Shadows of the Talam

once long ago
on the edge of the wilderness
of the talam
there lived a lady oh so fair
born in the keep
raised among nobles but always
within view of the wild
she longed for grass beneath her feet
silk were her sheets
warm were the fires of her family estate
sweet was the wine and fine the food
and yet the walls felt like a prison
the song of the swamp
cool breeze and rustling of leaves
rings on the water and a chorus of birds
she imagines the coolness of the mist
the flowers in her hair
dying even as they first touch her skin
cut of from their source of life
and she wonders if that is her fate as well
young and lovely
loved and cherished
but she longs
only for what she sees
through her window
one night
the fire is too hot
the air is difficult to breathe
the stone floor is too hard
and she walks
out the door
away from the walls
towards the song
and step into the shadows of the talam

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This is an old ballad about a young Lady of Talam who went missing from her home after behaving strangely for a time. One morning when everyone woke up, she was simply gone, disappeared from her room. Noone knows for certain what became of her, but she was never seen again, and there had been no signs of a struggle, no ransom letter. Some believe she sensed the coming of the War and subsequent invasion of her home, others that she was stolen by some mysterious creature or eloped with a poor shoemaker. The bard who composed this song based it on the theory that she was enthralled by the Talam wetlands themselves and left voluntarily.