Sereniel Scribe of Truth III

(Continued from Part II)

As the Defector, Sereniel could find peace, but that too was

ruined by the appearance in the lands of a vampire whose name would later be synonymous with infamy. Cariousus and the Hundred used Sereniel in the cruellest of ways in the name of sport. She wrote that she swore her soul away to him, before the Shrine of Magic, and subsequently broke her oath "even though it may cost everything" to defend the small village of Ofcol.

Her own pains were not enough to cause her to reach out to

others, but Cariousus also accosted other two women - fellow minstrel Merriwren and Savant Sybil Malynne Devabin - and the three became as close as sisters. When Malynne was thought killed while under an imprisonment imposed by Cariousus, Sereniel used her reputation as a scribe to write scathing revelations about the evil of the vampire, despite the personal cost. From that time, people began to speak of her as the Revived Scribe of Truth.

Cariousus was relentless in his punishments, and for her

disobedience went so far as to mutilate her body, scarring it and making her unable to walk, write, play instruments, or sing. She still refused to "break" to Carioususs will, and she found friends willing to aid her in reforging her life. One, in particular, began to press for her hand in marriage, and amazingly, Sir Madrion Arnmark won the heart of Sereniel Quis, which she had saved for Aerandal Llandaran for some forty years.

The marriage, while loving, was wrought with strife. The lady Malynne, who had been presumed dead, was raised as an immortal but tainted by the powers of evil. She sought to prevent her sisters marriage to Madrion and continued to torment their union, even after. Cariousus, too, did not relent in his attempts to break the Scribe, who again joined the Heralds.

To Sereniels undying shame, he succeeded, and she

consented to become his personal scribe, the Voice of Cariousus. His games, though, were not done. He had broken her, but he wanted to destroy her. Over years, with Sereniel unaware, he encouraged a "friendship" between them and pretended warmth and kindness, where there was nothing but cunning manipulation. He caused a riding accident that killed Sereniels unborn child, and drove a near insurmountable wedge between herself and her husband, worn from years of struggling for peace with his wife. Finally, having earned Sereniels trust, he brutally murdered Sir Madrion and left her his head to triumph over her.

The rest is known only through personal accounts and now

even legend. It is said that Sereniel met Cariousus in the Sea Elven Cay and was killed by him, just prior to his own death. Some say she caused the death, but all hope that she found peace after this most turbulent of lives.