[h3]The Duchy of Zerul, by a road in southwest[/h3]
[IMG]http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u79/SharpshooterJack/markerOlanfaded_zps63d2f0e2.png[/IMG]
 Leaning back against the trunk of his tree, Olan allowed himself a quiet sigh of contentment, putting his left arm behind his head and crossing his legs. He smiled to himself as he watched the donkey head off to the side of the road to graze for a while, and smiled even wider when he looked at Thaler, who seemed at least marginally more at peace now than she had back at the outpost. He smiled when he thought about the promise and the friendship that had somehow persevered even through the loss of his memories, and he felt genuinely happy when he thought about fulfilling that promise to the utmost of his abilities.
Still, he wanted to talk; to share, to regale and to enlighten, to brighten everyone's day and open their eyes to the way he saw the world. He wanted to do this, but it was hard to think of anything to say... There was nothing happening around here, and no sights to be seen. No inspiration.
Thoughtfully he raised his right hand high, the palm facing away from him and his fingers spread, to let the grayish sunlight filter through beautifully.

"I'm a Nightwalker, you know?" he said, initially just to himself more than anything, but then he realized that it was probably a good idea to clarify the point to Thaler, too, since she would have no way of knowing without being told, due to Nightwalkers and humans being as similar as they were. "But the light doesn't hurt my eyes. It should, I know that; I'm not supposed to be able to see very well when it's bright, but I can see just fine, you know?"
He chuckled to himself. "I also understand people, you know? Or well, not [I]people[/I], I guess... but I understand what they say. Languages. I can't explain it, but I understand what everyone's saying, you know? Back at the outpost, a magpie was telling us 'good work'. So I understand magpies, too. I can talk to them as well, you know? When I think about a word, it's just [I]there[/I], in all kinds of languages."
Closing his eyes, he continued a bit more somberly. "I'm at peace with losing my memories, you know? I don't care who I was, and I'm more than happy just to know that I'm your friend, but... when I think about these things, I can't help but wonder [I]what[/I] I am, you know? Because clearly I'm... not normal."