Dark Light

Realms of Sun & Shadow

@The Muse@c3p-0h

Vellion Hurst

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Hotsprings

---

Water spray up into the air as Velion threw his head back to the sky. The burning flesh of his face and upper torso greeted by the icy air and falling snow.
With his back to the newcomers, and facing the other way, he did not see or hear them. He would not be aware of their presence if he had relied purely on human senses. But he was not simply human and being dead had its advantages.

He had no way of telling if they were friend or foe. Was it a guard seeking revenge or someone simply coming to enjoy the springs. It created a tense moment of nervous anticipation, but he couldn't let it show. He didn't. What ever way it fell, it was an inconvenience.

Without turning around he force himself to release a feigned refreshing gasp as he ran his fingers through his hair. Playing the part of someone preparing to enjoy a warm dip in the springs, when in reality it couldn't be further from the truth. He sought to rid himself of the water that hid in his hair and burned his scalp, he focused intently on the rivulets that ran down his back repairing his flesh before it could be broken.

Anything they could see, he couldn't let falter. It tested his new abilities and despite how good he was doing, he still needed more time.
Tilting his head to the side still ensuring his face was concealed, he made a show of trying to clear water from his ear, creating unquestionable reasons he hadn't heard them or turned around.

Next, his hands went to his belt, and without hesitation he untie it, aiding his pants and undergarments to the floor with a little wriggle of his hips. Now completely in the nude he lean over the water once more, allowing the steam to engulf him as he looks at the horrific warped reflection staring back up at him. Watching as death appeared to be reversed right in front of his very eyes, a mask, a facade. It left him feeling hollow and empty, for he could trick everybody else but not himself.

Completely naked, he lean on a rock overlooking the water ignoring those that came up behind him. Hidden in the steam he focuses on his reflection as he rebuilds his appearance and heals with his magic.

Realms of Sun & Shadow

Vellion Hurst

---

Hotsprings

---

[BATH TIME]

The whispering wisps of steam that rose up from the surface of the hot spring should have been inviting. A warm welcoming reprieve from the biting cold. He knew this, it was the sort of luxury that would have once excited his younger self, But now Vellion couldn't deny the internal anxiety that grew within him with each and every step that drew him nearer that haunting body of steaming water.

This was his choice. He told himself, a consequence of earlier choices. He had denied himself a fresh caught meal due to the presence of others, foolishly letting his hunger grow as curiosity got the better of him. This then led to a less than civilised style of eating when he eventually deemed his location safe.

The dead fox had lost much of its warmth, but despite that disappointment, Vellion had still devoured it hastily. No cutlery or knife was needed. Nor did he cook it. Blood now stained the hands that ripped it apart and coated the mouth that tore through it. Buried somewhere out in the dark under the snow were it's bones.

This, this is why Vellion now found himself in need of a bath. He couldn't very well wander back through town looking the way he did. So, fighting back that gnawing warning screaming at him from the pit of his stomach, Vellion slowly unbutton his shirt as he approach and sit upon the rocky cropping beside the water, staring at his moon lit reflection with a fierce intensity.

After what seemed an age, he found no conclusion or resolve to his thoughts, if he even had any, but the fact of what he had to do remained. Completely removing his shirt now, his bare torso exposed to the elements, he wrap the fabric around his hand and dip it into the water.

There was a moments silence as the warm liquid gradually seeped through the clothing, then, suddenly, a sharp hiss sliced through the silence as the water enveloped his hand. He wasn't sure if the sound came from his mouth or his flesh but the water might as well have been boiling for all the pain it caused. He snatched his hand back, leaving the shirt bobbing in the spring as he examine the source of his sudden sharp pain. He could sense it before he could see it. The magic that created the facade of life was wilting under the heavy touch of water. It sought to slowly dissolve what he had created, exposing old injuries and rotted flesh.

Once his skin was no longer submerged, the effects sought to reverse them self. This was trickier where rivulets of water still cascade down his exposed skin, but was entirely manageable with a bit of focus. More importantly, his hand was clean. It wasn't a pleasant experience in the least, but one he could come to tolerate, bare even. As long as he never accidentally fell in.

Gritting his teeth he reach into the hellish water and grab his shirt, rinsing it as quick as he could. Next, was his mouth. Without giving himself a moment to hesitate he plunged his face into the water. Bubbles erupted around his head and soon after he threw himself back, caught by a mound of snow. He would of closed his eyes if he could, but he was missing an eyelid. Melted away. The snow that fell from above was a blurry sheet. His chest was streaked with pale lines where the water ran down his body fighting against his magic. All his focus was on repairing his face. The only active sense beyond his blurred vision was pain, everything else was muted in comparison.

The pain was almost a relief, an escape... almost.
It was not so easy being dead.

Realms of Sun & Shadow

Fractured Reflections
Part 4

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_{Location: Elara's Home---> Seluna Temple
Collab Between: (@Dark Light & @Qia)}

---

A suspenseful moment passed, drawn out by the lingering unknown, and finally, Aliseth's shoulders dropped as that held tension evaporated.

He turned back to Elara just as a young skinny white fox came shakily and wearily trudging through the snow.

Elara’s breath stilled, her pulse of panic dissolving as swiftly as it had surged. Before her stood not a predator but a creature no larger than her palm, its fur matted with frost, eyes wide as twin moons.

A laugh, soft as snowfall, caught in her throat.

“Oh,” she exhaled gently, lowering herself until her knees kissed the snow. She wanted to appear less imposing, her every motion smooth and calm so as not to startle the frightened animal. Her hand drifted forward, palm upturned—not a demand, but an offering. The fox flinched, muscles coiled like springs beneath its silvered pelt, yet something in her stillness held it captive.

“It’s all right, little one…,” she whispered tenderly, her voice laced with uncommon warmth. “No harm shall come to you.”

Minutes stretched, thin and brittle as ice. Then—crunch. A tentative paw breached the distance, the snow protesting softly beneath its weight. Elara didn’t blink, didn’t shift, her body a statue save for the steady rise and fall of her chest. The fox zigzagged closer, a dance of instinct and curiosity, each step a question. When she adjusted her stance, it recoiled, haunches trembling—but she remained rooted, a calm in the storm of its doubt. Slowly, the tension seeped from its frame, replaced by a tilt of its head, and a sniff toward her fingertips. She wondered if it sensed the absence of blades, the emptiness of her hands, or simply the quiet ache of kinship she couldn’t name.

They hovered in a fragile truce, the fox now an arm’s length away, its nose quivering as it sampled her scent. Its ears, once flattened, pricked forward with cautious interest. Elara’s lips curved, not in triumph, but in recognition: this was no conquest, only a fleeting intersection of two creatures bound by curiosity. When the fox finally settled on its haunches, pawing at the snow with a mimicry of play, she felt an absurd sting of pride. Its eyes met hers again, no longer saucers of fear but pools of tentative trust, before darting away as if embarrassed by its own boldness.

Only then did she glance at Aliseth.

“No injuries… but it’s odd, isn’t it? Being alone out here.”

Foxes seldom wandered solitary in this season—not unless driven by hunger or worse.

Loss.

Aliseth watched the moment in quiet contemplation, careful not to move or make a sound that might interrupt or draw attention his way. It was truly an experience, multilayered and faceted. He knew undoubtedly that beyond this point, the creature would not survive for long on its own. Perhaps that added to the universal artistry of that moment.

He knew that perhaps there was a life lesson hidden here but whatever it was, it eluded him.

He walked forward after the fox had left and offered Elara his hand. "They suffer in these times too, if not more." He replied gently, trying not to sound heartless. Trying not to point out the obvious. It was destined to die but weren't they all?

"Their numbers have been dwindling. Lack of food drives them closer to town. The mothers never make it back and the babies never learn any better. In reality, there is far ess of them now but we see just as many as before, much of the wildlife is becoming concentrated around our town while the deeper forests are becoming barren, filled only with monsters and blight..."

There was a new expression that flashed across his face ever so briefly, hidden in the twitch of his sword arm. Disgust, anger, resentment. Realizing he had once again spilled more than intended, he pursed his lips shut and feigned a soft smile.

"C'mon, let's get out of this place." He offered.

Elara hesitated for a moment before taking his hand, her fingers cool but steady within his grasp. She cast one last glance toward the path the fox had taken, a flicker of sadness barely veiled behind her composed features. The wilderness was no place for a creature so young and fragile, but she could not intervene. The same cruel inevitabilities that shaped their lives governed the fox’s fate as well.

Still, she wanted to believe that it would survive.

As they resumed their walk, Aliseth’s earlier words circled her mind, pressing against her thoughts with an insistence that would not be ignored.

“She might not demand our lives, but she holds them all in balance.”

“And there are those that are giving it.”

Amaya, the fulcrum. The axis. The lodestone around which their world spun, its gravity bending wills and destinies alike. Elara had orbited her for years—not with the fervour of a zealot or the grim resolve of a soldier, but with the constancy of a moon tethered to its planet.

Some offered reverence; others, duty or grief.

She had offered something quieter, softer, yet no less consuming.

“There are those that are giving it.”

Yes.
Elara knew that better than anyone.

Because she had given.

She had given Amaya her steadiness, presence, and trust without question or hesitation. From the moment she’d been tasked with Amaya’s protection, Elara had moulded herself into a shelter. For years, it had been enough. Now, the hollowness of that enough gnawed at her, insidious as frostbite numbing flesh before the rot sets in.

She had never tallied the cost. Not until Amaya’s retreat began—a slow, glacial withdrawal, each step back a fracture in the ice they’d once crossed together. The princess had never been cruel, only encased. A statue of poise, polished to a mirror sheen, reflecting everyone’s hopes and none of her own heart. Even in their rare, unguarded moments, a barrier remained, transparent yet unbreakable. Elara had accepted it, savouring the fragments Amaya spared her.

Until now.

She told herself it did not hurt.

But.
▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

Deep down, Elara had always understood that Amaya’s love was not the same as her own.

▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

“I see the weight she carries, you know?” she murmured at last. “And yet… I still give. Even knowing she cannot carry me, carry us, in return.” Amaya’s arms were full already: cradling kingdoms, balancing fates, bearing the world’s ache like Atlas with his celestial burden. Elara? She was but another voice in the chorus, another hand lifting a brick to the edifice of Amaya’s legacy. Recognition was a luxury the princess could not afford—not when every glance, every breath, belonged first to Lunaris.

“She is my dearest friend.”

The words tasted of ash

Her lips parted as if there was more she wished to say, but the towering entrance of the temple loomed before them now, stealing the words before they could form.

Aliseth was not ready for this to come to an end, the looming effect of the temple doors unable to still his words. Pausing in his stride, he turned his attention back to the handmaiden once more as he spoke.

“We all have choices Elara, some less obvious than others. Amaya is no different. And I do not believe for a second she bears the weight of worlds, no. That is felt by the people carrying her. People like you.
We praise the flame but disregard the candles, and only one of them could exist without the other."

Speaking as he did, soft and cryptically or not, was already grounds for severe punishment. Yet he continued, bearing a concern for Elara in his voice.

"I cannot pretend to understand the depth of your emotions or fathom the bond you have built over time, but I do know what it's like to not be seen, and not be heard. And by her nonetheless."

His voice rang with an earnest honesty. Moving on however he posed another question.

"If you could take a new path, any path, free of consequence or retaliation. Removed from the tethers of burden and guilt. What would it be? What would bring light to your soul? What missed opportunities would you seize?"

He had unclipped his sword from his belt and started to pace around Elara as he spoke, dragging the tip of the sheath through the snow making a perfect circle around where she stood.

"Elara, you are surrounded by more choices and options than you see. With your talents, your mind, your gifts, your compassion, your beauty. Little is beyond your reach should you truly seek it."

On his second passing around her, now occasionally glancing up at her to flash a playful grin, he flick his wrist and slash the sword through the snow creating many different lines or 'paths' leading out from her bubble. Some straight, some deep and obvious, some light and jagged, some short, some long.

Coincidence or not, he ended at the end of one of these sharp jagged lines as he looked at her, standing a bit off to the side of the deepest, straightest, most obvious line leading to the temple.

"Hypothetically, of course, right now, what choices do you have over your own life that you probably haven't given thought to?"

With his weapon, he pointed to a wavy line that slowly grew more jagged and sharp, growing fainter before simply vanishing.

Then he hovered over a more pronounced line, on a straighter path but some patches broke it apart, separating. Moments where it didn't exist outside of what came before and after.

The lines he drew were for her to interpret. For her to use. A tool to draw forth ideas and give substance to them.

They were the cards of a tarot reader who already had the answers within.

Elara halted, her boots sinking into the snow’s crumpled canvas as Aliseth etched his speculative paths. His lines sprawled like vines across the white expanse, each one a tributary of possibility.

Choices.

She had made a choice once—one that led her here, that shaped her into the woman standing before him. But when had she last considered the others? The ones left untaken, buried beneath obligation, duty, and love?

Her mind drifted to the princess.
To the trust she’d poured into that void.
A river flowing ceaselessly into a cold desert.

Amaya had never asked for it—never demanded anything but loyalty and Elara’s idea of friendship. Yet the handmaiden had offered more, her devotion a mirror polished too brightly, reflecting only the cracks in her own unmet yearnings. Those hungers, once sharp, had dulled with time, swallowed like stones until they settled heavy and silent in her gut.

Her lips quirked, a ghost of a smile that never reached her eyes.

Realms of Sun & Shadow

Fractured Reflections
Part 2

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_{Location: Elara's Home---> Seluna Temple
Collab Between: (@Dark Light & @Qia)}

---

The snowfall still persisted without reprieve. (and Elara still has his cloak)

Aliseth stopped dead in his tracks so his next words might be given in earnest. Forcing himself to look her in the eyes as he draws forth the courage and admits his failure with all sincerity.

"My lady, please forgive me. I failed you both. I am dreadfully sorry."

Elara also drew herself to an abrupt standstill, noting the shift in Aliseth’s expression—his eyes, so composed moments ago, now seemed to hold an unspoken burden. She also observed how his breath ghosted into the chill air, laden with a heaviness the frost alone could not justify, as though carrying the quiet lament of someone who had condemned himself long before voicing his regret.

Failure.

She had never been permitted the luxury of lingering on failure. Her family had built their lives upon resilience, adaptability, and the dignity of perseverance emblematic of Lunarian tradition. Mistakes were acknowledged candidly yet swiftly set aside, never permitted to become definitive markers of one's identity. And in the cold silence of Dawnhaven, she saw in Aliseth’s expression something dangerously close to self-condemnation.

And she understood it far too well.

“You are not the only one who wishes things had been different,” she murmured gently, devoid of reproach or dismissiveness. “You believe you failed, and perhaps I do as well.” A pause, brief but significant.

“When I was younger,” she continued, voice thoughtful, distant, “my mother imparted to me that failure was never the absence of success, but rather the absence of understanding. She taught this truth through healing, through magic, through the very essence of life itself. It has been a belief I've tried to believe in.”

Elara exhaled slowly, the warmth of her breath curling into the air before dissolving into the night.

“I have tried to believe in it….” she repeated, softer this time, as though saying it aloud was an affirmation she herself still needed to hear.

She tilted her gaze upward, watching the snowfall in a moment of quiet contemplation. “But belief does not always come easily, does it?” Her lips curved, not quite into a smile, but into something wry—something caught between understanding and resignation. “I do not pretend to know the shape of your grief. Nor would I presume to lessen it. But I do know that if failure alone was what defined us, neither of us would be standing here now.”

She shifted her gaze to him again, earnest intensity softening her features as she studied his countenance. “Tell me,” she said, her voice gentle but unwavering. “If our places had been reversed—if I had been the one to fall, and you had been the one left standing—would you call me a failure?”

Her query was neither accusation nor hollow rhetoric, but rather a sincere need to illuminate a truth she sensed he already held, yet refused himself.

“Because I would not. I would call you what you are—a man who fought, who stood, who did not turn away even when faced with the unbearable.”

Aliseth couldn't help but offer a small smile of appreciation. Elara was perhaps the first and only person who didn't seem to blame him for Abel's death and the whole ordeal. While she couldn't erase his guilt, she definitely managed to ease its burden. It was a scar far from healed, one he would carry for quite some time yet.
The focus she kept redirecting his way left him feeling somewhat uncomfortable and exposed. He wasn’t used to such scrutiny, not like this. With an unspoken request to move forward he reached out to take her arm and, without another word, he guided them back into motion, their steps once again falling into sync with the quiet rhythm of the snowy streets. The cold air curled between them, but the warmth of her presence lingered at his side.

"Tell me, Elara…" he began, glancing sideways at her. "How does one get blessed both with the beauty of youth and the wisdom of age?" He enquired, before allowing a follow-up question to slip from his lips on a softer breath. "You surprise me, you're not what I expected of a handmaiden. Is this your life's choice?"

Another deceptively simple question. And yet, when had she last considered it in earnest?

The cold bit at her skin, though it failed to breach the deeper chill nestled in her chest. For a moment, Elara said nothing, her boots pressing imprints into the pristine snow as they walked. She did not offer him immediate answers, only silence—thoughtful, weighty, the kind that carried far more than its absence of sound implied.

Then, at last, she exhaled.

“Choice is an interesting thing, isn't it?” she murmured. “It implies a moment of true agency. Of standing at a crossroads and selecting a path, knowing—believing—you had the freedom to walk away from the others.”

She turned her gaze forward again, but something distant lurked in her eyes—a reflection of thoughts long buried and only now unearthed.

“I entered the Princess’s service willingly,” she said, choosing her words carefully. “But willingness is not the same as choice. I do not regret the path I have walked, but I wonder sometimes… if it was truly my own to walk.”

Her voice softened, not quite wistful, but something akin to it. “ Aliseth, isn’t it? You surprise me as well, ” she admitted, tilting her head slightly. “I did not expect you to ask such a thing.”

Nor the sincere compliment he had offered.

Elara had meant to continue, to let the words roll forth without pause—but then his earlier remark caught up to her, and something in her composure wavered.

Her steps faltered for a moment, almost imperceptible, but she knew he would notice. A warmth crept into her cheeks, subtle but present, a quiet betrayal against the otherwise unshaken coolness of her expression. She was no stranger to being called beautiful; it had followed her in whispered admiration and courtly pleasantries alike. And yet, she had never quite known what to do with it.

Aliseth's remark was distinctly different. No artifice laced his voice, no hollow flattery designed solely to charm. It was stated plainly, simply, as a truth irrefutable. Perhaps that honesty was precisely what unsettled her—the genuine nature of his observation demanded nothing in return.

“B-but… what did you expect of me?” Her fingers tightened briefly, subtly flexing in an effort to disperse the warmth suffusing her cheeks. “In my capacity as a handmaiden, that is.”

As Elara spoke, Aliseth nodded ever so slightly with contemplative understanding. Also politely affirming and acknowledging his name.
As with nearly every time Elara finished speaking, Aliseth's lips pressed firmly in what could only be the beginning of an involuntary smile. He was finding it an ongoing effect of her presence that was growing harder and harder to deny.

That same smile flourished a little more, like a warmth against the cold, as he effortlessly adjusted to her faltering step and conveniently looked away as her pale cheeks began to flush with a hint of red. In his diverting glance, his eyes happened upon an old torn spider web glimmering in the curve of a young tree.

"People always refer to choice like a fork in the road." He said musingly. "But I find it to be more like that web." Pressing his lips together he let out a soft 'hmm' as he searched for a better explanation. "Actually more like walking on thin ice." His voice filled with certainty at his new analogy as he looked down to his feet in the snow as if he could see it now.

"With every new step we take, no matter how lightly or small, we cause cracks to splinter out from our touch. Each of these is a new set of choices or paths, each filled with untaken possibilities. Often, we don't even see the many choices that surround us... and even more often" his words slowed as the air felt heavier on his tongue and his tone dropped ever so slightly.

"We are blind to the paths that lead us to the thinner ice, the paths of change, the uncomfortable choices that hide the greater rewards because deep-down we all fear the risk."

He wasn't sure when it happened, but while he was speaking, lost to thoughts, his gaze had once again returned to and locked upon her face, having drifted down from those oceanic orbs, along her petite nose and now resting on her soft alluring lips...

Realms of Sun & Shadow

@c3p-0h@SpicyMeatball@The Muse

Aliseth

---

Guard Tower

---

The wind hit him unexpectedly, that was a surprise, but he was quick to react, softening his knees, leaning into the force and twisting his body to offer less resistance, shuffling his feet as needed to remain balanced. A glance was thrown back at the perpetrator, lady Hightower, but it's meaning and or the thoughts behind his eyes remained a mystery.

Charlottes outburst only earned her the faintest of eye rolls and softest of sighs. Though his movements were little and his words non existent, his eyes and demeanour were filled with heavy condescension, disdain and disappointment. He looked upon her like a lame child or injured livestock.
Before much more could come of it, the very person she was over dramatically defending pushed her aside with magic.

'Fitting', Aliseth thought to himself as already Elio push her to the side with the same disregard Aliseth was sure the mason showed all his conquests. He had squared up, standing tall just as Elio's punch came hurtling towards him. Making no attempts to dodge it, Aliseth only waited and stared, eyes intense, the faintest hint of a curl in the corner of his lips. The impact never came. Instead Elio turned and walked away.

"If someone else dies tonight, I can confidently say my time, efforts and actions were spent actively trying to avoid it." He firmly announced.

"Can you say the same Elio? Were you not in the tavern when the bells rang? When the crown ordered the streets empty so the guards could do their duty, protecting the people. Tell me, how are your self serving impulses and desires ensuring anyone's safety? Once again you are only occupying valuable time to sate your precious ego.
Your actions have consequences Elio, people die and get hurt because people like you can't see beyond themselves."

"And you!" His eye's turned to Charlotte, a fire in them.
"I do not have time to list your subordination. That was a pathetic display regardless of what faction you are from.
He closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose between them, feeling a headache coming on. Speaking more softly he carries on.
"Surely you are not deaf so I'm left to conclude you chose to neglect your duties in favour of entertaing your friend.

He let out a sigh and opened his eyes, looking back to Lady Hightower. He gave her a soft almost apologetic nod, a softness in his eyes but also a tired weariness. He was trying so hard, stretching himself thin and carrying much responsibility under his heavy title.

Turning back to Charlotte.
"By next mid moon you are to present at the southern gate with a Full report of all your actions since the last. Until then you are to accompany Lady Hightower and fulfil any request she has. Her safety however is your first priority and comes before any attention from the opposite sex, do you understand!?"

The punishment could have been immediate and harsh but Aliseth needed able hands. He barely waited around for a reply, giving Eris a formal bow, excusing himself, then walking off into the endless dark of a moonless sky. There was greater and more pressing duties to be done than escorting nobles, reprimanding foolish subordinates or punishing egomaniacs.

There was still a killer on the loose and it was clear no one else could be trusted to take care of it.

Anyone familiar with 'Lords of creation'

Is anyone familiar with and/or interested in a 'lords of creation' style game?

It's very much a collab world building, story telling type game.
Players take the role of new deities at the beginning of creation and literally shape existence.

It's done through an AP system which is regained weekly real time.
And follows simple spending rules.

And.... start the discussion!

Realms of Sun & Shadow

Vellion Hurst

---

Somewhere in town

---

Vellion once again stood amongst the townsfolk. He was as still as the ice that once sought to encapsulate and trap him. Her magic. He could still recall her tight grip on his wrists. He would meet her again. They had unfinished business after all.

On the biting cold breeze the world continued to whirl around him, not waiting for him to catch up. Despite barely feeling the cold he felt frozen in place, in time, in his thoughts, in his purpose.
Distant commotions whispered every which way. Guards were out and about in numbers hindering his every movement.
He did not hide or sneak about though, while they saw him, none had seen what he had done. Vellion did nothing to seem suspicious or give his blight born nature away.

He took each encounter as they came and did what he must to carry on. This commotion was his own fault after all. Lucky for him most guards seemed ill prepared for such a scenario. The two different sides seemingly having not yet trained together. This left holes and uncertainties that Vellion was all to happy to exploit.

As he had been idle, a foolish guard had approached him. The guards blood sung to Vellion. The deep rhythmic pulsing beat. An ever eager call. It didn't matter that Vellion had eaten already this day, it was more than a hunger, it was an addiction.

This idiot guard before him would never understand that despite the armor he wore and the false sense of authority granted to him, he was nothing more than food in Vellions eyes. A twig Vellion could easily snap should his restraint falter for just a moment.

Vellion's restraint held, as did his patience. He would see the princess again, there need be no rush. He dealt amicably with the inconvenient guard, behaving as one might expect of him. Listening to his rant and offering expert lies blended with truths in return.

Vellion did not consider himself a bad man, he had not intended to kill that guard, it was a retaliation, self defence, that's all. But he did find a perverse pleasure in staring this arrogant guard directly in the eyes and knowing he had no idea that killer stood before him. It brought a crooked grin to his lips.

Realms of Sun & Shadow

Aliseth

---

Guard Tower

---

As Elio approached him through the snow, an unexpected figure since Aliseth left him in the tavern during lockdown, Aliseth's gaze briefly flicked up to the guard who only just now was visible in the tower.

He need do nothing to express his disappointment or frustration, it made clear in the tone of his short sharp call
"Soldier!" He beckoned the guard to him while eyeing the out-of-place mason.

As Elio approached and started taunting him, Aliseth only offered a growl as the man start to poke him."Don't touch me!" He hiss softly in an ignored warning.

As he took the berating his face was statuesque, stoic, an unresponsive mask. Except for the calm, cold anger that seemed to always be burning in his eyes. Jaw clenched, he listened to Elio's words, letting him speak, he listened to his breaths, watching his eyes.

There it was, a shifting in glance over his shoulder. Aliseth followed his gaze adding a slight natural twist to his form. Quicker than his lips could form a satisfied smile, from the other side of his body Aliseth drove a fist up at Elio's strong jaw. A short sharp hook. Despite not leaning into the attack or even pulling back for momentum, doing nothing that would give away his intentions, the guard still mustered a surprising amount of force and speed, striking like a viper.

"Your antics were cute before but now you're just being rude and intolerable." He kept his eyes on the mason but flicks his head towards the tower, gesturing in the direction of the other guard. "I wonder, was it rejection or an inability to perform that has you so worked up." He taunts, knowing Elio has not been here much longer than himself.

Standing tall, Aliseth was not in a fighting stance but his weight had shifted and he slightly angled himself towards Elio. "I'm on official business and if you hinder me any further I'll be forced to have you arrested." He informs him loudly, that sharp authoritive confidence echoing in his voice along with perhaps just a hint of arrogance.
"As if you even could." He whisper with a sly taunting smirk to Elio and Elio alone.

---

_{Interactions: Aliseth Kain @Dark Light, Charlotte Hawthorne @SpicyMeatball, Eris Hightower @The Muse Elio @c3p-0h}

Realms of Sun & Shadow

@The Muse

Aliseth

---

Town

---

He raised a calming hand and offered a soft smile. "Lady Hightower, a pleasure to serve you." He said, before giving a quick sharp bow. "I ask you take a deep breath and slow yourself down. You are safe." He assures her, voice confident and soothing. His eyes remain locked on hers. There was a subtle intensity to his gaze as he search for secrets in those deep blue pools.
At mention of the princess his heart wanted to skip a beat, his muscles wanted to tense with anticipation, his face wanted to show his concern... but none of these things happened. He was a master of nothing if not himself. He would get an update in due time.

"To the temple and back." He muses aloud. "That is some distance. It will take a time, a time not on my path. I'm sure if the priestess is there, she will be safe." he commented. A steady pause filled the space between them as he seemingly continued to asses her, noting the desperation. "Hmm." He murmur as he further contemplated the request. His will to aid weighing up against his duties.

"For what reason does the prince and princess require the priestess so urgently? What cannot wait until after lock down?" He enquire. His head ever so slightly tilted to the side as thoughts weighed by the curiosities within it and his voice soften just a little along with his features. "Why ever would they put such a beautiful, intelligent and important creature in harms way.." The question seemingly more to himself. "Do you carry any proof of this royal errand?"

Realms of Sun & Shadow

@The Muse

Aliseth

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Town

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" "

Soft gentle flakes of snow drifted down from the dark heavens above. Aliseth could feel them melting against the bare skin of his up-turned face.
The sky was extra dark this hour, while he knew it likely due to the clouds he could not see, it felt more as though it was because the doors and windows of heaven had been closed off to them. The gods and their messengers were not watching, no help was coming. They were all alone.

Aliseth was not an overly religious man and put little faith in the divine, but the feeling was real and the loneliness hit him hard like a physical force. It took the air from his lungs as it seeped through his body like a poison. Multi-layered, it sunk to his core. He was not unacquainted with this feeling but familiarity did little to dull its bite.

Blaming it on the ale, he took a deep breath and swallowed it all down. It had been a day and fatigue was undoubtedly setting in. He smirk at the sky, condescendingly mocking himself for his moment of weakness, and just as he turns his head down a single bright star births to life in the sea of darkness above.

Turning his mind to duty he look down the road. It had mostly been cleared as the other guards ushered off any remaining stragglers. Flittering through distant torch light Aliseth noted a figure hastily drawing near. Moving to meet the suspicious female he noted she wore a fine dress under her coat and by all accounts had the appearance of nobility.

"Halt." He spoke with a measured balance of authority and respect, calling for her attention as he drew near. He offered her a kind smile. Her blue eyes an easy point of focus.
"Sorry m'lady. I must ask you return to your lodging. There has been an incident and a short curfew enacted as a precaution for everyone's safety."
After a moment allowing that to sink in he followed up with a question, mentioning nothing of the bells she surely heard or the rush she was in but leaving that curiosity unsaid yet clear in his gaze.
"May I enquire as to your destination and the matter of business that takes you there?" While still standing tall, his voice was softer now as if in casual conversation.