Carver awoke from his dream with a start. He rubbed his face, blinked his eyes, confirmed in his mind that he was indeed awake, that yes, this was real and what he'd just seen had been fantasy. There was a picture emblazoned on his arm, a strange symbol he couldn't recognize from any of his learning. That was from the dream, but if that was still there, then...?
There was something else, too, a sensation that had stuck with him. Weightlessness. Alula.
Wherever the girl was, Carver prayed she was safe.
There was a sight he wasn't quite prepared for. There was a child curled up next to him, fast asleep, a small, frail thing who obviously hadn't slept in a bed in a long while. He wondered for a moment where the child had come from, and then concluded that it didn't matter. Perhaps he was another survivor, perhaps he was an urchin. What mattered now was that he was clearly alone, and tired, and had come to Carver seeking protection.
The paladin lifted his blanket and spread it over the child, taking great care not to wake him. When the time came for his watch, Carver stepped outside the tent dressed in the plain linen clothes he'd been wearing under his armor yesterday. He took up position where he could see the sunrise peeking over the horizon, planted his sword at his feet, and spent a time contemplating her wisdom and beauty in silence.
The silence was broken a great while later, when the rest of the party began to awaken. He was content to leave them to their morning rituals until the gnome came to sit next to him. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
The knight smiled softly. "She is. She loves each of us, you know. That is why she blesses us with her radiance. We are all children of the sun."
There was something else, too, a sensation that had stuck with him. Weightlessness. Alula.
Wherever the girl was, Carver prayed she was safe.
There was a sight he wasn't quite prepared for. There was a child curled up next to him, fast asleep, a small, frail thing who obviously hadn't slept in a bed in a long while. He wondered for a moment where the child had come from, and then concluded that it didn't matter. Perhaps he was another survivor, perhaps he was an urchin. What mattered now was that he was clearly alone, and tired, and had come to Carver seeking protection.
The paladin lifted his blanket and spread it over the child, taking great care not to wake him. When the time came for his watch, Carver stepped outside the tent dressed in the plain linen clothes he'd been wearing under his armor yesterday. He took up position where he could see the sunrise peeking over the horizon, planted his sword at his feet, and spent a time contemplating her wisdom and beauty in silence.
The silence was broken a great while later, when the rest of the party began to awaken. He was content to leave them to their morning rituals until the gnome came to sit next to him. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
The knight smiled softly. "She is. She loves each of us, you know. That is why she blesses us with her radiance. We are all children of the sun."