Roby Ward

The Fey Bride of Elfland
Chapter One
Friends Learn of My Wife

A Matter of Who I Am
Chapter Forty-One
(Jelnaya)

What struck me by surprise was hearing Namill sound out, “Marekel, you’re in armor as well.”

That momentary pause is often feared as providing an opening for the opponent to attack. What I had learned is however to give the interruptions some respect, as they often had importance. In this case my pause enabled Namill to break from combat, although I only stood to watch as she rushed to the Spring of Cormorphin.

A Matter of Who I Am
Chapter Forty
(Namill)

Majestic did not sense the presence of the others until long after I had. After a period of anxiously awaiting for Marekel to attack, I went into a period of wondering why they did not. Noticing a growing nervousness in Majestic, I found myself smiling with the knowledge of what the group was doing.

“Are they coming?” the caterpillar finally asked.

A Matter of Who I Am
Chapter Thirty-Nine
(Jelnaya)

Vulge tried to smile as he asked, “You really like this?”

I grinned stepping on the skull of one of the smaller monsters that had pestered us even as we dealt with some more formidable foes when I turned to answer the question. “And I will enjoy bragging of this.”

“In my opinion there comes a point where the battle just gets old.”

A Matter of Who I Am
Chapter Thirty-Eight
(Namill)

I did not pause upon hearing a challenge. The one who moved out had a body more swollen than my own. Instead of being a spider, or bug, it had the massive form of a caterpillar. Maybe it thought of itself as a centipede, but I considered the body more fleshy and not a tight shell. Unafraid I moved up even as I heard it boast in a manner that I felt displayed its inferiority.

“You have no way of knowing what you are up against. You have no idea how old I am.”

A Matter of Who I Am
Chapter Thirty-Seven
(Jelnaya)

A Matter of Who I Am
Chapter Thirty-Six
(Namill)

I could not help but wonder where my daughter was. After so many days, I worried that they might have already made it to the spring. Feeling restored, I turned my attention to reclaiming the place where I had felt at the height of my power. That however was also where I had met my defeat, but more importantly had accepted that I could not be a mother to my daughter.

A Matter of Who I Am
Chapter Thirty-Five
(Jelnaya)

A Matter of Who I Am
Chapter Thirty-Four
(Jelnaya)

We had made the climb over the foot of one mountain and were presently looking at the terrain ahead of us. I listened as Marekel spoke of his decisions over a decade before, and heard things he suspected of present conditions. The men made comments of appreciating his statements, but I did not. I was in the mood to fight, and what was being discussed was how to move through the terrain safely.

A Matter of Who I Am
Chapter Thirty-Three
(Namill)

My body tried to state a thrill in the experience of again gorging itself on the bodily juices of my victims. I however found the taste disgusting. While I felt immense satisfaction in the sustenance, I fought to think back on what I might have done in my earlier days to have improved the flavor. My experience however told me that back then I simply reveled in the victory feast without considering other facets of the meal.