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Firiona meets the King
Factions of good and evil throughout Norrath grew restless, in their endless stagnation. Balance prevented either side from growing stronger. Felwithe royalty succumbed to the love of creature comforts as well as to the satisfaction of ownership and began to move away from Tunare's concepts of balance. Dark elven spies, having disguised themselves and hidden away inside Felwithe and the surrounding areas, had noted this, encouraged it, and planned to exploit it to their own ends. The graft and corruption in Felwithe spread, along with the belief in High Elven superiority, to the detriment of their relation with other elven races. Only a very few of the most devout of Tunare's followers, Galeth Veredeth in particular, retained his objectivity, though he could see that there was little he could do in the face of this dissolution. The corruption had invaded every aspect of the city and caused suspicion and mistrust. Galeth was accused of having spoken out against the King, which was nearly true, since Galeth retained his belief in Tunare and Her ways. Unfortunately, his closest friend and fellow warrior, who did so purely for personal gain, made the accusation. Tunare was dismayed at the growth of evil in the land, some of which hid behind the name of good. Her need for Balance prompted her to select a Champion, one who would come from the very race which needed it most, the High Elves. Knowing that the child must be raised and trained to be Pure, she determined that it must be raised by someone other than its mother. She selected the parentage of the child carefully. Fortunetellers in the darker parts of town began to have mysterious visions of a future in which Balance was restored and Tunare visited Her wrath upon those who had turned their backs on Her. Though their prophecies were couched in vague and mystical terms, the sense of them reached the wrong ears, and public executions were made at the hands of the Church of Tunare who declared them heretics. The High Elven Queen, one of those devout followers of Tunare who had fallen out of favor, languished in her palace, largely ignored by her husband the King. She wept, often, in the tower room where she slept. In her distress, she enlisted the aid of a hedgewitch who she hoped would create a potion that would cause her husband to once again love her. The Queen herself would consume the potion, once created. When she quaffed the mysteriously glowing potion, she fell into a deep sleep during which she dreamt vividly of her husband coming to her in the night and loving her, tenderly and with great affection. In the late morning of the next day, she rose, glowing and pleased, thinking he had returned to her bed and her life, only to meet him at breakfast and found he was his normal bitter and contemptuous self. Her disappointment was more than she could bear. She returned to her rooms and rarely left them again. Months later, the Queen found herself with child and decided to hide it from the King, thinking in her madness that she would punish him. She sought out the hedgewitch once again and begged her to help. For the next few months, the Queen feigned an illness, which kept her apart from the Court. The King had no interest and did not investigate further. When her lying-in time arrived, she was attended only by the halfling witch and died in childbirth. The death was reported to the King as a result of the illness. His apathy was boundless. Meanwhile, the child was spirited away into the night. Galeth Veredeth raised the child in an austere hut deep in the woods of Lesser Faydark. He taught her combat, built her strength and character, insisted on scrupulous honesty and hard work. She had no comfort in her life, but did not miss what she had never known. Her mentor spoke rarely and kept his feelings to himself. She made friends with the creatures of the forest, who understood her and they communicated easily. She gained an uncomplicated understanding of the principles of Balance. Good and Evil to her were as light and dark, high and low - two halves of one whole. She saw neither as more or less desirable, but accepted that they must balance one another for the whole to exist. Firiona was raised to young adulthood at which point Tunare bade her go forth to learn of the ways of the races of Norrath. She left her safe haven and traveled. Firiona, leaving Faydwer, felt instinctively that it was best to explore elsewhere and found herself in Antonica and later, in Odus. In her explorations, she grew aware of the unrest that began before her birth and sensed that it was growing. She felt the imbalance of evil and knew in her heart that it would ultimately destroy her world. As she traveled, she heard rumors of a continent known as Kunark, and made her way there to explore. She gathered items that were rare and wondrous, fighting creatures both dangerous and awe-inspiring, particularly those that hinted to her of the existence of a conclave of dragons. Firiona sought out and found the Ring of Scale. She defeated a chimera - a magickal creature which disappeared in smoke as she struck what would certainly have been a deathblow. The dragons admitted her to their presence and permitted her to ask one boon, in return for some sacrifice of her own. The Ring agreed to restore balance to the world, but only if Firiona gave up some knowledge of her own. She agreed, not realizing that the dragons planned to remove that knowledge from her conscious memory entirely not just ask her to share. During the time Firiona searched, Galeth had become an integral part of the Felwithe army once again. Taking a party of students on a training journey, they traveled through the forests, camping by day and traveling by night. Unknown to them, the King of Felwithe had set out on a trip of his own, goaded by the whispers and rumors he'd been hearing of a child born in Felwithe who would return to upset his dynasty. He traveled the woods with a small retinue, secretly and disguised as a commoner, to find and destroy this child. In spite of the extreme precautions taken by the King and his tiny party, word of their adventure reached the ears of enemies. A party of dark elves laid in wait for them as they approached the passage to Lesser Faydark. The King and his party were ambushed. The guards fought valiantly, but were no match for the greater numbers of the Teir`Dal party. Galeth and his students, guided by whispers from Tunare, arrived on the scene as the Teir`Dal crowded around the King and taunted him - preparing to assassinate him. Galeth's students and he accomplished what the King's own Guard was unable to do, slaughtering the entire group of ambushers and saving the life of the King. When the battle was finally over, the King insisted that Galeth remove his helm that he might look upon the face of his rescuer. The King recognized Galeth and after a long, tense moment, embraced him and welcomed him back. The "sins" of the past were forgotten in the King's relief at being saved. Having left the Ring of Scale, Firiona was at first bereft of memory entirely. It returned to her in bits and pieces as she recovered, but she could not remember the dragons at all. Her concern over the world's balance was no longer even a vague memory. She remembered little but Tunare sending her out to explore and learn. She resolved to continue to do so, and to try and recover her memory as she did. Having returned, eventually to Faydwer, Firiona wandered Greater Faydark and found herself in Kelethin. She frequented the taverns, taking advantage of the tendency of bar patrons to talk once she had bought them a few drinks. She encountered a drunkard who cried into his ale as he recited a nursery rhyme to her. She recognized parts of it that brought back parts of her memory, particularly those of Galeth Veredeth. Her first priority, however, since it was a responsibility given to her by Tunare, was to find and bond with the magickal horned creature who lived in Lesser Faydark, Equestrielle. After boding with the unicorn, Equestrielle, her memories of Galeth became clear. She sought him in their forest home, to no avail. Her bond with the unicorn, however, helped to lead her to him. She followed Equestrielle to the Gates of Felwithe, where the unicorn told her she may not follow, but that Tunare would not allow her to continue alone... that she would ever have a companion who would guide and protect her. Equestrielle disappeared in a blue haze as Firiona entered the city. Upon entering the gates, a wolf appeared before her and licked her hand. She recognized the power of Tunare in the creature and accepted it as her familiar. Firiona, with her canine companion, entered the city in which she was born yet has never seen. As she wandered the streets of the city, creatures began to follow her, slowly, as if she were their leader. Local strays, wolves, rats, all the creatures of the city began to trail after her. She began to cause a commotion simply by virtue of her presence. Some of the townspeople, particularly tavern and shop owners became indignant and even incensed. They raised a hue and cry in the town until the guards arrived to investigate. Galeth, who had been training recruits, heard the furor and wandered out into the street. There he saw Firiona and welcomed her back. Since the King's rescue in the forest, Galeth was restored to his position among the Paladins of Tunare, and had once again became a confidante to the King himself. The King, much older, and even a bit wiser now, had explained to Galeth his mission in the forest that fateful night. Galeth, recognizing the truth of the tales, realized that Firiona was in danger unless he can make the King understand the truth about her. His dilemma was that he knew the King would not be happy to learn of her existence as the Queen's child, and expected that the King might still wish to put her to death because of the prophecies. He prayed to Tunare for aid. The king planned an evening of feasting and revelry in the palace to celebrate Galeth's return and in the course of the evening's entertainment, a bard performed a song. The lyrics of the song referred to a woman, child of Tunare, daughter of a queen, to whom the animals speak. It is performed as a love song, but it reminded the King of the prophecies that had so distressed him in the past. He became irate and stormed over to the bard, tossing away his instrument and striking him. The surprised bard jumped back and cowered, awaiting his fate. Galeth tried to calm the King, leading him back to his seat at the head table, and offering him his wine goblet from which to drink. The King drank it down in one draught. The frightened bard scurried from the hall. As the King mellowed and relaxed, a pale woman entered, wearing a diaphanous white gown. She walked to the head table and stood, silently, in front of the King. Galeth whispered loudly enough for the King and others nearby to hear, "The Queen..." The King looked into the face of his Queen and paled. He had no doubt that he was facing the spirit of his long dead wife. His certainty was so infectious that others of the court stared in horror. As the crowd grew grimly quiet, the apparition spoke in a monotone; "My daughter comes... You spurned me, and I stole her from you, yet she returns to you, now, when you need her. Destroy her and you incur the wrath of Tunare, for it is She who writes your destiny in the Book of Time. Welcome her and restore the glory that once was." Suddenly and mysteriously, the vision vanished amid a blue haze. The King turned to Galeth in horror, saying, "What is the meaning of this?" "Sire, there was a child born, while your wife lay in self-imposed exile. She was taken from the castle under dark of night, and hidden from you. It was Tunare's will, sire. Nothing less." The paladin's face was grim. "This child... who is she? Where is she? I must make amends! This ghost of my queen... her message... it is portentous indeed! I MUST find my daughter!" From among the crowd, a tall high elf swordmaiden arose and walked to the King's table. If she felt fear, it was not evident in either her face or stride. Galeth Veredeth stood and moved to her side. "Your highness," said the paladin, "may I present Firiona Vie." Firiona knelt in humility and reverence to the King and remained in that position until he bid her to rise. "Stand, my child! Stand and take your place at my side!" The King hastily jumped up and rushed to her side. He raised her from her kneeling position, held her by the shoulders and looked deeply into her face. "Yes, yes, I can see it. Your mother's eyes, yes. Oh, how could she have kept you from me? But no matter... this is cause for celebration indeed! Bards, play! Actors, play! All, drink! Join me in my joy!" The King ushered Firiona to a seat by his side at the table. The feasting continued throughout the evening.
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