☀️ Arselia and Akonia

Beata's Autobiography

I was born at the beginning of 949 — definitely in winter, I think it was January 12th, but I don't remember exactly, because I was incredibly lucky to be born in the most god...forsaken hole somewhere on the outskirts of Buruaca to the most indifferent people, who completely erased me from their memory with cheap booze about a year or a year and a half after my birth. Luckily for me, those stupid stinking swamps are teeming with all sorts of creatures, so I didn't starve to death. For the first five or six years I survived as best I could, and then I was smart enough to seize my chance and escape from that backwater with a traveling circus.

You think it got better? Pfft, yeah, right. I was barely less ignored. Until I was about eight, I wasn't sure if my name was "Beata" or "Hey, you there." I was lucky that I developed acrobatic skills, otherwise I would have had to survive on my own again, but as it was, they still put up with me.

I'd be lying if I said I hated absolutely everything about it. I liked performing. I really liked making the audience happy, catching their attention and applause. Feeling that someone was glad to see me and that someone was paying attention to me — I loved that immensely.

But the constant reproaches, criticisms, and outright attacks from the rest of the troupe killed any desire in me to do anything good.

If they don't care, why should I?

And at some point, I genuinely stopped caring about everything. I stopped trying to achieve anything, started relying only on myself, and living only for myself. I'm not proud of that part of my life, but it's what happened — I can only accept it, learn from it, and move on.

I was kicked out of the troupe as soon as I turned eighteen, but by then I was so fed up with it all that I swore never to get involved with a circus career again. I was left to my own devices, I had no one and nothing but myself — figure it out as best you could.

And I did.

I never stayed anywhere long. Sometimes I had to flee because of some stupid misunderstanding. Sometimes I got into trouble because of my temper. Sometimes I just got bored staying in one place. I've been to probably almost every region of our vast lands. I fled from harpies in the Elysian mountains. I drank orcs under the table on a dare (by the way, I won). I wandered through dense forests where no human had set foot, and got lost in the colorful crowds of big cities.

And all that time I was alone, until fate carried me to the slave market in Lower Lunaria.

I think there's no need to explain how disgusting the very concept of slavery is — depriving a living, sentient being of free will and the basic rights granted by Anuzish herself. That was probably the first time I did something good not for myself, and the first time I didn't regret it. Things were going well for me at that moment, I had some money. Acting on a sudden impulse, I shelled out a tidy sum for a nice-looking guy who looked especially downtrodden and unhappy. I fed him properly, gave him some coins for pocket money, and told him I wasn't holding him anymore, he was free and could go wherever he wanted.

But it turned out he had nowhere to go, so he decided to tag along with me.

That's how Guyon came into my life — the first person who didn't ignore me, and the first person I didn't ignore. My best friend, my reliable partner, and later — my beloved and fiancé. At first, being together was a bit unusual, but in the end, traveling and seeking adventures turned out to be much more fun as a pair. We trudged through the mud of the Buruaca swamps (I swear it wasn't homesickness for my homeland, we just decided to take a shortcut!), explored old forts in the mountains (we barely escaped from some villain who had set up a base there), ran from an enraged ogre family, and fought bandits. Once we even got stranded on a deserted island. During our travels, we truly grew close and became inseparable.

And thanks to Guyon, I became a much better person than I was. He helped me realize my mistakes and understand that there is another path, that I am much better than I think I am.

And in the summer of 975, when we arrived in Margel, I got a chance to prove it by joining "Carnelian" — a combat unit under the patronage of Her Highness Princess Naria es Diesra Arual back then. There I found new friends and finally set foot on the path of goodness and justice. I even returned to my circus career — after all, it was a familiar way for me to do good and bring joy to people. Guyon and I also finally sorted out our feelings. I am endlessly grateful to him for everything; I don't know where I would be now without his love and support.

Today is the coronation day of Empress Naria es Diesra Arual, and our unit has been transformed into a true knightly order. What does the future hold for us? Only the gods know. But I will act as my heart dictates — I will regret nothing, and my conscience will be clear.

Guyon's Autobiography

I was born on May 27, 950, in the city of Leodir in Luencia. My father was a mid-level official, and my mother ran a small fashionable accessories shop. From birth, I was apparently being prepared for great achievements and a dazzling career. This manifested in the fact that, in my parents' opinion, I had to constantly improve myself every second of my existence, not wasting time on such trifles as games, walks, and socializing with friends. Like any normal child, I tried to be obedient and please Mom and Dad, but no matter how hard I tried, it didn't work out — their acquaintances always had sons or daughters who did all the same things as me, but much better; from this followed the obvious conclusion that I was lazy and not putting in enough effort, which meant that instead of a reward, I deserved punishment.

As I grew older, I began to understand that this attitude could hardly be called fair. I never really made friends, so I secretly read almost the entire local library behind my parents' backs, escaping into fictional worlds and stories every time I had a spare moment. That's probably one of the brightest memories of my childhood — the old dusty library and a pile of books, each containing a whole world. I was ready to spend hours there and sometimes even skipped lessons — fortunately, I was always doing well in my studies, and some teachers turned a blind eye to my absence.

But as I grew up, the atmosphere at home became more tense, it became harder for me to endure the prohibitions and moralizing, and I believed less and less that my parents were just trying to help me and wanted what was best (I believed that was their motivation, but their methods were questionable). As soon as the opportunity arose, I added a year to my age and ran off to join the army, severing all ties with my family.

I wouldn't say I liked the military career, but it was a chance for a new life, for my own path, so I grabbed that chance and didn't let it go. I was pretty good at fighting; because I'm ambidextrous, I mastered the technique of fighting with two swords, which was highly regarded by the command. However, I was nothing extraordinary, just a promising recruit who did his job well. The job was simple — training, drill, occasional sorties to maintain order, clearing out monster lairs and bandit camps.

And one such sortie abruptly ended my career when I was nineteen. There were about three times as many bandits in that fort as the scouts had reported. Our entire squad fell in an uneven battle; I was the only one lucky enough to survive. Or rather — unlucky. As it turned out, those bandits had established contact with slave traders, and the next day I was sent to Lower Lunaria.

Thus began the worst year and a half of my life. I don't want to go into details and describe all the horrors I went through. I don't know how, given the hopelessness of my situation, I managed to keep my sanity and will to live, why I continued to hope and believe in my salvation — but that hope was justified.

The gods sent me salvation in the form of Beata. At first, I didn't expect anything good from her, especially when I saw that she was going to buy me. But, as often happens, first impressions were deceiving — she quickly explained that she bought me only to set me free, gave me some money, and said she wasn't holding me anymore.

And I thought about it and realized I had nowhere to go. I definitely didn't want to go back home, I wasn't particularly drawn to continue serving in the army, and it probably wouldn't have worked out anyway — those year and a half had seriously undermined my health, and I had a long recovery ahead. So I decided to keep Beata company on her travels, and I haven't regretted it for a second.

She turned out to be a big fan of dubious and risky adventures. I've lost count of how many times we could have died — in forests, steppes, mountains, swamps, seas, rivers, and cities, she always found something interesting and stuck her nose everywhere. It was hard for me to adapt to her style and lifestyle, but over time I got used to it and even began to find some pleasure in it — new places, new acquaintances, new experiences, with dangers but also wonders waiting around every corner. Gradually, we became very close, after all the adventures we'd been through together.

Beata is a very complicated person with a very complicated fate. But she has incredible patience and a very kind heart. She helped me recover from everything I'd been through and realize that I shouldn't compare myself to others, that I can achieve a lot and am worth a lot on my own.

In the summer of 975, she dragged me into another one of her adventures, which turned out to be work in the multi-tasking combat unit "Carnelian" under the leadership of Her Highness Princess Naria es Diesra Arual back then. There, even if not immediately, I finally became convinced of what I'm truly worth, realizing my contribution and my value. I found myself in medicine, in saving people. And Beata and I finally understood the true nature of our feelings for each other, which makes me incredibly happy. She came to me in my darkest hour and helped me find the light. I don't know what I would do without her.

Today is the coronation day of Empress Naria es Diesra Arual, and our unit has been transformed into a true knightly order. What does the future hold for us? Only the gods know. But I know that there is always hope for the best outcome and a bright tomorrow.

 - Well, something like that, - Beata signs off for herself and for Sashka Guyosha.
 - Y-yeah... 😅 - Guyon was embarrassed in the background and still didn't understand how he'd been tricked into writing an autobiography when he'd promised himself that no living soul would ever find out he had been a slave. However, since Beata was firmly set on writing her bio, he actually had no choice.
"Pfft, Guyosh, don't worry, firstly you're a cutie and a powerhouse for surviving, and secondly in Lower Lunaria they'll probably recognize your face without a bio anyway, lol," could be read in Beata's gaze.