Story name: Picking up the Pieces
Author: Raven Blackmane
Publication date: December 30, 2007
Date: January 10, 707 CR
Location: Metamor Keep
Overview
Though Daria hin'Leon is still injured and grieving for her lost father, Garulf helps her out of the infirmary to reunite with her friends, to accept a commission for one of the Knights of the Red Stallion, and to come to terms with her father's death.
Summary
Part 1
It is January 10, 707 CR. From the infirmary, Daria still grieves for her father, Leon hin'Gallad, who died in the Winter Assault. Her health has improved enough for her to use crutches, though she still feels useless. Her friends Starling and Garulf arrive to cheer her up and get her out of the infirmary. Wearing a back and knee braces under her garments, she heads to the battlements, needing Garulf's help to climb the stairs.
From the balcony, Daria leans against Garulf and surveys the damage. She smells burning bodies. Although the Lightbringer custom is to cremate the bodies within three days of death, Garulf explains that with so many deceased Lightbringers and Patildor to identify and separate, they are still holding cremation ceremonies. The enemy soldiers, meanwhile, are being burned in a mass grave east of the Keep.
They move on, but Daria cannot stop from remembering her father, and nearly buckles. She forces herself upright, and Garulf leads her to where his comrades are breaking for lunch.
Part 2
Daria descends to the torn, and is horrified by the damage done to Metamor Town. She continues down the stairs with Garulf's assistance. She finds herself attracted to Garulf's masculinity, which deeply unsettles her. She keeps her distance from him as she continues to a campfire, surrounded by her friends and comrades from the Assault.
Jack deMule greets her, and introduces her to a Knight of the Red Stallion, Dame Reina DeLaroque. He also gives her a sealed scroll from the Duke, appointing her as squire to Reina DeLaroque. Reina accepts; seeing her exhaustion, she offers to lead Daria back to her room. Daria first thanks Garulf for his help. Garulf is disappointed, and Daria apologizes, hoping not to lose their friendship. Garulf agrees.
Along the way, Reina discusses Daria's feats during the Assault. She offers to teach Daria's team some skirmishing tactics, or "otrinca" as it is called. She also reminisces about her time serving with Daria's father and grandfather, to Daria's surprise. Daria avoids discussions about romance and her gender, asking that Reina not mention it now.
They arrive at the obelisk that Kyia erected for the victims of the Winter Assault. A team of engravers is slowly carving names into it, one of whom prays after every name. Daria asks him to pray for Leon hin'Gallad when he reaches it. As they leave, Reina mentions that grief must not be lived in but set aside to honor and remember as needed. Daria hurries back and asks when her father will join the pyre. Reina steps in to say early tomorrow morning. Daria asks that she be awoken to attend it with her funeral robes and mother's prayer book.
Garulf arrives the next day as requested, who helps her get dressed and takes her to a carriage with her mother, Merai's parents, Starling, and Reina. They ride to the funeral pyres, where Raven and Merai give each body a eulogy, accompanied by a hooded marten morph who prays to Nocturna for them. Among the new batch of bodies, Merai eulogizes Leon hin'Gallad. Daria and Merai share a teary-eyed smile. The pyre is lighted, and the hooded man says a prayer to Nocturna, while Daria whispers goodbye. After the funeral, Merai gives them some of his ashes to scatter. Daria returns to the carriage, promising to live up to her father's wishes and become a knight.
Characters
Main characters:
- Daria: A young female gendermorph who dreams of becoming a knight. She is grieving for her father, recovering from her injuries in the Assault, and still struggling with her gender dysphoria and her feelings towards Garulf. She becomes Reina DeLaroque's squire on January 10, 707 CR.
- The "protective braces" she is given consist of a corset-like garment and two smaller garments for her knees. Both have stiff light-weight rods (possibly whalebone) and drawstrings to lace them up. The rods discourage side-to-side movement but permit front-and-back movement.
- Over these braces, she wears knit leggings, baggy trousers, a red tunic, a cloak, socks, and boots. Daria is still debating whether to switch to dresses for the summer.
Supporting characters:
- Garulf: A young black bear morph, Daria's close friend, training to be a guard. He is noticeably attracted to Daria, although she is not ready to reciprocate.
- Currently, he is on the repair crews under DeMule.
- He is months away from his 15th birthday.
- Reina DeLaroque: A female gendermorph, a Knight of the Red Stallion. Daria is appointed as her squire, and she quickly takes a liking to her.
- She is described as tall and beautiful with blonde hair. She has a rich contralto voice. Her voice has a Lantonois accent. She describes herself as twice as old as she looks, thanks to the curse.
- As a younger man, he served under Gallad in a light cavalry company in the South Midlands. They used stealth and surprise, rather than raw strength.
- She is the aunt of Leon hin'Gallad (and uncle before the curse). Given she served under Leon's father, this probably means her sister was Leon's mother. She is not mentioned, however, as one of his surviving family members.
Minor characters:
- Caitlyn: A child morph, Daria's mother, one of Coe's assistants. Mentioned in part 1, appears in part 2.
- Merai: A cat morph, a priestess of Metamor, Daria's friend. Mentioned in part 1, appears in part 2.
- Dana: A male gendermorph, Merai's birth-mother. Mentioned in part 1, appears in part 2.
- Starling: A dragonette, a friend of Daria's.
- Jack deMule: A donkey morph, the Keep castellan, who trains the Keep guards. Mentioned in part 1, appears in part 2 to introduce Reina and deliver a .
- Raven: A wolf morph, the Lightbringer priestess. Mentioned in part 1, appears in part 2.
- She was granted special leniency for not burning the bodies at the proper time, being told to at least keep the bodies protected and cold until they can be burned.
Cameo:
- Alexandra: A female gendermorph, Merai's birth-father. Mentioned in part 1, appears in part 2.
- David Restamar: An ant morph. Appears in part 2.
- Bradfox: A male gendermorph. Appears in part 2.
- Brennar: A cat morph, the baker's apprentice. Appears in part 2.
- Shamgar: A rhino morph. Appears in part 2.
- Kwanzaa: A shrew morph (though called a hedgehog morph here), who defeated Rickkter in combat last summer.
- A young badger engraver. He prays as he carves the names of the deceased into the obelisk. He appears in part 2.
- Malger Sutt: A pine marten morph, a follower of Nocturna. He prays on Nocturna's behalf at the funeral. He is unnamed here, but Daria recognizes his emblem.
- He wears blue robes trimmed with silver, with a cowl that hides his face. He wears an emblem of Nocturna around his neck, a silver crescent moon. He plays the flute softly as the priestesses speak.
Important mention:
- Leon hin'Gallad: A lion morph, Daria's father, died in the Winter Assault. His funeral and eulogy are shown here.
- He was on guard on the Keep walls when the Assault started, and it is presumed he was one of the first to die.
- Duke Thomas: The ruler of Metamor Keep.
- Gallad: Leon hin'Gallad's father. He lived in Lanton and was Reina's commander there. After Lanton began to prosecute Lightbringers, Gallad left for Metamor with any willing followers, including Reina.
- [[[summary:Nocturna: The Daedra of dreams and omens. Ruler of the First Hell, which awaits all the virtuous Lothanasi after death.
Referenced:
- Nasoj. Mentioned in part 1.
- Coe. The healer of Metamor.
- Bryan: An inventor. Mentioned in part 1.
- Kyia: The spirit nymph of Metamor. Known for her ability to move the Keep's passageways at will, and as the erector of the obelisk.
- Rickkter: A raccoon morph, famous for his combat ability. Mentioned in part 2.
- Valerie ard'Shanna: A knight in the Order of the Red Stallion, who died in the Winter Assault. Daria was to have been her squire.
- Kayla: A skunk morph, who inspired Daria with "otrinca" warfare in the Assault. Mentioned in part 2.
- Etienne Grenier: Current ruler of Lanton, an Ecclesian fanatic. Mentioned in part 2.
- Reina's husband, a male gendermorph, young enough to be Reina's grandson. Mentioned in part 2 as a "handsome young man".
- A butcher. He died in the Winter Assault, in the battle of the barracks. Mentioned in part 2.
Places
- Battlements lay atop the stone walls that encircle the whole town of Metamor. One typical semi-circular balcony has two stone benches against the 4-foot-high barricade wall.
- The palace wing of the Inner Keep also contains the ducal gardens.
- The northwest corner of the lower ward is completely devastated. Every house has had its roof, windows, and doorframes shattered. According to Garulf, most of the town has had similar damage, except for the larger stone buildings and certain areas of the southeast corner of the lower ward.
Chronology
- In Reina's youth, Lanton was welcoming to Lothanasi and the aedra.
- January 2, 707: Thomas signs an order for Daria to become Reina DeLaroque's squire.
- January 10, 707: The bulk of the story happens here. Daria explores outside her infirmary and is appointed to be Reina's squire.
- January 11, 707: Daria attends her father's funeral.
Society
- Lothanasi tradition is to burn their dead within 3 days of death, lest they rot or be turned undead by the daedra. Failing to do so is considered defiance to the gods, and a bad omen. Traditionalists despise the Patildor practice of burying their dead, and misunderstand resurrection as reanimation.
- The pyres used for the Lothanasi are west from the Keep, and are made from 10-foot-high scaffolds, burning 20-30 at a time. Bodies are placed on wooden biers and draped with blue and white shrouds. With long poles the biers are inserted onto the scaffold, where they are doused with oil while wood and thatch are stacked below. After the bodies are burned, surviving family members are given a bag of their ashes to spread across the Sea of Souls.
- The cremation pits used for Nasoj's allies in the Assault are east of the Keep. The first bodies were covered in pitch and lit by dragons; more bodies are added as each one is burned. Lutins burn easily thanks to their oily body fat.
- The priests at the funerals wear their usual white garments, while laypeople wear dark blue (and white) funeral robes.
- The Knights of the Red Stallion are an order of knights of Metamor; Duke Thomas is their Grand Master. Unlike other knights, Knights of the Red Stallion are permitted to work and train alongside non-knights.
- The population of Metamor is given as 5000.
- More than 1000 people from Metamor died in the Assault, not including people from Euper or elsewhere.
- Teams of 8-20 are working throughout the Metamor ruins to salvage valuables and raw materials.
Story Connections
- The spire raised by Kyia first appeared in the epilogue of The Winter Assault, which also mentioned Thomas's speech.
| The Winter Assault | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assault | Winter's First Chill · The Winter Assault | |
| Post-Assault | O'Kane | Counter-Strike · Deeper Wounds · Burying a Friend · Choices · Four Times the Charm · Whispers of the Lost and Found · The Prize · Picking up the Pieces |
| Raven | Picking up the Pieces · A Pawn Advances · Misericardia · Koinonia | |
| Matthias | Wagging Tongues Will | |
