When Elyriel and I decided to finally take up Wraith’s offer to visit Trinsic, neither of us knew what to expect. Elyriel was simply adrift – having no idea where to find a purpose in her life again. The guilt over breaking her oath to Winterfell and King William was agonizing, and the sorrow over her failed relationship with Daca wore her self-worth down to almost nothing. Elyriel had chosen the ride the road aimlessly, occasionally finding pride in being able to help people she came across. But nothing could replace the sense of direction she had as a squire serving her Kingdom.
So off to Trinsic she went after deciding that there was no going back to patch things up with Daca and the Covenant. This story is what happened next – and it’s true to the actual events and dialogue from that night.
Elyriel had known that Wraith’s feelings for her were still there. If anything, they had gotten stronger in the short while that the two traveled together a little more. Elyriel found she was growing even fonder of him too, but with the recent fall out with Daca, she was in no rush for another romance. The notion frightened her a great deal – especially when she doubted whether her feelings were for Wraith the former Knight or for Wraith the man in front of her.
So Elyriel put off making a decision, and much to her relief, Wraith didn’t push the issue. He didn’t hide his own affection, but he didn’t press her either. So things settled into a wait-and-see pattern. Elyriel still took to the road quite a bit. She traveled around much of Britannia to explore and further her skills. Everywhere she went, she puzzled over where her path should go now that she wasn’t tied to any particular organization. Yet she found herself back in Trinsic quite often. She and Wraith shared a few adventures while he was still mayor, and they spent a lot of time talking at the Keg. His experiences between leaving the Church and then leaving Winterfell helped Elly come to terms with some of her own problems. Although she couldn’t forgive herself entirely for breaking her oath, she began to see that the path of knighthood was still available to her – even if it would never come with a title. Choosing to live by the tenets of knighthood had nothing to do with where she was or who she followed. Elyriel took that to heart and began to rebuild the fragments of her former dream.
Some time later, Elyriel began to think seriously about applying for citizenship in Trinsic. She had been homeless between Skara Brae and Winterfell, and she didn’t relish the thought of continuing her self-imposed exile. She had been met many of the city’s other citizens, including several of the Paladins and their associated ranks. Most of them were admirable people, and Elly found that the City of Honor suited her more than she would have thought originally. Even if her own honor had been sullied by her foolishness in the past, she longed to have the same pride that the city’s people had for their home.
Things continued to grow warmer between Elyriel and Wraith as well, until finally, the question of their relationship just had to be answered.
This story is again based on in-game events. Trinsic was hosting a market day, which was interrupted first by a Shadowclan Orc attack (had to love the ‘Clan for random mayhem!) and then by non-roleplayers who started swiping all our tables and other materials. *shakes head* But the people of Trinsic and the roleplaying community just packed up, moved to another location, and kept at it. Elyriel was attending at Wraith’s request, and at the end of the day, the question of his feelings and hers came up in earnest.
With her growing love for Trinsic, and her concession that she really did love Wraith, Elyriel settled into life in Trinsic. She did become a citizen, so she tried to find ways to fit into the city’s life. After Wraith’s term as Mayor ended, he wanted to start a weaponmaster school with Elyriel joining him as an instructor. The school was a short-term project, though it was set aside when other options came around. During this time, Elyriel got to know Trinsic’s other residents more. Two people she came to know very well were Rexom Dartagnon, the Paladin, and Kara, the woman who would eventually become the city’s next Mayor. Of the two, Kara was the most surprising for me and for Elyriel. She had had ties to the Emerald Empire once-upon-a-time, I think, so getting past the conflict with the Convenant took some effort on Elyriel’s part. But eventually things settled into a cordial relationship. Rexom on the other hand – Elyriel came to admire him very quickly. She found he radiated a calm surety, and his deep devotion to his Order, the concept of Honor, and the city in general was always apparent. To our surprise, Xavier Sterling came to live in the city as well – a reunion that overjoyed Elyriel. Sterling’s reappearance brought Sabrina back into Elly’s life too. Seeing her long-time friend, and the family that the Sterlings were raising, made Elyriel happier than she had been in a very long time.
This puts us into early 2001, if I remember correctly. I’m going to stop here so I can spend a little more time piecing together what’s left to share on Elyriel’s life. She had plenty of adventures after this, but I don’t have any other stories pre-written that recap what was going on. Wraith and I stopped writing the main storyline, which I’ve been posting in parts, after the two of them finally got together. Thankfully, I have a few more logs from this timeframe, so I’ll have to see what I can pull from those. But Elyriel was on a much steadier course after this. Given the turmoil that she had gone through in a short period of time, it was a bit of a relief for me as a player. With a place to fit in and many people to meet (or re-meet if I’d known them as Brenna from the defense of Trinsic), Elly and I had far more pleasant things to enjoy for a while.