Sir Harold Voltaic: Paladin of the Order of the Crimson Rose, stood a lonely vigil atop Black-Scar Crag. With the coming of dawn he would go to his wedding, one he was far from ready for, for oh so many reasons.

Let's start with the fact that he had just met his bride-to-be that day. Not much time for a romance to develop you must admit.

Now let's consider the fact that Kurvannug, (his soon to be wife,) was an Orc, while he was a human, and a Paladin to boot.

If that's not enough to make any prospective husband feel trapped, there's the frosting on the cake. Until earlier that day he was, and in his heart of heart's still was, in love with Dame Margaretha McAlister. Margaretha was the woman, girl then, with whom he had entered The Rose Garden Academy. They had trained and fought together all through their apprenticeships and beyond, until just recently. He'd never confessed his love to her, but they both knew, and now...

In a series of caves nearby Kurvannug faced her own impending nuptials with equal dread. The Reasons differed but were just as deep, if not deeper.

However, they mirrored Harolds own, with one notable exception.

Though Harold held a torch for another woman, Kurvannug did not feel such for any man, so her anxiety on that angle stemmed from a different source. No man held her heart: nor had any touched her loins. Soon must come the bloody pain of losing her virginity: and with it, the awakening of something she feared even more...

Now we come to the first question, which will begin to answer what lies unexplained above...

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