The Birth of Palo II

They say that Grandfather was one of the first Eladrin to use The Bardic Knowledge on such an instrument. They would say when he would play it was like the Devil himself walked into the room. With his white hair flowing over the ivory violin, he carried a voice that could cure doubts and install fears. All that stood before him would fall. All but his daughter, who was said to have stolen the Devils instrument and used it to slay her father.

My mother fell in love with a questionable man named Keys Arraken. He was a killer and a master of deceit but love knows few boundaries. My father was a trained Rouge Assassin born into the questionable Arraken family, a family notorious for royal assassinations in gain for power. When my grandfather learned of their love he banned his daughter from seeing such a man, in his eyes the Arraken family where traitors to his kind and disgraced their Eladrin blood.
It was Grandfathers dream to unite the Eladrin and make Elaria a place where elves would rule for thousands of years. His bloodline is said to go back to primal Feywild and his violin was given to him as the start of an ancient prophecy.

A prophecy that my mother would continue with the murder of her father and the birth of her firstborn son; when Keys took my mother as his concubine he also took a wife and was wed into a strong royal family. As concubine she would be his lover also she would bare his heirs, and first she was ordered to birth a daughter. Her birth would begin the plan of the Arraken family to secure a queen to wed into an opposing royal family. Years of planning for a rouge spy to be used as a beautiful killer to assassinate her king. She felt it was wrong to use a child in such a way but thought she had no choice but to obey.

Once day a voice came to my mother while alone in the courtyard and told her she was to have a son, even if it would lead to her death by her lovers’ hands. She was told that her son would bring peace to the lands of man and would rule all of Elaria for one thousand years; she knew there was nothing she could do to defy this voice so she gave birth to me Palo II named after my grandfather. My father was scorn by my mothers betrayal to him and his family spared her life and exiled me away to be trained as he had been far away in Frontia. It was then my mother sent with me the one thing that would shape my life an ivory violin, no one had been able to play the instrument since grandfathers death and would cause immense pain to the player, it was labeled cursed for ages. No one understood why mother would give such a thing to a child but she was only doing her part of the prophecy and no one need know why.

Growing up being taught the deadly arts of assassination was hard enough but I think it was the even more deadly art of royalty I despised the most. I was a child but already a killer and my skills as a bard amazed my mentors. It was by the song I would play, songs from ancient times, and far away places. Songs of heroes forgotten, and heroes born from battles not yet won. All of this added to the prophetic value of such an instrument, which was feared and so it was ignored. The songs meant nothing to me, that was until one song enslaved my mind. This song was in memory of my mother who was to die during the birth of my sister. I knew I had to warn her for new of her upcoming birth had reached me days ago.

I returned to my mother from exile the morning of my sister’s birth. I told my mother my fears of her death, but she reassured me she would not make the same mistake twice and would give her lover a daughter. This she thought would ensure her safety.

My father Keys and my mothers Birth Maiden were the only ones allowed inside the bedchambers, and by evening I found myself in the courtyard surrounded by plants that resembled those of the Feywild. As my mind raced over trace memories of such a place a voice that was mine but not my own called for me to play a song. The voice begged me to play and once my bow touched strings possession took over my hands and voice. Caught in a melody that sounded eerily like the first cries of a child the words I sang spoke of a faint inside a faint. I knew in that moment what my father had done and he would soon lay dead by her side.

I left the courtyard and followed the cries of my newborn sister Alayah. I ran into the small seitch build for royal births and followed the deep red marble floors without a sound, passing paintings of royal ancestors watching me from the walls. As I came to the room my sister lie crying in, and my mother lie dead inside a fearsome rage bubbled up like hellfire from inside my gut. I drew my crossbow loaded with bolts that I poisoned myself, this poison immobilized its prey before killing them leaving them as a corpse statue.
I recited the litany against fear just as my grandfather once had and steadied my crossbow. The door opened quietly and it seemed surprise was on my side, but I needed Keys to know I delivered revenge. My father turned slowly but approached with speed and deadly persistion, the first crossbow bolt was dodged ever so slightly and shattered the balcony window behind him. The second bolt stuck next to his heart working almost instantly, but not soon enough. Keys blade tip was frozen in my stomach an inch deep it took two steps back before falling on the floor. All was black and Alayah’s cries where fading away into nothing.

I awoke to the sounds of travel and of crying which I knew to be Alayah’s. Soon a woman’s singing soothed the crying and its sweet deliverance calmed even my racing mind. Once Alayah was asleep the robbed woman entered the back of the wagon and set me upright and spoke.
“You’ve been injured dear Prince rest, you and your sister and safe with me. Your mother was wise to pick me as her Birth Maiden”
My mother was a wise woman, and prepared choosing the Birth Maiden that was at her birth and also at the birth of Palo I, and a true believer in the prophecy.
“How is my sister Birth Maiden?”
She smiled and crossed her arms.
“You may call me Iluran, and the true condition of your sister will not be known until her age. The poison used to kill your mother at birth has changed Alayah we will not know until her mind is formed.”
Anger twisted my voice.
“Arraken scum, everyone of them shall meet my blade!”
Iluran took hold of my hands.
“Soon enough my prince, for now we must complete your training.”
“Where are we going?”
Iluran smiled.
“To Frontia, you will learn the ways of you grandfather.”