Raising the Dead

[Xhu Du'Ran]

GASP

There was a fit of violent coughing for a moment, then another sharp gasp and yet more coughing. The gasps were painful, lungs screaming for air with every intake. It was machine-like, but the lungs were working. Or trying to work. But as dust filled his mouth and lungs, only coughing the air back out could keep him from choking. He was in a bad situation, that his body knew. But his mind was not there. The initial reaction of one's body to fight or flee had been activated. Or perhaps even, someone was working through him. Whatever the sudden cause was, he was alive. But he was not out of trouble yet. Even if the body was working, the mind was far from where it should have been. If it had been there, it would've recognized the situation he was in and might have been able to help. But it was far from where it needed to be.

He was buried. That much the body knew and recognized. He was buried and slowly being crushed. How long he had been under here, it wasn't known. But if he didn't get out quick, even his body wouldn't be able to function much longer. This very thought, the thought of danger and death, kicked his body into action. Adrenaline pumped into his veins and his limbs slowly came back to life. The feeling was absent to the mind, but the muscles received the blood flow and fed off of it. Fingers slowly flexed and extended, grabbing what they could. Then, the arms pulled, dragging his body forward a few inches. Rock scraped against bare skin and pain ripped across the body. But the mind was numb. The mind was numb and absent to these feelings. So, the body continued. Pulling and dragging, pulling and dragging in the darkness until there was air and light. But the mind was numb to time and space. He had no idea how long he had spent under there or how long it had taken him to drag himself from under the rubble. But now, the body was free. It could breathe. It could relax. And he faded into darkness once again.....

Slowly parting his eyes; at first he could see nothing but blurred dots and shades of black and gray. But soon, his eyes would strengthen and the blurred image of the night sky would appear to him. The stars above were faded and blurry, but he could now see that it was night and the sky was clear. But that was all his mind could accomplish recognizing for unconsciousness quickly came to him again....

When he next opened his eyes, it was early morning. He could tell now, because a few more of his senses had returned. The smell of the cold morning dew and the sight of a pale horizon told him it was only a few hours into the day. The temperature was frigid and he could feel it on his bare skin. There were only a handful of spots on his body covered. But by what, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that it was cold. And then, unconsciousness again.....

But this time, it wasn't his eyes that had opened first, but it was his mouth as an inaudible scream came from his mouth. The first thing he had felt was an incredible burning pain in his leg. But that was not all. A searing blinding pain in his head kept him from opening his eyes for fear that his eyes might explode right from his head, the pain was great. And even though he desired nothing more than to touch his body and find the source of the pain, he could not get his limbs to work for him. Fear of immobilization was quickly eaten away by the pain again. Of course, the cold sharp wind wasn't helping his pain. Shivers and shakes racked his body as the cold and pain worked him over. And soon, he could no longer take the pain as unconsciousness carried him off again. This time, he hoped he would never wake up.....

"Do you think he's dead?"
"I don't know...but he doesn't smell like a normal Shade...but he doesn't smell like a human either..."
"Well, what should we do?"
"Well, he looks dead and smells like it to. I say we take that box of his and roll his body into a pit," a loud gruff voice growled. The voices had all melded together, but that one voice had snapped him from his delerium. It was clearly the voice of a person in charge. For a moment, he listened carefully for the noise of the others. He could feel the vibrations of their feet under his back. There were at least five of them, one really large one. He guessed this was the leader.
"Hey...I recognize this box..."
"Yeah...I do too!"
"Hey, isn't that the famous medicine man's box?" The sound of heavy metal being scraped on could be heard. He knew they were trying to open the box. But he knew they would never it open. Only he could open that box.
"Ghh! Grr....I don't understand...it won't open..."
"Bah! Let's forget about it. He's dead and anything a dead medicine man has in a box can't be worth too much."
"But...Adoros..."
"Fine, fine...let's take it to a metal smith. They might be able to break it open..." came the deep rough voice again. He could hear someone pick up the heavy box. He couldn't allow them to take it. It had...it had....that's right! It had something very important in it...a sword...a very important sword...
Gathering what strength he could, he struggled to find his voice. Opening his cracked lips, he spoke in a very faint and dry voice.
"It...it won't open..." he whispered. For a moment, he feared no one heard him. Then a shocked breath.
"He's not dead! Quick! Fetch me Xeda!" As two sets of feet ran off, two more quickly ran to his side, kneeling next to him. But he could tell neither were the boss, Adoros.
"Oh man...we've gotta hurry...he's fading fast."
"What the hell happened to you?! What do you think happened to him? Do you think he was involved in the collapse of the temple?"
"Either that or he was here at the wrong time, wrong place."
"I don't know Adoros...what if he was involved with the collapse? He could be cursed or worse..." There was no reply from the man called Adoros. But his senses were fading fast. As three more sets of feet came back, the last thing he heard was the voice of a woman and a soft pair of hands upon him before he drifted once more into unconsciousness....

When Xhu opened his eyes again, he had been expecting some sort of terrible fissure of pain. Instead, he slowly focused his eyes and slowly allowed his senses to come back as no pain arrived. As his mind and body joined once again, Xhu slowly came out of his haze to find himself laying in a comfortable bed. This turn of events startled him as his eyes snapped open, sitting up quickly. Boy, was that a mistake. Without warning, a pain slammed into his brain, making his eyes water and his hands reach up to keep his head from exploding. Cringing in pain, he closed his eyes. A door somewhere opened and the sounds of feet came rushing over to his side, a pair of hands pushing down on his chest.

"Lay down! You're not well enough to be up!" Came a worried, but strong voice. Xhu was in no condition to fight back as the hands push him back into the comfort of the bed. Then, a cold cup was brought to his lips and his mouth forced open.

"Come on, drink this. It'll help with the pain." With the cold liquid forced down his throat, Xhu could immediately feel the effects of the bitter liquid. Deadroot and a hint of mint... His mind was slowly coming back. He could taste the ingredients of the concoction and he remembered what they were for. Deadroot would get rid of the massive headache and the mint would relax him. As the pain slowly ebbed away, he could open his eyes again. Sitting next to him a beautiful young woman. She looked at him worriedly.

"What did you go an do something like that? You've no idea how extensive your injuries are!" She said, shaking her head. Xhu blinked, then slowly raised his arms, seeing both entirely covered with bandages to his fingers. Frowning, he gripped the blankets around his chest and lifted to reveal his heavily bandaged torso and lower body. Dropping the covers, he sucked in a breath and lay his head back on the pillow, his hair surrounding his head like a pale blond halo.

"How long?" He asked. The woman shook her had and stood up, walking over to a small table where she grabbed a small platter loaded with medicinal supplies. Sitting back down on the stood next to the bed, she placed the platter on the bedside table and began to unwrap the bandages.

"Well, we found you roughly a couple of months ago. You've been in and out of consciousness, not to mention the fever comas," she said. Xhu sucked in a sharp breath. A couple of months!?

"What happened to the battle with Osirus and the Order? What's been going on?" He asked quickly. The woman shook her head forlornly as she took off a long roll of bandage from his arm. He could see a handful of large lacerations on his arm. The woman had done a good job of keeping them clean.

"Well...Osirus fell and the Order won. However...you'd think this would be good news, right? Well, Marcelle has gone insane...The hunting of Shades is even more prevalent now than ever. Rogue Knights and crude bandits are killing Shade all over the place. Anyways, Queen Marcelle has a few new Knights, but I don't think the war is over...I've had this terrible feeling ever since the collapse of the temple..." she said as she applied a salve on the cuts and reapplied the bandages. Xhu stared at the woman for a moment longer, then blinked and brought his gaze to the room around him. He was in a small room, the wood beginning to rot and crumble away. There was a familiar scent about the room.

"Lyara..." He muttered. The woman looked at him and nodded, pulling the blankets down.

"Yes, once we found you, we brought you here right away. You almost didn't make it..." she muttered. He looked at her again.

"So you're Xeda?"

"Yes! You sure catch on quickly!" She said smiling. She began to remove the bandages around his abdomen, moving methodically around his body. As he watched her, a thought occured to him.

"When you found me, did you also bring a large metal box with you?" He asked. She looked at him with confusion for some time, then snapped her fingers.

"Yeah! Let me call my brother. He'll bring it in for you," she said as she left the room. A few moments later, a young boy carried in the heavy metal container. Leaving promptly, Xhu felt relief flood him. He was sure nothing could get in or out. Everything was safe, including the Dolus Sword.

A few days later, Xhu was able to be up and about, helping Xeda around the house. Xeda lived alone with her brother. She and her brother were children of a rather known medicine man for the Shade. Her skills were impressive, but Xhu was still feeling a bit weak. But as he found out, helping her was keeping him from thinking about his total and complete failure to Bassette. But all this, and yet, he still could feel a bad presence....

[Soren Vigil]

Days.

It had been nearly that long since Soren had received his mission. He had also gotten those looks of pity from people about what he was going to do. Apparently, one sword was with the Order and the other sword was with a traveling man who had been last been spotted around the collapsed ruins of what was once a temple in the Southern Hills. He was also known as a medicine man apparently, so Soren had picked up a bit of medicine so he could claim to be an apprentice.

He spent the last days locked up in his room, changing forms at rapid paces, so he could try and make somewhat of an easier blend in. He could only guess that the Medicine Man and his box were either underground with the ruins, or they were being held by shade. Either way, it wasn’t going to be good.

After being told of his failure at acting as an apprentice of medicine, he switched to the Profession that he knew best. He sadly would use his purple tinted hair and the feminine bard appearance. He could pull that one off without a flaw because those who didn’t know him too personally couldn’t see through it. At least, he was thingyy enough to think that it was the case. Hopefully, he wasn’t wrong.

The most unknown factor of him was in the time he had been preparing for this mission, he had actually found a girl he liked. She was going to stay in the small house he kept away from the Knights and work like she normally would (figures that she would be a bard).

He stood there, bag slung over his shoulder as he looked over at the girl. She was sleeping soundly and he knew she would be gone by the time that he got home.

It was always that way, but he wasn’t one for heartbreak.

Soren left with a small smile curving the feminine face he had adapted. He had pulled his longer hair into a ponytail and had left bangs to frame his face. He had brought along fairly bright colored clothes and a small floute, the kind of Elvin flute that he knew how to play along with songs.

The object lay at his fingertips while two smaller blades, similar to his father’s blade’s rested at the bottom on his bag, but they were far from inaccessible. He could have made a grab for them and pulled them right from the bottom of the light weight traveling bag and he would be ready to fight, but they were hidden into the frame of the bottom, so that just looked like decorative supports, so that Soren wouldn’t be accused of lying about who he was…Even though that was exactly what he was doing. After all, being caught lying with no support would really put a damper on his life…Meaning, he would probably be killed.

He traveled for a long time, well, a long time for a man used to getting around quickly. He had put the extra energy into getting Elvin ears and even wore Elvin wove clothes from his few and far trips to his homeland.

He had made sure his smell was Elvin and that he appeared completely Elvin, but his excuse for wandering this way was almost horrible. It was a realistic one for bards traveled wherever they pleased, but he needed more reason to say rather than he was exploring Alyssus.

His reason was that he was traveling through to find his way to the Elvin lands beyond. He knew there was a way through this palce, but he hadn’t ever traveled this road, which made getting lost all the possibility and also a very scary one in his mind. If he was lost and was venerable to others, then his disguise could be broken earlier. He sighed softly as he clutched a necklace of his mother’s inside his pocket. It was small, but always on his person, no matter if he lied about it or not.

Traveling was hard, so far he had been on the road for a fortnight and he was already feeling exhausted. He was trudging by this point and his loud songs had turned so quiet, but always lyrical.

“Bun, do an die aiid he ao snhas jfos.” He hummed softly. When the sun dies, will it rise again

“Mia huia jaso sai sia jfoi ao sedh kab sjad doae foep ajdo ando foe jandefo akod nai dkoa kea id r sif aio f ja oid a me.” If I kept on singing to you, would my affections be returned, would I be relived?

The song was actually one of great sorrow for Elves, but the pure upbeat noise of it was rather quick and made it seem happier than it was, so he kind of gave himself that attitude. At nights, he would sit under trees and practice the floute, which was an intriment he was far from mastering.

If only other Knights could see how realistic he seemed, how real he was while acting like this. The bright colored eyes, the insanely colored hair and most other things that changed who he was from the Lieutenant Generald that they all knew and hated a lot. See, while acting as a Knight, he was a jerk. He was cold and cruel and didn’t care much for the people around him, but as a bard, his more natural Elvin appearance, he was someone kinder, softer and sadly, more feminine.

“Do aid do au dj ena si akdo ejao sadjoa eino jsdoie hai nde ao fdoi adjai djiae of adi diadb jaid inad nae idnas idan hea id ja aod ajida dkif a ii fsain d oa fhau fi ahfi ao d aj.” It’s the truth when I say I’ll miss you, it’s the truth when I say goodbye, but it’s a lie when I told you that I’d never be far away.

The song was slowly taking its wear on Soren and he was getting tired. For a while, he had been going by the name of Immuerdo, but most people questioned that Elvin name.

He had also been told to leave, to get far away from this place because he was coming up to a Village that no one wanted a traveler in, but he kept on walking.

He kept on singing as well.

Though, it took a while until he passed out from exhaustion under a tree near the village. He would be up and walking in a few hours, but he had been traveling for all of the light and most of the night for over a fortnight, he had always been singing and his voice was slowly becoming strained.

He was ready to sleep for days, but his body was trained to not let him do those kind of things. He would make it through this mission and would request a fortnight off to recover from this whole ordeal. Of course, that was after both weapons were destroyed. He also had no idea how to destroy the swords, but he would find a way.

He didn’t know how long he was lying there, but when he woke up, there were shades around him and he realized that he was in a lot of trouble, even if he didn’t care too much.

After all, he had pulled across the bard look as one slipped the floute from his hand and looked over at him. They looked at his squinting eyes and he smirked softly, “It’s a floute.” He said with a slightly horse voice, “An Elvin flute.” He finished as he silently cursed himself. He wasn’t perfect, most people would be this tired, maybe even worse off from the pace he had set up, but he wanted to get this done. He knew the problems that would happen if he hadn’t been able to do such a thing.

He pushed himself to stand, leaving his bag on the ground by his feet, but he was close to sleep again. They looked at him with wariness and concern, until the half-blood fell to the ground, unconscious, or fast asleep as he would rather put it.

He would not be happy with himself when he woke up.

[Xhu Du'Ran]

It was cold that day. Well, it was cold everyday in the Southern Shade lands. The Shade that had chosen to live here had adapted well, however. With Fall bearing down and Winter nipping at its heels, it was no surprise that the weather was foul and wet. It had been raining for a few nights now, but luckily, today it had cleared up enough for the people of Lyara to do some work. For Xhu, it was always rewarding to come to this village, despite the pain and sorrow these people felt. So many years ago, nearly all of the Shade had been slaughtered mercilessly all because they had tried to keep Nocens Atrum from coming back to life and keeping his soul locked away. They were doing the duty Lumen had given them and yet, they were only rewarded with death and sorrow. And yet, despite this, they worked hard to rebuild their town and land. Being cared for by Xeda and her younger brother had been quite an experience. They had shown him compassion and trust; to bring in a complete stranger into your house and then to care for you was not something people did a lot in these days. But Xhu wanted to thank them for their hard work. Xeda asked nothing more than to learn. She wanted to learn the ways of medicine and care giving while her younger brother simply asked for help on chores.

The thought of doing manual labor tickled Xhu, as he had never really done anything like that in all his long years. But he was determined to keep up on his promise. He tried to wash dishes and only ended up spilling the water; he tried cleaning clothes, but tore them instead. When he had failed at menial work, the only other thing he could do was chop wood. And so, he set his heart to chopping the wood.

With his sleeves rolled up, Xhu swung the heavy axe.

CHOP

CHOP

CHOP

The pile of freshly cut logs piled up, the medicine man working hard to quickly cut as much wood as he could before the rain returned. As he worked, Shade would smile at him, wave to him, but they never confronted him. Not that he would blame them. After all, he was neither Shade nor Elvin, so telling where he originated from was nearly impossible. And while the sharp markings on his face often scared people, it was his eyes that truly worried people. You could hardly tell what emotion he was experiencing by looking at him. As Xhu worked, he hardly noticed it when a large group of Shade were gathering around a dead tree near the entrance to the town. But when he stood straight to relieve the pressure on his back, he noticed people gathering more quickly. Then, as he wiped a single drop of sweat from his face, a young demon came running up the rough stone walkway to Xeda's house.

She ran right passed him, calling out Xeda's name as she barged into the small wooden home. Moments later, Xeda came forth, wiping her hands of subs on her apron. The young girl began to drag her out. Catching her eyes, Xeda shrugged.

"Someone has apparently passed out!" She called as she was tugged along. Xhu lowered the axe and pulled his sleeves down and slowly followed. When Xhu arrived at the scene, Xeda was checking over a young, attractive elf. Xhu came up behind her and slowly looked over the stranger as Xeda checked Soren's head for a temperature. As whispers echoed through the crowd, Xeda turned to Xhu, her hands clasped together.

"I think its just exhausted," she said. Xhu said nothing, but frowned and knelt in front of Soren. For a moment, he thought he could sense something odd about this person, but shook his head and stood.

"I think you're right..." Xeda nodded and together with Xhu, they slowly and gently lifted the young elf and brought him inside Xeda's home where her younger brother shook his head disapprovingly.

"Why do you always bring in these strays, sis!?" Xeda ignored him and instead brought him into the same room where Xhu stayed, placing him on yet another extra bed set up in the room. For a moment, Xeda and Xhu stared at the elf, then Xeda shook her head, walking out.

"Poor thing. I better prepare some food and drink...please watch over it for me, Xhu." Without a word from him, Xhu sat on his own bed, staring at the figure, waiting for the elf to make a sound or move.

[Soren Vigil]

When he had hit the ground, he hadn’t hit his head too hard, but the sleep/unconsciousness was dreamless. He only saw black and for him that was fine. He wasn’t the troubled man with the constant nightmares, but his dreams would distract him way too much. He wasn’t one for day dreaming much, except for the fact that he wanted to travel one day. He wanted to avoid the whole war and stay in this kind of look forever. He didn’t want to be the pawn on war forever and he certainly didn’t want to die in battle like most Lieutenant Generals did. He didn’t exactly want a family either. He was so hypocritical, but laying there, he had known that there was more danger to this than possible.

A crack of light hit his eyes and with a groan he cracked the still lavender eyes open. He glanced over at Xhu and groaned as he pushed himself to sit up. For some reason, he could never sleep when it was light out. He leaned against the wall near him while still sitting down. He shut his eyes again and rubbed at his head, not really wanting to open them and look out at the moment.

He rubbed his temples for a second before pulling out the hair tie; some of the pressure was released and he leaned back as the longer hair fell around his shoulders. It wasn’t too long, but it was slightly past his shoulders, making the way he held himself so different from the strong and manly way he held himself as a Knight. He pulled a single leg up to his chest and just stared into space. His mind was already working, but he wanted it to seem like it wasn’t.

“Kai me ia os oif oa iad jifsd aodj audia dfjiao oda iela osfnj oadb oady iehfd aodn oafu asid diaob aidn oadbha ifudb adhh iadh oadhh eofdb oadhe.” I will keep on surviving, people can’t push me down, one day it’ll all come back and we’ll stand up strong.

It was a small Elvin hymn that had been chanted when someone was defeated. He knew so many Elvin songs and he invented a lot himself. He kept his voice lyrical and light as he let his eyes finally focus on Xhu. He came across as confused, but he didn’t let himself come as weak. It was something he could never had done, even if the clothing and look make him appear smaller than he was, but that was only the Elvin blood speaking.

He looked over at the other for a second, staying quiet for the moment as he seemed to think about how to speak. He wondered if he actually was close to those distant Elvin lands.

“Where am I?” he asked with that lyrical voice he had adapted, but it was strained.

He knew that there would be a fair amount of days when he got back that he wasn’t able to speak. Maybe it would be the best for when he traveled to the Order because Aden was likely to recognize his voice. He rubbed at his throat, not even acting at the fact that it was sore.

“Am I near the Elvin lands?” He asked curiously. He wondered if his pack had been left outside, which was obviously his question, “Where is my pack?” He asked as he felt in his pockets and found the small floute. He sighed in relief, actually valuing this little instrument as one of the most important things he had carried. It was one that his mother had taken from Aden as a memory before the drunken Elf left.

He played with the fingering of some notes as he was curious for the answer of all his questions. He wondered if the other had even thought of him being dangerous, but the weapons in his pack could be explained as defense against the robbers who went for single travelers. The weird thing was that naturally, Soren wouldn’t eat any meat that had been killed to be eaten. So, he wouldn’t ever say he carried a weapon just to hunt for a creature.

He was so controversial sometimes.

[Xhu Du'Ran]

“Where am I?” “Am I near the Elvin lands?” “Where is my pack?”
Xhu sat still, his hands in his lap as he watched the young elf. He studied him upon awakening, calculating his movements and facial expressions. Sitting on his own bed, he stay very still as the elf parted his mouth and spilled out the cascade of questions. Xhu slowly closed his eyes, letting a small smirk cross his lips. Sounds like me not to long ago... Xhu took in a small breath and stood slowly.

"You should be calm. You need rest," he said as he grabbed a small porcelain pitcher of water and poured it into a small pewter cup. Picking it up, he held it out to Soren.

"You're in the town of Lyara. You're pretty far from the Elven lands that I know of," he said. Suddenly, the door to the room opened quietly as Xeda peered in cautiously.

"Xhu? Is he awake?" She asked. Xhu glanced over his shoulder and nodded. Xeda smiled brightly as she rushed in carrying a tray in her hands. She walked up to the young elf. As she neared, she blushed brightly, taken by the elf's beauty.

"Oh my! You're even more beautiful close up!" She said, chuckling. She then lay the tray on the small bedside table.

"I've brought you some food and my younger brother brought in your pack," she said, smiling again. Standing up straight, she clasped her hands together and gave Soren a sheepish smile.

"I feel really funny to ask this...but we don't see a lot of elves around here....are you a girl or....?" Xeda was suddenly struck by the embarrasment of her question as she brought her hands to her mouth.

"Oh! Forgive me!" Xhu, however, continued to stare intently at the elf, his eyes prying.

[Soren Vigil]

Soren took the cup, eyeing the other for a second, but no malice was held in those eyes. It was a simple stare before he raised the water to his lips and relaxed as the cool flow of it cooled the burning in his throat. It felt good going down and he wondered why his water hadn’t done the same thing…Maybe it was the fact that it was all the water he had brought, not any source of fresh water that he had found while walking.

“Lyara, as in the town of Shades?” He asked in disbelief. He had known that Xhu would be somewhere around here, but at the moment, he didn’t recognize who Xhu was, so the surprise across his features was actually pretty natural.

He tensed as the door opened, but at the woman’s blush, he looked slightly concerned. The words she spoke brought a soft smile to his lips though. Not often was someone complimenting him, mostly since half-bloods weren’t looked upon proudly in the Knights, more so when they weren’t human in any way.

“Thank you, some very important things to me are in my pack, so I was worrying.” He answered with a stronger voice, but the strain was still behind it.

He looked at her blush darken from embarrassment and he rose his eyebrows…Not once had it crossed his mind that he actually appeared feminine enough to…be a woman? He may have to try that one disguise out another time, where he would be safe from the groping hands of people around him.

“No, I’m a male. At least, I hope so…” He said jokingly as he kept that soft smile across his features. It came naturally, unlike the forced one that he put on in the castle.

The hairs of the back of his neck stood up and he glanced over at Xhu. “I’m sorry if I sound rude, but who are you?” He said curiously. Part of it was real and a little bit was faked.

He was trying so hard to stay in character, but it was coming more naturally than it should. Maybe…maybe being Soren was just an act, but he couldn’t think that way. He wouldn’t think that way.

Yet.

[Xhu Du'Ran]

Xeda blushed even brighter upon hearing his answer. She looked awe struck, her face a bright cherry red.
"Oh wow! You're so beautiful, I was sure you were a woman. Oh, please don't take that as an insult, I didn't mean anything by it! Oh my goodness, I'm just talking myself into a grave now. I'll leave you be. Xhu, I'll be making supper shortly," she said as she hurriedly ran from the room, leaving Xhu, the small platter of food, and Soren there. Xhu waited until the door was shut before he looked to the stranger.

“I’m sorry if I sound rude, but who are you?” Xhu stared at him as he pondered the proper answer to this question, then he rolled up his sleeves to reveal the bandages wrapped around them. He slowly began to peel them off, revealing slowly healing wounds from when Xeda and the others had found them. As he did this, he spoke with an even tone. It was not sarcastic nor cold, but even and concise.

"I am a stranger, like you. I was saved by these Shade and Xeda saved my life. But my proper title is a traveling medicine man," he said, staring at the bright red scars from the lacerations. He stared at the wounds for a moment, then reached to his own bedside table, grabbing a small bowl with a white ointment in it. He dabbed his fingers into the ointment, then slowly rubbed it over the cuts. The salve had a wretched, burning scent to it, but Xhu seemed unfazed. After applying a generous amount, he took a fresh roll of bandages and began to expertly wrap his arms back up again.

"Its not every day an elf wanders around here looking for Elvin lands. You'd have better luck heading north..." He said, pulling down his sleeves and looking back at Soren.

[Soren Vigil]

He watched the woman stare at him like he was some sort of god and it made him uncomfortable. He was glad that his tattoos were hidden by the clothing. After all, they weren’t as visible when he changed, but they looked like weird scars, except for the one on his chest, which still had the blue coloring, only it was a lighter coloring to it. He wore a long sleeved tunic though, so it was hidden without suspicion.

He listened to the other and he kept his surprise hidden. This was the man that had the sword! Soren looked at his hands and said softly, “The Elvin lands to the North only hold death for me. Not for the fact that I am in trouble there, but for the fact that I’ve lost my family there. I have relations past Alyssus and I’ve been traveling to find them, but I guess that I haven’t gone far enough yet.” He said softly. He was trying to put his story as if he had been walking from the North and now was the first time that his exhaustion had caught up with him. Since he appeared to be a full bred Elf, this wouldn’t be surprising news, but he wondered if the other would see through his blood impurity, as most people seemed to put it.

Soren wasn’t hungry, so he left the food alone, rather than pick at it like he normally would. He hadn’t exactly lost weight, but gained a bit of muscle from traveling, which made him appear thinner. He still was weaker than he should have been from the lack of rest and probably an untrained Knight could have beaten him at the moment.

He pushed bangs that he wasn’t used to away from his face and stared at the other before looking into space. A sad smile curved his lips as he muttered a few other Elvin words.

”The royalty controls us, slowly kills us.”

It was words that had been used to describe the Shade and those Elves who used to live around here. Thye did not agree with the King’s family and it was part of his reason for traveling south. Though, truthfully, all the money he had brought was wearing low.

It wasn’t good.

[Xhu Du'Ran]

“The Elvin lands to the North only hold death for me. Not for the fact that I am in trouble there, but for the fact that I’ve lost my family there. I have relations past Alyssus and I’ve been traveling to find them, but I guess that I haven’t gone far enough yet.” Xhu crossed his arms over his chest as he listened. His story was sad, but not unusual in this land. If anyone knew that, Xhu did. At least on some part of this land, elves thrived while not so much for Ancients. In fact, none but one lived. Xhu took in a slow breath, but didn't say anything. So this young bard was looking for elves in the South. That story, while it may be true, left a bad taste in his mouth.

"The royalty controls us, slowly kills us." Elvish words; Xhu understood them. He allowed a small smile to fall on his lips as the elf spoke these words. Then, choosing the proper elvish dialect, Xhu replied, "They only control you when you let them. Lady Fate looks fondly on those who are righteous." He then stood up and went to the large metal box that he carried around with him. It had been placed on the opposite wall, next to Xhu's bed. Unlatching the locks, he opened the lid and peered in for a moment.

"People are only as weak as they allow themselves to be..." He said as he began fishing around. He pulled out a long swath of cloth, and a large coil of rope before finding what he wanted. He slipped a small, oiled piece of leather into one of his pockets. It was then Xeda came back into the room, smiling and curtsying.

"Um, Xhu, its supper if you wish for some," she announced. Xhu nodded and simply closed the box. He looked to Soren and nodded deftly.

"Please excuse me..." He muttered. He then walked out, leaving the box unlocked and unguarded.

[Soren Vigil]

He listened to the other and was amazed at the almost perfect Elvin dialect that he had. Soren’s was rather close as well, but that was because he had traveled Elvin lands as a child, instead of living as a Vernulan child as most would have done in his situation. He smiled weakly at the words as Xhu left the room, but Soren made no move towards the box. Temptation was pushing him to look, but there was something else that was keeping him on the bed. It was something about the other’s words that kept Soren leaning on the bed.

Soren leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, his hand slipping into his pocket as he hummed a soft tune. His voice cracked once or twice, warning him that soon enough he wouldn’t be able to even sing. It would blow his cover quite badly if he tried to use this voice sooner than he should. He rubbed at his throat and took another sip of water to cool it down. It felt good rushing down his throat and since he didn’t have to be on guard, he slipped into a light sleep.

It was one of those sleeps that made things easy to wake him up, if he needed to be woken up…Though, his mind had slipped back to a moment when he was a young child, when his mother would fake happiness around him just so her child wouldn’t feel the strain of being a single parent.

She slowly was killing herself through. The obscene amount of liquor and one night stands that Soren lived through had turned him into someone who was uncaring of what sexual interaction they had.

This sleep slowly forced him into a deeper one as his body was forcing him to relax. He didn’t exactly want himself to act that way, but there was something that was keeping him from staying awake.

Soon enough, his body was slumped downwards, in a rather uncomfortable position as he slept deeply. It was the time in over a fortnight that he had been allowed rest and though a nagging part was pushing him to explore the case, he figured it would be smarter to earn a little more trust.

It wasn’t even like he could wake up at this moment.

[Xhu Du'Ran]

When Soren would next awake, it would be the early morning hours of the next day. The room in which Xhu and Soren had taken to was a simple square wooden room that was placed at the southern end of the house. The room was cast in a dull, icy light that eked in through the single bedroom window to the right of Soren. There was only a simple curtain of cotton, but the light seeped through has a blue gray color that bathed the room in an almost surreal shade of light. The window itself was slightly open, allowing a cold morning breeze to seep into the room. Outside, the faint pitter patter of a steady, but light rain could be heard. There were occasional growls of thunder in the distance, but otherwise, it was calm. Even if the room was cold, Soren had been moved so that he was laying properly under several warm blankets heavy with the sweet slightly perfumed smell of Xeda. The platter of food had been removed from the table beside him and replaced with a fresh pitcher of water.

Outside of the door, the gentle sounds of someone bustling around in a kitchen could be heard. The tink tunk sound of pots and pans being moved around could be heard along with the smell of a fire burning. Xeda was probably up and starting her day, but Xhu was absent from his bed already.

[Soren Vigil]

He woke up the next morning, surprised at the care that he had been used while taking care of him. He shifted himself from the bed and under the warmth, immediately regretting, it, but he wasn’t going to crawl back into bed. He was a little unsteady on his feet, but that was from the rare deep sleep he had let his body have. He leaned against the wall and glanced at the empty bed, wondering when he was going to get a chance at this sword. He wasn’t a fan of the cold weather, but the rain outside was calming for him. He pulled his purple tinted hair out of his eyes and tied it up high. He looked around for his pack and figured that it was out of this room, which was probably smarter.

He waited until he was steadier on his feet until he walked out of the room. He saw Xeda cooking and he offered looked around simply. This kind of behavior was far from the behavior he was used to, so it set him a little out of place. He held himself loosely, well, as loosely as he could with the chill in the air.

“I’m sorry to have been a bother, but where is my pack? I have heavier clothing in my pack.” He said holding his arm slightly. His necklace hung free of his shirt and the simple design was visible for all the other people. He looked outside at the rain and asked again, “Where is the medicine man?” He seemed like that was going to be the only thing that he would call him. After all, he was annoyed with the fact that he was only able to ask questions around here. After all, most people wouldn’t have made such a stupid move when it came down to things. Now, he was on the defensive.

“I never did get to thank you yesterday, traveling alone means a rapid pace must be set and I was rather certain that I didn’t want to get myself robbed.”

He smiled over at her, trying to keep him as friendly as possible, but it was hard when he was cold. He did want his heavier coat and a pair of clean clothing from his pack.

[Xhu Du'Ran]

Xeda whirled around, completely shocked to hear his voice so early. Her hands raced up to her chest, her face in shock. Her long brown hair was done up in a loose pony tail that hung around her back. She was wearing a simple heavy brown dress that was clearly used for colder weather. A small pewter cup fell from the large table that was settled in front of the large fire pit in their house as she bumped it with her hips.

"Goodness, you scared the living daylights out of me!" She squealed. After a moment, her shocked expression slid into an embarrassed smile as she knelt down quickly, picking up the cup. As she placed it back on the table, she quickly moved towards him, wiping her hands on the apron around her waist. Smiling brightly, a swift hand went to his forehead as her other went to her own forehead. She pursed her lips for a moment, then nodded, smiling.

"Good! No fever! I was sure you might have come down with something..." She then nodded as the questions spilled from his mouth. She patted him gently.

"Your pack is safe. I'll have my brother bring it in for you quick-like. He's out trying to pick what's left of the the late summer squashes before they rot in the rain," she said as she gently lead him to the seat closest to the fireplace. As she pulled out the wooden seat, she patted the table.

"Come now, sit by the fire. I know the house isn't very warm during these cold rains, but I'll fix you something nice and hot to eat. As for Xhu, he left earlier this morning to a neighbor's to help heal a sick baby. The poor thing came down with a terrible cough last night," she said conversationally as she set to preparing the meal. She busied herself over the large heavy metal pot setting over the fire pit, stirring a thick white sauce. On the counter, there were a few loaves of bread and a few small racks of dry meat, but otherwise, her provisions seemed to be lacking.

"He should be back soon and don't bother with the thanks. After all, I'm practicing to become a healer. Its my unofficial job after all," she said, giggling at the thought. She grabbed a wooden sthingy and began to stir the sauce.

"After my parents were killed, we had no more healers in the village. Even though us Shade aren't as adept at healing like elves, we do a fairly good job I think. But I want to become one of the greatest healers in Alyssus," she muttered, tasting the sauce carefully. Frowning, she turned to a small rack above the pit of dried herbs, plucking a stem and dropping a few dried leaves in.

"I heard a rumor that the famous Prophet Bassette was becoming ill...wouldn't it be amazing if I could be the one to heal her?" She asked with excitement. She giggled lightly as she wiped her hands again and went to the door, opening it slightly as a cold wind blew in.

"Rhody, would you please fetch the pack I gave you yesterday when you come in?" She called out.

[Soren Vigil]

He looked at her curiously for a second before the words caught in his mind. He scared her? For a second, he was worried that he might be looking like Soren again, like his normal self, but from the way she relaxed, he doubt it, so he just gave her a gentle smile in return, hoping that it might calm her nerves down. He listened to her explanation and he nodded, but the smile curved into a more caring one as he thought of the worry that they had suffered for him. He wasn’t used to people caring, since for over sixty years, he had been all by himself without a parent to care for him.

He pulled a knee to his chest on the wooden stool as she called out the door. “I do owe you great thanks. Travelers aren’t very welcome in this time and age, so if I had fallen anywhere else, I would have been left to the mercy of the elements and to those who could actually fight me.” He said with a small shrug.

He watched as he pack was brought in by a man who looked similar to Xeda. He bowed his head in thanks and lowered his eyes for a second before he stood and moved towards it. “I’ll just be a minute changing. I’ve been trying to conserve clean and warm clothes for moments like this.” He said as he disappeared into the room again with his pack.He pulled out a pair of heavier clothing and quickly slipped into that, making sure that it was a long sleeve that would hide his tattoos.

He pulled on a lighter over coat that just made him snug before walking out. He had left his pack on his bed, not really caring about the fact that most of it was open. He moved back towards a similar seat and thought of a way that he would be able to help her.

After all, Soren was kind of one for karma, when it seemed like it might suit him the most.

“I’ve never been a healer. My skills are best for traveling wounds, which is the extreme extent of it. I truly am amazed at what you people can do with herbs and such.” He said almost truthfully. He was wondering how long he would need to keep this up before he got a good few hours to make his escape with the sword.

“Lady Bassette is ill? It’s been a while since I was that far north, but pity I won’t be traveling that way.” Soren said with a soft sigh. He pushed the purple tinted bangs away from his eyes and looked up at her with almost a flattering smile, “I bet, that if you keep going the way you are, that you will be the one to cure her, or you’ll do something else great in your life.”

He was wondering what herbs he was carrying, but they were more herbs meant for illness…Maybe he could spare some for her, just as a small gift of thanks for how she had taken care of him.

“Is there anything I can help with? I am dirt poor at cooking, but I’d love to help out until I can travel again.” He felt the resistance his body put up as he thought of traveling and he figured that he’d be here for a few days. Truthfully, he hadn’t planned for this, but it was turning out to help him better than he could have thought. After all, if he could earn their trust more, than it would be easier for him to make his escape.