[Lunch with the GM; solo run.]
Having left the Sisters of the Moon, Shadya and Orlando travel south.
As they travel, Shadya makes a proposal. "Amongst the people of the desert there is a custom...." She sounds somewhat tentative. "It is our custom and I do not know how you would view it. If it does not please you, I will not take it amiss." She pauses, searching for the right words. "When that creature took off with you, and I made the decision to follow you, I knew then that - if you died, I would come back to that place and take it apart stone by stone and destroy those who had brought us to such a pass. Amongst my people this would be known as a blood feud. It is what ... for honour's sake ... a brother would do for a brother. It is what I knew I would do for you. Amongst my people, there is a custom for those who are not of the same family but who feel so ... to become blood brothers. I ask you, would you become my brother?"
After a long pause, Orlando responds, "Although I do not know all that it means, I would - simply - answer yes."
Shadya responds, "What it means is that I would have the right to conduct blood feud - which I would have done anyway. It also means that when you say 'no', I must listen as I would to a brother."
Orlando grins, "So we can each keep the other from getting himself killed?"
Shadya nods. She describes the ceremony and adds, "There will be a little pain."
"A little pain is a small price to pay for a brother."
So Shadya dismounts and draws her dagger. Orlando joins her. They stand together on a rocky crest. She draws the blade down the inside of her right arm, then hands the dagger to Orlando. He follows suit and they clasp each other's arm, forearms together, blood mingling and dripping onto the desert rock. Shadya says solemnly, "My brother. From this day until death and beyond."
Orlando muses, "Is there a beyond after death?"
Shadya responds, "If there is blood feud, there is definitely a beyond after death."
They continue their journey. Orlando says, "Part of why I climbed on that beast was that I knew if I did not, you would."
Shocked, Shadya responds, "But - your quest! You risked so much!"
"Perhaps that gave me the will to live. Could you say the same?"
Shadya is quiet for a long, long moment. Then she looks him in the eye, "Now I have! I have a quest! I found you. I would have found you under any circumstances. If you were dead, I would have taken what was necessary - your sword, perhaps - and your quest. I would have searched 'til I found your lady - and told her of your faithfulness. Your quest is mine ... and has been since you climbed on the back of that thing!"
It is Orlando's turn to be quiet. Then he says with uncertainty, "I am beginning to think that the finding of her may be only the start of the quest." They go on to discuss the necessity of winning the lady and what it means if she is "unsuitable." Shadya maintains that if she is unsuitable, she will refuse to marry Orlando. (Shadya speaks with the conviction of one who has been 'unsuitable' all of her life, though Orlando may still not know enough of the culture to know that.) He clings to the hope that his lady is suitable whether she knows it or not.
The discussion moves on to the responsibilities of kingship and from thence to how a military commander uses a man who is less honourable than the commander (or king) chooses to be. It is clear that there is much left to discuss along these lines.
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