| abstract | - Griedan steps aside from the stairway as Meian and Milora start to walk towards it, an eyebrow raised at the young mage, but he says nothing. Eventually, his gaze flicks away towards Adrianna and Celeste. "Crowded." he mutters, and sighs. "'Ow is Taran?" he asks. "I will do what I can," Blackfox replies to Adrianna, looking back to Celeste, "Let me know what it is you need, aye? And good eve, Griedan." "I would love a new arm," Celeste says to Blackfox with a wink and allowing Adrianna to work, unhindered. Her attention returns to the door at another familiar voice. "Griedan, were you able to find them?" Adrianna stops what she's doing to look up at Griedan a smile on her her lips, "Ye're alright?" she asks, "Nothin' attacked ye or anything?" her eyes look him over carefully as she asks. She does not however drop the needle or move from her place by Celeste. Griedan nods his head to Blackfox and sighs as he manages to catch his breath. "Good evenin' Blackfox. 'S nice t' see yeh. Wishin' what that I could say that 'bout e'erehbodeh." he says, turning a glare down at the stairs the duchess and freelander mage had just gone. He turns to Celeste and bows in her direction before extending his right hand and opening it up where two silver rings bearing Light's Eye jewels rest, their shape imprinted into his palm. "Those are the ones," Celeste says with a touch of pride. "Two of my best pieces of work and I've not been able to engrave them. But I can do so later, with whatever you wish. You'd only have to tell me what you want them to say." She casts a wary look to Adrianna, teasing at the sight of needle. Griedan nods his head and holds tightly onto the rings. "I canna thank yeh 'nough, meh ladeh." he says and turns a smile on Adrianna. "Aye, love. I'm alright. Guessin' what that... we're d'layed 'gain, but there's more 'portant thin's afoot, aye." He sighs heavily. "I jus' wan' t' see it done and we dunna 'ave to... preten' what that yeh're not startin' t' grow a bump in yer belleh." Adrianna nods and looks to Celeste, "Do we have to do it in the chapel and all?" she asks as she looks back to her work continuing on carefully as she speaks, "Could we do it here maybe?" "Yes, we could do it here," Celeste looks over to the resting Taran. "And I believe it may be easier on your brother this way. He's not wish to miss it and we can wake him." Griedan looks around the room and shrugs his shoulders. "I guess what that anawhere would do. Jus' seems what that 'twould b' a bit crowded, aye." He turns a smile at Adrianna. "I wish what that I could give yeh th' weddin' yeh d'serve, all big an' fanceh." Adrianna nods and smiles at Celeste's answer, her hands finishing the stitching and quickly with practiced hand bandaging her up. "Thank ye," she says softly before looking to Taran, "Aye, I be afraid to move him far," she says. "Here might be best." She stands once the bandages are tied tightly and wraps her arms around the stone mason, "Aye, love, we can do that later. Lady Celeste said 'twould be alright." "We can have it at Night's Edge when it reopens," offer Celeste while lowering the gambeson. She leans up to give a gentle nudge to Taran. "It's time," she says in a lowered tone before rising. Griedan looks down at the slumbering Taran and grimmaces. "I... I wunner ifn 'e alreadeh knows that we are with child." He turns to Celeste. "'As 'e mentioned it t' yeh?" he asks. "Maybeh best t' tell 'im now while 'e doesna 'ave th' strength t' try t' kill me fer it." Adrianna frowns and shakes her head, "I don't think he will kill ye, love," she says. "Things'll be just fine." She looks over to Celeste and then as if suddenly remembering she takes her cloak off and lays it across a chair. "What do ye need us to do?" she asks. "Stand next to one another," Celeste remarks and gives another gentle nudge to wake the bard. His eyes fluttering open and barely lucid to the events. "We are going to have the wedding here," explains the Mikin and turns back to the couple. "You will each need a ring." A wave of her good hand from Griedan to Adrianna. Griedan hands one of the rings over to Adrianna, and smiles as he steps beside her in front of Celeste. Atleast their clothes are right. Adrianna in her wedding gown and Griedan in his sharp, brilliantly polished banded mail. He takes a deep breath and nods his head. "I am readeh." he says. Adrianna looks up to Griedan as he hands her the ring. She too nods, "I also," she says softly a smile coming to her lips as she gazes up at him lovingly. Celeste clears her throat, and gives a tug to the sling. "Marriage is a commitment, /the/ one commitment that one can give to another that cannot be sundered so easily. It's the melding of two lives into one journey and no longer will either of you travel alone, but forever have the other to consider. It should be forged in love and the Light." She turns her head to Griedan. "Do you wish to present your own vows, Master Stonehammer? If not, there are those that can be provided." Griedan rubs at the darkly tanned skin at the back of his neck. "Well... I'm n' poet er anathin'. But... I can give it a try, aye. Jus' say what comes t' th' 'eart, aye." Taking a deep breath, he grasps one of Adrianna's hands in his own, engulfing it. "Th' firs' time I met yeh, 'twas yer beau'eh what struck me. Bright eyes, fair skin, dark 'air. Yeh were an' are a vision. But standin' 'ere 'fore me t'day, in yer green, With yer eyes alight with love. Yeh are far more a vision than back then, grown more beau'fu. What brings such feelin's t' meh 'eart that I canna b'gin t' d'scribe. I grew t' love yeh more an' more with e'ereh time I saw yeh. An' now 'ere w' are, readeh t' b' wed an' readeh t' b'gin a fam'leh o' our own. Adrianna, Stone'ammer, yeh are meh vereh soul in meh chest. An' I couldna ana more 'magine life without yeh, than life without th' sun. I willna b' perfect, an' I know neither will yeh. "And you, Adrianna," Celeste asks softly as the mason finishes. "Have you your own vows that you would wish to share?" Adrianna smiles brightly up at Griedan as he speaks, her complexion practiacally glowing, "Oh, love, that was as beautiful as any poet," she says softly. She looks to Celeste and nods, "Griedan, love, I love ye with all my heart. 'Twas yer charm and yer manners which first attracted me to ye, the way ye spoke so kindly to me, took me under yer wing and helped though ye didn't know me. There was more though, something which drew me to ye. 'Tis a once in a lifetime chance to find yer soulmate, and some never do. 'Twas this which drew me to ye. I didn't know it at first, but I know it now. We be two halves two souls meant to be together. I couldn't imagine life without ye, wouldn't want to raise a family with anybody else. I love ye forever, and promise through thick an' thin and good an' bad to love ye and cherish ye for all eternity." Celeste smiles proudly to the couple and nods to the ring inAdrianna's hand. "In the Light, there is a great many symbols and each holds a specific meaning. A sunburst to explain its brilliance. And even as the rings you both hold now, there is no end or beginning. But a complete circle that has no end, just as the love you share for one "Griedan, I would ask that you repeat after me, a promise... if you will. I, your name, promise to cherish, honor and support you, Adrianna, throughout the end of my days," replies Celeste. Griedan smiles at Adrianna, wiping a bit of moisture from his eyes. "Yeh say it far be'er what than I e'er could, Love." he says, holding the ring in his hand. He nods to Celeste and looks into Adrianna's eyes. "I, Griedan, promise t' cherish, 'onor, and s'port yeh, Adrianna, throughout th' en' o' meh days." "Now you, Adrianna," Celeste prompts of the healer. "I, your name, promise to cherish, honor and support you, Griedan, throughout the end of my days." She offers and looks down to the quiet bard. Adrianna smiles and looks up at Griedan, her eyes only for him, "I, Adrianna, promise to cherish honor and support you, Griedan, throughout the end of my days," she says softly. While the lovebirds have eyes only for each other, Taran quietly shifts his attention to Celeste. Just...for a little bit. "Now as I said before of the rings, they should signify your love. A physical reminder of the promise that you have offered to one another this night," explains Celeste, smiling proudly at the couple. "As you slide this ring home. And it's the third finger of the left hand," she offers an amused aside to the mason and healer. "Be reminded that from this day forth, your hearts are joined in a way that no one can take away." As the rings are exchanged offers in higher voice. "By the power granted by the Ordinators and the Light, I pronounce you man and wife... you may kiss the bride." Adrianna looks down to Griedan's hand and slides the ring on the indicated finger, and looking back up to him, her eyes close as she leans in to kiss him. Griedan slips the ring onto Adrianna's finger until it contacts the one he'd given her when he proposed marriage. Smiling, he returns the very long, deep kiss.
- The game begins approximately one year after the events of The Mask of Eternity, with Rosella and Edgar's wedding on the Isle of the Crown, in the land of the Green Isles where Alexander and Cassima are rulers. As Rosella is about to take her vow of marriage, a strange man in a black cloak comes from the crowd and casts a spell on her, which renders Rosella unconscious. As Edgar catches her, Alexander, her brother, suffers the same fate elsewhere in the castle. The stranger then vanishes from the wedding, leaving only his cloak behind. Having picked up the cloak, Graham decides to ask around the castle in order to find out more clues about who its owner might be. Captain Saladin suggests to Graham to visit the Oracle who lives on the Isle of the Sacred Mountain in order to find out more. As Graham dresses up for an adventure and quits the castle, a storm begins and he is forced to take refuge in the ferryman's house, befriending Hassan. Eventually Hassan agrees to help Graham visit the Isle of the Sacred Mountain and lend his ferry to him. After some conversation with the Winged Ones, Graham is escorted to see the Oracle, but as she is unable to trace the source of magic from the cloak (knowing only that it is black magic), she sends Graham to see the druids living on the Isle of the Mists. Graham journeys there immediately, and talks to the Arch Druid. The latter informs Graham that he is aware of unusual events taking place, and while working on a reverse spell from black magic, proposes Graham tries to reach his wife and children in their dreams. At the same time Graham is given a list of ingredients that must be found throughout every consequent episode in order to help the Arch Druid counter black magic. As Graham prepares to leave the Isle, the storm becomes unusually violent, leaving him no other choice but to stay for the night. Next morning, Graham sees the face of Shamir, the Court's genie, in the scroll, and rushes back to the Isle of the Crown. There, he visits the library and meets with Ali the book keeper as well as Jollo the royal jester. Ali tells Graham that he knows where to find one of the ingredients, but will require a map of the Isles in order to pin its location. As Jollo plays a trick on Graham, he is eventually able to gather one of the ingredients for the scroll (the lethal liquid). At the village square, Graham manages to get a map copy done for him, which he then shows to Ali to obtain the location of the item. Upon visiting Shamir at the Castle, Graham finds out that the genie once belonged to one of the members of the so-called "Black Cloak Society", who might be the owner of the cloak. Knowing that Valanice (and, thus, his own children) are descendants of the "Silver Cloaks", who were an ancient clan of magic protectors, Graham wonders if both are related. He then thanks Shamir and makes his way by sea to the location of the map given by Ali, in order to retrieve the second ingredient (a magical bag). Hassan suggests that the third ingredient might be found on the Isle of Wonders, but dares not step there after his quarrel with the Red Chess Queen. Graham journeys into the Isle alone and eventually makes his way to obtain the third ingredient (the animated vessel). At the same time a nameless cloaked man shows up in front of Graham and tells him to question Valanice about her druidic roots. As the man disappears, Graham runs back into the Castle in order to do so. At the Castle, Valanice falls unconscious as Graham breaks into her room. She sees herself at 23 years of age, when she was forcibly taken away from her family by a certain wizard Shadrack. Shadrack keeps her in a deadly tower surrounded by her own nightmares. Back in the Castle, Graham, by her side, keeps a promise to help her. The list shows four new ingredients and Graham continues his adventure. Talking with Shamir the second time reveals to Graham that at least two of the ingredients, which he can use to revive the children, are found at the Isle of the Mists. Eventually Graham arrives there and meets again with the Arch Druid, who confirms the presence of the elements which can only be found in the depths of Mother Nature. In order to address it properly, Graham undergoes a ritual in which he proves that he is both a savior and a part of the Nature. Graham passes the guardians and accesses the Sanctuary within the Isle, usually only available to druids. There he meets and talks to the spirits of Nature, which explain that in order to obtain the requested items (a male subject's strength and a female subject's voice), Graham must enchant regular items with which he plans to do so. Graham touches the stones on an ancient tree to grant himself such power. Valanice is then shown to him by the spirits, and he understands that she was once a druid. At the same time, in her dream, Shadrack visits her in the tower and begins torturing her. Seeing all this, Graham rushes back into the Castle and reaches Valanice's crown, transporting himself inside her dream. After some fierce confrontation with the nightmares, he steps in and frees Valanice from the tower. As they are back in reality, a cutscene reveals that Shadrack was in fact the master of the Black Cloak Society, to which another prominent figure, Manannan, once belonged. As Manannan delivers young Valanice to Shadrack Shadrack, on the other hand, plans on tormenting Valanice In the present, Graham vows to destroy Shadrack whatever it takes. Having brought Valanice back into reality, he journeys to the Isle of the Mists once more and now asks for the items to be enchanted. Upon returning, he gets both ingredients from his children. He gets the third ingredient (a silver moon) from a crescent emerald shape he obtained from the druid tree, with the help of a blacksmith, and the fourth one (a pinch of lively shaken salt) from the druids at the Isle of the Mists. There, he sees Cassima in the scroll and travels back into the Castle to witness her give a speech of hope to her people. Captain Saladin interrupts Graham's witnessing of the speech by telling him that Rosella is not well in her bed. At the same time, a dream sequence shows her venturing into a cave in which stands the Pandora's Box. Shadrack then shows up and orders her to open in. In the present, Graham sits next to her, then sees his list trace three more ingredients. Outside the castle, Graham starts seeing strange things occur in the Green Isles: a bird with eggs which he saw hatch before, water flowing backwards in the fountains, trees which were torn by the recent storm still undamaged. Graham decides to talk to the Arch Druid about these events, but voyaging back to the Isle of the Mists, he finds out that the Arch Druid is rather clueless. However, upon exiting his hut, Grahams meets once again with the nameless cloaked stranger, who now reveals that the secret of the events can be found in the gems of the spirit tree which stores the memories of the world. He also notes that one of the ingredients is located with the Winged Ones on the Isle of the Sacred Mountain, while the other one can be found at the mansion on the Isle of the Beast. As soon as Graham finds these two, the man hints he would know where to find the third one, and disappears again. Graham visits the tree as told and the memory stored in its gem reveals to him that Pandora's Box possesses a specific ability of being able to undo any deeds, good or bad, done by the powerful wizards, protectors of magic, by the hand of those who dare to open it. Graham understands that Shadrack must have found the Box and tries to open it, hence the unexplainable events. Seeing as meeting with the Winged Ones, who consider themselves superior to humans, has been forbidden to Graham after he visited to Oracle unless he "learns to fly like them", Graham continues his journey to the Isle of Beast first, where is meets with the Prince Cocteau, formerly a hideous beast, turned back human with the help of his beloved bride, as well as does the necessary in order to obtain another item for the list (this time, an ebony rose). Back at the Isle of the Crown, Graham meets one of sirens he got a magical bag from, and convinces her to give him flying shoes in exchange for a chance for her to fly, that he cleverly provides to her with the help of some locals. Having obtained the shoes, Graham ventures to the Sacred Mountain right by flight, much to the disdain of its rulers, where is henceforth granted access. By provoking the four Wind Gods to exercise their power onto a sacred spot in the Mountain, Graham eventually obtains the second ingredient (the richest fruit) from a golden tree located there. The list then hints Graham visits the Isle of Wonders where a chess tournament is being currently held. Upon arriving there, he is captured hostage by the guards and brought to the Queens who have an argument over the fact that the White Chess King has fled the chessboard. Graham proposes his help and is offered the third ingredient if he succeeds. All Graham then needs is to replace the king with a similar figure crafted by the best masters in the Land, which he does and finally obtains the third item (the evening glory). With the three more ingredients crossed out, Shamir appears once more in it, and Graham rushes into the Castle. Shamir then suggests that Graham visits the Arch Druid in order to bring all the obtained ingredients to use and have a possibility at stopping Shadrack. Back at the Isle of the Mists, the Arch Druid accepts the items and demands that Graham reunites with his spouse and children for the time being. Graham does so and promises that come the next day, they will all travel to Daventry in order to put an end to Shadrack's plans. That night Valanice once again witnesses a nightmare in which she helps Shadrack finally open the Box as he tortures Rosella. The final sequence of the dream shows the Silver Cloaks being defeated by the Black Cloaks in the past, and Valanice gets saved by the nameless stranger. The next day, Graham and the family prepare to travel back to Daventry along with Hassan and Edgar, but are caught in the unusual storm. Shadrack's projection appears and attacks Graham, who is saved at the last minute by the nameless stranger. The cloaked man grants Graham ability to enter dream world by his own will and hence control its time. Now facing the projection once more, Graham sacrifices his reality to chase it off and finally stops Shadrack from hurting his family. To be continued...
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