Sethlzaar snapped to his feet. Bow in hand, arrow nocked, he took aim. He paused, not knowing what exactly he was aiming at. The people within the walls were too far for even his arrows to reach.
"What is it?" Soartin asked, sharing in his alarm but not rising.
Fully drawn from his memory, it took Sethlzaar a moment to
High noon found Sethlzaar in his room, having given their reports of their findings to the captain over an hour ago. The tent was without personal effects, as was the case with his brothers', save the sack bundled in the corner housing three cassocks and two other war cloaks. Next to it laid another sack, this one held the war garments popular to priestesses.Since their return to the encampment Saelin had been spending more time in his tent than ever. It did much to make his nights confusing. She no longer kept her distance while they slept. Often he'd sleep before her only to wake up to fin
Saelin's opponent shattered the stems of the arrows that covered his torso in one motion, surprisingly taking the stem of the one in his head too, and rose his club high above his head. Saelin turned her head away from him and looked at Sethlzaar. Their eyes met for a second time and she offered him that easy smile he loved so much. The one that always met her eyes. And in that moment, Sethlzaar knew Rin had failed him too.He stepped again, and the world faltered. It was a feeling he knew all too well. A feeling that had plagued him years ago. The dizziness hit him and he staggered. He had c
Pain has always proved itself capable of conquering even the greatest of men. It would reach into their minds, demanding of them a submission they never knew themselves capable of. It's one of the few things men have grown to feel and, no matter how much they experience it, never truly adapt to.
Sethlzaar's head turned immediately. Looking over his shoulder he saw Saelin standing in front of the tent, eyes casting in different directions, searching. He returned his attention to Cynth but the man was gone, as though he had never been there in the first place.Cynth had seemed like a dying man the last time they had met. Tonight, he'd seemed like a man cheating death. And he smelled something putrid. Sethlzaar discarded the thoughts. If he could believe the man, then he would see him again. And then, he would have his answer. For now, he turned around and walked towards Saelin.
Saelin walked under the morning sun a few hours before noon. The sun was above her head, and fallen leaves were scattered all over the ground in so vast a number that they blotted it out. She was as pretty as always in her step. The white gown she wore swayed with each one she took. Its beauty matched with her hair that seemed to get whiter with each passing day, giving her a conspicuous look. Sethlzaar had no doubt it had been given to her by one of the women from the tribe as he watched her from the fallen tree he sat upon.She stopped when she got to him. And saying nothing, she squatted s
Saelin walked under the morning sun a few hours before noon. The sun was above her head, and fallen leaves were scattered all over the ground in so vast a number that they blotted it out. She was as pretty as always in her step. The white gown she wore swayed with each one she took. Its beauty matched with her hair that seemed to get whiter with each passing day, giving her a conspicuous look. Sethlzaar had no doubt it had been given to her by one of the women from the tribe as he watched her from the fallen tree he sat upon.She stopped when she got to him. And saying nothing, she squatted s
Sethlzaar looked up from his veils, shaken from his surprise.She was old. Very old. Her weathered skin, leathery from age, drooped on both sides of her face where her cheeks hid beneath it all. It fell so low that it dangled with each facial movement. And she walked with a cane. Her hand trembled as she moved the cane, and when she walked towards his bed he was reminded of Cynth. He wondered if she was dying, too.
When night came a few of the adults had a fire burning as they did every night. It was a fire that would burn deep into the night, adding its crackling symphony to the forest's echoes, a new member of its orchestra surrounded by the adults who would talk and drink and make merry if they saw fit. But though it burned so late and would last the whole night if allowed, the gatherings often came to an end before the darkest of the night. Each adult leaving at spaced intervals. Those new to the responsibilities of being husbands or wives always retired first, having drunk very little, retiring early either in a bid not to annoy their new spouses or a desire for the benefits of new marriages.