The Tale of Totus Deus

[Renascentis]

Allister slowly trudged along the path, on his way to Initon, a small town to the south. He'd been summoned by the mayor of Initon, told to come and aid in an urgent matter. While the courier had promised gold, Allister was more concerned with the fact that someone had sought him, specifically. It was the first time he had been approached by someone requiring assistance, as opposed to hunting public bounties or asking around for tasks that needed doing. Perhaps tales of his negligible exploits were finally beginning to spread?

Without warning, a hooded figure stepped out from the undergrowth, barring the path in front of Allister. He stopped, eyeing the newcomer warily as his hand came to rest beside the hilt of his sword, still in its scabbard. "Hello, friend!" Allister shouted to the figure, who he was now confident was a man. "How strange that I should come across someone else on a backwoods road like this!"

"I have been sent by my master to intercept you on your way to Initon, young adventurer." The man replied in a calm voice.

Allister placed his hand on the pommel of his sword. "The way you use the word 'intercept' makes me worry, friend." He said, his voice now low and serious.

The man slowly raised his hands into a gesture of prayer. "Beloved fragment, I pray that you do not think ill of me for doing what I must. It is not with malice in my heart that I strike you down." Suddenly, a bright flash of light erupted between them, blinding and deafening Allister as he unsheathed his sword, trying to take up a combat stance despite his lack of sensory input.

Unable to see the attack coming, Allister felt a blade sink into his side, then withdraw as he collapsed. As his hearing returned and the white in his eyes began fading to black, he heard the man walk away, leaving him to die alone on the forest path.

[Light the Dark]

It was a good day for travel, Leyla thought as she led the horse she had only recently bought down the forest path. She had little skill for riding, and as such had been walking for the past hour instead of attempting to travel by horseback. The breeze swept through the trees, stirring the woman's brown hair and bringing with it the smell of earth and pine. Leyla faltered a moment, her hands gripping the reins of the mare tightly. Earth and trees were not the only scent upon the breeze. Something more bitter...metallic... She smelled blood.

She quickened her pace. She couldn't sense any dead...but there was an odd...something. Like she could be sensing death very soon. Leyla bit her lip as she hurried along, wondering if she could make it in time. A bend in the path and she saw him, collapsed alongside of the road, a gaping hole in his side. He had to have been attacked recently, but she could see no sign of the attacker.

Rushing over to the fallen man, she knelt beside him. She could heal him, but he was on the brink of death. To heal him fully was out of her reach, but she could keep him from dying and speed his recovery along. Pressing her hand to the wound, Leyla closed her eyes. The air around the pair of bodies got colder, so cold that their breaths became mist in the air. Slowly, she healed the man, pulling him from the cold brink of death and back to the land of the living. Her eyes snapped open and she let out a shuddering gasp, her power nearly drained. But the man lived. She pulled her hand away. It was coated read with blood, but the wound underneath it now looked nearly healed, if badly bruised.

Sinking back on her heels, Leyla took another deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment to recover her strength.

[Renascentis]

Allister awoke slowly as the senses that had been so eager to abandon him returned. Seeing stars, and with a ringing in his ears, he remembered the attack, and wondered if he was dead. When he tried to move, he felt a stab of pain in his side. Either this was a very underwhelming Hell, or he was still alive.

Dully, he realized that someone was crouched right next to him. Still unable to rise from a lying position, he rotated his pounding head until it was facing in the direction of the breathing he could hear. To his surprise, he saw a woman in fine silken clothes crouched beside him, her hands stained with blood. After a moment of processing this image, Allister realized she must have healed him somehow.

He attempted to greet her, but immediately regretted trying to talk, as he broke into racking coughs, each one sending a lance of pain through his recently healed side. A bit of blood came up, no doubt a byproduct of his lung having been pierced.

[Light the Dark]

Leyla did not notice him awaken, or she would have told him not to try to move or speak just yet. As it was, his coughing was what alerted her to his consciousness. She quickly helped still him, so his coughing did not cause him any more pain or damage. "Don't try to speak just yet." She said softly, rather belatedly, as the man's coughing fit subsided. She fumbled with her waterskin a moment, then held it to the man's lips. "Here, drink this." The water was cold, flavored with herbs and honey, a special blend that Leyla had come up with. She drank it because she liked the taste of it, but it would also sooth the man's throat from his coughing fit, and give him strength.

Once he had drank his fill, she put the waterskin away. "Shall I help you sit up?" She asked him. Her voice was low, for a woman's, and there was a slight huskiness to it. She spoke calmly, slowly, her voice sounding like it would be good to lull someone to sleep.

[Renascentis]

"Ah, yes, thank you." Allister said. The blood was cleared out of his lungs, and her herbal water had done him good, but his voice still sounded ragged, and he grimaced as she slowly helped him into a more upright position. In a way, however, it was reassuring to hear himself speak once more, so he continued, with some effort. "I was... traveling to Initon, before I was attacked by some robed magic user. He blinded me, then gave me that wound and left me to die. And then I suppose it was you who came along and healed me. Thank you. If not for your happening upon me, I'd surely be dead by now."

[Light the Dark]

"I was almost too late." Leyla said, eying him carefully. To be honest, she had no clear idea why she had healed him - she did not know him, and though he lay dying on the road, perhaps he had deserved it. Somehow... somehow Leyla did not think that to be the case, though. And looking back... some part of her had been telling her that she had to heal him... "Whoever that man was, he surely thought you were good as dead."

She carefully dug out a handkerchief and wiped her hands on it, removing the blood. "You aren't in any condition to continue your travels, though. At least not... walking?" She asked, looking around. She saw no horse besides her own.

[Renascentis]

A grin cracked his pained features. "I was always taught that it was rude to seek out hospitality from others. Unfortunately, it would appear chivalry quickly becomes inconvenient without an able body." Allister thought for a moment, before continuing. "I'm hoping you wouldn't mind having me tag along, at least until I reach Initon. I won't ask to sit astride another's horse, but perhaps I could manage if I were to lean on it for support. You'll hardly even know I was here." He looked over to her for an answer. Even with his life depending on it, Allister didn't relish the thought of forcing his burdens upon another.

[Light the Dark]

"I was going to offer - I am passing Initon on my way home." Her face was curiously blank as she mentioned the word 'home' - as if it wasn't home at all. She smoothed the fabric of her dress, and busied herself taking her own drink out of her waterskin. After she had collected herself, Leyla continued, "You may ride the horse. The gods know that I am not one for horseback riding. And if you are better a rider than me, the horse will be happy, I'm sure."

The wind rustled through the trees. Somewhere in a nearby tree there was a fluttering of wings, and a bird began to chirp. It was only at the sound that Leyla realized it was a return of the sounds of the forest, which had been absent for some time. Whoever had attacked this man clearly had disturbed the flow of things. The slightest of frowns crossed her face before it once more became impassive. She was one who did not often let her feelings show for much longer than a moment. "Can you stand?" She asked him, not revealing where her thoughts had been a moment before.

[Renascentis]

Not quite sure of the answer himself, Allister slowly, painfully began to rise, his face contorting with every grunt of effort. With no small amount of assistance, he was eventually upright, albeit using the mare for support, as expected. "Not comfortably, but yes." He answered belatedly. He considered her offer for a moment, before continuing.

"Your offer is very kind, but I was never a very good rider, and I doubt my current state will have helped me any. Even climbing into the saddle may well do more harm than good, in my condition. Besides, I'm sure a bit of a walk will be bracing."

[Light the Dark]

"If you insist on walking, I will not stop you." Leyla said, though she eyed him, her deep purple eyes worried. "Even if I do think you'd do better to ride. But perhaps in a while you'll feel differently." She gathered the reins on the horse, and they slowly started on their way. After a moment, she asked, "If we are to travel to Initon together, I should like to know your name, traveler." She looked at a him, the breeze blowing strands of her brown hair into her face, but she didn't bother to brush them away.