Franz Lohner’s Chronicle – The Pale Queen

An absent-minded man of mysteries, Franz Lohner relies on his bulging journal to keep track of occurrences, intrigues and arguments around Taal's Horn Keep. Sometimes his notes are even useful, believe it or not. The Franz Lohner Chronicles are extracts from that journal.

It’s fair to say that Kerillian hasn’t been that chatty of late, even by her low standards, so it was something of a surprise when she stole into the main hall last night and made a play of warming herself by the fire. A clear invitation for a bit of a natter, if ever there was one.

I’m not saying she opened up all at once. No. Like always, she had an array of back-handed compliments and not-quite-threats ready and levelled, but you don’t last long in a life like mine without nurturing a thick skin, oh no. And humanitarian that I am (Olesya calls it ‘prying’, but she’s one to talk) I wasn’t about to leave Kerillian to whatever was eating her up. Last time I did that…? Well, let’s just say Saltzpyre nearly lost his eye the next day, following his own attempt at enquiry. He’s half-blind in more ways than one, which ain’t handy when it comes to reading the signs. Not sure who landed the first blow, but Sienna and Kruber had to separate them sharpish.

Anyway, after a while, Kerillian stopped her ‘leave me to be morose in peace’ act, and started talking. 

Seems one of the goddesses she upped and dedicated herself to in the summer was one Ereth Khial. The Pale Queen, she’s called, and with good reason, what with her taking up residence in a black pit full of stolen elf-souls. Stolen by her, in fact, which ain’t exactly putting rosy complexion on this particular goddess’ character. Seems the elves think so too, because only the mad or desperate even consider acknowledging the Pale Queen, much less offer her worship. That Kerillian’s done what she has makes her mad, desperate, or both. 

The way Kerillian tells it, she could live with that. Her fear comes from the possibility she might well have damned herself into the bargain. You see, Ereth Khial doesn’t intend to keep lurking in the darkness forever. She had herself a bit of a lover’s tiff with Asuryan - the elven creator god - back beyond the dawn of time. Well, I say ‘tiff’. Sounds much more like a determined refusal to heed the word ‘no’ on her part, but the end result’s much the same. 

Whoever’s at fault, the Pale Queen’s nurturing something of a grudge, and means to drown the world in death - assuming the Chaos Gods don’t get there first. As for Kerillian? She’s been dreaming of herself at the head of a dark host, bat-winged spirits rushing around her like the wind. Seems firelight’s the only thing that keeps those dreams at bay, which makes me wonder if they’re not so much prophecy, as a message from the Pale Queen, warning of a debt coming due.

I left Kerillian to it after that. She’d clammed up, and me? Well… I slept with a lantern burning in the corner of the room last night and started awake at every rattle of the window.

Think I’ll make sure we’ve got plenty of firewood in the stores.