#sulahn;

[deathsreflection]

Saudade (Portuguese): The feeling of longing for something or someone that you love and which is lost.

45 beautiful untranslatable words prompt list | @theharellan

So little history remains of the fall of Arlathan; of what became of a world bereft of its gods. There are legends, myths, and the speculation of scholars... but they do not speak of her; the faint wisps of truth carried on uncertain tides through the ages have not clung to her name, and so she has passed into forgotten silence.

Does the Fade still carry your song?

The grass beneath his feet is cold with rain, and the wind tugs furiously at his cloak. Erenan rests one gloved hand on a tree so as to not be blown aside: aptly named is the Storm Coast, and well-pleased is he to be here once more. Often, the persistent tempest which batters these shores brings him a measure of peace. Today, however, his mind churns like the angry grey seas themselves, turning over memories like empty shells on the shore, stripped bare of what once made them vital.

He remembers her as she was - Falon’Din was his shadow, or so the talespinners said, yet it was Sulahn who was ever at his back, attuned to his wishes. How seldom he had to order her! She knew him better than any, save his twin.

If he dreams here, closes his eyes, will he hear the faint strains of an ancient song?

That he took her for granted is without question. That he assumed without question there would never be a day she would not be found a step behind him, awaiting the slightest nod of his head to indicate his desires - that he never dared prepare for a day when she might be gone - is now made painfully clear to him, as though finding himself suddenly bereft of a limb.

What became of her?

Where is she now?

It seems impossible that she might be - must be - gone, devoured by the ages.

Erenan’s fists curl into the sleeves of his robe, and he tries to shut out his mind, to hear only the pounding rain in the leaves overhead... but on the wind, perhaps, if he listens close enough, if he strains past the years and the thrice-accursed Veil... perhaps he might hear her sing once more.

Did you sing after I was gone, Sulahn? Did you sing still when my silence became absolute?

[deathsreflection]

meta on the twins' history with Sulahn

send me a topic to write a meta about my muse on

Sulahn is a central figure in Dirthamen’s life from early childhood: she was betrothed to him in infancy, in the hopes of binding her family’s clan under Mythal’s command. They were not necessarily close early on; neither of them resented the betrothal, necessarily, though even early in their relationship they knew they’d need to find a way out of it. Sulahn regarded Renan as something of a curiosity, more than a person in his own right - that is, until he found Athim, and began to blossom into someone with purpose. Suddenly he had a focus for his intensity, his observational skills, and perhaps most importantly, his affection. And Sulahn wasn’t jealous of Athim - quite the opposite, in fact. She was delighted to see the effect he had on Renan.

When the twins left their parents, Sulahn remained behind only for a short while before following in their wake, eager to see what they’d build on their own. The answer was an army of spies, with her at the head, under Dirthamen’s command. Though she stands more or less as an equal to Dirthamen prior to this, she has no qualms with becoming a pawn to him; she’s intrigued to know what the twins mean to accomplish, and being the spymaster’s spymaster places her in an enviable position.

Though she’s closer to Dirthamen because they work closely together, Sulahn nevertheless holds a deep well of fondness for Falon’Din, and regards him with a good deal more warmth than perhaps his cruelty and warmongering deserve. She, like Dirthamen, never forgets the child he once was, though she admittedly no longer knows that child is still at Falon’Din’s core. She sees what he has become, not the weaknesses and cracks inherent in the armor Dirthamen has helped him build.