on her way, I went to my painting and writing room, sat down at the desk and stared out the window at our horses. For a while I tried to do some writing but I kept getting distracted by the news that the former king, a very dangerous mer, and the former queen mother were being brought to Pelagiad this coming week.
I'll mention all of this to Neldor when he gets come from class this evening. Although he won't be happy about this news either, I don't think it will change anything and we will likely still set the sterility amulet aside for now. Assuming we are blessed with a little one, we would like him or her to be close in age with his or her cousins who are already on their way. The children will have a happy childhood surrounded by friends and family...and no former king who has been stripped of his power and is frankly lucky to still be breathing is going to change that.
*~*~*
Not everyone is happy about Thorinor and Sarasvati expecting their first child. Shortly after the news was publicly announced, Master Neloth - who has still not given up on the idea of having Sarasvati as his highborn Telvanni bride - was seen (and heard) ranting in the middle of town. Witnesses say that he was going on and on about "that rat-faced antlered freak from the forest". In fact his reaction was so over the top that witnesses feared that the old Telvanni had lost his mind.
At one point he stopped yelling long enough to step off the sidewalk and kick a rock...which lead to more yelling since he managed to injure his toes. Holding his foot off the ground, Neloth yelled, "Damn you, Rat Face! This is your fault!"
By then law enforcement along with Saje showed up and used a calming spell to get Neloth to quiet down before taking him to a holding cell to cool off. At least all the noise Neloth was making seemed to solve a problem the town has been having, at least for now.
The small herd of tarpans that roam the nearby wilderness have been spending more and more time within the town itself. This is a problem because they tend to push their way into gardens and relieve themselves wherever they wish. Not to mention the fact that tarpans can be aggressive, so town residents certainly don't want them hanging around the school house or any place where people frequently come and go, like the grocery store and the business building.
At the last town hall meeting the problem with the tarpans was brought up. Some felt the animals should be destroyed and then the meat, hides, bones, and hooves should be distributed to anyone who had a use for them. Others felt the tarpans should be rounded up and sold to anyone who wished to tame and train them. Vemyn and Therana said that if the tarpans were slain, they wanted the carcasses so they could make tarpan zombies out of them. Aryc's immediate response was, "You're not doing that!"
In the end Neloth solved the problem with his yelling. The tarpans, bothered by the loud rantings of what appeared to be a mad-mer, laid back their ears and galloped out of town. Hopefully they will now remain in the wilderness where their presence doesn't hurt anyone or cause any damage.
Now for more family news. At this point I'm starting to wonder if indriks have been summoned here from Summerset and now roam unseen through the Ascadian Isles. These beautiful nature spirits who take the form of a deer-like creature with colorful feathers rather than hooves, are known to bless the region in which they live and cause everything to..."blossom".
The reason I say this is because my sister stopped by the farm this afternoon while Neldor was attending the day's class at AIU. Right away I noticed she seemed a bit tense about something. As we sat down on the living room sofa, Acacia turned toward me and said, "The reason I stopped by is I have a couple of things I wanted to tell you in person."
"What is it?" I asked, fearing the worse due to how uneasy she appeared to be.
A tiny smile appeared on her lips as she announced softly, "First, you're going to be an auntie. I just found out that I'm pregnant."
Now very puzzled by her demeanor, I replied, "That's wonderful. I'm happy for you, but...why do you look so uneasy? Surely Darkfell is over the moon about this."
Acacia assured me, "He is. We're both happy about this. That's not why I'm feeling uneasy. It's...the other reason I'm here. The Grand Council has decided what to do about our father and grandmother."
Placing my hands on my knees, I asked warily, "Execution?"
In spite of my father banishing me to Vvardenfell, and in spite of the fact that is he, quite honestly, an awful person, I don't want him or grandmother dead, though admittedly that would make things much easier for a lot of people.
After slowly shaking her head, Acacia explained, "No. They are being placed under a...'town arrest'. In our town."
Widening my eyes, I exclaimed softly, "No! Please tell me you're joking."
Again shaking her head, she replied, "I wish I was. Aryc told me about this himself and he knew this would not be happy news for either of us. The former king and queen mother are going to be placed in the manor across the road from the bakery. There will be guards assigned to the manor, both to protect them and to make sure neither of them are plotting to regain power." With a bitter laugh, she added, "Except for Aryc and Saje, most of the members of the Grand Council thought that the former king will be more likely to behave himself since his two daughters are here."
Also letting out a bitter laugh, I responded with, "Since they know how devious he is, one would think they would know that Helseth even views his own children as pawns. I don't believe that he loves either one of us."
"Neither do I," Acacia agreed. Placing her hands on her belly, she sighed and continued, "Why did this have to happen now? I don't want our father or grandmother anywhere near my child."
Leaning toward her a bit, I said firmly, "Don't allow this to steal your joy. Helseth has no power now. He has no say over our lives, and certainly no say over your little one." Softening my tone, I added, "That being said, I completely understand your concern. I know I would be feeling the same way that you do right now if I were expecting."
Acacia smiled a bit as she said, "This is almost exactly what Darkfell said when I passed the news about the former king along to him." She laughed as she added, "Well, not the last part about feeling the same way if he were expecting."
Pushing my hair away from my face, I confided to her, "Neldor and I have been considering starting our own family now, especially since Thorinor and Sarasvati are having one. And now you and Darkfell, but now...I really don't like the fact that the mer who once had the power to order our deaths living only a few miles away."
It was then Acacia's turn to lean forward and say, "I'm going to throw your words right back at you; don't let that mer steal your joy. If you and Neldor want to have children, then that's what you should do." Pretending to pout, she added in good humor, "Besides, I want to be an auntie, too."
Reaching out and taking her hand in mine, I stated as an affirmation, "He can't hurt us now. Nor can he hurt our husbands or our children."
Following a solemn nod, she agreed, "Exactly. We'll keep reminding each other of that. Helseth isn't a king anymore. He has no power. No say. We won't even have to see him at all if we don't want to. We are free. He is not."
With a sigh, I commented, "I still wish he and grandmother's 'town arrest' would have been somewhere else."
As we rose to our feet, Acacia replied, "So do I. We can always hope that the Grand Council will decide to move him and grandmother elsewhere. Even a different town on Vvardenfell would be better than here, even though the mainland would be preferable."
Before she headed out Acacia mentioned with a laugh that the cravings have already begun and that she can't get enough of our Rosewood banana flavored milk. Of course this meant that I happily placed some bottles of the stuff in a basket for her and told her there would be more on the way, courtesy of our milk cow Dolly.
After seeing my sister on her way, I went to my painting and writing room, sat down at the desk and stared out the window at our horses. For a while I tried to do some writing but I kept getting distracted by the news that the former king, a very dangerous mer, and the former queen mother were being brought to Pelagiad this coming week.
I'll mention all of this to Neldor when he gets come from class this evening. Although he won't be happy about this news either, I don't think it will change anything and we will likely still set the sterility amulet aside for now. Assuming we are blessed with a little one, we would like him or her to be close in age with his or her cousins who are already on their way. The children will have a happy childhood surrounded by friends and family...and no former king who has been stripped of his power and is frankly lucky to still be breathing is going to change that.
