The Journal of Creighton Dallorius...

[Creighton]

--I have thought it wise over the past week to put down my thoughts in this tome; perhaps one day I can reflect upon it with a smile, knowing that the path I have chosen was the right one.

I seemed awakened from a dream, when I found myself standing before a dragon; I felt no fear, for Toran be with me, but it was a shock nonetheless.  I felt moreso than heard the grand creature tell me of the call for heroes that was being raised; that the cursed blight of the Blood once more tainted the land, and he and his minions must be vanquished.

Of course, I would answer this call!  Praises to Toran that I was so honored to have the chance!

Thence, I blacked out, and came to in a hamlet called Hlint.  Making my way about as a stranger, I was pleased to find the people there were helpful and friendly.  I have met many who have had visions similar to mine, and they too have accepted the task of becoming champions of Layonara.  In particular, I have met two dwarven brothers, Exodus and Xain of the Stonecutter clan, who have been exceptionally helpful to me in finding my way about the lands.  They have even provided me with lodgings until Toran makes my path clear to me in this struggle. I am ashamed to say I was surprised at the hospitality of these dwarves; the stories I have always heard were that they were brash and unfriendly; but I have been proven wrong, and let my written words record that I recount any prejudices I have ever harbored for their hardy race.

My travels with the Stonecutters is having an unexpected dividend:  I am picking up little pieces of the dwarven tongue!  The brothers have told me that if I wish it, they will teach me the language of the dwarves; I think I shall pursue this goal in the future.  I will pay particular attention to their conversations, and with their guidance, perhaps have a working knowledge of the speech.  How exciting this is!

Elves!  I have met elves!  Truly they are the beautiful, delicate creatures that legends speak of, but such delicacy is a false impression; I have seen a woman named Tyrian lay waste to goblin opponents, and others I have witnessed have shown strong magicks and great skill with weapons.  Although I have seen some carry them selves with a slight taint of arrogance, the beings of this race I have spoken with and adventured with have been friendly, helpful, and as graceful of manner as they are action.

[Creighton]

---I have met a most capable party of adventurers this night.  The Stonecutters were nowhere to be found (but I'm sure they're mining or some other dwarven diversion), and I encountered several noble warriors, clerics, mages, and a guide, and together we faced some difficult opponents, but prevailed.  Good camaraderie was had by all, and I am richer by the grace of Toran to have met and fought alongside such a group.

Most exciting (and disturbing), however, is the young elven woman that travelled with us:  Alleina Shiante.  She appeared from being unseen, then healed and aided me throughout the journey; moreso, I believe that (with her gentle beauty and sharp wit) she captured a part of my being I thought had died with my parents.  

What compelled me to give her flowers?  

And why was it less difficult to break the grip of that ogre than to escape the pull of her eyes?  

I must ponder this further...

[Creighton]

---Tonight has been an eventful one.

Xain, Exodus and I were in Hlint, enjoying some fellowship and wondering what adventure we might find.  Cymeran and Dacriel, two of the fine souls I have written about before, met with us and told of strange happenings in the Broken Forest.  Against Cymeran's better judgement, we all set off to investigate these rumors.

We did not have long to wait; no sooner did I step under the forest canopy and out of the sun did I feel the icy hand of death!  Nary was their time to swing a blade than I found myself a phantom, my soul lamenting over my passing.  It is surely only by the grace of Toran that I am whole and hearty again, to try to be worthy enough to shine his Light yet another day!  After this sorrowful time, Cymeran and I discussed the causes of this blight.  We both felt the razor vines, and saw the image of the woman screaming victoriously to the sky.  He told me that his research led him to think that Xora had stepped into a bloodpool, and become a powerful undead, enslaved to Sinthar.

How I bristle at that word!  The walking dead are an abomination that must be cleansed!  Toran will not allow such blasphemy to go unpunished...perhaps my travels will take me closer to my goal; perhaps I will be able to join with that noble order that so impressed me all those years ago...

...but I digress.  Whilst praying for my soul and those of my comrades, I made the acquaintances of several more noble souls whom I hope to call allies in the dark days I fear are to come; Mercas, a mage, by his look, and Zijeo, a man-beast who reverberated with a strong, noble heart.  Perhaps my path will cross with theirs again...

I have not seen Alleina this day.

I do not know if I feel sorrow over this, or relief.  She has haunted my thoughts...I wish to see her and yet, to see her again...I'm not sure what I would do.

I will continue to pray for Toran's strength and guidance.

[Creighton]

---Toran must be teaching me humility this day.

Thrice, the Stonecutters and I, accompanied by Mercas and Tyrian, ventured into the Broken Forest, only to be cut down with very little fighting to be had!  Only by Toran's grace (and the assistance of my noble friends) am I whole once more as I sit and write this!

The forest was gutted!  It was a wasteland!  Truly, whatever black evil has made it's mark there is powerful indeed; too powerful for myself and my group of fellow adventurers...for now.  

Toran be my guide, I will find the strength!  I will join in the struggle to free the lands from the icy grip of those who would do such as I have witnessed in the Broken Forest (and I was even felled in the outskirts of Krandor!  The darkness is spreading!).

I shall increase my prayers and my training; I have to make ready.  

Toran will call, and I must be worthy to answer!

[Creighton]

--I have experienced being wrenched from the grip of death...

I met a fine group of hearty adventureres this day.  Silool, the bewitching beauty with her songs and skills; Glenn, a fine warrior; Kyle, another man whose will seems as strong as his blade; Ash, whose firey presence inspires all those around her; Tegan, another whose hard shell seems to hide a softer side; and Jin...Jin who rescued me from the icy bosom of the Soul Mother.

It was something to experience, as it should be.  I was felled by a magic-wielding giant in the great desert, and surrendered to oblivion, when light and breath re-entered my senses, as through some divine magic Jin brought me back to life.

Indeed, powerful must his faith be.

While on this journey, my old friends the Stonecutters accompanied us, and brought new dwarven friends as well.  Tyrian was also there, her wit, beauty, and skill always needed and welcomed.

What a fine world Toran has birthed me to, when such friends can be found in such abundance!  I sense his light and wisdom in all that is around me.

Also, Silool told me of other knights of Toran that she knows.  Perhaps I can meet these noble warriors, and they can help me reach my destiny in the service of Toran...

[Creighton]

--A revealing day, on a personal, perhaps spiritual level.

My own thoughts have plagued me of late regarding the merits of my life.

Tonight, I met a man, demonic in appearance, scathing in his tone, yet I sensed no evil from him.  In the course of our conversation, many things came to light that I have recently thought might be truths of life, and his wisdom encouraged me to think in ways I have never thought before.

His name was Ozymandias, and his words and our repartee were thought-provoking indeed.

Since our conversation, I have given more freedom to the thoughts that, up until now, I had thought a sinful bane.

My mission is set; of that, there is no question.  I am to champion justice and protect the helpless.  Never has that been in doubt.  However, the strict set of rules I have regimented myself to; was that the teaching of Toran?  Or merely my own interpretation of the texts?  And who is to say that those who interpreted the texts in the first place did not misunderstand that which the Light meant in his omens?

For example; Toran's light must stand for something more than justice, must it not?  Would not He want happiness?  Does his light not stand also for joy?  In all of his goodness, would love not fit into his plan?  Why would he ask myself and my brothers to limit our existences to merely crushing evil, walking the lonely road from battle to battle without respite?  The texts seem to suggest this, but is this perhaps a suggestion that those who love are impure in their steadfastness to their cause, does it not seem?

Rubbish.

I have met many in my travels whose hearts beat as firmly with the passion for good as does my own, but they are not limited to a lone, unyielding path...

Take not my words as a question of my faith; indeed, Toran's light is what I believe lighted the way for my heart to travel this line of thought; instead, see it as more of an expansion, a greater view of the nature of that which is good and honorable.

I will pray and ponder upon this further....

[Creighton]

--I am sure that the path I am on is true.

A long conversation with a kind friend has made steel the molten thoughts of the last few days.

Justice is to be pursued.  But love; love of a good friend, love of others...these are the virtues that spawn justice.

I will sleep well tonight...my way is lit now moreso than ever, and I believe it is that I now see the true Light of Toran...

[Creighton]

--I grow stronger in the path I walk for Toran day by day.

I mean this both in body and in spirit.  The company I keep proves to me that the Light stands for more than mere justice; it stands also for joy, for love!  Would not that be the way of Toran?  What nobler feelings have I felt in my heart than the honor I have felt standing alongside such noble souls as those I call my friends?  The gruff yet truly noble Stonecutters; the many of their dwarven brethren that I have shed both my own and the blood of our enemies with together, as brothers ourselves; Kyle, Ash, Cymeran....the list is too numerous to scribe!  These are a people that want all the same things I want, but are not bound by the same lonely path I thought for so long to be the only one...

"The truest measure of a man can be found in the company he keeps; or rather, in the company that keeps him."  My words, spoken tonight to one whom...well, I can say it no other way: one whom has fanned a spark within my soul that I thought the un-dead had long extinguished; I thought it snuffed when they snuffed out the lives of my parents.  But this woman...she's...different.  Do not take my writings to belay her ability; she is a noble, cunning warrior when the need arises, and her magicks are something to behold (or fear, depending upon which side of them you are on); but the most striking thing is her shameless and unrestrained compassion for those around her.  It's as though she typifies exactly the soul-struggle I have faced of late.  She carries a heavy heart in that she feels she has no cause since she bears no sworn allegiance to any god or city or country or guild; and yet I have seen her lay down her life to protect that of another in her party, regardless of whether she had known them for years or just met them!  Next to that kind of unconditional compassion, I feel a bit uneducated as to just what life is all about.

My entire life, I have striven for the pursuit of one and only one goal:  Justice.  

I have lost no faith in (nor desire for) justice, but my heart is beginning to burn with the fire of other emotions; just as strong, just as valid, and just as undeniable...and I believe that love, in all of its forms, is a primary ingredient for goodness.  

For what would be good without love?

"Tis not a crime to feel passion."  

Her words.

There is a truth there....

[Creighton]

--A new age, I think, for my life.  

I can challenge it with stoic wonderings and plaintive excuses and little lies that I tell myself all I desire; the facts remain the same.

My heart is beginning to burn with a life of it's own...long have I felt it press me onward; to make me strive for my goals, but now...now it is telling me something different. It tells me that there is no reason that one such as I, one dedicated to a noble cause, cannot embrace the magical beauty of another, more natural cause; if one is lucky enough to find it.

I pray that I am right; that Toran's Light is one of love as well as justice...but in the end it matters not.

My heart and soul are telling me that my destiny has changed from what I believed it to be...

...and finally now, when next I see her, I will have the courage to tell her so...

[Creighton]

--I have done it.

I have told Tyrian my heart.

I told her of my beliefs; that I must break with the church in order to have a chance at the life I hope to lead.  She was troubled by my decision, but informed me that I had won her heart.  This was a surprise, for as loath as I am to admit it, I feared her reaction...I...I never thought about love; much less that anyone could love me.

I will still follow Toran; it was his Light that brought me here; but I shall be a questing Knight no more...I will continue to defend the helpless and champion the oppressed, but I will seek a life of cameraderie, of happiness...and of love.

I was asked if I ever thought of a home; a wife; children.

I was silent, but in my soul I knew what my answer should have been.

"I do now."

[Creighton]

*written on a tattered piece of parchment, now pressed into his journal*

I must put down in writing a dream that has awakened me for three nights; strong enough to have put me out here in the darkened foothills alone trying to find it's source:

"On the plateaus, gaining the foothills to reach the mountains---seek ye he whom first showed you the ways of unconditional kindness whence thee were a child; help to return him to the fold...."

Such is the voice in the dream that plagues me.  I have only a glimmer of recognition of what I see in the dream, and only the faintest scent of a memory as to whom it speaks of.  I know I only feel that I must search for this place I see in my Night Eye.

But that will be a task for later; my explorations have taken me away from Hlint and my friends (and especially Tyrian) long enough.  I gaze at the twin moons from this point, making my way back to my lodgings, my comrades, and my love.  She would be concerned with me; out here in the darkness, alone, slipping by perils whence I can.  I know I upset her when I sought her and Exodus out in the Haven mines a fortnight ago; I know not why myself I so blindly flew into the fray; my only thoughts were to find her.  

I have never been one to fear; not since that night...after the screams and the horrors of that night, I thought my soul hardened to an engine of retribution; but with the recent warmth of friendships and love brought to my soul...seems that desire to be with and protect those I care about now outweighs self-preservation.  I do not think myself insane; as I write this, I know that from thence I will be more careful; I walk a new path, tis all...and must get used to life looking through different eyes.

'Tis a prospect I relish.  Toran be praised; He has shown me more in his Light than I ever thought possible!  

*put the page into his bag---tended to his fire before lying down in his bedroll---glanced at the distant fires of Hlint, knowing he would be home tomorrow---holding tight the amulet she made for him, smiling---falls asleep*

[Creighton]

--My mission is ended.

My visions have led me to the last of the Stonecutters...I have found Axodeth!  

In deference to him, I will not go into detail here nor in any other musings, spoken or written; suffice to say that he is home and well in Hlint!  This is not yet known to his brothers; how happy they will be!

I returned very late to find her sleeping on the couch.  I have not awakened her.  She slept so soundly that I had not the heart.  Tomorrow; tomorrow I will explain myself and hope she will forgive me.

*sighs, staring at the page*

Forgive me for undertaking this alone; it could be no other way.

I can only hope that she knows that whether or not I am at her side in body, my heart is with her always.  Strangely enough (from what I believed my life would be) I know this to be true in my own heart.

I shall make amends for my absence of the past days.  

*closes the book gently, walks to where she sleeps on the couch and brushes a lock of hair from her face...smiles at her gentle, slumbering beauty...pulls the quilt around her shoulders, then, an idea striking him, leaves to find something.....*

[Creighton]

--I have never known fear.

Tonight, journeying with Tyrian and the Stonecutter brothers, I attempted to find the oil lost by the warrior in Fort Llast.  After quite an adventure dealing with spiders and werewolves and other clawed and fanged things, we were waylaid by a virtual army of ogres in the GreyPeak Mountains.

We were returned to Hlint to lament our woes (thankfully, the fates saw us all safely away from the Soul Mother).  There, a man claiming to be the "Lord of Krandor" put on a rather entertaining (if disturbing) show.  Ozymandias arrived, and it saddened me that I had not the time to tell him that I think I have found the answer to his riddle...something that was before mentioned, but without the crucial element of truth...

Which brings me back to fear.

I have never been afraid.  To die is to join with the Light; nothing to be afraid of there.

But of the one question I wish to ask...

*almost writes it all out, but cannot bring himself to do so*

No, I shall not write it.  I have danced around it, made excuses for and found ways to mask what I truly feel.  If it is to be pronounced by me, it shall be spoken to she whom it is meant for.

What if the answer is no?

*stares at that written question for long moments*

I will deal with that if it comes.

[Creighton]

--I am a happy man!

I summoned the courage to ask Tyrian this day to be my bride, and she said yes!

My soul is filled with a joy such as that I have never known...

We have no set date, but we will discuss such.  She wants us to find a home, a home for us, and I agree...

I must find a trade!  I have known nothing but the ways of a warrior all of my life!  I need a means to support a...a family..*smiles as he writes that, then thinks of his words to her earlier*--I told her of my thoughts of working leather...she seemed happy, and thought that it would be a good trade...I never thought about that; a hobby that could be a living...

*trails off...his thoughts return to Tyrian*

She is everything I could have ever dreamed of...nay, moreso...

*illegible scribblings---too excited to focus*

I find myself unable to write more...I will detail this journal entry when I have learned to manage this joy!

[Creighton]

--Fate can be most unkind.

Other responsibilites; responsiblities that I am keeping to do my best to make a good husband, kept me out of town until very late.  My hunting trip to obtain pelts was a failure, and the journey home was longer than expected.

I was not able to see my love this eve.

How curious it is, that I, so recently a wanderer, never calling home anyplace for more than a fortnight, is now so disturbed.  Ah, but what a loss...a loss of time spent not hearing her voice nor seeing her face...

*the line trails off*

On my way back from my travels, I passed by the house she shares with Ash.  I saw a fire burning, but, as much as my heart drove me, I could not disturb their peace.  'Tis not Tyrian's fault that my efforts to find materials for my new trade kept me out to such a time that she would be forced to slumber before I could see her; what right had I to awaken her because of my own poor planning? *as an afterthought*  And I had no luck in my hunting, either!

*sighs, staring at the page and looking wistfully around the empty room*

By Toran's Light, I will do nothing if not see her on the morrow.  There are plans to be made, skills to begin learning, time to spend adventuring with friends and each other...

*the line trails off again; he poises the quill to write something further, but stops himself*

'Tis only been a short while...but I miss her.  Odd...all the pain I have felt in my life...I always accepted it as the price of my questing...but missing one so radiant, who has come to mean so much, even for a time so short as this...

*the line trails off yet again*

*sighs*  I have much to learn.  I am happy to know, at least, that she is safe...but still...

*ink blots the page*

My body is weary; I shall rest now.

*Dusts the page, puts the book back on the table, and lies down to sleep, his last conscious thoughts being of her*

[Creighton]

--I have met the Soul Mother.

Battling man-wolves in the High Forest (gathering pelts for my new trade), I fell before the onslaught of the beasts; the Soul Mother came to me then, wrenching away a part of my soul as her payment.  Though t'was a cold feeling, one of loneliness and despair, I did not fear.  Death has always been a part of my life.

However...

A burning notion reverberated through my being; If this were the last time, I would never again see those who meant so much to me...at least not until their time came.  The noble ones who helped open my eyes to the power of friendship, loyalty, and love...the horrid blackness that was that thought was one I do not wish again.

But if it be my destiny...

*trails off...shakes his head to clear the dark thoughts and begins again*

Soon, I shall be wed.  *pauses to smile after he writes that line*  Although Tyrian knows not any plans yet, I am content to know that my life will be at her side.

She did have one thing she asked of me:  She wishes me to speak to her dearest friend, Ash Willo.

I have no quarrel with Ash; I sensed a good soul in her each time I have travelled with her, and I am certain that her animosity has some reason behind it.  I will make every effort to reach out to her; it means so much to Tyrian, and it would do my heart good as well, I think.

*takes a breath before he begins the next line*

Tyrian fell in combat with manticores this night.  Vicious creatures they were, attacking without warning from a distance with deadly spines that they loosed as arrows...Rage and sorrow vied for possession of my soul at that moment, and it was only the kind and calming words of Rhynn that stayed my hand and prevented what would most likely have been my doom.  Rhynn somehow knew that the Soul Mother did not touch Tyrian, and soon she was whole again.

*rereads that line; thinks perhaps it is anger and not despair he feels for the Soul Mother*

All is well that ends well.  Tyrian later surprised me with a mass of pelts that she had obtained for my new trade.  How selfless and giving she is!  I know not why fortune has smiled upon me thus, but I am eternally grateful for it.

*closes the book; collapses into a dream-filled sleep of Ty, his friends, good times and bad times to come*

[Creighton]

--Another learning experience, these days have been.

With Axodeth Stonecutter, I volunteered to go on an expedition to obtain some yew wood for a gentleman named Glenn Thendor, a man whom has showed me kindness in the past.  T'would seem I am not alone in that honor, as a plethora of noble and mighty heroes arrived at the scheduled meeting place to take part.  Even Tyrian surprised me by being there!

T'was decided that mahogany would be sought rather than yew, and our group travelled to Dregar, where we once again crossed the burning sands.  In a cave system near Saudiria, I fell in combat with what obviously was a building army of giants that overwhelmed us. A dwarven holy man, Durgin, brought me back from the Plane of Souls *and the Soul Mother was denied me*.

Tyrian was VERY upset...and this I can understand *remembers how upset HE was when she fell battling the manticores*...she did not want me to fight.  I know she wants to protect me, and I sense that this is her love for me...but I must be able to carry my weight...*sighs reading this over*  I have to continue to improve myself...I wish for her to not have to worry for me so...

*pauses, gathering his thoughts before beginning again.*

We travelled on to a place called North Point, fighting some monstrous scorpions on the way, along with other assorted baleful beasts.  Dark druids decimated our party, including myself *but the Soul Mother again was not fated to find me that night*; but in the end, the wood we sought out was claimed, and the quest ended a success.

Upon returning to Hlint, I finally was able to have my conversation with Ash.

*ponders the talk...deciding what to write*

It went as well as could be expected.  She is a gentle soul trying desperately not to be so.  Something troubles her deeply, and she seeks to protect her heart from it...

*the line stops here*

...but that is her business.  After I told her what had changed my heart and what Tyrian meant to me, she conceded that she would accept me, for now.  That is what I hoped for; all I was wanting was a chance, and though she is rough-edged, I trust in her integrity that she will give me that chance.

*smiles*  A walnut, indeed.

This done, I walked Tyrian to her home in Krandor so that she could rest after the days ordeal.  We discussed purchasing a home of our own before we wed; she wants to come home on her wedding night, she told me, and what a lovely thought it was to me as well.  She has already worked so hard to save coin for this purpose...I..I feel guilty that I have not done more myself.  Every day I am with her, I find it more and more incredible that I should be so lucky.  I will begin in earnest to find a way to contribute to fulfilling her wish.

*almost doesn't write anymore, but after putting the book down, he picks it back up and starts anew*

I felt compelled to tell Tyrian what I had told Ash; the truth that I had masked to protect her from feeling responsible for a choice that was not hers to make...that I left the Knighthood because my heart belonged no longer to Toran, but to her.  I explained that I still have my faith, and that I believe it was the will of Toran that she and I find one another...and also showed me the knowledge that honor and loyalty can be found in friends and not just religion.  I explained to her for the first real time that once I knew these things, I knew I could not devote my life to both she and a deity...

...and given that choice, I chose her.  

This seemed to please her, and that made me very happy.  

She tells me that when she is with me, she feels no time...

...and in her eyes, I see forever.  And I could be no more content with that.

She is so very beautiful...and it is a beauty that begins with her soul and works its way out.


*Smiles to himself...dusts the page and drifts into a happy slumber, the amulet she made him in his grasp*

[Creighton]

*sitting on the ground with Tyrian resting upon him, he smiles and gently takes a small book and quill from his pack*

--I have not earned the right to be so happy.

Tyrian Baldu'muur is a rarity amongst rarities; a heart of the purest gold; a soul of gossamer and joy.

*pauses reading the above line that seemed to fall from his pen...his smile threatening to overcome his face*

And..and I have been graced by the fates to find comrades; nay, brothers, in this world the likes of whom I have not the right to call my own.  I am even more in awe of the kindness of the gods in that those I consider now to be brethren are dwarves.  The Stonecutters, their kindness and loyalty overshadowing even their hardy commitment to battle and the forge...they too contribute to my joy in ways unfathomed...

All three of those brothers, beyond the assistance and patience they have shown me, have opened their homes not just to me now, but also to the woman I love...and going beyond even that, the noble Axodeth has offered she and I a home of our own, half of his, and even made allowances to grant a fond wish to Tyrian if the powers decree...

*pauses to smile...begins to in detail describe the kindness, but then crosses it out; believing it better left unwritten*

Suffice to say, I never dreamed in the academies and churches that I trained in during my youth; not in the most wild of fantasies did I ever hope to be as blessed and happy as I am this day.  Burdens have been lifted from my mind and the mind of my love that throw open gates I feared would slowly swing on reluctant hinges.

*Grins ear-to-ear a final time; then commits himself to chronicling his day*

I have faced the abominable un-dead again, twice today, in the darkness of the rotting tombs they call their homes.  'Tis abominable that places considered to be hallowed places of rest could be so tainted as to be the homes of these walking blasphemies...Tyrian, Ash, the Stonecutter brothers and I have purged their stink this day in both Krandor and in the foothills of the Grey Peaks.  Tyrian was felled twice in one of their lairs, once disabling a complicated trap, and once, I first thought, due to my lack of speed...but it was Ash...Ash Willo...whos words of kindness (in her own inimitable way) convinced me that it was not my fault...although as I write this, I still feel a pang of guilt at my inability to protect her.  I take joy, however; the wretched Soul Mother did not touch her.

A child's mind was put to rest due to our trifles, and that I consider worth the wounds I personally took.  *rubs his side unconsciously*

From thence, Tyrian, Axodeth and I traveled to the mountains beyond Fort Velensk to find the the Dwarven fortress there.  Through a long and arduous climb, we faced golems of gem and two monstrosities that Axodeth referred to as "Yetis".  Our search was in vain...it had been a long time since Axodeth had been there (and he was overly apologetic for this)..and we returned here to Velensk...where unable to find an inn, Tyrian and I have found a spot by a lake beneath a willow tree to call our bed for the night.  Axodeth has returned to the mountains to search for the fortress...but I will be content to sleep here this eve...*smiles, listening to her sleep*  

Tomorrow then...tomorrow is another day.  

*touches her cheek...puts away the quill and book, and settles against the tree to sleep the sleep of the contented*

[Creighton]

*wakes in the night finding her by his side...a wave of happiness sweeps over him; a feeling he's not used to, but wants to be...slips out of bed so as not to wake her and, taking his journal quietly from the table, walks into the hall, where he smiles at the chest she set crookedly and was so vexed by, then sits upon it and begins to write*

--I never knew making someone happy could have such an effect on me.

I accompanied Axodeth, Xain, and Tyrian on a pilgrimage to the temple of Vorax, where Exodus now seeks his faith.  The journey had it's perils, but we made it with little trouble.  While there, I spoke to a tinker who a man in Lar had asked me to see...

Tyrian showed me a lake beneath the earth of great beauty...made all the more beautiful by being with her.

I told her to use the money she had saved to further her studies and her craft.  These are things that make her happy...and I wish that more than anything else in the world.

*smiles, remembering the look on her face*

Axodeth and I also presented her with a bounty of silver ingots for her craft...she was so taken aback that I feared I had erred...but her smile and embrace soon banished all fears from my heart.

She sleeps now...in my room.  

*sighs peacefully*

I feel with her, at times, that I will simply burst with happiness...

*reads over the entry...smiles...then returns to curl up next to her and drift back off to a contented sleep, his arm around her*

[Creighton]

*listens to her as she drifts off to sleep...quietly places his journal in his lap...smiles at her sleeping form, and begins to write*

--I find smiling so much easier than ever before.

Tonight I finally met the widowed Addison.  I was deeply touched by her sorrow, but even more by her resolve to not let the passing of her love be in vain.  A glowing light I saw in her, and am a better man for being bathed in its glow.

Hearing of her unborn child, I was assaulted by memories I have striven to forget...memories of the night that it was I who was the one left alone...I..I fear I was rude with my abrupt departure, and will make a point to find Addison and apologize.

I was also in a state with Tyrian and the Stonecutters.  Tyrian and I talked about it...the first time I have truly shared my pain with anyone...and I now feel vindicated, as if a great weight had been lifted from my heart. She too, has painful memories; she wishes she could find her parents...and I will some day help her to achieve this, Toran be my witness.

But for now, we are content to plan our wedding.  *pauses to smile as he reads back over the sentence*  I would be content if we made our vows with only the stars as our witness, as she said she would; but there are so many that we care for that we would like to share the time with...*shakes his head*...so much to do...but what a pleasant task!

I am working to perfect my battle prowess; the better to protect myself and the woman I love from the Soul Mother's clutches, but soon, I intend to dedicate some quality time to my new trade, and learn to work leather...perhaps wood as well.

Tyrian has earnestly began to try to learn Dwarven, and, as with me, the Stonecutters have been willing teachers.  I regret that I have not spent more effort in my own learning of the tongue; as it stands, I have learned a few basic phrases; but I intend to make it a point to pay more attention and work harder.

*closes his eyes to remember*

Zihaak'kuur nurga Kohaarz

*smiles*

As I write this, I see her lying asleep...hear her breathing..*sighs a happy sigh*  I know now that life is to be lived, not spent fearing its end.  

*thinks that he must talk to Ozymandias again soon...thinks the riddle, at least for him, is answered*

*looks over to her again, the candle's flickering light playing across her*

Thank you again, Ty.  Thank you so much...

I love you.

*puts the book back on the table...blows out the candle, and snuggles up to her sleeping form, drifting off to sleep*