How do you define love? The stones say it comes unexpected.
Character: Knight-Master Malhavvian "Havoc" Silvergrin
Mother and Father would have told you that love is something that happens to a married couple somewhere along the way if they're fortunate. I took that at face value for most of my life. As prime heir I would be married based on what was most advantageous to the House. Of course I had every confidence that they wouldn't betroth me to a disagreeable or uncomely girl, or one with whom I turned out to share a singular dislike; but the fact of the matter is that whether or not my fiancée and I were especially fond of each other prior to our marriage was inconsequential.
To be certain, the majority of the married couples I knew growing up - Mother and Father included - did seem to enjoy each other's company most of the time, or at least able to tolerate it for the sake of their respective families. Divorce might not have been unusual throughout Quel'thalas at large but among the elite of Quel'Danas, it was just bad business.
After the Third War claimed House Silvergrin to the last, save myself, I knew it would be even more important than ever to find a suitable wife to continue my line. Not only that but I would be on my own in finding, judging, and courting her, Light save me.
As Fate would have it I fell in love well before I married. It took me a long time to figure out what had happened. We were best friends, and I found I cared about my friend greatly...more and more as time went by.
There came a day that I found that I wished more than anything to hold my priest's hand and to kiss my friend's lips. Confusing. We were only friends- even if we were terribly close (too close, the walls said, it was wrong improper too close they'll fall through if the warrant comes, yes? yes? you know this is true, your bones say it too). My friend had an infectious smile, a kind heart, a fiery personality I couldn't help but admire, and that priestling would have denied it up and down but there was a strength there, the indomitable will of a survivor, that inspired me day in and day out.
The thought of my priest's lover being abusive or manipulative made me see red. I wanted to run him through and raise him from the dead and kill him all over again (watch the pain in his eyes tear him open with my bare hands this blade is hungry for the blood of the unclean, UNCLEAN heathen mirrored Hellspawn in the shadows under his EYES) for harming my Hope.
I sold my soul to the Blood Knight order to become strong enough to protect my priest. There are so many forces in the world that would tear us apart and I must remain vigilant; my shield must be steady; my sword must strike true. I would do more than lay down my life: I would charge into the maw of Death itself to keep my beloved safe from harm.
And that was just it, wasn't it? Love. It couldn't be anything else. It didn't matter that my friend was common. There was no one left to be scandalised if I married well below my means. I think, to be honest, my House would have taken that harder than the fact that I married another man. It didn't matter to me. He's my best friend. My priest. My Hope. When Quel'Danas is safe again we'll reclaim my family estate, get it into working order, and I'll give him a life befitting a Silvergrin. We could probably do that now.
But he prefers our tiny flat in Murder Row, close to his clinic; and the fact that it pleases him makes me content.
Love, I think, is something that just happens along the way if you're fortunate. It's more than a perk to a politically advantageous marriage, though, I know that now. It's so much more, but so very simple: in the end all that really matters is that he's safe and happy.
(( cross-posted from http://community.livejournal.com/wyrmrest_temple/10804.html ))
Mother and Father would have told you that love is something that happens to a married couple somewhere along the way if they're fortunate. I took that at face value for most of my life. As prime heir I would be married based on what was most advantageous to the House. Of course I had every confidence that they wouldn't betroth me to a disagreeable or uncomely girl, or one with whom I turned out to share a singular dislike; but the fact of the matter is that whether or not my fiancée and I were especially fond of each other prior to our marriage was inconsequential.
To be certain, the majority of the married couples I knew growing up - Mother and Father included - did seem to enjoy each other's company most of the time, or at least able to tolerate it for the sake of their respective families. Divorce might not have been unusual throughout Quel'thalas at large but among the elite of Quel'Danas, it was just bad business.
After the Third War claimed House Silvergrin to the last, save myself, I knew it would be even more important than ever to find a suitable wife to continue my line. Not only that but I would be on my own in finding, judging, and courting her, Light save me.
As Fate would have it I fell in love well before I married. It took me a long time to figure out what had happened. We were best friends, and I found I cared about my friend greatly...more and more as time went by.
There came a day that I found that I wished more than anything to hold my priest's hand and to kiss my friend's lips. Confusing. We were only friends- even if we were terribly close (too close, the walls said, it was wrong improper too close they'll fall through if the warrant comes, yes? yes? you know this is true, your bones say it too). My friend had an infectious smile, a kind heart, a fiery personality I couldn't help but admire, and that priestling would have denied it up and down but there was a strength there, the indomitable will of a survivor, that inspired me day in and day out.
The thought of my priest's lover being abusive or manipulative made me see red. I wanted to run him through and raise him from the dead and kill him all over again (watch the pain in his eyes tear him open with my bare hands this blade is hungry for the blood of the unclean, UNCLEAN heathen mirrored Hellspawn in the shadows under his EYES) for harming my Hope.
I sold my soul to the Blood Knight order to become strong enough to protect my priest. There are so many forces in the world that would tear us apart and I must remain vigilant; my shield must be steady; my sword must strike true. I would do more than lay down my life: I would charge into the maw of Death itself to keep my beloved safe from harm.
And that was just it, wasn't it? Love. It couldn't be anything else. It didn't matter that my friend was common. There was no one left to be scandalised if I married well below my means. I think, to be honest, my House would have taken that harder than the fact that I married another man. It didn't matter to me. He's my best friend. My priest. My Hope. When Quel'Danas is safe again we'll reclaim my family estate, get it into working order, and I'll give him a life befitting a Silvergrin. We could probably do that now.
But he prefers our tiny flat in Murder Row, close to his clinic; and the fact that it pleases him makes me content.
Love, I think, is something that just happens along the way if you're fortunate. It's more than a perk to a politically advantageous marriage, though, I know that now. It's so much more, but so very simple: in the end all that really matters is that he's safe and happy.
(( cross-posted from http://community.livejournal.com/wyrmrest_temple/10804.html ))