Aden Vigil
Order of Lumen
General of the Order of Lumen
Clear and Calm as Always
Posts: 108
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Post by Aden Vigil on Aug 24, 2007 16:19:40 GMT -8
Even Aden needed to get away from the people forcing plans on him to the other people bugging him about things that he didn't need on his mind. Of course he had no one to visit up around here, but there were places he always went to or places he wanted to visit. Even places that had such dark rumors around them or the idea of a corpse rotting itself away in the bottom of a lake like this. "Sacred Lake...If a body was thrown in here then no longer is it sacred." He muttered to himself. He was alone, well, he figured that he was alone...
Really though, what person would think to sneak up on an elf (Aden's ears were quite visible) who obviously had his weapons at the ready. Actually, who would do so on the General of the Order of Lumen? The rumors of how hard he trained himself had spread no matter what he had tried to do, but it wasn't exactly like he cared. He would gladly fight and show some Knight that worked for Osirus of what he could do and that no mercy was given to those under the command of such a dark character.
The straps were indeed around his wrist though and he would gladly charge up to a man, given it being some one he could beat, but still...Maybe it was the near silence of the area around him, but the joy and optimistic behavior he put on for other people had already cracked and he was simply thinking and being who he was.
He sat on the bank of the lake with his weapons laying in the sand and the water lapping at his bare feet and the tips of two blades. The bangs that fell below his shoulders were braided for once seeing as he did not want to fuss with them seeing as he had come here in the rare moment of wanting near silence to himself. Which amazingly was what he was getting. All that could be heard was the lapping of the water on the shores, the animals around him and his quiet breathing. Maybe he had gotten away from the noise just so that he didn't have to stand others bugging him about such obvious things.
Those aqua green eyes that had become a trait well know about him focused on the water, but not on a single spot or even on a single area for a minute. He didn't like doing that for the fear of loosing himself in such heavy thought that he wasn't able to notice the people around him and so that he was able to keep himself at the ready just in case one of King Osirus's men did decide to come around here. He had been hearing rumors that they thought that the 'resistance' - as they called the order - was hiding up here.
Of course, it wouldn't have surprised him to see such that type of human up here any ways because they were always invading and leaving a horrible trail of slaughter where ever they decided to go next. The whole idea of it all sickened him to his very core. He couldn't stand killing that was done for fun. Actually, he couldn't stand much killing because it all sickened him. That was why he never hunted and while fighting a foe he would rather let another man kill him once he had taught him a lesson instead of delivering the finishing blow himself. It was his nature and it had been since he had lost his stomach after killing a man during a mission that had been on his side.
No matter how many years ago that had been he still was unable to forget it and move on. Maybe it could be blamed on the sharp memory of elves, but then again, it could also be blamed on the sheer sickness he had felt after the discovery of his mistake. Aden had been forgiven quite quickly since it had been a complete accident, but in his mind he had been unable to forgive himself. That had been part of the reason that he had started to train himself so dangerously and so often. Many other memories had started that.
Aden shook his head in attempt to rid himself of the idea of getting lost in memories. He also quickly stood and remained still as part of his vision blacked out from the quickness of his movement in standing up. As soon as he was able to see clearly again he started to walk along the bank. His soft leather shoes were in a small bag he was carrying across a shoulder and his weapons remained cased, but dangling from his wrists no matter the quietness of the surrounding area. Actually, that said quietness only strengthened his alertness though no one could see the tense muscles of his body.
Those same piercing eyes surveyed his surroundings as he moved along the bank of water. His feet left barely a mark in the sand from how gently he pressed his weight into the ground. Maybe it was the fact that he had the unnatural grace of an elf and it was also from all those moments of stealth training that had changed the way he walked. Either way he made such a gentle trail that if a person were to be following him it would be quite hard to keep track of the marks, more so because he would randomly walk on the grass near by for a long stretch of time to divert a person who might be following him. He didn't even know if a person was indeed following him, but he was never careless.
After all, Aden could never trust the intentions of another person, pure as they be.
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Post by sky on Aug 26, 2007 15:03:36 GMT -8
A low growl. The occasional snarl. A howl from far away.
A wolf stepped out of the shadows, its golden eyes bright and eager. It had smelled others. Their scent was not strong, but it was there. He was alone no longer.
Gleeful at finally being able to have companionship, he let out a howl of his own. One that called of lonliness, of a strong desire to be with another. It called for a location, it asked where others were. The furred creature lowered his maw, ears perked and waiting for a reply.
None came.
"Over the hills, to the west," came a voice, soft and low. The wolf turned calmly, recognizing its own language. However, its ears flattened as it saw who approached. A tall human, brown hair falling into his amber eyes. The shade matched the wolf's own.
"Fear not, brother. Hakhniska alvo," he said, raising a hand slowly. The creature relaxed visibly, although he still remained wary.
"Hakhniska alvo," he replied in return, with a bow of his head, recognizing the greeting of another hunter. "How do you come to know the predator tongue?"
"I am a brother," the tall human said simply, casually putting a hand in the pocket of his breeches. "Kin are over the hills to the west. A full day's travel. They will welcome you."
The wolf shook his heavy pelt, walking over to lightly lick the human's knee. "Thank you, Brother," he said, looking up at him with something like awe in his eyes.
The human just nodded, walking on. The wolf did the same, heading west. The human headed south.
He wore the typical garb of a middle-class citizen; loose-fitting brown tunic, tan breeches. He had several daggers tied to his belt, and a large staff strapped to his back. In truth, this was a glaive. But the blade was hidden ingeniously in the wood, ready to spring out with a twist of the wrist. It was a design originally invented by Devien's race, and passed down through the generations. It allowed him to have a dangerous weapon, but not attract attention with it. Many people held staves.
Few had glaives.
He found his quarry walking around the lake, looking around warily. Such a general, he thought with a small smile, walking forward with the grace of a cat.
"General Aden," Devien called softly, just allowing his voice to reach the general's ears. "I have been trying to find you for quite some time."
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Aden Vigil
Order of Lumen
General of the Order of Lumen
Clear and Calm as Always
Posts: 108
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Post by Aden Vigil on Aug 26, 2007 17:32:48 GMT -8
Aden had figured that some one was near him, but he didn't get the feeling that he should have been alarmed so he made no move to ready his weapon. He turned as soon as his name was called though and the person he saw was Devien, one of the people from the Order of Lumen, "Oh, g'day Devien." He said as he stopped his movements that were carrying him away from the man before him. Actually he moved up to him with his ever relaxed, but proud strides that he had started to walk in.
"Hm? I'm sorry if I've been a bother to find. May I ask why you have been trying to find me?" He asked speaking in fairly calm and relaxed voice. He was obviously still wary of their surroundings, but he had put trust into the officers in ranks below his and he did rely on that trust, no matter how many people said otherwise. His eyes remained in contact with the other's because he felt it was easiest to see other's intentions when they were bad this way.
"Is there any trouble I need to know about?" He asked raising an eyebrow toward the other male. Devien didn't seem tense or nervous, he just seemed like he had truly been searching for Aden. Of course Aden had no idea why he was needed, but he was glad for the break in the silence. It had come at a time when he had just started to fall back into that dark pit that had become his memories and in the middle of times like this he didn't need to do that.
Even if the Order had no set plans at the moment he didn't want to loose himself the way he obviously knew would happen if some memory popped into his head that led to another. More so if it was a memory involving Jarleth. In the past few years he had taken to blaming himself for Jarleth's death because he thought that if he had been stronger then he would never have been separated from him.
Of course he was not training here, which many people could consider odd for Aden to take a trip like this without thinking of training, but he wasn't. He was here visiting and he found this lake calming and beautiful. That was bad though because it made him feel quite nostalgic and he didn't want to feel that way at this moment.
He looked at him and said, "Any news on King Osirus's plans?" He was interested in maybe intercepting a shipment or something, but as of right now he had nothing to go on...sadly.
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Post by sky on Aug 27, 2007 16:23:35 GMT -8
Devien shook his head, sighing. "No, unfortunately," he said in his low, soft voice. "We've heard that King Osirus may have one of the Four Swords of legend, but these reports haven't been confirmed yet. We're still waiting on one of our spies, who said he would investigate the matter deeper."
He ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair, his smooth amber eyes able to see clearly for a moment. It was beautiful up here; the lake was well-secluded among the trees, with mountain ridges just visible in the distance. Aden had chosen a good place to escape.
"I actually sought you because I thought you might want company," he said truthfully, stuffing both hands in his pockets. "You've seemed a bit distracted of late. Anything bothering you?"
It wasn't exactly like Aden to try and escape his duties, although perhaps 'escape' wasn't the right word. Dev knew and understood that even leaders had to get away from it all once in a while, but Dev didn't see Aden as the type of leader who would do that.
Maybe he just hadn't noticed.
He hesitated, hearing a wolf's howl from far, far away. I'm coming, I'm coming...it called.
A faint smile tugged at the edges of Dev's thin-lipped mouth. There was nothing like being in a pack, belonging to something much bigger than yourself. Best feeling in the world, in his book. The Order of Lumen almost felt like a pack in and of itself.
But it wasn't exactly the same.
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Aden Vigil
Order of Lumen
General of the Order of Lumen
Clear and Calm as Always
Posts: 108
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Post by Aden Vigil on Aug 27, 2007 17:02:59 GMT -8
"Hm...One of those four swords now? If that's true then there'll be unimaginable trouble for us. " He put on a smile before adding the next part, "Nothing we can't handle." He said speaking optimistically. His eyes raked over the water as he fingered the straps of his weapons, "Which spy is that?" He asked curiously. He liked knowing who was out so that he wasn't surprised if anything went wrong.
Aden heard the question, but it took moments for him to figure out a way to answer, "Not much, just the normal strain of things I wish I could have prevented. Also I haven't been around here in a long time and I just thought I would come for a visit." He looked from Devien toward the water and then up at the trees. He was finding small ways to distract himself. "What about you? You knew a break as well?" He asked trying to keep the topics pleasant.
Aden wasn't the leader who would just run off, but he did need a break and he was well known to go off when he needed a break. His eyes focused on Devien again as he managed to push those dark memories off again. He didn't understand why he was bothered by them so much, but he wouldn't strain another because of himself.
"It's weird..." He started softly, "That such a beautiful place is rumored to have been the spot where Osirus dumped a body." He didn't think of Osirus as a King even though he usually used the word before the name, but in this instance it seemed weird to put a word that seemed to be aligned with dignity and a sense of justice along with something so vile as dumping or hiding a body so one wouldn't be blamed with murder.
He turned and started walking, but he continued to speak, as if to show he wasn't just walking away, but he was inviting Devien to join him on a walk, "It's quite sad really, that a man who has taken such a position should be so vile. He'll be dethroned soon..."
'I hope...'He said walking slowly.
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Post by sky on Aug 29, 2007 16:17:47 GMT -8
"Not sure which spy it was, you know how they are," Dev said flatly, distaste barely concealed. Spies were not his favorite people. "They tend to remain stealthy even when they're reporting to authority. Can't trust anybody in that job, I guess."
He yawned, stretching upward. "A break? Yeah, something like that. People tend to annoy me after a while. Getting away means that I get to retain my sanity for a little bit longer," he said with a wry grin. "Don't get me wrong, we've got great people and all that...I don't know. It just seems overwhelming. I can see why you come up here."
He fiddled with his belt, following Aden's gaze out to the water. "A body?" he asked quietly, more to himself than to Aden. "Interesting. How long ago?"
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Aden Vigil
Order of Lumen
General of the Order of Lumen
Clear and Calm as Always
Posts: 108
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Post by Aden Vigil on Aug 30, 2007 12:53:54 GMT -8
Aden listened to him speak as he noted the obvious distaste for spies, "That's a shame, but they just live for themselves. It is quite nice of them to help, but quite painful to set up as a matter of fact." He wasn't speaking bad about the people that helped, but about the profession they chose and the fact that it was hard to inlist them, per say.
Aden chuckled softly at Devien as he said, "Overwhelming is the perfect word to use. I would use it myself as well because thats is exactly how I feel. Pairing my training habits along with guilt I feel of loosing an Order member along with the simple strains of being the leader is not something that can be handled daily." He said with a shrug as he looked at the water.
"As for the body I believe it was the body of King Osirus's father. It was how he came to be the ruler of the land and I just think that it is truly sad about that. How a ruler's position could be passed down through family lines is beyond me."He said speaking quietly as he looked at Devien. He met his eyes as he ruffled his hair slightly.
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Post by sky on Aug 30, 2007 18:06:21 GMT -8
"The man must be mad," Dev replied quietly, meeting Aden's gaze and thinking of his own father. A flawed man, yes--but weren't they all?
For the first time since he had joined the Order, Devien wondered what his father was doing right now. He had wondered about his sister, of course...his beloved sister. But not his father. He had given Dev his blessing when he ran off to join the Order, although his sister despised him for leaving them.
"The body must have been dumped a while ago then," he said, "if that's how he came to power. No use recovering it, it's probably bloated beyond recognition. Not that we could do much with a dead body anyway..."
A hawk cried of a scent in the distance, over to the north. Devien listened closely, hearing the bird repeat what it smelled: "some blood, dead, smell blood, human...small meal, no fight."
He turned to his general. "There's trouble in the north. Human blood is being spilt, although it isn't a battle." Hawks generally loved battles, because there was so much food. Hawks were hunters by nature, but also scavengers when they needed to be. And plus, on the battlefield, all food was fresh. If there had been a battle, Dev would have known immediately. One hawk would transmit a message, and they would come in droves--along with ravens and crows, condors sometimes too.
"I know we're on break, but do you want to scope it out?" he asked. He itched to get there. Although he was a hunter by lineage and nature, hunting your own kind was taboo in any animal culture. The cannibal--since animals, in contrast to humans, only shed blood for food--would immediately be brought down by all other animals. And so, continuing the animal tradition, Dev sought to bring down Osirus' knights. Human-hunters, so to speak.
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Aden Vigil
Order of Lumen
General of the Order of Lumen
Clear and Calm as Always
Posts: 108
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Post by Aden Vigil on Sept 7, 2007 13:34:16 GMT -8
Aden watched his expression carefully as he sighed softly, "I wasn't thinking of recovering the body. It would be useless to blackmail him with because he'd probably take pride in showing something so disgusting to the public. It would just enforce their fear of him." He sighed softly as he continued moving around.
He listened to him speak and nodded, "Sure, no wonder I felt such a foreboding feeling while I was walking around." Aden had never been that elf that listened purely to nature or that even focused on it much. Sure, he had been that elf a hundred years or more ago when he had run through all those areas looking for his best friend, but not now. No, he just couldn't go through with it now.
Too many memories would be brought up. Which was not what Aden wanted.
Aden did pick his speed up slightly as he started to feel a disruption more now that it had truly been pointed out to him. He felt the sudden feeling on tuning in to nature pushing through him as he looked around and started in a direction that he felt it coming from. "I think it's this way." He said softly. He was glad to have something to do, anything to keep him from becoming nostalgic.
"As for being on break, when you're the General of the Order of Lumen there isn't such a thing as a break or Vacation, there's always a feeling of missing something or of being needed. I guess it's just natural." He said with a shrug as he slowed down for Devien.
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Post by sky on Sept 7, 2007 14:57:42 GMT -8
"Well-put," Devien said with a smile, taking out his glaive from it's sling on his back. A long, fire-hardened staff of wood, dark and smooth with use. It comforted him to have it in his hand.
The fight must have been nearby, for him to hear the hawk so well. Hawk messages normally traveled further through the air, not towards the ground. (It was a mystery Devien's people had tried to solve for years; why does bird-speak carry farther when you're up higher?) He wondered vaguely whether it was a town or a dwelling. The Knights of Osirus easily attacked people on their own, just as easily as they attacked entire towns. No sense of dignity.
He had to restrain the snarl that was rising in his throat with the bloodlust. The instinct had been instilled in him since birth, and he could make surprisingly-inhuman predator sounds when he wanted to. Snarls were his favorite, though he could growl and roar as well.
"They're close," he said, hearing dogs barking of intruders. Must be a town, then...or a farm.
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Aden Vigil
Order of Lumen
General of the Order of Lumen
Clear and Calm as Always
Posts: 108
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Post by Aden Vigil on Sept 7, 2007 15:11:18 GMT -8
Aden watched him and said, "Let's go." He took off at a run to find what the problem was. If it was simply Osirus setting fear into people by slaughtering them without reason then Devien would see a rare sight of Aden, one of those moments when he lost himself completely and when he felt like attacking and destroying everything that was against him.
It wasn't that pretty a sight.
Aden heard his companion snarl and he only took it as something he did. He knew that Devien was connected to preditors and he respected that because he respected nature as much as any elf, no matter how much he refused to listen to it and remember things that had tortured his soul in silence.
Aden dodged trees as fast as he could and soon found himself on a road. He didn't know how there was one so close to suppoibly a sacred Lake, but then again, Osirus obviously could care less for this lake is rumors were true so he shouldn't be surprised, but he was some how.
He turned to Devien, "Which way?" He knew he had ran, but he wasn't really focusing on Devien. He didn't even know if he had actually kept up with him or not. He surely hoped he had...
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