Dear Reader,

As you well know, love is a thing which captivates many a person. People often go so far as to speculate pairings between fictional characters. I admit that I myself believe in many of these pairings, such as Takanuva+Gali (still love that Greg made her the first one Takanuva asked about in Dark Mirror, Onewa+Krahka, and Jaller+Hahli. However, there is another pairing I support more than any other, and that is Auric+Cerule.

Auric and Cerule are two characters-- or perhaps people?-- of my own device. Auric loves Cerule, but he does not know whether Cerule loves him. Cerule, being Lady Kopaka in all but name, does not tell him; thus I, being Auric in all but name, cannot answer any better than he can. Nevertheless his love for her-- my love for her-- will never cease until it falls out of her favor; perhaps not even then.

Cerule is the sky, and Auric the pilot. Cerule is the blue, and Auric the golden. Cerule speaks to Auric, but does not always answer when he speaks. Nevertheless Auric cherishes every moment he hears her, every moment he sees her, every moment he feels her breath. No matter how far away she is, Auric knows that if he sees her, she is there, and he thanks God for that every day.

Even Cerule can be fickle, as much as Auric or any living being can. Nevertheless, Auric can see the details. Auric knows that beneath the exterior, Cerule is, like all natural things, perfect. But Cerule is not a mirror, and Auric cannot see himself. Is he as perfect beneath the layers of folly and fickleness? He cannot tell, but he dreams that Cerule perhaps can, and that she is happy.

Auric is called "Skybard," or something to that effect. Cerule shines on him with majestic grace, and Auric considers it his duty to return this grace by making it into things of beauty. They are art, they are poetry, they are everything he knows he can do for her. Auric hopes that he loves Cerule with his whole heart, but will not ask this of Cerule. She can decide whether to do this for herself when she knows that she has seen him for who he is.

With all due respect,

Aanchir: Rachira of Time