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Close to Home
Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2019 3:54 pm
by Taelian Edevane
35th of Ash, Year 118
Liam de Neime. Beloved of Valran Renfier de Neime; husband of this house. Liam was an Elf, one who appeared to originally be from Sil-Elaine, like Taelian. Of course, this naturally made the Siltori intrigued by the presence of his peer, who he thought may have carried mutual understanding with him. Who, perhaps, knew of Silfanore well and could relate his experiences to Daravin, with a unique perspective forged from time. Unfortunately, whether or not Liam truly was from Sil-Elaine or not, he was inconsolable at the presence of Taelian and would not let the other Siltori even near him.
Envy was the source, of course. He was thrown into a jealous rage at what he believed to be the coming of his replacement; another Siltori around his age, but apparently, more attractive. Skilled a warrior, with the masculine charm of an Ebon Knight. There were things to fear from him -- the end, most of all. But Taelian wasn't interested in Renfier, so it did not matter.
Where did all of this even stem from, he wondered? Was it affection, or was it purely transactional? Did Liam actually love Renfier or did he love the opulence -- the starting of his fashion line, the dwelling in the home of an esteemed Valran, the ascending to the upper echelons of a society not mired by filth and ruin? He supposed he could have loved him and also loved his rise in station; it was possible to do both. Renfier was a good man -- a handsome and charming man. If Taelian was capable of feeling, really, at all... surely he would have considered feeling something for him.
But fortunately for Liam de Neime, those feelings would not come. And so he was jumping at shadows, violently.
It wasn't just Liam, either. Leliana had given Taelian several cross looks; spiteful, almost. The household was too large to expand, for them to consider new... acquisitions.
"I am mended, Taelian," the Halamire stated. He was no longer wearing his armor, instead bearing the eminence of a satin black tunic with golden embroidery; it was effectively identical to his armor in coloration, though it ran not far above his knees and, short-sleeved, revealed the Knight's definition. He was fairly burly, though not unattractively so. It was the likeness of a soldier, one who held value in strength over mobility.
"I'm glad," the Elf replied. He was, sort of. Taelian did not particularly care for most people, but Renfier had been undoubtedly good to him. It was impossible not to grow some form of attachment to the man that had saved his life.
"Come," Renfier called. "Let's spar in the courtyard. I want to see your skill with a blade."
"...Alright," Taelian flatly replied. He did not see the purpose of such a thing, but he supposed it couldn't hurt to see what sort of style the Halamire employed. It could prove useful in... later battles, in less generous portions of the Empire.
Re: Close to Home
Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2020 9:02 am
by Taelian Edevane
"Why are all of your spouses so... paranoid?" he asked. Taelian's eyes were cool; he held a fencing sword in his hand and held it forward. He had never wielded such a weapon, though apparently it was commonplace in the Empire to learn to duel and parry with these pointed needles. Taelian had been adorned with his own satin, offered them generously by the older man. Apparently, white was his color, though his clothes had a chromatic golden sheen. He had to admit that he liked what he was wearing. It made him feel somehow... valuable.
"I divorced my first wife around the time I married Leliana," Renfier nodded, stepping forward and 'slicing' vertically towards Taelian, who struck back at the attack. Renfier followed up with an immediate, second strike, and Taelian did the same. This was... fencing. It was kind of odd; like a high-speed, bladed slapping contest with wiggly blades. Needles, as he'd previously described them. "So, from that, they all started to gather this... theory that my affections are of limited capacity. But needless to say, there is much more still left in my heart to--"
"It's not your heart they're after, Renfier," the Siltori said. "Do you mistake avarice for genuine affection? I see a lust for wealth, rather than--"
"Enough, Taelian," the Halamire demanded. He continued to strike with his fencing sword, aggressively, causing for Taelian to raise his grip on his own weapon to create a sort of defensive stance. His posture changed; one arm laid behind his back and his figure straightened, not following his typical wider battle stance with his claymore.
"I am sorry," said the Ebon Knight.
"Don't be. I am not offended. It is just -- affection. Is that truly necessary in this arrangement? They pine for my attention. When they gain it, it makes them feel good; given worth by my interest. Whether they do it for gifts or to secure their place at my side, I do not know. But it is not dissimilar to the feeling one gains from their true lover upon being praised, and their interpretation of me as someone so worthy as to uplift them so is not dissimilar to the feeling given from one lover to another, either. Others may find this dynamic shallow, but it is not far apart from the games of 'love' that people play with one another. Love is like this transaction -- a feeling for a feeling. Whether they derive their feelings from my words or from the diamond necklaces I grant them, it is derived from myself all the same."
Taelian frowned. He felt... a pity for the other man, somehow, even though he had chosen this arrangement. He was pined after by three souls all competing for his notice, but none of them for the right reasons. Or so he thought.
"Liam is very special to me, Taelian. He is perhaps the only one among them that truly does love me. I know it -- I can see it in his eyes, the way he regards me as I come to him. But he is sorrowful at the prospect of his inability to bring me a child."
Re: Close to Home
Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2020 9:55 am
by Taelian Edevane
Taelian looked down, and sighed. He was whacked along his collarbone by the fencing sword, the thin wobbly blade bending into his shoulder and thudding diagonally along his upper torso. Taelian cried out in momentary shock at the sharp sting, though he immediately took the opportunity to strike at Renfier in return, whipping across his pectoral and abdomen.
The two both laughed. Though, Taelian quickly adjusted himself, and looked down yet again. There were so many thoughts crossing his mind. Questions. Things he did not understand about -- everything. Their dynamic, what the other man wanted of him... what purpose all of this had. And questions about Liam, most of all. Somehow.
"Doesn't that seem obvious to him?" Taelian asked.
"What does?"
"His inability to--"
"Of course. But it is still something he feels is invalidating; shameful, in a way. He does not have something that Leliana and Odessa both have. To him, that is discouraging. What he does not realize is that the two of them do not have a great number of things that he has -- genuine adoration for me, the mind of a shrewd businessman, the talent and creativity of a true artisan; a pioneer. He is lovely at heart and he has known glamour and wealth as much as oppression and pain. These things... they are worthy to me. So -- it is disheartening that he feels he may be replaced by you, when--"
"When I am definitely not joining your marital harem," Taelian preemptively corrected him.
Renfier grinned. "Fine. I've accepted that."
The two continued to fence. Taelian was not particularly skilled in the art, though he managed to keep up with Renfier fairly well. He did not lose too abhorrently throughout their rounds, though he had not yet won.
"Do you love him?" he asked, curiously.
"Love is a difficult concept for a man like me to grasp. I was born a peasant, Taelian, ill and sure to die. Despite this, I survived my initiation into Kinetics at only a few months old." He illustrated his feelings toward such a thing with his eyes; they carried an empty solace, a sort of longing for the normalcy that could have been. Though he had never been so fortunate as to be mundane. "Such attempts are typical for dying babes. This... elevated me in the eyes of the Entente. My parents saw the blood in the water and desperately pursued my education, and guardianship by a ranking Valran. That same Valran offered them a stipend of gold to surrender me to her care, and the offer was so generous that they felt they could only accept. I have never spoken to them since."
The Elf felt he understood. His parents didn't love him -- they sold him. And the Valran...
"My mentor, Drimena du Lafaire, was a cold and harsh woman. Utterly driven by a desire for return on her... economic investment. I was contracted to live as her indentured enforcer until I was twenty-five, and she wanted a useful one. I was never offered this 'love' that most people so cling to. I was offered the concept of fulfilling expectations given to me, and thereby providing myself with worth. Knowing that my survival as an initiated babe was worth the struggle and pain."
The Siltori nodded.
"I see," he whispered. "But--"
"I do love him, Taelian," Renfier said. "It's difficult for me to grasp, but I do. I want to build a larger family; one not borne of lust and pandering for the acquisition of my wealth, but of honesty and virtue. Of, yes, love. Where does that begin, though? I do not even know where to start."
"Start by going to him," the Ebon Knight advised. "Now. Telling him he is irreplaceable, and everything you just told me. I'm... far from an expert in such affairs, but I know that I would want something like that. If I cared to feel anything," he rolled his eyes.
"You do feel things, Taelian. I know that you do." Renfier smiled, faintly, outstretching a hand as if to shake the other man's -- only to rustle Taelian's hair as he playfully leaped forward, tightening their proximity. "You saved my life in that desert. And though you may have died too if you had not, I saw the intensity in your stare as you felled that mutant thing. You wanted to save me. From that, I can only see you as a courageous and caring man. Don't forget that as the core of who you are."
Re: Close to Home
Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2020 9:49 pm
by Paragon
Taelian
XP: 5/5
Magic? No.
Blades: Fencing
Blades: Fencing Stance
Blades: Straight, Rigid Posture
Blades: Changing the height of the hilt
Blades: Piercing lunge
Blades: Rapid, successive strikes
Comments: Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.