Dhaelhel's Story

Still composing himself, he almost didn't realize that Curtana had introduced herself, let alone was offering him his flask; tearing his eyes away from the Angel and Maree, he does his best to offer a smile to Curtana. "A pleasure," he says, finding his voice; while not as steady, he managed to keep it, if nothing else, deep and soothing as he liked to. "You may keep that," he adds, gesturing to the flask; it was mostly full. "You did very well, I should think."

With that, he returned his full attention to Maree; he had never been one to blush, but his eyes were a very bright lavender by this point. "Maree," he says shortly, chuckling. "I'm not quite so full of myself, thank you." Her joking helped to ease him into the situation, but he was still shocked at her appearance; it had been long since he had been to this realm, and to find her waiting for him...

"Of course," he replies to the request for food and drink. Flipping aside his cloak briefly, he produces another flask, this one of wood, and a bundle of leaf-wrapped, dry fruit. The brief flicker of his armor would tell much; no longer near-pristine, it was marred and torn from years, lifetimes of struggle.

Offering the food and drink to Dhaelhel, he bows his head briefly. "For you, as much as you wish," he intones. "And then we shall find a path out... into the woods, or did you have another destination in mind?" He asks this particularly of Maree, but turns to include Curtana in the decision as well, unfamiliar with the new woods as he was.

The half-elf straightened, but still kept her eyes away from theirs as she replied back to Maree. "Forgive me.. The elven people that I am part of think it quite a dishonor that I even speak to you.. H-habits die hard, but I shall attempt to please you by calling you by your chosen name.." She murmured, her feathered ears still drooped and her cheeks still flushed. She had found the man rather attractive, but she brushed those ideas out of her mind now. Husband? Bah.

She felt awkward still being in the conversation, as two love birds courted each other for their first spring. Even though she was considered young herself, she wasn't that immature. The only benefit of being half human.

She however, kept her eyes on Dhaelhel. That being was now her responsibility. If only for a while. A commitment of healing was something that her kind did only out of desperation, and then the person in question was in their care until full recovery. Bad things happened if you didn't stay true to that commitment, like angry spirits ripping your innards out.

As they spoke about leaving the area, Curtana's ears perked and she suddenly seemed worried. "I erm..!" She coughed, clearing her throat. "If you won't mind.. Can I please stay with you three? At least until I am very certain that she is alright.." She added that last part way too quickly. "I-I have a cave near by that I kind of sort of l-live in, if you want to rest there for a while.."

Maree felt a sting when Al'Kaera's answers were lacking. He made no comment on her bond to him and Maree, for perhaps a first, was uncertain of him. It had, after all, been a long time since the two had even set eyes on each other. There may have been another woman, human or elven or maybe some other being. Maree kept the pain hidden to be released when Al'Kaera and she had time to themselves.

Dhaelhel took the food and drink from Al'Kaera and methodically figured out how to ingest them both. She fumbled and made a few mistakes but eventually the Old God of the Sky was eating and drinking on her own.

"Curtana," Maree said. "You are more than welcome to stay with us for as long as you feel you must stay. If it is your destiny then follow it. I am not someone to tell you differently. My own destiny has brought me here as well as Al'Kaera and Dhaelhel. Each of us has met or reunited for one purpose or another. Now we just need to figure out why and it revolves around her." Maree gestured gracefully to Dhaelhel.

"You did not tell me it would hurt," Dhaelhel stated in a small voice.

"I did not know," Maree replied. "You are mortal now and I must teach you things before we can begin. Curtana and Al'Kaera may help if they wish?"

Dhaelhel looked at the other two and beamed with a smile. She was one of the more pleasant gods of Arcanum. "Yes, they may help if they wish."

Al'Kaera had finally managed to reign himself in, now that Maree's attention was less on himself. His eyes, shifting away from the lavender to a neutral silver, took in their surroundings again; he'd only been there for a few hours, scouting the ruins for a place to stay himself. His companions were scattered to the winds by now, save one.
"I think that's a fine idea," he replies to Curtana, hoping to diffuse her discomfort. He could sense Maree, too, was in ill sorts, but he would need to have a private discourse with her, rather than make their issues public.
There was also the notion that she knew, and had something to do, with the falling of this Angelic being, which was curious. To say the least.
He took a moment to observe the Angel, Dhaelhel, trying to figure her way around the provisions.
"I will help, gladly," he adds brightly in response to Maree. Casting a smile at Dhaelhel, he bows his head. "I thank you for the chance, M'lady." Casting his eyes about again, he decides to climb back up the slope he came down, making barely a sound and leaving almost no trace of his movements.
"These ruins seem to bear no dangers, but I have not been here in many years," he calls down lightly, his voice raised above the low, soothing tone only slightly. "I do not doubt curious parties will be drawn by the fall much as I was... albeit, I was within the blast radius, but I digress."
Looking back down the crater, he nods to the three of them. "I say we move quick as possible."

"Of course I will help, in any way you ask. You are my charge for now, and I shall see to it that you are well rested and completely healed or so help me I shall tie you up to the bed you lay on." Curtana said firmly, placing hands on hips. She almost sounded motherly, her eyes fierce and stubborn, and something suggested that she would hold true to that very threat if she must. The red-headed half elf probably had over-stepped her bounds on this one, but she was not about to let her work go undone if the goddess-turned-mortal decided to be reckless. Besides, she had dealt with a demi-god of war and pain, she couldn't be worse than him.

Curtana nodded gently, as if in agreement with what Al'Kaera said. He was a curious being, and that was what attracted her to him. She allowed a gentle smile to form on her red lips. "Y-yes. There are more people who might believe this to be a falling star, much as I did.. Many blacksmiths would have used the rock to make legendary weapons-- That is, if they could figure out how to work the stone." She said, swaying on the balls of her feet. "But it might draw unwanted attention as well.."

Her ears drooped slightly, looking towards the sky. She was listening nervously to something, to the spirits who were still shouting with anger. They already had unwanted attention, especially from the ancient spirits that surrounded them. The half-elf knew they had to tread carefully not to upset them further. "This way." She stated softly, starting off in the direction in which she had come from. She began to murmur, although not to any to the party of three now behind her, but the spirits around them. They had to be appeased-- Somehow.

"We will follow soon," Maree stated in an assertive voice. Her eyes never left Dhaelhel. "I must speak with her for a moment." The Old God of the Sky shifted onto her knees and looked up at Maree. There was no trace of uncertainty or distrust in Dhaelhel's eyes. She merely smiled up at the long form of the elven women.

Maree on the other hand had a most serious look on her lovely face. It was not one that Curtana could have picked up on but for Al'Kaera such a look was reserved for the most dire of situations. The last she had worn that expression was when Maree had fought the great Lucian Lachance so many years ago.

"I need you to show me," Maree said to Dhaelhel. The fallen god's smile died away as if someone had slapped her. Dhaelhel hesitated and then nodded. Maree knelt down onto the crumbling earth before Dhaelhel, who looked around to see if they were alone. To her estimation they were and it was enough for Dhaelhel to do what Maree asked.

"You have to see inside," Dhaelhel spoke, taking Maree's hands. "I have nothing left." The elven woman nodded and grasped the offered hands.

"I will heal you while I see," Maree said.

They both fell silent and a wind picked up. It was a light breeze that stirred the grass at the edges of the crater and rustled the leaves in the trees. Dhaelhel's skin glowed softly with a radiating light. Her broken wings began to mend and straighten past what Curtana's magic was able to do. All the cuts and bruises began to reverse themselves. Even the small split in Dhaelhel's lip disappeared.

Meanwhlie Maree looked into Dhaelhel's memory. It was unlike reading a humans or elves memory. It was the compendium of a god's recollection of an entire world and the ethereal world that existed in Arcanum. There were details that even Maree's memory could not account for.

She concentrated and focused on Naar.

Seconds later Maree let out a harrowing scream that pierced the air.

Dhaelhel took the cowering elven woman into her arms and held her. Huge billowing white wings soft as goose down surrounded them both in a protective circle. Maree cried silvery tears as Dhaelhel spoke tender words.

Al'Kaera did not want to leave Maree alone, but he knew she could handle herself, and he would not go far, regardless. Giving her a serious nod, he looks towards Curtana, and follows her lead.

After a few moments of walking in her wake, Al'Kaera speaks up, his voice a low murmur, so as to not distract himself from the surrounding sounds of the woods. "How long have you traveled these parts, M'lady Curtana?" His words were eloquent, the baffled surprise he exhibited minutes before practically vanished.

As he listened, he noticed a wind whispering its way through the trees, which itself was odd; in these woods, seldom did the air see fit to descend so, in his experience. His revery was broken by the sound of a scream, in a voice he was very familiar with. "Maree," he cries out, turning on his heel and charging back towards the crater.

Arriving in but a few moments, he stops at the edge of the hole and peers down; he could see the two women, the angelic being shielding them both with her powerful wings. There was no danger he could see, but Al'Kaera was wary nonetheless. Despite this, he remains silent, knowing that Maree was in better hands than his, for the moment.

Curtana was reluctant to stay, but was also entirely reluctant to leave as well once Maree said she needed a minute with Dhaelhel. The spirits around them were ancient and already very displeased by the current events and change to their environment. Under assurance it would only be a moment, she began to walk ahead, slowly.

She decided remaining silent was the best option, keeping her forest colored hues ahead as she lead Al'Kaera through it. But her silence was also due to her thoughts. She had just gotten separated from her other companion, another deity that had threatened her life in more ways than one. Would she really involve herself in another quest like this? It seemed the threads of her fate was being tugged no matter she truly wanted.

She nearly jumped in surprise as Al'Kaera spoke to her and was proud of herself that she didn't, but felt foolish at the same time she had forgotten he was there. A pinkish hue rose to color her skin. "Only a few months." She answered plainly. "Before that, I had traveled with a companion, seeking refuge for the both of us. Unfortunatel--" She cut off at the shrill scream, her feathered ears pointing straight up at the horrific sound.

Her first thoughts after the initial shock was--'I'm so dead..' She dashed back the way she came, on the heels of Al'Kaera, it only took them a few minutes as they had only gone a short distance. "What happened?!" She cried, looking not at Maree and Dhaelhel, but at the angry spirits around them. Not waiting for an answer, she began whispering frantically to the spirits, trying to calm down the ancient and powerful beings before any more damage could be done. After a minute or two, she looked to Al'Kaera worriedly. "We have to leave this area now." She said firmly.

"She has seen Naar," Dhaelhel answered as the others returned in haste. A sympathetic smile played at the edges of the once-god's mouth as she stroked Maree's golden hair. Dhaelhel heard Curtana say that they had to leave. She nodded as she was Curtana's charge. Dhaelhel had to do what she was told by the girl.

Dhaelhel's massive feathery wings folded at her back, and revealed Maree.

At first sight, nothing was changed about the elven woman. Not a hair on her head had been touched. However, when Dhaelhel coaxed Maree to sit up, the change was clear.

Maree's eyes were blackened. They had gone from ice-blue to black and wept a substance not unlike blood. She had been blinded but whatever she had seen in Dhaelhel's recollection.

"Al'Kaera!" Maree cried, holding a hand out. She could not find him. Maree could not see. Her beautiful vision was taken from her. No longer could she see his face, to honor him with her gaze. Glistening tears mingled in the seeping goop.

"Naar has seen," Dhaelhel said, shaking her head and tearing her eyes away from the stricken Maree. "Curtana is right. He has seen and he will come. We need to leave." Dhaelhel's voice was grave.

Al'Kaera stood in shock for a moment before rushing forward. "Maree," he says in dismay, not knowing what had just transpired, or who this 'Naar' was. Having just left one battle mere days before, he was not sure that he would be able to stand against it, whatever it was.

He reaches Maree and takes her grasping hands in his own, gloved as they were. "It is I, I am here." Before he can say more, Dhaelhel continues to say that they needed to leave, just as Curtana had. Without pausing to ask, Al'Kaera stoops and lifts Maree into his arms, assuming that Dhaelhel- or Maree- would allow him to do so.

Turning back towards Curtana, he speaks in a softer, but stern tone, "Lead the way M'lady, and swiftly."

Curtana gaped openly at the woman's face in horror. Her knees buckled and she nearly collapsed and would have if it had not been for the stone slab near her. This was what happened just by -seeing- Naar? She stood there dazed, even after Dhaelhel and Al'Kaera had ushered her to lead the way.

It wasn't until the spirits finally gave a final warning did she begin to move. Thorns, 4 inches long and and thick as Curtana's small finger shot from one of the tree's around them, catching Curtana in the arm in 3 places. Hissing, Curtana began to leave the area. "Quickly!" She called behind her, leaving the thorns in her arm for now.

Curtana was not a particularly fast runner, being part elf as she was, but she knew these woods best. She would not slow down her pace, not even to see if they were following her, until she hit the woods that were a few miles away. There, she would stop and turn, embarrassed with herself that she had not concerned herself with the other's well-being until now. She quickly looked to see if they had followed, and if they were near.

Maree, draped in Al'Kaera's arm, clutched to him tightly. Her mind had been raped by Naar just envisioning him inside Dhaelhel's memories. She had not thought nor read that such a thing could have happened through memory.

"I cannot see," Maree said in a broken voice, over and over as they fled from The Ruins.

Above, Dhaelhel navigated the air currents with ease. She was enjoying flight again as she once had on Arcanum. Maree was a gifted healer, not only mending the outside of a body but the inside and returning its former strength. Looking back to the Ruins, she saw the shadows extending unnaturally.

Her eyes swept to the others who were running along the ground. At that moment, Dhaelhel wished sorely that they could fly too.

"He was not supposed to see me," Maree whispered. "He took my sight... He took my sight!"

They had gone for quite some time; Curtana's path eventually led them into the mountains, where, presumably, her cave was. It had been roughly an hour since they departed the Ruins, and Al'Kaera decides to call a halt; "Hold a moment," he calls forward to Curtana, slowing himself amidst a patch of tall pines.

He sets Maree down gently, inspecting her eyes worriedly. He says a few short words of his tongue to bring peace to her, before looking towards Curtana, a steel color to his eyes. "How much farther? Maree needs rest." He, too, was weary, but that was more from the chill and his previous battles than the run. He looks into the sky briefly, seeking out Dhaelhel.

As soon as she was aware that they still were able to follow her, she nearly collapsed to the ground herself. She panted heavily and nodded sharply into a direction. "The cave is there.. S-sorry.." She muttered, looking at her injured arm. Blood now stained her clothes and her arm with the crimson substance that had leaked from around the thorns in her arm.

"I-I can try healing her eyes.. But I doubt I can help her regain her sight.." She muttered, still breathless. She still shivered at the thought of the blackened things. Wrapping her thin fingers around one of the long thorns, the one closest to her collar bone, she took a deep breath and yanked the three inches that had penetrated her skin out. Displeased growls escaped her as her arm and head throbbed painfully. "J-just give me a minute or two and I w-will try.."

By the time they had reached the vicinity of the cave, Maree was dangling in Al'Kaera's arms. She had slipped in and out of consciousness during their traveling. She was awake now though, if only barely.

"You cannot heal this," Maree said in such a quiet voice. It was not her exhaustion muting her volume but the pain of having lost her vision. Holding her head down, Maree fumbled with her cloak. Eventually she found her hidden sheath and she brought out a small jeweled dagger. Maree placed it in front of her before rummaging around once more inside her golden cloak.

Dhaelhel circled around in the sky before she began to descend. When she landed, it was not graceful in the least. She stumbled and ended up catching herself on a rock for balance with a small "oof". A tearing noise caught the fallen god's attention and she looked over.

Maree had cut a bandage from her cloak and was wrapping it around her eyes.

Dhaelhel looked between Maree and Al'Kaera as if holding an answer they both needed, but she kept quiet and walked to Curtana. "Do you need help?" she asked, standing far too close to Curtana. They were a mere inch apart from each other.

Al'Kaera had returned his full attention to Maree, for the moment. "I have healing magics as well," he states simply in response to Curtana, though Maree's response makes the point moot. He felt lost; he had lost so much, and now he had to watch one of the few things he had left in pain, helpless to do anything.

He realized he was being incredibly selfish. Clenching Maree's arm comfortingly for a moment, he stands up and turns towards Curtana, who Dhaelhel was now standing right next to. "I can help, as well," he says, ashamed of himself. Maree was his top priority, but if he could not help her, he could help those who sought to help.

His eyes were a pale steel color, the only part of his bare body that was at all visible; the mask and hood concealed everything else. Despite this, his weariness was becoming more apparent, from his posture, which he was careful to try and mask.

Curtana looked up at Maree, avoiding her face. She wanted to help her, as if instinct drove her to do so. However, she was powerless in comparison. The shame from early rose back up into her chest. "Sorry.." She murmured, although it wasn't quite clear to whom it was intended.

Curtana had begun to wrap her hand around the second one, the one more into the meat of her shoulder. She was lost in her own darkness of uselessness when she noticed Dhaelhel. She blinked a few times, as if trying to become aware of what was by her before face flushed a slight pink color. Dhaelhel had seemed the only one who had noticed Curtana's hurt before now.

Quickly she shook her head to both Al'Kaera and Dhaelhel. "I can pull them out and clean them.." She said softly. "We all are weary and can use some rest, you three especially.. I'm afraid I'm a bit less useful than the three of you." She yanked the second thorn from her flesh with a soft screech. "Besides.. If that.. Thing Miss Maree saw was coming to the ruins, you can bet if it really wanted us right this moment, it could search us down.." She said breathlessly. "It is best you get the rest you can, when you can, just in case that thing decides to come.." It seemed that Curtana distanced herself from her fear by never calling this Naar by his name. It was only a small comfort, however.

Curtana began muttering, and near by the cave's entrance, a spring came to life over some pebbled basin that was dug and formed to catch the water. "If you need to, you can wash up.." She murmured. "There should be some rations inside the cave, although not much left..."

Tainted. There was a taint inside Maree's body, in her very soul, and she could feel it writhing around like a wisp serpent. A muscle clenched in her jaw. She moved herself carefully into a meditative position, legs parallel to the ground and arms stretched outward with fingers all pointed away from her body. Maree bowed her head and touched her forehead to the earth.

All was lost around her...

Dhaelhel tsked and shook her head at Curtana. "There is much that you can do. Do not say that you cannot. If you do, then you will not be capable of anything!" She took Curtana by the hands and held them in her own baby smooth hands. Dhaelhel then leaned in and placed a soft kiss to the half-elf's cheek.

"It is true that Naar may wish to seek us out but like Maree... he is blind," Dhaelhel said. She tilted her head and gave Curtana's hands a friendly bounce. "I will not speak more. Perhaps when Maree is improved she will share the tale of why I am here. But, as for your help!"

"I cannot use magic anymore. My powers are gone. There are things that can restore them but they are lost. My feathers have scattered in your world and they must be retrieved before we can begin our real journey."

"That is why I need your help. I can teach you to protect us from Naar seeing. You can shield us. You know this land, I can feel it on you. Do you wish to learn, Curtana?"

For once, Al'Kaera felt incredibly helpless; it seemed to be a constant, recurring theme these past few days, but it didn't stop it from feeling any more distressing. All the same, he did what he could; Dhaelhel seemed prepared to go over their protection with Curtana. There was a safe haven that they could return to, if only for the time being.

There was only the matter of discussing things with Maree, and ensuring that his people, few as they were, could find him.

Stepping away from Maree, he climbs the tree he had set her next to. His movements were deft and precise, though slower than they might have been in his past; all the same, he gets as high as the tree would allow him, then cups a hand to his mouth and shouts. His words were laced with power, and quite loud.

"Srikanaifenle! Imbel lan aur yel gruuthnalanenle! Lan Valinor!"

Sliding down the tree, he sighs with the expenditure of energy. Turning his attention back towards the others, he nods towards Curtana and Dhaelhel. "If there is anything I can do to assist, let me know. If not, then I must attend to Maree; there is much for us to speak of."

Curtana's hands were bloodied, and she was beginning to grab at the third-- and most painful of the three thorns. She closed her eyes and began to count down. 3... 2... Dhaelhel grabbed her hands before she could yank the thing out, and for a moment she was relieved. If only for a moment.

Her ears perked up, listening to Dhaelhel intently, a flush of red raising to her cheeks when the use-to-be deity kissed her cheek. "I am afraid I am naive when it comes to anything other than the spirits around us and the world around me. But if there is any way I can assist, I shall learn to do so as best as I can." She said, lowering her gaze once more. Her fingers wrapped around the final thorn and yanked it out without bracing herself. She let ground her teeth together as her world danced and the pain she could have felt in her toes racked her body. A nerve. Trembling, she allowed herself to slide down to the ground, one hand holding the thorn that she had plucked the other holding where it had pierced her flesh.

Looking up as soon as she heard the shouts, she winced at Al'Kaera. The spirits around them seemed startled, and the stream that trickled over the pebbles into the basin spurted into a fountain that shot straight up. The trees around them, in Curtana's eyes, shook. She sighed and lowered her gaze from man-elf. Full elf and married. Figures.

"Only assistance I would probably need, I do not think you can help with.. Go tend to your wife, Mr. Al'Kaera if it so pleases you." Curtana responded wearily. Pulling out a pouch, she began rooting through the herbs she held within it until the half-elf pulled out a gnarled root-looking thing. Curtana bit into it and began to chew the foul tasting root with a face of detest.