The Last Kiss
One of the recovered documents from the raids upon the Bone Cask, this particular document was deemed too personal and never released to public, and remains locked away in the vaults of the Bechtlarite Intelligence Bureau, the true conclusion to Airtam's story as far as is known, though neither her nor Ioelena's bodies were ever found.
I awoke to the sound of fighting and the smell of smoke. I am in tremendous amounts of pain from my injuries and someone was moving me. I was hanging on someone's back, strapped on like a knapsack and whoever was carrying me was breathing heavily, and moving swiftly. I took a deep breath and my heart quaked and shuddered. That smell. I know that smell, that jasmine sweet fragrance I first smelled over twenty years ago. I pushed open my swollen eyes to see the hair and cheek of Ioelena Lurie, carrying me rapidly through the halls of my home, and I could see the tongues of flame surrounding us as we went, arching up the walls and licking the ceilings. My heart caught in my throat and I struggled to speak as Ioelena kicked open a door and ducked through, slamming it behind her and pushing an armoire in front of it with a loud crash. She gingerly untied the straps and lay me down upon the bed, noticing that I was awake. She smiled at me nervously, teeth gritted and eyes darting back and forth across my face. "I....I am...sorry." Tears began to streak down her soot stained cheeks and I could tell she was fighting the madness that infects her mind to form coherent thoughts. This was important to her. "I am....was....is? Late! We....I am...I am sorry!" Ioelena looked frantically around the room, clearly agitated and panicked before returning her gaze back to my own, one hand moving to trace the contours of my bruised cheek with trembling fingers. Her face screwed up in exasperation as more tears began to flow as she once again struggled to find words. "I don't.....where we...how do I save....you?" I was caught in the moment, and forced to choke back a sob, and with tremendous effort, I raised my one good hand up to clumsily brush one of her locks of hair back from her face. I could hear the tone of my voice escalate to a higher range with the effort of speaking and not allowing my emotions to destroy my ability to speak "You already have, my love. I never forgot you." Ioelena's face scrunched up as she fought not to succumb fully to what she was feeling, and quickly, but gently, laid a silken kiss upon my lips. She drew back and her eyes once again moved frantically across my face, and then a firm look of determination came over her as she sat up. "Not. Done. Yet!" Behind her, the door burst open as cloaked figures began to swarm through, Ioelena whirled around, her blades appearing from nowhere as she began to spin and carve a path through the intruders. It was just like I remembered it, like an emissary of death, dancing from one to the next in a whirling and strangely beautiful juxtaposition of lethal skill and breathtaking finesse, and for a moment, hope set in. But just as quickly as it did, the world turned on its head. The beams began to collapse and Ioelena, desperate to protect me, dove to block them from falling on me and was wounded in the process, falling upon me like a loving shield, unconscious. We are trapped here, beneath the rubble of my burning home, and I, beneath the still form of the woman I love. The only person I have ever loved. This is the end. I only hope that I have done some good. I can already hear the ravens outside. They must be hungry. Goodnight my love.
Purpose
Airtam's desperate attempt to make sure her story would be known in what is believed to have been the final moments of her life.
Document Structure
Publication Status
This document was never released and remains secured in the Bechtlarite Intelligence Bureau's private vaults.
Type
Leaked Original
Medium
Vellum / Skin
Authoring Date
23rd of Senectus, 161 PR
Location
Authors
Comments