I do not speak of my exploits, unless to warn against the pride that engulfs all who celebrate the Telling. We are symbols of a greater truth, not the truth itself. I am best known for my infiltration of the Maid of Windemere'skingdom beyond the hills. It was I who shattered her ambitions to topple the Summer Court.
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Queen Belmaid is the wife of King Wencen and his true beloved, the original that is, and one of the seven greatest heroes of the Summer Fae. The original Belmaid, while the Maid of Windemere captured and enchanted her lover Wencen, snuck into her kingdom and removed the enchantments she used to control her assembled wild Fae forces. The current Belmaid that the Fateless One encounters, like the rest of the current members, inherited her position by being the first to complete her ballad.
“It is likely that you do not understand our need for continuity, our desire to repeat the past for the good of the coming future. What then is your drive to create a bloodline? There is no difference. The House of Ballads is our family tree. It is the sire we look for wisdom.”
“He represents all that is pure and just in the Summer Court. He is the vibrancy of life, what the Winter Court has always sought to darken with its decaying ways.”
“She is our nemesis, the villain we in the House of Ballads are destined to thwart through all seasons of the Telling. If there is trouble the Maid is at its origin.”
“It is difficult to see from its current condition, but the Oratory was once the finest venue of performances of the Summer Court canon. The voices still linger... We regaled many a king under the Oratory's grand canopy. But those seasons have past. Our time has past.”
“This realm is at the mercy of cycles, of seasons, and the role of the Fae is no different. The Telling is the ongoing story in which we play an integral part.”
— when asked about The Telling.
“Your arrival here is a sign of changes in the Telling. Our fortunes are linked.”
“ Be on your guard. The Faelands burn with strange occurrences.”
“Look at this, Oleyn. The Maid's old keep still has vermin lurking in its shadows. Tell me, Sagrell. Is there a reason we shouldn't exterminate you?”
— upon your meeting at Castle Windemere (while being captive by the Maid's illusion).
“I was offered a new telling, one where I no longer bowed to the will of a man who is in every way my inferior. For the first time, I was given a choice.”
— when asked: What has happened to you? (while being captive by the Maid's illusion).
“Wait. I... I don't understand. What is this place? Where is Wencen? Where is my Wencen?”
— once you set her free from the Maid's curse (succeeding in dispelling attempt).
“It happened in the evening, when the dew fell. She emerged from the shadows and took us. You are the only one who escaped her snare. Or perhaps you didn't?”
“Should we even continue to call this the House of Ballads? It is far different than it was mere days ago. It is a new entity, and one that has no place in the Telling.”
“I will him in my way, but it is the Telling that worries me most. It is what binds us, and when it begins to unravel so does any order that we frail people rely upon.”
“What she did to me and the others was unheard of for our kind, and for that she should be reviled. But still... I cannot help but have pity for the poor creature.”
“I may stay with the House of Ballads, or I may choose to surrender my seat willingly. It has never been done, but as the Maid proved, it is time of change.”
