Scandal in Lordaeron - Part II
No thunderclaps or revelations accompanied the birth of Lord Aurefion's child; it was, if not an easy birth, an average one. Ilfirin waited with Victor for the child to be presented; the two men did not speak. Still seemingly confident of his innocence, the paladin waited patiently; Aranel's husband, on the other hand, paced the floor, occasionally shooting angry glares at the younger man. Still suspicious, the imminent arrival of his (possible) offspring had raised all the doubts he'd been feeling... and the proximity of the man who had-- emotionally, if not literally-- cuckolded him, was torturous.
Eventually, after the interminable waiting, the midwife's apprentice brought out the babe, wrapped in the clean, monogrammed blanket Lord Aurefion had provided. The new father surveyed the girl, searching in her eyes for some hint of himself, or of the paladin. However, being a newborn she bore no resemblance to either man.
Ilfirin again professed his innocence; the only warmth he felt for the child was based on his love for her mother. He declined to hold her, insisting that Lord Aurefion was, in fact, her father, and as such he wouldn't dare take her from him. He asked after Aranel; was told that she was weak, but stable. On that note, he offered his congratulations to the lord, his best wishes to the lady, and left.
After some thought, Victor chose to name his daughter "child of Fate;" seeing her questionable paternity as a matter that could not be divined. And so it was that Amarthiel Aurefion came into this world, mistrusted by her father, something of an embarassment to the family because of the mystery of her birth.
As the child grew, it became clear that she resembled her mother very strongly; the same soft, dark features developed in the girl, with no trace of either man. In time, perhaps only from familiarity, Victor became convinced that she did, indeed, resemble him; grudgingly, he gave his permission for his wife to visit with Ilfirin. This, however, reawoke rumors about the lady and her knight.
Amarthiel, doted on by her father at first, soon caught his dislike for the paladin. She found Victor much less affectionate as soon as Snowsong came back into her mother's life and, being but an infant, she took an irrational dislike to him. In spite of his renewed suspicions-- or perhaps because of them, as a result of his possessiveness-- Victor decided that his daughter was indeed worthy to carry the Aurefion name.
By the time Amarthiel was three, the constant rumors about the affair between Ilfirin and Aranel- and the whispered questions about the girl's parentage- became too much for Victor to handle. Giving his title and estate to a distant cousin, he took Aranel and their young daughter south, leaving Lordaeron in favor of the small, insignificant town of Lakeshire... Far from the stares and whispers, far from rumors of scandal.
Aranel, shaken by her husband's decision to move, and tormented by the loss of Ilfirin, turned to the Light for comfort; it could not replace her Paladin love, but it gave her strength. From an early age, Amarthiel was pushed by her mother to enter the priesthood- a fact that contributed to her growing distaste for the Light itself. It is possible that Aranel's insistence upon her devotion was meant as a jab at her husband; an expression of her indignation of having been taken from her home, her friends, and of course, Ilfirin, in spite of the fact that she'd remained faithful to him. Whatever the cause, Amarthiel and her father began to distance themself from Aranel, unable to stomach her newfound religious zeal.
Life in Lakeshire, surprisingly, suited Victor quite well. The Aurefions kept a small farm, and the former Lord found he enjoyed the management of such a small and productive estate much better than the ultimately meaningless activity of the city. The farm was not successful enough to restore the family's former wealth, but it allowed them to live more or less comfortably.
Perhaps to spite her mother's intentions, Amarthiel was an athletic youth. She was something of a lone wolf from early on; Aranel's devotion won no small share of mockery from the rest of Lakeshire, and the other children thus tended to avoid the Aurefion household. Amarthiel, already somewhat jaded by the instability of her brief life, hardened to it, and didn't go out of her way to win their trust. She kept largely to herself, quietly accepting any attention she won, but not seeking much.
One of Victor's last holdovers of noble behavior was his desire to spoil his child; she was largely free to do as she pleased, having few chores or responsibilities on the farm. What little work Amarthiel did tend to be in the stables; from an early age she was fascinated by even the tired old plow-horses Victor bought along with the farm. By the age of ten, she was a regular assistant to the stablehands, and even when nothing needed to be done, could often be found hanging around the equine members of the family. Her interest encouraged her father to buy several more horses, perhps the base stock to begin breeding them for sale, as the farm began to turn a profit; as a start, he gifted her with a stallion of her own, a fine black steed, a suitable mount for a young noble girl. To his vague dismay, Amarthiel proved to be something of a wild rider... and the energetic horse was happy to play along. She vanished from the stables, spending all her time riding, racing through the woods and only occasionally showing up for meals and sleep.
Eventually, after the interminable waiting, the midwife's apprentice brought out the babe, wrapped in the clean, monogrammed blanket Lord Aurefion had provided. The new father surveyed the girl, searching in her eyes for some hint of himself, or of the paladin. However, being a newborn she bore no resemblance to either man.
Ilfirin again professed his innocence; the only warmth he felt for the child was based on his love for her mother. He declined to hold her, insisting that Lord Aurefion was, in fact, her father, and as such he wouldn't dare take her from him. He asked after Aranel; was told that she was weak, but stable. On that note, he offered his congratulations to the lord, his best wishes to the lady, and left.
After some thought, Victor chose to name his daughter "child of Fate;" seeing her questionable paternity as a matter that could not be divined. And so it was that Amarthiel Aurefion came into this world, mistrusted by her father, something of an embarassment to the family because of the mystery of her birth.
As the child grew, it became clear that she resembled her mother very strongly; the same soft, dark features developed in the girl, with no trace of either man. In time, perhaps only from familiarity, Victor became convinced that she did, indeed, resemble him; grudgingly, he gave his permission for his wife to visit with Ilfirin. This, however, reawoke rumors about the lady and her knight.
Amarthiel, doted on by her father at first, soon caught his dislike for the paladin. She found Victor much less affectionate as soon as Snowsong came back into her mother's life and, being but an infant, she took an irrational dislike to him. In spite of his renewed suspicions-- or perhaps because of them, as a result of his possessiveness-- Victor decided that his daughter was indeed worthy to carry the Aurefion name.
By the time Amarthiel was three, the constant rumors about the affair between Ilfirin and Aranel- and the whispered questions about the girl's parentage- became too much for Victor to handle. Giving his title and estate to a distant cousin, he took Aranel and their young daughter south, leaving Lordaeron in favor of the small, insignificant town of Lakeshire... Far from the stares and whispers, far from rumors of scandal.
Aranel, shaken by her husband's decision to move, and tormented by the loss of Ilfirin, turned to the Light for comfort; it could not replace her Paladin love, but it gave her strength. From an early age, Amarthiel was pushed by her mother to enter the priesthood- a fact that contributed to her growing distaste for the Light itself. It is possible that Aranel's insistence upon her devotion was meant as a jab at her husband; an expression of her indignation of having been taken from her home, her friends, and of course, Ilfirin, in spite of the fact that she'd remained faithful to him. Whatever the cause, Amarthiel and her father began to distance themself from Aranel, unable to stomach her newfound religious zeal.
Life in Lakeshire, surprisingly, suited Victor quite well. The Aurefions kept a small farm, and the former Lord found he enjoyed the management of such a small and productive estate much better than the ultimately meaningless activity of the city. The farm was not successful enough to restore the family's former wealth, but it allowed them to live more or less comfortably.
Perhaps to spite her mother's intentions, Amarthiel was an athletic youth. She was something of a lone wolf from early on; Aranel's devotion won no small share of mockery from the rest of Lakeshire, and the other children thus tended to avoid the Aurefion household. Amarthiel, already somewhat jaded by the instability of her brief life, hardened to it, and didn't go out of her way to win their trust. She kept largely to herself, quietly accepting any attention she won, but not seeking much.
One of Victor's last holdovers of noble behavior was his desire to spoil his child; she was largely free to do as she pleased, having few chores or responsibilities on the farm. What little work Amarthiel did tend to be in the stables; from an early age she was fascinated by even the tired old plow-horses Victor bought along with the farm. By the age of ten, she was a regular assistant to the stablehands, and even when nothing needed to be done, could often be found hanging around the equine members of the family. Her interest encouraged her father to buy several more horses, perhps the base stock to begin breeding them for sale, as the farm began to turn a profit; as a start, he gifted her with a stallion of her own, a fine black steed, a suitable mount for a young noble girl. To his vague dismay, Amarthiel proved to be something of a wild rider... and the energetic horse was happy to play along. She vanished from the stables, spending all her time riding, racing through the woods and only occasionally showing up for meals and sleep.