Tessa grimaced as she wadded up yet another piece of parchment. The funeral dirge was evading her, mostly do to her confusion and sudden light of hope at her last conversation with Alcion. The elf's words had held promise...the promise of a brighter future, and perhaps equality at least in his household once his wretched father passed on.
It was strange to her. She had grown up believing all the dogma and doctrine about the superiority of elf over human but now? Now she had an elf confirming to her the growing belief that society might be wrong in it's social system. It left her feeling distracted and almost careless with her responsibilities.
She gathered her thoughts together once more, drawing out a fresh sheet of parchment, and in her fine hand she scribed the letters of her Master's name spaced out down the page. It was a technique she'd considered once before, but discarded due to the complexity and contraints it provided. But the structure of the Acrostic poem would be good in her scattered state of mind, and hopefully force her back on task.
There would be three verses, one of his personality, one of his accomplishments, and one of mourning. It would be suited to the elf, though she would have to tread carefully, as her words, if misconstrued, could be offensive to the nobility. Not all members of the En'Lojist family were as gentle of spirit as Alcion.
Evoking the heart of means and right,
Lifeblood of family, virtue's vow,
Patron of art and bardcraft bright.
Ever the guide and master's hand,
Righteous of heart and just of mind,
Impressive to all throughout the land,
Never his like again we'll find.
Quietly regal brave and true,
Unlike any to come before,
A picture of honor and virtue,
Resplendent, an elf both strong and sure.
There it was, the first of the three funereal poems done, and she felt drained and unhappy about it. Not that it was poorly written, for it was anything but, but sad that she could not truly feel a word of it. She felt Telperinquar was none of those things, but were she to say so out loud, she would likely be imprisoned, if not slain outright. She grimaced and set her work aside, rolling onto her bed to try and let sleep drain away some of the melancholic frustration. She clung to Alcion's words, and to her future.
