Get used to being around people again? Ava pondered to herself in her head, the idea of being around people again made her nervous, she figured at some point in her life, she would need to get readjusted to people, but she spent so much of her time alone and only interacting with those she already knew, she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to handle something like that.

“Right, well I’ll certainly try, but I can’t really promise anything.” Ava responded with a nervous chuckle, it had been a few decades since she had really been around people and the idea of interacting with them worried her some, mostly due to the fact that she felt she would be an awkward mess, which only stressed her out further.

When they arrived at the next town, Ava could already feel her heart race a little, both from the people and the mark on her forearm which caused her to bring her arm to her stomach and pressed against it, she didn’t know how people would react to her mark if they saw it and didn’t want their first trip there to be one where they were already in trouble. She moved a little closer to Terrin, her shyness getting the better of her at the moment because of all the people in town, “I forgot there were so many people in towns like these.” She said to her new travel companion, taking in the sights of the town.

Some of the towns folk were hanging paper lanterns which made her think there might be some kind of festival that would be happening soon, various shop keeps were promoting their products and services, no doubt trying to make a few extra sales before whatever event was happening took place. Ava gazed at the decorations, admiring how nice they looked on the town, not to mention the people seemed to be fairly friendly, perhaps her venturing out of her comfort zone wouldn’t be so bad, at the very least, this journey might help get rid of her shyness and she didn’t mind that.

Worried thoughts ran through Terrin's mind, What to do now? What is the first step. I talked big and got myself into this situation now how do I actually help her? He was thinking so quickly that he almost didn't hear his partner next to him. "Well I've been around this country for about a century, but I've only had extended contact with you and a few tradesmen that I sold skins to, he looked over to her and gave a reassuring smile, "I'm in the same boat as you, I need to learn to play along with others again." he concluded with his own laugh.

The large gates of the town was the first indication of its size but the town square was bustling with people. Strangely there were other races in the mix, dozens of humans, several gnomes and even a dwarf or two; elves hanging paper lanterns and being aggressive with sales could only mean some festivities are going on. This is good Terrin smiled to himself, Ava will be able to mingle easier with such a friendly atmosphere aroun- his thought interrupted by feeling Ava's shoulder brush against his.

He looked to his right to see Ava making herself look smaller, nervousness in her eyes while holding her right arm. Terrin slipped in front of Ava to walk on her right side to give her an extra shield for her mark, to put her at ease. Spotting an open-air cafe, he pointed it out to Ava, the hike here being rather tiring, and he brought her to a table; he held out the chair for her to sit and called a waiter over and ordered tea for the two of them, "So, we've not been to this town before, what is going on around here? he asks the waiter in fluent Elvish. "Oh," he smiles at Ava and gives Terrin a side glance, "It is time for the change of the season festival, we always celebrate the change to autumn." he informs as he goes inside to prepare the drinks.

Suddenly a chilling breeze blows through the square bringing with it the feeling of approaching winter. Seeing his lightly dressed partner Terrin stood from his seat, unclasped his cloak and draped it over her, "This will keep you warm, it helped me many times out in the wild. Also it will help with your forearm problem. A tide of good cheer will always be appreciated but there was business to discuss, "How are you doing so far?" he asked, genuinely concerned, "I know you may not want to think about it, but what do you think the first step may be in finding them?" Terrin could feel the air grow dense, the people may be smiling, but there was something bad coming soon, he just wished he knew what.

After he’d been unceremoniously dismissed from the mage tower, Adair decided to practice his technique a bit more. He found out quickly, however, that he was much too riled up to concentrate, so he quit the impossible task and settled for poring over a hefty book on ancient runes instead.

Halfway through the night, Adair found his concentration interrupted this time by footsteps—light but rapidly making their way up the mage tower. He tensed, mouth on the edge of whispering some defensive spells, but he refrained and settled for a simple trapping spell set up in the middle of the room that would paralyze everyone in the vicinity—except Adair himself—should someone other than himself step into its area of effect.

A knock sounded, and Adair took a breath before opening his door a crack. Seeing the familiar face of a magi apprentice, Adair opened the door enough to allow her in, quickly dispelling the trapping spell with his other hand. The apprentice—female—looked panicked and scared, eyes wide and hair wild after her run up the stairs. Adair tensed up again—someone being chased never boded well.

“Elena?” Adair asked, eyebrows scrunching as if he only now recognized the apprentice mage. He glanced past her into the dimly lit hall, relaxing a little when he saw it was empty and silent. “Come in,” Adair said, opening the door for Elena. “What brings you here so late at night?”

"I'm sorry - I know it's late." Elena muttered as she stepped in, running a hand through her hair to tidy it up best as she could. Her gaze carefully ran across the room as she briefly observed it. The woman turned on her heels and looked towards Adair, rubbing her hands with a nod. Perhaps it wasn't a good idea after all? Surely she could pass it off as simply being late for a request by Court Mage Talder Cobswin, and simply needed help? Nonesense, she quickly concluded. She wet her lips before settling with a decision.

"You know of Kate? The King's guard? She got into some trouble, it seems. Accused of traitorous acts." Elena paused, rubbing her arm. "Nonetheless. See, I was considering something. During a court session, I believe one of the magi spoke of a ritual to scry the mind? Surely if they scryed Kate's mind, and - and they could -..." The woman sighed, waving her hand dismissively as she took the liberty to dump herself upon a nearby chair. She rubbed her forehead, before looking up.

"I beg your pardon, Mister Adair. It is not my usual display to be in such dismay. I simply have stumbled upon Miss Kate before, and it would pain me if she was deemed a traitor, even if she was not. Perhaps a ritual of scrying could prove her innocence, no?" She looked up at Adair, hiding away a brief hint of hope.

”"I have heard of the King's guard, Kate," ”Adair said, frowning. ”"It is very unfortunate that such a high-ranking guard was found of traitorous acts. She won't get off lightly--or easily, for that matter."”

Adair listened as Elena spoke, the frown remaining on his face. The manner of questioning was strange enough to tell Adair that Elena was hiding something--possibly the fact that she herself was a traitor or knew of one. As Elena continued speaking, it became clear to Adair that she cared about guardswoman Kate and wished to prove the woman's innocence. Elena never struck Adair as the sort to be involved in the resistance, so he relaxed As to whether or not Kate was actually innocent, Adair had doubts, but he didn't care to express them.

”A ritual of scrying would indeed prove an innocent's innocence,” Adair said, walking over to his desk and shutting his book, memorizing the page number so he could continue later if he wished so. ”However, if guardswoman Kate were not actually innocent, the trial would do her a lot more harm than good,” Adair continued, looking up at Elena. ”What would you do if your friend turned out to be a member of the rebellion, or worse--a Soturi?”

Elena frowned herself, wrinkling her nose. "A traitor is a traitor." She looked to her lap, having clasped her hands together. It seemed a least the attention had been taken off her, which was something. Perhaps the ritual was the answer then. Not for Kate, no, but for herself. It could be done discreetly as well, no need for a big commotion. A thin and secrective smile made its way on her lips as she nodded, looking more and more like some noblewoman.

"Perhaps it would be best for me to simply avoid it. Surely the guardsmen will take care of it." Elena nodded as she raised herself from the chair. Her eyes went to Adair, possibly looking straight into them for the first time during the evening. She nodded, and offered a courtly curtsey. "I apologize for disturbing you. I'm sure you have plenty of work to attend to." The magi dusted her attire, before her eyes carefully wandered towards the exit.

”I'll see you out then,” Adair said, walking over to the door and opening it for Elena. ”Feel free to come by if you ever need anything.”

With a few steps she made her way towards the door, nodding towards Adair in the process. "I will, Mister Adair." She stopped, eyeing him up and down for a second with a wary gaze. "Do take care." Elena nodded, before strolling down the tower.

Ava was thankful to Terrin for trying to make her a little more comfortable, she couldn’t remember the last time she was around so many people, it was both exciting and terrifying for her; she did feel a tad silly partially hiding behind him like a scared child, she hoped that she would grow out of her shyness soon, she certainly didn’t want to be a burden, especially if she was going to offer any help in return. She went over to the cafe when Terrin pointed it out, taking a seat next to him as she continued to admire the town being decorated for the festivities, various colors of orange and red were spread through the town, matching some of the trees whose leaves were beginning to change.

When their tea arrived, Ava was quick to grasp it, her hands were feeling slightly cold and the warmth coming from the cup was a welcome feeling, though when a strong breeze blew through, even the tea she was sipping couldn’t provide enough warmth to prevent her from shivering a bit. She was surprised when a cloak wrapped around her shoulders, looking at Terrin when he spoke to her, a slight shade of pink going across her face, ”Oh, thank you very much, it’s very kind of you.” Ava responded, quick to bring the cloak closer to herself, feeling far more relaxed now that she could keep her arm hidden without needing to worry about her mark being seen as well as keeping her warm.

”I’m doing okay I guess, being around so many people after so long feels strange, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it.” She gave a thin smile, appreciative of his concern. Ava didn’t respond to his next question right away, mostly due to the fact she hadn’t planned on today being the day she search for her parents, ”I’m...not entirely sure, I hadn’t really looked into where they were taken or who might know where they are, I’ve just tried to survive after they were gone,”

Ava soon finished her tea, taking notice of a shop nearby that had an assortment of items she found to be intriguing, she decided to go over to it to get a closer look the items that were on display whilst Terrin wasn’t much focused on her at the moment. As she made her way over, she held the right side of the cloak that was wrapped around her tightly, she was still nervous that someone would see her mark and didn’t wish to cause any trouble for her new companion.

Ava noticed a man appear behind her in the reflection of the glass, “Well hello there.” The man said, gently flicking the tip of one of her pointed ears, causing her to jump.

“Oh...forgive me, I didn’t mean to be in your way.” Ava responded in her usual shy manner, trying to move out of his way and back to Terrin.

“Now now, you’re not in the way in the slightest, I merely wished to speak with you,” he answered back, preventing Ava from leaving her spot.

She lowered her head, bringing Terrin’s cloak closer to herself once more, it making her feel safe and calm, ”Speak with me? About what?”

“Well me and my friends couldn’t help but overhear you and your companion’s problem, we have a way of tracking people down, seems like you need it.”

Ava lifted her head slightly, hopeful optimism filling her, ”Really? You could help me find someone?”

“Suuuure, we’re very good at tracking people down, just follow me and we can discuss this further.”

”Let me just tell my friend first and then I’d be happy to go with you,” Ava gave a smile, beginning to walk back over to Terrin but was stopped by the man, “There’s no need to bother him with this, we’re just two people discussing some business, it won’t take very long, come on.”

”Well, I guess it’ll be alright if it doesn’t take very long,” she responded, beginning to follow the man, ”You mentioned you had friends that heard us as well, where are they?” Ava added as she was lead down an alleyway.

They rounded a corner and the man abruptly stopped, forcing Ava to stop as well, ”Um...why did we stop? Are we meeting your friends here?”

The man let out a chuckle, something that was making Ava nervous as she began to slowly back up, a slight look of surprise on her face when she bumped into something and then saw two men behind her when she looked. The two men grabbed both of her arms, making it impossible for her to move any further and get away from them, “Sorry about this, but I’m not a tracker, just needed an excuse to get you over here.”

”W-What for?” She asked, her heart rate increasing as well as her breathing.

He approached her, a smirk on his face, “Why to sell you of course, you see, your kind tends to think yourself better than most of us, especially humans, always looking down on others and flaunting your beauty, well you see, that can also be a curse, especially since Elves are highly sought after and I’m sure we could get a lot for you.” He responded as he grasped her chin, tilting her head side to side to inspect her face.

”I’m not like that, I swear, I try to get along with everyone, I don’t think humans or anyone else is beneath me, so please let me go, Ava pleaded as she struggled to get free.

“Heh, well I can’t say I’ve met a timid Elf before, usually one of your kind would be threatening to kill me, blah blah blah, but to hear one beg, this is too much,” He let out a chuckle, “sorry, but I don’t believe you, even if I did, you’re too valuable to let go,” He then looked to the two men holding her, “tie her up and let’s get going.”

They nodded, pulling out some rope and then began tying her wrists together; Ava closed her eyes, thinking of her mother and father, If I’m sold, I won’t be able to find my parents, I can’t let that happen, I won’t! She thought to herself, tears beginning to run down her cheeks, anger soon appearing on her face; her eyes shot open as the mark on her arm began to glow white, through the cloth tied around it.

“What the hell?” One of the men said when he noticed the glow and then Ava produced a ball of light in her hands, it growing larger in her hands until it exploded, causing a large flash that not only blinded her captors but would be able to be seen from the cafe.

With her captors blinded, Ava hastily bolted down the alleyway, hoping to escape her pursuers and find Terrin, he’d be able to help her, she was sure of it.

“Agh, what are you idiots waiting for? Go after her!” Their leader shouted as he struggled to open his eyes, the two men with him were having an equally hard time keeping their eyes open thanks to Ava’s blinding attack. Their eyes eventually stopped hurting and they began their chase after her.

Ava saw the alleyway she had turned down, all she had to do was round the corner and then she’d be out in the open and perhaps then she’d be safe. However for her, her pursuers were much larger and faster and quickly caught up to her, grabbing the cloak that was tied around her as she tried rounding the corner, forcing her to a sudden stop and then was thrown by it into a wooden fence behind her.

She winced as her back hit the hard wood, looking up at the men who now surrounded her, “So you’re a Soturi huh? Well now I can see why your parents were taken, but that also means you’ll fetch an even higher price, though we can’t have you doing that again and potentially escaping, I’m sure anyone we find won’t mind you a bit bruised.” The leader of the trio spoke before lifting Ava up by her cloak and then slammed his fist into her stomach, forcing her to violently cough.

She tried to use her powers again but they were quick to act this time and forced her arm behind her back, she had no idea how to get out of this now, she wasn’t a fighter and even her initial attack against them was pretty passive, she just hoped someone had noticed and would come by and help her.

Lost in thought Terrin hadn’t noticed Ava wander off. Terrin mindlessly grabbed for his cup to notice it was empty, not only that but he was sitting alone at the table. Slightly panicked he scanned the surrounding area and found her at a nearby shop. Some shady looking man approached her, Great, what is she getting herself into this time… Terrin began to eavesdrop on them by listening to the whispers of the wind.

This man was selling himself as some sort of private investigator and Terrin wasn’t buying it. Before he knew it Ava agreed to the proposal and walked off with him, Damn it all, the first day she’s out here and she finds trouble. Terrin laid payment and a tip for the drinks and began to follow them from a distance; he noticed some larger men hanging around an alleyway the ‘tracker’ was walking her towards. This is going to be more of a brawl than I thought, I better take a better view of the situation.

---

A break from my studies is just what I needed, what a nice looking town Serena thought to herself as she walked the streets of Ossilon. She had heard about the festival of seasons quite a bit from the people she used to talk to in the Tower. It had peaked her interest, so she had decided to take a break from her studies in order to travel to partake in the festivities. While passing the cafe, she noticed a suspicious half elf following a human and elf couple. What is he doing? Staff in hand, she decided to tail the half elf to find out what he was up to.

---

Terrin watched as the two men began to follow what he assumed was their boss. Terrin rounded the building and looked to see if there were any on-lookers; satisfied by the lack of attention Terrin shot himself up the building with a jump aided by his powers. He tracked them from the rooftops waiting for a time to strike; seeing Ava getting grabbed, Terrin was about to pounce but then the next thing he saw was a blinding light produced by Ava herself. Terrin quickly attempted to rub the light from his eyes to see Ava running away from the goons. Terrin quickened his pace back across the rooftops following Ava in her attempt to escape. The thugs recovered and began the chase again, running on flat land gave them more speed than Terrin running across various materials and roof pitching, catching up to her the grabbed her and slammed her into the nearby fence. They struck the poor, scared elf girl in his company and he needed to hold himself back from jumping in then and there, he needed to think this through. I need to cause a distraction, there is too much for me to fight alone. How to do this… ”Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!” Terrin’s thought interrupted by some other elf yelling at the men, Who in the hell is that? And what does she think she’s trying to do?

---

Serena continues to follow the half elf until he rounded the corner, she picks up her pace a bit, only to notice that he was suddenly on the rooftops. She continues to follow on the ground, attempting to make it look as if she WASN’T following. As she was about the pass the alleyway, there was suddenly a flash of light coming from it. Serena stopped in her tracks. A few moments later, the elf , wearing a white dress and cloak, trying to run out of the alleyway. Serena, frozen in her tracks, watches as the humans bolted down the alleyway after the girl. Coming to her senses, Serena hollered after them ”Hey! What do you think you are doing?!” Break from studies indeed Serena thought as she gives chase after the humans and elf.

Serena continues to race after the, in her opinion, thugs chasing the poor elf girl until they finally caught up to her, grabbing her cloak and throwing her into a wooden fence. As Serena was catching up , the thugs punched the girl in the stomach and attempted to subdue her. Serena yelled “Leave her alone!” as she releases a blast of water from her staff at the human holding the elf. The force of the blast sends the thug flying back, releasing the elf from his grasp as he tumbled away.

“What the hell is happening?!” yelled the ringleader of this little group. What is going on? Terrin tried to quickly think on what was happening, Looks like this new elf is friendly at least. ”Ava! Get away from them! ordered Terrin as he jumped down onto the thug still standing, surprised from the sudden magic burst from the new found threat. Terrin’s boot struck the man’s skull with a resounding thud as Terrin crashed with him into the wall near where Ava was dropped. Terrin helped Ava to her feet and sent her back to the elf, magi he assumed, that was assisting him. ”Make sure she’s alright and safe, I can handle the rest, the sound of metal grinding on metal reverberated in the small space as Terrin pulled out his daggers held in reverse grip stance. He faced the group of dastards and demanded in a voice as cold as steel, ”Now, tell me you bastards, how would you like to die for your crimes?” “Ha! You think you can take the three of us on little punk?” taunted the leader as his goons began to regroup around him, “Deal with him you two,” he ordered as the hulking men made their way towards Terrin, brandishing blades of their own.

As the girl ran over to Serena, she asks her “Are you ok? Here is some money, i want you to head over to the inn for now and rest, don’t worry about us!” and ushers the elf behind her. Seeing that the goons were beginning to regroup and approach the half elf, serena conjured up 3 smaller bolts of water and hurled them at the thugs. ”Don’t think you are going to have all the fun here. I intend to help!” she says to the half elf, now armed with his daggers. Turning her attention to the thugs, Serena screams You hear that? I’m still here, lowlife scum!” as she prepares to attack again.

Water flies over Terrin’s head into the faces of the men in front of him; using the momentary distraction Terrin closed in on the target to his right ready to strike. ”Alright elf! You take the guy on the left!" ordered Terrin as he lashes out at the man’s sword hand cutting deep and forcing him to drop the weapon as he grunts in pain; Terrin follows up with a blow to the temple with the hilt of his dagger. The man stood his ground, striking Terrin’s face with the meat of his large fist; all Terrin saw was a bright light and what almost looked like stars in his vision, almost collapsing from the sheer force. Terrin took a step back and tossed his left dagger; the dagger landed deep the fighter’s stomach. Terrin launched himself forward in a gust of wind landing a flying kick square in his solar plexus, sending the man sprawling, gasping for air.

”With pleasure,” Serena said as she launched a rather large ball of ice at the guy on the left. The ball slams right into the thugs stomach, knocking him to the ground. The burly man got up and started to charge at Serena. Seeing this, Serena covered the ground in front of her a thick layer of ice. The thug slips on the ice and begins to fall in front of Serena, but not without his fist flying into her stomach. Wincing in pain from the blow, Serena summons a massive orb of ice above the thug and slams it down on the guy, crushing and holding him in place before taking a step back to turn her attention to the ringleader.

The leader, watching his defense being torn asunder, began to panic and run away only to be grabbed by a sphere of water by Serena. She then proceeds to slam the ringleader back and forth between the walls of the alleyway a few times before sending the orb of water into the ground, the bubble bursting as it hits the ground. The leader, coughing up blood, screamed, “What the hell do you want from-” he was cut short by Terrin’s boot hitting him in the ribs. "I want justice.” Terrin held his hand out towards the pathetic man and began to slowly force the air from his lungs. The battered man’s face began turning blue as he could only mutter, “St-p, -ease,” as his life force ebbed away from him.

”W...wait!,” interjected Serena as she watched as the event unfolded. ”There’s no need to kill him, please, stop! Let us just turn him into the authorities and allow him to pay for his crimes properly. There is no way that your friend was the only victim of this hoodlum.”

Terrin looked at this elf pleading for this human-waste’s life and did not heed until the man stopped moving. After he was sure he was unconscious, Terrin let the fool breathe peacefully. ”I guess I’ll agree to your wishes, I’d prefer him dying for his crimes, he deserves no better." Terrin replied curtly as he walked over the man with his knife embedded in him and swiftly pulled the blade out, having a fresh torrent of blood pour out. Terrin ripped some fabric from the man’s shirt and pressed it against the open wound, ”Go fetch the guards then, I’ll make sure this one stays alive. For now.”

”Thank you for listening, you are not wrong about deserving death, but it would be a shame to stoop to their level,” Serena said. “I will be right back with the guards, they can handle the rest.” Serena runs off, finding the nearest guards she can find and brings them back to the alleyway. Serena explains to the guards of the situation that happened, luckily the two magi here were able to take care of the incident; the guards ,taking the men into custody, didn’t really ask questions while they did so.

”Thank you for the help," Terrin said as he walked past the elf, ”Now I must get to Ava.” “It was no trouble at all, sir, I was just doing what I think any good person would do in such a situation,” said Serena. “Do you mind if I come with you? I’d like to see if she is alright.” Terrin looked back for a second, ”I’m not one to stop you. You helped me save her and if that is what you wish then go ahead." Without a break in stride Terrin kept walking. Serena followed close behind.

“.... Serena. Serena Kallasa’an at your service.” Serena said, extending her arm to the half elf. He looked quizzically at this woman, Serena, ”Terrin," giving her a quick shake as he walked faster, seemingly in a rush. Serena sped up to match Terrin’s pace. After a long pause of just walking, Serena said “sooooo…. How did you come to meet that elf friend of yours, can’t say you see an elf hanging around a-” ”What? A dirty half-elf?" he interjected, flaunting his rounded ears. “Ooooh, wait, that’s not at all what I was saying. I hadn’t meant any offense, kind sir.” Serena quickly said, feeling bad for what she was about to say. Terrin just let out a huff, ”Sorry, my fault. I just assume everyone feels the same way about people like me, I’ll remember you don’t." Serena replied “Oh, not at all! The Tower is full of magi of all races, it’s just one huge melting pot. Surely you remember that from your time there, right?” Oh, she thinks I’m a magi. Might as well keep up the façade then. ”Oh yeah, I guess. Since you’re not one of them you weren’t subject to it, it’s not as nice a place as you might think."

Walking into the closest inn, Terrin and Serena saw Ava waiting near the reception desk. Terrin quickly walks to Ava’s side and whispers in her ear ”We need to leave quick, once that guy wakes up he may try to rat you out as some bargaining chip. Let’s go." Grabbing Ava’s hand Terrin begins to leave the place at once, ”Here’s the money you gave her and then some for the help," he gives Serena about twice the amount of gold given and walks out.

“Hey, wait a moment, I just wanted to see if you were ok, miss,” Serena says as she follows them out of the inn.

Ava coughed some more as her stomach was hit again, she didn’t understand why this was happening to her, she always tried to be nice to everyone and whilst she knew that not everyone was kind nor was she entitled to receive the same treatment in return just because she was kind to everyone else, she couldn’t see how this was fair to her. Her thoughts were broken as another hit went to her stomach, this one making her vision go out of focus, she was sure that a few more of those and she’d be unconscious soon.

She was already struggling to stay conscious and saw the leader ready to punch her again, Well...I guess no one’s coming, She thought to herself as her head drooped down, ready to accept the final punch that would no doubt knock her unconscious until she heard someone call out to the three men that had her. She looked up to see an elf woman approach them, Ava wanted to tell her to run, but she was too weak from the relentless assault to say anything other than a barely audible groan.

Ava fell to the ground when the man holding her was hit with water magic, feeling incredibly weak from what had happened moments earlier. She looked up when she heard a voice, seeing Terrin she tried to get up and run but was still feeling weak and collapsed again when she tried getting up. Ava was grateful when Terrin helped her up, she still was a little dazed as to what was entirely happening, but she knew she was at least being helped and that she was happy about.

She was surprised to see another person helping her against the men that just tried capturing her, but it was clear that she was trying to help, especially when the elf gave her some money for the inn. ”Thank you.” Was all she said in a slightly hoarse voice, holding her stomach as she edged toward the inn.

Ava stopped as she felt pain in her stomach, she decided to take a short break, to at least allow herself to catch her breath. As she did so, she watched both Terrin and the new elf engage the three men in combat, she was actually impressed with how easy it was for them to fight, she couldn’t do that, even when she had ‘attacked’ them, it wasn’t anything direct. She didn’t wish to be useless like she had just been, but at the same time, even now, she couldn’t bring herself to harm another being, perhaps she was being the bigger person, or foolishly naive, either way, she knew she needed to find a way to make a compromise for both, otherwise, what if the roles became switched and she had to save Terrin? What would she do then?

Her thoughts were broken when the sound of the fighting got her attention again, it looked like it was wrapping up, two of the men that had her were down and the leader was running away, she felt like she could finally relax, well that was until the man had been thrown around and then Terrin began killing him. Please...don’t, She thought to herself, ready to run up and say something but then the woman who helped her spoke up, saying what Ava had been thinking; she decided to finally head to the inn, a bit of rest would do her some good, then she’d be able to take care of her injury afterward.

Once Ava made it to the inn, she sat down on a nearby couch, placing her hand on her sore stomach; it felt nice to just relax for a few seconds, after all that had happened, it was a welcome reprieve. She soon got up, remembering she had to get a room and then went over to the inn keeper, paying for a room and was ready to receive her key when she heard Terrin whisper in her ear. She glanced back at him and nodded, she did want to stay in the room she just paid for, but knew that Terrin was right, it was too dangerous for them to stay in the same town as the men who attacked her.

She quickly moved with him when he grabbed her hand, taking notice of the woman who had helped her when Terrin paid her back the money that she gave Ava. ”Yeah, I’m okay, thank you for your help," She said and then looked to Terrin, ”Thank you as well, I’m sorry that I caused you trouble, just...that man said he could help me find my parents, but I guess that wasn't the case, huh?” She lowered her head slightly, soon taking notice that his cloak was still tied to her, she began to untie it, ready to hand it back to him, ”Guess I should give this back to you,” said Ava as she gave a feign smile to him, beginning to debate in her head if she should stay with him or not, she didn’t want to be a problem for him or anyone else they may encounter along the way.

“It’s over!” the guard shouted, people were fleeing in every direction, what was left of the ivory tower was scorched and shattered. There came another mighty blow causing the entire facility to sway. Stained glass windows shuddered from the impact, and three spires of the structure swayed as though ready to fall like house of cards. There came another blow, and dead bodies were scattered and tossed like the flotsam of the impact. Faich Meagher frantically looked back on his fine house, it was on fire.

“There’s nothing we can do!” the guard screamed again, almost pleading his master. Faich was in such shock that his very limbs could not move. His friends, his family, those he trusted were scattered dead around him.

“It’s hopeless!” the guard shouted breaking down into tears. That is when the creature emerged, standing sixteen feet tall and features between a bear and a bulldog, it billowed with the boiling oil, flaming arrows, and broken weaponry. Fast as the wind, strong as an earthquake, it charged Faich. It was the very embodiment of his fears. With one bite his arm was gone, and it turned to snap at his face.



Marquis Faich Meagher awoke with a start. The haunting of his nightmares and the frequency of them had destroyed his night, and haunted the hours he lay awake chasing away the ghosts of his dreams. Ever since the latest news of the palace, he had investigations and soldiers activated in order to assist with the investigation. But really the tyrant having another attempt on his life was not very disturbing. If nothing, it was about time to see some change at the top.

This time, however, when he awoke, he found a dull roar in the darkness of the night. The house guard were hurrying around and he could hear footfalls and doors in a hushed but eager tone. He stood from his bed, leaving his wife to rustle and roll over, and he promptly donned a fine robe.

“What is the commotion?” he addressed the guard outside the door.

“A team of investigators have arrived, Excellency, they are less than civil in their intrusion. It is a contingent of one hundred as well as some notable ranks.”

“Since when has civility been but a front,” Faich snatched a wand and tucked it up his sleeve, and then snatched his staff, making sure to dawn his signet before departing the room. “We shall meet them in the great hall... awaken the entirety of the house guard but keep it quiet. Something is suspicious here.”

He walked briskly down his own halls, his robe billowing about him. Normally it would be a sign of catching him off guard, but he was a Maji himself, and there was no such thing as being off-guard when they were involved. He entered his great hall, adorned with tapestries and pillars, followed by his armed soldiers and men at-arms. A number of his knights hurried into the room, shifting their black surcoats from rapid preparation. There was plenty enough might in this room to stem any sort of foolishness from some simple guests. He called for boots from his servants, and made himself comfortable. Soon, entered the lead contingent. Arguing could be heard long before they ever entered the room, and finally there marched in a number of knights with enameled armor, a few with blued, and a number of mages. A number of the Maji were part of the Meagher house.

“Why have you disturbed my house?” the Marquis demanded. It was more than a simple question, it was a voicing of his displeasure. He outclassed everyone in the room, only the duke stood higher than he. Even then, the duke would have been reserved since the Meagher’s outnumbered his own house in both men-at-arms as well as potency in magic.

“Excellency, we do not mean to bother you. Forgive our disturbance, it does not concern you. We shall be on our way.” One of the Maji excused.

“Something of extreme importance has come to you as well as the investigation, I will be the judge of whether or not it concerns me.”

“I hesitate to even propose the absurd thought, Excellency, for we most assuredly have encountered a misdirection created by those who oppose the state.”

Faich’s heart jumped in his chest. Did they know his connection to the rebellion? Most assuredly not, he had been very careful. Almost everyone involved with him were double blind. Years of practice subdued his hesitation and buried it under a practiced mask that did not even hint of seeping through. This was about the failed assassination attempt, not the rebellion. Being one of the leaders, the others would definitely have informed him of any sort of link. No, it was a rogue element that neither the king nor the rebellion could control. “You hold your tongue as though you fear it might run away from you. Am I to understand that there has been some sort of development that might stain the flawless reputation of this great house?”

Immediately the two Meagher maji shook their heads and distanced themselves by stepping back. The others frantically looked to each other, holding back terror. Of the remainder one by one they backed away denying any sort of challenge to their superior's reputation. However, there stood the King’s men still, soldiers, knights that also held office as vassals. Finally one approached.

“We have found your house’s protection from scrying to have been used by the culprit in order to mislead the investigation, excellency.” the knight bowed trying to be as delicate as possible.

“Ah...” Faich rose. This was indeed a problem. Since the time had passed, the criminal could no longer be scryed since the rising of the moon. In addition, his protection did not extend beyond the walls of their great house. That meant that the criminal somehow made it inside, which either meant that his guard was inept at detecting disloyalty or intruders (which was totally unacceptable in a tyranny), or (from the outside) he was involved. “... some of my Maji are remarkably overzealous in their efforts to keep prying eyes away. I am certain that must be the hindrance. Let it be known, we have never fostered the thought of unlawfulness or disloyalty of any sort. You can be sure that any form of incompetence will be punished unto death. Though, I assure you that you will not find any. I must insist, however, that the eyes of Meagher will be the only to pry into the affairs of the house.”

It was a great cover, intrusive and abusive guards in a system that promotes it. Surely once in a while the different divisions would get in each other’s way. But not the King’s way. It did not matter the confusion or reason for failure. You could square off against the most diabolical mind the world had ever known, but if you came in second best it was unacceptable. This was buying time at best. Perhaps the dictator was in a good mood, perhaps the assassination attempt was exaggerated and there simply needed some good PR. At any rate, the Marquis had offered a scapegoat, sure some random Maji or soldiers might be rounded up and killed in order to take the blame, but with the stakes so high he could expect to find volunteers.

“And what, exactly, excellency, do you expect us to do with this dead-end?”

“I do not know how you overcome challenges as a champion by sword or lance, but we in the magical community utilize the carnal practices of ‘looking’ and ‘asking’ when our expertise fails us. I advise you adopt it as well, lest you be deemed negligent in your duties,” the Marquis was now locked in. He was taking a massive gamble that one of his house was not secretly involved with this. It would take immediate and careful action to create a cover-up and/or to locate the assassin. He would have much rather sat back and watched the fool be uprooted and give his associates in the rebellion time catch their breath, but now it seemed that things were far more complicated.

The group of investigators excused themselves and departed. There was much debate but little to do since the path lead them straight to the front gate of the house. It wasn’t exactly like they could ask if someone simply walked by the fortification, nor was it something that could be brushed off as an access door or traitorous servant was involved. There WAS no one to ask and there WAS nowhere to look other than the now forbidden ground.

Centuries had passed and yet it felt like yesterday that Merrick and his Soturi brothers and sisters stormed the Ivory Palace and drove the hordes of Helvetti back into the deep from which they came. Merrick still had the scars to prove that even he had fought in those days. He was surprised at how easily he had managed to take over the Soturi Order, an order tasked with protecting the peoples of the earth. Protecting innocents was all well and good but Merrick felt that Soturi belonged in a higher level of society than they were granted. They were dying by the thousands in the war, and for what, to save innocents? He scoffed at the very notion. No. He would see to it that he got his reward. And so he had. First taking over the order and then declaring himself King when the war was won.

There were whispers of overthrowing Merrick, of restoring things to the way they used to be. There would be none of that, not while Merrick had anything to say about it. The reason the talk of mutiny was in hushed tones and behind closed doors was because of the fear Merrick inspired. He was gifted with the ability to control light, ordinarily not thought to be a terribly useful or powerful skill. That is, until Merrick learned how to manipulate light to orchestrate illusions, they were small at first but now he could orchestrate them on a much larger scale.

Those illusions are what had done the original Soturi order in. Merrick tricked the Soturi into killing each other off until only a few remained, his inner circle – the ones he trusted. Eventually he had to get rid of them too, there could be no one left to challenge him. So he decided to outlaw the birth of any future Soturis. He knew some would escape his net but they would be too afraid to stand against him and even if they wanted to, they would be untrained.

Despite his best efforts there was a rebellion forming, and they had so imaginatively called themselves just that, The Rebellion. Ordinarily it wouldn’t be much concern, especially since they were unable to find leaders for their resistance movement; but, what struck fear in the King’s heart was that they were seeking out Soturi and Magi. An allied force of Soturi and Magi was not something Merrick wanted to face. No, he had to head this off. But how? By giving the rebellion exactly what they were looking for, a leader. A leader who would fall precisely when he needed them to. Yes, that would do nicely.

“Send guardsmen Iles to see me when she arrives this morning,” Merrick said to his own royal guard. He waved the man away when he offered the customary salute.

Kate Iles would not find anything unusual about him calling her to him. He often asked her to perform work outside of her duties as a royal guard. She had proved herself quite useful even at her youthful age. He knew of the mark she hid on her wrist and had often toyed with the idea of making an example of her. But this…this would be a much better use for her death.

Merrick’s pale blue eyes were fixed on a point in the distance, he wasn’t actually looking at anything outside, he was just lost in his own thoughts for a time. He heard Kate enter the throne room but he didn’t deign to look at her. No, she found it much more unsettling when he didn’t look at her.

“You wished to see me, Sir?” Kate offered a customary salute, bringing her right closed fist to her chest with a shallow bow before letting it fall back to her side.

“I have a guest I would like you to persuade to tell me what they know about an annoying group of traitors. They call themselves the Rebellion. I also suspect our guest is a Soturi. Should you discover that they are, I trust you’ll take care of it?”

“Of course, your majesty,” Kate bowed before leaving.

Merrick smirked. Even now he knew she was running through all the escape routes out of the castle. She would only be able to take one, the one he wanted her to take. The river would carry her out of reach of the guards and she would be resourceful enough to escape, this he knew. He just needed her to get to the rebellion for his plan to start taking shape. There was too much potential in Kate and her abilities as a Soturi to not use her as a Rebellion leader. They would be fools to not follow her. Which is why she would be the perfect target of his plan.

He had not anticipated a couple of things, like Kate taking the gnome with her that he’d forgotten was still in the dungeons and Trent escaping through the very castle. But it provided him a golden opportunity to blame someone else he had been meaning to get rid of. Soon he would be calling for the purge of the house Meagher, but he would have to wait until there was sufficient “evidence” of their hand in the “plot to kill the King.”

Perhaps things were going better than he thought.

For but one second, time seemed to stop.

Hugo's eyes were kept shut, images began flooding his mind alongside the air that entered his lungs. familiar visions, memories of his hard work, sketches and sketches detailing a metallic golem, towering and menacing in it's presence, made to protect his suitors with it's own life. parchments unraveling to reveal the complex inner structures and anatomy of the guardian, completely organic on the inside, working perfectly for it's purpose. A design he had perfected long ago.

time had resumed, and he could feel the sensation of energy flowing through him, seeping out of his finger tips in threads, unraveling their way towards the space in front of Hugo, intertwining reality with magical will, acting as threads, tying the golem into existence. His eyes remained closed, but he could feel the golem being assembled, for a moment, Hugo actually thought it had worked. however, he had thought it worked many many times before. although this time the process did not get interrupted by the conjuration retaining too much energy to quickly and destabilizing, Hugo could feel something. something wrong.

he could feel cracks forming, the threads of magic that he was using to hold the golem together were breaking and fading as they got further. Soon enough they completely vanished, and Hugo let go of the connection. opening his eyes and getting up from his crouching position. taking in the sight upon him.

The Golem, well, parts of it, were suspended in mid air, translucent, stuck in a state between existence and non existence. Blood still pulsating and spilling through open veins and arteries, fading into nothingness, a fleshy mess with malformed metallic plates attached to them. slowly fading, breaking into smaller bits and slowly fading away, as the energy that held it together weakened, and dissipated in a memorial of yet another failure.

Hugo lay back onto the grass underneath him, bringing his right hand to his face, a simple rag appearing in his grasp, using it to dry up some sweat before quickly dispelling it. he let out a frustrated sigh, turning his head towards the red shape moving towards him. a red fox made his next to him from the corner in which it was previously, curling up and laying in a comfortable position next to him.

"What is this? the 7th try"

The fox gave a very slight nod, seemingly to comfortable to do anything more significant, Hugo lay there for a while, watching the pieces of the golem fade away. what went wrong this time..? Conjuring things purely of his own creation, without resorting to memories, is always a tricky ordeal, but he's done it many times before with smaller things, or non living things. however, for some reason whenever Hugo tried scaling it up, and creating things with much more substantial size, it stopped being a problem of sheer effort and practice, and seemingly begun failing in several different ways, this had been yet another failure, yet more issues to fix.

"well.. progress is progress nonetheless isn't it?" he said while petting the fox.

Yet I've been making progress for a very.. very long time...

Almost an hour went by, Hugo and the fox lay there, as he went through the process in his mind, thinking of what could've gone wrong, eventually however. He got up, and with the fox to his side, begun making his way to his manor, for although none of his experiments had gone wrong for a very very long time, he still always did his major experiments in some woods to the south of the village. The way there was mostly uneventful, as he ranted to himself and to the fox, still brainstorming.

Elena could barely sleep that night. The anxiety was still very much burrowed in her mind. Even as she stood there in the early morning, the guards had not left their position outside the residence. After talking to Adair yesterday, they had insisted to continue guarding her. She knew perfectly well that she might still be in trouble, which was why she had carried through with her plan. Elena had indeed asked about Adair’s view on a possible scrying of the mind to be deemed innocent, but he had been led to believe Elena meant for Kate to receive the scrying. But no, the young magi had sent for the court mages, bluntly explaining the situation and requesting for a scrying, to prove her innocence. They had not answered, which was worrying.ß

Not even a cup of tea had managed to bring other thoughts to her, but the knocking on her door did. With quick steps the girl skipped towards the door, opening it quickly and staring at the figures outside. One of the court mages, a grumpy old woman by the name of Yella Liversteam stood there in her same old robes, clearing her throat before she spoke. Behind her was another mage and a nobleman, with the two guards observing.

“Miss Lockslin, we’ve discussed your situation.” She paused, before wetting her lips and continuing. “And we’ve decided, upon evaluation of your former help to the King and the kingdom, to allow for a scrying. Today.” Yella said, with that familiar frown on her face. Still, she had been rather nice about it, considering.

“I am prepared to leave already. Will it take place at the Astral Hall?” Elena asked, clasping her hands obediently in front of herself.

“No. The King has decided it should take place in the throne room.” The nobleman rudely interrupted, folding his arms. Elena could not help but grow nervous at that. A scrying in the middle of the throne room was as uncommon as a farmer’s son marrying a princess. It did not bode well. If the king had decided it was worthy of his time, Elena could most likely begin counting the minutes she had left.

The throne room was as beautiful as ever. As far to the roof as there was to the top of the tallest trees Elena had ever seen. And the ancient and irreplaceable ornaments, pillars with the stories of the kingdom carved into them. It was admirable beyond imagination. The king sat in his throne, greeting the group that had entered. Each and every one of them bowed in respect, with an approving nod in return by the king. Yella stepped forward, gesturing to Elena as she spoke.

“Your grace, this is Miss Elena Lockslin of the Mage’s Tower. She is the one who request for the interrogation herself.” King Merrick nodded in return, before he spoke.

“I have heard about your position, Miss Lockslin. Merciful as I am, I will of course allow you to prove your innocence.” He said, motioning for the mages to go about their business. Elena was guided towards a single chair in the middle of the room, rubbing her sweaty hands as she sat down upon it. She had put on the robe she was most fond of. It was a soft and beautifully sown gift from Talder years ago. It had not fit her until she had matured, not that it had ever bothered her. It was a midnight blue, with silvery markings all over it, ancient words and incantations. The robe had to be one of her most precious items, even if she never had prioritized clothing.

No further words were spoke as Yella stepped towards Elena, placing a hand on her forehead. As she begun to mutter an incantation, her fingers began glowing a faint white. Instantly, Elena could feel the magic invading her mind. She grimaced, even if she knew there was nothing to fear. But it was still such a claustrophobic feeling, opening your thoughts, memories and life to other people. No one wanted to be scryed, but what choice did she have? It was something that had to be endured, horrible as it was. The magic flowed through her memories, investigating each one of them carefully. Elena took in a deep breath, shaking as she sat in the chair.

“Your grace –“ Yella addressed the king as she halted the incantation, looking towards him. “The young Miss Lockslin has not associated herself with the Rebellion, but she does know Kate Iles, perhaps even a long-time friendship. Still, she appears to hold a remarkable loyalty for the crown, long as she has lived. I, Yella Liverstream of the King’s Court hereby declare Elena Lockslin innocent of any accusations concerning her loyalty.”

“Excellent. Most excellent.” Merrick stepped down from his throne, his cloak waving gracefully as he approached the young magi. He offered his hand towards the girl, having become slightly teary at that point. Elena accepted the help, but strayed from looking directly at him; it was not suitable for anyone besides his most trusted men. She curtsied before the king, as he spoke again.

“If you would all excuse us, I would like to have a word with Miss Lockslin.” Merrick stated, gesturing for all of the others to scurry away.

“Now,” Merrick started, turning his back and motioning for Elena to come along. “I am sorry you had to undergo that, Lockslin. But it is for the safety of the kingdom. Speaking of which, I have an offer.” The king turned around again, offering an unreadable smile.
“Perhaps you’ve heard of the order of magi that serves the crown personally?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I have, Your Grace.” Elena humbly responded, dipping her head. There was indeed a group of mages that worked directly for the crown’s interests. They were commonly referred to as the Diviners. Elite, ruthless and crucial to the Kingdom, there was both fear and respect by the citizens, and the mages of the Tower alike.

“Splendid. You have been deemed innocent, but I believe there is yet more you could do for the Kingdom. Kate Iles betrayal was unexpected, and a danger to us all. If you would accept, I would have you accept the oath, and take on the seal, to find Guardsman Iles, and bring her to justice, one way or the other.” Merrick kept a rather firm expression, but smirked in his mind.

“O--… Of course, your Grace.” Elena curtsied again.

Oh, how easy it was to manipulate the young.

The foxes stole across the fields of Lacramur in the darkness. Darting over hills but mostly sticking to underbrush and low lands and rock outcroppings attempting to be invisible to the night hawks and owls that would dare give away their position. It was two of them, and if you watched carefully from your window, you might see the moonlight quiver as they made their way along. Kate and Trent were the two foxes, speeding along as fast as their tired legs could carry them. The alerted eyes of all creatures of the night looked everywhere, and they were being hunted.

Of course they did not attempt the incognito, Trent was too indifferent on things like that. Besides, the Gnome was stubborn as a cottonwood stump. They could not possibly drag him along while moving quickly. So they used the disguises to make him believe that they were going with Trent's plan only to reverse their strategy shortly after he had vanished. It was not easy going. Every bridge, every road, every perimeter and every wall was waiting for the two to slip up and approach. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was being stopped by guards and asked questions. Trent believed it was because the guard had found the Gnome, but Kate knew it was more than that.

At one point they witnessed some 5000 strong troupe heading to the capital. Completely ignorant of the way the world was twisting around them, the patrols were heavy, but what was not understood is that the sweep was only part of their orders as army after army was moved to key locations for a strike against the Meagher strong-points rooted throughout the land. If they were not subtle or quick enough to strike it would mean civil war... and in the world of a tyrant that was unacceptable.

However, this night, and even with the other pressing needs, a cavalry unit had spied the two fugitives, and now the end was closing in rapidly. Horses dug divots in the grasslands with a quiet clopmity-clomp muffled by the dead of night. The hearts of the fugitives made a louder thump as their ears ached to hear something more than the silence.

At first, they started to run towards a small village in order to hide in the streets, but Trent grabbed Kate's shoulder. Frantically he pointed in about a mile away. There was a black splotch of the landscape where the moonlight refused to go. It was the woods. If there was anywhere to hide, that would be the way to do it. If, that is, they could get there before the cavalry circled in. There were probably 100 mounted Rough Rangers, the elite cavalry that patrolled the wilds. There were 10 in this division, complimented by conscripted rangers and normal cavalry most of which were veterans. They were trained in tracking, archery from horseback, battlefield tactics, and spears. They were renowned for slaughtering fleeing Sotouri and uprooting bandit camps that outnumbered them. Each was well versed in each area they patrolled, knowing shortcuts, the locals, and the wildlife like the back of their hands. And, yes, they were so good at their jobs that they were closing in on Kate and Trent.

Without a word Trent and Kate began picking their way down a valley, only to suddenly notice a silhouette on a hilltop with a demanding perspective just off to their side. Trent pointed the other direction as well to reveal that there was another sentry above them. They pressed against the rock outcropping not daring to breathe much less move. The only thing saving their lives at this point was man's downfall... darkness. There was only black and silver at night. They would have been seen in a second if it was a full moon.

Hooves, more of them. A dozen more horses cut them off in front, blocking off the valley. Not that it mattered even if they tried to make a run for it. It would be a joke to run a mile in comparison to a horse.

Kate could feel the foolishness spark and ignite in Trent. He was about to do something stupid and desperate and probably do it to try to protect her again. However, a gallop broke the silence. Someone whispered to the Rough Ranger on the hilltop. Though the words were soft, the dead silence of the intruded night seemed loud, "Fire in the capital, sir. You can see the glow of the fires on the smoke from Eastridge.”

Perhaps it was their sheer exhaustion, but it didn’t seem that Trent was surprised by the news.

The troops seemed to lose momentum. Horse after horse began collecting atop the hill. Their attuned eyes all turned toward to the messenger. The noose was loosened for the moment.

Trent shoved Kate hard to start racing towards the forest. They would, of course have to pass that manor, but manors meant fields, elaborate grounds, civilization, and no longer be at the disadvantage to the Rough Rangers. People discussed the situation and the news as quietly as possible thinking that they had some sort of say.

Suddenly their momentum came to a halt and the two of them collapsed into each other. One of the cluster on the hilltop was looking their direction, and he would have spied the motion had they not stopped there in the shadow of a short ridge. Nothing but murmurs and their thunderous breath could be heard. They had passed the troupe now, and they were well on their way to the grounds and leaving the horsemen behind. Hours seemed to pass before the rider turned his steed to glance at his associates.

They moved, the hedges were not far now.

“Hai!” The soldier’s voice broke the night. They had been spotted...

With no other options Kate and Trent sprinted towards the grounds as fast as possible. Hooves thundered on the ground and it made each footfall seem humorously short and slow. Even as fast as they could run, the horses could easily quadruple it. In a matter of moments they were overrun.

“Stop in the name of the king!” A horseman demanded.

It didn’t really matter. They weren’t going to stop.

One horseman charged spear ready to strike the fugitives without caring who they might be. No one defies the orders of the king. However, he seemed to dismount in a sloppy mess, and actually collapsed into Trent. Then the truth became known, the rider was now covered in his own blood and rapidly losing life as he fell from his horse.

There came the clash of steel, and a scream of agony. The Rough Rangers were killing each other! Horses raced too and fro some with riders, some without. People struggled in the darkness locked in mortal combat. It was impossible to tell exactly what was going on.

A stray soldier hurried toward the two, screaming orders. “Inside, now! Go!”

He was bleeding profusely from an arm that hung dead at his side, but there was still fight in him as he stood as a rear guard.

“To me kingsmen! To me!” someone shouted from the inky night, his voice disrupted by the jostle of horseback as he rallied his men. However, conflicting cries of salvation from farther away could be heard. Salvation, that is, if they could survive.

“Rebels forever! Down with the tyrant!”

“Free on range! Free in spirit!”

Silent nights like these where a favorite of Hugo, and as far as he was aware, nothing but silence awaited him this evening. It wasn't long ago that he had finished eating dinner, cooked by him with assistance of conjured helpers, small but very useful golems, a mixture of memories from creations of a magi from the academy and his own additions personal additions. they cut, cooked and cleaned alongside him. in the end it had been quite a pleasant dinner, and as of now, he had retired, allowing two golems to clean up behind him.

The manor had more rooms then he could need, so he never stayed for to many days in the same rooms, today he had decided to lay on the comfortable mattress of one of the guest rooms, the bed itself was made of fine woods and metals, with lush purple and blue fabrics, as was most furniture of this room save for the marble dresser and it's mirror. his hand lay to his side, one finger slightly lifted, as a small cyan bird nuzzled it's head on it, chirping softly and happily, eventually beginning to whistle a pleasant tune. Hugo was looking at a large tome on a table he had dragged beside the bed.

Standing behind the book, holding it in reading position was the third golem he had conjured back at dinner time. It was only slightly bigger then the tome itself, a mixture of it's small stature and the book's incredible size. the golem seemed to be made of a very polished stone but it's movement seemed very smooth, it flipped one of the pages upon Hugos request, looking at him with his small black, pebble like eyes.

He didn't plan on staying up late researching today, following the previous failure in the woods he decided he needed some rest and proper sleep to clear his mind a bit, as the sounds of the night mixed with the birds soft song began to lead him into slumber, his eyes drifted shut..

The sound of hooves reached his ears.

it was faint, on the distance, but still unusual. Very few came around here, even less this late at night, travelers wishing to go into the woods would take one of the well maintained paths further away, and king's men had no business nearby.Exceptions happen.. his eyes remained closed, ignoring the sound, assuming they were just passing.

They weren't

The sound wasn't constant, but it was always there, every once in a while he would hear horses moving and sometimes faint voices, this lasted along time before the curiosity gnawing in the back of his mind grew to strong. eventually Hugo got up, walking to the door and turning the knob, allowing the bird and the golem to vanish behind him, the magic that help them here dispersing.

He had taken only a few steps down the hallway when a loud scream pierced the air."Hai!", the sound resonated through the night, and the hooves began once more, but much more violently, and noticeable, as if many horses had began to gallop. Hugo rushed to a window, looking out and seeing kingsmen, so many of them, chasing two figures. Ah.. kingsmen indeed..

There where so many though, this couldn't be simple runaways, these many men would only be dispatched for something much more important.. Traitors maybe.. or perhaps Soturi.. Hugo felt somewhat saddened as the king's men caught up to the figures, those people did not deserve what would befall them, be them rebels, who had the courage to face the kings injustices, or Soturi, whose only crime was being born. he turned away from the window, not wishing to see the guards dispatch their "Justice"

He had taken a few more steps when he heard the sounds of swords clashing and screams.

“Rebels forever! Down with the tyrant!”

“Free on range! Free in spirit!”

Rebels? what? the voices where many but all he had seen was kingsmen.. infiltrators perhaps? Hugo did not turn back to the window, instead he rushed to the main hall of the manor, turning a few hallways still hearing the sounds of battle, quickly going down the magnificent staircase that lead to the front doors, unlocking and opening them to look outside and see what has happening.

He opened the door, revealing the clashing difference between the interior of the manor and it's exterior, whilst the outside looked worn and unkept, the interior was regularly cleaned, pristine and luxurious, kept that way by his golems, most of the decorational objects and trinkets the previous owner had left behind where still here, nice and pristine.

His eyes darted to the bloodshed, swords clashing and horses rushing wildly, people falling to the ground bloodied as the sounds of combat took over any remaining peace, truly, it seemed rebbels had managed to make their way into the kings numbers. a brave act.. but futile in the end.. the king is too strong. Hugo's attention then fell to the people rushing towards his manors, two figures being lead by a guard.. a rebel, it was apparent he was wounded, one of his arms lay limp to his side and he could see the pain in his face even from a distance, they would need assistance.

As he opened one of the doors further, he flicked his wrist to his side, conjuring a golem just like the one he had dismissed.

"There are people in need of assistance, go to the storage room and bring me some medicinal salves, and bandages."

As the figures got even closer, a hint of worry dripped into his mind, he was about to help rebels.. I could claim ignorance.. one of them is wearing guard armor in fact.. just in case, he broke his link to the other golems that were cleaning, banishing them,reclaiming the energy used to maintain them, he'd rather be fully ready for whatever happened.

This was not going to be a silent night.

Seeing the sadness in Ava’s eyes Terrin placed his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to convey comfort. Reaching around her head he grasps and pulls the hood of the cloak over her head and fastens the clasp holding it together underneath her chin. ”You will need this a lot more than I,” he smiles gently, ”We’ll need to hit the road soon, start heading towards the southern exit and I will meet you there shortly, I have some business to finish up.”

He watched Ava leave, deciding she was far enough away he went to work. ”Hey, Sena isn’t it?” he addressed the elf. ”People like the scum we fought don’t stop until they get what they want so I would suggest leaving as fast as possible. You look like you can handle yourself but if you wish Ava and I are heading south." Terrin did not wait for a reply before he walked off to his last errand.

I hope that was the right idea, she is still an unknown. This worry occupied his mind until he found himself where he needed to be, in front of the shop that Ava was looking at before. A small bell rang from the door as he walked in, announcing the clerk of his presence. A older looking elvan woman began her warm introduction, “Welcome cu-ustomer!” a slight stutter appeared as she noticed the customer being a half-elf. ”Good evening ma’am. Don’t worry, I’ll be quick." Terrin found himself by the wares that Ava was looking at before the incident, a table full of little trinkets and jewelry. Crap...which one was she looking at? he chided himself for not paying enough attention. He eyes began scanning the table when one piece caught his eye, a rather plain golden rope necklace with a small pendant of the sun. Looking into his coin pouch he sighed deeply, this was going to cost him quite a lot. “That’s a lovely piece.” Terrin whipped around with a start to see the shopkeeper looking over his shoulder. “I’m sure she’ll be happy with it,” she reassured him. Terrin blushed slightly and quickly paid her, ”Thanks.” As Terrin stormed out the shopkeep’s voice rang out, now from behind her desk, “Have a good day dear customer!”

Walking towards the south gate he saw the cloaked figure of Ava awaiting his return. ”Sorry that took so long, now let us leave." Looking over the horizon, Terrin saw the sunset, a beautiful mix of orange, red and yellow with the sky turning nearly pink. Terrin looked at his partner’s expression, seeing such an amazed look as she appreciated the nature in front of her was a refreshing sight, he lived for so long but hasn’t felt a moment like that for nearly one hundred years. His hand brushed over the necklace in his pocket as his heart skipped a beat, I guess this is as good of a time as any, he tried to call himself down with the thought as he pulled the box out. ”H-here, I saw you looking at the shop in town, since we couldn’t stay and see the festival I thought you may have wanted something from the town.” He held up the necklace to Ava, thinking he saw approval on her face, "I’ll put it on for you.” He carefully pulled the hood off her head, making sure to keep her hair in place. He then draped the gift over her slender shoulders and with a small click it was securely fastened. ”I know it isn’t much but I hope you like it. We’ll need to hurry, there’s a storm coming." As if to accent his point thunder rumbled in the distance whilst traveling in the waning sunlight.

Ava’s head perked up slightly when he prevented her from taking off his cloak, a slight shade of pink going across her face when he spoke after pulling the cloak’s hood over her head, appreciative of his kindness, although she was still feeling guilty for putting them in that situation moments earlier. She simply gave a nod and then began heading towards the southern exit when he told her he would meet her there, glancing at the festival decorations as she passed by, she wished that they could stay in the town and enjoy the festival, but knew it wouldn’t be a good idea, at least not whilst there was a potential threat for them there.

When she arrived at the exit’s gate, she couldn’t help but admire the sunset that was coming over the land, the yellow orb in the sky that was the sun made the rest of the space around it various hues of red, blue and orange, even making it seem a bit pink, she was amazed that nature could create such beautiful things. A small bird that was nearby flew to her, landing on her shoulder as it chirped in her ear, “Well hello there little friend, have you come to enjoy the sunset with me?” She asked the small avian creature to which it responded with a few more chirps, tilting it’s head back and forth at her as though it was trying to understand her before it flew away, a slight smile coming across her face as she watched it become smaller in the distance.

As quickly as her thoughts went away from admiring the sunset, they came back just as fast, how she had practically been helpless when it came to the men who attacked her and how even now, if she had a do over, she knew she wouldn’t be able to harm them. It frustrated her because she had a feeling this journey would be long and she would eventually need to fight, but she didn’t like to fight or to hurt others, at the same time however, if she didn’t, what would happen to her new companion if he was in a bind like she had been?

Her thoughts felt like they were racing a million miles a minute, I don’t know what to do, I want to be useful, but- her thoughts were interrupted when Terrin spoke to her, Ava shaking her head slightly as she came back to reality, “Oh, that’s alright, I had just been enjoying the sunset, it’s really quite beautiful.” She spoke with a smile coming across her face once more. When he spoke to her again and then pulled out the necklace, her eyes were widened in surprise, How did he know I wanted that necklace? Ava asked herself in her thoughts.

“Oh, well that’s very kind of you, but you didn’t hav-” She spoke up before being interrupted as Terrin approached her, a touch of crimson appearing on her cheeks when he removed the hood and then placed the necklace on her, once more unable to stop herself from smiling as she gently touched the pendant. “It’s what I had wanted at that shop, thank you.” She merely responded as she kept her gaze fixated on the small piece of metal.

Her gaze on the necklace was torn when he mentioned a storm coming followed by the sound of thunder. She glanced back to the north and saw a storm beginning to approach from them and hastily made off with Terrin away from the town, she knew how fast a storm could catch up to the two of them and she doubted with her still being injured that they’d get very far before they would have to stop on her account.

Ava toughed it out best she could for an hour or two, but eventually her sore stomach got the better of her and she had to stop; she felt the strong winds of the storm hit her as it got closer to them. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to hold us up, I just need a few seconds.” Ava said as she rested against a tree, her hand resting atop her stomach. Based on how sore her stomach was, she was guessing that it was already bruising, she started to lower the top of her dress to check her stomach but quickly halted herself before it made it past her chest when she remembered that Terrin was there with her.

Another shade of crimson hit her cheeks as she got up and then turned away from him, “Um...please don’t look at me for a few seconds, I just need to check my injury.” She said to him as she relied on the cloak on her back to conceal what she was about to do. She felt her cheeks burn and her heart race as she began pulling the top of the dress down until it rested on her waist and she could see her stomach; shades of blue and purple already forming on the skin, Just great...well I figured that was going to be the case based on this pain, her inner voice said to her.

A sharp gust of wind brushed past them, beginning to lift the cloak up but was promptly grabbed by Ava when she felt it starting to rise, once more her cheeks turned a crimson color. Thankfully the only thing that had been revealed was her bare back and she speedily put the top of her dress back on herself once the wind died down. She then faced Terrin once more, her cheeks still flushed and then sat down against the tree again, hovering her hand over her stomach as the mark on her arm lit up through the small piece of fabric tied to her arm and a small amount of light appeared in her hand, beginning to heal her bruised stomach.

The light she produced didn’t last long however, she was still exhausted from the day’s earlier events and didn’t have the energy to fully heal herself. Most of the bruising on her stomach had gone away, but if looked at under the fabric of her dress, there was still a shade of yellow on the skin and was still a tad sore, but she could manage with that at least. Ava’s fatigue was finally catching up with her, she was ready to fall asleep right there when she felt a cold drop of water hit her nose, she glanced up and saw the deep gray clouds in the darkening sky. First it was light rain that came down and then it became heavy and although the trees provided decent cover from the downpour, some of the rain still made it through and they’d be drenched if they didn’t find some shelter soon.

Running through the elaborate but untended grounds was difficult in the dark of night. The fight seemed to rage all around, and soon Trent found himself out of sight of Kate. Where in the world had she gone? He frantically looked one way and then another, tossing his hood back to get an unobstructed view. However, out of haggard topiary and bucking and swaying paved paths, there was simply no sign of her.

Suddenly, Trent's hood constricted around his throat as someone grabbed hard and yanked back in an attempt to throw him to the ground. Instead, he stood fast, not even having to adjust his stance. He turned, but not in haste, a Rough Ranger had a good grip of his clothing. Seeing Trent's face it was clear, he was now sure he had properly identified the young man. The fellow might die tonight, but he was not about to abandon his duty.

His enchanted blade swung to remove Trent's head from his body. However, the scalding brilliance of light magic would slice through even the most hardened steel and tear through any form of darkness it might encounter. However, it found it's efforts in vain, as Trent caught the blade with his bare hand. A devious smile crossed Trent's face as he held back an outright laugh at the effort. Then, his other limb came crashing down, and the relic of wars past as well as enchantment after enchantment placed upon it was shattered into a thousand pieces like dried mud.

Shock and fear came only after an utterance, "You broke my glowy, sharp, pointy thingy! I'm mad now!"
It felt great, Trent was not tired or sore, he was thriving off of the fear that wafted from the capital, from Chazwall, from Gravit, even the village just over the hill. At this moment, in this turmoil, when everyone quivered with fear from the monsters that were very real... Trent was indestructible. This was the sort of reign of darkness that Gerud had labored toward for decades, and Lewoada for centuries. This could be the first steps to an undying night, a world of darkness and fear that would never end, and ever fuel the creatures of darkness. Trent was one of them, one of the remaining murders of boogie-men. Now was time for a maniacal laugh, of which Trent obliged.

The power did not freeze his mind though, it always made him see things more clearly. It would have been easy to silence this witness, especially right now. However, violence, at least when provided by a creature such as himself, destroyed the powers he held; and he would need them in order to survive. However, even greater than simply being identified, the greater threat was if this fellow reported a boogie-man was on the loose. That would destroy Kate's trust, that would get rebel, king's men, noble, or peasant, elf, human, gnome, or dwarf on the alert, working together in order to destroy his entire murder. However unlikely the possibility, Trent was not going to allow that to happen, just as he was not going to allow a reign of darkness to occur. Fear had its place, some might say that it was needed. He was a propagator of fear, call it good or evil, but he always thought of it as a service. Courage only exists in the face of fear, and courage was needed for good things as well as bad things to take root... it was the initiator of change.

Trent grabbed hold of the fellow's leather armor, but something didn't seem to make sense as the terrified eyes of the man locked on Trent's. He let the fellow go with a shove. "Gerud?"

The Rough Ranger obscenely melted away like a mix between wax melting and meat rotting away incredibly fast. The tall and slim form of Gerud took its place. "Sloppy, to say the least. Did I not teach you to be invisible whenever danger was present?"

"Gerud! You tried to chop my head off with an enchanted blade! You jester! I’ll have to remember that ‘sharp pointy thingy’ line! Where in the world did you even get an enchanted blade?! Better question, why did you try to chop my head off in the first place?" it was like a practical joke or a hazing at the attempted murder that had just occurred.

Gerud smiled with a sly humor that was quickly brushed aside. "It is important you witness your own ability on a night like this. However, I am disappointed that you were so lacking in discretion. Tell me, what were your plans for the witness?"

An arrow raced past the two, not even a concern. They were invisible now, Gerud would have made sure of it. Not only that, but carnal weapons had proven to be entirely useless against the two of them. "You were the one to teach me to never reveal anything to anyone, especially to you."

Gerud turned and looked Trent in the eye. He was delighted but had some serious work ahead... then again Gerud always had serious work ahead. “The time has arrived, Trent. This night we will secure a reign of darkness. This magnificence we have been gifted with will last indefinitely. The immortality of Lewoada might be well within our reach for once, she is willing to finally teach us the defilement needed. The only variables are ‘how far’ and ‘how long.’ With you as an asset, we could secure the entirety of the nation, and you will find borders a fantastic time-peace.”

“No, Gerud, just enjoy the moment, get your immortality quick while the nation burns, but don’t get greedy! Do NOT set up a reign of darkness! That’s what Lewoada doesn’t understand, we can’t. The harder we push towards that, the more consumed our shadow will be and then there will be no reason for fear once they topple your efforts, then you will starve. One CAUSES the other.”

“Do not confront the inevitable, pup. Your options are but two fold, either fulfill your obligations to this murder, or prove yourself dead weight. However, progress will be made without your consent.”

“I’m calling this one, Gerud, don’t do this or I will be forced to stop you. It will be for your own good.”

“There is a staunch misconception in your argument. I am your superior in both ability and rank. You have yet to teethe, pup. You are a mere apprentice, a dreamwalker. How would you hold your own against a master and a legend? What would you do? Kill me? You would destroy your own efforts with each futile blow. You haven’t even learned how to hold onto your ability while releasing your rage! I have the winning hand, boy. Not only can I kill you myself, I don’t need to. All I need do is expose your location to the King’s men. They will carry out your murder FOR me. Once you are dead, perhaps your little friend would be willing to take your place.” In an instant, Trent lashed out, a shaft of deep indigo lancing from a weapon he sported often while in other people’s dreams. Trent was also suddenly fully revealed to Gerud, garbed in dark crystalline armor that was entangled with roots. Mounted in the center of his breastplate was the symbol of his likeness, an iridescent scarab. Gerud’s arm suddenly slumped dead against his side without sign of blood. No, it wasn’t violence... technically, just simulated violence such as in a dream. However, the effects were much longer lasting. They weren’t permanent, just longer lasting than someone could expect to live. It was really only effective against an opponent who was asleep, which was a habit that most people tried to break.

Gerud flew back, literally, and suspended himself in the air drizzling with confidence. It was a rookie against a master, what could possibly be the outcome?

Trent said nothing, simply charged again. Gerud held up his hand to repel the youth at a whim. However, suddenly noticed that his extra limb that was used to aid in his control was disobediently missing from the equation. His smile slouched into a gaping mouth, and his eyes widened as he narrowly dodged Trent’s wild hail of blows. Gerud, being a boogie-man, was always both asleep and awake at the same time. It was needed so that there was both a front during the day, but enough time and energy in order to study all night long. Gerud had never known a conflict with another boogie-man. He was the sole student (or at least so far as he had known) for his entire life until Lewoada recruited Trent. This sort of conflict was relatively common before the likes of them had been purged hundreds of years ago in a door-to-door search for any form of darkness. Since then, they had to abandon internal conflict simply because there were so few that there wasn't really anybody to have a conflict with. So, in all of his studies, Gerud found himself at a complete blank. Trent had known that the day of conflict would arise. He took this into account when he noticed that his priorities varied so drastically from his two associates. So, he trained on his own as much as he could. In a real fight he would have lost, but in this case, it was loser against complete loser.

Terrin felt the first drop as Ava was busy using her magic thinking that it would haven’t come this soon. Looking around and luckily spotting a cave farther up the road, Terrin began to start picking up sticks and fallen branches, ”Here Ava! Keep these under your cloak and try to find more on the way!” He took her hand in his and helped her stand again pulling her along to the nearby cave.

Ava dawned on her hood when the rain hastily caught up to them and turned into a downpour within seconds. She was chastising herself in her head for slowing them down, but there wasn’t much that could’ve been done about it and had she not healed herself when she had, they’d be even slower than they already were. She looked up when he began collecting sticks and branches, doing as he asked and tucked them under her cloak and then took his hand when he offered it to help her up.

She rushed with him to the nearby cave, even with as fast as they were going, the strong winds and heavy rain were still being somewhat of a hindrance. Ava was glad that her companion had given her the cloak earlier that day, it was helping her stay dry, well at least dryer than Terrin who seemed to be getting drenched, which did make her feel a bit bad, he had been helping her since they met earlier that day and she had done very little in return; Perhaps I can search for some food after the rain passes, that will at least be a start in returning the kindness he’s shown me. Ava thought to herself as she glanced at her companion.

The rain came down in sheets on Terrin, soaking his clothes, coupled with the cold weather passing through chilled him to the bone. Getting to the mouth of the cave without accident was short of a miracle due to the blinding weather. Terrin let go of Ava’s hand and ran his hands through his soaked hair, making it go up in strange places, in vain attempt to remove the excess water. Shaking off his hands and walking farther into the cave, ”Come, being deeper inside will have us avoid the wind and rain,” he beckoned Ava along.

When they finally made it into the cave, Ava was relieved, it seemed like the rain and wind were becoming even stronger, although that was probably just her imagination. She extended her arms out slightly to inspect how much of the rain got on her, which was surprisingly minimal, she was a touch damp and her bangs were wet, but other than that, she was dry for the most part, her attention being drawn to Terrin when he called out to her, beckoning her over, Ava giving a nod in return as she made her way over to him.

After he believed they were far enough inside he took the wood from Ava to examine it, ”Hmm...not too wet thank goodness, it should light at least.” Terrin placed down the wood into a good sized pile while taking out a small metal box from his belt, Terrin smiled as he noticed his old, trusty tinderbox was still water-tight, especially after the earlier test. He placed the tinder underneath his fuel as he struck his flint, sending sparks to the tinder as it began to burn successfully. Terrin sighed in relief as he sat down near the growing fire waving Ava over, ”It’ll get warmer soon, come sit down." A draft made its way through the cave giving Terrin a small chill down his spine as his clothes absorbed his body heat.

Ava was glad when Terrin took the wood she had collected along the way from her, it helped relieve some of the heaviness her body was feeling, but that was mostly due the fatigue setting in, between the assault and her healing, along with the rain, her body felt like it was going to give out then and there; once the fire was started, Ava took a seat next to Terrin, extending her hands out to the flame as she tried to warm up.

Terrin stood up as he began to pry his clinging clothes off his body. Pulling his soaked shirt over his head showed his lean, muscled physique dotted by rising gooseflesh. Terrin then shook his head, clearing what loose water was left behind, after becoming sufficiently dazed from the violent movement he placed his shirt down next to him by the fire as he tried to regain his warmth. Even though he was slightly tremoring, he was more concerned for his partner, ”Are you doing ok? You still dry?”

”Here, you should probably take this back, I don’t need it at the mo-” Ava began to say when she noticed him shivering but interrupted herself when she saw Terrin remove his shirt, a shade of pink going across her face as she turned her head away, trying not to stare, although her eyes kept going back to the shirtless man. ”I-I’m fine, but it...it seems like you’re still cold,” she responded with a heavy breath, standing up as she untied and removed the cloak, draping it over his shoulders as she kept her gaze averted, then once more took her seat next to him, ”That should should keep you warm.” Ava added, still keeping her gaze slightly averted.

Terrin pulled the cloak around his shivering body, warmth coming back to him from the fire. ”I thank you Ava, even if it is my own cloak," he let out a good hearted chuckle, ”May I ask why you aren’t looking at...me?” Terrin slowed down as he put the pieces together as he looked down at his bare chest, blood rushing to his face as well, ”I’m sorry!” Terrin apologized as he tried to pull the cloak even tighter to cover his nudity, ”I just thought of survival and didn’t even think twice about my position with you, this must have looked awfully forward of me, I-I,” Terrin let out a sigh of exasperation as he grabbed one of the sticks on the edge of the fire to use it as a fire poker, shifting the embers into the air in an awkward silence.

Ava continued to be flustered by the shirtless man, her gaze continuing to glance to him and quickly look away, the blush from her face not once leaving. She had never seen a person like that before, well not up close anyways, so she had no idea how to deal with the situation, other than being flustered and it was throwing her through a bind. When Terrin pieced together why she wasn’t looking at him, a slight chuckle escaped her, she didn’t expect him to be nervous like she was, at least not since how he had acted earlier that day, “I-It’s okay, I’m sorry that I’m making a big deal about it, I mean, it’s just your shirt that’s off right? Sh-Shouldn’t really be that big of a deal,” she responded as her heart still raced, staring at the gap the cloak couldn’t cover.

”I’m glad my cloak served you well though. It was actually my mother’s, an actual gift from my missing father.” He pulled his hood down as he continued his story, ”It was made from one of the master craftsmen in Lempea, the man had a way with animal hide that no one could ever think of, as you see this cloak even now in perfect condition." A smile on his face spread as the nostalgia of his childhood began to occupy his thoughts, ”As I’ve told you before I lived in Lempea most of my life, but all of it was to take care of my mother, as soon as I could work that is what I did until the day she passed away. I wanted to take care of her, I wanted to protect her because I was the man of the house, forced to grow up much too fast." He looked to Ava with the same smile, ”My mother may have been a human, but you remind me a lot of her. Both of you are compassionate, showing forgiveness even when not deserved, both of you are so frail yet so strong of will. It feels nice to spend what little time I did with you Ava."

Ava was broken from her gaze when her companion spoke to her once more, listening with great interest as he told her more about himself, a streak of crimson hitting her face as he complimented her, “Thank you for those kind words as well as allowing me to use your cloak, I know what it’s like to be forced to grow up, I pretty much had to do it when my parents were taken, I guess that’s why I’m so shy around people,” Ava paused, lowering her head slightly “I know it seems silly to hide behind you and a piece of fabric, but I’ve already hurt so many people indirectly, ultimately it’s my fault people I’ve known have been taken away, there’s no other way around it and after today I wasn’t much help, it may be safer if I weren’t with you, I don’t want to risk you being captured because of me,” she glanced at him, giving a facade smile.

Terrin nearly snapped at Ava, ”Don’t you ever say that. Nothing that happened today was your fault, nor nothing in your past is your fault. You didn’t choose to be born with this power, nor did you tell the soldiers your parents were hiding you. They loved you enough to let you live your whole life, no matter the cost to theirs,” Terrin’s look softened a bit, ”Don’t let whatever sacrifice they made be in vain by not believing in yourself or even hating yourself. Ava will always be Ava, there is nothing wrong with the woman Ava.” a warm smile ended his scolding of her.

Ava was surprised at his sudden outburst, almost as though her words offended him, but she was appreciative of his kind words, still she couldn’t help but feel it was her fault, she may not have personally had her parents arrested, but if she had been more careful, hadn’t been so careless with her abilities, they would still be with her and she wouldn’t be out where she was now being a potential risk for her new friend. “Your words are very kind, thank you. I guess the one positive out of all this was that I got to meet you, so perhaps it’s not so bad.” She gave him a more genuine smile this time.

Terrin extended his leg and reached for behind his ankle, his hand entering his boot and pulling out another dagger almost identical to the ones he usually carries. Pulling the blade out from the sheath he examined the edge to see if it was still honed properly. Satisfied with his inspection he re-sheathed the dagger and handed it out to Ava, ”And if you are truly worried about being scared of the fighting that happened, take this, tomorrow I’ll begin to teach you on how to defend yourself.” The look in his eyes was cold as steel, ”In case I’m not around, or worse, I want you to know you can handle your own.” He pushed the weapon towards her, not accepting no as a possible answer.

Ava tilted her head to the side out of slight confusion when Terrin began reaching behind his ankle, curious as to what he was getting. When he pulled out the dagger, she couldn’t help but be slightly nervous, but when he gave her the blade, she relaxed a little more, holding it awkwardly, almost like she was afraid just holding it would cut her. “I don’t know...I’m not really the fighting type, nor do I think I could actually harm anyone with it, it’s just not in me to harm another living being.” She answered back as she held the dagger in her flattened palms; she understood what he was trying to do and perhaps she did need to learn to defend herself, but the thought of cutting someone with it, even in self-defense unsettled her a little.

Terrin handed her the sheath to her new blade, ”You may not be the fighting type, but I’d rather you be that than the dying type.” Terrin pulled his own blades out for his own examination, seeing some nicks from his earlier confrontation. He pulled a whetstone from his pocket. The cave echoed with the sounds of the grinding of metal on stone as Terrin concentrated on the upkeep of his equipment.

I know it would be bad if I were to die, I wouldn’t be able to find my parents then or at least find out what happened to them, plus, she paused in her thoughts, glancing over at Terrin for a moment he’d be all alone and I think he enjoys my company, She was broken from her thoughts when he she heard the sound of metal grinding against something, seeing him sharpening his weapon made her look down at the one he had given her, I have to at least try, not be useless while I’m with him, She thought determinedly.

Finishing with his weapons, Terrin re-sheathed and placed them back onto his belt. Seeing that his shirt was no longer soaking wet nor cold thanks to the fire, he proceeded to take off his cloak and finally clothe himself. Turning back to the woman next to him, ”I know you may be apprehensive, or maybe even scared, but you need to be aware that even though you may care for the wellbeing of everyone; most of the people out here do not believe as such. Someone like me they’ll just kill outright, simple as that, but pretty women like you will have a much longer and crueler fate than I,” his eyes began to examine the floor, ”If I hadn’t been with you today and that guy made off with you, I don’t know what I would have done knowing I led you to such a fate. If anything, you may want to leave my company for your own safety instead of my own, I’ve brought nothing to you but trouble.” Terrin couldn’t look her in the eye anymore as he turned his attention back to the fire.

“You’re right, I know not everyone feels the same as I do, that they don’t value it to such a degree, I’ll certainly try to be stronger, try to at least defend my friends, but I can’t lie and say I’ll kill them, I don’t know if I have it in me to do that.” This was one of her more stronger convictions, she might be able to harm others if it’s to defend those she cares about, but she didn’t know if she could bring herself to end someone’s life. Her eyes widened a bit when she then heard him suggest they should part ways, though she had suggested it earlier, she hadn’t meant it, but it was clear neither of them wanted to be burdens on one another, “No! I don’t want to do that, you’re not at fault for me being foolish enough to believe some stranger, besides if you aren’t here, I won’t know how to look for my parents or how to defend myself should anymore trouble come.” She blurted out rapidly, a hint of pink hitting her cheeks when she realized what she had said.

Terrin’s eyes grew wide at Ava’s vehement refusal for him to remove himself from her life, How long has it been since someone wanted me to stay by their side? the thought brought him back to his solitary life as a drifter; finding another place where he seemed to belong made his eyes glisten with held back emotions. But instead of showing them he emitted a clear, resounding laugh that echoed throughout the cave. Turning to Ava he began apologizing, ”Sorry, I'm not laughing at what you said. In fact your words touched me deeply. But even if I don't know exactly how to make your dream come true I'm still determined to stay by your side till it happens.” He looked away again, but with a smile spreading on his face, ”Even if every hello is coupled with a good bye, I'll enjoy every moment in between, that is if you'll continue having me.”

Ava gave a quizzical look when he started to laugh, not understanding what she said was funny, though when he explained himself, she couldn’t help but smile a little. “I’m sure that as long as you’re with me I’ll be able to fin-” there was a loud sound of thunder from the storm outside that made her shriek, hastily latching onto Terrin, burying her face into his chest with her eyes tightly shut. When the thunder died down and it was quite in the cave, she opened her eyes, looking at the fabric that her face was against and then quickly pushed herself off the person it was covering, “Sorry! I didn’t mean to, just I...” Ava quickly turned her head away, trying to obscure the crimson blush hitting her cheeks.

A clap of thunder pealed through the quiet, peaceful night. The sudden noise startled Terrin, but the body that clung to him so tightly didn’t give him a chance to think on it. He instinctively embraced her frail frame and began to stroke her hair in order to calm her down, his own face gaining a pink tint from the situation. His mind was racing with thoughts that he shouldn’t be having in this situation but he couldn’t help it, this beautiful woman was basically in his lap. A few deep breaths kept his mind at ease as he tried to calm down his panicked companion. The sensation of a woman so close was not long lived as Ava quickly separated herself from Terrin. He felt bad for the dark red her face was getting from embarrassment, ”I didn’t know you were scared of thunder Ava,” he started a nervous chuckle, ”This child-like innocence of yours keeps appearing and I think it is pretty adorable, so don’t feel nervous about your reaction.” Terrin tried to hide his own blushing face by staying close to the fire, hopefully the flames would camouflage his own bashfulness.

“It’s more just when it’s loud,” she said, jumping when there was another loud crack of thunder, placing her hand on her chest as she exhaled, trying to calm herself down. She turned her head to him at his next remark, making her cheeks burn even more, Adorable? She asked herself in her thoughts, not really knowing how to respond to it, she already instinctively went to grab onto the cloak he lent her earlier that day, only for her to remember she wasn’t wearing it. “Well I wouldn’t exactly call it that, more of a case of, I guess...that I haven’t experienced the world a lot like you have,” Ava responded, catching a glimpse of his own blush, Why’s his face red? She asked herself in her thoughts, her eyes widening slightly when a possible reason came to her, does he like me? No, no that couldn’t be it, it’s probably just the fire, yeah, that’s it, just the light from the fire making his face look like that. Ava had no idea why that thought came to her, they had only just met earlier that day, there’s no way he could like her.

Terrin saw Ava reach for her shoulders, just like she’s done when she was wearing his cloak. He lifted himself up and walked over to her, once again draping his cloak on her. ”After we go to sleep the fire will mostly die out during the night, you’ll need this to keep warm.” He moved back to his position opposite her, ”Let me know when you want to sleep, I’ll keep the first watch, just in case anything or anyone tries to come into the cave.” Terrin looked around the cave to see if there was any comfortable material for Ava and him to sleep on, finding nothing but hard stone. Terrin made a mental note, I’ll need to earn some more money through trade, next thing I’ll buy is bedrolls for the two of us. ”I’m sorry these sleeping arrangements are drastically different than that of your home in the trees. But you can use my cloak and hood for something similar to bedding.” He was regretting putting his partner in this situation, she wasn’t an outdoorsman like himself, she deserves better living than this. Terrin now wore his downtrodden expression while trying to find an immediate answer to this problem for Ava.

Ava looked at the fabric that draped over her, it already brought a comfort to her, but she was sure that the storm outside would make the night cold and she didn’t want to be so selfish as to take a means of warmth from him, even if he would have the fire for a bit, “Thanks but you should keep it, it’d be selfish of me to take so much from you.” Ava glanced over at the dagger that she had set to her side, thinking about if she had to use it, Stop being so afraid of it, it’s just a piece of metal, besides if you do hurt someone, you can just heal them, she spoke to herself in her thoughts, cautiously picking up the blade by it’s handle as she ran her fingers gently over the blade’s reflective surface.

She jumped slightly when Terrin spoke to her again, her attention so focused on the weapon in her hands, she accidentally turned the edge of the blade into her index finger, nicking it slightly, “Ow!” She exclaimed as she dropped the blade, quickly taking her finger to her mouth, trying to soothe the stinging flesh. “It’s...okay...I’ve slept...in far worse places,” she responded to his comment about their sleeping arrangements, taking pauses in between her words as she tended to her small injury.

Terrin moved so fast that the fire moved with him as he jumped to Ava’s side to check on her injury. He grabbed her hand to check the wound, giving some pressure to both sides of her finger as the bleeding was already gone. He breathed a sigh of relief he chastised her, ”Please be careful with that,” he clicked his tongue, ”I shouldn’t have to tell you but please keep your fingers away from the blade unless you have sufficient confidence that you won't slip.” He took the blade and wiped off the small amount of blood that was on it onto his shirt, the small crimson stain turning brown quickly onto his tunic. He handed back the dagger and as Ava was re-sheathing it, he quickly clasped the hood underneath her chin. ”Men are different from women, we can take the cold much easier than you. Plus even if you wouldn’t take it from me, I’d give it to you the second you fell asleep,” he said with a small chuckle.

Ava was taken aback when he grabbed her hand, a hint of pink brushing her cheeks as he inspected the small cut on her finger, wincing a little when he applied a bit of pressure to it. “I know, I was just looking at it, I would’ve been okay had you not scared me,” She feigned pouting, though a smirk quickly took the place of the facade. She examined her finger, moving it slight and whilst it stung a little, she knew it wasn’t serious and wouldn’t waste the extra energy to heal it, it would probably healed in a day or two, so she was fine with that. She was startled once more when he put the cloak on her and secured it, well it seemed that there wouldn’t be anyway around her refusing to take the cloak in concern of Terrin’s own well being, so she figured it’d be best to not argue.

Terrin began stoking the fire again, more ash than fire was left. A small chill began to set in as the fire was dying. He couldn’t hear the rain anymore but dreaded the walk back to the road, ”Since we are facing west, most of the ground outside the cave is going to be mud due to the sun’s neglect till later in the day. So just be careful when we decide to leave the cave.” He felt a wave of fatigue wash over his body like the earlier rain, ”It’s starting to feel pretty late, I’d suggest getting as much sleep as possible, sleep on surfaces like this doesn’t satisfy the body like a soft bed does. Like I said I’ll take first watch, so sleep when you can Ava. Good night, and sweet dreams.”

She gave a small nod to the mentioning of the cave entrance potentially being muddy from the storm, “Don’t worry I think I can handle a little mud, I’m not completely helpless.” She giggled, finding that it was getting easier to relax around her new friend, she wasn’t as tense as she was earlier in the day. It none more apparent than when Terrin suggested getting some rest and Ava’s body already feeling heavy, without really thinking, she laid down onto her side, her arm resting under her head as it lay atop Terrin’s lap, “Yeah, I guess...you’re right, I am pretty...ti-” Ava fell asleep instantly before being able to complete her sentence, pulling her legs close to her so the cloak would cover them, keeping her warm.

Terrin was left stunned for so long it felt as if every second were an hour. What is happening?! She may be naïve, but I'm a stranger, and a man no less. He quickly reached for a stick that mostly avoided the fire, turning his hands to his left side while pulling out one of his knives, began to whittle with it. He hoped this would distract him from the woman in his lap; a familiar song came to him back when he was a child, his mother would always sing this song when he would go to bed. He began to hum the pleasant tone while he worked on his whittling, the song sounding strange in his low tone of voice.

His thoughts eventually drifted to the elf asleep in his lap. He found her soundly sleeping face equally beautiful and comical. He began to watch over her as she slept, he told her about shifts but he couldn't have her watch over him, she deserved and needed the rest more, he could handle a night with no sleep. He put down the shapeless stick and his knife as Ava began to toss and turn in her sleep. Is she having a bad dream? wondered Terrin, he thought back to the encounter with thunder and what he did to calm her down. He again started to run his hand through her hair while actually singing the song in a hushed tone. Maybe my words will reach he in whatever dimension she's in and relax. Terrin hoped his method wouldn't wake her, but it seemed after about 10 minutes of singing she began to sleep peacefully again.

Terrin began to replay the events that unfolded today. A lot has happened in such a short time, but the question that always came up to him was why was he helping her? He looked down to Ava’s face again when something pulled hard in his heart, There's no way it's that is it? he began worrying, I couldn't be in love with this girl could I? Terrin sighed heavily, no elf in their right mind would accept half kind such as him, as he was wallowing in the new pit he dug for himself he tried to bury his feelings with them. He will protect her to the best of his ability, but he dare not act on what his feelings may be. But he looked down at his partner and no matter how sad he was, all he could do was smile down at her, I can at least be happy holding these feelings.

Elena Lockslin

Elena sat back at the house, rubbing her forehead with her elbows planted firmly in a wooden table. The day had been a mix of feelings, from being nervous beyond reason to being offered a place with the King’s Diviners. It was a position which was usually only offered to a portion of utmost loyal and powerful mages. However, it wasn’t uncommon that the King recruited some to take the infamous oath, in times of need. Elena supposed it was just that – times of need. She sat by herself in the empty house, looking around with a sigh. Sometimes it got lonely there, but only sometimes. She had been so used to living there on her own, that it bothered her less and less as the days went on.

The young magi had taken the liberty of pouring her a glass of the reddest of wines, sipping from it to calm her nerves. Time passed on, and just as she was about to slip into a slumber her door was opened with quite the noise. Into the houses stormed a middle-aged man, dressed in fine leather. His eyes darted around the room until his eyes set upon the young woman about to go into a deep slumber. He frowned slightly, shaking his head at her. Talder Cobswin approached Elena with light steps, sitting down on the only other chair in the kitchen, looking at her with folded hands.

“Well? Are you going to explain why I’ve just been informed that the King has offered you to take up the Diviners Oath?” Talder spoke with his rugged, yet noble voice. His speech did not indicate anger, but it was simply calm with a familiar mysterious undertone to it, one that always kept Elena on her toes. The girl looked up at him, letting out another sigh, which seemed to amuse Talder.

“I can barely keep track of what has conspired myself. This morning I was chasing Kate Iles through the canals, and now the King wants me to join the order.” Elena rubbed her forehead, smiling a faint smile as she spoke again. “I suppose I should have informed you before anything else.” The sentence caused Talder to smirk heavily, grinning afterwards.

“I suppose I would appreciate my –apprentice- telling me about such events, indeed. Nonetheless, I cannot be mad with you. A spot within that order is more than sought after! This will certainly further your position in the world, young Lockslin!” Talder clasped his hands together with a firm nod and a broad smile. “When will the ceremony take place?” He asked, eyebrow rose with curiosity.

”Tomorrow.”

Talder blinked in surprise, furrowing his brows.

“Tomorrow? They usually make the offer months in advance. It’s not a simple choice, after all. Tomorrow, you say?” Cobswin rubbed his bearded chin, pondering on the situation.

“His Majesty wanted me to chase down Iles as quickly as I could.” Elena muttered, with much less excitement now. Talder had stood up, turning around and looking down at her. He eyed the girl for a bit, before nodding in understanding. “I’m sorry Elena. I know you considered her a friend. But she’s a traitor now. And anyone with her is a traitor. For the good of the kingdom you must not let your feelings deceive you.” He leaned down, looking into her eyes. “Remember what raised you and who cared for you. Not some Rebellion, but the court of the King.”

---

The following day had been a rush. Elena had found the nicest robe she had, and headed towards the Astral Hall. Her heart was beating as a drum the closer she came to the hall. She had spent all morning doing her hair, making it into a long single braid. It was important to look the part for the day. The Astral Hall was located next to the Tower. It was a single hall (as the name might have indicated), which had been decorated with a map of the night sky carved into the celling, with beautiful rubies and other gems that made for a beautiful artwork. It was used for major meetings, important events and anything else the mages deemed fit. To add, it was the place for the Diviner ceremony. It was fairly simple. Repeat the words of the ‘sacred’ oath, and have a magical sigil almost burned into your skin. It bore the sigil of the current King, and was both a source of energy and a declaration of ones allegiance. The sigil would normally be of a black colour, but would glow if one were to draw power from it. At least that was the official explanation.

Within the Hall a group of people awaited Elena. Prestige members of the Order, standing in a threatening circle with a spot in the middle for the newcomers. The windows had been covered dark, and candles were lit around the room. Along the floor there was lines of blue, lighting the room up in a beautiful and mesmerising sense. Elena approached with careful steps, hands folded in front of her lap. She took her place in the middle, greeting the mages with a dip of her head and a curtsey, the best she could.

A man, standing in the middle of the group returned the gesture with a nod. He held up his hands, before speaking;
“Greetings to thee, Elena Lockslin, daughter of bakers, and sorceress of Lempea.” His voice filled the entire room, almost as if it was magically enhanced. Perhaps it was?

“You stand before us, in these honourable and sacred halls. Before you, thousands of mages have stood, and where you stand, we have all stood. Before you lay a path; a path of glory and a life of service to the Crown. Do you, Elena Lockslin, accept the position you have been given, and understand, to the fullest, what will be asked of you, and what will be granted you?” The man finished, looking to Elena for an answer. It was much like when the bride at a wedding was asked to say yes. No one really expected a ‘no’, but it was a formality.

Elena took in a last breath, before answering.

“I accept, both burden and gift of the Crown, the one true crown and king.” The reply was of course the one everyone gave; she had rehearsed it all morning with Cobswin. Saying a single word wrong would be an embarrassment of unimaginable magnificence.

“Very well.” He answered. “Repeat after me.”

“I, Elena Lockslin, hereby declare my lifelong servitude to the Diviners of the Crown.”
Carefully she repeated. “I, Elena Lockslin, hereby declare my lifelong servitude… to the Diviners of the Crown.”

“Extend your hand, please.” The man demanded, blue flame lighting in his hand.
And so she did. Elena pulled up her sleeve, holding out her entire arm. The flame was brought closer, and she could feel the magical heat warming, as it got closer.

And thus a surging pain went through her, leaving as quickly as it came.

Ava shifted restlessly in her sleep as images flash in her head, some of her running, then hiding in her home, then that of soldiers trying to barge into her home, Ava...run! A woman’s voice shouted to her and then more sounds of fighting and screaming, “No!” She shouted, sitting up from where she was sleeping, sweat drenching her face as she panted heavily.

She lowered head into her palm, “That same dream again...”

Ava glanced over to her companion, seemingly still asleep and she let out a sigh of relief, “At least I didn't wake him,” she glanced over at the cave exit, seeing the early morning sun appear, “I should get some breakfast for us, it’ll at least be start in paying him back.”

She soon got up, brushing some of the dirt on her off and then headed towards the cave exit. Her first step out she felt her bare feet sink into the wet dirt, “Ah, darn it, I forgot the rain from last night made the ground wet,” Ava exhaled as she looked around the area, there were patches of ground that were still dry, she might be able to hop from one patch of land to the next, she didn’t want to get any dirtier.

Once Ava made it through the muddy terrain, she went about gathering small fruits and berries, she knew that Terrin would probably want some meat, but she couldn’t bring herself to kill an animal, even for food, plus she had forgotten to bring the dagger given by him, so she couldn’t hunt an animal, even if she wanted too.

“Alright, that should be enough for at least the morning,” she began speaking to herself aloud, before glancing down at her feet, some of the mud that was still on there had managed to harden, “now to find a place to clean my feet.” Ava preferred to keep her self clean whenever possible, she didn’t mind a little dirt, but mud and such, she couldn’t stand having it on her; she carried the fruits and berries she collected in the cloak she had on her, it wasn’t a lot, but there was more than her arms could hold.

She happen to come across a small stream and her face lit up instantly as she rushed over to the running water. She hastily set her food aside and then dipped her hands in the water, the coldness of it startling her a bit, but was quick to ignore it as she splashed the cool, refreshing water on her face, cleaning off some of the sweat and making her more awake before moving on to clean off the caked on mud, “I’m glad I found this water, though I wish it was a little deeper, I’d be able to bathe then, I probably smell terrible right now,” she sighed as she finished cleaning off the last of the mud.

Ava went to grab her food when she finished only to suddenly retreat her hand when an arrow landed near it, quickly taking cover behind a tree, she asked herself aloud, “Seriously? Why am I suddenly being attacked all the time?”

Another arrow struck the bark near her face as she tried to peak out and see where the archer was, forcing her to hide behind the tree again, damn it, she needed to move, or she’d be dead. She took a breath and then bolted from her cover, lifting the cloak full of fruit and then ran through the small forest she was in, weaving through the trees to avoid being hit, though something was feeling off to her.

She thought it odd that the archer after her was missing so much, the first time, sure, but there were arrows flying past her head and striking trees in front of her, it must have just been her imagination, right now she needed to get away and then head back to Terrin. She went through some thick bushes and then hid behind a nearby tree, hoping that she wasn’t seen; Ava peaked her head out from the cover when she didn’t hear anything and no more arrows were flying at her, seeing nothing, she let out a sight of relief, looked like she lost them.

Turning back around to head towards the cave, there was someone in front of her, a hooded woman with her bow drawn ready to fire at Ava. She slowly put her hands up, her heartbeat racing like crazy as she looked between the tip of the arrow and the woman hold the bow, “Look, I don’t have anything other than this fruit, you can have it,” Ava spoke nervously as she tossed the fruit tied up in the cloak.

The woman looked down at the food and then back at Ava, a smirk appearing on her face as she got closer with the pulled bow, it only a few inches away from her face; Ava shut her eyes, preparing for the worst.

“This was your idea of saying ‘hi’?” A male voice came from behind Ava.

Ava opened her eyes when she heard him, slowly turning her head, her eyes widened when she saw who it was, “Oh I was just having a little fun, I wasn’t actually going to hit her.” The woman responded, easing the tension on the bow and then put the arrow in her quiver and the bow on her back.

“That’s besides the point, you don’t say hello to someone by shooting arrows at them,” the man responded, Ava looking between the two of them, realizing who the two of them were.

“Orym...Lyra?” She asked in disbelief.

The tall, light brown haired elf took his attention away from the woman he was talking too, looking at Ava he smiled to her, “Long time no see, red,” giving her a lazy two finger salute.

“Yeah, you’ve certainly grown up princess,” the woman responded teasingly, pulling down her hood to reveal her long white hair, giving a cocked grin to Ava.

Orym made his way over to the two of them, scratching the back of his head, “Sorry about Lyra, we spotted you whilst we were hunting and she wanted to say hi whilst I was collecting our catch, though I should have known this would have been how she went about it.”

“She was never in any danger, I was just playing like when we were kids, right princess?” Lyra responded.

When the shock finally subsided a bit, Ava shook her head and embraced the two of them in a hug, then playfully shoved Lyra, “You jerk, you scared me half to death and stop calling me that, jeez, even grown up I can’t escape that stupid nickname,” she chuckled in response.

“Well I didn’t expect a hug from you princess. And I wouldn’t still have to call you that if you could handle getting a little dirty,” Lyra laughed back, “Although you have changed, that I can tell,” she added, eying Ava up and down, trying to assess what it was.

“Changed? What do you mean?”

“Well the Ava I remember was a bit tougher than the one before me, she would have at least put up some sort of fight,” Lyra smirked to her.

“Just leave her alone Lyra, I swear, first thing you try to do when seeing her is restart your old rivalry,” Orym sighed as he shook his head.

“Well she did make things a lot more fun when we were younger.”

Orym was about to respond when Ava spoke up, “Yeah, I guess I have changed some, believe it or not, I really don’t like to fight anymore, she gave a slight smile, a tint of pink hitting her cheeks.

“No way, seriously!? But you loved it whenever we would butt heads or play those war games,” Lyra responded in astonishment.

“Yeah, well some things happened and it changed me, ever since I’ve tried to not fight with anyone, I guess it has made me a little weaker.”

Lyra rested her hand on Ava’s head, rubbing it, “I guess that really does make you a princess now, all delicate and polite, would have been more fun if you were like this from the start,” Lyra teased once more.

“Yeah, you would’ve picked on the others twice as much if I didn’t stand up to you,” Ava responded with a smirk, part of her old self flaring up.

“So what are you doing out here? Would’ve expected you to be back home,” Orym interjected.

“Oh...well I was looking for some food is all...” Ava trailed off, not sure if she should say anything about her new friend.

“All the way out here? Surely you could have found some closer to home,” he responded with a quirked eyebrow.

“Right, well...I’m on a quest of sorts...to find my parents, that’s why I’m all the way out here, I just needed to get some food whilst I was here.”

“Your folks are missing? When did this happen?” Lyra asked in surprise.

“It was that evening after you two moved away, some soldiers saw me and my mark, I ran back home and my parents tried to hide me, but the soldiers wouldn't go away, so my parents fought them, allowing me enough time to escape, since I couldn’t be found, my parents were arrested and taken somewhere,” Ava lowered her head slightly, still feeling guilty about what happened.

“I’m so sorry about that Ava,” Orym said as he embraced her in a hug.

“It’s okay, wasn’t your fault, besides I can’t sit around any longer and wish for them to come back, I have to find them,” Ava gave a more cheerful expression.

“So you just decided all of a sudden to set out for them?” Orym inquired curiously.

“Sort of, I met this person yesterday that was hunting, they couldn’t find anything so I helped them out and whilst we were talking, my parents came up and they offered to help me find them.”

“And you just went with this stranger you met a day ago?” Lyra couldn’t help but ask.

“Well- I mean...” Ava struggled to find the right words, seeing how from their perspective going off with a stranger without really knowing them was rather foolish.

Lyra let out a chuckle, “I see that change of yours has made you naive, but I guess they have to be okay or we wouldn’t be talking right now, would we?”

“Oh yeah, he’s real nice an-”

“He huh? So you went out and got yourself a boyfriend in a single day?” She couldn’t help but burst out in laughter.

“W-What? No I didn’t, he’s just helping me is all!” Ava responded flustered, a pink tint hitting her face.

“Oh really? Then why are you blushing so much?”

Ava folded her arm, her cheeks slightly puffed out, “Oh I’m just kidding, no need to get sour about it. Look to make up for scaring you, Orym and I will help you get back to this person, these woods can be dangerous and since you don’t like to fight anymore, I don’t think you could handle the animals out here.”

Lyra went over to fruit in the cloak, picking it up and then handed it to Ava, then the three of them headed out and towards the cave that Ava and Terrin had found shelter in the previous night, all the while chatting and catching up on what all of them had been doing since they last saw one another. It didn’t take long for them to come across the cave Ava told them about, the morning sun was much higher in the sky now and had dried the mud that was just outside the cave, “Hey, I’m back, I got us some breakfast!” Ava shouted as she got inside, figuring that Terrin was awake by now and hopefully hadn’t been too worried that she left without saying anything to him first.

Thunder rolled through the skies again, but it sounded much farther away than before, storm must be moving on. Terrin’s eyes grew heavy as he continued his song, his mind drifting back to his childhood. The toll of the day finally took a hold of him as he unwillingly fell asleep.

---

“Terrin! Wake up!” a voice called out from the darkness. He woke with a start but his surroundings was not walls of stone and dirt, they were replaced to those of wood, the cold ground he fell asleep on was instead a warm bed, Ava was nowhere to be seen. Looking down, he saw that his hands were much smaller, his surroundings all the more familiar, this was his old house back in Lempea. Wait, does that mean that voice was… Terrin threw off the blanket and ran into the living room to see none other than his mother standing before him.

He stood there, flabbergasted, not having seen his mother for over one hundred years; tears welled up in his eyes as he dashed into his mother’s arms. “Are you alright sweetie?” her voice full of concern. All he could muster was a nod as he continued to bawl and cling to his mother.

“I ha-had a bad dream. I dreamt I would never see you again,” said the child through his sobs. His mother crouched down to him and held him close, running her hands through his hair.

“Shush honey, I would never leave my darling boy.” she lightly cooed . Terrin opened his eyes to look at his mother but she was gone, in her place was a table crowded with scraps of leather and scattered animal hides.

Terrin didn’t have much time to assess his surroundings when a man’s voice rang through the building, “Oi! Ya done in there yet?” Terrin’s hands moved as if possessed as it began to move hides to the table and begin sewing together what seemed to be some kind of simple tunic. A husky man walked his way into the back room, Terrin remembered this man, Aedan Hendrick, one of the greatest leather workers in Lempea. “About bloody time! I got not the slightest idea why I even pay you sometimes,” he exclaimed, covering his face with his hand in exasperation.

Terrin handed over the tunic with a sullen expression, “S..sorry sir, here’s the order.” He looked away from Aedan, his first week of apprenticeship has not gone well, he’s ruined more orders than he has completed as well as tatter plenty of hides in his attempts to cut them.

Aedan evaluated the tunic and clapped Terrin on the back, startling him. “This is good work, you’re gettin’ on your way,” Aedan nodded his head with his eyes closed, “You’re learning faster than any of the other snot-nosed kids that tried under my tutelage.” He took the tunic out to the front of the shop where the customer was waiting. After he saw the customer off Aedan walked into the back to speak to Terrin. Terrin watched as his teacher walked into his personal work room, coming back with an illustrious cloak. “Now I know your mum is ‘avin’ ‘er birthday today, now I made this for ‘er. Take it an’ be off now! You’re excused for the rest of the day!”

Terrin’s eyes went between the cloak and his master a few times before he shakily grabbed it, “Thank you so much sir! She’ll love it!” Terrin rushed off to his house with his surprise.

“Yeah, yeah,” Aedan said dismissively, a smile creeping on his face once Terrin was out of sight.

Once Terrin opened the door to his house, his young mother wasn’t standing there, it was his mother on her deathbed. Terrin was kneeling down beside her as his mother was laying there peacefully. He was frozen in anticipation, his mother passing any moment now. “T-terrin…” rasped his mother, almost inaudible.

Terrin leaned in so his ear was almost right at her mouth, “Yes, mother?”

“I want to tell you something my boy,” his mother’s body shook heavily from a bout of coughing. “Terrin, please listen closely.”

“I-I am, mother,” replied Terrin, fighting back his emotions.

“I’m sorry, I told you I’d never leave you, but I guess that was a lie. Terrin, please be good for your mother. Terrin, I have some breakfast!”

---

Terrin awoke with a start, his hair soaked with sweat, his face streaked with tears. He moved into a combat roll, grabbing his daggers from his belt and held them out against the sudden voices. He noticed Ava standing there, along with two other elves. Well they haven’t hurt her yet, they even seem happy to be with her, guess they aren’t enemies, yet. Terrin put his weapons away and felt the wetness on his face. He wiped away the dried tears and ran his hands through his wet hair, making it stick out in odd ends. ”Ava, I’m assuming these are people you know?” asked Terrin, an obvious edge to his voice, eyeing up the two other elves.