Solitude after War (shadowclaw)

[Brenton]

Arathale, for years, had done nothing but hunt down the Empire and destroy them systematically but now his life was uneventful. Because the war was over and peace was rising from the ashes of reign of tyranny, Arathale had nowhere to be himself. No one needed a spy and his knack at battle had been pushed into a category of irrelevance. As the dragon spirit had gone from importance to non importance he simply went to Palancar Valley and found his old house in Therinsford. Unfortunately it was in disrepair so he had spent weeks fixing the damaged building.

Nearing the end of the third week, Arathale was finally finished with the repairs on not only his house but also the buildings belonging to him. A two story house rested in the center with a stable on the left and a small structure that looked like a carpenter's shop. Yet underneath was a lead lined chamber, accessible by a small hatch under the sliding work table. Inside the chamber was a full war bunker, stocked with weapons and armor as well as provisions.

This was actually where the dragon spirit had been when he pulled the blade from a rack and walked upstairs. Outside he walked until the man stood in his immaculate yard and stared at the small town. Nothing interesting happened until today. For it was today that a small force of former Empire soldiers had come across the home of Arathale. A young boy had confronted them and now he stood with a sword to his throat.

Arathale drew his sword and decapitated three of the four soldiers before they ever had a chance to move. When the fourth noticed he dropped his sword and ran like a demon was after him. That was good considering Arathale wasn't in the mood for a fight. With a nod to the boy, Arathale collected the weapons and armor. He took them inside and set them down to clean and redesign them.

[shadowclaw]

Sol-lu's meandering travels across the Empire have brought him far north now to Palacanar Valley. He had followed the road, encountering many small towns and villages and some cities. Now, he had arrived in Therinsford, a small town with buildings scattered all about in no particular order. The air was slightly chilly in the early morning and it seemed the town had just begun to stir to life, multiple smoke plumes could be seen rising from chimneys of the stout looking houses. Sol-lu wore a light gray fur cloak which seemed to be the fur of a wolf over his simple, but warm fur lined leather clothes so he was very warm and the cloak's hood was pulled over his head, obscuring the view of his silver hair and pointed ears. This helped him fit in considerably easier among the human towns. He figured this alone would not work in the small town as everyone knew each other and a cloaked figure would raise suspicion. So, as he drew closer he wordlessly cast a spell to bend the light around him in such a way that he could move about the town unseen. Sol-lu was quite reclusive in nature so he did not feel like being bothered. 

As he wandered through the town, dodging past townspeople as they walked by not noticing him, he took in his surroundings carefully. The smell of smoke permeated throughout village, and the occasional dog could be heard barking, reminding him to cover his scent as well. His mind lightly wandered around his surroundings as well, lightly touching the minds he could sense within the village, but not intruding on them. He could sense a lot of the townspeople were still indoors, only those who had things to do out and about already. As he moved along he soon came upon a two story house and a small crowd of villagers around three dead bodies nearby, three in total with their heads missing from their bodies. They were empire soldiers from what Sol-lu could tell and recently killed, what could have done this? There was a boy there who was explaining what had happened, saying that someone who lived in the nearby house had saved him.

This was truly interesting to Sol-lu and he reached out towards the house with a tendril of thought, soon finding a presence within, he could immediately tell the individual could use magic as well. Sol-lu knew they could detect him as well by now among the common villagers even if he remained unseen. Perhaps he would meet someone worth talking to today.

[Brenton]

It was a rather dull job to strip a shield of its enamel so that one could repaint and possibly reforge the piece of armor. Yet it was one such job that Arathale had to undertake after slaughtering the soldiers outside. Just as the dragon spirit began to sand away the fire emblem, a presence touched his mind. With a quick glance toward the door and all windows, Arathale stood to seek out this magic user. Within the limits of Therinsford it was uncommon for someone to practice magic which gave the dragon spirit cause to worry.

Slowly he opened the door and stepped outside, making sure to keep his hand at the sword pommel without drawing the weapon. I know you can hear my thoughts so don't try to hide it. Stay unseen until you are inside but be warned that I will stand not for any treacherous actions. By the way, I am Arathale also known as Mikkel Bromsson.

[shadowclaw]

Sol-lu considered the individual's offer of entry into the home. The dragon spirit was interested though as he looked over the man, about 6 ft tall with brown hair about the same length as his own and grey eyes. Without another word or though he silently made his way over, the others not detecting him as he was completely invisible. He entered cautiously though, as he did not completely trust him yet. As Arathale closed the door when he heard Sol-lu enter he wordlessly let his spell dissipate and Sol-lu faded into view. He appeared still cloaked in the light gray wolf fur, his face hidden under the shadows. 

Turning around, looking around the room, he took his hood off, revealing his features. He appeared as a half-elf now, nestled somewhere between the rougher lines of a human and the angular features of an elf, with shorter less pronounced pointed ears. Silvery-white hair tumbled over his head and golden eyes shone even in the dim interior of the house. His golden eyes looked over then to the man, Arathale, who let him enter. "I did not expect to find any locals here that practiced magic." he said honestly. Looking out of the window now he added, "It seems that your confrontation has caused quite the commontion outside as well."


Remembering then that he had forgot something he turned around, "Sorry for my intrusiveness, I am honored you would take me into your home. My name is Sol-lu."