Aya was happy her fiancé, Prince Neamon, had agreed to spend the Feast with her. He seemed to like Laucian and wanted to see what the nature of his quest was. They were in her room talking and she took off the shawl she had been wearing and Neamon noticed red marks on her wrist. When he asked about them, she said, “It’s nothing. I was just riding, and the reigns got twisted around my wrists.” He was not satisfied with that answer and said, “Don’t lie. You can’t get those marks from riding. I know they can only come from chains.”
Aya sighed and knew she would have to tell the truth. “My father put me in the dungeon recently.” At this Neamon was furious and wanted to go take it out on Lucian. Aya begged him not to; “If you stay, I’ll tell you what happened.” He sat down reluctantly, and she recounted the story of Laucian’s argument with their father, her attempt to comfort him, and her own argument.
When she finished, Neamon said, “Your father was right. You shouldn’t have gotten involved. You don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s not wrong for commoners to behave that way, but for Laucian to do that? Well, your father knew what he was doing.”
Aya was now the one who was furious; “Did you just tell me I’m wrong? Is it because I’m a woman?”
“More or less,” Neamon replied.
“So, what you’re saying is that you won’t care about my opinion after we’re married, and you become king? I’m just supposed to bear your children, is that it?”
“Pretty much.”
“Get out. I’m not marrying you anymore. I want you out of the palace or I’m calling the guards.”
“Aya, please, listen to me…” Neamon tried to explain but Aya cut him off by grabbing hold of his arm and leading him to the door. Before slamming the door in his face, Aya said, “And don’t bother coming back.” She sighed and sat down on the bed. She needed a distraction; it was too bad she couldn’t go on a quest: or could she? She got up, cracked open the door to make sure Neamon was gone, and set off for Laucian’s room.
Laucian woke to a knock on his door. He slid out of bed, put some pants on, and opened the door. Aya came right into the room without asking; she looked furious. Unfortunately, the covers had come off Ulceaon and as soon as she noticed him, she turned around to face the wall. “I’m sorry Lau, I didn’t know he would be here.” Ulceaon didn’t stir; he was a very deep sleeper. Laucian strode over to the bed and covered Ulceaon’s naked body with the blankets. He then said to Aya, “It’s okay now sis.” Laucian had wanted to ask her how she couldn’t have known Ulceaon would be staying with him, but one look at his sister and he could tell she was not in any sort of mood. Aya turned around, still trying not to look at the bed.
“What’s going on?” Laucian asked.
“I just broke things off with Neamon.” Aya stated.
“Why? I liked him. Don’t tell me it was on my account.”
“Kind of, but it was more on mine. Apparently, he agrees with our father that a woman can’t be a good leader. So, I threw him out.”
“So, why’d you come to me?”
“I want you to let me join you on your quest.”
“Father won’t like that.”
“Since when do you care what father does and does not like?” said Aya, gesturing at Ulceaon, still fast asleep.
“Fair point,” Laucian replied, grinning. “But I’m still not sure.?”
“Lau, I need to go on this quest. People like father need to realize that women are just as capable as men.”
“Okay. Actually, I was going to let you come from the moment you asked but I figured you had a speech prepared.” At that, Aya made for the exit, but stopped to turn and thank her brother. He was already crawling into bed, wrapping his arms around Ulceaon. She smiled and left the room.
Laucian first met Ulceaon ten months ago; he was attending a training program hosted by the Temple of Horus on the Isle of Elves. Ulceaon was a young paladin just starting out. In fact, he had just taken his vows earlier in the week. He was assigned to be Laucian’s roommate during the program. Laucian felt an emotional connection to Ulceaon from the moment they shook hands in introduction.
Their first kiss had been two weeks later. During a particularly difficult training session, in which the goal was to disarm the opponent without the use of a sword, Laucian was trying to trip Ulceaon and ended up tripping himself; he landed on his back and his legs caught Ulceaon, who fell also, landing on top of Laucian; Laucian felt butterflies in his stomach. He thought he saw the corner of Ulceaon’s mouth curl into a slight smile, but he couldn’t be sure.
Later, Laucian was sitting on his bed when Ulceaon came in. He still didn’t know what to think about the incident on the training grounds. He was wondering if he should ask Ulceaon outright or if that would ruin everything. Finally, Laucian worked up the courage to say, “Ulceaon, that moment on the training grounds where you were on top of me, was it my imagination or did you like that?”
Ulceaon froze, uncomfortable with this new topic. Quickly he responded, “No, of course not. That would be weird.”
Laucian looked crestfallen; he was dreading what was coming next; this was the moment any chance of a friendship between them ended; things were too complicated now and it was all Laucian’s fault. Ulceaon could tell that Laucian was upset by what he said. He couldn’t lie, not to someone he had feelings for; Ulceaon decided to tell the truth.
“I’m sorry Laucian. I didn’t know you felt the same way I do. I did enjoy the moment on the training grounds. I felt something I’ve never felt before. I’ll just say it: I’m in love with you Laucian.”
Laucian began to smile; what could he say in response to that confession of love? He couldn’t think of anything to say, so he did something even better; he walked over to Ulceaon and kissed him, not a quick peck or an awkward lip smack, but a passionate, wild kiss that left Ulceaon in no doubt that Laucian felt the same way. Laucian felt energy coursing through his veins; he knew, in that moment, that he had found the one he wanted to spend his life with. He was going to tell his father to stop the search… His father! Laucian broke the kiss abruptly; what was he going to tell his father? His father was from one of the old Draconian families, the ones who thought that homosexuality was unnatural. His father would never understand. He thought his father might even be angry enough to revoke Laucian’s birthright.
The next morning, Laucian and Ulceaon were waiting in the courtyard. When Aya joined them, they were surprised; she was wearing full armor, fitted for a woman. She looked quite fierce in a way and Laucian and Ulceaon made silent vows to themselves that they would do everything they could to keep her in a good mood; neither wanted to see her angry. Lucian came out to meet the questing party but stopped when he saw Aya.
“No,” he said. “You are not going. I forbid it.”
“Too bad, father,” Aya replied, with as much contempt as she could muster. “I don’t take orders from you anymore. I’m serving a higher power.”
Before Lucian could respond, the three of them turned around and started walking. “Wait,” Lucian called. “I’m supposed to give you my blessing.”
Laucian turned to his father and said, “I don’t need or want your blessing.”
Lucian hated it when his son said things like that; without thinking he responded, “so you’re just going to run away with your elf whore?” At this Laucian grew livid; he turned around, took off the gauntlet he was wearing, and threw it down at his father’s feet. His father made no motion to pick it up. “Pick it up,” Laucian spat. Lucian shook his head and kicked the gauntlet back to Laucian. At this, Laucian said, “Are you too much of a coward to face me?!”
Lucian turned and walked back up the steps to the palace. Laucian made to go after him, but Ulceaon and Aya held him back. Aya said, “Don’t Lau. He’s not worth it.” Laucian eventually stopped struggling and the three of them left the courtyard in silence.
Later that day, as the group was making their way along the road that led to the Temple of Horus (they had to go there first as Ulceaon still needed to report in), they came across a young man, camping alone. It was getting late, and the young man was trying to start a fire. As the group grew closer, they realized that the young man was not alone; he had a wolf with him. He was a Druid. Suddenly, the wolf noticed them, leapt up, and started growling. The Druid boy swung around to face the group. “Who is it? Declare yourself.”
Laucian suddenly recognized the boy: It was Galdore, his old friend. Laucian smiled and said, “Galdore, is that you?”
“Laucian?” Galdore chimed back. “I didn’t expect to see you again.”
Laucian had been friends with Galdore from early childhood; his father had been a knight in Lucian’s court and the king’s closest friend; Laucian and Galdore had practically grown up as brothers. They had spent most of their time wreaking havoc on the palace with their practical jokes. Then, one day, Galdore’s father was killed in a terrible battle; when Galdore’s mother got the news that her husband had been killed, she locked herself in her room and nobody saw her for two days. Finally, somebody went to check on her and she was dead, having slashed her wrists two days ago. Galdore hadn’t noticed because his parents chose to live in town rather than in the palace, but it was not uncommon for Galdore himself to spend several nights in the castle. He was 40 years old at the time (for those unaware about the elven aging process, this is the equivalent of 14 years old for a human). There were some who said that Laucian’s father intentionally had Galdore’s father killed because the king was having an affair with Galdore’s mother. This was never able to be confirmed, however, but it was a popular theory among those who opposed Lucian’s leadership. Galdore left Elysium a couple of days after the funeral of his parents; the last thing Laucian had heard about Galdore was that he was living with a tribe of druids on the outskirts of the kingdom.
Laucian stared at Galdore for a whole minute; the last time he had seen Galdore, they were both very much still boys; Laucian couldn’t believe how much Galdore had changed. Galdore finally broke the silence and said, “Well don’t just stand there, it’s getting cold. Come over here and I’ll light the fire.” Laucian looked down at the small pile of wood Galdore had been working on; Laucian pointed at it and muttered a spell; instantly, a fire sprang up, warm and inviting. Galdore looked surprised, “I see your magic is progressing nicely.”
“Yes,” replied Laucian. Then, feeling as though he should introduce the others, Laucian continued, “Galdore, I assume you remember my sister Aya.” Galdore nodded, and accepted Aya’s outstretched hand. When he tried to kiss her hand, as was customary with female members of the royal family, Aya pulled her hand away; she explained that she didn’t want to be treated any different than male and preferred that people not view her by her gender. Galdore tried again and this time they shook hands in the way that two men do, by clasping each other’s arms. Laucian continued, “And this is my boyfriend, Ulceaon Liadon.” Galdore shook Ulceaon’s hand, who had to ask, “You don’t look surprised to hear Laucian introduce me as his boyfriend.” Galdore shook his head and said, “I’m not. Laucian and I are like brothers; I’ve known about his sexual preferences even before he did. What do you do, Ulceaon?”
“I’m a paladin at the Elven Temple of Horus. Currently I’m helping Laucian on a quest.”
“What’s the quest?” Galdore asked turning to Laucian.
“Well, you see…” Laucian started. He was cut off, however, by Ulceaon who reminded him of what Horus had said. Hearing this, Galdore asked, “Laucian, are you on your coming-of-age quest?”
“Yes,” Laucian responded. “And it’s okay Ulceaon. Horus told me only to tell people I trust with my deepest secrets. Galdore is one of the few people I do trust that much.” Laucian explained the nature of the quest. Galdore took it all in calmly but looked surprised when Laucian added to the end, “…And so, I set off from Elysium with Ulceaon and Aya as my companions.” Galdore asked if the king was happy with Laucian’s choices of companions to which Laucian responded “no.” Laucian then asked, “Would you like to come with us? Per Horus’s instructions, I was supposed to have three companions.”
“I would be honored to come with you, Laucian. But first I must get to Dragon Isle. There is an urgent matter that I must make the Draconic Confederacy aware of.”
“Maybe we can help with that. You remember that my uncle is an ambassador to the Draconic Confederacy. We’ll go with you. However, we still must stop at the Temple of Horus; Ulceaon needs to check in with the Priest.”
They slept through the night and continued their journey in the morning. Upon arriving at the Temple of Horus, they explained to the Priest Laucian’s choices of companions, and he gave his immediate approval, saying that Laucian chose well. The Priest even made Ulceaon a Senior Paladin. Upon leaving the Temple, the party turned north to head to Dragon Isle.
