44th of Ash, 4625
Squeak, creak. Squeak, creak The squeak was the wagon's heartbeat, a steady, tired, unending rhythm.
Creak-thunk... Creak-thunk The heartbeat groaned in time with the horses' steps.
The ghosts of memories reeled across his mind's eye as the rhythmic squeaking interlaced itself throughout his idle reminiscing. With the sun shining above his head, his brown, sun-bleached hair began swaying gently in the soft breeze as the wagon continued its path along the road. Memories of his life span from the moment he left Grisic to finding his way to Jorikford, and ultimately, coming across the man who had changed his life forever. It had been a whirlwind since then, the idea that one person in a sea of thousands could alter his life so definitively. Regardless, that man, Taelian, had given him a piece of something that he had always wanted, a family. A family without the Griscian expectations, a family that could be what he made of it. A life that any man in the world would deem 'perfect'.
Two wagon wheels running over uneven ground caused his body to jostle just enough to break him of his reverie. Ford Edevane, a man from an influential family in Grisic, turned traitor after being exiled from the nation. He had lived in shame for so long that once again, he found himself delving into something new. His eyes scanned the area around him as his gaze found its way to a spot within the wagon, where his brown-booted feet rested. Here, his gaze drifted back into memory.
The pain and torture he felt when taking the serum, enhancing his body for a life that brought danger. This change was the first step toward the rest of his days. Initially, it only increased his height, bulked out his muscles, and gave him the strength of many men, where before there was only the strength of one learned man. The magnificence of the man that had been his husband, the strength the man had, had spurred Ford to hone his body, train himself, not to be left behind, not to be a burden to Taelian. His body had come to its peak, but even where he was the top of the food chain for mortal men, he was cut down in... A dream? ... A nightmare... An alternate reality... He couldn't stand a chance; he couldn't protect anyone.
...And in that pain, in that suffering, something was bestowed upon the man that went entirely against who he was as a Griscian. Ford had been branded, unknown to almost everyone other than those present, he was bestowed a lost magic that ingrained itself into him, a magic which he had been taught was the end of humanity.
In the years since, he had honed himself beyond mortal means; his body not only accepted the magic of Lucence, but it became second nature to him. Also at that time, things had shifted in his personal life. Taelian had found himself moving on, and although Ford was wrestling with his own needs and feeling like a failure at keeping his family together, he lost himself in his training.
Squeak, creak-thunk. Squeak, creak-thunk. Squeak-thunk.
The rhythmic sound had come to a stop, and the lurching of the wagon. The reverie ended, the voice of the man steering the wagon cutting through in a gravely tone. "We're here, son. I have to get the rest of the crop to the folks so it can be sold before day's end. Ford smiled and pulled the bag beside him up, and he heaved himself over the edge, his brown booted feet catching the dirt road. The pack, heavy, with a long, oblong item sticking up, wrapped in a dark fabric, was hoisted over his shoulders. "Thank you, and good luck with selling the crops."
A casual glance was given around as the wagon rolled off. The man's gaze lingered on the area, smiling to himself. "It ends where it began? Poetic..." His footsteps carried him toward the door, and when he entered, someone stopped him, asking his business, but froze after a while, realizing who they were stopping. "M-Mister Edevane, you..." Ford only offered a smile to the man. "I am here to see Eloise."
The man did not move. Eloise would not see Ford, but Ford was... Well, Ford was no longer the quiet, powerless man that first graced these steps all those years ago. "You can tell her I will wait until she is available if that is the issue."
In only ten minutes, Ford was escorted to the space where he had once had an uncomfortable meeting with her. As he was offered a seat, he took it, his larger body creaking against the wooden frame of the chair. Relaxing, he set his pack aside, his eyes falling on the teacup. That damned teacup. A smirking smile came to his features as he remembered how he hated that teacup.
Click. Click. Click. Click
The sound of her shoes prompted Ford to stand and bow his head respectfully to her. "Eloise." She remained stoic as ever, but there was something in her gaze that was not there before. "Mr. Edevane..." Ford's smile remained. "I will not take much of your time. Taelian will be on his own for a while; I will not be there for him, possibly not permanently. You know where he is."
Before Eloise could say anything, Ford placed an envelope, folded it, and placed it on the table beside the teacup. "I have already spoken with the Kyng; his debt is settled." Eloise stared at Ford in silence. As she did, Ford sighed. "He is a family man, but he wanders, as you know. I know you care for him in your own way, but..." As she stared at him, Ford began to turn but halted. Looking over his shoulder, his golden irises seemed to bore into her own. "...Use my family for your political game, Eloise... And I will return... And I will not be looking to have tea. "Good luck, Eloise. I'll visit when I come through Radenor again."
With a polite wave of his hand to her, he exited the Guild's hall and left with his pack on his back. A smile on his face, golden irises scanning the path, he began walking, pulling a map from his pack. He didn't have an exact destination in mind, but he had a nation in mind, one he had not been to in many years.
