[color=6ecff6][b][h3] Gadez Paladice [/h3][/b][/color] It had worked, his subtle movements had caught the gaze of the perceptive Kira. He wasn't certain if she would recognize the symbol that he bore, and even if she did, would she had been able to figure out just what it meant? The woman came across to him as collected, perceptive and reserved. There was something about he which made him regard her as a dangerous adversary, or a potent ally. Depending on which side one would happen to stand upon. Gadez closed his eyes and smiled on hearing Kira's words, they did amuse him alot. He wouldn't ofcourse deny or confirm, that would take away all intrigue. [color=6ecff6][b]"You do look like you could use abit of...heating up. Your eyes look abit tense too, perhaps they aren't the only things that are tense. Afraid I will not be joining you for a talk nor offer any warm cuddles in the hotspring... as I am all out of cuddles…"[/b][/color] He chuckled. [color=6ecff6][b]"Ahh, not quite. But... I do have some matters I must attend to. Tia, would you be so kind as to join the blaze-eyed beauty? Company is always good. Like yours."[/b][/color] Kira did strike him as a curious type, but a very reserved one at that. Very different from those he had known, which often asked when they wished to know something. It made him remember one of the old monks at the monestary… so long ago. Gadez threw a glance over his shoulder as he opened the door out of the temple, throwing one last glance over his shoulder towards Tia. His mouth moving as he made out some words, not spoken but they were clearly words. Then he smiled, tilting his head to the side and closing his eyes. Before striding out of the temple, the door closing behind him. The blizzard was over and the sound of people in the distance reached him, they were out resuming their daily lives, the scent of food traversing through the air. Yet Gadez mind was elsewhere. In another place. Another time... [hider=Flashback episode] [b]"Gadez, why are you still being so defiant and insolent towards the goddess? It is rare to possess such a gift as yours with her fire. Which again makes me wonder why are you defying her in her very temple and the holy halls?"[/b] The older monk asked, his long white beard being carefully stroked before his hands would be neatly clasped behind his back. [color=6ecff6][b]"Abit of fire can keep you warm, too much and you'll burn. Like water bear a ship it can also sink it. If Aelios and Seluna exist, then they are both lifegivers and deathbringers. Neither greater than the other. But both are flawed, two sides of the same coin, but unable to accept oneanother. Can the world truly unite when the goddesses they praise with all their being stand for dividing and distinguishing?"[/b][/color] Gadez asked not expecting an answer that would be satisfactory, it was more like a challenge to the older man. As if testing his faith. Prodding it for gaps. [b]"The mysteries of the world and what lies beyond it, and the actions of the goddesses are beyond any mortals understanding. We do not have to understand everything, just keep faith in the things greater than our own mortal shells."[/b] The elder monk replied, his hands moving in front of him now, a single finger held out as if warning the younger man. [color=6ecff6][b]"I chose to believe in humankind, we who walk along the edge of the coin. We who have a choice, to define our destiny, despite the goddesses attempts to lure us to either side of the coin. Only by treading upon the edge can you see both sides and mend this divided world. That the goddesses have failed in doing."[/b][/color] The young blonde man said almost in a mocking way, making his stance known, his defiance obvious. [b]"This is heresy! Sacrilege! You are putting yourself on the same level as Aelios herself! A being beyond comphrehension! How dare you utter these profanities! Do you see yourself as a god?"[/b] The elder monk said in a flustered manner, his reprimand flying through the air, echoing along the hallways to the old library. [color=6ecff6][b]"There are those who gaze into the light, and there are those which covet the dark. Both are blinded by the belief one is greater than the other. Much like each goddess, providing they do exist, they each praise their own nectar, and label the other one as poison. I am human, as long as I have the free will to chose my path, I will reject theirs to my dying breath. Because I believe that fate is not tied solely to the whims of a goddess, but that each living thing has the wish and potential to forge their own future. No matter what design another may have put upon it!"[/b][/color] He raised his voice at the older man, his eyes shimmering as if it had momentarily gotten the better of him. The blue-eyed man soon assumed a more relaxed position again and softened his voice. [b]"You are a such an audacious child, have you none who you look up to as someone greater than yourself? Like a parent? Your father perhaps? What is it that drives you Gadez? Some self gratification? You want to be some kind of famous hero or known as the most insufferable affront to the clergy imaginable?"[/b] The bearded old monk asked, clear agitation in his voice, but he did his best to remain calm despite how their conversation had made everyone else vacate the library. [color=6ecff6][b]"To a child, a parent is a god. But in that regard my god is wicked and severely flawed. He killed my mother you see. He ripped her heart out. I guess love is blind indeed. A more dangerous poison than love... there is not."[/b][/color] Gadez said in a smug manner, he truly couldn't admit he had ever felt love for anything, save possibly his mother. [b]"Do you not love anything in this world? Why are you this way? What is it that you hate so much? I have seen you in the sparring, you fight with a ferocity of a bear mother defending her cubs. But from where comes this strength? Where is your motivation coming from?" [/b]The old man said in a mixture of curiousity and confusion, it was obvious that this younger man was indeed testing his patience with his antics. [color=6ecff6][b]"A long time ago a sin was made in secrecy, a seed was sowed and deemed as evil and had to burn. Yet it eluded to be scorched, it festered and became a tree. A tree which blossoms in winter as in summer, the leaves falling from it's hidden crown tells many things. It shall bear fruit in time. Whereof it is poison or something sweet? Depends on who you'd ask."[/b][/color] Gadez had smirked, taking enjoyment in being as cryptic as possible to further test the older man's temper. [b]"You have a penchant for being cryptic. Try be more plain. Like an open field."[/b] The older man rubbed his forehead, pinched the bridge of his nose and then sighed. [color=6ecff6][b]"Then how about revenge? For all those whose lives has been destroyed?"[/b][/color] Gadez said in a flat tone, there was no movement of his body, no emotion to the sentence. Unlike all his other lines spoken, this one had been dead serious. [b]"On whom? The goddesses? Aurelia? The world?"[/b] The elder man asked with a grunt, crossing his arms in front of his chest, before adjusting his beard. [color=6ecff6][b]"You wouldn't like my answer..."[/b][/color] Gadez had merely smiled, slamming the book he was reading shut. [color=fff200][i][Many years later] [/i][/color] [hider=Theme] [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VQ8clO4o8M[/url] [/hider] [b]"Gadez... I am dying..."[/b] The now far older man was bedridden for a long time, age having finally caught up with him. While his body was giving in, his mind remained the same. [color=6ecff6][b]"I know."[/b][/color] The blonde had said and nodded his head, leaning down and placing a hand on the elderly man's shoulder. [b]"Tell... tell me... what... Who are you..? Really?"[/b] The venerable man wanted to know. That much was plain. Like so many others before having wanted to know if the goddess was real or not, this man sought an answer to a question he had carried for a long time. [color=6ecff6][b]"..."[/b][/color] The blue-eyed blonde said nothing, his eyes shimmering from the nearby candle-lights. [b]"Dead men tell no tales... Indulge a dying man .. before he goes to meet his goddess."[/b] The man sighed and rested his head further, he was growing weaker by the moment. But he wanted to know. The blonde nodded then leaned in and whispered into the dying man's ear. The elder monks eyes widened and flickered, before looking pained. It was something he had never imagined. Something he never could have considered. [b]"What? I-impossible... It cannot- How? No.. no...? Goddess forgive me... why didn't I see the signs... they were all there.. in the.. stars..."[/b] The elderly monk began to cough, his eyes growing teary and his vision becoming more blurry. [b]"I... I see why... why you wear that smiling mask now… like the duality of comedy and tragedy. You are both… and you have the right... I hate to admit it... but you have the right... you… bastard..."[/b] The old monk said in a gasping manner a faint smirk on his lips before his arm went limp and fell down on the bed. [color=6ecff6][b]"You are right, I am that one bastard whose going to quench the biggest star. Rest well now in the embrace of the goddess you believed in. For I will not. I enjoyed our talks, I shall miss them dearly. Til all become one anew, rest well old man."[/b][/color] Gadez had placed his hand on the elder man's face, closing his eyes as he had passed on. The blonde allowed a soft smile to decorate his lips as he stood back up and turned around. There had always only been one path to go. Forwards. Alone. Always alone. The sounds of his footsteps echoing down the long stone pathway of the monastery until he reached a balcony overlooking the valley and the starry night sky. [color=6ecff6][i]'This land deserves to be set free. I shall smite the star which scorch it. Sit atop your gilded throne whilst you can you wretched sun king, feed your daughters, sons and your new golden child with all of your lies. All the harder will the fall be...'[/i][/color] The blonde had grabbed the railing of the stone balcony, slumping slightly against it, his grip upon it loosening slightly. His mouth giving way to a wide grin. His eye shimmered as the light of a star reflected back into it. [/hider] The memory faded and Gadez found himself approaching the local carpenter, buying some planks of wood from him along with a small hammer and some nails. That would come to great use with his newly 'borrowed' tree-cutting knife that he had aqquired from the temple. Well it was surely not a ritualistic or ceremonial dagger. Was it? Well, it had a new purpose now. As he went to another which was selling some crude looking pieces of linen, Gadez bought those and asked the woman to help him sew them together slightly. There was some noise in the distance what sounded like a confrontation as some loud would-be-noble tried to wade across the gathering of people on some beast of burden. [color=6ecff6][b]"Guh."[/b][/color] He said aloud as he carried his newly aqquired things towards the inn, hoping to run into Mistress Leela. And sure enough further ahead he spotted her. And he spotted more than he had bargained for. She had changed her form? Evolved? That was a first for a blightborn. [color=6ecff6][b]"Well, I knew you were expanding the inn, I didn't know you were expanding yourself too, Leela. I suppose you have snaked off your boots? By the way. Fine coat. I know snakes coat their fangs in venom, but this might be abit too much."[/b][/color] He smugly said as he inspected Sya's new rear. [color=6ecff6][b]"Just don't ask to sit on my shoulders, that would be even too much for one such as I. Just how far does that thing go?"[/b][/color] He chuckled and then let his eyes wander over Katherine, then to Elara, then to Dyna and Ranni. Before finally landing on Daphne and Ayel which were furthest away. The blonde gave a butlerlike bow to Katherine and Elara, then gave a glance to Dyna, Ranni, Daphne and the nobleman which had his back already turned. His blonde hair fell over his eyes as he smiled. [color=6ecff6][b]"Gadez Paladice, gardener at your service. Do not mind the wood. It's for a fine display. Speaking of which, Leela. May I set something up within your inn? Ever seen a puppet theatre? I think the young ones would appreciate that in this harsh place. A little storytelling to temporary put aside the hammering… yelling.. and the people making their insides go outsides… because.. that's what alcohol does to people."[/b][/color] He said in a grumpy tone as his eyes wandered to someone in the distance.