[Solo] Of Tragedy and Loss...

[Nosdyn]

A month later...

Time passed. Nosdyn recovered from his injuries but was hesitant to return to teaching the children right away. Something troubled him. He was not sure at first...but he noticed it more and more as days passed...Illsandra was different. Something weighed on her heart...something he was not seeing.

He walked over to his wife. "Something troubles you." He said to her quietly that day. He stood right behind her, gently touching her arm. Matters of the heart, expression...that had always been difficult for him. But she'd changed him. It was only then that he really noticed it....she turned away from him, not responding to him at all. He was at a loss. That was the first time he'd ever been rejected by her.

He didn't want to let it go. He walked behind her once more and attempted to hold her arm gently...it was then Nosdyn noticed the severity of the situation.

"Don't touch me!" She suddenly yelled at him. And again, looked away from him.

At that point...he'd been rejected twice by her. It was like a smack to the face. He opened his eyes wide and began to cry for her from the emotional injury. "Is that your final word?" He asked of her.

"Please go away." Illsandra said...there was a finality in her voice.

He'd never heard her speak like that before. "If that is your wish." He said quietly and took his leave.

***

Nosdyn was in the hallway of The Safe House pacing nervously. Many of his Syndicate members were away on other missions, this or that errands. Xyllea returned first and saw Nosdyn there, a nervous wreck.

Xyllea had never seen him like that before. "My Lord...what is wrong?"

Nosdyn heard it first something crashed inside his office chamber. "Fuck!" Something inside of him...assumed the worst. The clues, the hints...the whatever this was had all been there right in front of his face the whole time. He'd been too stupid to see it. He ran inside his personal office, but what he saw next it was already too late.

Over, under, and around everything Nosdyn knew to be his limited world view came crashing down around him. His wife, lay dying in pool of her own blood. She'd slit her own throat with a ceremonial dagger he never even knew she had. He ran immediately to her side. "NO! Fuck, no no no no." He started to cry for her immediately. The nature of her injury was lethal...she was going to die. He held her dying body next to him. "Please gods, no...please no not you too don't leave me too..." Nosdyn pleaded, begged...with something, anything. The woman he would have died for at a moment's notice had taken her own life.

Xyllea looked away tears on her own face, she could not bring herself to watch what was happening.


***

Some weeks later...

There was a funeral. A small group of her relatives and Nosdyn and his allies were present. He was too depressed at that point to ever have noticed Lancaster's presence. She was buried in concordance with the Lloth burial rites...and Nosdyn somehow...lost something of himself.

***

He'd not spoken for days at that point. The memories of that day, the day she took her life flashed in his head over and over...he blamed himself and was guilt ridden by it.

Xyllea had been there by his side the whole time. "My Lord...please say something." She'd also been crying for the tragic loss.

Nosdyn refused...with her death...he'd lost the will to live.