Category: Dowager Griselda

The Nyte Shades ..Where Are They Now???

4/26/2022

Both the Dowager and Baron could not believe what they had just read. Nyte Shades! And they are what gave the power to Dragons! After a long silence when they finished reading the story, Griselda turned to Awena and asked "Do you know where the Nyte Shades went or are they still here?"

"No, I don't know. As far as I have found, nobody even knows what they looked like for sure," answered the Sleeping Sister. "There are no sketches in any of the scrolls and no descriptions. For the power of the magic they had, we can only assume that they could probably also change shapes and may be with us still."

"It is hard to believe. Another magical being gave magic to the Dragons... and I never knew... even when I received my dragon tattoo as being a member of the Dragon clan," mumbled Griselda. "They never told us," she continued to tell Awena. "The Dragons never even mentioned Nyte Shades and who would have thought to ask!"

Realizing that this discovery was upsetting the Dowager, Awena steered her to one of the seats in the library and asked an acolyte to bring them some tea and biscuits.

Soon they were sipping tea and slowly Griselda was beginning to come to terms with this discovery. "I felt betrayed by them not telling us, but now that I think more about it," she told the Sister, "I guess that it was never my place to know. It's just hard to fathom that Dragons were at one time just another being in the Realms and not the powerful creatures they became..."

After a long pause, and when Griselda did not continue, Awena decided it was best to tell her old friend of her concerns. "Griselda, I believe that the finding of the tablet by the Borrowers and your discovery of this book were meant to be. Somehow they are tied together and you are going to be a major player in the game." What the Sleeping Sister did not say but was in her thoughts was, "and I hope you have the strength for it."

As the Baron was still staring at the book and trying to turn the pages but it would not let him, a gleam was slowing starting to come to his eyes. Neither Awena or Griselda noticed as they were deep in conversation about the Nyte Shades. "A new adventure unlike any I have ever had before - to solve this mystery of the Nyte Shades," he realized. "I will need to figure out a way to have mom stay at the mansion. Also Fiddlefaddle will need to start packing again as soon as when he returns and upon us getting back home. I'll need to find someone to babysit my creatures!"

Nyte Shades... Discover the Tale

4/12/2022

"Nyte Shades? I haven't heard of them before. What do they have to do with Dragons?" asked Griselda looking at Awena. The Baron was just as perplexed and shook his head in amazement at what he was hearing.

"Let me see if I can explain better," answered Awena but before anyone could say another word, the book the Baron was holding started to glow brighter and tried to pull from his hands.

Startled as a jolt of lighting went through his arm, he dropped the book to the floor and jumped back. The book acted like it had heard the question, opened and flipped through several pages, finally stopping partway through the book.

"Be careful son," warned the Dowager when they realized that the book was finished moving and not going to close, the Baron started to pick it up from the floor. He slowly placed it on a reading table near the bookshelf it had come from keeping his hands from the front of the book incase it decided to close like teeth chomping together.

Awena stepped up to the book and saw the page it had opened to, smiled and then stepped back, motioning for the others to read the page. "I think there is your answer."

If you would like to read the story with Griselda and the Baron...
click here or on the book below.

Nyte Shade... What's a Nyte Shade???

4/5/2022

"Did you bring the book with you?" asked Awena after listening to the Baron and the Dowager.

They had just finished telling her about their adventure getting the book and all that they knew about the tablet the Borrower had found too.

"No, I am sorry," answered Griselda. "It was too heavy to carry all of this way and we decided it was best to see you as soon as possible."

"It is no matter. From your description we probably have a copy of it here in our library," smiled Awena.

Neither of her guest knew about the long years Awena, as a novice, had spent reading the scrolls and tablets in the library of the Sleeping Sisters. Plus few even knew about the Sister's library or how enormous it was. The Sleeping Sisters' home looked small from the outside, but the tree they lived in had very far reaching roots, much like an iceberg, with only a small portion seen above as most being below the surface.

"Come, I will take you to the library." Rising smoothly from the cushion, Awena and the Dowager started towards the door.

"Hummm... Don't worry about me," grumbled under his breath the Baron as he struggled to rise from the floor. He wasn't going to let two "old ladies" beat him to the door.

Soon they stood before an ornately decorated entranceway with no door. "Aren't you worried about someone getting in here with all of these books and scrolls," asked the Baron thinking about how even Atian had a lock on his door. Awena just smiled and said that "they are well protected". What that meant, the Baron did not know, but after thinking about the power the Sisters had, decided it was probably better if he didn't.

Awena lead them through many rooms and passageways filled with books, scrolls, tablets, bottles, crystals, and mirrors. There was one mirror that several other Sisters were staring into and when the Baron stopped to see what they were looking at, he realized that he did not see himself in the mirror but a bridge spanning a mountain gorge with several trolls pointing at him... quickly he hurried on to catch up with his mother and Awena.

Finally the Sister stopped in front of a large bookshelf and asked the Dowager if anything looked familiar. "We try to copy everything exactly the same from other books to include the cover and binding," she explained. "Anything look familiar?"

Slowly Griselda pulled back a portion of her sleeve, revealing her dragon tattoo and started to approach the bookshelves. All at once, a book started to glow! "It looks like we found it," the Baron grinned as he pulled the book from the shelf.

As the Baron turned to the others he realized that Awena was no longer smiling. Catching his mother's eye, he gestured toward the Sister and then Griselda saw it too. "Is there something wrong?" she asked her friend. "What is it?"

Finally Awena answered. "How did you open the book? It has a magical enchantment on it and you should never have been able to open it." It was then Awena saw Griselda's tattoo and that it was glowing. "Of course, you are of the Dragon Clan! That explains much. So then you must know about the Nyte Shades?"

Griselda glanced at her son who just shook his head negatively and shrugged his shoulders before turning her attention back to the Sleeping Sister.

"What are Nyte Shades and what connection do they have to the Dragons?"

Walking Down the Rabbit Hole....

3/8/2022

As the Baron wondered how much farther he would have to walk to the home of the Sleeping Sisters, a line of purple sparkles suddenly appeared on the side of the trail leading off into the undergrowth. "It's about time," he grumbled hoping this was it. Without a word, the Dowager started following the sparkles and soon they were standing before a tree house with a small door.

"Not very big," thought the Baron as his mother started to lift her hand to knock on the door. But before she could knock the door opened and there stood one of the Sisters. "Awena awaits you in her chambers."

Unsurprised, the Dowager nodded her head in thanks and the both of them followed the Sister through a series of hallways until they arrived at an ornate set of doors. "The place doesn't look this big from the outside," the Baron muttered, only to receive a look of reproach from the Dowager. "Do I need to leave you on the doorstep?" she asked him in a frosty voice. Realizing he had best just keep quiet and listen with his mouth closed he gestured for her to lead the way.

Sitting in the middle of the room was a Sleeping Sister who was meditating and it appeared she was totally unaware that they had entered. A flickering magical light was floating above her hands and before it went out it flashed once brightly. Opening her eyes, the Sister smiled as she saw the Dowager. "It has been a while since I last saw you," Awena said. "And this must be your son, the Baron?"

Yes, there were a few things he did not know about his mother the Baron was beginning to realize and that maybe there was more to his mother than he thought. "I must find out more about this," he decided.

"It is a pleasure to meet you." the Baron said as he bowed. " I am Belvedere Allowishes Theodore Steffon, but you may call me Baron since I am one," he told the Sister removing his hat, "Or by my nickname BATS." Smiling, Awena introduced herself and proceeded to give Griselda a brief hug. "It has been way too long," she told the Sister, "but as usual, sadly my coming here is not just a friendly visit."

As the smile left Awena's face and by the look on Griselda, Awena knew that another big event was on the horizon. "Come, sit with me and we will get reacquainted and then you can tell me what troubles you," she told both of them. Trying not to be noticeable, the Baron quickly glanced around for a chair as he did not relish the idea of sitting on the floor for any long period of time. Ignoring him, Griselda lowered herself gracefully to a pillow and waited for the others to join her. Groaning silently to himself, "I think I have just gone down a rabbit hole here!" and not as gracefully as his mother, the Baron sat on an adjacent pillow. "I hope I can get up when this is all over. My knees aren't what they used to be," he continued thinking to himself.

As the Dowager and Baron explained to Awena all that they knew about the tablet, those hunting for it, and the book they borrowed from Atian's library, just like the Baron, Artie was also wondering if she had just come through a rabbit hole???

Where is Arnie???

3/1/2022

As Arnie was heading to the hole by the old oak she had fallen into when she found the Dragon tablet, she was totally unaware that at that moment she was the most popular being in all of the realms. Everyone (and every thing) was looking for the Borrower with the Dragon tablet.

High above in the sky was the Gooblin King's mechanical birdseye viewer, Rave, searching the realms in search of any Borrower it could find and hoping it would lead him to the one holding the tablet. The Troll King's minion, Drat, was also busy trying to talk to a Borrower - any Borrower - but they all seemed to have disappeared. When normally they were trying to avoid Borrowers, now when they wanted one, there just wasn't any to be found.

Even C.O.G. (Cooperation of Organized Grunts) had called a special meeting to see if anyone knew where a Borrower could be found. It was all very frustrating and not just a few tempers were short...

"Haven't you found any of them yet," grumbled Hunter at Meen. "Are you telling me that they just up and vanished? Usually we can't get rid of them as we try to keep them out of the good silverware. Where did they go? And you checked with your friends and none of them have seen a Borrower?" Meen only shook her head from side-to-side and waited to see if the Shadows' King had other instructions for her...

And across the Realm, two more of the searchers were on a mission of their own.

"Tell me again why you think the Sleeping Sisters will help us? I mean, they usually don't get involved in any of the events of the realms. Why this one?" asked the Baron as he and his mother, the Dowager Griselda, were walking to the Sleeping Sisters house. "Also, I would like to know how you know where they live. Hewey, Efem, and the others had to be lead there by a bird."

"There is a lot you don't know my son, so don't let it fret you. Let's just say that the Sisters and I go back a long way and leave it at that," answered Griselda. The Baron knew he would not get anything further when his mother decided it was none of his business so he decided on a different approach. "I wonder if I can get my fortune told. I heard they were great at predicting the future," he mumbled, knowing he was loud enough for her to hear.

Stopping in her tracks, the Dowager turned to face her son. "They don't do that," she growled at him with irritation in her voice. "The Sleeping Sisters have been guardians of the realms as long as I can remember and they know of many secrets and prophecies which they study and explore to keep all of us safe. Now, if you would be quiet for a while as I think on how to approach them, it would be appreciated!" Getting a nod from her son who decided it was best not to say another word for a while, they both started back down the trail.

While on another hillside overlooking the waterfall, something was watching Arnie as she stepped through the water and started exploring around the pool. "How dare someone come into my garden," it thought. "Something must be done about this..."

For little did it know or care that at that moment it was the only one who knew where the Borrower was ~ even though it didn't know it was a Borrower. It just knew someone was in it's garden!

Opening the Unknown...

2/1/2022

After the Nytemare returned the Baron and Dowager to the Baron’s mansion, it quickly departed back to the Shadows King’s stable while Griselda and her son shared a pot of tea before reading the book they had taken from Atian’s library.

“What are we looking for mother,” asked the Baron. “I saw how the Dragon image glowed on the cover when we discovered it, but what do you expect to find in the book?"

“I don’t really know,” she answered. “I really wasn’t sure we would even find a book when we went to Atian’s library. But, I guess I could say it found us,” she realized as she thought back to how her tattoo and the book both started glowing when she reached out her hand to pick it up. Glancing at the book as she set her cup of tea on the table, she decided they might as well start trying to decipher it since the book appeared to be written in ancient Dragon. "It was going to be a long night reading through such a thick tome," the Dowager thought as she stood and started towards the book. She whispered to herself her son’s question, “What am I looking for?”

"Long, long time ago..."

At her question the image of the Dragon on the cover began to swirl and a green light appeared as the book opened by itself and quickly flitted through several pages to a stop! Slowly words began to appear before the startled pair! As this was all happening the Baron had shot to his feet to protect his mother and now stood besides her with the open book resting on the table.

The Dowager quickly started fanning herself as to not faint as the Baron stood there stupefied. Griselda looked at her son and said "I think we are going to need some help. I better contact the Sleeping Sisters!"

After Hours Visit...

1/12/2022

"What makes you think I have a lockpick set with me?" asked the Baron to his mother.

"You never go on an adventure without them and every time you leave the mansion you always have your tools hidden somewhere in case an adventure begins," answered the Dowager. "Besides, I saw you put them into your coat pocket before we left. We need to make a stop before going home, so you'll be needing them."

Smiling, the Baron pulled out the little leather case holding his 'tools' from his jacket pocket and said, "Do you mean these?" as he held them in his hand. "What adventure are we starting?" Griselda glanced over to see the ring of tools he held and then back to watching outside the carriage window.

"We are going to Atian's. Well, since he is gone, we are going to visit his library. We need something I hope is there," the Dowager said as she continued looking out the carriage window. "I am hoping that since his book collection is the oldest that I know of that there will be a book somewhere there that might help us learn more."

The Baron knew from the way she talked that he would get no more from her so he put away his lockpicks and settled back into his seat for the remainder of the ride.

Soon the Nytemare pulled the coach to the entrance of Atian's cottage where the Realm of Wymsy library was shelved. "We should be back shortly..." the Dowager told the Nytemare as she exited the carriage, "and please wait for us."

As they approached the cottage door, the Baron pulled out his tool set to unlock the door...

"I guess the library knows we are here?" the Baron whispered to the Dowager as he put the unused tool kit back into his pocket. She did not answer, only pushed the door the rest of the way open and walked in. "We are looking for the reference section," was all she said as she lit a candle by the door, picked it up, and started down a row of bookshelves peering into the small alcoves filled with books. Shaking his head from side to side as he wondered what she was looking for, he knew enough to follow and stay out of her way until she found it.

As she continued down another row of shelves lined with books of all sizes, the Baron noticed that his mothers arm was beginning to glow and it was not the one holding the candle... "Mom, I think something is happening..." he started to say as she glared at him for the interruption but before she could tell him to keep looking, she too noticed that her arm was glowing. It was the Dragon Clan tattoo! "We have found it... or more precisely it has found us!" she whispered to her son. "Look around. It must be somewhere close by."

Having no idea what they were looking for, the Baron started pulling several books and scrolls from the shelves and handed them to his mother so she could read the titles. Soon it became obvious which book she sought because as the Baron handed one to her, the book began to glow just like her tattoo.

"We are done here. I will leave a note for the house brownie watching over the Library that we are borrowing the book while you let the Nytemare know we will be ready to leave shortly. We need to return to the Mansion," the Dowager told her son. "Right after you put the other books back that is ~ after all, a house brownie is not someone to upset, which she would be, after seeing this mess."

Break'n the Rules...

1/4/2022

The party was over without the Borrowers showing up and all that was left to do now was to send the few that always have to be told that it was time for them to go home to leave. That... and of course the cleaning up.

As the Dowager, Griselda, and the Baron said their goodbyes to Hungry and the Shadows' King, Griselda was thinking about all that Hunter had told her about what he knew of the tablet. "Not much," she thought. "I probably know more about Dragon tablets than he does." This thought disturbed her because she knew that the Baron and Hunter were correct in their concerns about the troubles this tablet could bring.

Dragons have a very long memory. Some people think that an elephant does, but in comparison to a Dragon, the elephant is just a passing thought. Part of this goes back to Dragons living to very old ages. Where 'Outies' measure events in years, the Dragons measure in eons. Few of the fae live to be as old as a Dragon and it has been a long time since the Dragons left the realms, but Griselda remembers. She was after all a Dragon Clan member and talked to Dragons more than any other fae and that is why the discovery of a Dragon tablet bothered her so much.

Griselda knew that Dragons only wrote down something on a tablet so it would not be forgotten. That usually meant that tablets were for a secret not to be shared freely or something so important that no Dragon should ever forget it!

So, as her and the Baron entered the coach, she was thinking about what to do...

"Hunter, dear, do you mind if your Nytemare takes me on a couple of errands before we return home?" she asked the Shadows' King. "It won't be much out of the way to the Baron's Mansion and these old bones are not up to much more exercise today."

As the Baron forced back a smile, knowing that his mother could still work circles around him, he knew she was up to something and added, "We would appreciate it."

Not wanting to appear uncourteous, he whispered instructions to the Nytemare to be available for them for the night and to take them where ever they requested and soon they were on their way.

The Winter Solstice Party...

12/21/2021

"Leave it to Hunter to be unpredictable. Here we should be having a little tea party and he turns it into the event of the season," growled the Dowager as she rode in a coach on the way to the Winter Solstice event. "Discussing the finding of a Dragon tablet doesn't make this meeting with Hungry any easier either. Now everyone will want to see him!

At least the King sent one of his Nytemares to pull my coach." As horses are few in the Realms, when a Nytemare is willing to take you somewhere - it is only because they wanted to or the Shadows' Realm King commands them to. Griselda was being given an extra treat, being able to ride in one of the King's coaches. "It is nice not to have to walk," she thought. "But he still is going to get an earful about this!"

As the Dowager traveled and was going over in her mind what she was going to say to the Shadows' King, little did she realize that the coach was being watched. Actually, all approaches to the King's castle were being watched! But by whom (or what) is the real question.

Each of the other Kings had their minions out scouting for any clues to the secrets of the Dragon tablet but as of yet, no one had seen the Borrowers. Drat had several of the Troll King's minions watching the trails through the forest (and of course following the Gooblin King's minions) while the Gooblin King had his minions watching the Troll King's minions. He had even put his mechanical bird to the task as it was to continuously fly over Hunter's castle to watch for any unexpected arrivals.

But with all of these minions on the lose, no one thought to check with Meen to see the invited guest list. Of all the guests she had delivered an invitation to, one was skipped over... No, it was not Hungry (as he had already arrived the day before the party so he could visit with Meen and see the Nytemares). It wasn't Snoop who already was sitting next to the entrance doors to the ballroom so he could keep a list of all of the attendees for the morning edition of the Bellwether.

Neither was it The Gooblin King and Troll King who were trying to be polite to each other (and it was killing both of them).

Nor was it the Baron who was presenting the Dowager to the Shadows' King while trying to hide his grin since he knew how mad she was that her little private tea party plan had become a huge event. It seemed everyone who was someone was there except... the Borrowers!

Now, why Meen had not added them to the invitation list would probably be based on the Borrower's history. Anytime a Borrower showed up anywhere, they had the habit of 'borrowing' something. It was worse at parties! So much bling and things to see, that they just could not keep their hands in their own pockets. Forks, knives, spoons, small furry animals, even shoes were known to have disappeared when the Borrowers appeared. (Most instances the items were returned eventually and in some cases even something better had been left behind as in the one instance when a glass of milk had disappeared but in its place was left a milk cow - even if the cow was someone else's, the fact that something better had been left cannot be overlooked.)

It didn't take long before everyone realized (as nothing had gone missing still) that one of the main reasons they had decided to show up for the party wasn't there! No Borrowers which meant no Dragon tablet. Yes, there was a real Dragon, and usually that would have been something of a spectacle, but this group wanted to see what all the hullabaloo was about regarding this newest find... or at least what the latest gossip was about. Since it wasn't here soon the guests started to make excuses as to why they needed to leave (but not until after filling their pockets with food from the buffet tables).

As the party dwindled down to just the minion staff and the few guests who had really wanted to just attend a party, Hunter lead Griselda, Hungry, and the Baron into a small sitting room for a quick private discussion. "It appears that the race is now on for who finds out what is on the Dragon tablet first," said the Shadows' King to the others as they sat. "I know this is not what you were expecting Griselda but I needed to know what you know about it."

"What tablet?" Hungry asked, but before Hunter could answer the Baron said, "This tablet that might have untold power." As he continued, Hunter only nodded his head affirming the Barons chilling words. "Hungry, some rulers are benevolent and just, while some are looking to expand their treasury or reputation. There are some who quest for more knowledge or power and some want to change things to be the way they want them to be. Several here tonight attended so they could see the Dragon tablet and had hoped to learn something that the others did not know. Since the tablet wasn't here, each is now heading to their realm to start the race to see who can find the Borrower with the tablet and get it for themself."

"A race you say? asked Hungry looking at the Shadows' King. "Are we in it?"

Spies and Minions...

10/19/2021

At the same time Hir'aeth, the Gooblin King, was meeting with his mechanical spy, Passporte' was following Drat, the Rat, at the Troll King's command. (To read about that adventure - click here.)

Passporte' had been a little hesitant to enter the small cottage as the entire meeting was held in total darkness. He never learned what was told to Drat as he did not speak of it even after they left (which only added more mystery to the whole event).

Drat's web of spies was spread wide for the royal as he was well known for being the one who got those 'special things' done for Druzzy, the King of the Trolls. Which was a good thing as those spies just reported to him about the finding of the tablet by the 'borrowers'. Who the 'borrowers' are is not important just yet, but what they had found was.

A tablet that was rumored to have been written by the Dragons and hidden when they left was the find of the millennium (especially since Trolls and Dragons are known to live for a very long time).

Dragon script is ancient with only a rare few outside the circle of Dragons that can read their written language. The thing was that Drat had heard the Gooblin King was one of those individuals. Drat knew that Atian, the Village on the Wall historian, was also one of those but he had left and nobody knew when he would return leaving just the Gooblin King... or so he thought.

As he was racking his tiny brain, Drat knew that when he informed Druzzy he would be ordered to find out what was on the tablet... but who to go to? Then it hit Drat. One other may know how to read the tablet or possibly might know of someone else with the knowledge. The Dowager! She had been a Wish Dragon Clan Guardian and knew many of their secrets. "How do I get her to tell me," he pondered. "I may have to resort to that method I seldom use."

At that moment, Griselda, the Dowager, was sitting in her chair at the Baron's mansion, sipping her tea and wondering how Hungry, the little Wish Dragon, was doing. "I have a feeling I should go see him," she decided. Once the decision was made, she instructed Sneefle, her faithful servant, to have a message delivered to Hunter, the Shadows' King, that she would be visiting and wouldn't it be nice if she could see Hungry again. "He will get the message," she smiled, knowing that he would both receive the message and understand. After all, as Hungry being the last of the Dragons of the Wish Dragon clan and herself being the last of the guardians of the Dragon, it was time to confirm that Hungry was learning what he needed to know.