Story: Paint the Skies with Stars

The History of Merrique Mai`claire

It is said that a man can change his stars…
…can one woman change hers…

Jonthan was a simple man, despite his sisters’ talents with magic; he himself was quite plain in comparison to the women in his family, but he preferred such things. Unlike his sisters, who served within the Temple of Life or within the walls of the Concordium, Jonthan was a simple groomsman.

While the stables made quite a bit of money from selling their steeds, those who tended to them would never see even a tenth of that profit. Feed, more steeds and mares for breeding, medicine when they were sick, adornments for the parade ponies – there were far to many things to be paid for, though much of the profit went to the stable owner’s lavish lifestyle.

Though he always wondered if he would be better off as a hand in a livery stable of some noble or rich merchant, Jonthan enjoyed the rare opportunities that came from working for a public stable. There were many up and coming merchants and adventurers that frequented the shop in South Qeynos, not only to purchase tack and steeds, but to learn more about the care of their horse; though not knowledgeable in many things, he loved being able to share the scant bit of insight he had with the younger generations of Qeynosians.

Eliza had been a member of a rather well off merchant house of Koada`Dal, however the extravagant lifestyle of her kin left her wanting. Expected to always be a prim and proper young lady, she quickly became board by life within the high-class society of Qeynos. After her father began plans for an arranged marriage, Eliza left her family home, using a magic charm to turn herself into a human.

Though it took quite some time, she was able to finish several odd jobs for the guards within Nettleville Hovel and purchase a small apartment for herself. She met Jonthan a few days later on Market Row, and the two shared a rather romantic evening at the Lion’s Mane Inn.

During their dinner, Jonthan spoke of his life as a groomsman at the stables, and Eliza found herself drawn to the simple world that he had created for himself. The country charm that the stable hand exuded was compelling, and she found herself surprisingly saddened when it came time for them to part.

Unfortunately, Jonthan was traditional in many ways she had not expected; as their dinners together grew more frequent, he pressed Eliza about meeting her family, and asking her father for permission to court her properly. For a number of weeks, she was able to avoid the discussion, but it was not long before Jonthan realized that she was keeping something from him.

Eventually, she was able to reveal to him her true heritage, and explain to him that her father would not allow them to see each other. Surprised, but no less in love, he agreed to forgo that particular formality, and the two began to court. By the next spring, they were married and sharing an apartment within Nettleville; a few months later they were blessed with their first child, Sheila.

Sheila was a quite child, taking great interest in her mother’s craft of tailoring. There were many questions within the Hovel about the child – it was nearly impossible to hide that she was Ayr’Dal, and soon Eliza and Jonthan found themselves confronted by one of the priests.

The priest was unforgiving of Eliza, as her father had long ago made quite the buzz about her absence, offering coin and other trinkets for the safe return of his daughter; though claiming purity to the last; the priest was lured by the promise of riches and betrayed the couple to her father.

At first, her family tried to forcibly bring her back to their home, which only resulted in the guards being summoned; as Eliza was well past the age considered too young to leave their parents home, her family and their assistants were removed from the premises and warned to not disrupt the peace in Nettleville with their petty arguments again.

Like any rich merchant, her father attempted to bribe Jonthan into leaving his daughter, hoping that such an event would force her home again. Much to his disappointment, Jonthan was not as greedy as the priest had been, and refused to sell his love even for platinum coins. Eliza was enraged by her father’s actions, and after a heated argument outside the southern gates, the couple have not been bothered – unable to accept a Human as a son-in-law, her father disowned her and even paid the scribes to remove his family’s name from her records.

Eliza no longer hid her heritage, though it took a number of month to explain to Sheila that the Koada`Dal was her mother. Their lives returned a more normal, though rather poor, situation; Jonthan continued to work for the stables, and Eliza took up a position as an assistant tailor for Selwyn in South Qeynos.

Six years later, the couple was blessed with a pair of twin girls – Ashlae and Malina – who were both very frail. Sheila had been rather weak as a toddler, but eventually she grew out of it, and though she was still quite frail physically, she was rarely ill after a time; Ashlae and Malina were always ill with something, or injured with broken bones and sprains. The pair was very much like their aunts had been as children, however they both lacked any talent to heal themselves or use magic to make their lives easier.

During Eliza’s third pregnancy ten years after their birth, Ashlae fell down the stairs and broke her neck, dying several days later. Malina seemed to go into a sort of mourning after the death of her sister, and refused to speak to anyone; their mother and father were beside themselves with grief, which began to cause complications with Eliza’s pregnancy.

The couple had been praying to Rodcet that their child would be a strong, healthy male who might someday take over for Jonthan at the stables, but when Eliza began an early labor, it was clear that any child they had now would not be healthy. During the night, on a dark, rare stormy day in winter, their fourth child was born – premature, they were thankful the babe had lived, but neither could hide their disappointment over the child’s gender.

Their fourth child was also a girl. Her name would be Merrique – a feminine form of the name they had chosen for what they had hoped would be their son.

Surprisingly, Malina scorned her younger sister, cursing her name violently whenever she saw the child. Twice Malina had tried to kill her baby sister, though whenever anyone tried to speak to her about the matter, she would return to her stony silence as though she had never broken it. Many priests believed her mad, and even Jonthan’s own sisters proclaimed that she had given herself over to the missing Vazaelle.

Always the benevolent young woman, Sheila quit her job in North Qeynos to care for her younger sisters. The first few years of Merrique’s life were rough, as one older sister continually cursed and belittled her while the other was kind and loving. Eliza tried her best to keep Merrique with her constantly, but the child’s curiosity was more trouble than it was worth when she took her to Selwyn’s little garden.

When she was very young, shortly after her third birthday, Merrique met Andrew – the young Human lad lived just a few doors away from the Mai`claire, and unlike most of the others in Qeynos who were wary of even Jonthan’s line of Mai`claire, his family was not. Though not an expected solution, their constant companionship and playtime at Andrew’s house kept Merrique safe from her sister.

It took two broken bones for Andrew to learn that he could not rough house with Merrique quite the way he could with the boys they sometimes played with. However, she insisted on playing swords with them, demanding the boys – who received formal training – teach her how to use them.

When she was seven, the two families held a small party to celebrate her birthday. Malina was surprisingly polite to her sister, and was content to linger at the edges of the guests, away from Merrique but not hiding at home. There were few gifts, but one was quite magical for the child.

Blushing, Andrew gave her a long, rectangular box with a bright red bow tying it shut; when she opened it, there was a blunted tin sword resting upon cream coloured tissue paper. Merrique gave the boy several kisses before standing up with the blade, testing it the way the boys had shown her.

Several days later, Jonthan found the children playing near the stables; most of them had hardened wood swords, but Merrique carried the shiny tin sword with her. To his surprise, she was able to keep up with the lads she fought with, though several times he watched a bruise blossom under their swords, reminding him how much like his sisters she truly was.

“Papa, papa! Look at me! Someday I won’t just pretend to be Sai Marca,” she shouted as they fought their way past the stables, “I will be just like her!”

The children loved to play a game of imagination, where some of them were the evil Vers while others were the noble Sais from the Age of Turmoil. Always, without question, Merrique was the Sai known as Marca Stormrider with Andrew playing the part of her ranger companion. While Jonthan found their excitement refreshing, he was always afraid that one day he would come home, and the girl would be broken badly with her dreams crushed beneath a life of suffering.

As he stood talking to the other hands, Merrique rushed up to him after slaying the evil Reflection, Andrew at her heels with a broad grin.

“Papa, do you think I can become a great knight like Sai Marca?” she asked, innocent eyes looking up at him.

The other stable hands laughed, giving Jonthan looks of sympathy, as they knew that even for a healthy child, such dreams were just that – dreams.

“The child of a stable hand – a Mai`claire at that? A knight? You might as well try to change the stars, lass!” one said, receiving a harsh kick from another for speaking before thinking.

“Is it true, papa? Or c an a man change his stars,” she asked, pausing for a breath before finishing, “or a woman, like me?”

Glaring once at his co-workers, Jonthan knelt to look at Merrique and Andrew. Both children were from very poor families, who had lived as simple men and women in Nettleville for generations – perhaps even longer than that, though few knew much about their family’s times before the cataclysms. Most of the children from their generations, though knowing an uneasy peace, would never become more than what their parents were before them.

Nodding, he simply said, “A man – or a woman, as it were – can do anything, if they put their minds to it.”

Smiling, Merrique raised her sword in a salute she’d learned watching the guards before she and Andrew ran back to their friends. The other hands were silent, watching Jonthan for a moment before one of them coughed and reminded them all that they were on the clock.



Seven Years Later
“Papa! I’ve done it! I’m allowed to be a Squire once I find a knight who will take me!”

Merrique ran up to the stables, wearing a sparkling suit of iron chainmail and the tunic that the Master-at-Arms had given her for proving her abilities to him. Her long hair was pulled back in a leather barrette, and where once there had been a simple tin sword was now a beautiful long sword.

He was proud of her, of course, still amazed that a woman so tiny and petite as his daughter had succeed in the tasks set out before her by the old dwarf. Several of the hands had been on duty the day she had asked if she could become like Sai Marca Stormrider, and many of them could only blush and look down at their work, embarrassed that they had once doubted her.

However, things were not easy for Merrique – no knight would take her on as a squire, citing that she was too small, and female. With the help of Sheila, who was now married to an apprentice smith, she was able to dress herself up as a lad in hopes to find a knight that would allow her to be their squire.

“Merri, are you sure about this?” Sheila asked, holding the girl’s long hair in one hand and a pair of sheers in the other.

“I know many men in Qeynos have very long and braided hair,” Merrique replied, “but it will be much easier if my hair is short like a man’s should be. Now, cut it off!”

Andrew stood across from them, silently watching as the older sister began to trim away the long hair. He was deep in thought when he realized that Sheila kept looking at him while she worked – soon he was able to understand why, as it became apparent that the woman was cutting Merrique’s hair in a style similar to his own.

He was quite upset by the entire situation. Two days ago, one of the knights of the Qeynos Guard had extended an invitation for him to become one of his squires, all the while ignoring Merrique’s presence. When Andrew did finally ask if he would consider taking the young woman on as well, the knight had replied that she was too small to be a squire, and that he would not have a ‘twig of a boy’ let alone a woman as his squire.

Though civil while the knight was before them, the rage that Merrique entered after he had left had lead to where they were now – she had decided that she would hide herself as a man, find a knight and be their squire, and after becoming a knight herself she would reveal that she was a woman.

“I don’t like this, Merri,” he sighed again, looking at her hair, wishing to himself that it were still long.

“You don’t have to like it, Andrew, you’re a squire now.” She retorted, “I don’t like it much either – you think with knowing someone like Sai Marca even existed these knights would be a bit kinder about accepting women as their squires.”

With a tsk, Andrew pushed himself away from the wall and walked towards her, giving her a slight glare as he looked down at her small form.

“Always you compare the world to the Sais, Merri. I know that they mean much to you, but to be honest few on Norrath even care for their stories now,” he growled, annoyed at himself for becoming so upset over something so mundane – it was just hair, after all.

At first, her expression was one of shock, as though he had hit her outside of sparing; it quickly faded to a withering glare of her own, the stubborn nature of the Ayr’Dal coming to the surface.

“Really, is that what you believe, Andrew?” she hissed. “Fine. Forget the hours we spent imagining we were Marca and her ranger. Forget how much we learned because we wanted to do the things they did. Forget that we were out to prove the world wrong, that there were still a few that could rise above the life they were given and be someone.”

Without waiting for him to reply, she turned and stormed out of the house. Sheila looked at him with a shrug before she went back to cleaning up the tangles of hair that littered the floor.

Andrew did not see Merrique before he left, as she refused to be anywhere near him. When the sword of a bandit ran him through, his dying thought was of how he would never be able to apologize for being so careless…of how he really had been feeling that day.

She would not know of his passing for some time – his family had moved away, and she was busy training while she looked for someone to be her mentor; news traveled slowly, if at all, from the Thundermist Village to Qeynos. Merrique still hides as a man when she is to be interviewed by knights, using the name Drew and claiming her family dead – few aside from the Master-at-Arms know the truth about Drew, and he’s not telling anyone any time soon…