dariantravels

Nina with Erik child

From the Oasis to the Cold North - Erik the Tavernkeeper

By now the Oasis had been rebuilt and enlarged with a new gold-adorned palace and large spaces. All the other palaces and gardens had been enlarged. The large fountain in the central square provided water for the population, and the dance gazebo had also been enlarged. I had sacrificed the Zoo and the animals given up for adoption to the inhabitants of the interior. I had left for myself only two Tarms and a few camels. The Gallery had also been enlarged. Now I had plenty of free space, and I can put up new portraits of Goreans I will meet on my travels.

The time had come to set off on a new adventure. We are now in mid-spring and I can return to the North. It's been a long time since I saw the beautiful Nina in the village of Hammersgaard, despite her sending me so many invitations, and now I can finally hug her again.

Erim the Viking

Nina was a Panther. She escaped from the Shendi forest following a Viking merchant named, who had gone south to trade and had fallen in love with Nina in a tavern where she served customers disguised as a merchant. She often left her tribe and visited cities and villages in disguise, and never missed an opportunity to rob and kill some man she met on her way. And so it was that in the city of Baku she met him, Erik, a tall, blond, blue-eyed Vuchingo, who had arrived at the port with his ship to trade furs and buy wine, fabrics, and perfumes for the women of his village. He fell in love at first sight with Nina, the waitress who served at the tables and who could keep even the most fiery men of the Desert and some enterprising drunkards at bay.

Nina with the King

  She fell in love with that handsome man in his traditional Viking village clothes. She never left him alone at the table, always ready to serve him food and wine. When it was time to leave, she followed him, took the few things she had, and boarded that ship full of tough, mean-looking men.

ERIK-fREYA-ANGEL

In the village of Hammersgaard, Erik had a tavern on the harbor. He put his beautiful Nina in charge and kept the customers in check while he traveled. Nina, a Panther who was not only beautiful but also a great warrior, had learned the art of combat from a young age. She had participated in raids on many cities and villages in the Thahari Desert, and had never accepted the elders' rules. Instead, she would wander off to hunt and prey on travelers on the desert trails.

It was there that I met her for the first time, in that tavern on the harbor. I had just arrived from Finnurfjiord, where I had left my adoptive mother, Lady BB Arliss. Back then, I was still called Darian Arliss, and hadn't yet inherited the title of Emir. From the first moment she saw me, she was immediately kind to me. She had seen my nobility, and I often told her about my travels around the planet. She was fascinated every time I spoke of great cities with enormous palaces with golden domes, cities with skywalks connecting the towers, and villages built on the water.

Erik respected me, and we became friends, but he was always traveling. I took advantage of the break between trips to have a big company ceremony with the beautiful Nina. She was expecting their child and her belly was getting bigger every day. On the day of the ceremony, we all went to the temple on the hill overlooking the village. From there, you could see Lindenberg Castle, and even further away, a village of Panthers. A fire was always lit on that hill at night to indicate the position of the ships. The ceremony was very simple. They used the one with the glass of wine, exchanging it among themselves. Then everyone went to the great hall for the wedding lunch, which lasted until the next morning. Then, all drunk, everyone returned to their huts.

Nina did not forget her past as a Panther and often went away without a reason. I confess that she reached the Panther villages and trained there and met with her sisters. Erik left one morning and for months gave no news of himself, they thought he was dead and Nina often cried. Meanwhile, the baby was born, whom Nina called Erik for love of her husband. They baptized him in the river according to the Viking rite, immersing him in the icy waters of that river. One day, some merchants from Cos spoke of a merchant named Erik who lived on an island in the archipelago and had a tavern where he sold wine. Nina was enormously disappointed; he had betrayed her like this, leaving her with the Child, but she was very tough-minded and continued her life normally. One night we were attacked by pirates, they arrived in the morning with two ships pretending to be traders, and as soon as the evening arrived they attacked the few warriors on guard, and put the village to fire and sword, we all fled into the forest, Nina also escaped but was unable to save her son. She had been surrounded by some men. She fought to the end, but they prevailed, snatching the child from her and fleeing, leaving her wounded on the road. When she recovered, she joined us in the forest. Having no village left, we sought refuge at Linderberg Castle. They welcomed us and helped us, treating our wounds. Then the ruler of that castle confessed that Erik was his son, fathered with a woman in the village many years before, but he had never wanted to acknowledge his father as King. Then he summoned the village Jarl and the Elders and assigned him a plot of land under a promontory to rebuild the village. I sent men to look for his grandson, and we reached that new land and began rebuilding.

Erik returned repentant, begging for forgiveness, but Nina chased him away. Devastated by the loss of his son, he isolated himself in his castle for the rest of his life.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX