[Lomenár] Storytime

”Daddy?” Lomenár scrambled into her father’s workroom.
“Daddy?!” she raised her voice a little when her father didn’t turn to her immediately.
“What is it, sweetling?” her father slowly put down the piece he was working on and turned around to pick her up. She wove her arms around his neck and hugged him with all her might.
“Could you tell me a story? Please? I promise I’ll be good and that I won’t scare you anymore… please, daddy?” she pulled back and looked at him with pleading eyes.
Her father smiled softly and ruffled her hair before putting her down.
“I’ll tell you a story. Just let me put away my work first, will you?” Tavnar turned back to his workbench and began storing his tools and materials. Lomenár waited silently by the door, one foot tapping against the floor – the only sign of her impatience.
Once his work was stored away safely Tavnar turned back to his daughter and scooped her up into his arms once more.
“Come on! Let us sit outside in the moonlight. It will make for the perfect backdrop for this story.” Tavnar threw Lomenár into the air and nimbly caught her on her way down. Lomenár giggled in delight and kissed her father’s cheek affectionately.

Once outside Tavnar settled himself with his back against a tree, Lomenár curled up on his lap. He sighed contentedly and leaned back, thinking for a moment.
“Daddy? Daddy?! The story daddy! Come on! I want my story!” Lomenár’s excited voice woke him from his musings and he chuckled silently at his daughter’s enthusiasm.
“Very well then. Have I ever told you about Alanya Forestwhisper?” Tavnar asked, a serious note in his voice.
“Noooo. I like her name though. It is pretty.” Lomenár said, a pleased smile curled her lips. She settled more comfortably on Tavnar’s lap, looking up at him expectantly.
“Very long ago, when the world was still young, there lived a young woman called Alanya Forestwhisper. She was renowned for her exceptional beauty and for her amazing voice. She had a voice that could make stones dance and trees sing. The animals of the forest followed her wherever she went and obeyed her every command because of her singing.” Tavnar paused for a moment, his gaze becoming farseeing, before he continued the story.
“Alanya lived with her mother and father in a small village, not far from the coast. Every morning, at sunup, she’d go down to the shore to sing and dance upon the pearl white sand. Alanya had always had an affinity for the sea, despite her last name being Forestwhisper, and she couldn’t stay away from the water for more than a few days at a time.”

“Then one morning when she was performing her habitual singing and dancing in greeting to the sun she suddenly realized that she wasn’t alone. She whirled around to face the intruder and found herself standing face to face with the most beautiful male she’d ever laid eyes on. His skin was the same colour as the summer sky, and very smooth. His hair was the same colour as the deep ocean and he wore it long and unbound. It tumbled down his back like a waterfall. His eyes glittered like diamonds in the early morning light, and Alanya found herself mesmerized by his beauty. She thought that if the ocean could take the form of a Kaldorei, this is what it would look like.” Tavnar looked down at his daughter and smiled as he took note of her wide eyes and the small mouth turned into an “o” in awe. She was completely and utterly lost within the story.

“For a moment they just stood there, looking at each other. But then the male spoke, and Alanya found herself drowning in the most wonderful sensation – as if she was floating gently upon cresting waves. ‘I have been watching you for some time now…’ he said, taking a step closer. ‘And I have never seen anyone as beautiful and graceful as you. I have never heard anyone sing the way you do, and I have never, in all my years, encountered someone whose voice affects me the way yours does. I want you to take a place at my side and become my Queen.’

Alanya could scarcely believe her ears. This male, this beautiful male with eyes that looked like they’d been touched by starlight, wanted her to become his Queen? It didn’t make any sense, and she told him as much.
‘I have been watching you for years, and during my years of watching I have fallen in love with you. You are the one I would have rule at my side. Please, come with me.’ He pleaded.
But Alanya, confused and wary, couldn’t believe his words to be true.
‘If you, in your heart, love me truly, then you won’t mind performing three small tasks for me.’ She said, thinking hard.
‘Three tasks? I shall perform a thousand if it will make you love me as I love you.’ he answered.
Alanya thought for a moment, before setting her terms.
‘The first task will be to answer all my questions well and true.’
‘No lie shall cross my lips while I answer your questions.’ he promised.
‘The second task will be to give me something that you value above everything else.’
‘For you, anything.’
‘The third task will be to leave me well and truly alone for the span of twelve moons. No spying, no approaching. Nothing.’
‘Why?’ he asked and looked very confused.
‘If you love me, you will do as I ask.’
He sighed heavily but nodded in agreement with her terms.”

“Why did she want him to perform three tasks, Daddy? Why didn’t she want to become his Queen?” Lomenár’s questioning tone of voice broke Tavnar’s concentration, and he looked at her – his expression stern.
“Lomenár, I cannot tell the story if you’re going to be interrupting me along the way. You will get answers to your questions in time.”
“I’m sorry Daddy. I’ll be quiet now. Please, continue the story…”
“Very well… where was I? Oh, right. The three tasks…” Tavnar resettled against the tree and resumed his telling.

“So, the male agreed to her terms and Alanya set about questioning him. ‘Where are you from?’ she asked. Instead of answering in words the male held out a hand, indicating the sea.
‘You’re from the sea? Well and truly?’
‘Yes, I am. I rule the High Seas.’ he answered and smiled at her.
Alanya tried to hide her surprise at this, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Had she not imagined the ocean to look just like this if it ever took on a Kal’dorei form?
‘You can breathe under water?’
‘I can. I am water. I am a part of everything in the sea.’
‘If I am to become your Queen, how am I supposed to be able to breathe under water? I am not made of it, like you…’
In answer he held out a pendant on a chain. The pendant was made of some sort of crystal and shaped like a teardrop.
‘This pendant is spelled to allow its wearer underwater breathing. Take it, it is yours now.’
Alanya accepted the gift and inspected it carefully before slipping the chain over her head. The pendant settled against the base of her throat, a comforting weight. If she listened carefully she could almost hear the sound of his voice, softly murmuring, coming from the crystal.
‘What is your name?’ she proceeded to ask him.
‘I have no name, yet at the same time I have many.’
‘Then what should I call you?’
‘I would be honoured by any name you would choose to give me.’ he said and bowed his head.
‘Then I shall call you Aluin.’

Alanya continued to ask questions and Aluin answered. They talked all day and all night, and when the first light of dawn could be seen in the sky Alanya finally ran out of questions. She bid Aluin farewell with a short embrace and an even shorter kiss. He in turn presented her with a plain wooden box.
‘In this box lies my heart. It is the thing I prize above everything, and I will leave it in your safe keeping. May it give you comfort and solace during the upcoming moons.’ He then proceeded to kiss her hand, wade into the water and vanish.”

Tavnar stopped his telling and looked at Lomenár. She was trying very hard not to yawn, and she blinked a few times in rapid succession. He gently caressed her hair and sighed.
“Daddy? Is the story over? It can’t end there!”
“You’re dead on your feet, sweetling. If you’re a nice little girl and head to bed now, I promise I’ll tell the rest of the story tomorrow.”
“But… daddy… it is such a long time until tomorrow…”
“Once you fall asleep you won’t notice. Come on now, my darling. It is almost dawn. We both need to rest.”
He scooped her up into his arms and carried her into the house. Lomenár rested her head against his shoulder, yawned sleepily and was fast asleep in a matter of minutes.