Chapter Twenty Four

Wynne, Arandir, and Nerys had spent hours combing through the material on the tables. They'd skimmed through books on ancient wars and old feuds between the long living Sidhe. They'd neatly stacked books on matebonds into a singular pile. Finally, they had found records of Sidhe family lines, that had been annotated to include beginnings of life, death, and current whereabouts to the knowledge of Winterbridge's scholars. Wynne had begun scrolling through the records of family lines, while Arandir and Nerys took one of the other two topics to study themselves.
Wynne went over the records immaculately, searching for every bit of information that might be pertinent. It took quite a while, but as she was nearing the back of the book, she found annotations on a family that had all either died or disappeared shortly before or around the time of her own birth. At that point, Wynne dropped the book on the table. Though, she was careful enough to keep the page placement the same. She yelled for Ethel Grace, waiting as the tall woman she assumed was a type of pixie hurried over.
"Yes ma'am? Have you found something? Do you need my assistance? " Ethel Grace's voice rang out, again that sound of bells. Her brows were quirked, antenna twitching. Her tall figure loomed over the woman, still seated at the table. Wynne hurriedly explained what she had found, and asked if either Ethel Grace herself, or Drúinur had any expertise regarding this particular area of their history. The taller woman immediately hurried off, animatedly calling for her companion. Ethel Grace was obviously excited in her ability to aid Wynne; even with something as small as getting the correct person for the job for her.
The small but stout dwarf appeared suddenly, the pixie woman trailing behind. The sounds of his footsteps echoed as he emerged from the stacks, joining the group at the tables of research material. This time, Ethel Grace did not speak for her companion. Drùinur's voice was gravelly as he turned his stoic expression towards Wynne. "Well, lass? Sweet Pea here says you need the expertise of someone who's studied the family trees of our history. " He sounded gruff, but the note of compassion as he referred to Ethel Grace in her other preferred name wasn't lost to anyone present. Save maybe Ethel Grace herself.
"This book I found, it's filled with so many family trees. I was originally just looking for anything that stood out, but eventually I was so frustrated that I decided I had to narrow the search down even more. I began looking for any familys that had patterns that didn't seem to match up with some of the annotations. Families where members went missing,or died unexpectedly,and there was no sensible reason for it. Anything strange that occurred around the time of my birth. " Wynne had begun expressively, eyes wide and beaming, hope clear in her face. "I only found one family that even remotely matched anything I was looking for. But there's barely any info here that's actually discernible as important to me. I was hoping that one of you would be able to help me, I'd be extremely grateful. "
Drùinur scowled at the book Wynne held up for him to see. A record of all Royal and notable Fae families, their history, and their lineages. Of all the scholars who had spent time in the Winterbridge Archives, Drùinur was the only one who actually studied what had happened that night 35 years ago. He knew that there was little information on what had actually happened to Rylia Runeglow and the remaining survivors of the Runeglow Monarchy. Drùinur had been a servant of the Runeglow family 35 years ago. A trusted advisor to the Queen herself. The night Rylia fled, she had pulled the dwarf aside, telling him that it was required he stay behind. He was entrusted to record as little as possible in the records of the Royal Trees. He would seek refuge in the Archives of Winterbridge, and some day in the future, Prophecy would bring Rylia's daughter back to Loslosach; when she was found, fate would be set into motion and she would be brought to Winterbridge, for Drùinur to relay the truth of what had happened to the Runeglow family.
Her notice of the lack of information on the family was what swayed Drùinur to make a decision. The wizened dwarf shooed Ethel Grace away, requesting that the pixie woman retrieve the Queen. He then pulled out a chair from the assembled research table, and beckoned for the group to gather 'round. Nerys scooted closer to Wynne, delicately resting her slender digits atop the other woman's shoulder. Instinctively, Wynne's hand raised to clasp Nerys' own. Arandir pulled out his own chair, seating himself on the opposite side of the table.
"First, I must tell ye of Rylia Runeglow. Rylia was the second oldest of the Runeglow family. The Runeglows were bequeathed at the beginning of our time by a gift from the Gods, and they were meant to bring balance to the powers of the Fae. Born with stronger abilities than most and able to harness the energy around them, bending it to their own rule. They were one of the most benevolent ruling families that Loslosach had ere seen. When Rylia was young, her parents were lost at sea, trying to explore the vast expanse that is this realm. Rylia's older brother Herrin assumed the position of Monarch of the family when hope fell for the ability to find their parents." Drùinur informed them, gruff voiced softened.
"Herrin did his best to raise Rylia to be an exemplary woman, if a vain one. He appointed the best tutors he could gather to ensure she had proper schooling. While Herrin was quite busy with the wars of the time, he spent as much time as possible with Rylia. Herrin passed some of his shrewdness onto his sibling during their years of shared life and sorrow. On the last mission Herrin traveled, he was struck and killed, never to return. Rylia was 320 at this time, and it was her turn to take the throne. I had been a scholar for the family even before the younglings had been born. When Rylia took the throne, she took count of everyone staffed under her, and she requested that I serve her personally. Rylia claimed that my many years of work with the family and my experience with the history of the Fae would help her during her rule. I did everything I could to help Rylia in every conquest she ever had, every matter that needed resolved. It went on like that for nearly 50 years, before she met her mate. His name was Briach Desmonde."
Wynne startled at Drùinur's words, realization creeping into her eyes. She nodded slowly at Drùinur, who had paused for her, to continue with his tale. The dwarf merely returned her nod briskly, before he returned to speaking. "Rylia and Briach spent many years together before the monarchy began to fell. Rylia had been hearing whispers and hints of a rebellion, of people wanting to overthrow the Runeglows, and steal their power for their own. During this time, Rylia had suffered through three miscarriages, and was trying to locate the dissent in her kingdom Rylia could never track down where the dissent was coming from, and her focus was split as she mourned her lost children, as well as focused on the one she had just conceived. Her last hope at a child." Another pause, all of them noting that Queen Bronwyn and Ethel Grace now stood at the edges of the archives.
"35 years ago, on the Eve of the Summer Solstice, there was an attack to the castle. The attackers killed many of the staff, and those of us that got away only did so because of Rylia's help. Though she had been 6 months pregnant at the time, Rylia took it upon herself to evacuate everyone that she could, and left the castle to burn. Rylia built a portal to the human world, ushering her mate, Briach, through. It was after her mate was safe that Rylia came to me, telling me I had to do my best to wipe any knowledge of the attack and the whereabouts of Rylia and Briach from any future history. She wished for me to wait to reveal what I knew until I was sure I faced her child. The last thing she told me before Rylia disappeared was that the man behind it was named Daggan Fyre."