Ria sat in the jolting carriage, her emotions all over the place as she left the familiarity of the land in which she had grown up. She was now well beyond their borders and the security and safety they offered, not that she wasn’t safe now, she had an escort of her fathers soldiers and those of the Mage Lord, but she wasn’t used to travelling, especially to a place with which she was unfamiliar. Or to a man she’d only met only on a handful of occasions and some of them had been from a distance. The man was not only the Mage Lord, one of the most powerful magicians around, but was now her husband and she was travelling to his home as his wife, something she was still finding it hard to believe.
Three days ago had been her wedding day, not that the groom had appeared, well not in person. It was well known that the High Lord rarely left his castle except for when his attendance was required at affairs of state, though Ria had expected him to be there at their joining and felt sorely let down. He showed up, but only a simulacrum, a shadow of himself, covered head to toe in a dark blue shimmering robe, like stars in the night sky. When Ria tried to look closer using the little mage sight available to her, she could see arcane symbols and words pulsating and sliding as if hiding from prying eyes and if Ria looked too long a feeling of queasyness came over her, so she had no other choice but to stop. During the ceremony, she felt a tendril of magic encompass her finger, circling it and becoming stronger and warmer and where the magic was concentrated and when it stopped there was a gold wedding ring on her finger, one that would forever proclaim her as the wife of the Mage Lord. Later when she tried, she found that the ring could not be removed.
Ria remembered the first time she’d seen the High Lord several years ago, he’d worn a robe made of the finest material, with fine stitching and a few jewels on it and a large hood that hid his features and each time she’d seen him afterwards he wore a similar robe, so Ria was none the wiser had to what her husband looked like, whether he was handsome or ugly and neither were any others who she questioned regarding his appearance.
Ria’s father was a Lord of an estate to the west of the High Lords castle and helped guard the border there. Her father had said that the High Lord had asked particularly for her hand in marriage, though what interest the High Lord could possibly have in her, Ria had no idea. She knew her father’s land was important as it was all that stood between the Kingdom and raiders from the sea, but she doubted that the High Lord was the kind of man who would worry about keeping her father sweet. All these things she pondered as she had little else to do on her journey, especially as she was the only occupant of the carriage. Ria wished she had her maid with her to keep her company, but Cassa had stayed behind as she was soon to be betrothed and did not want to leave her beloved. Ria could have insisted on her attendance, but had allowed Cassa to leave her service hoping that she would be able to find a hand maid amongst the High Lords servants as there were times when one was invaluable, especially for formal occasions.
On the journey she tried to meditate, to connect herself to the earths energies, but the carriage made it impossible and so she gave up, staring out the window to watch the cultivated land change to more barren and rocky terrain.
Ria had been identified early as having a mage gift, probably received from her mother, but as her mother had died giving birth to her, Ria knew she would probably never know, especially as her father would never speak of her mother. And so Ria was trained by her cousin who was highly thought of at court, unfortunately he was not a believer in women practicing magic in any form and deemed her beneath his notice after a handful of lessons, but she managed to gleam the basics off of him and found lessons where she could, enough to lend healers her energy and a few simple magic’s such as a ball of light
As the hours passed, Ria found she hated travel in the carriage more and more especially as she had asked her Father that she be allowed to travel on horseback as the roads were particularly rough at this time of year, the rain having turned them into rivers of mud causing ruts and making travel particularly difficult. But her Father had vetoed the idea telling her that a bride should arrive in style and in a carriage and not like a common hoyden. And so she endured the carriage and the way it had a habit of suddenly throwing her from her seat at the most inopportune moments, which was why she was glad when one of the men told her that they were nearing their journey’s end.
Once again Ria rallied inwardly against her Father’s restrictions and wishing she could put her head out of the window and try and see her destination, but the carriage had thick panelling and brocade curtains covering much of the view, so she had no distraction from the knowledge her destination was near and what it meant for her future. To calm her nerves she concentrated on pulling all the nervous energy inside her and using it cast a dim light inside the carriage so that she could see more clearly to make herself more presentable. She used her brush to get out the knots in her long straight brunette hair and adjust her bodice. She used a canteen of water to wash her hands and face of the travel grime. Ria knew she wasn’t perfect, but after two days of travelling she was as ready as she was going to be to meet the High Lord.
Eventually the carriage came to a halt and the door opened and a squire in the High Lord’s colours assisted her exit from the carriage. It took her eyes a moment to adjust from the dimness of the carriage to the brightness of day light.
Three days ago had been her wedding day, not that the groom had appeared, well not in person. It was well known that the High Lord rarely left his castle except for when his attendance was required at affairs of state, though Ria had expected him to be there at their joining and felt sorely let down. He showed up, but only a simulacrum, a shadow of himself, covered head to toe in a dark blue shimmering robe, like stars in the night sky. When Ria tried to look closer using the little mage sight available to her, she could see arcane symbols and words pulsating and sliding as if hiding from prying eyes and if Ria looked too long a feeling of queasyness came over her, so she had no other choice but to stop. During the ceremony, she felt a tendril of magic encompass her finger, circling it and becoming stronger and warmer and where the magic was concentrated and when it stopped there was a gold wedding ring on her finger, one that would forever proclaim her as the wife of the Mage Lord. Later when she tried, she found that the ring could not be removed.
Ria remembered the first time she’d seen the High Lord several years ago, he’d worn a robe made of the finest material, with fine stitching and a few jewels on it and a large hood that hid his features and each time she’d seen him afterwards he wore a similar robe, so Ria was none the wiser had to what her husband looked like, whether he was handsome or ugly and neither were any others who she questioned regarding his appearance.
Ria’s father was a Lord of an estate to the west of the High Lords castle and helped guard the border there. Her father had said that the High Lord had asked particularly for her hand in marriage, though what interest the High Lord could possibly have in her, Ria had no idea. She knew her father’s land was important as it was all that stood between the Kingdom and raiders from the sea, but she doubted that the High Lord was the kind of man who would worry about keeping her father sweet. All these things she pondered as she had little else to do on her journey, especially as she was the only occupant of the carriage. Ria wished she had her maid with her to keep her company, but Cassa had stayed behind as she was soon to be betrothed and did not want to leave her beloved. Ria could have insisted on her attendance, but had allowed Cassa to leave her service hoping that she would be able to find a hand maid amongst the High Lords servants as there were times when one was invaluable, especially for formal occasions.
On the journey she tried to meditate, to connect herself to the earths energies, but the carriage made it impossible and so she gave up, staring out the window to watch the cultivated land change to more barren and rocky terrain.
Ria had been identified early as having a mage gift, probably received from her mother, but as her mother had died giving birth to her, Ria knew she would probably never know, especially as her father would never speak of her mother. And so Ria was trained by her cousin who was highly thought of at court, unfortunately he was not a believer in women practicing magic in any form and deemed her beneath his notice after a handful of lessons, but she managed to gleam the basics off of him and found lessons where she could, enough to lend healers her energy and a few simple magic’s such as a ball of light
As the hours passed, Ria found she hated travel in the carriage more and more especially as she had asked her Father that she be allowed to travel on horseback as the roads were particularly rough at this time of year, the rain having turned them into rivers of mud causing ruts and making travel particularly difficult. But her Father had vetoed the idea telling her that a bride should arrive in style and in a carriage and not like a common hoyden. And so she endured the carriage and the way it had a habit of suddenly throwing her from her seat at the most inopportune moments, which was why she was glad when one of the men told her that they were nearing their journey’s end.
Once again Ria rallied inwardly against her Father’s restrictions and wishing she could put her head out of the window and try and see her destination, but the carriage had thick panelling and brocade curtains covering much of the view, so she had no distraction from the knowledge her destination was near and what it meant for her future. To calm her nerves she concentrated on pulling all the nervous energy inside her and using it cast a dim light inside the carriage so that she could see more clearly to make herself more presentable. She used her brush to get out the knots in her long straight brunette hair and adjust her bodice. She used a canteen of water to wash her hands and face of the travel grime. Ria knew she wasn’t perfect, but after two days of travelling she was as ready as she was going to be to meet the High Lord.
Eventually the carriage came to a halt and the door opened and a squire in the High Lord’s colours assisted her exit from the carriage. It took her eyes a moment to adjust from the dimness of the carriage to the brightness of day light.