To Close a Door

[Aeron Ktrenna]

She had left early in the morning, just after sunrise, making her way through the now familiar woods, back to the place where the gate had been built. Although it had been only days ago, it seemed like years. If one thought about this, that was something of an accomplishment, quite a deceptive trick for time to play on an immortal.
Oh sure, she had heard the rumors, the whispers, all the obscure references to these woods. Do not go in there; Aeron had heard this said both in the tavern and the nearby town. Something is in there. No one ever really said what, there was no specific something named in those warnings, just the few mutterings about something evil, something bad. Aeron had shrugged it off, she had faced a great deal of “bad” in her day; there was not much that surprised her anymore. Well, not a lot surprised her at this point; now and then, something came along which did.

Two completely different individuals, both of them coming to this land for two entirely different reasons, one bound by vengeance, one bound by a sense of duty and loyalty. One of them very young, life seen through eyes that had not yet seen nearly as much of the world and time as the other. But somehow, along the way, their paths had crossed and merged, and become a completely different road, one neither of them had expected or could have anticipated. It was just another one of those unexpected little twists; the kind life threw at you when you were looking for something completely different. Maybe, for once, just for once, the road ahead would be less dark; there would be fewer ruts along the way. Inwardly and secretly, Aeron truly hoped this might be the case.

She paused by the spot on the ground where her son had died, the place she had held him in her arms, cradled him at the end, as she had done in the beginning. It was quiet here now, peaceful, with only the faintest sense of sadness in the air. She could not have known it would linger for years to come, an articulation of her grief made whole, given substance by her own sorrow and sense of loss. Others who came this way would know, they would feel it and wonder.
The rose in her hand slipped from her fingers, one from the gift given by another, and fell to the ground. She did not speak, did not whisper, only stood there quietly for a time, thinking her private thoughts and allowing the memories to wash over her.
It was poetic irony. She had lost her son because of a choice, the choice to fight for something unobtainable. Perhaps, just perhaps, if Aeron had not been who she was, he might be alive and quite happy. Maybe this was just some sort of rationalization on her part, or maybe it was the simple truth. Maybe, in the end, he had become what he was, because she failed him. Then again, perhaps this was all part of some grand scheme. That was an odd reflection to have, coming from a woman who had repeatedly denied the intervention of fate in her life.

She shook her head to chase away all such morbid thoughts. Now was not the moment, there would be time when it was all done. The words slipped from her lips, a language she was quite sure no one in these lands had ever heard spoken. Brilliant blue and incandescent white raced over the crude arch in the wall, power hummed in the air, and Aeron passed beneath, into the midst of the magical conflagration. If someone had been standing in viewing line of the gate, the other side would have revealed a far, different place. Rugged, forbidding mountains reaching for the sky, white tips glistening in the sun, despite the season. It was a wilderness in every epic sense of the word, wild, untamed and majestic, a place that caught the eye and seduced the soul. The beauty of the landscape camouflaged the dangers, both natural and preternatural, waiting for some unwary traveler to come along. In the distance, settled on the face of a mountain, was a small fortress, a guardhouse for the watchtower. The spire below rose up from the river running at the base of the mountain peak. Crystallized stonework reflected the sunlight back at an onlooker in near blinding brilliance. And somewhere down the river, sat a massive stone keep, vast, dark and brooding, it’s halls and chambers teemed with life nonetheless. The place was surrounded by elaborate and well-tended gardens, and beyond the gardens, a thick, primeval forest stretched onward for miles. What abominations roamed beneath the canopy of those trees, had now become part of the local folklore, myths which grew with each retelling. Stories told at night over fires and ale, tales to entertain the travelers, truths twisted into mythic legends by the superstitious folk who lived in the vicinity.

Here she went, back to her home. But not to stay, not after all that had happened she could not go back. Not after the death of her son. That had been the turning point for her. No, she went back to close a door she needed to close, for until this was done, Aeron could not move forward into the unknown future.

Behind her, power stretched into a thin horizontal line, converging the play of blue and white light with it. A moment later, it all snapped and the crude arch was nothing more than just that. A rudimentary stone arc, each side supported by on an old stone wall.

[Aeron Ktrenna]

“My lady!” The guard’s startled voice paled in comparison to his stunned expression. The first knight had been missing for many, long months, and despite the combined efforts of them all, she had not been found. The gates had been abandoned within days after her disappearance, many fearful the same thing would happen to anyone else who used them. It had been over a year since she had disappeared, and most had lost hope, moved on, or left the lands altogether.

“Captain.” Her stern, formal tone left little doubt as to who she was. Her gaze was fixed on the man, noting the small changes time had wrought on him. There were more age lines around his eyes, more silver showing in his blond hair; he looked older than the last time she had seen him.
“Is anyone left in the keep, Captain?” Aeron’s gaze traveled past him, into the courtyard beyond.

He cleared his throat softly, breaking the news to her as gently as possible.

“No, Sir. One by one they all left, the head of the Talos was the first to go.” He did not relish imparting this news to her, for the man still recalled what it was like to be on the receiving end of her wrath. “That spook you had watching yer back was the last to leave, faithful to the end he was.” The man shuddered, not at all sad to see many of those in question move on. Most of them had been reclusive enough, and many of them had been odd, dangerous folk. Not the kind he would have ever wanted to have as enemies, or friends for that matter.

She nodded once, inhaled a deep breath and looked away, off into the distance.

“But it is all right lady, now that yer back. They’ll all come back right off, running back as soon as they hear the news.” He broke off his words and hollered at one of the men on the wall, preparing to give him instructions.
He stopped when he felt the pressure of her hand on his shoulder, and looked back to Aeron.

“No,” she said softly. “It’s over, Captain. They are gone, and they will stay gone. I’m not coming back to stay.” She paused and cast a wistful glance over the massive stone structure behind them. “My time here has been and gone. As they say, all good things. .” Her voice trailed off quietly.

“The prisoners? What about them?” The Captain did not know what to say. Never mind the fact he was out of a job, the man had grown to like the woman, even admire her. Serving under the knight had always been a risky business, but she was extremely generous to those who proved their loyalty.

“Kill them.” Her simple command carried more weight than any of the threats he had ever received from others like her in his life. “Their punishments were magical and set for long periods of time. Free them in death.”
Aeron nodded and moved past him, walking into the courtyard. “Take your men and go after you are done. I will leave a generous severance in the hall for your loyal service.”

He blinked several times and called after her. “But what about you, Sir, what will you do?”

She paused in step and replied quietly. “Live, my good Captain. I will live.”

“And the keep, what of the keep Sir?”

Aeron considered her answer very carefully and replied after a moment or two. “It came from the earth, the earth will take it back.”


Two days later found Aeron prepared to leave, several packhorses had been loaded down with the things she wished to take along. Some of those things were important, her armor for one. Made for her at the request of a great demon lord, she knew there would not be another to be found like it anywhere. Aeron had also taken much in the way of her personal items, clothing like her leathers and the fine silken tunics and trousers made for her, even a few of her nicer gowns. Several cases of the best wine in her cellars, and a few other cases of mixed liquors had been packed. Some weapons, mostly daggers, had also been stowed away.
But most importantly was her personal fortune. Aeron had lived for centuries in luxury, there were just certain things she was no longer willing to be without, not if there was an alternative. Stowed among the packs scattered over the horses, was enough gold and jewels to last her indefinitely. The expense of the keep, the guards, the sums of money she had spent over the last years, no longer existed. All told, Aeron had paid nigh unto two hundred people very generous monthly stipends. To this end, she left severance for the guards, the cooks and the servants who had kept the place clean all this time, in hope and anticipation of her return.
To the others who had served under her with such unswerving loyalty and devotion, she had prepared letters, a letter for each one. They also received exceedingly generous severance pay, and small tokens, gifts that she hoped would carry more meaning than any coin.
Instructions were left with the Captain, the last she would ever give him. Aeron thanked him for his faithful service, stopping the man when he launched into a stroll down memory lane. Not now, not today, she could not bear it.

The knight stepped back from the man and swung up onto the last warhorse under her training, still a bit green, but seasoned in battle nonetheless. The beast wore the same armor she did, ebon metal of some unknown origin, gleaming under the sun, an unholy shade of crimson played in an eerie fashion over the surface of the metal.
The man swallowed hard against the rising lump in his throat, and saluted the knight for the last time. At his request she was dressed in full armor, he said it would please the men; she wore the ebon chain mail coif on her head, crowned by the thin red-gold circlet of two dragons, their heads coming together in the front, the seal of her station and rank. The white banner she bore displayed two dragons in the rampant position, black and red, upheld between them by their talons, a red rose in full bloom. Not a single man spoke, but to the man they saluted her. The Captain wished with all his heart, the rest of the Dragon had been here to say farewell. But she wanted it this way, it was better she said, since those who were gone had already said farewell in their own way, surely. He had wondered, better for whom?

The large courser was turned aside; her legs pushed him forward and urged the stallion into a canter. She led the other horses, but for all the people watching her go, in their minds, they saw her as she had always been to them. The proud and defiant First Knight of the Dragon, and she would always be that knight, in their eyes and hearts.

Sunlight flashed on her armor, the banner she bore snapped defiantly in the wind, the last image of a woman many had said, was the truest knight to be found in all those lands. The tales about her, unbeknownst to Aeron, were still told in these lands, spoken among those who remembered. The standards she had set, the things she had taught, the definitions of knighthood she had passed on, had made a difference, at least among those who believed in such visions. Had she known, had she seen, how much of the lessons she had taught to so many, were still in use and practiced, it might have pleased her. Maybe, on some level, Aeron knew.

And so ended the Circle of the Order of the Rose and the Dragon, for all good things. .

The First Knight rode bravely forward into the unknown future.

Addendum:
For the players of the characters in the Dragon, the ones who found me, thank you for some of the best years of online gaming I have ever been priveleged to witness and experience.
"Wind to thy wings.."