And So it was written...

***************** Destiny Journal Entry Dated: The 1st New Moon of the spring during the 1001st year of the 2nd Age

I am tired of traveling alone. I have wandered the many roads of this world for the better part of two centuries, with no reward for my effort. Unless you count the many people I have met along the way. So many people, yet I feel as if I am no closer to finding the one I seek. I cannot rest until I find him. For it is my task to bring my people their champion, though I know not who he is. It was written at the Beginning of The Ages that we would know each other at first sight, for our souls would call each other home. Who am I to argue with the will of the Creators? After all, I care not for the role of the court maiden. Adventure and travel are in my blood.

I've returned to this pub more times than I can remember in the past year. So many times, I have almost forgotten why I started coming here in the first place. After all, there is nothing remarkable about it. The rosy-cheeked lass serving tables looks just like all the others tending tables at the other inns in town. The patrons themselves are nondescript and give me little hope of finding what I am searching for.

But my Lord had foreseen that I should find him in such a place: ‘a pearl among the many pebbles, where the foam is mellow and the denizens peaceful.’ Foolishly I had taken him literally and searched every beach, on every sea and ocean before I realized that he spoke in riddles, while a century had come and gone.

I have returned to this very table each evening with no great hope of finding him. From my vantage point here in the shadows I can survey the entire pub unnoticed. Especially if I draw my cloak and hood close, concealing my gender as well as the small arsenal attached to my person. I do have high hopes of finding him soon, for I dreamt of my Lord and Lady last night. I stood before them on a rocky beach, and my Lady smiled and dropped a pearl into my outstretched hand, while my Lord looked on in silence. The pearl began to glow and I dropped it among the pebbles. The pearl changed in size and shape until it wrapped itself around me, filling me with a sense of completion and warmth. I awoke with renewed hope and have spent all day here for fear I might miss him

Journal Entry Dated: The 2nd New Moon of the spring during the 1001st year of the 2nd Age

A month has past, and I have had no need, nay, no time to put my thoughts to paper. My long years of searching are over. I have completed the task written for me at The Beginning of The Ages at the whim of the Creators. I have found my Champion and we now ride home to my Lord and Lady. Yes, I named him MY Champion. For although he is destined to guard my people, both my heart and soul have claimed him for my own.

The evening after I dreamt of my Lord and Lady, I had almost lost the feeling of renewed hope I had upon awakening. The barmaid had brought me my sixth ale and I had vowed to finish it, and then retire for the night. People had long since lost their interest in the strange woman who sat in the corner drinking in silence, so I had no distraction other than my thoughts and an odd feeing in my chest that nearly took my breath away. It felt as if my very soul were trying to free itself from my body in answer to a tender call that I felt, rather than heard. The feeling grew stronger as a tall, cloaked figure entered the pub and sat in the shadows at a table on the opposite side of the room. A bright ribbon of silvery hair was quickly tucked into a hood by a fair hand upon whose strong fingers rested two rings, one thick, and one thin.

I felt as if I were being appraised in turn, so I unconsciously drew my hood and cloak closer to my body. A shiver ran the length of my spine as my Lady’s words of prophecy echoed through my head. Was that strange feeling in my chest indeed my heart calling out to its mate? I shook my head trying to make sense of it all. In doing so, my hood fell back, causing my hair to tumble onto my face. I swore inwardly as I quickly brushed tendrils away from my eyes. When I was finished, I could no longer see the cloaked stranger for the barmaid stood before of me. She deposited a small pouch on the table before she scurried away after a nervous curtsey.

I gingerly took the velvety pouch and emptied its contents onto my palm. I stopped breathing for several moments as I gazed at the tiny object in stunned silence, for there in my hand was the very pearl my Lady had given to me in my dream. My eyes darted towards the shadowed corner, and I was dismayed to see it empty save a mug and a few coins on the table. I stood up in a panic, knocking my own empty mug to the floor. I hastily shoved the pearl back into its pouch and was about to search for the stranger, when I felt a strong, yet tender hand grasp my shoulder. My entire being quivered at his touch and I knew at once my long years of searching had come to an end. I did not have to turn around to know it was the hooded stranger whose hand still rested on my shoulder.

I had little time to wonder how he had so easily caught me off guard, when he spun me around and wrapped his arms around my waist. His hood had been pushed back and I eagerly drank in his features. Half of his long silvery blonde hair was pulled back with a leather cord, and twin braids whose ends were adorned with silver hung from his temples. The loose ribbon of living silk that he had tucked beneath his hood now spilled forward threatening to cover one eye. I could not decide on the color of his eyes for they were mercurial reminding me of a summer storm, the midnight sky and fields of heather. They sat above a finely sculpted nose and high cheekbones. I barely had time to contemplate his lips before they claimed mine in a kiss that spoke of promises, protection and completion.

We left hand in hand soon afterwards. I gathered what few belongings I had at the inn, and collected my horse from the farmer who housed him in exchange for a few pieces of gold. We have been traveling for a fortnight now. In that time we have learned much of each other’s past, and discovered that the same words were written in each of our destinies at The Beginning of The Ages. We were each the ‘pearl among the pebbles’. We marveled at the way our souls had indeed called each other home before any words had passed our lips.

I don’t worry about what the future now holds for me, for I am complete. I now wear the thin ring that once rested on my Beloveds hand. Perhaps one day I will tell the rest of the tale, but for now, we ride home. I look forward to telling my Lord and Lady what has transpired in the past two centuries. More importantly, of what happened at the end. I have a feeling that they already know.