 The path leading up to the courtyard meanders through the Drulian Forests. |
There are experiences that shape our lives, individuals that touch us in ways that we only come to understand long after they are gone. Some experiences forge us into a path of wisdom and power. They say that a blade can’t be forged and fully tested until it has gone through the fire and survived. This place is a living tribute to a legacy of fire and reshaping the life of one woman and the lives of many others. Those that chose to follow in the footsteps of the old warrior had a hard road a head of blows, detachment, and burning in that forging of his own hands. Some individuals and experiences, force us to look at our own weaknesses and fears. We might appreciate it then, but later on we might realize that if we had not been tested, pushed to look at our own self, we might never had survived the rough hands that life and fate deal out constantly. This place is a living tribute to that.
There is a courtyard that is haunted with strong past memories. Its walls hold many secrets and memories. If you listen close enough on moonless nights, you can almost hear the soft whispers of a deep male baritone voice, even the clash of steel, the pounding beat of horse hooves, and the scents of spilled blood and battle sweat. It is ancient and out time, the Creel Courtyard.
Upon death, with no heirs, Menion Creel left what little possessions he had to his last pupil, Si’annae. They were not lavish gifts or wealth but a crumbling courtyard, manor now more rubble than anything and what was left of his financial wealth. They shared a very special type of unspoken love; however, Menion being a man who followed the old codes of honor and conduct never acted on his emotions. He honed raw fighting skills and raw emotions into discipline. Despite his feelings, the mentor was never easy or forgiven with his favorite pupil. She was dealt hard blows with the bite of his own blade more than once. Menion left a long legacy many sought and were trained under him. Reprimanded with harsh words for shortcomings. The mentor was a hard taskmaster who expected excellence in his pupils. Drake Shasta Stone was also one of his pupils. They did not see eye to eye often, the old man who followed the ancient code of honor and the rebellious rogue who thirsted for power.
Menion faded into the pages of history and myth succumbing to a rare malaise. He did not accept the Goddess plea to save him. His heart and soul were weary from having lived for so many centuries serving a crumbling empire. He felt his life complete; thus, she watched him fade. However, before he slipped into the final embrace of death to pass into the next life, he granted her one final token. The Goddess took from her mentor, friend, and confidant the gift of life. There had never any physical union between the pupil and the mentor, so this gift was conceived using the Song of Life’s Call outside in the cosmic womb of the universe. However, these were dangerous times not just for family but the Goddess. Something had taken notice and interest in the unborn. It interfered poisoning the process that would have rendered the unborn free of the malaise in revenge against Menion for having honed the young, Si’annae’s raw emotions and raw skills into a polished diamond. Menion taught the young woman who to shut off emotions during the heat of combat and how to think in a cold calculating manner. Lessons forged through sweat, blood, and pain at his very hands honed her, making her more dangerous to foes of the empire.
Being one who does not give up, having seen the death of so many of her children, Si’annae fought tooth and nail until the other was brought down and devoured. The unborn was saved through grace and quick thinking. He is suspended out of time and is slowly being reconfigured to be reborn as pure Imajian. The rest will be determined by unborn’s mind if he chooses to follow the lineage that will now purify it’s essence.
One day, m’haps this gift, his namesake will awaken from slumber to gaze upon the eyes of its own mother. For now the little one slumbers still, his tiny body fighting off the very malaise that destroyed his namesake. Menion had paid a very high price to become immortal under the hand of another empire. While the transformation granted an unnatural long life, it in the end brought the malaise. Had’arniel, means Divine’s Grandeur, slumbers the dream of the untroubled innocent. When his body is strong enough, he will awaken and follow his life’s path. Had’arniel’s name has been struck out of the celestial annals as a safe guard. His where abuts are only known to his mother. None of the family knows of this child’s existence.
Then upon his death, Si’annae conjured up powerful forces in to serve her own needs. There was no use in leaving the legacy in a realm that had seen past glories and was now dying; thus, the entire courtyard with the crumbling manor and domain were uprooted and replanted not far from the Stonehaven Fortress in the Imaji Realm.
High flat-ridged monolithic gray stone walls encompass the courtyard. Rich dark emerald green moss has found home among the niches and cracks in the masonry of the walls. Ivy has found a footing in some of the walls. While some small wild flowers, to some they might consider these weeds, have thrived among the cracks of the flagon stone floor. It is a very stoic and simple place with no lavish architectural ornamentation. A large stone marble fountain sits in the middle of this otherwise desolate place. It is in need of repair for it has a few cracks and chips along the rim; however, it still murmurs spouting water. In some places the forests has engulfed this place, so that it seems the courtyard is part of the forests that now circle it.
A doorway made from the same marble as the fountain stands in the Far Western wall of the courtyard. This is the mausoleum. Upon his death, Si’annae took it upon herself to give him burial. Not having time to consult on the customs of his homeland and with worry of spreading the malaise, she followed the ways of many people who honor warriors. A large funeral pyre of wood was built, his body washed and tended to with up most care. After saying a few prayers to guide his soul to rejoin his ancestors, the archers dipped their arrows into the fire. With his upraised blade, she shouted his name into glory. The arrows were released and found home. They stood watch until the hungry flames consumed him. Later, his ashes were collected and placed in a warded obsidian urn. His blade is to pass on to unborn.
You will find no benches to sit upon this courtyard, just the murmuring fountain and the door. This is a tribute to a legacy. This is where the Matriarch of the Stonehaven Fortress comes to reflect, think, mediate, and continue improving her fighting and analytical skills. The game of combat is not all about bronze, it is also about being cunning, calculating, intelligence, and knowing one’s foe well. These are lessons the Matriarch learned well from Menion Creel. May the Goddess keep his soul in her embrace.
Contents found throughout this web site of the Stonehaven Keep, the Ascension Conclave, the Imaji Realm (Realm of the Imaji), the Impa'wixay, the Shi'aarae, and all related material are the intellectual property of Grizell E. Blessing B. (GEBB) and are protected under international copyright law. This material may not be reproduce under any condition without permission from the author, © 1990 - 2002. Concept of Menion Creel and the Creel Courtyard are copyrighted to its proper author. Midi is entitled Despair and is copyrighted to Night Angel Productions - Original Music.
