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Post by Faljere D'ael Elderbaden on Oct 18, 2014 22:59:24 GMT -6
The night was dark as the monk ran, his eyes watering from the wind and his breath ragged. The cold air was frightful and despairing, especially for one wrapped only in Celtic colours and the fur of a slain beast.
Even his leather scabbard against his back sent chills up his spine.
But still he ran as if eyes were watching him everywhere...voice speaking his name in hushed, spiteful tones. Wanting to hurt him.
Faljere!
"No....noo......noooo" he growled, looking away from the eyes that stared at him. That name...was it truly him still? What kind of man was he?
He fell to his knees, sobbing and angry, upon a cold stone porch. His eyes went dark before the voices ceased to sound.
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Post by feliciseinferi on Oct 20, 2014 2:26:05 GMT -6
Felicise was just leaving the fort, he had been given new sets of orders that he needed to follow as Payton was helping out with a night shift for watch, it was only after a couple steps out of the fort that Felicise noticed grunting, puffing and moaning. Adept in the dark, he focused upon his Sage Eyes to find not far from the fort a man laying upon the stone, without further hesitation he headed towards the man, letting out a loud wistling to the patrol in camp for help. As he reached the man, Felicise rolled him on his back and checked for his pulse , still there, he sighed and saw to gently wake him up:
"Sir, wake up, are you alright? Is everything fine?"
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Post by Faljere D'ael Elderbaden on Oct 22, 2014 20:19:39 GMT -6
His vision was blurring, and the air was dark and still. The lights on the tower didn't help in any way to calm the elf down. He'd been running for a very long time, from his past, from his present, and from monsters that wanted to kill him. Now, he was done. He wanted to rest.
"Sir? Wake up, are you alright? Is everything fine?"
He looked up to see a man with a bow and black robes advancing towards him, although most of his features were obscured by the light behind him that turned him into a silhouette. The elf quickly scurried to his feet and drew his dagger from his belt, although his hand quivered as he held it.
"Who--who are you?! What do you want with me?" he snarled.
Faljere.
He looked around for the source of his name being called out, but there was nothing to indicate where the sound might have come from. "Who's there?"
It's you. You're home.
"Home..." His blade dropped back down to his side as he began breathing slowly yet raggedly.
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Thea
Apprentice Roleplayer
Posts: 73
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Post by Thea on Nov 3, 2014 11:52:55 GMT -6
The storm had hit quite suddenly. Thea had barily the time to collect herself and her magic tools she was using and run inside. She had been working on the theater for the bard school that would soon take residence in her outpost. Yes, Sarea would be please when she came back to the looming tree tower.
Thea was accustomed to the storms at this point. She knew spirits would try to get into her home, old spirits who had once lived in the dark temple. So when she looked out a window she didnt even give a second glance to the figure on the ground. Though that was before she noticed it was breathing... slow but unmistakably its chest was moving up and down. The druid reached out with her senses and felt life. With that Thea rushed outside with no regard for herself, grabbing nothing to shild herself from the harsh rain. "Are you alright?" Thea asked. She knelt down to the figure, but recoiled when she saw his face.
Clanless...
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Post by Faljere D'ael Elderbaden on Nov 3, 2014 21:39:02 GMT -6
He looked up at the woman that just backed away from him, wondering where the man who was helping him had gone. Perhaps inside to assist someone, or to get this woman.
Her face held fear. A wise fear, he could tell. Almost as if she dreaded seeing him washed up on the steps of this new building. Her blonde hair obscured most of her face, but he could tell who this girl was.
"Water tribe...water tribe...water tribe..." he muttered as he climbed to his feet and started slowly walking towards her. "You...water tribe."
This certainly was Idina's friend, and that made him mad. If she was here, Idina had to be near, and he wouldn't let her see him like this. No, not after what they'd been through. He most certainly wasn't quite ready for that yet. And still, he was here by fate as if he wanted her to see him again.
"Homes...need...cold and wet...tired...running..." he muttered; at that moment, his legs collapsed and he fell towards the girl, limp like a corpse although still very conscious.
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Thea
Apprentice Roleplayer
Posts: 73
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Post by Thea on Nov 5, 2014 8:35:06 GMT -6
Thea knit her eyebrows projecting an air of hostility towards the elf. He did not seem harmful right now, but Thea remembered. Oh yes she remembered how this 'Clanless' had treated her friend, a friend she would even call sister. His cold hostility, and Idina telling her to leave, that she could handle herself...
Thea looked onward through the sheets of rain. Thats when she heard 'watertribe...' from the elf. What was this he spoke of? Thea did not know of any 'watertribe' but it seemed familiar some how, like a lost memory of good times that had ended in the breaking of character. Thats when he spoke again, and collapsed. That was it! Thea knelt down to the elf again, put an arm around him and lifted the Clanless. "You're going to have to help me out a bit," she said, still supporting him. "Common, one foot in front of the other."
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Post by Faljere D'ael Elderbaden on Nov 9, 2014 20:05:18 GMT -6
The monk placed his left foot in front of the other, slowly at first and then increasing in speed. He was so tired from all of his running, all of his searching, and the cold that sent shivers up his spine he had been so unprepared for, especially lacking a proper shirt--or a shirt at all--and trousers no thicker than paper. His eyes drooped, but he remained vigilant.
What had happened recently was too much for him to fathom. First, he was the Raven, and apparently had been for a few weeks. How he'd taken on the appearance of his oldest foe was beyond him, but if what he was shown and told was true, then something was amiss. Then there was his chance meeting with Idina, who he'd been very worried about. After the removal of the Raven mask, he'd ran away to the west to clear his mind. He'd done that much, and the voices were never heard from again. Thinking that he might need to see how everything was doing, he'd remained in Wildgard city for a few hours, albeit not seen by anyone.
That's when he ran into Idina, and he'd frozen. She was distressed, and rumours had been circling around about her doing awful things that betrayed the trust of others she held so near to her heart. When, however, he discovered that the Church was where she'd supposedly killed a man, he knew something was wrong.
And yet there was nothing that he would be able to do to help her. Had he shown himself, he'd have fulfilled the Raven's plot, and he'd surely have lost not only his life but the life of others. He knew that there was nothing he could do until he knew more and was better prepared.
The citizens of Wildgard knew him as the Raven, but he knew the truth, and while he was unaware of who had been wearing that mask for years and who had turned up just now, he knew it wasn't him. And he knew Idina knew that he was innocent as well. He just hoped that she was still okay.
"Idina...is...she alright?" he murmured as he stepped forwards, still hanging off of Thea.
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Thea
Apprentice Roleplayer
Posts: 73
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Post by Thea on Nov 11, 2014 20:20:01 GMT -6
At those words Thea froze. "I thought you would have heard by now...." She almost whispered these words, she didn't even know if the Clanless had heard her.
Thea did not loose herself though, she lead the Clanless in and lay him on a sofa of soft branches and pillows. The druid brought blankets over trying to dry the soaked elf. Though she didn't speak a word, she shed soundless tears, their existence was the only thing that betrayed them.
Finally she spoke. "Idina is dead......" Thats when Thea lost herself, thats when she dropped to the floor with her hands on her face sobbing.
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Post by Faljere D'ael Elderbaden on Nov 11, 2014 21:48:55 GMT -6
Idina.
Dead.
Somehow, he suspected those words would fit together sooner or later, although he'd have preferred later, when she was old and ready for it. When she'd gotten ill of life and was ready for the next phase of her existence. Not at such a young age, with so much to fix and so much to do. Her engagement to Lila, ruined by the rumours. That had to be fixed. And he still needed to find her and apologise. For the scars, for his insensitivity, for everything.
The monk leaned over, more quickly than he'd ever expected himself to be able to in his sleep-deprived state, and forcefully grasped Thea's clothing at the shoulders, dragging her up to face him properly. He could see her face, puffy and red with tears. Disgustingly human and emotional, but with good reason, and soon, his face was a mirror of hers.
"What happened?!" he screamed. "I demand to know! WHAT HAPPENED?!"
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Thea
Apprentice Roleplayer
Posts: 73
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Post by Thea on Nov 11, 2014 22:57:44 GMT -6
Thea screamed when she felt the elf seize her. Memories of being grabbed roughly before resurfaced from suppression, flooding her mind with terror. Younger, more impressionable, terrible things happen to those with secrets. If people found your secrets they could manipulate you, if a girl dresses as a boy... "No! No!" She yelled out at the monk, elf, man, one who wasn't there. She couldn't tell what was real anymore. She saw her sister die before her eyes, the her brother, she felt the hatred. Her father reaching for a book, something she had never seen, before he was slaughtered. Thea heard her mother scream in pain as they cut off her legs and arms before stabbing her clean through the heart. Then she saw Idina... crucified against a tree...
Thea felt the power again, like she had once in her life. 11 years old, 19, there was no difference now. There was only her emotion; almost like it had been in the Fifth Kingdom when she had killed the litch. Thea held her hands up covering her face, and from her fingertips came ice.
The grip on her was cold when she looked up. Thea slipped away from Clanless's grasp and scampered back towards the other side of the room. He was frozen, completely frozen. Thea hid behind another couch, head against the wall. She was sure he would kill her, she could already hear the cracks in the ice begin to form. It didn't matter now. Nothing mattered.
(OOC: Thea used Icy Blast, Clanless is frozen for 30 seconds....)
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Post by Faljere D'ael Elderbaden on Nov 12, 2014 21:46:41 GMT -6
The monk didn't know quite how to respond to his new casing of ice that formed around his arms, spreading all over his body. Part of him felt like getting angry, and charging at her with his fists ready as soon as the ice cracked. Part of him wanted to remain where he was, speaking soothing words to her while remaining cheery. And yet part of him just wished to remain in the ice for as long as he could, not having to worry about what he would do next.
That part of him was new, and it felt that way because he was scared to see what the new--the very real Faljere--would do upon being released. How he would react to the situation. It could be dangerous, or quite the contrary, but there was no way of telling. This was his first experience as Faljere after going through weeks and weeks of mental torture and maddening voices, but now that he felt quite sane again, there was no telling how sane he was.
The ice finally began to crack around him, and he could feel his skin taking its first new breaths once again. Realising that in just a few seconds he would be completely free, he began to wiggle his body left and forth, stretching his digits until the plates of ice finally crumbled off him and smashed to the ground.
Finally free, he felt his mind wavering, as if it were making a last-minute decision. That decision was acted upon, and the elf began to feel cold tears again in his eyes before striding towards the druid, whimpering in the corner. She looked so weak, so frail. Afraid to be hurt when her friend had just been. He couldn't get the idea into his mind properly that Idina was dead. That just didn't work for him.
He knelt down beside her and placed his arms around her like a caring father would comfort a crying child, cradling her as he stroked her blonde locks. He cried with her, beside her, understanding her pain as he felt that same pain. So this is who I am... he wondered to himself.
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Thea
Apprentice Roleplayer
Posts: 73
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Post by Thea on Nov 15, 2014 22:45:06 GMT -6
Thea nearly recoiled when the Clanless put his arms around her, but it was gentle and kind. For a moment she didn't know what to do, then she leaned into him and cried. He stroked her hair and cried with her. Who is this man, she wondered. He almost seemed familiar in the way he held her, but the druid couldn't place were from. So she continued sobbing for her lost friend, until she had no more tears left to give her eyes.
Idina, Thea thought. Forgive me, I've been a fool.
Thea finally looked up at the elf, she had no idea of time, if any or all had passed. "She meant a lot to you..." Thea then hiccuped (as one often does when they have been crying for a long time). "I can tell... If I'd payed more attention, I might have been able to do something... She mightn't have died... I still don't know why she died."
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Post by Faljere D'ael Elderbaden on Nov 15, 2014 23:52:15 GMT -6
"Sh...I'm sure you aren't the one to blame," the elf soothed, his nose brushing against Thea's. Her hair was so soft, unlike his own that lay upon his shoulders. It had been so long since he'd felt something so pure, so immaculate. Surrounded for the longest time by only anger and self-loathing, he'd forgotten what innocence and emotion felt like. But he remembered Idina, and although, once upon a time, he felt only impatience towards her, his relationship with her was the closest thing he had to feeling alive again.
Was that the old him?
No, it was him. His past. One of the many. But he still had no idea who he was now. No clue as to what he was supposed to do. Remain a stoic warrior of the highlands? Return to being a pacifistic monk? Connive his way out of traps and unruly situations? Something new that even he knew nothing of?
One thing was for sure, someone needed to be on his side, and with Idina gone (if what Thea stated was true) and him now being a fugitive, there was an obvious option sitting right with him. He only hoped that the decision he was about to make would be a smart one. If he revealed his name before he even knew who he was, then perhaps that could lead to some troubles along the road. What if he hurt her? To think that the true him would be a despicable person made him sick. He'd already been caught wearing the garb of the Raven, although he didn't understand how or why he'd even wear the clothing and mask of his greatest foe, it was enough to make him hide his identity once more. Perhaps he truly wasn't a good man, even perhaps unstable in the mind, using masks to hide that fact--no, to highlight that fact.
"Thea," he said, surprising even himself, "there is something I must show you, and you must promise not to inform anyone else. If I stay here, I must remain in complete secrecy, and that secrecy comes with this. You must trust me fully."
With that, he began rubbing his left cheek with much effort until the wet pastel he'd used to cover his marks since the day that he'd announced himself as the Clanless once more was gone, revealing the green tattoos that once identified him as an Elderbaden clan member. He then pulled his scraggly blonde hair up as if it were in a high ponytail; although his undercut had grown out a lot, it was still a different length from the rest of his hair, making it an obvious physical trait.
Hoping she'd recognise something, despite the lack of proper garb, he tried his best to force a smile. "You know my true name, although who I really am remains a mystery still to me."
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Thea
Apprentice Roleplayer
Posts: 73
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Post by Thea on Nov 21, 2014 10:16:21 GMT -6
Thea wiped her eyes on her tunic looking up at the Clanless. Upon seeing the uncovered green tattoos... she knew. Even as he pulled up his hair, Thea almost shook her head. Almost not wanting to belive what was becoming so clear. The friend she had all but given up on. He had left her with a note, he had left her for war. Though then he was soft spoken monk, more content with his books then anything else in The Fort. Not the ruff man who stood before her today, who had grabbed her so forcefully and had little if no tact. He had a different feeling around him then when he had shown her books of monsters in the library by the tree. The library whos books she had been moving to the Dragon's Reach, so they wouldn't be filled with dust anymore. So they would be read.
Many times Thea had wished she would have added him to the Catalyst Crystal, so she would know what had happened to him. So she could understand why he had been gone for so long. But her conection with the Catalyst Crystal was broken, and thus her bond with the Lord MacNeil. She kept the necklase though. Thea kept it as a reminder of those golden days.
"Faljere?" This question was whispered almost silently, as if wind had taken it from her lips and moved it trough the room. She reached up and touched his face, as if not believing what her eyes told her was true.
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Post by Faljere D'ael Elderbaden on Nov 22, 2014 20:41:13 GMT -6
Faljere, yes. The name he'd run away from his entire life, not daring to figure out its true meaning. So simply was it spoken now by Thea, as if naught but a syllable used in mundane life.
He let his hair fall back onto his shoulders and attempted to smile, but so long had it been since his lips spread this way that when he tried, it looked almost as if he was terrified and also puckering for a kiss. Realising how foolish he must have looked to the druid, who normally saw him only as the aggressive barbarian he'd presented as before, he let his limbs go limps and he slid to the floor.
"Faljere is my name, Thea, but do not think that means that I'm the same man as I was when I left all those years ago. To be completely honest, even I don't know what kind of man I am right now. That quest I went on...the one where I took Idina with me...that was to the Celtlands, in order to undergo a spell treatment for my state of mind. At the time, I thought it would get rid of all my regrets of the past," his voice was wavering between angry, solemn, and wise. "It truly brought all my regrets together, making me realise that they were not regrets, but rather who I was. So, in a way, now I am all of those Faljere's, whilst being a completely new one. Still to say, that Faljere has yet to truly reveal himself. Right now...it's almost like a reset stage. In wait for what happens next."
His eyes wandered all over the room, thinking of the tower that had been erected and how he'd never even noticed its existence. His mind had been all over the place, far too focused on important matters to consider a new structure. For almost a year now, his mind had been set on himself, the Raven, and Idina.
Just thinking that name made him swallow in upset, still unable to accept that she was dead.
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