Private Tales Answers With the Ancestors

[Tigris]

"I expect you have many stories for us, dear friend." Tigris grinned, nudging at the Prince as she hurried him along, casting a glance behind her, ensuring her father was out of earshot.

"And I hope you plan on telling me why you've brought all of these city folk here with you. The girl I understand, the Ogre too, but the rest?" her brow quirked.

 

[Tal]

”Too many.” Talmanes said to Tigris, the small smile on his face faltering for a brief moment.

He knew that he could tell her anything, but a small part of him felt a flicker of shame at some of what he had endured. Truth was a knife unlike any other, just as he had said to Trista, but in this…telling Tigris of his weakness felt only like he was cutting himself. His time after departing here had not been pleasant, and he knew she would say only one thing.

“You should have stayed.”

Nevertheless, Talmanes knew he could not keep secrets; not from her. ”Some good, more bad.”

He admitted as he strode along besides her.

”But, most important.” Talmanes said as the grin began to spread on his face once more. His hands coming up to slowly push up his sleeves. ”Is the one where I broke free.”

The Prince said as he pulled the bandages from his arms and revealed the scarred and broken skin beneath. Free of the tattoos that had once bound him. Free of the chains that his father had put upon his magic. ”And that's why I brought them.”

He told her softly.

”To do as I said we would.” Talmanes whispered as he took her hand and gently squeezed it.

 

[Saen]

”A pleasure to meet you.” Saen said, though his words were noticeably off, as though he were not quite used to the twists of the tongue that came with speaking the version of Tyrian that had slipped into common usage back in Tyr.

”Talmanes was the first outsider that had come to us for nearly a thousand years.” the Tyr’din said, looking up towards his daughter and the Prince beside her. ”He told us many stories, tales of what has happened to our people and how they have lost their way.”

He frowned for a brief moment, looking at Trista and particularly her hare. Obviously finding what they had done to her entirely abominable. ”I wish to know if what he said was true.”

The chief asked quietly.

”And then, I would like to offer you the same gift I offered him.” He said softly, gesturing up towards Talmanes.”A place here, for as long as you wish it.”

He continued, looking at her again with a smile. ”I do not know the city you come from, nor if you wish to return.”

”But you do not have to.” The generosity was almost instant, his arms and a place among his people offered as though it were the only thing he could do. ”They may have put a collar around your throat, and made you dye your hair, but your eyes betray your blood.”

His voice filled with a powerful conviction. ”You are Tyrian, and that means you have a place here. If you wish it.”

Saen finished as he looked ahead, the column of tribesman and caravaners slowly turning into what appeared to be a massive cavern.

 

[Tigris]

'But, most important..Is the one where I broke free.'

Tigris paused, her yellow eyes falling from his face to his arms and widening, her grin almost as wide as his. "Talmanes.." she gasped. "You really did it." He had said he would.

She had expected what he confirmed next, but it didn't stop her from launching Tyche from her arm and grabbing him into a hug. "I knew it!" she whispered and pulled back, her hands on his face as she studied him with awe.

"I dreamt of it, almost every night these last weeks." her head shook. She had tried to ignore it, assuming him dead.. "I am sorry that I ever doubted you for one moment."

"And your father? Your brothers? Did you take back your throne?" her brows rose, glancing back down the line of pilgrims. Her hands fell, and she ushered him onward.

 

[Tal]

Tal found himself nearly barrelled over as Tigris threw her arms around him in a tight embrace. The smile on his face drew into a grin as her hands drew over his cheeks. Bright golden eyes peering down at her with all the confidence of a King. "I doubted myself at times."

Ten years and a little more, it had taken him. A decade of turmoil and death as he carved his way through the continent and found a way to break the bindings upon his magics. The answer had come in pieces, but he had collected them bit by bit.

Despite the pain he had endured through it all.

As she drew back, her gaze darted away from him for a brief moment and his own eyes followed. Both of them knew that Saen would not approve, both of them knew that it would become an argument when Talmanes spoke of his intent to continue upon the old road.

"No." He said, a flicker of frustration drawing through his tone as he matched his steps to hers. "Not yet."

Talmanes admitted. "I need the Rains, Tigris. I need the people."

Ten years was a long time, and before he'd had his magic taken Talmanes had not exactly been popular. Certainly not despised, but there had been a reason he'd been labeled as the families Black Sheep. "Right now I'm a pariah."

He admitted.

"They're terrified of me, what I can and will do." The Prince said, knowing the weight of his words. Glancing back over his shoulder for a brief moment. "She is the first one to understand, the first one that listened."

Talmanes continued, obviously referring to Trista. "When I bring the Rains, more will listen."

 

[Trista]

Trista followed Saen's gaze toward Talmanes, watching he and Saen's daughter rekindle their friendship, or perhaps more. She had not seen him so at ease, nor seemingly so happy. Trista soaked in Saen's words, her eyes stinging at the possibility of remaining here with people who would not sneer and spit in her path, who would see her as an equal and not a slave.

She swallowed and turned her attention back to the man, clearly nervous about speaking to him, about speaking ill of her former masters, about Calliope and the King who's home she had grown up in.

"I.." her brow furrowed, and her gaze fell to the ground. "I think, by disguising the colour of my hair they somewhat acknowledge that they have lost their way. It is not a way to shame me, but to hide their own."

She drew her dark waves around her shoulder, bowing her head so the he might see the brands on the back of her neck. "A slave, and a traitor's blood.." she explained. "I've known this life longer than I've known freedom. My father's house was once a great one..He was executed, and mother and sister were forced into slavery also. My mother died soon after, raped and beaten by her master, I heard." she frowned.

"Yes. They have lost their way." she confirmed with a single nod, her yellow eyes looking up at him.

"Thank you for your offer, though, my place is with Prince Talmanes. He gave me my freedom, at least, for now. King Drakkos would no doubt see me thrown into the pit upon my return.." she looked to Talmanes with a quiet sigh. "But I have faith in him. He will see things put right."

 

[Tigris]

"I listened." Tigris added as she turned, catching the slave girl's gaze. Her lips pressed into a thin like, but she forced them into a tight smile since she looked so fucking nervous. She had little doubt what her father was saying to her. He'd have all Tyrians return to the mountains and live happily ever after, but Tigris had been closer to the city than he had, she had seen more than he had of how different their lives were now.

"Do not tell him." she cautioned. "I will help in whatever way I can." she grinned at him, excitement and mischief in her eyes as she looked down once more at the scars on his arms, and took his hands.. "They should be terrified."

She pulled him into the entryway, to the top of the steps, and smiled at the sight of the ancient, cavernous city of theirs. "Welcome home."

 

[Tal]

”And if you hadn't.” Talmanes said as they stood upon the precipice. ”No one else would ever have had a chance to even hear.”

There was little doubt in his mind that he owed his life to Tigris. If it had not been for her he would have died at those doors. He would have given up before he'd even started his journey. He would have stopped fighting as he sat in chains. The weight of that truth was something he would never forget. For it was a debt that he owed her, and intended to repay tenfold.

His gaze flickered back towards Saen as Tigris cautioned him, The Prince's shoulder slumping ever so slightly.

A part of him wished the Chief would see it differently, but both he and Tigris knew Saen would never approve. Venturing into the lost lands was beyond dangerous, bringing back the Rains? The toll of that task was one the old man would never pay. He had said as much, near a decade ago. According to the Chief, there was no reason to offer up the omens. Not with the cost it would take to do so.

But Saen didn't understand, not like Tigris did. Their people were dying. Not in threat of disappearing, but their wife of life slowly eroding day by day. The power of the blood failing, and the memory of their ancestors slowly fading.

Talmanes could not let it happen.

As the two of them stepped into the cavern, Talmanes gently squeezed Tigris’ hands. The two stopping as the village below came into view. The village carved into the stone cast In the dim light of a hundred torches. His chest shaking as he took a breath. ”It's good to be back.”

He said, closing his eyes as he realized just how true that was.

 

[Saen]

The more Trista spoke, the deeper Saen's frown became.

It was clear he did not like what he was hearing, though of course no blame was cast upon her. His fingers tightened into fists as she described the fate of her mother, outright disgust darkening his features as Trista spoke of the King who held her fate in his hand. ”It is no King that punishes the innocent in such a way.”

Saen denounced, resisting the urge to spit up on the ground.

”Our ancestors would be ashamed.” He said softly, still not quite able to grasp the thought of such punishment.

The Tyrian’s of old would punish those who went against the rule of law of course, and even his people did so, but to extend that punishment to a whole family? To break and bondage someone of the Blood for only the crimes of their father?

It made Saen sick, and as she rejected his offer he had to bite his tongue not to fight against her will. Just as with Talmanes, he would have fought to have her stay here. To live among her people and thrive in a world that would never see her as anything but equal. But he knew there was no point in arguing. He could see it in her. The way that she looked at him, the way that she spoke of him. Just like he saw in his own daughter, he could see Trista’s zeal for the wandering Prince.

His gaze drew upward, towards the cavern entrance where Tigris and Talmanes stood.

A weariness flickered through him. Wondering if Talmanes would lead this girl to salvation, or doom. Wondering, worrying, if his daughter would share the same fate. Regardless of what it was.

After a long, lingering moment, Saen sighed. ”If you will not stay, then we'll simply have to celebrate your visit.”

The Chief said, deciding that he would do as he always had; protect his people, and honor the traditions of their Ancestors. Talmanes and Trista were Tyrian, brother and sister to his tribe, and children to him as any young Tyrian would be. He would welcome them with open arms, and keep them safe for as long as they would need.

”Come.” He urged. ”My sisters will wash your hair and see you dressed in something proper, and I'll not have the rest of your caravan go unfed. You are all my guests, and you.”

He told Trista in particular. ”Are family.”

The chief smiled wide, wrapping his massive arm around Trista and practically dragging her forward towards the entrance of the tunnel. His sweeping steps carrying her up and towards Talmanes and Trista, the four of them heading into the cavern together as the village below began to encircle them. Whooping cheers and happy calls resounding from the walls as the warriors returned, and those who had stayed behind greeted them gladly.

Before long those within the Caravan had been welcomed, the outsiders given a space to stay and rest, while Trista and Talmanes were taken deeper into the stoney city, embraced within the warmth of fires that had burned for generations.