Guide of One's Heart - Tales of Camadorn

Many a marriage has been arranged in days past, and many will be arranged yet. Though of them, none will be so impactful or move so many hearts as the arrangement between Princess Jenaine of Orthune and Prince Tireth of Nalorne. The bards sing of this many a spring to encourage the hearts, and many a winter to see past the bleakness surrounding. Yet few know what truly happened, and fewer still can say with certainty what was in each player’s heart as they moved.

                 In days long past, the kingdom of Orthune was beset by their mighty enemy, the kingdom of Mradune, and needed aid. An alliance was therefore struck between King Uril of Orthune and King Hethid of Nalorne. They would be allies in war and in peace, from now until a time which they could not foresee. It would save Orthune from conquest, yet it had a price.
                 It was and still is in some places customary to seal an alliance of such importance with a marriage of royal persons. King Uril had but one child, a daughter, therefore a son was provided by King Hethid. It was his second son, Prince Tireth, that he provided for he was noble in heart and strong at arms. King Uril’s daughter, who was the aforementioned Princess Jenaine, was beautiful in form and face, yet was possessed of a will that did not allow such an arrangement regardless of the groom. So she sought a way out.
                 It was not as if Princess Jenaine hated Prince Tireth. Prince Tireth was the model of a proper member of the court, yet he was not sure if he should make efforts to win her heart as it might only aggravate her. That was his downfall, for Princess Jenaine sought a more passionate courtier, as many a noble lady was enraptured by the ideas of marriage for love and forbidden love. Therefore, she found her own courtier.
                 A bard was in the royal court at that time by the name of Baelorn. Baelorn was perhaps too old for her, but even if he was born the same day was the princess, he was not for her. He played the gentleman as well as he played the lute, yet was, as the story shall show, a scoundrel of the highest caliber. Yet Princess Jenaine did not know that yet and was instead enraptured by the charming bard.
                 Baelorn the bard soon suggested they run away together, out of the house of King Uril her father. The princess was most ecstatic at the idea and chose to follow him. They left the castle in the dead of night, but a watchman spotted them and sounded the alarm. Yet those stirred to action did not catch them, but instead were baffled and were then sent to search the countryside and nearby inns.
                 It was not long before they found the Princess Jenaine, yet Baelorn escaped while she slept. She was mightily betrayed by this act, as Baelorn made no move to try and help her get away. Though some might be angry, she only wept. So she was brought back to her father in tears.
                 At this, Prince Tireth went out himself to catch Baelorn the bard, to make him answer for his crimes. For the time being, he forbade his servants and all those who had come from Nalorne, either with him or independently, from speaking to King Hethid of the princess’s flight and romance with the bard. They knew not why, but they obeyed for who can deny so adamant a prince as he?
                 Yet King Hethid came to King Uril’s castle when it was the appointed time for the wedding. He was shocked to find his son was not there, and when the situation was explained to him by King Uril, Nalorne’s king was furious. He declared the marriage off and that the alliance should be broken. Yet in the hour that King Hethid was appointed to leave, Prince Tireth arrived with Baelorn the bard in tow. Prince Tireth insisted to his father that regardless of marriage vows they should aid their fellows in Orthune. The prince’s words cooled the rage of King Hethid, and he agreed, yet this slight would not be forgotten.
                 Prince Tireth then brought Baelorn the bard to King Uril and Princess Jenaine for judgement, yet he himself could not stay as he was to leave with his father. King Uril asked for his daughter’s counsel in this matter, yet her heart was conflicted about the subject. To let him go for what he gave her or to have him locked up in the darkest dungeon for the rest of his days for that betrayal; these were the extremes of her thought. King Uril therefore decided to brand Baelorn’s right hand with the mark of a criminal and a blackguard, which was done to traitors and murderers before their execution, yet the bard went free. Though his days were unpleasant and short thereafter for no reputable innkeeper would hire him.
                 So came the war. It was a bloody affair lasting five years, and the deeds therein are sung and told in different tales. Yet what matters is that King Uril was slain in the last battle of the war, for he led from the front as all kings of strength do. Yet he had no son, and in those days it was unheard of in those parts for a woman to inherit her father’s throne. So a regent was assigned until a proper heir could be chosen among the king’s distant relations.
                 Princess Jenaine had been marked by her sorrow, both of her youthful mistakes and her father’s death, and she would not accept any as her matchmaker. Yet her distant cousins were all of rude sorts, those who did not have responsibilities which kept them from the throne, and so it was that no king could be chosen. Yet if Jenaine married, her husband would be named king regent, and afterwards her son might be known as king. Yet what match was there for her?
                 Her thoughts then went to Prince Tireth, and she knew that he was the only one of her courtiers which she could trust. Therefore, she went to the King of Nalorne to ask for her son’s hand in marriage. She could not look him in the eye, for she knew of his wrath and that he had contempt for her. She put her hands and face on the ground and asked for Prince Tireth’s hand in marriage, hoping beyond hope that he would say yes.
                 A gentle hand came across her face and lifted her up. She wept to see Prince Tireth wearing the crown, as while she had not known of this, his father and older brother had both been slain in the war, leaving him to become king. She wept for she knew that he would not accept her, not after her betrayal of him. Yet he took his signet ring from his hand and placed it on her finger, the Oliand or king’s ring, which no monarch could rule without. The gestured made Jenaine weep all the more, yet Tireth dried her cheeks as he would have none other for his queen.
                 They were wed soon after, and the kingdoms of Orthune and Nalorne were made one: now the kingdom of Arkathorne. King Tireth ruled his dominion justly, and Queen Jenaine cried no more. A blessed reign it was, and a more blessed household it was. And that, for good or ill, is how it ended.

The Black Jungle - Tales of Camadorn

In the days of the Old Empire, there is record of a strange plant found only in two places. The first place was in the fields outside the imperial estates near the capital, but those were destroyed in the Great Revolt. The other place was far more dangerous, yet I knew it would be worth it.

             It was on a subcontinent off the southeast coast, perhaps a month’s journey in a galleon to get there. Once there, you would have to go six days through jungles teaming with hostile insects and strange plant life before you encountered anything resembling humans. Yet the natives are not human, but creatures whose description I cannot relate as the only records I ever recovered of them don’t describe anything that could live. There they grow a strange plant whose fruit some describe as a bean, but I am not sure it really is. That plant is the called by the natives the Azth-Nald, after the man who first domesticated the plant, but the citizens of the old empire called it the cocoa tree, and its fruit as the cocoa bean, and that was what I was going to get.
             I hired out some reckless adventurers for the job, led by a man named Gevam Far-Seer. I got these mercenaries a ship, a crew, and a captain to bring them to the subcontinent where the cocoa plant could be found, which was known as Kalektahl when it was known. And they set off, at which point I can only relate the events as was described to me by the survivors.
             The first week of travel was good enough, winds were easy, sky was clear, and rations were plentiful. Then a storm came up, sweeping across the ship and many good men were lost to the wave and wind. Seawater got into the drinking water, and whole barrels were emptied to keep from it being too tempting for the men as the days wore on. Men would go for days without sleep, having at most two or three hours out of twenty-four if even that much. When the skies calmed, they were almost halfway to Kalektahl.
             That was when things began to get ugly onboard. Though the mercenaries had done their best to help out, they were seen as a burden by much of the crew. They drank the same water ration and ate the same food ration, yet most of them wouldn’t climb the rigging and had a hard time following orders. According to the adventurers, it was because they couldn’t understand half the jargon, but the sailors insist otherwise. Some of the sailors suggested throwing them off the ship and collecting the cocoa plant themselves once they got to the Kalektahl, meaning more water, food, and money for themselves. Yet neither the captain nor first officer would allow it, and both men were intimidating even to me when I hired them, so it was easy to keep order on the ship.
             Their rations were running low, the oranges having run out five days ago and the salted pork of all things was soon to follow, when they saw land. High jungles, bright and airy they seemed. They dropped anchor a mile offshore and sent the mercenaries out in longboats with some of the sailors. The sailors were to collect drinking water and foodstuffs, using a list I provided them from the imperial library to know which plants were good and which were bad. Oddly enough, it was the uglier things that were best to eat, such as the spikey fruits, rather than the more beautiful plants, which were toxic. But the adventurers had a much harder task ahead of them.
             Gevam Far-Seer led his men through the jungle, using a map I provided them to find the native settlement. Yet while it was correct in those far off days, they were not so fortunate now, as it was two days after they should have found the settlement that they discovered a native village. Many of the men were sick at that time from insect bites, but fortunately their mage was not one of them. He cast a translation spell, spooking the natives something awful as they were not accustomed to magic of that variety. Diplomacy would be difficult.
             While the natives mostly kept out of sight, someone claiming to be their chieftain arose and went to them. He wore a long cloak that concealed his entire body, and a large wooden mask carved like the head of a native wild cat covered his face. He spoke to them, and while they would not trade with the outsiders for anything they had, as he did not trust them, he told them where to find the cocoa plants in the wild. So Gevam Far-Seer set out for them.
             It was a harrowing journey through horrors which the survivors are hesitant to speak of. Huge jungle cats prowled these lands, the trees so thick they could not see the sun some days. Yet those were the least of their troubles. The leaves of some plants caused infectious rashes to grow on the men’s skin, and some died from impure drinking water they’d collected. The insects were bigger here and more dangerous, some carrying off men, those the birds did not claw at. One night they camped over a scorpion’s nest and had to move on, the only alternative being the mage scorching the whole place. The heat drove two of the men mad, one running into the wild, the other eating random plants and dying not long into it. Yet it could not compare to what was ahead.
             At the edge of the grove where the cocoa trees could be found was a huge creature, tusked and cruel. In its fatty hand was a bludgeon decorated with the skulls of the natives, or else some other creature that was not human. It was slow moving and bulbous, with scars about its bare blue skin. Whether it is beast or some reasoning creature, we do not know as it attacked immediately after seeing the adventurers.
             The mage was the first it targeted, killing him in a single swing, or so we hope. Gevam drew his longsword and stuck it in its stomach, but the fat must be good for something as it didn’t do much more than bleed it. Gevam was kicked to one side, and two others stepped forward only to be crushed in the same swipe. An archer raised his bow and struck its eye, at which point Gevam rose and managed to strike a vein in its neck, though its last action was to shatter his body with its club. Yet it died soon after, and the men mourned their dead.
             The men, led by the bowman, who was named Tephor, went about their business in the grove. They first buried the bodies of the men, as carrying them back wasn’t feasible, and removed the beast’s body out of the grove so it wouldn’t hinder their movements. They then collected several young cocoa trees, saplings really, and though they tasted the fruit, they couldn’t understand why so many had died to get bit of flora. And when I think about it, neither do I.
             The rest of the journey was more of the same, but a bit less in regards to madness, hostile creatures, and sickness. It is unclear to me if Tephor and his men went to the village again, as they did not seem forthcoming on this matter. It would be sorrowful indeed if they took out their frustrations on the villagers, but at the same time, it might just be that they never went there again. In any case, they returned to the ship soon enough with the cocoa saplings.
             The way back was clear enough weather, and the foodstuffs they brought with them was apparently quite a change from their normal fare. Yet it did not stop the idea resurfacing of the sailors throwing off the adventurers, as they were not only extraneous at this point, but disease ridden from the jungle. The ship’s surgeon quarantined the adventurers’ quarters and spent most of the return trip treating them. Only three out of twenty of the adventurers made it back to our shores alive: Tephor the Bowman, Insariaus the Tempered, and Hasya Long-Arm.
             These three presented the cocoa saplings to me, and I have grown them to the best of my ability on our shores. I have prepared them according to the instructions laid out in the old records, and even made some customary foods. The cocoa beans, once dried, can be used to make a beverage from water or milk called hot chocolate, baked into a cake, or cooled into a bar and sections eaten. It is a delicious food if I do say so myself, and quite rich, though I would caution against eating this as an entrée as it is a sweet and must be treated as such. Therefore, my patrons, a give you this, chocolate available to you at a negotiable price. You’re welcome.