Exiled

[Assassiinx]

Basis of the story, female around the age of 18-28 awakens to find herself within the midst of a rather grandiose battle.Her placement is anything but opportune, just beside her another of the thousands warring has been cut down, drenching her in blood. This concealed her if momentarily in the dead beneath the countless legions of soldiers.

As she is frozen another several soldiers fall around and ultimately atop her, burying her beneath a pile of death. This, would be her first memory before an exhaust she can neither contain nor control eclipses her vision and send her into another deep seated slumber.

In this slumber she would be plunged into what one could describe as a never ending plateau. Covered in beauty, from flowers in bloom to grass greener than any she may have seen before. Within this scenery she is seated, her eyes forced to look upon a singular man, a man whose every feature is covered by a darkened shadow. A man who towers over her, a man covered in dark decayed robes. At first she is stunned, and then instantly her body recoils, granting her distance. Distance and questioning eyes as the figure remained still.

" M…Nam….s.. Tem....br...is" His voice was distorted as if something were interfering with it as if something within her dream was ensuring he was difficult to understand. Still it was evident that his voice was calm. "You" He paused, his head shaking slightly. Followed by a vigorous clearing of his throat, its hoarse rattling loud enough to startle what littler wildlife had been surrounding them.

"My name, call it, call it loudly when you awaken or you'll d…" His voice cut off and his body began to fade.Quickly he became transparent, vanishing and with his vanishing she was forced to awaken.

She was still beneath the first of the soldiers which had fallen, blood had dried and crusted on her features, above the sound of soldiers could be heard. They spoke with relaxed voices, voices followed by the unfamiliar sounds of sharpened blades digging through skin, blades ending what life may have remained within their now slain foes. Their blades only drew closer as they spoke, their path evident, the blades they were plunging quickly growing closer to her.

Would she call his name…or die?

 

[Michelle the Editor]

Alia had gone to bed anticipating a long-awaited weekend, right after the insanity of her very first round of finals. Of all the things she expected to wake up to, the scream of a dying man was not one of them. Her eyes snapped open in time to see a body collapse in front of her with a solid thud. Bloody mud splattered over her, making her recoil.

The young woman bolted upright, looking around wildly. The noise was overwhelming--shrieks, clangs and thumps as men battled in the mud around her. There was no elegance or skill in their combat, just clusters of men trying to hack each other apart. Dumbfounded, Alia just sat there, not sure if this was even real, until another soldier tripped over her legs. Before he could get up, someone stabbed a spear clean through him with a horrifying squelch. Alia glimpsed his eyes, wide with terror, but the light was already going out of them. She'd never seen someone die before, couldn't have possibly imagined the drop in her stomach, the scream creeping up into her throat. It was real. It felt more real than anything she'd ever experienced before.

That scream was jolted out of her abruptly as yet another soldier collapsed right beside her, close enough that his arm smacked her going down. She tried to scramble away, but the first man weighed her down, heavier than she'd have expected. She tried to push the body away even though she didn't want to touch it, but it was no use. The soldiers around her were retreating, and they kept stumbling and falling and scrabbling over each other to try to get away. They were trampling each other in their panic. Alia was flattened into the muck, and the cloudy slate sky was blotted out by scrambling, tumbling bodies. Everything got dark after that.

Just as suddenly as her first awakening, Alia found herself in a meadow. She could breathe again, and inhaled a mix of flowery scents that were almost intoxicating. Somewhere, birds were singing, and there was the faint, summery buzz of insects in the grass. She was still in her blood and mud-stained pajamas, her hair clinging to her skin in limp curls, but she was on her feet now, had the strength to stand. Among all of this color, however, her eye was drawn to a dark figure that seemed to be growing before her. Or possibly she was shrinking; either way, she found herself staring up at a massive figure, caught in its shadow.

It was human-shaped, but could have been a stone monument, it stood so unnaturally still. A breeze rustled the grass around them, and the figure's robes fluttered a little. They were heavy and aged, like the sails of a lost ship. There was something deeply wrong with this place, something about the contrast between the idyllic nature and the alien figure that made Alia's hair stand on end. She didn't even realize that she'd backed up.

A rumble emanated from the figure and she froze, heart thudding against her ribs. The figure shifted, and this time she heard syllables, words she could recognize, albeit distorted.

" M…Nam….s.. Tem....br...is" The voice sounded almost human. "You..."

Silence, and the figure shook its head. It let out a very different sound, a sort of rattle that made the insects fall silent. She realized the creature had just cleared its throat. Alia still wanted to run, but something told her that she needed to hear this.

"My name, call it, call it loudly when you awaken or you'll d--" His voice cut off and his body began to fade. Already Alia could see daylight through his shape. The meadow itself seemed to be fading around her, going dark.

"Wait!" Alia protested, though she didn't even know whether she was talking to him, herself or whatever force had brought her here. "Come back!"

Once more she was in darkness--a hot, oppressive sort of dark, where her breathing echoed back at her. Alia's face and neck itched; the blood and mud and whatever else coated her had now dried stiff. She tried to move, but was pressed down on all sides. Her trembling limbs couldn't move the bodies pressing down on her. Bile rose up in her throat as she realized that she was buried in a pile of the dead.

Other sounds were coming to her now, muffled by the corpses. No longer battle cries or shouts; these were men talking normally to each other. The other sound was less familiar, more confusing; a rhythmic shing-welch sort of noise. It wasn't until she heard a groan cut out abruptly that Alia realized what was happening. They were finishing off the wounded.

Call my name or you will die.

Alia struggled, kicked and shoved and tried to force the bodies away. Adrenaline had already exhausted her and her attempts were useless. The voices and stabs were getting louder now. She heard someone laughing.

"Tembris! TEMBRIS!"

 

[Assassiinx]

Her call held with it a profound power. Without understanding it she had spoken a simple yet complex name. One which weighed heavily on the ears of those who once roamed this place. One with which came unrivaled resonance.



The breeze in that moment seemed to halt. Oxygen drained and with its disappearance all say for Alia began to notice the difficulty of breathing. Still this was not the end. Atop this oddity another began to form. The sky… Or rather the area turned. Its spectrum of coloration shifted. From all those recognizable blues, grays, greens and browns to a deep tarnished red. Red which held a perfect resemblance to the blood stained weapons they held.

With this change came a feeling of dread. One that infected the minds of all, say for Alia. Each of these oddities came more swiftly then the last, and as the color changed a force began to emit. Dull at first and steadily rising until it resounded.

The space above where Alia lay buried began to shake. Its transparency diluting as cracks formed jaggedly. As if… Some force was breaking it from the opposite side. Though, it was entirely devoid of sound all whom viewed it could do no more than wince back in primal fear.

Every soldier surrounding was now gazing at this shattering of space. Their eyes widened and jaws dropped. The lot of them had begun to guess what may or may not be transpiring. Their curiosity and fear mixed caused great terror. Seconds for them seemed eternal; several began to perspire others fell to dread and some few began to faint. Those who remained gazing soon met with answers to their numerous questions.



His gauntlets, clawed and sharpened as they were retained a worn appearance. Their fingers were the first to stab through the crack in space. They shoved forward until outturned palms began to stretch the crack. Each finger tightened and clawed as the space tore apart. A window formed and it shown into the beauty of the meadow. Beauty which broke away as a masked figure formed standing at the center of the opening. His were eyes the first sight the soldiers could focus upon. Eyes unlike any other, eyes which swirled in their differentiating reds. At their core pools of yellow.

These eyes gazed back.

All the while the masked creature stepped forward, his boot stomping into the rim of the opening. Stretching it further as his other boot came forward. Quickly stepping free and turning back as the opening snapped shut.

"Finally." His voice was ragged, its volume no more than a whisper, yet still all heard as if it were spoken directly into their ears.

His movement never stopped as he'd stepped through he'd turned. His gaze focused on the bodies beneath his feet. Scanning until he moved to kneel forward. Taking hold the first of the deceased soldiers and tossing him aside to reveal Alia. The body flew some five meters before colliding into one of the on looking soldiers. It crushed him with the force of its momentum.

As the body was thrown aside their eyes could meet. His gaze unequivocally powerful and hers one he wished to learn of.

"It's pronounced Tembris." He remained speaking at a whisper. Though this time it was only spoken to her.

As he spoke he remained gazing upon her. His eyes seeming to seethe into the very being she retained. Still his gaze was nothing more than curiosity it likely came as predatory.



Without warning the sound of hissing began to draw near. A heavy thud sounded. Tembris's form leaned forward as he felt the sudden pressure. At his back a spear laid, its tip shattered and shaft splintered. His cloak was unscathed as was the rest of him, though the red hue of the area shifted in response. Its saturation darkened to that of a maroon. He stood, his height seeming to tower over all who surrounded.

The singular soldier who had been so bold as to throw his spear now deeply regretted his decision. Already the man was in flight. His disheveled form running with haggard breath in the opposite direction of which Tembris was.

"Imbecile" there was no anger as Tembris spoke, rather a lack there of. His left arm raised, right palm open and facing out towards the man. The next action was halted as his arm dropped to his side. Slowly he turned, gazing at those who had been staring up until this moment. The lot of them were now tempted to turn and run. His gaze ceased any notion of escape and caused each to remain still. For some minutes he was looking upon them.

"You're all so… Weak" He spoke in bewilderment, as if he were expecting something far greater than those who surrounded him. Just as he spoke he turned back towards Alia his body kneeling again hand outstretched as he took hold her shoulder. The cool touch of his gauntlet seemed soft despite its sharpened fingers. Gripping he stood with pulling her to rise as he did. Stopping as he glanced down at her clothing.

"I am the Guardian, and you are the woman whom I must from hence forth protect. As such those with hostile notions have no right to retain your company." As he spoke the saturation within the area began to lessen. From its deep maroon to a light red and ultimately back into its neutral nature. The soldiers gasped in breath as the oxygen soon returned. Their forms heaving as each inhaled. None taking notice as the shards of the shattered spear and splintered shaft began to hover. The pieces hovered freely before jettisoning out in separate directions. Dozens of pieces of shrapnel shot out like bullets into the soldiers bodies. The momentum of each piece enough to have them tear through armor and flesh without difficulty. Then again and again and again until the soldiers bodies were bloodied messes.

"Now… do tell… What are those garments?" He relaxed then, his posture lessening as he hunched forward. In a moment the threatening nature of his being vanished. His once swirling eyes slowed and the glow of his yellow pupils lessened. Though still the mystery and terror of his concealed body remained nothing of his presence was threatening. Even his voice had taken to a new pattern. No longer whispering and progressively regaining a solid power. As if he were still attempting to clear dust from his vocal cords.

 

[Michelle the Editor]

Alia heard the voices fall silent first. She stopped shouting and drew in a shuddering breath, though the stench of now-decomposing corpses made her queasy. Trapped in the dark she couldn't see what was happening above her, but she was starting to wonder if perhaps this was a mistake. Maybe if she'd just called out to the soldiers they'd have recognized that she wasn't an enemy or even a combatant. Maybe she didn't want to see that figure again...

"Finally." The voice was as clear as if its speaker stood right beside her. Now she felt the pile shift. Abruptly the body lying on top of her was yanked away, bathing her in red light. The sky itself had turned a bloody scarlet overhead, and once again, the figure was standing over her. This time she could make out his eyes, red and yellow like no human or even animal she'd ever seen. There was intelligence behind those eyes, vast and alien, and she felt tiny and exposed beneath its gaze. Her chest tightened.

"It's pronounced Tembris."

Lots of people corrected her pronunciation of their names. Some curt and irritated, some automatically, some with the weariness of having to do this for their entire lives. Never before would Alia have considered it a calming thing, but here it somehow made her breathe easier. Among all the insanity surrounding her, this was almost normal.

Of course, within seconds the chaos returned again as a soldier threw a spear at Tembris, with about as much success as a mouse trying to kill a cat. Tembris turned his attention to them, and in the silence, Alia did as well. They wore quilted armor and steel helmets, the kind her high school's drama club used for Shakespeare plays. Their boots and arms were dark with blood, as were their weapons. None of them were paying any attention to her, for obvious reasons. In fact, it looked like they were struggling to breathe.

"You're all so… Weak," Tembris said, sounding more bewildered than anything else. He turned back to her, knelt and reached out with one gauntleted hand. She drew back, but he grasped her shoulder with surprising gentleness. He stood, pulling her up onto her feet.

"I am the Guardian, and you are the woman whom I must from henceforth protect. As such those with hostile notions have no right to retain your company," he said. The sky was starting to go back to normal. Alia heard the soldiers gasp and start panting. Her eye was drawn to a movement behind Tembris. As she watched, the spear's pieces began to float into the air. She didn't have to ask to know that this was Tembris's doing.

Alia guessed what was coming before the shrapnel flew out, and she shut her eyes. She still heard the yelps and meaty thumps as the soldiers around her were torn apart. Her stomach finally gave up the fight and she threw up on the corpse pile, held upright only by Tembris's grip on her shoulder.

It was over quickly, at least. Swallowing back the burning feeling in her mouth and throat, Alia straightened. Her hair was hanging in her face, and she pushed it back over her shoulders. With her panic starting to wear out, she wondered if that Tembris creature had been using her to get into this world. He said he had to protect her, but she still had no idea whether the soldiers would have actually killed her.

Tembris's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Now… do tell… What are those garments?"

Alia looked up at him in surprise. He seemed shorter than before--no, he just wasn't standing up straight anymore. His eyes were a little less dizzying to look at. Despite her worries, she did feel just a bit safer. Registering his question, she glanced down at her plaid pajama bottoms, their blue and green pattern almost blotted out with mud and blood, and the very ugly T-shirt she'd bought from a band her friend had played in during high school.

"I-it's pajamas," she said, her voice shaky, looking up again. "Just what I wear to bed. Which is where I was when I fell asleep, not here."

 

[Assassiinx]

Tembris was without regard for her for a moment. His interest was solely upon the clothing she wore. He'd guessed it to be some form of sleeping attire, but never before had he seen fabric used in such a way. That accompanied by the simple fact that she was ill dressed and entirely out of place. Well, it was intriguing.

Still his interest in her waned rather quickly. Instead he began to turn. Gazing out at the scenery around them he began to test his body. Not physical, no he was conducting internal tests. His eyes were seeing things beyond the long grassy knolls. Knolls covered in war stricken earth. As far as the eye could see there had been war ravaging the land. In the furthest west mountains could be sighted. Opposite in the east a forest, north and south continued on for some distance and each side seemed to sound with war.

What Tembris saw, was none of this and rather the flow of things. His vortex eyes were gazing at the flow of magic, the flow of death and most importantly. The flow of time, no not literally time but rather the way things were living and dying. The bliss this brought was without equal. After so very long stuck in an eternally perpetual world, one with consequence, one with death, it was unparalleled.

Despite this he turned back to Alia his interest re-sparked as realizations began to dawn upon him. She had removed him from the prison, but she was entirely foreign, aside from that lingering resemblance to some old force. So, again he eyed her, up and down pausing on her clothing again. It was more a clue than most yet at the same time he was unable to think much further. His hand fell from her shoulder and he stepped forward into her space. His mask came no more than a few inches from her face. Their eyes perfectly level as he lowered further eyeing the clothing. Then lower even until his shoulder was level with her core. Immediately and without warning he stepped forward. His shoulder pressed into her waist line and with an eased movement he stood. The action raised her onto him and she was held on his left shoulder.

"Pa…ja..mas are rather… useless." He mentioned this as he began to move. His boots, now noticeably resounded with metallic sound as he bounded off of bodies. Tembris's movements took him forward past the bodies and into a clearing of sorts. Some arrows stuck from the earth but aside from them the grass was clean. Its simple blades progressively raising after having been stomped down the during the morning prior. When he paused he leaned and knelt forward lowering her easily.

"I'll return shortly" As he spoke he'd already turned and with a frightfully fast movement his red cloaked form became a blur. Where he stood the earth was gnarled by the sudden powerful turn and launching movement. His direction straight back into the war torn area they'd left. The red bolt he was seemed set on course and within a matter of minutes it turned back. Stopping again near her he wielded an array of garments. All taken from fallen soldiers, though at the same time all more clean than hers. But most importantly? He had taken an upwards of five pairs of boots. Each sized close to what he'd guessed her feet were.

"Change." It came in a rather commanding tone, and he took no attempt to turn away. Whether or not this discomforted her he did not care. She was an average woman, more than that he was not one known to have sought after matters of the flesh. Even after his entrapment the idea was still just that. As she either chose to or chose not to he decided to speak once more.

" My name is Tembris as you know. From what I surmise you are foreign. What land do you originate? Perhaps the isles of Ishtar? The southern Frakan?" His pronunciations withheld different tones and he seemed to take care not to mispronounce. Though, there was an obvious lack of interest. In truth he cared little for her origin and more for whatever it was she contained. Unlike the landscape she was pulsating with some form of energy. Something he felt long ago, something that was completely eradicated now.

When he had scanned the land earlier Tembris had found that things were drastically different. Aside from the evident weakness which now plagued the soldiers there was a lack of pressure. Magic, energy, chi, nature, all of it was so… Weak. As if it had been siphoned or even misused. This revelation or rather this understanding lead to an untold following of questions he needed answered. The trouble would be gaining these answers in an expedient way. He now had this woman, one he knew he would certainly retain his hold of. He would need to travel with her, need to gain knowledge of the current world. Find whether things were still the same as they once had been.





Some thousands of miles north word had begun to spread. Word ordained from the highest of mages. The arch mage Frankford had fallen unconscious at the mere feeling of it. There was a more than horrific presence somewhere within the southern warring zones. His minds eye had traveled in this state to gaze upon the field of battle and for the first time… It was incapable of viewing whatever had caused such a great disturbance. Instead he had only witnessed a distortion in coloration. A field of red, the same foretold years prior to signify the oncoming of the final tool for victory. The tool, was Alia and more importantly the blood she retained. This joyous news was distorted strictly due to the red. It was replaced by confusion and fear. Yet still Frankford did well to recover and send his disciples with word of this revelation. Within a day's time a force would be amassed and the hunt for this final piece would begin.



Though Frankford was the first his sharing of this knowledge quickly became spread. Within the next several hours word had spread throughout the continent. Every force, small and large began to mobilize. All of them set upon attaining this supposed weapon.

 

[Michelle the Editor]

With Tembris looking around, Alia had a minute to breathe, process what had happened to her. She was in the middle of a battlefield that looked about four hundred years too early for her to even find, accompanied by a creature that was clearly not human, who had just used very real and very deadly magic to save her. Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore. It sounded crazy, but she couldn't come up with any logical alternatives.

Then Tembris was looking at her again. His face didn't seem to move, and she realized it was some sort of mask. Before she could say anything about the way he was looking at her, he scooped her up and swung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. It made her feel small.

"Pa…ja..mas are rather… useless."

"Do they need to be useful? I just wear them to bed," she said, as he started walking. She could see his cloak rippling behind him as he walked, hear the thud of his footfall on the ground. He left very large tracks. A few yards out they exited the battlefield, onto ground that hadn't been torn up and trampled quite so badly. Tembris set her down on her feet and left, with a promise to return shortly. She watched him zip back with inhuman speed, and was grateful he'd chosen to just walk her out. She'd have gotten nauseous again going that fast.

Alia turned in a slow circle, taking in the landscape around them. Rolling hills that should have been green in every direction, but were crisscrossed with tracks, bare spots and blackened burns. Even in places where the grass was growing in again, broken spears and battered shields glinted among the weeds. In the distance, Alia could see dark clusters of what looked like tents, with antlike people milling about among them. Smoke trails wisped their way up to the clouds. The battlefield and the carnage that had just overwhelmed her looked tiny now.

Then Tembris was back, his arms full of clothes. "Change."

Alia glanced around. They were in an open field; there weren't even any large rocks she could hide behind. Tembris didn't seem all that interested in her body, but she still felt exposed. She decided on a compromise. Again, something she'd seen in drama club. Grabbing one of the larger shirts, she pulled it on over her pajamas, though she didn't put her arms through the sleeves yet. It came down to her thighs, just what she'd hoped. Underneath the oversized shirt she started working off her clothes.

"My name is Tembris as you know. From what I surmise you are foreign. What land do you originate? Perhaps the isles of Ishtar? The southern Frakan?"

Alia let out a weary chuckle. "New Hope, Pennsylvania. I have a feeling we're not even in the same world I came from." Finally putting her arms through the sleeves, she pulled her stained T-shirt out over her head and dumped it on the grass. The clean linen felt pretty good, even though she was still dirty.

"My name's Alia Esmond. If it's all right to ask, what exactly are you, Tembris? I get the feeling you're more than just a human."

 

[Assassiinx]

Tembris watched the woman with some curiosity. Her desire to remain hidden was odd considering he had no desire. Then again she was entirely foreign and he knew little of others desire to remain modest. As she had changed he began to turn, gazing about. He wished to find some form of settlement and ascertain from then on what the current play of the world was. To do this he required Alia alongside. That mean he must move rather slowly. Showing himself any further would result in the likelihood of some kind of force.

When she asked Tembris of his race he was back upon her.

"You believe me to be a creature solely because you cannot ascertain my true image. Allow your mind to view what it pleases." The entire sentence was tiring to him. A plethora of victims had always asked the same damnable questions. WHAT ON THIS WORLD ARE YOU!? was the usual and it played comically in his mind at the idea. Still he lacked any motivation to put forth a force or even attempt to control. No he was simply tied.

"If thats honestly the only thing you've to ask your imagination needs work" He retorted in a snide way to spark some kind of reaction. This woman was by far the more peculiar individual as far as Tembris considered it. She was of another realm, she had no residue of this realm and more importantly she was plunged into this oddity of a world without so much as a singular designed purpose. He wished deeply to interrogate her. Though he knew doing so was completely unintelligent. If he kept the trust he'd already begun to earn she would ultimately become more than willing to speak to him.

As she ended her change he approached more closely. His poor posture allowing his and her eyes to meet on equal levels. His eyes searched as he presumed her eyes gazed. What she would not understand is that Tembris was gazing not to ascertain knowledge but to simply memorize the appearance of this woman. That and he was under the pretense she was hiding something and hiding it skillfully.



Some thousands of meters north several units had been dispatched. Their inquiry? The sudden silence of their units.


After some uninterrupted moments Tembris backed from Alia. His body turned then in the direction of movement. He looked north then east, then west, and finally he turned to gaze south. In every direction he could feel some inkling of change. In every direction he became wary of what was to come. Then, without question he shoved the thoughts aside. Chances were ever so likely he was paranoid after so many years of confinement. Paranoid and dull. So instead he looked to Alia once more.

"Do you know anything of magic?" He asked stepping towards her, his left hand giving her shoulder a light nudge as he stepped past her. The movement a notice for her to follow along.

"Come." the word was in all reality a command. He did not speak in such a ton simply spoke in a way she may be coaxed to follow.

"Aside form this miserable….Pa...ja..mas.. Do you have any possessions from your origin?" He could have easily torn her clothing apart and searched her without question but the time or rather the effort induced was beyond him. Time… It felt so awkward. Seeing the change of things.

The direction he would lead was that of the nearest forested area to the west. In its distance mountains and further from there the coast. From what he could recall there was a rather major city located in the coastal region. The same which housed one of his three hideaways. This specific one was likely to be a ruin by now. With the hope that none could thwart his traps he wished to revisit this place. To revisit and attain several of his precious relics.

"How used to travel are you?" He asked, already having gazed at her he could assume she was healthy but this meant nothing. Her muscle was hidden mostly behind her clothing and any semblance of magic was either hidden by an unknown force… or entirely absent. That simply meant travel would either be hellish or simple.



(okay! for these next parts I was hoping we could create bounty hunters/church hunters etc etc and have them begin to trail these two! Also apologies on the delay!)

 

[Michelle the Editor]

Alia felt a flicker of relief when Tembris turned away, less from a feeling of modesty and more because she found his gaze unsettling. She didn't think she'd seen him blink even once. That and the whole "casually killing a bunch of people" thing, of course. But then she had to open her big mouth and he was back again, invading her personal space. She froze with her shirt halfway down her arms.

"You believe me to be a creature solely because you cannot ascertain my true image. Allow your mind to view what it pleases." That didn't actually answer any of her questions, but she'd almost had a heart attack already. He didn't seem angry, at least, more...irritated. The way she felt when she had to explain why someone's coupons wouldn't work for the fifth time in one day.

"If that's honestly the only thing you've to ask your imagination needs work."

"Oh no, I have plenty of questions, I just thought I should start with the important ones," she said, steadier than before. If this guy wanted to hurt her, he'd already had plenty of opportunities, she reminded herself. She finished her change, throwing her sodden old clothes away. This time she met his gaze as steadily as she could.

People said the eyes were the windows to the soul. It didn't seem to be helping her, though. Once she got used to the strange colors, his eyes weren't particularly telling. There was no malice in his gaze, just what seemed like curiosity. She was probably just as strange to him as he was to her.

He was the first to break eye contact, distracted by something she couldn't hear or see. He turned back quickly enough, spoke to her while looking and moving past her.

"Do you know anything of magic?"

"No. Until a few minutes ago I didn't think it was even real," Alia admitted. She followed him at his request, or command perhaps. At the second question, she shook her head. "No, like I told you, I was asleep. I didn't pack anything. But I have done some hiking, I can walk for a while if the ground isn't too uneven."

The boots had already been broken in, at least, so her feet weren't going to hurt too much. Then again Tembris could just carry her if he had to, it didn't seem to be a big deal to him. They were headed towards a forest, from the looks of it. Hopefully it would be safer than the fields.

"I know it probably seems like another silly question, but where are we going and who were those men?" She asked. "Were they part of an army you know?"

***​

Whether or not those particular soldiers knew of Tembris, he had drawn the attention of those who might recognize him. Soldiers from the Church of Light were already marshalling in the courtyard of their barracks. The highest-ranking officer in the garrison, Elder Keines, was talking to a messenger.

"If no one has returned from the battle, how do you know what happened?"

"There was a red light in the sky--half the town saw it," the messenger boy replied, breathless. Even though the Elder was somewhere in his sixties and had a wooden leg, the boy was having trouble keeping up with him. "It weren't natural, and the soldiers should've come back by now, less something's happened to them."

"Hmm." The Elder turned to the now-assembled row of troops, who saluted him. He returned the gesture crisply, and raised his voice to address them.

"Our mission today is primarily an investigation. In the last few hours, strange phenomena have been observed in the western fields. Some say they are signs that an ancient evil has returned. If this is the case, it is our duty to find and destroy it. I urge you to use great caution in this mission: we will not be alone in investigating this disturbance, and we must avoid stirring up trouble with our neighbors as well as preventing dangerous rumors from being spread. Light go with you all."