79th of Ash, 120
The sun had set, and the moon had long since risen to shine on the world below. Its glow always comforted the young rath, which was helpful, as it often accompanied him on his ventures. Its light led his way through the dark of Lower Nivenhain's alleys and guided him to his mark on more recent outings. When he considered the moon, the empty loneliness that ached at his core was left forgotten.
The moon wasn't the only thing to fill that void, however. He looked upon her when he lowered his gaze from the celestial giant. Fayeth, the SIl'Norai that had taken him under her wing, taught him to see, think, and feel in the crazy world he'd woken into. She'd also guided him, allowed him to think without the constraints society had placed on him. It was through her lens that he viewed the world, and both agreed it was right.
She gazed upon the night sky in the howling winds while the two sat at the edge of the cut-stone pipe. Their conversation had long since fallen quiet, but it was a companionable silence, he believed.
Though it was cold, and Arkash had yet to fully recover from his blood loss, he didn't mind the bitter chill of the air around him. It wasn't as though they had anywhere better to go, anyway. The two had been without a home for quite some time. Though they sometimes stayed at Inns and he often hid in the underground bunker that was the headquarters of the Sawtoothed Renegades, they had nowhere to call their own. It was ultimately fine, but it did leave them separated for most of the time. There were so few like-minded souls in the world, it didn't feel right to be separate from Fayeth, nor her other half. Perhaps one day, they would find a way.
"You're staring," spoke the dranoch before looking to the rathor with raised brows.
Arkash drew a sharp breath at the realization, rubbed his new eye, then shook his head. "Sorry, jus' thinkin'," he explained.
"What about?" She asked with a hint of intrigue.
Arkash shook his head and shrugged. "Everythin', nothin'... just thinkin' of where t' go from 'ere, I s'pose."
Fayeth looked at him with a lift of her chin, then straightened her back. "What do you mean?"
"Well..." he started but before he could fully answer her question, the beat of black wings stole the words from his mouth. Snowflakes were kicked up at the pressure of the velsign's descent as he came to rest on the snowy slope ahead of the pair. Arkash watched as the armor-clad un-knight steadied himself, then began his approach.
It was Asmodei, the man that had taught him to walk again, to assert himself and exert force. His yellow eyes were lined with hope as the dark-winged giant lifted his helmed, then lowered his gaze to the rath. The man squinted, blinked, then rubbed his eyes as he gazed upon the lizard. "...Have we met before?" he asked, his voice flat.
Arkash widened his eyes, then looked upon the man with worry. Asmodei had forgotten him? How?! They shared so many memories over the past few months!
Fayeth scoffed as the man's mouth began to curl into a smile. "Don't tease him, Az," the dranoch warned with something of a disinterested scowl. The false argent began to chuckle, and the nature of Asmodei's question dawned on Arkash. He'd been pranked.
"'Ew jerk!" Arkash called in frustration from where he sat.
"Hey," spoke the velsign as his laughing came to a halt. The giant walked forward a pace, coming to rest about eye-height with the rathor. "Don't call me a jerk when you ran off and ditched us both," he declared with a tone of seriousness.
"Yeah well," Arkash started while he thought. What else had Asmodei done to offend him? "'Ew ratted on me t' Fay, so-" Indeed, that fact left him rather annoyed, but he ultimately understood.
"You know why, Ark. I was worried about you, what you might get into. So was Fayeth." Declared the giant.
The rathor nodded along. He'd already known why the giant decided to share their secrets, and he ultimately knew it was for the best. "...Yeah," he started as his gaze met the floor with a heavy exhale that saw his body fall lax. "Sorry, Az," he spoke in turn when his eyes rejoined the velsign's.
"I'm sorry too," returned the velsign. "Besides, everything worked out in the end, right? You even got a new arm and eye out of it!"
At that, Arkash reached to his left arm and felt around his elbow, where his stump used to be. There was a whole arm there now, and it felt like the original in almost every way. The muscles there were still a little tenser than he could remember, but they functioned much the same. His new eye was even better than the last, as his own eyes had trouble seeing far, but the new one allowed him to see for miles.
"I'd be lying if I said me and Fayeth weren't impressed when we caught word of that knight, too. Your acts became the talk of the town, so to speak-" Asmodei started, only to be cut off by Fayeth.
"-Don't encourage him either; he was killing peasants for the most part."
"Right... Yes, that's true. Arkash, we should focus our efforts elsewhere, on targets that will make a difference."
"I already told him, Az," Fayeth interrupted again. "He catches on fast, he gets it."
"Oh," Asmodei spoke simply, then looked between the two. "Fair enough, I suppose."
Arkash grinned a little at the two and shook his head. "I kill't 'im, too," he explained.
"Him?" Asmodei returned. "Malafor?"
The rathor nodded in response. "'Im an' 'is minions," he added. Well, one of the man's minions. The other was still on the loose somewhere. "'E 'ad me chained up afta' I kil't that Celebrant faw 'im." The rath lifted his claws to his neck, where he felt around the spot that the shackle should have been. "I wus stuck t' tha' wall faw a week..."
Silence fell between them until Fayeth nodded and spoke up. "Well, I hope you learned your lesson; don't trust weird old men in caves."
Asmodei shrugged. "A week chained up is a small price to pay for a new arm, let alone an eye to boot. Besides, you got him back. That's what counts."
The rath shook his head. "It wasn' 'im," he told. "It wuz a diff'run' maege tha' gae'me me arm an' eye back."
Again, silence fell between the three. "Two questions," Fayeth declared. "How did you escape Malafor's chains, and who is this mage?"
Arkash's mouth ran dry at the questions. He'd used blood magic to form a lockpick, then picked the lock open. Could he tell them he was a Vandikar? The elf and velsign alike were both illegal mages, but blood magic was extra-illegal. Could he trust them...? "I.. picked th' lock wiv me claws," he expressed, holding his hands out. "Afta' tha', I shot 'im an' stabbed 'im."
Asmodei laughed a breath, apparently amused. "Makes sense," he began with something of a dry smirk. "Doesn't matter how strong you are, a gun's a gun." Fayeth didn't seem as convinced, however, as she furrowed her brow to glare and nodded. For now, she accepted the rath's answer.
"The maege's naem wus Stephan, e's part'a th' rebellion... Oh, an' 'e used Sigilic Pyre-mancy like 'ew, Az." Asmodei appeared surprised, eyes wide with shock. Fayeth turned a shade paler than she already was. "...He's relly freakin' strong wiv it, too; nearly blast'd me in 'alf wiv 'iss laza'."
"He uses glare?" Asmodei asked with his pupils narrowed to pinpricks. "...Arkash," he started, unsure.
'You must never see that man again, Arkash." Fayeth finished with a hint of panic in her tone. Arkash furrowed his brow, but before he could ask, she went on. "That man is extremely dangerous; he belongs to an order called the Black Remedy; Revolutionaries in Sil-Elaine."
"Isn' 'at a good thin'?" Arkash questioned. "We's Revolutionaries! 'E c'n 'elp us!"
"NO!" She snapped in a sudden jerk of her body. "ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Arkash reeled in shock while Asmodei moved to take her by the shoulder. The elf was shaking, he'd never seen her afraid, let alone as terrified as she was at that moment.
"It's alright Fay, he just doesn't understand," Asmodei began to reason. Fayeth hung her head and wrapped her arms around the armored giant. The velsign held her and sighed. "The black remedy is a band of revolutionaries that fights back against Dranoch, Arkash. If they knew of either of our presences, they'd hunt and kill us both."
"...Bofe?" he startled. "But youe're..." Asmodei was a dranoch too? he didn't look anything like Fayeth.
"I'm a deserter," he explained. "I joined their cause and fought in their war, believing it was my purpose, then abandoned them. They would treat me with as much scorn as they would Fayeth."
Arkash looked down then. He could never see Taelian again? Such a thought brought him great misery. Perhaps he could reason? "I could jus'... Not tell 'im about 'ew?" he offered with a turn of his claw.
"You want to meet him again," Fayeth spoke with a waver in her voice as she wiped her eyes. "Why? What do you have to gain?"
Why did he want to meet with Taelian again? "...Well There's a chance 'e might die anyway, fightin' summin' called a hunta'."
"A Huntsman?" Asmodei asked.
"Yeah, that!" Again, the two fell quiet. Arkash continued. "But, I wanna ask 'im to teach me magic. You bof kno' I'm done bein' this string a' piss weaklin'. I haet that 'ew bofe need t' carry me everywhere. So, I wanna learn 'is magic. Tha's all."
Again, the two exchanged a look. They seemed to consider what he was reasoning, and Arkash thought it was a good argument, even if it was just a fraction of the truth.
"Fine," Fayeth declared with a deep exhale. "But you must pretend you know nothing of Dranoch, the Black Sigil, or the Black Remedy. Understand?"
Arkash smiled a little; he knew he could reason with them. "I understand," he spoke simply, then looked to the moon while it hung in the sky again. Its light shined brightly on them that night, and its glow assured Arkash he was moving in the right direction.
Image source.
