Legend of Elerrina

Sometime in the distant past, not long before the final rout of the Cyraxians, a Nimalni babe was born. She was fair of head and clear of eye, and all thought her the most beautiful child they had seen. Her parents named her Elerrína, which meant "Crowned with Stars" in their tongue at that time.

As she grew, she was taught the magical ways of her people, learning how to use these forces to help herself and others so that all would benefit. As she grew, Elerrína used her magicks to aid her people, giving them much help in the tumultuous patterns that followed. The promise of beauty that she had held as an infant blossomed as well as she became the most sought after lady in the land. Combining with her control over the magicks, she also possessed a sweet voice, one that was said to be able to charm the birds out of the sky.

Over the patterns, the attention that was fawned upon her by suitors for her hand, plus the control she had over her magicks led to her becoming more and more vain and lazy. She used her powers to enchant those who came to beg for her hand, getting them to perform petty and degrading tasks. Yet still they came, enticed by her beauty and her power, each hoping to win her attention and affection.

Eventually word of this fair maiden reached the ears of the Crown Prince, Vilinsírë. After many months of near begging to his parents, they finally relented and he set out to meet this alluring beauty. After several cycles of travelling and searching, he eventually came upon a secluded grove near where she was supposed to live.

The dusk air was cool and the sky clear. The stars in the heavens were glistening brightly, casting their light upon the earth beneath them, lending an ethereal transcendentality to the moment upon which Vilinsírë first beheld Elerrína. The glow of the rising moon spilled over the elf maiden, lending her a slight glow that enhanced the beauty that she radiated. Her golden hair and bright eyes lured the Prince in, capturing his soul, making him forever hers.

Speechless, Vilinsírë stumbled forward, his eyes lost in the depths of the vision before him. "Oh sweet gods, please tell me that you are the one I seek!" he beseeched. Elerrina laughed, the sound reminiscent of a brook bubbling merrily over its stony bed. "How can I tell you if I am the one you seek if you give no name, fair prince?" Her tone was lightly mocking, but Vilinsírë heeded no notice.

"I am sorry, fair lady," he apologised, "I am seeking the maiden Elerrína, and by all descriptions, you surely must be her." His voice was trembling with anticipation. Elerrína reached out and gently touched the Prince's face. "I am indeed the one you seek. How may I be of service?"

"I do not require your service, fair Elerrína. It is I who offers service to you, the most fair maiden I have ever had the pleasure to lay eyes upon." His eyes never left hers, so smitten he was with her power and beauty. Moving away from her would-be paramour, Elerrína sat upon a bench by a small stream. "So what is this service you wish to perform for me?" she asked, a small smile playing on her lips.

Vilinsírë fell to his knees, not minding of the damp earth beneath his knees. "I wish only to be someone you can depend on, someone you can trust, and one day, someone you can love." His eyes shone, the truthfulness of his statement burning with his resolve. Reaching forth, he clasped her hands in his own. "If there is anything, anything, you need, please, tell me and I shall do everything in my power to ensure that you have it."

"Fair Prince, I have loved you from afar since I first heard of your heroic deeds," Elerrína replied. Softly she began to sing, using the power of her voice to further ensnare the besotted Prince. As the night passed and the stars continued their stately procession, the pair talked; the Prince falling further under Elerrína's enchantment.

As the sky lightened, Vilinsírë proposed to Elerrína, the first light of the suns shining on her face revealing her beauty in blazing splendour. With joy in her eyes, and a cold plan in her heart to seize control of the Nimalni, Elerrína accepted, and the fate of the Prince was forever intertwined with that of Elerrína.

The months passed and preparations for the royal wedding were made; Elerrína made the journey back to the court of the King and Queen where she began to enrapture the men with her singing and the power of her magicks. Even the Queen and the other ladies were under her spell, all of them seemingly willing to carry out whatever wish Elerrína expressed.

However there was one small group of elves led by Rúcina, a boyhood friend of Vilinsírë that saw past the spells and enchantments. At each turn they tried to thwart Elerrína's machinations, mostly to no effect. The rest of the court was deeply enraptured by the betrothed of their Prince, so they did their best to find these 'rebels' and stop them from disrupting the peace that had descended upon them since her arrival.

On the dawn of one brightening, a mere cycle before the ceremony, Rúcina sought out Vilinsírë to implore him not to wed Elerrína. "Can you not see that she is nought but an exploiter of your feelings? That all she wants is power and will stop at nothing to seize it?" Vilinsírë looked on his old friend coldly. "I think you are jealous, friend. Perhaps it's best that you leave the court before I have to have you removed, and we wouldn't want that, would we?" With a stiff bow, Rúcina turned and left without a word.

The cycle passed and preparations reached fever pitch; courtiers were rushing around making arrangements, new gowns were made, meals created with extra care and decorations were spun out of magic. As evening fell on the day of the ceremony, the court gathered to wish the two great joy and happiness. The suns had dipped below the horizon and the moon was yet to rise. The stars shone down upon the couple as they were about to take their vows of love to each other.

But just as Vilinsírë was about to speak, a loud voice spoke up from the back of the gathering. "THIS SHALL NOT PROCEED!" The elves turned to face the speaker. Stepping forth from the shadows came Rúcina, shrouded in a great cloak that hid all save his face. In the stunned silence that followed, Rúcina moved as fast as his reflexes allowed and in one fluid motion, pulled back his cloak and threw a small ball into the centre of the throng.

The instant it touched the ground, a dazzling yellow light shone forth and spread its radiance over the assemblage. As it passed, those that it touched shook their heads as if clearing them from some kind of fog. The glow made its way out from the centre, touching all in the glade before passing through the rest city.

Those who had gathered for what was to be a joyous bonding had been in a festive mood, but that turned suddenly ugly, as each elf arose from their seats as if they had been jolted from a dream. The enchantment that had hitherto held them was now broken. A new light revealed Elerrína for what she truly was.

As the shock wore off, Vilinsírë fell to his knees, tears streaming openly down his face. "Oh beloved Elerrína, how could you do this to me? To us?" As he spoke, Rúcina was already moving, passing through the stunned well-wishers like a wisp of smoke on the wind towards the couple who were supposed to be as one.

Elerrína quickly recovered from her own shock. Seeing the approaching Rúcina she started to chant. Softly at first, then building up in both speed and volume she wove her spell, eyes never leaving the destroyer of her illusions. But as she was just reaching the pinnacle of her sorcerous incantations, Vilinsírë stood and seized her arm, spinning her about to face him.

At that one fateful moment, Elerrína released her spell, sending forth all her vile hatred and wrath through her hands and into the unfortunate Prince. With a strangled gasp, Vilinsírë collapsed; his knees buckled and his once fair face contorted in pure agony. His hand still on Elerrína's arm, he gazed one final time into her eyes, trying to seek out the love that he thought that she felt for him. Instead he found only vile contempt, and he closed his eyes a final time.

As the astonished onlookers gaped at the scene before them, the flesh on the Prince's face began to melt, the flesh dripping and oozing like a fresh honeycomb taken from a hive. A large globule of the hissing wax-like substance fell on the floor, splattering the nearest elves with its pasty matter. As he died, Vilinsírë's hand gripped ever onto Elerrína's arm, the burning from within searing her own flesh, leaving a mark on her that would remain until the end of her days.

By the end, all that remained of the Prince that had been loved by his people and used so cruelly by the woman that he thought had loved him as much as he did her was a pool of steaming sludge and the remnants of the state robes he had been wearing. Rúcina had stopped his progression, the shock of seeing his boyhood friend turned into primordial ooze before his eyes enough to make him momentarily forget his target.

Seizing this opportunity, Elerrína quickly fled the glade, not a one making a move to stop her. The first to stir, Rúcina quickly ordered the guards to search for the maiden who had killed the Prince. Quickly seeing that the King and Queen were in no state to order otherwise, the head of the Household Guards saluted and soon the hunt was on. Throughout the forest the elves hunted. Along half-forgotten tracks and in hidden dells they searched for a sign of Elerrína, but not a mark remained of her passing.

Sadly they returned to the glade to find the Queen gone and the King pacing in a his rage. Seeing the return of the hunters and Rúcina, he halted and in an emotionless voice that belied his appearance, he ordered, "Let it be known that from this day forth, the maid Elerrína is banished from this kingdom. Should the foul wench that killed our son and destroyed the mind of my wife ever set foot on our soil again, her head is forfeit." Holding up a hand that forestalled any exclamation, he added, "Let it also be known that the use of magic is hereby prohibited within my domain as well. All those who partake in its usage shall also relinquish the rights to their life."

Turning to leave, he concluded with, "Our second son is now the Crown Prince. Make sure he is protected." Then he was gone.

With heavy hearts, the guards passed their monarch's proclamations to the populace, along with the story of what had happened to their Prince. At first there were the rumblings of the discontent with those who practiced magic regularly or relied on its usage for a living were among those who were most vocal. But the King was adamant and any who kept practising were either killed or fled into exile, never to return.

The patterns passed and the orders stayed in place. The Queen was never seen in public again, and the King was a withdrawn figure. The new Crown Prince, Elthrial, gradually took control of governing his people. Elerrína was never seen again in the lands of the Nimalni though rumours of a mad elf-woman who used tricks to lure the unwary to their doom were whispered by travellers who entered their lands.

The travellers became less frequent and the Nimalni became reclusive, but still to this day, the tale of Elerrína and her trickery of Vilinsírë is told to the elves as a warning of the improper use of magic, a tale that all the Nimalni heed for now and forever.