So it was upon them, the days of Solstice when the nights grew longer, the days shorter and the air freezing every breath in short lived puffs of smoke. The snow covered the ground around the school with a light dusting from the night before. Though it would melt later in the day, it was still promising more as the days moved on. It was the time of Solstice, the time of year to give respects to one another in the form of gifts. So in the days to come, celebration in kind was due.

Not much had been decorated yet, save for a few mistletoe placed in a few key doorways here and there, luring those to pause with the touch of admiration formed on the lips with a kiss.....

A large evergreen tree had been brought in and placed in the great Ball room Sha'uri recognized as one so much like one from Ravensheart Castle. The doors she left wide open. And several beds were left with one present upon each pillow. The gifts were clearly marked: Happy Solstice Season! Now, Open me up or I'll go away! With much love, Sha'uri.

Tina got a bag of holding, Lyndra a set of emerald butterfly earrings and matching brooch, Melody a guitar and Briari a bone dagger. Oh, and of course, Sabre a toy mouse and a simple silvery colored rubber ball for her newest addition (self gift) ChiChi the ferret.

ChiChi found his gift early and Sha'uri was off roaming the halls trying to find hers........

"ChiChi?! Come on sweety... where's my little thief."

He also had one of her silver necklace chains. She could hear it tinking against the floor somehwere down the hallways in the distance.

"ChiChi!"

The Headmaster found the brightly colored package and opened it. He smirked at the blade and carefully put it away in a velvet lined case.

Several days had passed. Each day Sha'uri left gifts, some practical, some quizzical, others for commical or for wishfulls ... something was always given. Only two days remained until the day of Solstice.

It was evening and she had finally bought a bunch of decorations. She was in the Ballroom levitated up in the air as she moved round the tree to put the lights on it. The kitten, Sabre, and the ferret, ChiChi, were down below the tree; Sabre was chasing a strand of tinsel stuck to the ferret's foot while ChiChi tried in vain to pick up an oversized ornament that only repeatedly rolled away from him.

A magical message was sent to each of the School's occupants,

"Will you come help me decorate the tree?"

Time moved on and Sha'uri had sat there waiting, staring out of the window.


"Mistress Sha'uri? Is there anything I can get you?"

Lyndra's sultry voice prompted from across the room.


Sha'uri turned her gentle visage to peer at the cook with mirth.

"Yeah, actually... if you would.. see if you can go wake up the sleeping beauties from their slumber?"


Lyndra nodded, seeming a bit sad about something.
"Aye... that I will do. The food is getting cold. Please, eat something before it does."


"I promise... will do."


Lyndra left the Mistress and moved to the rooms of Tina, Melody... and last, but not least, Briari .......... banging on the doors quite loudly, calling out her message and then dashing off......

"Merry Solstice! Time to get up! Breakfast is gettin cold in the ball room and yer presents are gettin old! Last one there has to do the dishes!"

She was about to take a sip when the quizzical grin formed at Briari's entrance. Sha'uri quickly set down her cup and moved to help him with all those packages.

"And I thought I over did it." she giggled. "Merry Solstice, Bri."

She slowly tried to take some of the packages, realizing his arms were quite full and didn't want to make them tumble. However, she abruptly paused for just a brief moment catching his gaze before glancing up to make sure this wasn't one of those spots Lyndra or Melody had put the mistletoe...

It was, and she quickly glanced away from it, that little plant hung all over the place. She quickly stuck a small bit of her tongue out at him.

"So what's for dinner?"

Taking some of the packages with her, she slowly stepped aside and waited to follow him, presumably to the kitchen.

She nearly dropped the packages as she stopped abruptly though she did manage to keep from spilling the food all over. She stared at his back, mouth gaping open.

"I thought Kadorasil was closed..."

She was confused, though a thought occured to her. A smile tugged at her lips.

"Bri, were you time traveling?"

Secretly relieved by his answer, she smiled a smile that reflected the warmth growing in her heart. For some reason, she'd forgotten all about Dinner at the Citadel...

She set down the packages carefully onto the kitchen table.

"Good. I'm glad you found these. It'll be like having a little piece of home for you, and something new for the rest of us. Speaking of Portals... would it be all right with you if I put one or two up between here and places in Exodii? It would be one general one to Exodii City, One to the Citadel and a private one for my use only."

Pause.

"That's three isn't it."

Grin.

"Anyway, they'd strictly be magical ones that either you or I could control. Even my private one.... Would that be all right with you?"

She understood his phobia about other places, or thought she did.

"All right, as long as you don't have plans to trap me here. Otherwise, I might start to think you're Erique... and then I'd have to hurt you... take away a few of your presents because you'd been a bad boy... or just let you really have them..."

Grin. A wide grin formed with a wink as she made light of it, even playfully tickle pinched his side but only once before she stopped to open her arms and just hugged him.

The imp that she was couldn't help but snicker at his stiffness. It was a brief but very heartfelt hug she gave him before she pulled away.

"I wonder what happened to Lyndra and Tina? I hope they're not getting into the presents already. I hope I marked all those right, some of them are for Luke, Anne, Alex, Shati and .. oh, Luke's friend.. ."

Pause, long and heavily quiet. She sucked in her breath and her eyes flashed wide with remorse.

"Oh no! Oh, Bri I feel terrible! I forgot we're suppose to go to Exodii for Solstice dinner."

Embarassed, she bit her lip, glanced to the side at Bri with a forlorn expression. He was working so hard on Dinner. She had no clue if he'd even gotten enough to invite them but..

"Uh... Bri? er... what should we do here? invite them over or.. take dinner with us there?"

"Perfect!"

She hugged him largely and without even thinking, kissed him full on the lips, ever so brief that it was. Then she skipped off out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her room to converse with her son via the communication device.

Lyndra came downstairs after seeing Sha'uri skip to her room. The cook gave her an odd look, but found herself coming into the kitchen.

"Oi now... what smells so good? I didn't know ye could cook."

Her eyes lit up and she moved closer to see what the Headmaster was doing at the sink. A wide smile formed and she nonchallantly picked up a stray piece of mistletoe and dangled it over.

"Merry Solstice, Master Briarius!"

Lyndra's jaw dropped a bit and she pulled back, thwarting the polite attempt.

"Eh? What's that? That wasn't going to be a kiss ..."

She looked at him as if he were talking jibberish and dangled the mistletoe again.

"See, according to the rules, that would've been a peck, not a kiss. Don't ye know the difference? Tradition states a kiss, not a peck. I swear I brushed my teeth!"

That delicate brow lifted, daring him to get it right or have the mistletoe thrown at him. And what was that emerald twinkle in her eyes?

For what was given, was returned in kind thoughtfully as Lyndra closed her eyes and pressed her lips to Briari's. A moment was spared to the task and she opened her eyes. Whatever she thought it was going to be, it wasn't.

She wasnt' frowning though, but rather contemplating the experience almost as if she were testing a portion of her cooking for flavor. A mirthful smile spread along her full lips, showing dimples in her cheeks.

"A bit flat there, dear. Been out of practice? Maybe next time, I would suggest a little salsa for added flavor... or a bit of honey depending on the desired outcome. Either way, and with all respect, ye need to get out more, sir."

She leaned in and kissed his cheek as a friend would do another.

"Merry Solstice, Briari. And thank ye for making the dinner. It smells wonderful, actually, and I do appreciate the day off. Oh, by the way, I've gotten ye a present. If ye can break away from the kitchen.. It's in by the tree. I think Sha'uri has been wanting to do that, give out presents...."

Shifting her head, indicating the direction, she turned round to leave, heading that way.

Lyndra paused to wait in the doorway of the kitchen until he caught up so she could walk with him. She had no idea what came over her in there other then she'd felt very compelled to do that. Hazel hues looked sideways to him as they walked to the ballroom.

"I am genuinely sorry, Master Briarius." her words were slow at first. "I didn't know ye had lost a wife."

There were a lot of things she didn't know and she regretted her words from the kitchen. She didn't even know her own last name. She had no past, no recollection of childhood. It was as if she had lost her memory and suddenly woke up at the school, knowing only how to cook.

It was on the tip of her tongue to admit as much to him as she paused in the doorway of the ballroom, reaching out to touch his arm. She was oblivious to the mistletoe hanging above.

"Master Briarius? Am I...? Uh, How did we ... I mean, when did we ... How long have I been hired here?"

He stopped and looked at her.

"You have been here ever since I became Headmaster...oh..."

Realization filled his visage.

"Mistress Lyndra...I don't know how to say this..."

He sighed and searched for the right words.

"I am guessing this is so that you may know more about your past?"

He smiled a bit and held out his hand palm up. An image of a woman appeared. It looked like Lyndra but with some subtle, but distinct differences.

"This is D'Shara Nightbloom Ravensheart...there are more names she kept tacking on, but that was the name I knew her by and that's what counts. She was the mother of my children, not to mention the mother of the Mistress Sha'uri. My children..."

Two smaller images appear, one either side of D'Shara's image. A boy and a girl.

"...these were my children. Alec and Larissia. They passed on after I was torn from RhyDin. D'Shara waited for my return, but eventually all hope seemed lost and she moved on."

The images pop out of existence one by one.

"The events of my accident and all of my misfortune to follow were concocted by my rival, Erique."

Another image appears. This one looks a lot like Briarius but much more aggressive.

"He eventually harvested the souls of all I cared for and implanted them into new bodies he created, for he had the power of the gods by this point. When I returned to RhyDin, he made certain I inherited this school which was entirely staffed by these creations. They held no memory of me but bore a very strict resemblence to the original person. It was to torture and haunt me. Eventually, he would use his powers to turn them all upon me so as to watch me suffer until he deigned to destroy me. Unfortunately for him, he could not find one soul...the soul of D'Shara, but he kept the body he made and placed a stray bit of life into it...and that is you. When Erique was defeated, the souls all had the choice to stay permanently bound to the bodies they were forced into or to pass on. Being a new soul entirely, this was your life."

The image of Erique darkened and vanished.

"I had wondered if the day would ever come that you would go seeking your past. I had hoped it would not as I did not want you to believe that you were truly nothing. We at the school want you to know that although you were not born, you do have a family."

He went to move through the door

"...and as long as I live, you will always have a family."

He accepted the present with a smile. If he were uncomfortable, he hid it well.

"A scarf and gloves. Very thoughtful Mistress Lyndra. Here."

He handed her a small box which contained a vial.

"Considering the circumstances, I don't have to lie about it's contents. I was going to tell you it was a love potion or some silly nonsense, but in actuality it is something to finish you. You see, I noted that Erique never completed the soul in your body. This potion will do that and you will be a whole person. Mayhap you were created out of darkness, but you were completed by the light."

When he said this, he seemed to have a sort of confidence that none present would have ever seen. Though Shara would note that it seemed like the old Briarius...before he became what he was now.

"Ah, I had thought that as well, but when you told me of Erique's work, I looked closer. To many detections of Mistress Lyndra's soul, it would appear whole and normal. It was meant to be this way as to not arouse suspicions. Upon more powerful divinations in conjunction with several other divinations, you will note an incongruence. Seeing as you can naturally see souls, I surmise you did not see it because of expectation. There is nothing outwardly noticable about Mistress Lyndra's soul, ergo, you would not bother to look at it twice. I ask you to do that now. In addition, I ask that you concurrently detect for magic, wickedness, righteousness, death, life, and the undead. In a typical living creature all of these auras mesh into one. You will note that in Mistress Lyndra, they float around one another. All the pieces are there, but not bound together. The potion will mesh these things together and bind her soul to her body, thus completing her."

He smiles very proudly.

"I will warn of one potential side effect. Mistress Lyndra, you may develop psionic or mystical abilities."

The contents of the bottle tasted like an apple syrup and smelled of roses. True enough, the magicks began their work binding the various pieces of soul together. Lyndra glowed for a few moments and then was done. She felt whole.

"Anywhere is well"

The Headmaster summoned a spirit into being. It was odd to watch his summoning as it didn't seem like he was pulling a servant into existence, but rather calling an old friend and asking for a favor.

"Please help the young master with his load"

The spirit floated over and used it's abilities to help Alex carry the gifts.

The Headmaster looked confusedly towards Alex's comment.

He then moved himself to 'his' stack and waited and watched as everyone opened their gifts.

The Headmaster smirked and set to opening his gift...

...removing the ribbon with great care...

...making certain to not break it...

...carefully unfolding each individual corner of wrapping...

He removed the blade and studied it. His eyes turned black as he used his magicks to analyze the energies around it.

"Remarkable. I haven't seen crafting this precise in centuries."

"It is very nice, thought I know not what I will do with it."

"I can accept it as a gift can I not?"

"Very well. I will accept this blade and call it Norgham!"

As he says the blade's new name, it seems to slightly change in appearance. It almost seems he had always possesed that blade.

Alex leaned closer to Lyndra and whispered.
"I don't know about you, but I think I just missed something."

Lyndra grinned and just shrugged her shoulders. She had no idea how to even comment. It felt suddenly awkward in the room. That's when the question popped up.
"Want some plum pudding?"

"Sure..."

"Come on."
Lyndra took Alex by the hand and led him back out to the kitchen....

Alex quietly took this in, taking the bowl from her as she handed it to him. Though he understood her need to know things, he honestly didn't know how much he should tell her.

"I haven't seen my grandmother since I was a boy. Though, I remember her smile. It was contageous. Just like yours. She had a beautiful voice, sultry, soothing and I always loved to go to sleep listening to her tell stories. She had a tendancy to be fiesty, though, something I don't think I've seen in you yet. There's nothing wrong with that, though. She could be quite terrifying when she was angry..."

He took a bite of the pudding and paused to savor its flavor.

"Oh, this is good, Lyndra. What spice is that I taste? I don't recognize it."