Atlantic Roleplay Community Boards

[Ceinwyn ab'Arawn]

---

She glanced up at the bank wall, which was plastered in all the recent decrees and summons and other such documents that appeared to be very official and imposing. Barely any of the signature blackened brick was visible. She'd read them all countless times by now, and her eyes kept falling on the one left by the wolf king, her son.

Better late than never, I suppose.

She chastised herself for the thought. At least it was an effort. It proved how much of a backbone her flesh and blood could have when raised properly. What had Wendryn and the others done the moment the lich lord had arrived in Umbra during her convalescent absence? Oh yes, handed it over to him on a silver platter. Pathetic. Treacherous. Her son never would have allowed it.

But what had she herself done?

At first, she had returned to find Darrien Church in power, and her people serving him. She did what she had assumed any leader that cared for their people would do, she had joined alongside them, placing herself at their level. It was what they had wanted, obviously, and she would not deny them their right to make this choice. Too quickly had it become apparent that they thought her the traitor. They stood, silent, as she had been forced to remove her own tongue and lay it at the lich lord's feet. She had done that for them, and they had done nothing.

So she had left. Why would she stay for those who thought her a traitor?

Some had asked and actually expected her to fight back, to take Umbra back. Why should she? For a throne? For the ungrateful formerly faithful? She had watched her former realm long enough to note that the people that actually resided in the land still lived exactly the same, still enjoyed the same privileges, despite the various laws and such that had come and gone under the lich lord's name. The citizens of Umbra were looked after and content. Umbra continued to enjoy prosperity. What else mattered in the mind of a true ruler?

So the lich lord had ulterior motives, didn't everyone? Unlike many self-proclaimed virtuous leaders, people were aware of what Darrien Church actually stood for. At least people were already onto him. If things had been so bad in Umbra, the people who formerly resided would have openly revolted, but they had not. They were content.

It had been many many years since a force of Oblivion had settled in Sosaria in this manner, and it had brought back all of the old fears with it. However, in this new day and age, with necromancy more widely accepted and no longer as much a subject of taboo, one would think it would not have been such a big deal. Yet it remained so. This was largely in part due to the Protectorate, Sanctus, and others that continued to scream "Necromancy is bad! Different is bad!" Yet, even they made those precious few true paladins within their own service outcasts. The knight Arahim was evidence of this. He had taken his Umbran woman, Sylvan, and simply gone. A wise decision, for when Lightsworn became bored, they quickly turned on themselves, eager to pick apart the ones who were different from themselves within their own ranks.

It all came down to Fear. As always, the outside world feared what it did not understand. It feared change. It feared the unknown and those different from themselves.

There was always some fool at Britain West Bank screaming that the end was nigh, and this was no different. Sure the end would come, but the beauty of things was that no one knew precisely the moment when the Grim Reaper's scythe would fall. One would think that the mortals of this world would busy themselves enjoying the time they had left. No one could prevent their own death, when it had truly arrived. And if it did arrive, for a few gold at the healer's hut you could be back on your feet again, ready to face down death, anew. Oblivion would come to all, eventually, whether or not the Order of the Ebon Skull helped it along.

Sadly, most of the world did not think like this. They continued to concern themselves with other people, rather than their own lives. They wished to correct their neighbors and ignore their own faults. The Toms, Smiths, and Millers of the world could not just let other people live their own lives. They felt it necessary to control life for them. Once, she had received the victims of such abuse with open arms into the welcoming refuge of Umbra. But the M'reals and Skyfires had seen fit to intrude upon even that with their nigh on weekly raids and attacks. They had proven that simply sitting back and accepting the broken was not enough. They must fight back. The different must stand for themselves and hold their ground against the witch hunts and trials and pointing fingers of the self-righteous. They must show the world that such behavior would not be tolerated.

So after all this, why had she returned to Umbra? She, who had no longer any followers or responsibilities or obligations, was free to pursue any course she might have wished for as long as she might have wished. Dealthagar. He was further proof that she was not as completely frozen as she had once wished to become, many years ago. When presented the option of her eternity alone or beside him, she had chosen him. Her feelings for him rivaled the feelings she had once felt for the wolf king's own father. She simply would not ignore it. For some reason, she had been given a second chance at her own personal happiness. It had been proven once already that she would be on her own if things went wrong in Umbra. She had, simply put, nothing further left to lose. That she had seen the spark within him of returned emotion even once had been enough for her to decide that she would follow him anywhere, even back to the depths of Oggaroth's plane. Even into the depths of the Void, if need be. There was no other option for her, she would do whatever it took to remain by him. She would serve Darrien, as he did. His cause was now her own, as Minax was to Mondain.

This is what had initially brought her back, as one of "Oblivion's Lost". She would continue to serve the lich lord and Oblivion, faithfully. Things were different in Umbra, but they were endurable, if not rewarding. She was still learning, something her scholarly mind took pleasure in. She was continuing her swordplay, something her warrior nature reveled at. Her own powers of necromancy would be augmented and enhanced with her increasing knowledge. So yes, she was "back within the fold". But it was really no different than times of before. There would be sacrifices and rituals, as there had been before. As there had been in all of Umbra's history. The world outside of Umbra could hang itself with its estimation of Virtue and all it deemed acceptable and right. At least the Order would take action when it was ready to against the hate-mongers that filled the rest of Sosaria, and that was something that mattered to her.

At this point, she cared little for those who continued to call her a traitor. Her son would always remain a source of pride, however. He was everything she thought a leader should be; strong and proud, a fierce tactician, among countless other qualities. Aye, she would resist lifting her sword to him unless he raised his to her first. The contemplation of whether or not he would actually excited her curiosity. The action would definitely reveal which of his parents he more closely resembled.

All of this was constantly on her mind. Even now, as the horde minions labored to carry her valuables to a safe location away from Darrien's explosives. If he was going to detonate southern Malas, she did not want to lose her books. Her own form would regenerate even if it took centuries, but the books were irreplaceable.