Blackrain Castle History

[Exu]

Come my traveler and sit a spell
And listen to my tale
About an ancient family and their deceendents
And the kingdom from which they hail

If you get tired then close your eyes
But do not fall asleep
Lest your mind be caught up in these spun magic webs
And you find yourself falling in deep.....

See a long time ago, was a merry little crew
But as time went on their numbers just grew
And before they knew it their tents were not enough
People wanted a stable place for which to place their stuff!

The Ancient Nomads:

In ancient times the ancestors of the Blackrain clan were nomadic, wandering the hillsides of the kingdom of Elysri (possible history and culture of this fantasy kingdom could come later), pitching tents here and there, living off the land.  Over thousands of years the nomadic clan's travels had taken them from far in the south, close to the mountains, (on which the other side laid a desert that remains unexplored to this day), all along the seaside they roamed until they came to a stop where the current castle grounds are.

One of the only surviving monuments to these ancient clan people is a crumbled ruin that stands just outside the forest.  Many legends exist about its existence and creation.  The most popular being this:

A young man of the clan was once fond of fishing out near the cove to the east of the castle.  He was a lonely man who's wife had passed away after giving birth to their only child, a precious little girl.  The man never had the heart to remarry and only ever seemed to find comfort out at sea.  When the man's daughter was old enough, she would join him there, watching his sadness be eased by the sea.  In those days people often still saw mermaids swimming freely in the waters with no fear and the young man had started to become entranced by their beauty.  And it seemed that as his sadness decreased, that his smile had caught the eye of a particular mermaid.  As time went on they both lamented on how their love could never be made complete and the young man had a vision one night that he felt meant he must set her free.  So vowing to never come to the sea again, so that the one he loved could be happy, he moved far inland.  He became sick soon after, many claiming that he died of a broken heart.  And his daughter had his body brought back near the sea, and buried under where the ruin now lies.  In ancient times it was said to hold words that spoke of the sacrifices of love, and encouraging any who passed by to never give up on dreams, no matter how impossible they may seem.  The writing is in such an archaic language that the words passed down through history are now lost, but the general meaning is still felt and known throughout the land. It is also reported that sometimes at night the shadowy figure of a young girl can be heard singing softly in the woods near the crumbled ruin.  And people often overcome with grief or sadness have been known to sit here and feel a warmth fill them with some peace again before they stand up and go about their lives again.  

So the mournful ruin that sat by the sea
Gave our people a sense of stability
As they packed up their tents, put stake in the ground
And made hearths from which to gather round

You can see the first stone work now all weathered and torn
But travel back with me please to when it was first born
How the mud mixed with straw to glue each stone in place
How it put a merry satisfied grin on each hard working man's face

And the women they clapped and danced round in joy
For now, they could lay their children down proper, each wee girl and boy
And they played in the grass as the wild wind blew
And the number of people grew and grew.

And they made friends with witches
that good luck and friendship might reign
And even in the cold weather months
That warmth could keep each other sane

The First Generation:

Hundreds of years later Blackrain Castle was only a dream in a single man's mind.  It started out as a hut that the people had found it more convenient to cook inside, build from straw, mud, and stones, it was an ever-present work in progress.  That man is lost to the annals of history now, his name long forgotten.  It was not until Hezekiah Blackrain the great grand father of Cole Blackrain, the current heir to the Family and Castle, began to lay stonework for the castle that it began to be passed down through oral tradition how it all began.  

It was said that Hezekiah's wife Emelia, was often sick.  They had a long tradition in the family of allowing pagan witches to travel with them.  The ancient kings had passed down through time the ideals of the good luck it brought as well as recognizing that having someone well versed in herbs and their medicinal qualities was always an asset to their survival when they were on the move.  And so it was that they called in one of these such witch's to see if she could be healed.  Emelia got very sick indeed, so much so that the witch was afraid that she did not have enough knowledge to be of any more aid.  The witch stepped aside and went on a journey that took 2 days there and 2 days back.  During this time Emelia waved in and out of consciousness, hanging near death's door and many times claiming to see some sort of light.  On the 4th day of her absence, the witch returned, with one of the most famous witch's in the region Amaris Morgana.  

Within 2 hours of their return, Amaris had managed to work her healing magic in such a way that while Emelia was not completely back to full health, it was evident that she would survive the illness.  And survive she did.  Going onto give birth to 4 healthy children, living happily in the castle that her husband now had the heart and energy to continue to build.  On their youngest son's 18th birthday the Castle was brought to completion, though they had been living in the parts of it as they were built, this was the day that it became official.  Alric Blackrain (Cole Blackrain's grandfather) had his coming of age party in the ballroom that was later dedicated to him and his wife.

The legend of the witch Amaris healing Emelia reigned ever present in the family.  Later on a tower was built and given us a gift to Amaris' daughter Danu, Raven's grandmother, and the Morgana family have used it ever since.  There was much friendship among the Blackrain and Morgana families, children often played together, people often thought warmly of each other, whenever one family needed something, the other provided.

Ahh but friendships that are unbalanced
my friend, they do not always last
And this next part of our tale
Speaks of how easily they can become in the past

As our ancestors became greedy
And in moments downright hateful
Oh how humans can be so needy
and the witches became resentful

Second Generation:

Alric and his wife Carys were married in the Castle ballroom and their son, (Cole Blackrain's father), Caeden was the first baby born in the current royal bedroom.  Alric and Carys were not as kind as they could have been to the Morgana family.  Carys especially not having grown up around witches, found herself giving in to old prejudices and stereotypes she had learned from an early age.  This caused distance to begin to form between the families.    

Caeden Blackrain grew up in a place where the servants and ground workers adored the Morgana family and yet his parents looked upon them with distrust and almost hatred.  Throughout Caeden Blackrain's childhood, the distance only grew further apart.  His parents even blame the death of their younger son Carl at the age of 9 on the witches, claiming that their inability to heal him was actually a trick.  Many people forgot that Carl had been sickly from a baby, and some even said possessed by demonic spirits as he would often fall into fits on the floor, his body convulsing and frothing at the mouth.  They also fail to mention that whenever a witch was allowed near their son, they were not properly allowed to work and instead could be demanded at any time to stop their work and explain what they were doing, and if Aric or Carys did not understand or agree they would often simply send the witch home and see their son continue to suffer until his death.

More distance and strife
reigned over this land
People became more untrusting
When walking past each other they did not lend a hand

Third Generation:

Caeden went on to marry a beautiful girl from a neighboring kingdom.  It is said that he had to fight many opponents in a tournament in order to have the chance to win her hand in marriage.  Some people even believe in the rumor that a dragon was involved.

Caeden and Eveline, (Cole Blackrain's parents) still living in fear because the new treatment of the Morgana family had caused even more distance and occasionally claims from the staff or peasants that worked the land north of the castle, that a witch had attacked them whenever any kind of bad or unlucky circumstance happened.

By the time Cole Blackrain was born the witch's had almost given up on the Blackrain family and their needy human nature.  It seemed to them that the Blackrain's only came to see a member of the Morgana family, it was because they wanted or needed something, gone were the days of meeting for afternoon tea, it was hard to get one family to look the other in the eye when they passed in the villages.

But so we meet our current cast that lives within this kingdom
Listen to me closely now and glean some new found wisdom
How a mortal man and a witch came to be together
It seemed a very strange change in the weather

4th Generation:

Those first meetings

Now it came to pass that Cole would often have strange sightings in the forest.  The first time he saw Raven he was walking down to the cove to fish, thinking to himself about how his sister just that morning at breakfast had been talking about mermaids and asked him to tell her if he saw any.  And while he was distracted by that thought, passing by the ancient ruin, he blinked his eyes a few times, seeing a girl sitting there.  Being a friendly sort of man, he walked closer and waved his hand to say hello.  But it seemed then that the wind changed directions and his eyes closed so as to not get dust in them.  And when he opened them again, the girl was gone.  It was only for a brief second, but he felt as if he already had a clear picture in his mind of her.

And there was the time that he had gone on a hunting trip in the woods.  And for a few days was out in the chilly autumn air.  One night his fire had gone out, and the air was thick with damp.  He tried many times to start the fire again and could not do so.  In a moment of sheer panic and shivering, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep, while thinking the warmest thoughts he could muster.  Suddenly there was a movement across the ground, cracking of twigs and the soft thud of footsteps.  A moment later his fire was blazing and he could sense a figure floating off into the trees, he called out to it, and that was when she turned back to him.  He felt bright emerald green eyes staring at him in a piercing sort of way, as if they could see right through him.  She placed a single finger to her lips and then turned and disappeared.

On a warm summer evening once, he had been out playing on the lawn with his siblings.  In the distance was the witch tower, sometimes the littlest ones would play a game of sorts, where they would scare each other by claiming to see a face in the window.  Cole was just listening idly, it was only a children's game after all.  But his youngest sister Abigail shrieked particularly loudly at one point and pointed to the tower.  Cole glanced up, and did indeed for a brief moment see a face, it was the most beautiful face, and he was starting to piece together that it was the same girl.  He did not know who she was and so merely scratched his head in confusion, shook his head, and went on with his day.

Very strange chances of fate will appear
Be careful where you step son!
Crashing soon ....
Who will come to his aid?
none other than one who was for so long forbade

Cole's Accident

When Cole was 18 he was out on his own in the woods.  He had spotted a rabbit and because he knew his youngest sister Abigail's favorite was rabbit stew he decided to take a chance at catching it.  He was walking along so quickly, focusing on the rabbit that was to be such a lovely surprise for his sister that he did not notice the large hold that his boot crashed into, lodging his leg at an unsightly angle.  The force of his fall had broken his leg in such a way that the bone was sticking out.

Because his family had become in such bad standing with the witch's, it was a peasant farmer with some limited knowledge of herbs and medicine that was sent for once Cole had managed to signal some grounds keeper men to help him back to his bedroom in the children's wing of the castle.  The leg was not set correctly, and the wound not treated well.  Within days his leg became infected and the peasant was called back.  He still did not have sufficient knowledge to help and Cole fell into a coma from the infection.  

It was his youngest sister Abigail who was 6 at the time who snuck out in the night and ventured to the Morgana tower.  It was old and run down, the upkeep on it had been neglected for many years now.  Abigail knew what people said about witches now, but she also knew the old stories, still passed down about kind witches, and ones who did good deeds and not the bad ones people in the village whispered about.  So it was a very brave little girl who looked at the tower before her, knowing the dangers that could be within, and also the knowledge to heal her brother.

By some chance that night, one witch was indeed in the tower, using it as a quiet place to study and work on new spells without any interruption.  It was not the witch who came running down the stairs and peered out around the cobweb draped door frame, but her daughter and apprentice, Raven.  Abigail suddenly burst into the dramatic tale of her brother's fall into a hole, even demonstrating a bit for emphases, and how his leg was now infected and he seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.

The witch's oldest daughter Raven had always questioned why the two families, hers and the Blackrain's had never gotten along even though the very book she was reading right now to get more knowledge of history, told so many instances of friendship between them.  This girl seemed quite harmless to her and obviously in need of help, so she helped the small child make the climb back up to her mother where she explained the situation.  And then she gave her the kind of sad puppy facial expression that made her mother agree to help the girl's brother but said that to learn a lesson of her own, Raven was to come along.  Now Raven had been raised to never be unkind to humans, but to also never speak to them.  So while she was sent to come along, she remained in silence the entire time.

And so the 3 traveled back to the castle and Abby led the way for the witch and her daughter to come up to Cole's bedroom.  His parents were seen pacing the room and looked up in shock as the 2 witch's entered.  These two had been raised so differently from what their ancestors intended that they had never even been in the same room as one witch, much less two, and yet they knew they had no hope, if their son was to live, things would have to be done.
It took time and patience, the infection had spread so much so that it was weeks before he was able to take his first steps out of bed.  Raven's mother felt that it was good for her daughter to care for this mortal young man, she had a feeling that this could be the beginnings of a reunion of the ancient friendship of the families and so made sure Raven did everything she could to help nurse Cole back to health.  As Cole returned to consciousness, he tried to get Raven to talk to him, but she refused each time.  Sometimes he would try to catch her off guard, but to no avail, she always remained silent in his presence.

And now the sweet love birds can finally fly free
Oh listen let's see what new adventures there be

The Romance

And so the time came when he was nursed back to health and Raven no longer daily visited the castle.  While word had spread that he had been healed by a witch, there was much gossiping and mistrust surrounding the tales that spread rampant among the villagers.  One tale even said that the price for his regained health was his firstborn son given over to the witch's family as payment, still others felt that bad luck might now reign over the family for years to come.  Cole was out walking one day, using a staff for support as he still had a slight limp that lingered.  There was a bandit from the village passing by the same way, when he saw Cole.  Recognizing that this was the prince that so many of the rumors had been spread about, he decided to attack him.  The first thing he did was snatch the staff from Cole, which caused the young man to stumble a bit.  And before Cole could think, the bandit had a knife pressed to his throat.  He was demanding money and Cole's reply was that he would have to kill him before he got anything off of him.

Suddenly in a flash of light and sound of rushing wind, Raven appeared right beside them.  She yelled, for the first time in Cole's presence.  "Stop, you shall not harm him".  The bandit removed the knife and turned and ran.  Cole could feel Raven starting to leave to, but not quickly enough, he reached out his hand to wrap around her arm and looked into those eyes.  "So you can speak?  Please tell me what your name is!"  And so began a slow forming friendship, Raven still reluctant to talk much, but each day she relaxed more and hesitated less when they spoke.  Small chats when passing in the village or woods turned into longer chats holding hands along the sea shore.  And those grew into secret night time visits to meet up and hold each other, sometimes crying about what they might never be allowed to have.  Often sitting at the base of the ancient ruin and talking about the similarity between the old legend of the mermaid and the young man, and their own story.

When Cole told his parents that he had fallen in love with Raven, they immediately went to forbid it.  But because Raven had indeed saved his life, twice now, and for all they knew, more than that, they eventually relented and allowed the courtship to be properly announced.

Sometimes happily ever after is not what you think
Be careful now traveler, did you happen to blink?
Read carefully now of the family they have made
And if you continue you will see more stories will be played

Beginnings of the current family and children:

Within 2 years they were married.  It was a beautiful ceremony with many townspeople attending, and also the witch's that were closest to the Morgana family.  However the one prevailing memory from that day is the curse that Morgana's mother Dianna gave, in her anger that Raven was going to marry and not pass on the family name, she declared that Raven's firstborn child would not have any magical abilities.  

Raven's first night in the castle came as a shock to many.  It is said she seemed awkward and unsure in her first few hours of arriving, but few are really sure what happened in her bed chambers before that first meal.  What everyone is sure of, is that she came out a changed and in control lady of the castle ready to take charge and show the power that her new place in life had given her.

You however the reader, are offered a sneak peek into that event:
Raven's Ascent


9 months after their wedding day Raven had her first child Lilith.  A witch of the Morgana family attended the birth in the castle for the first time in over 40 years.  Cole and Raven went on to have 5 more children, Kisaiya, Joshua, Chey, Kaiya and Kyrie.  

Lilith as the firstborn of the family has always been a bit rebellious.  She has never quite fit into the "lady of the castle" role and instead has gone her own path.  She has begun a secret romance with the stable hand's nephew which is slowly becoming apparent to the family as well.  She was meant to have gotten the magic from Raven's line, but because of a curse gave on Raven and Cole's wedding day., she does not get it.

Kisaiya has always been the intelligent one.  She spends hours in the library trying to soak up knowledge on every subject she can.  She is a very quiet sort of girl, and has a very active imagination.  She loves animals, especially sea life and also spends a lot of time out by the sea trying to see mermaids.  She often dreams of far off places that she has read about in books.

Joshua is the only son and heir to the castle one day.  However, for now, he is just like any 10-year-old boy, teasing his sisters, running around play fighting with wooden swords in the woods and trying to follow his dad around to do everything he does.  He can also be often seen hanging around the stables or at the lake fishing.  Sometimes he will say he does not want to one day be in charge and other days is proud of what he will one day become.  

Cheyenne, who is most often called Chey.  She has started to show signs that she may be one of out Raven's children who will be taught witchcraft and have some of those abilities.  She is a quiet and often watches people, possibly due to taking in information her mind is receiving about them that she doesn't know yet how to process.  There is a story of how Raven, in her deep sadness over the curse her mother placed that her children would not pass on the magic line, that she once seduced Cole into the old witch's Grove on the night of a full moon and that Chey being conceived on that night, created enough magic to ensure that magic would indeed be passed on through Chey.

Kaiya and Kyrie are the last children in the Blackrain line at this time, they are twins.  When they were born, the witch attending the birth saw that Raven was in danger of loosing them.  She gave Raven a choice between losing her babies and calling in some fairy magic to save them.  Raven, of course, could not stand the thought of losing them and allowed them to have a little fairy magic in their blood, which means they will always have to be vigilantly protected against anyway wanting to harm or kidnap them.

Did you think I was telling a ruse or a pun?
Or ever wonder how I know just the way it's all begun?
For this tale was wrote my dears
by me myself and I
And if you stick around a while
I may just tell you why

This Humble Author's Story:

Exu was hired as a simple stable hand sometime after his 16th birthday.  He is deeply into history and was often seen sneaking into the castle and finding books to read about the castle.  When books did not give him enough information, he would on his days off, wander throughout the village, asking questions, listening to stories and soaking up all of the information that he could.  Having fallen in love with the oldest Blackrain daughter, he has compiled this extensive history of their family and home, in the hopes that offering his collecting knowledge and the promise of further volumes, will put him in good favor.  Knowing he is much lower in class standing, he offers this bound leather book, printed painstakingly at night when all chores are done, with only the light of a candle to guide his hand across the pages.  It is the simple young man's hope that his efforts will be appreciated.

It came to pass that one afternoon, Exu had been found in the library by none other than Raven herself.  Fearing that he would be punished, maybe even killed he lept down from the ladder he had been standing on to reach a book he had been eying on a higher shelf.  When he landed on the ground his feet slipped a bit on the slick tile and the weight of his body crashed into the shelf, scattering about 20 heavy books tumbling on top of him.  From the scattered pile his head of dusty brown hair peeped out and a sheepish apology was emitted.  He shakily stood himself up to begin to replace the books carefully in place when he felt a presence next to him, doing the same.  From his peripherial view he saw Raven down on her knees, the same as him, gathering books and placing them back onto the shelves.  Then she turned to him, asking him which book was his favorite.  The question startled Exu at first, and it took him a few moments before he pointed to a beautiful leather bound back with gold writing up it's sides.  It was a picture book, one meant for children, Exu had always loved the stories it told because he knew the legends were also based in some kind of truth and for him, discovering the truth was part of the adventure.  To his complete shock, Raven lifted the book from the shelf and handed it to him.  In confusion he stammered about how he could never accept such a gift.  Raven smirked before letting out a soft laugh, but seeing his crestfallen expression in reaction to her laughter she reached out a hand to touch his shoulder as she gently explained it was not a gift, but that he could borrow it for as long as he liked and come back and borrow others when he wanted.

Then she led him to the couches in the center of the library, where they sat and talked.  He told her about his life, his childhood in the village, his mother who had died giving birth to his younger brother and how the two of them were raised by their uncle who was the current stable hand.  He told Raven how he was just an apprentice now, and while he really loved the horses and taking care of them, he wished he had more time for books and learning.  It seemed that Raven listened to all of this without speaking much back, as if she was filing away the details in her mind for use at a later time.

At the end of their chat Raven walked with Exu back to the stables.  Exu had relaxed somewhat from his shy, timid nature during their talk, but seeing the large frame of his uncle shadowed against the setting sun made him begin to tremble, and he swallowed hard against the worried lump forming in his throat.  His uncle took hold of his arm in what may have seemed to be a loving and guiding way.  He even ruffled Exu's hair and promised that he would keep a better eye on him.  He joked a bit about the boy liking his books more than his chores and then after a few moments of small talk took Exu into the stable and Raven was soon on her way.

Exu's uncle's temper changed the moment the heavy wooden door shut behind them.  The room was lit by a single candle that made eerie shadows dance across the walls.  His uncle grabbed a whip hung on the wall and throwing Exu against the wall, knowing the boy would not dare to move after years of such abuses.  Raven had just reached the steps of the castle when she could sense the sound and feel of whip marks being made on a back already scarred from years of such treatment.  Exu's uncle had made exactly 10 new welts on his nephew's back before Raven was opening the stable door and walking inside.  

In one swift movement Raven had snatched the whip from the man and with another flick of her hand Exu was brought away from the wall and his uncle had been thrown into his place.  "Did you do this to him?"  She spoke in a low but commanding tone, and when the terrified man had nodded she ripped his shirt from his body and began to whip him as well, as if intending to give him every single mark he had ever dared to give Exu.  However her strength and anger only grew with each lash and with a force that was far from anything a human could have done, she killed him.
Exu took some time to calm down. The body was moved by some magic means and when they exited the room no one was about to wonder where Exu's uncle may have gone.  The reality was that no one would really miss the man as he was cruel and known to cheat, steal and lie to make his life easier.  So when the story was later told that he had left after mentioning he needed to repay some gambling debts he had accrued, no one even blinked an eye because it made so much sense.  

The friendship between Raven and Exu grew more and more.  She found talking to him easy because of his more simple background, she did not have to act as a queen around him, and it became a quiet companionship that she found peace in whenever her duties in the castle became too overwhelming.

And that is not the end my friends
Why we've only just begun!
There's songs to sing
And dances to do
Places to visit and before we are through....


Well....

You'll just have to stick around and see
For we are living this story
Right as we speak
And if it is the end you seek

Why not pay me, to spin you another tale?