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[Sola]

Glade 44 4623

After their long and arduous journey through the desert, Luna and Arkash finally arrived at Amoren. Luna felt a sense of relief and excitement at being back in a familiar place. The sights and smells filled her with a comforting warmth, despite the weariness in her bones. The city seemed even more vibrant and lively than she remembered, with the bustling marketplaces and the chattering of merchants filling the air.

As she made their way through the city streets, Luna turned to Arkash, if he was still with her, and began to give him directions to her home. "Just a few more streets down, and then we'll be there," she said, a hint of anticipation in her voice. She couldn't wait to return to the familiarity and safety of her own space. Luna then looked at Arkash, her eyes filled with curiosity, and asked, "What's next for you? What's your next move?"

She had a feeling that he had big plans in the works and she had a desire to be a part of them, although there was only so much she could do because she had commitments to the Vier she was having an affair with. She wondered if she ought to introduce Arkash or if it was best to keep him away. They were headed to her own home so she supposed there wasn't any risk, for now.

"It's that one over there," she'd say when her house was visible. That way he'd know exactly where to look if he needed help. "It's not much, but I spend most of my time at other locations."

Created by Moop!

[Arkash]

Night time in Amoren didn't do much to ease the weight in the Rathor's chest. It was there that they often plucked their victims and conducted their vile acts. Everything from torture, to murder, to artistic dispersion of a person's anatomy with blood magic as the catalyst.

Never again would they have days like that, never again in their world.

Arkash was quiet through the whole journey to her home, every bump and rock along the cobbled road only further deepened the void of their silence, and exemplified the void within.

Arkash was so far disconnected from the world around him that he scarcely noticed the fuel gauge on the chariot he'd been riding non stop for the past few days. His eyes fell upon it as Sola spoke up, and lingered there before he looked up to the home she indicated, then eased his foot onto the brake to bring the machine to a halt perfectly adjacent to the front door.

The engine continued to thrum and throttle as he idked for a moment or two before he turned the key and let the quiet emptiness of the night reclaim the void that the absence of the engine had made. He sat there for a moment longer before he exhaled deeply and pried his eyes from the road ahead to look at Sola.

"Your house is lovely," he assured, and managed a brief smile with his lips alone. "What's next?" Arkash sighed. "Well I need fuel, the needle is pretty close to the E here." He said with a tap of his nail on the gauge. "And E means empty," he reminded before he turned around to grasp the handles of the chariot.

"...My friend in Boghadar," he began. "Was executed for possession of a forbidden magic."

"He was too careful. He couldn't have slipped up. It can only mean that he trusted the wrong person with his secret... And that person must have betrayed him." He exhaled deeply before he let go of the handles and leaned back in his seat. "So, now I need to find who is responsible and strip them of their limbs, gauge out their eyes, rip out their tongue and stitch their fucking nose and ears shut so that they feel nothing but a senseless void for the rest of their miserably short life!" He gradually escalated in force the more he spoke until he ended his threat with a crescendo of rage.

"What's next for me is making sure that whatever Candor-loving cunt that killed my elf is brought to justice, true justice." He explained with something of a snarl to the curl of his nose. "Peasant, veir, treveyn, I don't care. I'm going to destroy them." He exhaled deeply at that, then shook his head."

"Don't tip anyone off on that," he warned. "You're the only one who knows my intentions, so I'll know it was you." He then looked at the house they had stopped beside, then scoffed a laugh. "I guess it wouldn't make much sense for you to betray me after showing me where you live, would it?" He exhaled deeply, then held his head with a free hand. "I'm sorry, I'm going to be a mess for a while. You can leave."

[Sola]

▬ι═ﺤ

Luna was totally oblivious to Arkash’s bad mood until he opened up to her. She had so many other things on her mind. How was the entente she was having an affair with? Had anyone broken into her home? Was she experiencing a bit of mageblight, or was she just overthinking the feeling in her head? What kind of ways could she expand upon her magical abilities? Every time she saw Arkash in that lizard form it made her think that there must be some untapped potential when it came to mentalism. But she didn’t have a teacher, which sucked. She’d gotten her hopes up so much and it wasn’t exactly easy to find an experienced mage willing to teach.

Luna frowned when he finished speaking then said, “I didn’t realize you were so broken up about it. I suppose it’s never easy to lose a friend, I just assumed you two were in more of a employee/employer relationship.” As she spoke she would try to latch an invisible tether onto Arkash’s brain and try to make him a little happier. She had no intentions of viewing his Mural lest she see some kind of horrific lizard image but she did want him to feel better.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come inside and take a little break? Or we could go meet an Entente I know and see if he can help you out? You got to get fuel so we probably have to look around for some anyways, unless you know a place.” She didn’t bother trying to convince him not to seek revenge. She had people of her own she wanted to slaughter, she just wasn’t violent enough.

There was another reason to keep Arkash around, and that was because he mentioned forbidden magic. If he did stick around she’d ask, “what’s this about forbidden magic anyways. Is that related to the tools you found in the desert?”

Created by Moop!

[Arkash]

Arkash couldn't help but scoff a laugh as Luna regarded her obliviousness to his loss. "...Quite a bit more than that," he clarified. He did smile a little below those cold eyes as the tether worked its magic. "We were... Well," he began, somewhat bashful, or deliberately evasive. "We... Shared a bed most nights, shared all our secrets, desires, and aspirations with one another."

He sighed. "We'd started off as just that, an employer and employee... To some degree. But there was something... Different... About him, different from anyone I've encountered before. We were alike in a lot of ways, and I recognized him through all the bleakness and... Tides of filth that assailed us... Just as he recognized me." Arkash fell into silence at that, as though recognition had struck. As if to relay that he had indeed caught himself, he looked over his shoulder to the woman after wiping his eyes, laughed a breath, and shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm telling you all this."

He fell into silence again when she offered him to come inside, pained gaze lingering on the woman before he flared his nostrils in a deep exhale and shook his head. "I shouldn't... I have so much work to do now," he reasoned, then paused again when she mentioned that she had an entente in her back pocket.

Still as the grave, Arkash stared into the cobbled street before he finally nodded his head. "Alright," he agreed. "I can't pay you for the board, but I'll show you a few more handling techniques for that new gun of yours for your space?" he offered.

With that, he looked out onto the deserted streets with a look of concern, then promptly wheeled the chariot into a nearby alley before he surrounded it with crates and barrels of assorted sizes to hide it from public eye, then made his way into Sola's home.

"Blood Magic," he clarified as he looked out the window of the first floor, then stepped away as if to avoid his appearance to the outside world. "It's as vile as it sounds; the manipulation of one's life essence as a tool... Or weapon. Degare trusted me with the knowledge that he possessed that mark; I can only guess he trusted the wrong person in my absence."

Arkash walked the length of the hall as he inspected the walls, trailing a finger along the surface as his wandering eye measured the space within the dwelling. "It's forbidden all across the world, and here, expressing interest in it alone is enough to have you executed... It disgraces Ulen."

He stopped there, then looked to Luna. "The kit I gathered in the Badlands is a Sundering kit; a world magic like Necromancy that consolidates the power of a mage into a small crystal, then strickens an object of the Sunderer's choosing with the power of that mage. Sundering is usually heavily overseen by the government of whatever nation its practiced in, but this kit is unlicensed; free. The relics we create won't be traceable."

He laughed a moment then and shook his head. "I'm sorry, that's not even what you asked. They're not related, not at all."

[Sola]

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Luna saw some similarities between herself and Arkash. She too had someone important she shared a bed with. She wasn’t at the point where she would give much of a fuck if MIguel died though, seeing as though they’d only known each other a handful of weeks. Perhaps it was foreshadowing what was to come. She frowned and kept channeling happiness into Arkash, though she certainly slowed down the intensity of it. The last thing she needed was him finding out and going lizard-shit on her.

She figured that her magic was getting him to stay at the very least. She made her way inside and it’d be pretty obvious that her home was nothing impressive. She hardly ever stayed here so it was very dusty. She busied herself setting up a cot on the floor while Arkash talked. When he was done, Luna said, “no need to pay me, I can’t imagine charging for… this. ” she waved her hands vaguely at the house’s interior. “Anyways, I don’t really feel like playing with the gun right now. Just thinking about it reminds me of being in that raider camp”

“It’s quite alright to open up by the way. The simple fact that you know I’m a courtesan has the power to ruin me, if the right people are told. See, I’m pretending to be a Veir’s niece and spend some days at his house. As you can imagine, if anyone important ever found out I’d be right fucked.” She felt it only fair to give him some reassurance that she wasn’t going to be tray him.

“Blood magic…. hmmm…” she continued, “can’t say I know anything about it. Just the name of it does indeed sound vile, though I can do plenty of vile things with my own magic so I can’t judge it on that alone. If it’s forbidden, then it must be powerful and I assume very risky. Sad that I’ll never get to meet him and ask him to teach me.” At this point she didn’t know whether it was a world magic or not, so she assumed it was. She assumed it was some kind of offshoot of necromancy.

“I suppose now that you have that sundering kit you can make something to get your revenge. Any idea who might have betrayed your friend? They’re probably going to want to get you too ya know.”

Created by Moop!

[Arkash]

Not once did the disguised Rathor turn his nose up at her abode. Though he appeared to measure the space with his eyes, his expression reflected no disgust or contempt for the living space. Instead, his focus lingered on the points of access, the free space within, as well as any obstacles to block his path between points. In his head, he prepared and choreographed some unseen event, an event that might not come to pass.

He smiled a little when she dismissed his offer of payment, then nodded a little. Eyes still lost in his evaluation, he didn't look at her until she dove a little deeper into the situation, as well as her own circumstances. He rose a brow at her from where he stood, eyes cold, calculating.

"Right fucked indeed," he agreed. "You're a good person, Sola," he assured with a gentle smile. "Don't let the Entente ruin you." His words came with a degree of sincerity, a significant weight to them that was difficult to look past. "And of course, as your ally, your secret is safe with me."

Of course, he couldn't help but scoff a laugh at her interest. "If anyone else heard you say that you'd be on your way to the gallows quickly; there's entire orders of people committed to the destruction of everyone who affiliates with that magic. Vandikar are hunted relentlessly." And yet there he stood. "The magic is feared because it weaponizes the life force of the Vandikar's foes, every drop of blood spilled spells doom for the enemies of the mage." That was frightening to consider, but Arkash smiled a little more when he continued. "Oh, but that's not all. Some Vandikar can even use blood as a means of fueling other magics they possess; they can cast without strain or mageblight so long as they have enough innocent people to sacrifice."

It was hard to say why he shared so much with her. Perhaps because they'd already been through an entire camp of raiders together? He didn't think too deeply on it; it felt right.

"Maybe," he agreed before he leaned against a nearby wall. His wandering eye was apparently satisfied for the time being. "...If my foe is an especially powerful mage, I might need some sort of Relic to fight them." His tone was light, as though he was speaking hypothetically. He smiled again, eyes on the floor while he reminisced behind his eyes. A soft hum returned his gaze to the woman before his smile fell flat.

"Not really..." He began. "He was always doing his entente dealings and had a number of people that he spoke with regularly. I couldn't name five of them, but I never forget a face." He laughed then at the suggestion that they might come after him too, only for that laugh to die very abruptly. He appeared to think for a moment as though some sort of realization had struck. "...No-?" He paused, squinting. "No, surely not- But..." His lips pursed as his smile withdrew. His arms crossed as he looked through the woman with a furrowed brow, still deep in thought.

"There's... Possibly two that could have done that..." His eyes came to focus once again, firmly affixed to Luna's eyes. "There's another Veir I know that wants me dead more than anything, didn't sleep with this one though," he assured. "He's partnered with a general from the Halamire for the sake of eliminating me, I don't think it's too far a fetch to think he removed Degare from the picture to weaken me...? Do you...?" He asked as though she had the answers.

[Sola]

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Luna smiled at his praise. She appreciated that he used her old name too. She honestly felt like it was okay to start using that name again, because she was finally confident enough to take down people with mentalism if need be. She doubted the people who killed her parents would even care that she was still alive, seeing as though she didn't know who actually did the killing.

Luna listened closely, noticing that the magic was most likely not a world magic given his in depth explanation. She then said, "yes, it sounds almost too good to be true. I presume it's a personal magic then? I'm not sure if I ever want to risk initiation again. If I do, it'd have to be for something truly special, something that really vibes with my style." She tapped her chin in deep though, considering all the magics she knew about. There was only a couple she'd previously considered. Pyromancy being one and summoning being another but even those were not really needed in her life. No, mentalism had served her well so far, though she knew she would eventually need something with the ability to defend herself and/or pack a punch. Not every situation could be handled by talking or telekinesis.

Later, she said, "that sounds fairly plausible. You'd probably best be getting rid of all the people that hated you and your friend. Maybe I could make a trip and try to do some digging? I can be quite persuasive, and I doubt they'd really suspect anything of me. That is, unless rumor that I'm associated with you has spread."

Created by Moop!

[Arkash]

He nodded absently to her question. "Oh yes, it's a personal magic," he clarified. "The initiation is... Rather brutal. The aspiring mage is subject to a thousand cuts inside and out of their body, all at varying depths and widths." He smiled a little, reminiscing. "I even know someone that collapsed a lung during the initiation; thankfully, I had my kit handy-" He paused for a moment, then scoffed a laugh. "Yes, Degare was always fond of taking on new protégés... Though I suppose, not anymore." He frowned.

He merely raised a brow at Luna's eagerness. "I'm not sure if blood magic is your style, you know. You emptied your stomach at the sight of a headless man.... Regardless, it's very illegal pretty much everywhere."

Then came the Rathor's realization, his explanation of Raphael and the Hunter, and all the bewilderment of such a connection. Luna thought it possible that Arkash's demons had come back to haunt him. To that, he crossed his arm over his chest and supported his head with his other in deep thought.

"Trust me, I'd love to..." Was all he said on the notion of killing all his enemies.

Then came Luna's offer to do some digging, to which Arkash looked up with a glint of light in his dark eyes. "...Really?" He asked, almost in disbelief. "You'd do that for me?"

"That's... Dangerous. You'd be putting yourself in the line of fire for my sake." To which, the woman reminded him that their presence together had probably been missed. "Well, I suppose there isn't much of a rumor to go around..." He pursed his lips in thought, brow furrowed. "The only people still alive that have seen us together are the Valran and that one Veir from Degare's estate... We've uhh, done a pretty good job of covering our tracks." But that didn't mean they'd be safe forever. "I can't ask you to do that, but if you do, you can't even remotely mention that we know each other or you're going to put yourself in danger."

With his warning said, he exhaled deeply through his nose as he stepped away from the wall and looked down at the cot she'd prepared. "For me?" he asked with a point of his finger to his chest.

[Sola]

Luna shrugged and said, "why not? I got stuff going on but I'm sure I can squeeze at least one more trip in this season. I know nothing about these people but you have a way of being involved with rich people, and those have always got something to give... Or take." She figured she already made a good amount from this adventure. How much, was hard to say. It all depended on whether she kept the gun or not. As fascinating as they were, she was rarely in a situation where she was trying to hit something that far away. And if she was, an arrow would do the trick without a cumbersome reloading process.

She yawned. A big unwomanly yawn that spoke to how tired she was. "Yeah, for you. I'll let you figure out all the planning. I'll keep the 61st thru the 69th free. You can send me a letter, or pick me up if you need me quick." She didn't really have anything big coming up that she was aware of, but she didn't want to lock herself to plans that might never happen.

She walked over to her bed then undressed. She flourished her hand and her dirty clothes balled up using her telekinesis then flew over to a pile in the corner. Then she got into her nightgown and laid down on her bed. She didn't feel embarrassed at all. She didn't know if that was going to even be possible around someone who turned into a giant lizard on the regular and slept with the same gender.

[Arkash]

Arkash rose a brow when she asked 'why not'. "Well, because it's dangerous," he said with confidence. Indeed it was. The tower Arkash had fought was a challenger of immense strength; it wasn't often he encountered a foe that could land a hit on him, but the Hunter had pummeled him to broken bones before Arkash could even close the gap with the general. In that context, her willingness to help was admittedly endearing.

She designated the cot as indeed his, and Arkash nodded in affirmation. "Thank you," he said as he knelt beside the prepared bed. "I'll see what I can find too and come up with some plan. If my suspicion is right, then..." He paused as she freely undressed before him, pressed his jaw tightly, then clicked his tongue against his teeth. "...Then there's a lot we need to figure out. My enemies are smart, driven, and well-funded."

He didn't say anything else before he let his heavy body fall back first into the makeshift bedding. A deep exhale flared his nostrils as he stared up at the woman's ceiling. He hummed toward the end of his deflation, drew a slow breath, and spoke a brief "thank you," once the room was quiet.

In silence, he lay awake. Thoughts many broiled behind his cold, sleepless eyes and churned like the tides of a stormy night. They folded over one another and collapsed repeatedly, only to rise once more in a new chaotic structure and repeat the process. Timeless patience lined his eyes while he listened to the rolling thrum of her heart, and waited for its pace to slow to the throes of sleep.