"The Maid of Blood."

"The Iron King names the Maid of Blood," Talaitha intones. "May the spirits reveal the destiny which awaits him!"

Talaitha steps close to you, her eyes locked on yours, and her hands begin to touch your body. It is a strange sensation... her touches are pleasurable by their very nature, but it is obvious that they are not truly intended as such. Rather than seek out sensitive and intimate places, her fingertips brush over your temples, then press gently into your neck to feel your pulse through the strong blood vessels there... then her breasts press into your chest, but it seems that she does this only to breathe in the same time as you do; so that she inhales as you breathe out, and then again in the opposite manner. It may be your imagination, but it seems to you that she even somehow manages to match the rhythm of her heartbeat with your own. It is a strange intimacy, unlike that of a lover, more as if she seeks to become one with you than to share her body.

Her eyes close, and beneath the lids you can see them dart rapidly back and forth, as if she were suddenly asleep and dreaming. Her hands find your own, palm to palm, not lacing the fingers but aligning them with yours. Her lips are so close now that it is all you can do not to lean in just a hair's breadth further and kiss them... but you remember that Talaitha warned you to take no action without her instruction. Even if she has no true power or connection with the spirits, it feels unwise to disturb her trance again.

"The Maid of Blood," she breathes, almost too quietly to be heard even so close. "Speak the name with me." With those words, Talaitha moves that tiniest bit closer so that your lips just barely touch, like a fresh dewdrop upon a blade of grass.

"The Maid of Blood," you whisper, and her lips move in perfect unison with yours. Then she pulls away, and her brow furrows just slightly, concentrating hard, listening to whatever voices she alone can hear. Then she shivers, just slightly... and it may be your imagination, but it almost seems as thought the slight breeze which wafts around you forms the subtlest of sounds, which if you could only hear them a tiny bit more clearly, might be strange words in a tongue you have never heard before...

"Yes," Talaitha says, in a soft, melodious tone that drowns out the mysterious almost-sound. "Yes, I see her before me now. Conceived in darkness and pain, come into this life even as life was taken from she who brought her forth, her first cry stirred a heart of blackened steel and stayed the hand which would have ended her even as she begun. Her eyes burn with an unquenched fire deep within, scorning that for which her deepest heart desires most of all... a tender touch, the caress of a loving hand, the comfort of another which she has never known..."

It's hard to say what you might have expected when you named the Maid of Blood... perhaps you made the choice simply because it intrigued you to know what kind of woman would have such a name among spirits (or Talaitha's imagination, perhaps). Some of the other "names" immediately made you think of women you know; it's not hard to guess who was meant by the Maid of Silver or Water, for instance. But even now, it's difficult to imagine who Talaitha describes with her strange words.

And yet... it seems that an image forms in your mind's eye, a face you have never seen but which is still somehow familiar, and brings with it a sense of dread and foreboding. It is an undeniably beautiful face, delicate and youthful, but with eyes as hard as diamonds. And yet, even though her piercing gaze is frightening in its intensity, you can feel the humanity behind her eyes, inspiring your own compassion for whoever this woman may be.

Talaitha's hands begin to roam over your body, up your arms and down your back, pressing both firmly and lightly as she goes. A memory comes into your head, a time when you spoke to Elyssia's most learned healer of his arts; one Master Sanjay Bhandari... he showed you his charts of what he called the Energy Streams, and described a **** called the Chi which moved through all people. His charts indicated the places at which this energy could be redirected and controlled. It is hard to recall exactly, especially under the circumstances, but it seems to you that Talaitha's fingertips press those same points as her hands come to them.

"Show me the future," she sings, "what will come to pass..."

Suddenly, you feel moist lips against your fully-hardened manhood, and you realize that Talaitha is spreading her legs around you to take you inside her. It is all you can do not to respond and thrust forward, take her in your arms, kiss the lips which remain so close - but through an iron effort of will, you remain still and allow her to continue. Ever so slowly, she slides down upon you, her warm and wet passage opening and allowing you to penetrate. An involuntary shiver runs through you, but otherwise you are able to remain still. Talaitha rolls her head back, her eyes closed and still flickering with the signs of dreaming.

"Yes, the Blood Maid's heart is not easily won... she keeps it chained within walls of stone and steel, walls which crack but stand strong. Only the Iron King may breach those walls, but he must summon all of his courage if he is to succeed, and hold true though both friend and foe alike look with scorn and narrowed eyes..."

Talaitha's brow furrows in concentration, and she unexpectedly leans forward to kiss you upon the lips... but it is no lover's kiss, it is more as though she is forming a closer connection to you, trying to listen through your ears as well as her own. Slowly, she pulls you downward to the blanket upon the ground, for which you are most grateful; it was becoming difficult to stand! Somehow, she is able to gracefully lower both herself and you together such that you remain tightly embraced as a man to a woman, your shaft thrust deeply into her.

"Wait..." she whispers, and a subtle change in her tone makes you realize that Talaitha speaks to you with her own voice now, not that of the spirits with whom she communes. "Wait, for there is danger... a clash of swords, fire and steel -"

Suddenly, Talaitha's legs wrap tightly around you and pull you hard into her, her hands turning into claws which grip your shoulders tight enough to draw a trickle of blood, and her back stiffens as if she has been hit by a bolt of lightning. The uncontrollable response of your own body makes you explode inside her, filling her with your essence, but the pleasure of the moment is robbed by Talaitha's frightening response to... whatever it is that she sees, and hears. She told you that you must do nothing without her instruction, but there is also her well-being for you to consider - whatever is happening to her, it seems to be causing her terrible pain! You are about to speak her name when she suddenly relaxes, takes in a deep breath, and opens her eyes to look at you.

For a moment her eyes seem glazed, but then they clear and focus upon you. She looks at where her nails dug into your shoulders, and withdraws her hands. "King Xavier," she whispers, "I - I am sorry, you must not think that I intended this!"

You reach up and touch where her nails have gouged your skin, and your hand comes away with blood on the fingertips. "Perhaps I should have chosen a different maid," you say to her. "I did not expect the response from the spirits to be so... literal." You can see in her eyes that your attempt at levity has not left her less frightened. "Talaitha, I am not a man whose anger is aroused by a scratch," you assure her. "You have nothing to fear from me."

Talaitha nods, and breathes more easily. "Thank you, King Xavier. I am not always in control of myself when I open my mind to the spirits. What they showed me was... unpleasant."

"Tell me, please. I imagine that you prefer to speak good fortunes, but I would hear your words nonetheless, and I promise I shall hold you blameless for them. You have my word as both man and King."

She nods, and carefully withdraws from your embrace, moving slightly away and resting upon her knees. "The spirits showed me images of war," she says. "Such futures are always disturbing, but these were particularly so. I believe it is because this place is much beloved by the spirits, and it caused them great distress."

"I suppose this means I should avoid courting the Maid of Blood," you say. "That should not be difficult, as I still know not who she is."

Talaitha shakes her head. "It is not that simple. War may be coming whether you seek her hand or not. I saw that she fought in the battle, as fiercely as the warrior goddesses of old... but the banner under which she fought had two sides, and the way the wind blew determined for whom she wielded her sword." Talaitha sighs with frustration. "It is so difficult to see events which are yet to come... they are always shifting, moving, never still for a moment. There is so little of which I can be certain - I cannot even know that war is coming at all, for even the most trivial of actions may either avert it or bring it about."

"'For want of a nail, the Kingdom was lost,'" you say.

Talaitha looks at you questioningly.

"From a story told to me in my youth, by my old master," you explain. "He taught me to take great care even in such simple tasks as shoeing a horse, because a single lost nail could bring about disaster. A lost nail leads to a lost shoe, which causes the horse to stumble, and the messenger arrives late with news that could have turned the tide of a battle. The battle is lost, the kingdom falls... all because of a nail which needed one more tap of the hammer."

"Your master was wise," Talaitha says. "It is good that you understand the troubles with foretelling that which lies ahead. But there are some things which one may see clearly, tiny details which can shine a light on the darkness. This much, I can say with little fear of being wrong: if the battle which was foretold comes to pass, the Maid of Blood shall be the one who turns the tide, and the banner under which she rides shall be the one left standing in the end.

"Be that as it may, the spirits are silent, King Xavier. They have spoken and I have given you their words. Heed them as you will."

You nod, knowing that you are not likely to hear anything more definite about whoever the maid is. But there is still one more question on your mind. "I would ask another question, if I may."

"The spirits have given all the answers they will give, for now; but of course, King Xavier, you may ask of Talaitha what you will."

"The Iron King... is that the name by which the spirits know me?"

"It is," she says. "They have spoken to me of you before, when I have meditated. Of course I know of your past, it is well-known in these parts that you were a worker of iron at the forge, but the name means more than that. Iron is the strongest of metals, and yet it also yields to become what it must be. It will bend to fire, but when it is quenched it becomes stronger still. It is the metal of the common people, in the form of a hammer or plow; it is also the metal of a knight's armor and shield, and the sword of a King like the one you carry at your side. The King of Iron is a king of all the people, both noble and common, a king who wields his power in service and not in domination. The spirits know you well, King Xavier."

"I thank you for your service, Talaitha," you say to her, as you both stand up and you begin to put your clothes back on. It feels somewhat awkward; normally, after you have made love to a woman, you would offer kisses and tender caresses and hold her in your arms, but it's hard to know exactly what you should do in this case.

"There is one other thing," she says as you prepare to take your leave. "Now that you have been connected to the Spirits, you may find that they visit you at some future time. Since you do not have my power, they will appear to you in the only way they can - in your dreams. The dreams will be vivid and potent in nature, but do not fear; these dreams can no more do you harm than any other dream. If the spirits speak to you in this manner, remember that they cannot always be trusted, and it is always best to use your own judgement rather than follow them blindly." She smiles slightly. "Consider them as you would your advisors; wise and helpful, but not always right."