MysidiaDrakkenbane

Mysidia could have hardly believed her ears. Five hundred years, were simply, gone. She didn't know where to begin, on picking up the pieces to make a new life. There was so much to learn, so many things had changed. She was obsolete. "Druid" was merely an umbrella term, now. She had to make a decision of what she wanted to be, Warden or Fury.

Feja suggested visiting the Hierophant in North Qeynos for some direction. But even that was a task in of itself. Qeynos, as a city, had dramatically changed. Everything looked different, smelled different, and sounded different. And the moment Mysidia saw Trolls walking freely in the city, her eyes nearly jumped out of her skull.

Austforbeer, Feja's husband, had come home from his monthly excursions for trapping. When Feja told him that Mysidia had woken up, Aust decided to gently break her into the new Norrath. When he saw Mysidia's expression, he leaned over and explained that some races betrayed Freeport. It was just odd to consider a Troll…good.

"Tell me the Iksar don't have the same privileges…", Mysidia began to say. But the moment the words passed her lips, she saw one making his way past her on horseback. She felt her blood run cold and she quickly grabbed for her tarnished epic weapon. Aust quickly placed his paw hand over hers and shook his head.

"Things are different now, Mys. It's not what it used to be.", Aust said in a serious tone.

She simply couldn't believe it. She crisply remembered being on the barren wasteland that was Lake of Ill Omen with her army behind her and her scimitar brandished towards the heavens. She remembered the sound of horse hooves thundering around her and the smell of fear that clung thickly to the humid riddled air. She remembered the sound of metal clanging and the cries of her people around her. It was like yesterday for her.

And the race that had plagued hers, nearly made hers extinct due to religious sacrifices, oppression, and war, was allowed to walk freely in Qeynos? She couldn't begin to describe the feeling of betrayal that crawled into her heart. It took everything she had to simply let the hilt of her sword go.

"Aust, what happened to this place? Has the world gone mad?", Mysidia asked confused. Her violet eyes were filled with pain and confusion. She looked up into his cat like face searching for an answer, ANY answer to make sense of it all.

He sighed giving it some deep thought and considered it best to just bring her to the nearest scribe library for her to catch up. Feja summed up things well enough, but she wasn't 500 years old and couldn't give Mysidia the details she sought for.

"One thing at a time, Mysidia. Let's get you squared away with your profession, first. Then we'll head to the Elven grove for you to register…", Aust said coming up with a mental "to do" list.

"Register?... For what?", Mysidia asked.

"For the census. Antonia Bayle likes to keep an up to date record of who's come in from Refugee Island.", Aust said as they continued their walk.

Mysidia simply shrugged it off. There was entirely too much to learn in one sitting. Her head began to pound.

The rounded up a hill and Mysidia began to notice a wood elf sitting in a grove of trees talking to a small group of individuals. Mysidia gave a faint smile as she remembered her training early in her life and how the image before her reminded her of that very much.

The wood elf excused the small group, as though she were teaching a class. Everyone cleared out and Austforbeer approached the Hierophant who was still sitting on the ground.

"Ah, Austforbeer. What a wonderful surprise.", the High Priestess said.

Aust bowed in respect. "Hierophant Aldad, may I introduce to you, Mysidia Drakkenbane."

Mysidia bowed gracefully and deeply. "Revered Hierophant, it is an honor.", she said.

"Welcome, Mysidia. Well met. What is it I can do for you two, today?", she said giving them both a warm and genuine smile.

"Mysidia has come from a long journey and needs to brush up on some of her Druidic skills. I was hoping you would be kind enough to educate her and fill in some of the gaps…", Aust said delicately.

"Of course! I would be happy to teach Mysidia.", she said and patted the ground next to her. "Come, my child. Sit and let me help you."

"I will leave you two then and come and get you in a few hours, Mysidia. I have some hides I need to start tanning for crafting. Ladies.", he said and bowed again. Then he turned and left.

Mysidia took in a deep breath and sighed giving the Hierophant a nervous smile. She was about to have a crash course in Druidship.



About an hour or so before sunset, Austforbeer came back with his backpack full of tanned hides. The following day would be devoted to crafting leather armor to help pull in some money before the fall hunt. That was when his craft pulled in the most money but was also the most competition for his line of work. He figured he'd bring Mysidia with him so that she could learn the lay of the land and he had an extra set of hands helping him bring in the hide harvest. Two sets could work faster than one and he could kill two birds with one stone, figuratively speaking of course.

He came around the hill and saw Mysidia in a deep discussion with Aldad. When Mysidia caught Aust's eye, she gave a recognizing smile.

"Did we get some questions answered?", he asked the two of them.

"My, yes. Mysidia has a wealth of old world knowledge so it was rather easy to train her. She has decided the path of the Warden.", Aldad said and smiled.

"So many things are different, but the core of it is the same so it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be.", Mysidia said and stood up. She began to gather her bags when Aldad saw the scimitar strapped to her side. Her eyes widen as she recognized the blade immediately.

"Is that what I think it is?", Aldad asked and looked up into Mysidia's eyes.

"Yes.", Mysidia said and handed the blade over to her.

"I've never seen one up close before. This is extraordinary! It's in such great condition. Surely, this must be a family heirloom.", Aldad said with an eagerness in her voice that was clearly reflected in her eyes.

"You could say that.", Mysidia said gently. "It certainly was passed down through the ages."

Aust held back the chuckle and reminded that they had best be going. Mysidia took back her sword and thanked Aldad graciously. Aldad sat there for a few moments trying to calculate Mysidia's words. She looked at Mysidia's appearance and gave her an odd look. She knew that sooner or later, Aldad would put two and two together…that was, if the Rydian stories were passed down through the ages, as well.

Mysidia didn't really have to be careful of her identity anymore. Any ties holding the Iksar to her, were buried along with whatever remained of her kingdom. While although it pained her to think the life she knew was over, she could freely walk around with her head held high and not have to worry about an Iksar recognizing her. The religious sacrifices were over and she took some small sadistic joy in knowing that the Iksar were homeless too. Now perhaps they'd know HER pain and feel what SHE felt when she was banished from her homeland.

That night, Mysidia lay awake in her bed. She began to twirl her wedding band around her finger and found herself lost looking up at the shattered Luclin. A quick breeze wisped into her bedroom and the faint smell of fall was in the air. And for a moment, just a brief moment, she caught the familiar scent of home.

She began to realize that Rydia wasn't destroyed, just lost and now, ultimately changed. Like so much of the rest of the world, it was fractured and contorted into something else. Something new. She embraced this thought. Nature always accepted change. Change was good. And out of the birth of new, Mysidia found a calm in her she hasn't felt in a very long time.

In the morning, she thought, she would start to look at where her linage had gone. If there was anything left from it, she would find it. She certainly was patient enough. She placed the ring back on her finger and decided that it was time to find out what happened with Machene. She prepared herself for the worst; finding his grave among the thousands that were more than likely there. Dead or alive, though, she would find him. Nothing would keep her from the truth. Even if it meant the forfeit of her own life.

With her silent vow in mind, she closed her eyes and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

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