All Lost in Skaljard

[The cover of this novel is sleek and plain, yet elegant. A short dedication precedes the body of the text.]

"A Tragedy in Romance written by SD for RK on his birthday"

Sir Lutrinae and his betrothed Lady Canis arrived on the frosty cold island of Skaljard. They were a new couple, enjoying each other's company, and attentive to one another. They felt like they were in love, or at least in some close approximation of that. They had traveled from Baldur's Gate, where Sir Lutrinae's father was a very well-to-do merchant.

Sir Lutrinae had come across the sea to make his fortune on the rough island, which was known as a place of opportunity where many successful stories had began. He was a handsome man--lean but strong with tanned skin, and his beard always trimmed and his hair always neatly arranged.

The Lady Canis was less enthusiastic about the hard life on Skaljard, and decided to travel instead to the nearby Arelith, where she intended to begin to develop a comfortable life in the city of Cordor with her noble reputation and (hopefully) the riches provided by Sir Lutrinae's efforts. Lady Canis was a quiet, attractive woman who was ambitious for the finer things in life--such as parties at mansions, and having servants.

Left to build his fortune in the icy north, Sir Lutrinae found that he very much liked drinking and spending time with the warriors in the longhouse in Skaljard Village. This behavior was a novelty for him because in Baldur's Gate he found that few people would tolerate drunk and debaucherous behavior.

It was there in that longhouse that Sir Lutrinae met a Northman named Arkto from the Ten Towns of Icewind Dale. Arkto was a great bear of a man who must have had some giant's blood somewhere in his lineage, sporting ample hair on his body and a great, long, braided beard. Arkto was generous with his attention on Sir Lutrinae, and the sir found himself charmed by the roaring laugh and convivial nature of the rugged barbarian. Indeed, he was charmed in a way he was not expecting, leaving him confused and wondering about himself.

Sir Lutrinae and Arkto then had many adventures together in Skaljard, doing many writs for the hovding, and climbing snowy peaks, and exploring icy unknown caves. It was in a hotspring where they were bathing after a particularly exciting adventure at the foot of a great glacier that Sir Lutrinae found himself at the moment he both feared and desired. Though his reason told him that his future was with Lady Canis (and in pleasing his merchant father), Lutrinae found himself surrendering to passion he desperately wanted with the bearded barbarian in the warm waters beneath an arctic sky.

But in the days that came, Lutrinae's reason became his enemy, and he did remind Arkto more than either of them wanted that sir would have to soon leave Skaljard and go to Cordor to marry Lady Canis. The northman laughed many times saying that it did not bother him and that of course Sir Lutrinae would have to be with his lady and make many noble children together if that is what Sir Lutrinae wanted.

Too soon a day came when a letter arrived from Lady Canis to Sir Lutrinae that she had secured an estate and that he should come immediately. Despite his pretended indifference from before, Arkto, the giant man, wept and cried and begged Sir Lutrinae not to leave, but to stay with him on Skaljard and they would learn to sail the seas of the north and could be together on the waves.

Sir Lutrinae, twisted with regret and indecision and cowardice, protested that though he loved the Arkto, he could not cause Lady Canis such a scandal. He told the barbarian he was man enough to get along without him, and could find someone new to be his wife.

Arkto said he would be left adrift without Sir Lutrinae, but the nobleman made his exit anyways one day, disappearing from the frozen jetty and headed to Arelith.

Finding his way to the city of Cordor, Sir Lutrinae was reunited with Lady Canis, who seemed pleased at his arrival and had many stories of the nobles that she had met and told him of many plans they could make for the theatre and parties at noble estates and all the right people he should meet.

Lady Canis found Sir Lutrinae distracted however, and while he was anguishing over his emotions and identity, his affections were diminished for Lady Canis. Lady Canis could not understand why. And so it went for many months, as they drifted apart, and the lady tried to understand why Sir Lutrinae was so irritable and distant.

One day, however, Lady Canis discovered from one of her noble friends that a large and savage man was discovered wandering the city making inquiries for Sir Lutrinae, and the guard detained the fellow on suspicion that his many tattoos marked him as a pirate and enemy to Cordor. The savage was recognized as having raided ships north of the island, and was marked for execution. Lady Canis went furiously to her husband, demanding to know how this barbarian knew Sir Lutrinae.

When he heard that the name of the savage was Arkto, he had but a short and insufficient explanation to her liking, saying the man was but a passing acquaintance, but he was greatly distressed and preoccupied more so than ever.

In the days after Arkto's execution in the Cordor Arena, Sir Lutrinae sank into a deep depression, and unlike the person Lady Canis had first met in Baldur's gate, he took to drinking great amounts and spending many late nights in taverns. He would disappear for many days, travelling the island, trying his best to avoid Cordor and Lady Canis.

One day found the end of their relationship when she discovered him at the Lighthouse Tavern in Guldorand, having been informed by the constabulary that Sir Lutrinae was frequenting the place. There, she discovered him in a cozy embrace with a burly Luskan sailor! Scandalized, Lady Canis stormed from the place, threatening to tell everyone in Cordor of his betrayal and questionable associations and habits and debauchery.

Having lost both Lady Canis and his love Arkto, Lutrinae found finally that his passion and denying it had led to him losing everything. With nothing left, Lutrinae was lured into the life his Arkto had recently found and took up sailing under a flag for Sencliff, reaching the rank of Dread Pirate, and known for his great cruelty whenever he should happen to catch one of the ships of Cordor.

The author's name - most likely a pseudonym - is prominently displayed on both the front cover and inner flap: Glynn Stokefire.

The back flap includes the following information: Special edition published on 19 Elasias, 187 AR Suggested peddling price: Three Hundred Sovereign