Lives gone lost. Paths divide [M]

[Medievarad]

Seething ontop of a pile of corpses. Blood streamed down from the heap. Ontop was the single man and his cursed bmade responsible for this. Sitting on what they had killed. Bandits apperently thought they were a match for a fully armored dark elven knight. Such a bad judgement call. Mist sighed slowly. He didn't want a bloodbath like this. He merely wanted find Wild. He rubbed his chin. Felt the sharp stubble that had appeared because of a lack of shaving. Even after more than ten years, he hadn't given up.

Mist looked at the corrupted blade. The enourmous eye staring back. The two mentally communicating. "I refuse to believe she is dead. If she is, then I'll be searching untill the end of my days." Was what he concluded as he pulled the blade up. "So be it. I failed. I have to repent." He sighed as he pulled out thebsame rough cloth frequently used to vover the blade. And thus, he started wrapping the corrupted sword up once more.

[Wild]

Mir... It felt so strange to be here again... Wild walked slowly towards the ruins of what was once her childhood home - the charred ruins of her village. The fire that once had torched down these village huts had now burned out, but the ruins they left behind were still here.
 
For so many years she had been away from home - kept away by the men who kidnapped her, placed her in the orphanage and made her their slave. She had been forced to steal and lie, forced to fight and to run away - all the things a true Dark Elf should never do. But she had no choice if she did not wish to perish like the other children.

Her former Masters had tried to see her hanged when she no longer wished to steal for them, but luckily she had been rescued by an elf called Kilarhas. He had offered to teach her to become a ranger like him. It had been a better choice than the life as a thief, so she accepted it.

This was her first journey without Kilarhas, and it brought her to this place. As she came closer, she was shocked to find that she recognized the forest and the mountains in this area - and when she came to the charred ruins her dark eyes filled with tears as she recognized her former home. Of course it didn't look much like a home anymore - and the elves she had counted as her family were dead and gone.

A puddle in the grass showed her reflection. She had grown since last she was here. Then she had been a chubby little child with braids in her hair, dark sparkling orbs and a big smile all over her tiny face. Now she was an average tall, slender woman with pale skin. Her hair was long, dark and silky and fell in light curls down her back, and she had a smile that slowly lit up her face. The medallion she had been given by her parents when she was born was around her neck, the last thing that tied her to her parents.

[Medievarad]

Footsteps. Distant but present. He knew he was close to the charred remains of Mir. A plcae he occasionally returned to in his search for Flavia. More goblins and orks to desecrate the ruins? In the village, the middle, two makeshift graves were. They seemed to be recent. It was the least Mist could do. Bury the people that gave him his life back.

Whoever was there, defiling their graves, would pay. He stood up and charged fofward to the village, storming through the charred remains, the enourmous corrupted blade raised. A loud battlecry accompanying his charge. Yet he pulled his blde down infront of the woman. Missing her by a mere inch.

He could not believe his eyes. She had grown. But still he recognised her. "W-wild."

[Wild]

Wild was kneeling in front of the two makeshift graves. She had gathered a bouquet of beautiful flowers and placed them on the graves. In the Mirion tongue she spoke to her parents, pleading their forgiveness that she had not been able to return before now. It had been impossible for her to come sooner. The gravestones felt cold and lifeless against her hands, and she knew that her parents would never speak to her again.

As she stood up to leave, she heard hurried footsteps behind her - then a loud battlecry. The girl whirled around to face whoever was attacking her, her face pale by shock and surprise. Luckily the attacker pulled his blade down in front of her, missing her by a mere inch. 

The shaken girl looked up at him when he said her name, her eyes scanning his features as if she tried to remember who he was. After all, she had been a 5 year old child the last time she was here. As her memory started working, her face lit up in a slow smile. He looked older now, more experienced, but those eyes would never change.

"M-mist?"

[Medievarad]

Mist's grip around tjlhe corrupted blade released as he looked at what would be Wild. Only after a brief silence, he stepped forward and hugged her tightly, the mithril armour clunking. "You're alive.. I knew it.." He whispered. The eye on the massive blade on the floor staring at Wild.

[Wild]

Wild looked up at Mist in surprise, a small gasp escaping her lips when he hugged her tightly. Placing her hands gently on his shoulders she gently returned the hug, confusion clearly on her face.

"But I don't understand," she said. "The last time I saw you, you were laying on the ground in a puddle of your own blood. I thought you were dead, Mist. How can you still be here? Alive?"

She felt something... or someone... staring at her, and she lowered her voice to a whisper.

"I think we are being watched...."

[Medievarad]

"I.. I thought so too.. I was dead. But right as I was about to llheave my last breath. I heard a voice.." He pointed at the blade. At the enourmous eye. "This thing.. We made a deal." He shrugged slowly. "A small price. I began to search you.." He broke the hug, leaning back. "You've grown.. A lot."

[Wild]

Wild listened when Mist said he had been dead, or at least thought he had been dead when he heard a voice. Her face paled when she saw the enormous eye at the blade, wondering what kind of power it was. And what had it done to Mist?

Then again - she was glad to see him again - the only living person from her childhood so far. Whatever this thing was it had her gratitude for keeping Mist alive for the 13 years she had been gone.

"What did the voice tell you, Mist, and what kind of deal did you make with that thing?"

The anxiety in her voice was caused by worry that he had gotten himself into something he could never break free of. Having spent 13 years of her life in an orphanage where she was forced into a criminal life, she had learned a lot about shady deals.

"You found me, obviously. I am here..."

She studied his face when he broke the hug, a small smile washing over her face for a brief  moment by his comment that she had grown. "I am 18 years now," she said. "You have grown too. You were a young teenage boy when I left. But now you are grown to be a man..."

It was merely a simple observation. A look at his face was enough to tell her that he had been through a lot. And yet his attack when she just arrived showed that he was still as skilled with weapons as always. "What have I missed when I was gone?"

[Medievarad]

"It would grant me power and survival.. It merely wanted to see the world. If I needed more, it was prepared for another deal." He chuckled slowly. "It can hear and see everything I do. Speak to me through my head."

He smiled slowly. Sadly. "I did.. At last." There seemed to be several new scars on his face, aswell as a rough stubble on his chin. There were bags under his eyes, indicating a severe lack of sleep. "I still am a man." He chuckled slowly.

Tapping the enormous skull that decorated and armoured his shoulder. "I have slain a dragon, among other things."

[Wild]

Wild looked worried when she heard how the eye would grant Mist power and survival in exchange for seeing the world, hearing and seeing everything he did. What was this eye, and where did it come from? What would be the cost the next time Mist needed a favor?

She was of course glad that he had survived, but what did the eye really want? Was it good or was it evil? Had not her mother once implied that hearing voices inside the head was a sign of insanity? Or of evil spells and curses?

"I am glad you survived, Mist," she said, trying to show enthusiasm over seeing him again. "But please, be careful with that thing. You never know what it will demand the next time it grants you a favor. Will you be ready to sacrifice what you love the most if it demands it from you?"

She knew she sounded suspicious now, and she felt a bit bad for speaking to him like this after being parted from him for so many years. But still, she only did it because she cared. He had been one of her best childhood friends, always keeping her safe. She owed him this much.

It was a relief for her to hear that he was still a man - that the eye had not turned him into a slave or something even worse. But for how long would he remain a man? The bags under his eyes worried her, revealing that he didn't sleep very well. Was the eye responsible for that too?

"You look tired," she said as she looked him over, trying to find any signs of serious wounds that needed to be taken care of. "Do you need to rest? I can keep watch while you are resting... I know how to use a weapon now."

His next words made her jaws drop. "You have slain a dragon?" she repeated, looking up at him with big, round eyes. "Our sacred friends and allies? Our keepers of ancient secrets? But why?"

Her shock was understandable. In her childhood, the Mirions had always seen the dragons as signs of peace, of luck and of good fortune. They had even had dragon-riders. For a Mirion to slay a dragon was unthinkable. But Mist had slain a dragon. What had happened, and why?

She remembered her father's words about the changelings - ancient creatures that had slight similarities with dragons, but not quite the same. They were of another species, and the sound of their screams could bring a man to insanity. Could it be one of those Mist had killed? She knew that not all the elves in her village could see the difference between dragon and changeling, and when they did it often was too late....

[Medievarad]

He nodded slowly at her concern. "Ofcourse I will be careful." He said with a faint smile, picking up the blade again, starting to wrap it in the loose cloth again. He understood why Wild was concerned. Even he was. But. The creature atched to his blade never disturbed him in his sleep. Never forced him to anything yet. He knew soon a time would come. And he knew his thoughts were heard.

"I haven't slept properly the instant I started looking for you. Perhaps now I will be able to sleep peacefully." He chuckled weakly.

"I tried to converse with it first. Paying my respects and asking for at least a chance to apologize for entering his territory. Yet. He didn't feel like it.. Thus it became a situation of kill or be killed." He took a deep breath. "Even amongst the most noble of beings, there will always be evil."

[Wild]

Wild looked up at him as he picked up the blade, starting to wrap it in the loose cloth. She was glad she was not the target of that blade, as she had seen Mist fight before. She was glad he had not used that blade on her moments earlier.

"Thanks for recognizing me before you used me as your personal training dummy," she said, trying to joke away the fact that he had almost attacked her before he saw who she was. "I don't feel ready to die just yet..."

She looked concerned when he spoke of not sleeping properly after starting to look for her. "13 years without proper sleep?" she exclaimed. "You must be exhausted. Go have a rest where you can find it. I can stay near you and keep watch..."

She listened as he spoke of the dragon-like creature he had killed, his attempts of conversing it first. Her brows furrowed in worry when she heard about the evil among the most noble of beings - their beloved dragons. For how long had this taken place, and how did it happen?

"We need to speak to the dragons again," she said. "After you have rested. We need to find out how far the evil have spread and how this could happen.... But first you need to rest. You look like you could fall asleep right where you are standing."

[Medievarad]

He nodded. "Indeed. I hope it was only this one." He said with a slow sigh, looking at the graves. "I buried them when I was revived. Sworn to find you again. It was the least I could do after losing you.." He grit his teeth as he ducke d downinfront of the graves. "I should've fought by your side, old man." He said, his voice laced with bitterness. He cursed himself for allowing this.

He stood up straight again, looking at Wild. "I can rest later.." He protedted, raising his hand as he put the sowrd on his back again.

[Wild]

She nodded when he hoped it was only this dragon that had been corrupted. The changelings made the lives of the Mirions a living hell, and their only natural enemies were the dragons. If the Mirions lost the dragons as their allies they would have no protection against the changelings.

"I will speak to their leader when I have the chance," she said. "I know where he lives. I just needed to check the village first - to see if there were any traces of survival. Are you the only one who got away - except from me?"

She was grateful that Mist had taken the trouble to bury her parents when he was revived. She wasn't certain she could handle to see their dead bodies, even if it had been 13 years since they died. It would have been too painful.

"Thank you for burying them," she said quietly, kneeling down beside him and placing her hands on the gravestones of her parents.

Mother, Father, it is me, Wild.... she thought, hoping their spirits could hear her. I am home again. I can't promise everything will be fine, as our village is nothing more than a pile of ash, but I can promise that I will try to make a new start. Hopefully for all of us.

Her thoughts returned to the presence when she heard Mist's voice filled with bitterness, shaking her head softly when he spoke of losing her.

"You didn't lose me, Mist," she said softly. "You saved me. If you hadn't intervened, that band of orcs would have killed me. I managed to get away because of you. But I'd rather wish we had both gotten away. I am sorry I ran off without you..."

She looked around the village, trying to find out if there was at least one place they could use as shelter, for rest and for staying while they tried planning what to do now.

"Is there a hut or something where we can stay while thinking of what to do next?" she asked Mist. "I don't like being out in the open. It's easier to be spotted by enemy eyes. Besides, I am starting to get hungry. I can make food and then we can both eat and rest for a while."

[Medievarad]

He nodded slowly. Looking at the graves as Wild payed her respects. He bowed his head in respect. Remaining silent to not disrespect. "I failed.. In protecting you. I died.. Failed my mission." He took a deep sigh. "But we ha e to rebuild Mir.. It is what they would have wanted. We shall contact the dragons. Ask for their advice.."

[Wild]

Wild listened to Mist when he said he had failed in his mission, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You didn't fail, Mist. It is thanks to you that I survived the attack of the orcs. You succeeded, but on the cost of your own life. I am sorry I had to leave you behind. If anyone has failed, it is me, and for that I am sorry..."

She looked wistfully towards the charred remains of the village when he spoke of rebuilding Mir. She knew he was right about her parents. But on the other side, was there really anything left to rebuild? All she could see was charred ruins - not one whole hut in the entire village.

"Are there anyone else still alive here?" she asked without much hope in her voice, remembering how many dead bodies she had seen on the day of her departure. "It is a poor start if you and I are to rebuild a village as the only two survivors.... Even if I know my way around a toolbox, I am not as strong as you physically. It will be a lot of hard work..."

She nodded when he spoke of contacting the dragons. "The Dragon King lives around three days of travel away from this village," she said. "I was only a little girl when I last was there, but I still remember the way."

[Medievarad]

He put his hand on hers. Shaking his head. "I was not allowed to die there. I had to protect you. When I was lying there. I failed to do so. You had no duty but to stay alive. Wich you did, fortunately."

He shook his head with a bitter sigh. "No one.. I looked around but found no one that left any trace of survival. " He sighed slowly. "Perhaps with the help of the dragons. As defense while we salvage and build what we can. People will flock to us."

[Wild]

Wild looked up at him when he shook his head, warm compassion filling her heart when he blamed himself from dying when he fought to save her life. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, did not wish to see him sad. For her he had always been like an older brother - always there to protect her.

"You are not a servant, Mist..." she said, her dark eyes brimming with tears. "You are my brother - my mother and father took you in and adopted you, remember? Nobody are allowed to tell you what to do or give you orders. You are a free man and entitled to do as you wish... You have done nothing you need to be ashamed of. You fought with courage and glory to save me, and I survived thanks to you."

She lowered her head sadly when he said he had not seen any trace of other survivors around the village. It was sad, really. Mir would have been a beautiful place, if it had not been for the random band of orcs trampling down the village and setting everything on fire. But Wild was not afraid of the orcs as long as Mist was here.

"If the dragons are unwilling to help us, we could also leave Mir, you know," she suggested gently. "Start a new life elsewhere perhaps? Somewhere without the painful memories of those we have loved and lost... You deserve something better than spending your life on charred ruins, big brother...."

[Medievarad]

Theme: Stand Up

He looked at Wild. It was painful. So bitterly painful. Whatever her words, he was told to protect her and stand by her side. He didn't see that as a servant bowing to it's master's will. No. It was his desire as a free man. "And a big brother is supposed to protect the younger.." He said, failing the duty he had as a warrior. As a protector and as a brother. He looked down on the floor, his ears lowering slightly. Something Wild no doubt had seen in the past. Normally, Mist's ears stood upwards. But whenever he was sad, angered or any kind of these negative emotion, they pointed downwards.

"They will help us.." He nodded slowly. "And if they don't.. We'll have no choice but moving on."

[Wild]

Wild looked up at Mist with tears in her eyes when she noticed his ears lowering slightly. Like the loving baby sister she was, she wrapped her arms around him, trying to give him the little comfort she could, in spite of their tragic situation.

"You did not fail, big brother," she said, nuzzling her cheek against his as a warm teardrop trickled down her cheek. "You did everything a big brother could to protect his little sister. Father and mother would be proud of you. I know they would!"

She ruffled his hair friendly as she gave him another hug. "You look tired, big brother," she said friendly. "And I have had a long journey to get here, so I need to rest too. What do you say we find some place to sleep, and get something to eat. And then, by the break of day, we start our journey towards The Valley of the Dragons?"