The Ghost from the dust

She nodded softly. "Was that before or after you got that?" she asked, pointing to the scar on her back. She was curious about him, he was vastly different from anyone she had ever met before. Stood on the bank of the river, watching as he scrubbed at his shirt.

Ardin chuckled and shook his head "No long after I got the curse on me, I was still an enemy of the Se-akens, and was the personal assassin for the emperor, though that was till his son killed him and took the throne framing me for his fathers death." he looked at her "Thats when I became the Silver Ghost, no one knew but the real emperor that I had the symbol, so when people thought Ardin Vics was dead I used that, and became the Silver Ghost."

She nodded quietly, absorbing the information. "I see. So how was it you went from being the Se-aken's enemy to being their ally?"she asked, sitting down at the shore and letting her legs dangle in the water. She picked a flower that grew next to her, running it through her fingers.

He stopped scrubbing his shirt and stared at her "Well you see since I had an oath to the emperor that I must avenge him if ever should he be killed I knew I had to make some allies, Once I learned that Nado... A Seaker who wanted to kill the emperor was in a jail I busted him out, and made a deal with him, then over traveling with his brothers they shortly took me in as a brother, and I became the first human to ever ally with the Se-akens, which was a major blow since I was also known as the first human to actually kill one in combat, one on one"

She raised an eyebrow, her fingers stopping their movement over the flower's petals. "I bet they had mixed feelings about you then," she commented. "And I think your shirts finally clean," she pointed out, the water clear around him. She glanced up at the sun, which was rapidly lowering in the sky, the shadows becoming longer and darker. "Should we make camp here or continue on?" she asked, kicking her feet through the water.

Ardin sighs and puts his shirt on the rock "ya we should make camp, and yes they did have mixed feelings for me, but I proved that I could be trusted, and the do respect the honor of combat. I respected them. And Nado helped me kill the emperor's son, then" he looked at her a bit hesitant "Then I took the throne". he was quiet after that and started to make camp. gathering sticks and logs to start a fire.

She helped him to gather enough wood to last through the night, though she left the actual lighting of the fire to him, since she had yet to master that specific skill. She dug around in her pack, but realized she was running low on food. "We should try to catch some fish or go hunting," she commented. "Do you know of any towns nearby where we could stock up on supplies?" she asked, in an effort to change the subject since he didn't seem to want to talk about it.

He Looked around "No I came through the desert, I haven't see any town for weeks, this place is in the middle of now where, but I'll head back over and see what I can get off that cat" he chuckles "Or I could go steal that boar that those Orcs were cooking though he's probably burned to a crisp, I'll go to the cat" he gets the fire going and stands up. taking out his short sword.

She looked a little sick at the idea of eating a cat, but she nodded slowly, knowing the didn't have much choice after all. "If you think that's best," she took a deep breath, looking up at the darkening sky. "I just hope there are no more of those cats around." or orcs, she mentally added.

Moved through the trees past the orcs, kicking one in the gut as he went by, "I told you all to leave but nooooo, you had to fight me" he kept moving going to the cat he had killed and started to cut it up. trying to get as much meat as he could before heading back. Once he did he would plop down and lay the meat on a rock them jump into the water to wash the blood off him again.

Svenia grabbed the carving knife from her bag and cut the meat into small hunks, placing two forked sticks on either side of the fire, with one in the middle with which she speared the meat, letting it cook and occasionally turning it so that it wouldn't burn. Soon a savory smell filled the air, and she was hungry enough to ignore the fact that the meat was feline. while the meat cooked, she walked for a short time in the woods, finding several blackberry bushes and bringing back as much as she could carry, holding the skirt of her dress up as a basket. Coming back to camp, she carefully set them in a pile, washing them in the clear river water upstream from where they had washed the clothes. "Dinners ready,"she called to him as she eyed the meat, moving it away from the center of the fire so it would not overcook.

Came walking back into the camp, drenched, he sat down next to the fire to help him dry off. "Smells good" he took some meat and ate it nice and slow to saver the flavor. "Much better then horse, bu a bit tough" he chuckled and took another bite. "That was a nice horse" he sighed, "This is delicious."

She made a face at the thought of eating horse meat, eating a small portion of the cat meat quickly, trying not to remember where it came from. She enjoyed several handful of the berries though, perferring the fruit over the cat meat. "I could never eat horse,"she commented, standing up and grabbing her bedroll, spreading it out near the fire.

Ardin sighed and swollowed the last of the meat "Wasnt my choice, Zender was dieing and so was i in the desert, I needed to eat and he was suffering, I really liked that horse" he feels his pants they were almost dry but still damp, as he layed down and looked at the stars. "If you've seen the world like I have, there would be nothing you couldn't do."

She looked out across the river, watching the moons reflection in the silvery waters. She played with the hem of her skirt, her knees to her chest, and sighed. "I hope I never have to do something like that," she whispered aloud, mostly to herself.

Ardin layed in the dirt, never being one for a bed. "Lets hope you dont" he watches the stars before gradually drifting off to sleep, with his short blade in his hands. he would sleep until morning, the death of the Orcs completely off his shoulders, not letting them get to him.

She slept fitfully that night, when sleep came to her at all. Her dreams were filled with the image of the orc she had killed, the moment when the arrow had pierced his eye and brain repeating over and over, the shocked look that had come over the green features haunting her. She woke with a soft cry, sweat plastering her hair to her head. Shaking, she tossed back the blanket that covered her, looking up at the fading moon, the sun still not risen. Moving to the waters edge, she splashed water over her face and hair, washing away the tears on her cheeks. Sitting there, she waited for the sun to come up so they could begin their travels again.

He sighed, his eyes still closed, opening one to look at her as she sat by the river bed, he got up and walked over to sit next to her "You want to talk about it," he looks at her, his silver eyes shining in the moonlight "I know its hard, but you must understand, that It's okay"

She shook her head, looking at the rising sun, the sight of it filling her mind with peace. "I'll be fine," she sighed, closing her eyes and soaking in the first rays of sunlight. She turned her gaze towards her companion and smiled. "Thank you. Had I not run into you, I would probably be dead by now. I understand that I have a lot to learn about the real world. It was only by the grace of the gods that I managed to come so far on my own."

Smiles and nods "Which further proves my way of thinking, Everything happens for a reason, "If I died in that ambush and didn't fall on the amulet I wouldnt have allied the humans with Se-akens and stop the war, and I wouldnt have met you haved saved you, this is the way it was meant to be" he patted her on the shoulder and stood up "I'm going to go get rid of the bodies, and give them proper burials,"

She nodded and stood up as well. "I will help you, and say a prayer for them to speed them along to their god," she announced. This, at least was something she thought she could do. Walking back to the ruins, she helped him to gather enough wood for a funeral pyre, laying out the orcs weapons with them. Letting Ardin light the torch, she began to sing a traditional elven dirge for the dead since she didn't know any orc songs.
"Elessan ho palethai nisi,
Hé temon adrabai leomon,
Pithander, gonaios salisi,
Hé oidren lelémoras tomon."

The last notes hung in the air for a moment before finally fading, and she watched the flames consume the pyre, and the bodies along with it.

Was silent as the bodies burned and as she sang. it looked like something was bothering him the entire time, "There happy now, I did as you asked not leave ok" he was talking as if someone was next to him, until there was nothing left in the Pyre but ashes. then he was silent yet again. "Orcs can be very annoying".

She felt a shiver, watching the bodies burn, and she gasped as she saw blue lights rise from the bodies as they began to be consumed by the flames, rising in the air until they had faded away. The souls, rising to the arms of their god. Many clerics would go their whole lives without seeing this, she knew. She shivered, goosebumps rising on her arms. "They are at peace now," she turned to him, smiling. "ready to begin their afterlife, whatever it may hold for them."

Ardin nods, seeing the souls as well, acting like normal. "Yup there gone, and said thank you. also the one you killed forgives you" he looked away and gathered his things and started to walk away from the fire. he wanted to see more of the ruins, wanting to explore every bit.

She felt better, knowing that, and was able to follow him into the ruins with a lighter heart. "What are we going to do here?" she asked, having been curious about that. She looked around the ruins, wondering what it was about the place that had such a strong hold on him.