The Travels of a Hairy Hermit

Nilsar walks beside Gravam and King Roderic along the road from Anuncagra’s northern port. The royal escort follows at a respectful distance as toll markers and watch posts announce the king’s passage.

At the next crossing, a lean middle-aged man in a brown clerk’s coat and red-lined hood steps from the watch post. His narrow face is wind-burned, and a ledger hangs from his belt.

The royal escort halts behind the party, keeping the road clear without surrounding the king. Watchmen glance between their blank notice board and the richly marked carriage banners.

Nilsar presents the Royal Writ and Service Record beside the toll register. Identifies Authority fixes the king’s status and Baron Edric’s responsibility, while Commands Earned Trust makes the instruction accepted as orderly civic business.

The toll clerk writes the entry with the king’s destination, purpose, hosts, and peaceful status. He copies the relevant authority from the writ and adds Nilsar’s service standing to the sealed notice for Edric.

A royal escort guard takes the sealed notice toward Anuncagra’s watch command. The crossing register remains open to inspection, and the king’s arrival is now publicly recorded under Yarb hospitality.

Nilsar leads Gravam and Roderic behind the workshop, where stacked timber and the smithy wall conceal them from the road. Household Stores provides a clean cloth, small cups, and the simple objects used to demonstrate the rites.

Skilled Craftsman makes the teaching practical: Nilsar arranges the ceremonial items in their proper order, showing how hands, tools, and spoken promises fit together without confusion.

Commands Earned Trust keeps the lesson calm and direct. Nilsar corrects the king’s hand position, then has him repeat the sequence until the movements are respectful rather than merely memorized.

By dusk, Roderic has learned the complete rite and its meaning. Gravam keeps the uncertain wording marked for later comparison, while Nilsar’s careful arrangement leaves every other step ready for the wedding.

Scarred Dragon reaches Anuncagra’s northern beach. Nilsar steps ashore in his green and gold wedding outfit, while Aveline waits in a beautiful gold and green dress with his green cloak wrapped around her shoulders.

Gravam retrieves the prepared Ceremonial Sword from its guarded case and places it in Nilsar’s hands. Skilled Craftsman shows in the balanced hilt and careful etched work as the wedding guests gather beneath the royal escort.

Aveline’s father, a tall, lean man with a lined angular face and neatly trimmed white beard, a dignified elderly man with silver hair and a dark blue coat, accepts the sword. He takes Aveline’s hand and places it into Nilsar’s, while King Roderic binds their joined wrists with green and gold silk.

Nilsar and Aveline place their rings on the Ceremonial Sword’s crossed points, then exchange them onto each other’s fingers. The rite succeeds, but the king’s blessing makes the marriage a public court matter, requiring future formal appearances.

They kiss as the silk knot remains between them. Commands Earned Trust keeps the gathered witnesses attentive, and the king’s formal blessing secures the union while creating an obligation to host a royal reception. Then they enter the waiting carriage for the cabin.

Nilsar Yarb leaves Waiting carriage cabin at Anuncagra's northern beach behind and arrives at Nilsar's cottage.

Night settles over Nilsar’s cottage beneath the northern trees. The carriage waits beyond the yard, while lamplight shows faintly through the shutters and the forest wind hushes the wedding guests’ road behind them.

Nilsar carries Aveline across the threshold with their wrists still joined by green and gold silk. He moves with remarkable balance, placing each foot softly and keeping her dress clear of the doorstone.

Inside, the cottage smells of banked ash, cedar, and cooling bread. Mara sleeps in the adjoining room, her breathing undisturbed; Nilsar lowers Aveline onto the prepared bed without waking her.

Aveline loosens the silk only after they are safely settled, preserving the knot as a keepsake beside the wedding rings. Their first private evening begins with quiet conversation, shared warmth, and laughter kept low.

The cottage grows still around them. Beyond the wall, Mara continues sleeping, while the newlyweds share their first night as husband and wife in peaceful privacy.

Still bound wrist to wrist with Aveline, Nilsar quietly leans from the bed and pokes his head through Mara’s half-open door, his bare shoulders catching the lamplight.

The floorboard gives a small creak. Mara is already awake, sitting upright beneath her blanket, and turns toward him instead of pretending to sleep.

The quiet check has failed, but Mara’s request changes the room’s purpose. She draws a shawl around herself and waits by the bedside, leaving the door open.

Aveline shifts carefully, making space without pulling their joined wrists taut. Mara steps from her room in the shawl, and the three settle together in the warm, quiet cottage.

Nilsar’s joined wrist limits his reach, but not the directness of his proposal. Commands Earned Trust gives his words the weight of a settled household arrangement rather than a passing impulse.

Aveline shifts closer, and Mara climbs carefully onto the bed, settling on the open side. Their joined wrists remain between them, the silk binding now an awkward but harmless reminder of the public wedding.

The proposal succeeds, while Aveline’s condition becomes its cost: Nilsar now owes both women a formal household discussion at first light. They settle beneath the blankets, and the lamps are lowered as the private night begins.