Prodition

[Rowenna]

Ragnar Sten
01-26-2005, 04:32 PM
It was odd really, how things seemed to work out in the end when you expected to be dead by then. Not that this elf had never feared for his life before, but in the last three years he had almost died on more then several occasions. The only reason he was still alive was her. Even though he had helped her out of trouble many times, perhaps saving her life, she constantly jested about how she would never keep up with his tally of sav...

Lerris was cut off of writing as someone shouted his name from a distance. The elf of 86 years of age looked up from his paper and ink and smiled. Ty, the man who had given him a job and a friendship the day they arrived in Aryan came walking slowly towards Lerris. The brown haired elf smiled and waved back at the dark skinned Inn owner, he set aside his book and used a hand on the house to stand to his feet.

The house behind him had been built several weeks after Rowen and Lerris had come to Aryan, it wasn't any thing special but it worked. Just a simpled house, a bed room, a kitchen a living room. Much like the one Lerris had back in Mirkwood. In truth, the design had come from that house, but Lerris hadn't told anyone except Rowen that.

"Siting around already Saphire? There is always work to be done back at the Inn, and you know your wel.." Ty had taken up Rowen's place of calling him Saphire a few days when they arrived, and Lerris simply shook his head every time his surname was used. Lerris cut the man off with a hand, "Ty, your a great friend, but a horrible boss, you know I'm taking some time off and will be back to work for you in a few weeks." Ty nodded, and looked rather sad for a few moments until a wide smile came to his face. "You writing something?" Lerris sighed, and nodded "No, you can't read it...." Ty laughed and clasped Lerris on the shoulder, "Don't worry elf, I know your more secretive then most around here...I don't blame ya..." Lerris nodded and ran a hand over his long hair, "Where's Rowen?" Asked the dark skinned Inn owner with a smirk, "Not sure at the moment, i've been writing all day and i'm sure I simply nodded at her if she was going somewhere..." Ty laughed and Lerris scowled at the man, "Does Talia know her husband is here bugging an old elf who just wants some quiet, when he should really be at work?" Ty looked over his shoulder, and scowled back at Lerris who was now fully smiling. "Hey, I don't tell your wife when your not working and are taking breaks to write a book...." Lerris laughed, and wondered if Rowen would of really cared had he been slacking. "Fair enough Ty...Fair enough" Ty smiled, and started back for the inn.

Lerris resumed his spot on the grass near his house and let his head fall back against the wall. He lifted the book, and flipped about the pages he found the remains of his old pages, since most had been lost Lerris had taken to writing a new story, this time about Rowen and himself. He moved further about in the book, searching for a blank page, and finally when one was found The elf lifted the pen and began naming the chapter, the last chapter

...There is No normal life, just...life.

Rowenna
01-26-2005, 06:26 PM
Forms of iron hung against the walls of the local blacksmith, most of these objects of everyday use. Most of these. The rest were not intended as such. Glinting black metal running up and down the blades of fifteen inches, sometimes more, hung in groups amongst the makeshift tools. It was true, these were often bought for the most mundane of tasks, but Rowen knew better than anyone else, they were made for fighting. She made them, after all.

Two years ago, Rowen had come with Lerris, to that place, Aryan. He had found work right off, Rowen uncertain of what her future held. She knew what she would not be--she would be no one's maid, cook, farmer, or anything of that nature. She didn't like it, wasn't good at it, found no interest in it, etceteras etceteras. Rowen being... well, Rowen, she needed something more to life than just existing... even if it was with Lerris. And, so... she did this. She was good at it. Rowen knew the proper weights, lengths, everything there was to know. It was almost as though this invited trouble, she constantly exposed to the tools she used for her previous profession, but it was not like this. Finding no attachment to these things she created, no will to take for herself for purposes less than honest, she would watch as her superior sold the crafts, reason being that none of her own former... kind, of sorts, found possession over them. Somewhat ironic, though she seldom drifted over it, that she would now be so against the prospect of thieves coming across her weapons. Well, then again, it was also true that she remained present to be sure her superior didn't allow people to haggle for lower prices.

"You can go," the voice of the more experienced blacksmith said as Rowen glanced over her work.

"It's still early," she said.

"And the boats don't come in for another week. We won't need to worry about it till then."

And, along with the naivete with customers, there was an issue of procrastination. But then, he was fair enough, and a decent person as well.

"Fine, if you want to kick me out, I'll go."

"I love your sense of humor," the blacksmith chuckled.

"I don't think I've ever been accused of being amusing. Perhaps I should be insulted."

A brief exchange of words was shared, Rowen soon disposing of a rather unkempt apron. She left her working place of choice with what would have been described as a grin on her face. At a time that seemed so long ago, she'd only smile so when someone else payed the penalty of carrying something of value. Now, it was different. Life had extended to something better than the perpetual chase, the hunt, and battles of sorts with little reason behind them. Now, there was Lerris in her life. Him, and a purpose, mundane was it may have seemed. Beyond these things, little need be said.

Rowen spotted Silentmore as she sauntered to her home, keeping off at a distance. Soundless smirk on her face, she sidled past all meager obstacles. The sight of Lerris came to her wandering eyes, buried in the bind of pages he had been working on for some time. She happened to not know what any of it was about, but that remained fine with her.

Going a somewhat roundabout way, almost as though to remain unseen. She sidled by the wall, fully intending to catch Lerris off guard as she bent by him as he wrote something she did not see, lightly blowing into his ear.

Ragnar Sten
01-26-2005, 06:40 PM
Lerris at first kept writing, trying his hardest to not give into looking to Rowen. After about two seconds Lerris dropped his book and pen and turned to Rowen, "I'm never going to get this book done with a vanya red-head distracting me, I will be randa before I finish it..." Lerris tried to keep a serious look on his face, but finally broke into a smirk. He laughed slightly and gave Rowen a quick kiss on the cheek, "Welcome home...." Lerris inspected her shortly, "I take it you were...at the blacksmith..."

Rowenna
01-26-2005, 06:55 PM
"Acute observation," Rowen smiled, fingertips brushing against his cheek. "Went through the ritualistic don't do anything unless your life depends on it routine. I suppose this is meant to be a good thing." She moved in closer, the prospect of actually letting Lerris get something done apparently distant from her mind. "And you--I suppose you've been here doing whatever it was you were doing."

Ragnar Sten
01-26-2005, 07:01 PM
Lerris smirked, "I was writing, just to pass the time while I was all alone here....Or trying to..." Lerris pointed down the road and shrugged, "Ty came to bother me, but I threw him out when he asked for me to come back and work for him.." Lerris ran a hand across his brow and stretched out the muscles in his legs that had been stuck in the same siting position for several hours. Lerris pulled Rowen close with one arm around her waist and kissed her gently when they parted he still smiled. "But I don't mind stopping to see my wife..."

Rowenna
01-26-2005, 08:08 PM
"Oh, how kind of you," Rowen simpered, looking at Lerris with something of a sarcastic smirk. She went on in a consistent tone, "I would hope that would be without question." Her grin became something slightly more menacing with a short passing of time. "However, I'll be sure to keep this in mind any time I find you looking far too pensive for your own good."

Hxlgg
01-30-2005, 03:17 PM
The past two years had been a struggle for this rough, unshaven man. Purely an adventure in hardship and will power. It had been two years of a single thought. Two years of a silent journey, save to himself. Two full years of growing rage and a never-ending desire for a single elf’s blood on his gleaming new dagger sheathed strategically at right-hand ready.

The shapely, yet aging, young man rode prideful on “his” new steed of shimmering black and grey, wiry hair. A tattered old cloak whipped in the sharp, breath-splitting wind behind him and the long, somewhat reseeding, raven hair of the man flowed in harmonic rhythm with the wind. A wicked grin passed his lips, and his teeth flashed, as he remembered his quarry.

The rough man they called Byron rode swiftly on his mare in a westward direction. He knew who he was after. He knew somewhat in the direction of him. What he did not know was most crucial of all. His exact location.

Rowenna
01-30-2005, 04:50 PM
It was redundant to say Rowen knew nothing of Byron's current position, plan, or well being. By no means was Byron forgotten, but simultaneously, there was no form of apprehension weighing down on Rowen's mind. For the past two years, there was no reason for fear. For two years, everything seemed right. Even Rowen, naturally paranoid and perpetually suspicious as she was, would not question this.

"Well then, if it really is no trouble," she said, looking up with a grin. "Then I will reside here for the time being, looking at you until you decide to continue... wherein, I would still be here."

Ragnar Sten
01-30-2005, 05:07 PM
Lerris smirked, and simply shook his head looking out into the small village of Aryan, nothing came to him to write so he simply laid back against his house and thought. He closed his eyes as a warm wind blew across his face, tossing some of his long hair into his eyes. He brought a hand over his head to clear it from his face, and smiled, no worries...not yet atleast.

Something inside him told him at one point he would see Byron again. That same thing inside him knew when they met again it would not be on good terms, and he prayed when that day came it did not end with him laying motionless on the floor. He figured that day wouldn't come for some time, but apprently, he was wrong.

Rowenna
01-30-2005, 07:46 PM
Rowen smiled as Lerris leaned his head back, eyes falling to the bound pages he had been working on for quite some time. She briefly skimmed the unfinished manuscript, gathering little from what small segment she saw, with whatever half hearted glance was given to the open pages.

"What's this, here?" she smiled in joviality as her finger lightly crossed over the open page, teasing him with the same mirthful smirk.

Ragnar Sten
01-30-2005, 07:58 PM
Lerris opened his eyes as if waking from a deep slumber and looked down at the page with as he rubbed one eye with his fist. The wind had blown the pages all about and Lerris found himself following Rowen's finger across the book, "Well....It tells mostly about what I did for the better part of a year or so, I suppose you could say it is somewhat a biography on myself..." Lerris scanned the page quickly.

The trees of Mirkwood always provided cover for one while traveling its dark roads, but this time a lone elf stuck out among the trees, not looking for cover from his enemy, but simply walking.

Lerris sighed, "Nothing Interesting I suppose...." The elf mumbled to himself for the most part. He snapped the book shut, and turned to Rowen with a smirk, "Nothing someone such as yourself should want to see..." In truth, the full page went on to tell about how he had visited Abbot's grave, and Lerris did not want to show Rowen the full story.

Rowenna
01-30-2005, 08:11 PM
"A biography of you, eh?" Rowen didn't lose her smile. Though present for an obvious extended period of time, this had been the first and only entry she had seen, and too, the first occasion she came to know what this manuscript was about. What she had known, was that at one time, there was a writing going on about Byron. Since it was apparently lost during their episode with Aouri, the opportunity for Lerris to complete it was shot. "And what part of this isn't supposed to interest me?"

Ragnar Sten
01-31-2005, 05:43 PM
Lerris shook his head, and stayed silent for sometime trying to find the words to tell his wife he didn't want her to hear in detail about Abbot's death. Eventaully he let out a sigh and flipped the pages until once again he found the page he had wrote about Abbot. Instead of an explination he simply read, and when he spoke he spoke at almost a whisper.

"...He had told the red-haired human he had someone to apologize too, and this elf was the one buried beneath him. The brown haired elf of 83 years of age, not very old for his kind, still a youngster in the eyes of Abbot. Before him was the makeshift tombstone the elf had built almost a decade ago when he killed his master, and almost killed her. He smiled then, knowing at least just then the red-haired human was alive, who knew how or what she and the apprentice gone teacher where going to do. His mind leaving her, he prayed once more for the soul of the fallen teacher, and for his own soul, so that they once again would meet in the afterlife.

Thunder sounded in the distance, and it began to rain. The elf stayed put as the dirt turned to mud, after a few hours of sitting in silence and simply starring at the grave….he wept."

Lerris looked up from his book, tears almost in his eyes from just thinking about that night next to the grave. He calmed himself quickly and made eye contact with Rowen, "Nothing interesting at all...Just an elf....a stupid one at that.."

Rowenna
01-31-2005, 06:26 PM
Rowen wore a solemn face as she listened to Lerris speak, quickly realizing her games had led to a most... unfortunate end. She hadn't heard, before then, the story told in full, not anything close... about then, she wished she hadn't pressed the matter.

"I'm sorry," was all she said, brushing her fingertips across his face. Rowen, if no other, knew what it was like to be at fault for the pain of those one cared for. She, however, had never mourned her teacher... nor, after so much time, did she ever intend to.

Hxlgg
01-31-2005, 06:27 PM
Approximately two weeks later...

Byron crept by the hillside of the sleepy town of Aryan, his hand sweeping the lush grass filling up the land and his dagger clutched in his fist. A crazy smile perched on his lips and a lust for blood embossed in his soul. He ran up the hill and finally the quaint town opened up before him. Smoked billowed from the various chimneys and the townsfolk were milling about their business, the children laughing and playing. Byron knew he would not be well accepted there. He was tattered, rough, and holding a stained dagger. He needed to clean it up a little bit.

Down in the distance, Byron heard the slight trickle of a stream nearby. He thought it might as well be a good time to clean up. So Byron walked calmly down to the stream, sheathing his dagger. In the small wooded area, he found a nice secluded spot along the stream in which he could quickly clean himself. So he undressed, and stepped into the stream, shivering slightly at the temperature. Following the short soak, he stepped out and dressed. He thought maybe someone was creeping around the bushes, but Byron just shrugged it off, taking it for tricks of the mind.

After washing, Byron walked calmer towards the village, and carefully hid his dagger. He could sense the presence of that malodorous, diminutive elf anywhere. He was here. And with him, would be Byron’s Rowen. The man smiled as he remembered her gleaming features and warm aroma.

Into the village Byron walked, carrying his concealed dagger, and vengeance. Byron wandered around the town, making small talk and smiling at the villagers. They made him happy and able to forget his troubles, but then in the background, during a conversation, Byron’s ears pricked when he heard the name Lerris… said behind him. Byron quickly turned and looked at the rear himself, looking for the owner of that voice. It belonged to a jolly, elderly, and slightly obese man, in which Byron would soon track down. He finished the conversation about potato fields he was having with e young man, and hurried off to find the friend of Lerris.

He soon ran into the man inside the local pub. He was sitting at the bar, holding a class of plain ale. Byron sauntered over and sat next to him smiling.

“Barkeep!” Byron grinned, “I’ll take an ale down here, and one for my new friend!” he added, motioning towards the larger man next to him. “Hello dear friend!” Byron said to the man next to him, “My apologies, I didn’t catch your name…”

Ragnar Sten
01-31-2005, 06:35 PM
"Two bloody silver for some lamb? I can't pay that Sinclaire and you know it..." Lerris said towering over the stout man and his cart of dried meat, Lerris lifted a hand and slammed it down on the table. The man jumped, and after a few moments of giving Lerris a scared look he smiled...and finally burst into laughter. Lerris smirked, and joined in on the laughing, The elf opened his hand and two silver coins sat inside his palm, he flipped them to the small man and spoke. "You rob me everytime I see you Jon, you...." Lerris stopped in mid sentence when he saw a man he hoped he would not see ever again. "...Theif." Jon laughed and took the money, "Off with you Elf...I will see you tomorrow." Jon looked up and found Lerris was already in a dead run towards his house.

Rowenna
01-31-2005, 07:56 PM
Rowen had been at her home, walking barefoot across the floorboards. She was merely going through her daily routine, placid look on her face, not expecting any break in the peace that had lasted for so long. Even as she turned a head around the door, seeing Lerris come up at great speed, she did not sense what lay on the road ahead. Fingers gripped on the door-frame, Rowen looked forward at the image of Lerris, feeling little or no apprehension until her view of him became more clear.

Hxlgg
02-03-2005, 05:56 PM
Byron crept silently along the the trails of Aryan, and could not keep from smiling. The man in the pub was more than happy to divulge the location of Lerris to a "dear old friend of Lerris".

So away Byron went, after gladly paying for the man's drink, and leaving the man in a baffled atmosphere. So around Byron slipped around corners to the simple and small brown-toned house on the side of the street. He looked around for any possible witnesses and slid open the door. Inside he heard muffled voices behind another door. They were here. He unsheathed his dagger continued forward...

Rowenna
02-03-2005, 06:17 PM
Rowen was left in darkness, blind as to what issue lay at hand, why Lerris had come home at a run, what reason there was to be so apprehensive. The old trait of paranoia never completely left her, even after two years of peace. She was left with her suspicions--was someone after Lerris? Someone from his past who knew he still lived, and came to finish the job both Vyrax and Aouri had started? Was there a bounty hunter on her tail? Someone to claim the life of a former murderer and thief, and turn a corpse in for profit?

Rowen did not know. Possibilities roamed through her mind, head filled with creative prospects of their own demise. Whatever lay ahead, at the very least, the woman knew there was a threat. By the look of Lerris, there could be no other possibility. With this, she assumed the worst... save for the single most threatening possibility of them all.

"What's wrong?" The words came from her mouth when both she and Lerris were in a position to speak, her tones simultaneously questioning and concerned. Rowen awaited her answer, unaware of what truth lay ahead, she focusing wholly on matters that had nothing to do with a man, though perpetually a boy in her eyes, that she loved as a son.

Ragnar Sten
02-09-2005, 02:26 PM
"He...theif....him..." Lerris' words came out with each panting breath until finally he shook his head and took a deep breath. "He is here....Byron, I saw him inside the pub, he was drinking, he must of been looking for our house." The elf glanced over his shoulder and down the street to find no sign of Byron anywhere, "This is no joke Rowen, he is here...." The elf ran into the bedroom and pulled free his staff from under the bed flipped it into it's holding puch and threw it on his back, he then slid on some harder boots made good for fighting, and for a long journey. When Lerris came back out to where Rowen stood he stopped and looked out the door once more, "Ty, he is our best bet for help..." Mumbled the elf...

Rowenna
02-09-2005, 02:42 PM
Byron? Here? It hardly seemed possible. She had sought him out on more occasions than she would have liked, but now he had come for her? Rowen did not see the danger Lerris most assuredly did--hence why a look of worry turned into something more... determined.

"Silentmore?" Rowen asked, too, finding herself some proper footwear... though she had not intended to run. "You make that sound like Byron is a threat."

There were a hundred reasons why this should have been so--Byron and Lerris had locked horns many times before, once with a very clear intent. The former student had also been a threat to she herself, but these things she chose to ignore. Byron had been her friend, an ally at times when all seemed lost. Rowen had even seen him as her own son. No... she did not intend to run. She aimed to seek him out.

Ragnar Sten
02-09-2005, 02:47 PM
Lerris shook his head, Maybe not a threat to you...

Lerris clearly remembered the first time he and Rowen had chased down the boy, he remembered being punched in the face until he could hardly stand, he remembered Byron's face, the hatered in his eyes. "Just stay here, I have to go talk to Ty, even if Byron is here simply to say hello....Why would he take the time to find where we had gone, when years ago...he simply left?" Lerris turned quickly, not waiting for an answer, and headed down the street towards Ty's inn.

Rowenna
02-09-2005, 03:03 PM
Rowen stepped forward, almost contemplating the possibility of going after Lerris, intervening before he got too far, even if just to get in the final word. Too, there wasn't the slightest want to simply remain in-doors and away from where she felt she needed to be when one she cared for so much was in her midst, could she?... much to her own detest, she could, and did.

Rowen stayed put as she watched after Lerris, a certain look on her face. Certain, in the sense that she believed Byron would not come all this way just to start trouble. She didn't care that he had taken such time in finding them, even after he left of his own accord. She gave no heed to how suspicious it seemed--for all she knew, he could have changed his mind. Nothing could come out of such a decision now, as was already clear, she having already made a life there, but simultaneously, she was glad to know he was still all right. Nothing could quite describe exactly how much she at least wanted to say hello.

Hxlgg
02-15-2005, 04:58 PM
Byron whispered a small laugh. His prey was inside. His kill. He could hear that vindictive cur speaking with his friend and mentor. His vile tongue filled the air with his dubious and distressed vulgarities. Oh how Byron loathed that man. That man who stole away his trainer, his confidant, his mother.

Byron's body twitched slightly as a door slammed in the room. Someone left! Byron reached down his unhallowed hand to the brass doorknob, and turned it slowly and without hesitation. He peered around the corner and like a angel, there stood his mother. Light seemed to no less than resonate off of her and her furrowed brow tensed with worry signalled that Lerris had stolen away.

"Hello..." Byron signed.

[Rowenna]

Rowenna
02-15-2005, 05:15 PM
Rowen stared, mouth agape at a wight she had had long known, trained, but what was more, sought and cared for. For such a time, she had fought to keep him at her side, and now, when she had finally given up... there he was. Perhaps, just perhaps, there was something to this 'natural order' Lerris once spoke of. What had he said? 'Those who look to the Heavens prosper, those who defy it are no more'? She didn't want to believe that--and yet, here Byron stood. She had wanted him, but more than anything else, she had wanted to say something, not just stand there like a d*mned idiot. A wide open mouth soon stammered, sounds emitted both random and, at least in her mind, completely and totally moronic.

"I... I... Bryon--"

She approached, bearing a look as something of a wild animal, coming forward to a coaxing human. It scarcely seemed real--but it was. To a delight she could not find an appropriate means to manifest, he was there. Byron was there. It seemed, though perhaps to her own naiveté, that everything was right in the world.

"Byron, I don't know..."

What she would have said, I don't know what to say, would have been a lie. She knew what needed to be said. An expression of affection, though many the possibilities were, nothing seemed quite appropriate, nothing seemed enough. She allowed herself a foolish smile. More foolish than she realized at the moment she saw him.

Hxlgg
02-15-2005, 05:19 PM
A grin spread wide across Bryon's face. A grin he had not worn for many years. There she was. All to him. There was nothing Byron could say. He did not think of what could be said at this moment. He only thought about his villianous plans. He walked across the room several steps and embraced her. That was all that was needed. For many a moment, they just stood in sweet, untainted embrace.

"I have missed you so..." Byron let out, as a smile and tear crossed his face.

Rowenna
02-15-2005, 05:33 PM
Rowen returned the embrace, mind all a blur, having dropped sharply into a void of felicity, her paranoia, fears, sarcasm, everything else just gone. There was no need for that... or this, what would have thought if she retained the capacity to do so at all. It was not as though Rowen had become someone else over the past two years, not as if she had drastically changed in the past moment or so. She was... blind.

The woman pulled away, idiotic smile on her face, genuine smile on her face, as some might have called it, were they given the chance to see.

"I... you..."

Still, Rowen was tripping over her own tongue. She carried an utter loathing for her own lack of ability to form a simple sentence, but this was by far outweighed by the completeness of her own rapture. A smile grew wider as she brushed her fingers against Byron's face.

"You look different," she said. That was all she seemed to be able to say, all else understood in her mind, but nearly impossible to articulate in forms of language. And one more unification of words made into the world of sound, as she spoke, wearing an expression... not angry... not particularly happy, a wide smile fading from her face... more curious, questioning, uncertain... "Why did you leave?"

Hxlgg
02-15-2005, 06:17 PM
"Oh boy," Byron sighed. "You start out with the hard question right away don't ya? You always have been like that. Just what I love about you." the bright-eyed man paused for a moment and smiled once again. He could not stop. "As you know, you and your vile boyfriend had been getting a lot closer. I know you and I both see it as childish now, but I left for several reasons, one of which being the plain and simple fact that I was feeling left out, lost and forgotten. I know that is not a very good reason, but I have others. Don't you worry your pretty little face there.
"Over the past many years, I knew that I was getting better and better with my skills I honed from you. I knew, no offense, love, that I was surpassing you. I kept it from you for quite a while until I could not take it. That was my first outburst, where I injured you, which I am still horrified and very apologetic about. At that adventure's ending, I knew I had lost you to Lerris, but I went along anyway. I left this time, because I knew I had to just find myself. I needed to be alone to do so. So I left. I knew you and Lerris would be fine. You would carry on. And you did. I am proud. Unless there is something I don't know about.
"I am left at a blank with what else to say. There are many more reasons, but none we need to worry about. How have you been?"

Byron grinned stupidly. Deep down, he knew he still had lost her. At least he thought so. But he did not want to believe that. She was here. Speaking to him.

"Come...Let us sit and talk."

Rowenna
02-15-2005, 07:48 PM
Rowen winced mildly as Byron gave mention to Lerris in a manner somewhat less than complementary, but she could most assuredly tolerate this. It was not as though Lerris was in danger. It was another sentence amongst Byron's long winded explanation, that left Rowen with a deep sense of--she didn't know what. Unless there is something I don't know about, he had said. She had not felt guilt--but it was something, something profound and powerful. Whatever this feeling was, it certainly took on many of the attributes of self-reproach, but in no way, did Rowen regret what promise was made with Lerris under the two years Byron had taken off.

"Of course," she said after Byron ended his piece, moving as though no contemplation had occurred within her mind. She, in fact, but such thoughts out of her mind entirely--it was not as though Byron was going to go in a rage if he knew. It didn't matter. Not at the moment, anyway. "Over, ahh... over here."

Rowen took Byron by the hand, leading him to someplace they could sit. It was very obviously clear in sight from where they once stood, of course, Rowen gesturing for Byron to seat himself. She herself was located across a small table-board, a hand still intertwined around his. Rowen continued the conversation as though they had not moved.

"I've been... I've been fine," she said, answering the question she had been asked only a moment before. "No, I've been doing very well, ahh, actually." It was strange to speak to Byron again... not in a negative way, by any means, but this new turn left many of Rowen's natural attributes forsaken during the moment at hand. She wasn't angry, words calm and gradual. She wasn't being arrogant, the tone of condescension nonexistant, even in jest... she wasn't being facetious, or articulate, polished speech abandoned for, well... this. She just was. It didn't feel normal... but with Byron there, it didn't feel half bad either. "Albeit it felt a little strange at first, it's all all right now. I've got a place here, and I'm rather confident you don't want to hear too much of Lerris, but he has been kind to me."

Rowen quickly changed the topic from Lerris, to something else--namely Byron. No, she felt no real danger, not the sort of danger of life, the danger of death--more so the danger of the abandonment of pleasant conversation. There was no use in pretending, after comments of his vileness, that Lerris was well liked by her former student.

"What about you," she said with a smile. "It's been two years--there must be something worth speaking of."

Two years... too long to wait for such an exchange of dialogue.

Hxlgg
02-16-2005, 12:23 PM
"Nothing has happened that you would wish to have the knowledge of." Byron grimaced at the thought of telling his friend some of his deepest, most recent thoughts about the desecration of her boyfriend. "Trust me on this one..."

"Must we talk about me? Surely something more interesting has happened to you. Interesting events...? Parties...? Good brawls...? Kills...? C'mon, something." Byron could not think of anything else to say about himself. His soul desire just wanted to learn about Rowen.

Rowenna
02-16-2005, 02:44 PM
"Parties?" Rowen smiled at the thought of that. Yes, quite a bit had changed, but social gatherings were not amongst her sources of interest. Unless she herself was somewhere in a quiet corner, something about the prospect of celebration, intensely animated, that is, seemed somewhat... unrefined. "You must know me better than that."

Of course, there was no reason to. After such a time of hiding in mind, there were some things that couldn't be known unless directly confronted. Even so, Rowen wouldn't be one to see herself amongst any kind of vivacious festivities. Though true, there were many places she did not see herself, many things she wouldn't have thought herself to become. At ten, she wouldn't have thought herself to be a thief. At twenty, she wouldn't have thought herself to be a traitor... or a teacher. At thirty, she wouldn't... she wouldn't be there, in that place, with an elf she had once carried such a fascination with killing, such an engulfing desire to hurt.

"Brawls, however... there has been some of that, yes."

In recent years, there had been no fights, nothing, especially not as serious as the fights both Rowen and Lerris confronted against Aouri. Without exaggeration, the assassin was vile, malicious, malevolent, sadistic... but brilliant. A brilliant fighter, or was at one time. Rowen recounted the tale to Byron, from who he was, why he was there, to the fights themselves, and, of course, her hand in the end of it all. True, perhaps many things had changed since... well, since before they had parted. She no longer sought blood, but her past experience, especially the dispense of a detested enemy, were events she found no guilt in... she had rather enjoyed telling him of her success, she herself finding an excitement that was not present in the struggles themselves. No... back then, there was fear... and pain. Pain of the flesh, fear for herself, and even greater, fear for Lerris. By then, by that time she told Byron of her brushes with Aouri, the fear had long dispersed. There was no more of that, there hadn't been since she and Lerris safely found themselves at Aryan. There was no more reason to feel fear.

Hxlgg
02-16-2005, 06:42 PM
"Wow. What an adventure!" Byron was slightly in shock of what she told him. It seemed like it occured almost immediatly after he left. And he thought he was just making a lot of noise. "You life on the go has obviously been more exciting than mine. But from the looks of it, you have seemed to settled down here. Any reason why?" Byron had been wondering the answer to this since he arrived. The man at the pub said Lerris had been living there for quite a while. And that a "stupid whipper-snapper like yourself" should have seen that. Byron grinned at his more recently, and anonymous kill. That man will know not to insult Byron anymore, and frankly, anybody else.

Rowenna
02-16-2005, 06:56 PM
Rowen paused for a moment. Why? She did not want to tell him this... some part of her still desired to stay strong in Byron's eyes. Her secret, one of her last, would suggest the opposite--the thought of Lerris was not what plagued her mind as she gained a somber expression.

"I never told you this," Rowen began slowly, taking a deep breath. No more secrets, she told herself repeatedly. This was what had broken their relationship before--the unknown she hid to stay strong... and yet, this was what had driven Byron away in the first place. She had to say this, then or never. "It has been how long exactly since Rohan? I don't remember anymore, but it has to do with that. After the massacre, I didn't find any more rapture in what I did. Considered stopping, but two things stood in my way. The first thing was mercenaries--bounty hunters. With them on the lookout, all I had to do was stop for an hour, and they would catch up with me. The second thing was you. I didn't want you to think I was weak--and I'm not, mark my words, I'm not. But here, I had a chance. And I did."

She prayed, yes, Rowen pray, that this would not lead to an argument. So long since anything, words of anger, normality, or friendship. Anything shared between she and Byron at that moment, she wanted it to be of the latter. It has to be, she thought to herself. The truth was what he wanted, what, three years ago? Four? Even then, he had to see that the truth was still the correct path... or so Rowen had hoped.

Hxlgg
02-16-2005, 07:06 PM
But here, I had a chance. And I did.

The statement rang in Byron's head. What did she mean by this? There were many complications with this statement. First and foremost, Byron had come for more reasons than just to kill Lerris. He had come to take Rowen away and to come with him. If she was settled down, that would not be possible. But the most horrifying matter came to Byron, but he did not want to even think of it. Not rage that filled him was great, but Byron suppressed it. He needed to stay calm in this matter. He needed to show his maturity and age. But why? Why did he need to show it? He was beyond angry. His fury could know no bounds if what he thought was true.

What are the other implications this statement could conceal? Did she live alone? No. He knew Lerris lived here too. Roomates? Maybe. The thought of them getting.... Argh! It frustrated and enraged Byron immensely. He needed to fume. He was going to blow.

Byron gritted his teeth, and kept his cool. "What do you mean Rowen...what is it?"

Ragnar Sten
02-16-2005, 07:06 PM
It wasn’t fear, Lerris couldn’t bring himself to call it that, he opened the door to Ty’s inn and before he shouted for him the elf stopped and wondered

Why am I running?

The elf had told himself no more running, he had sworn that he was done with it. Now, with one sign of Byron, he almost fled the village. Just then Ty made his way slowly down the steps and a smile came to his face as he saw the brown haired elf. “Hey Lerris.” Lerris gave him a nod, “One of my wife’s old friends is in town, he was never a real friend of mine…and t’ tell you the truth..I don’t much like the fella either…” Ty smirked, “Your welcome to stay here for a time Lerr…” Lerris cut him off with a hand, “I know….” Lerris sighed, and Ty brought him to the bar and they both sat down on the nearby chairs. Lerris tossed his staff on the ground next to him, and Ty spoke. “Need something?”

Lerris smirked,

“Yeah, I need a drink.”

Rowenna
02-16-2005, 07:23 PM
Rowen took a deep breath. She hadn't expected the conversation to go this way. She had meant it to mean she had taken her chance at a calm life--but the implication was clear. Rowen could see it, that if Byron had not already come to a conclusion, he was well on his way. There was no hiding anymore. No reason to keep this truth from clarity.

"The, ah... I didn't quite intend to lead the conversation this way," Rowen said, nervously tapping her fingertips against the table. No more secrets, no more hiding... "Lerris and I..."

She couldn't find it in her to say it. A part of her had hoped this would end well, but she soon found herself growing tense. The old paranoia had not yet fully come to surface, but it was almost certainly on its way. Rowen broke from Byron's gaze. She didn't say anything after this--as a sign of her answer, she merely propped her left elbow on the table, a band on her finger in view.

Hxlgg
02-17-2005, 02:55 PM
Byron was in shock. Some of it slightly lessened as he partly came to the conclusion on his own, but still. Rowen...married? To Lerris!? The complications with this were beyond Byron. The most obvious reason floated straight through his head. Lerris was an elf. Rowan a human. Interracial marriages tended to not work out as well. Mainly because of the different life expectances. Was Lerris just supposed to move onto another mate when Rowen past away? Was that his plan? Just move from person to person, pleasing himself, and leaving the other in momentary bliss? That was of course an outcome. A possible outcome.

But why was Rowen so unable to tell Byron? As usual, the most barefaced option. She feared what Byron would do to Lerris. Well, Byron already had reason for that. This just enraged him more. It was not that Byron was angry at Rowen, but she had left him somewhat physically, mentally, and emotionally for a fool, and then she went and wed that same fool. Did Byron mean nothing to her? Were the ten some odd years they spend together nothing in her eyes? Just training? No friendship anywhere? Byron found that hard to believe.

The way Rowen said it bothered Byron the most. Very hesitant. Very averse. It seemed strange. Most married couples were bursting with joy over the matter. Her voice wavered during the telling and the half-hearted approach she took when telling Byron the end. Was she not pleased with her marriage? Not proud? It bugged Lerris even more than the fact they got married. More than anything, he wanted Rowen happy. But Byron still put his needs above Rowen. He is proud of being the egotistical man he is. That is where Byron would start his questioning.

"Well...I will admit that cam as somewhat of a shock." Byron swallowed hard. "But there is one thing I am wondering above all else right now...you were quite hesitant while telling me. Are you not feeling blessed with this marriage? Are you not ecstatic about it?"

Rowenna
02-17-2005, 03:06 PM
Rowen was somewhat... no, very surprised that Byron was not going into a rage. Paranoia took a steep fall as she wore an expression confused, as best as could be described. Of course, she would have hoped for Byron to be fine... but not this unaffected.

"I'm not so sure that is the proper question," Rowen said in a voice betraying her own confusion. "The correct question would more so be directed to you. When you found out that Lerris and I were together, you beat him to a bloody mass. Are you sure you won't, ah... repeat a former reaction?"

Rowen's avoidance of the question had nothing to do with what she felt about herself, about Lerris, anything--only Byron. It seemed so unlikely that he would be completely unfazed by this turn of events. Of course, she hadn't expected him to go on a murderous hunt, but any concern was lacking. This was... suspicious.

Ragnar Sten
02-17-2005, 03:30 PM
I do remember something about "No more ale, ever..."

Lerris shook his head as he downed the last of his second glass of the drink. Ty simply sat behind the bar, not saying a word and somewhat understanding why Lerris was there and not at home with his wife, yet Lerris felt the need to explain. "Once, a long while back, way before Rowen and I arrived here in Aryan....I lived in Mirkwood..ever heard of that plac...?" Ty cut Lerris off with a hand, "I know this Middle-Earth better then you think elf, You lived in that dark forest? Bah." Lerris nodded, "I swear it, I fought Rowen there once...." Lerris stopped himself there, wondering why he had said something as random as that. "Must be the ale..." muttered the elf to himself, "Anyway, years later I came back to that place, and me and Rowen were friends, and not enemies anymore....Byron...he realized that." Lerris slid the glass back to his friend, "One more..." Ty filled the glass and slid it back to the brown haired elf, "He saw me and Rowen, I kissed her...and the next thing i knew I was being beatin into a bloody mess by him...THAT is why im here...and not at home." Ty nodded, and Lerris took a large gulp of the ale "Thanks for the ale Ty, I need to go out and do something thinking alone." The elf finished his ale, picked up his staff, and made for the door.

Hxlgg
02-17-2005, 03:31 PM
"You always did like avoiding questions, didn't you?" Byron sneered through his teeth. She was starting it all over again. Not trusting him with the real reasons. Was she never going to trust him? Apparently not. The thought depressed Byron into a deeper inside fit of rage. "Alright, I'll tell you. I already came to kill him to tell you the truth. He is already dead in my mind, and maybe you should start letting go also. You will not be stopping me. And as for what I would have done if my motives were not already set how they are, I probably would have beat him to a pulp, and in the worse-case scenario, killed him." The calmness in Byron's voice while talking about this shocked even him. But he liked it. He enjoyed instilling fear into people. He loved the hunt.

Rowenna
02-17-2005, 03:45 PM
Rowen's expression darkened as Byron spoke, at first, her motive misunderstood... and then, for the true reason behind Byron's return. The felicity she felt upon Byron's arrival was gone--now... now, there was her, wondering where she put her weapon, and what it would take to keep Byron away from Lerris. Only a last resort, she told herself as she became increasingly more aware of everything that went on, any suspicous move, any motion uncalled for. She had not intended for it to go this way. But now, it appeared as though Lerris was right... about one thing. Byron was a danger... but there was no natural order. It was all a pretty fantasy, the prospect of such a world based on order and design. In reality... there was only chaos.

"That was certainly forward," she said, straightening in her seat. Her voice was darkening, dangerous. "But know I will not let you get to him of my own will."

She didn't want to fight Byron again--and most assuredly, not for this. But, if it was necessary, she would. If there was no other choice, she'd have him out cold, and after that she didn't know what.

"You were wrong," she went on, leaning to the edge of her seat, as though ready to bolt at the slightest provocation. "I wasn't dodging the question. If you are so desperate to have me interrogated for your own benefit, then yes, I am content here, and I will fight to protect that."

Ragnar Sten
02-17-2005, 04:01 PM
The elf walked the streets of Aryan with little care for what was going on around him. people smiled and said hello, Lerris hardly noticed and simply gave them a nod and kept walking towards his house slowly. He got the front door, and stopped with his hand on the doorknob. He sighed, tossed his staff onto the ground near his house, and turned to walk out of the village. As he reached the small gates he nodded to a few men around him, all of them smiling and nodding back. Finally after a few minutes he was out in the small forest surrounding the village. The elf wandered about the trees for a few minutes, thinking about what to say, or do with Byron. He sighed, coming to no conclusion, so he headed back for Aryan. A half hour or so had passed when he reached the village again...Except this time Lerris heard voices inside the house...one was Byrons.

"I already came to kill him to tell you the truth. He is already dead in my mind...

Lerris was in shock, had the d*mn boy really come for him? Lerris turned from his house, figuring Rowen knew how to take care of herself...and it wasn't like Byron was there to hurt her...far from it. Lerris looked down at his staff, and for some reason...Turned away. A peice of wood wasn't going to help this time, he needed something no one even knew he had.

The elf came to the back of the house, and found the exact spot he had placed it. He dug quickly under the house and found the old bag, cobwebs and spiders all about it. Lerris dusted off the spiders and slid open the bags top, revealing a sheath, and in that sheath sat an old sword, that Rowen would most likely remember if he chose to tell her about it. He slid out the sword from its holder and gave it a few swings, this sword had belonged to a man named Vyrax, that man had tried to kill Rowen and Lerris a few years back, and Lerris had simply taken his sword when he thought him dead. The elf threw the sheath on his back and in one quick motion slid the sword into it's place. "Blessed be Abbot, he gave me my strength, whom teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight..." The elf said the prayer to his old friend, and simply walked to the front of his house, he crouched onto his heels...and simply waited for the door to open.

[Rowenna]

Hxlgg
02-18-2005, 03:29 PM
Byron shurgged. "I guess all is well as long as you say you are content with your placid lifestyle. I for one thrive in the adventure. Byron grinned stupidly.

He went on, "I should probably get going soon. I know you don't really want me around. I will head out of town as soon as I get done what I need to finish. I pray you don't interfere. I would not hesitate to harm you, as long as I get my goal accomplished. I mean no offense, I love you, you are an extraordinary woman, but our lives are too different now." Byron just smiled and waited for her response.

Rowenna
02-18-2005, 03:54 PM
As long as all was well with her lifestyle? As long as Lerris was dead? How could that...? Rowen kept her silence, a peaceful ending far out of reach. She would no longer blindly attempt at an end where all was well, and she would not make any of this clear through word of mouth. Action was the only correct route by then, Byron already too taken by this want to end Lerris.

"I told you I'd protect my way here," Rowen finally said, ready to bolt for her weapon. "Lerris is a part of that, and I'll protect him too, even if it means the reverse for you."

Despite her poster, ready to take off at the slightest provocation, Rowen stood slowly, backing away with light steps.

"I don't want to have to fight you, but if you take a wrong step, I will." By then, she was telling herself how stupid she was for not having a weapon ready for use, right then and there. Not even one mounted on the wall--of course, with such a laid back life for two years, she hadn't expected to need one at the slightest notice. That, of course, didn't mean her home was empty of weaponry.

By then, a hand stretched out to her side, retrieving a discarded item from the surface close at hand. It was a dagger--the best she had, unless she took the time to look harder. This was not an option--she wouldn't turn her back on Byron for a second.

"I don't want to have to kill you," she said, swallowing hard. It was no lie--the prospect was verging on terrifying. "So I advice you leave before it comes to that."

Hxlgg
02-18-2005, 04:09 PM
"You would never kill me and you know it." Byron got up, and stretched. He was getting slightly bored of this. "Come now Rowen. Show me around your house. Let us not strife. We shall remains friends, unless certain circumstances tear us apart. I do not want that to be our fate. Come on, let us go."

Byron looked at Rowen, his eyes betraying her, he knew it. He did not really want to see the house. The front door was not safe. Someone else obviously knew he was here. They left through the back door right before he entered the room. It was probably Lerris. Byron did not know though, but from previous experiences, going out the door you came in was not always a good plan of action.

Rowenna
02-18-2005, 04:25 PM
The dagger remained gripped in her fist as her eyes remained locked on Byron. It was unbelievable--that he would still expect them to be all right, that is, after Lerris was dead. Now, on the outside, there would be only one more warning.

"There is the way out," Rowen said, pointing out to the back. Her voice was marked by apprehension, insecurity... she meant none of this to happen. She didn't want to send him away, she didn't want to threaten him, but it all had to be, lest death be the next step. "Take it..."

Say that weighed heavily on Rowen. She still loved Byron, there was no doubt about that. She enjoyed the brief moment of happiness they shared before she knew his real intent for coming, and she would have wanted him to stay, had he not been so keen on ending Lerris. Had he not become something she once was.

Hxlgg
02-18-2005, 04:34 PM
Byron just looked at his friend. She was really sending him away. He could not believe it. Apparently her wits had improved since they last were together. Byron used to trick Rowen into so many situations she could not get out of without his control. The serenity of this place soothed her mind and made it quicker. Maybe Byron was not as on top of the situation as he thought.

"Fine. I will leave your house. Never to see you again, if you would have it. But I will not be leaving Aryan yet. Soon though." Byron gave his friend one last glare and turned to the door behind him. He was not going out the front door and there had to be a back door. Lerris and Rowen would not be that dim-witted to not have one. Byron opened that door, and sure enough, there was a back door. He went straight through it without looking back. He closed the door with a hard swallow and began his walk into town.

Rowenna
02-18-2005, 04:56 PM
Rowen just stood there, desolate look on her face. So much chasing to find Byron, so much contemplation before letting him go... and just then, she had sent him away. There were few things that matched exactly how she felt right then, exactly how mirthless. She knew his words to be true--they would likely never see one another again, at least not on good terms. No... no, they would almost certainly be enemies. Why? Because she did not intend for Byron to get away so easily. She did not intend to let him get to Lerris. She intended to fight.

But something else had to happen first. She had to get to Lerris, warn him of what was to come, whether or not an I told you so was on its way. She had to be sure Lerris was not caught off guard. This, and... and, she had to make sure whatever struggle lay ahead did not go too far. Byron had spoken of murder himself, murder of one she cared for, yet she did not want him to die.

Rowen dropped the dagger to the floor, the object clanking against the wood. She stumbled back in her own self-remorse, laying her head in her palm. No... no time for this. She walked back to the front, unhappily ready to find Lerris, and tell him everything that had just occurred.

Ragnar Sten
02-22-2005, 03:30 PM
Lerris sat still in his crouching position, the sword on his back made it hard to sit in such an odd way. But he simply dismissed the pain, and kept his eyes and ears alert to anything. The brown haired elf had knew it, and he cursed himself for thinking he was really safe in Aryan, cursed himself for not preparing for when Byron finally snapped and tried to kill him. Lerris finally noticed he had one hand at the ready on his sword's hilt, incase the boy would attack without Lerris knowing. He let go of the sword, and the whiteness of his knuckles faded to a pale-reddish color. Lerris sighed, and looked over his shoulder once again...

"Should of killed em when you had the chance, should of slit his throat that morning...should of killed him." Lerris mummered to himself, and with that, brought his eyes around as the door to his home opened.

Rowenna
02-22-2005, 03:40 PM
Rowen uneasily made her way to the front, head heavy from the recent... conversation, of sorts. She rather wished she hadn't brought up Lerris, almost regretted breaking away from the ignorance Byron would keep over her... but then, were it not for that, there would be no preventing what Byron almost certainly was to go through with. Or attempt, rather... Rowen would not let it be.

Her grip finding the knob, she examined her mind for places to find Lerris, and what to say when the time came to warn him. Silentmore's? This was the logical place, the Inn, where Lerris had said he would go just before he left. There was merely what to say that remained on her mind as she pulled in the port.

Rowen betrayed no surprise when she saw Lerris there, with a sword no less, as though she had been expecting him. The situation was too grave to waste time on normality, her own fastidious side coming to surface at long last.

"Lerris," she said quietly in a somber tone, hiding in any feeling of remorse to her own former student, the scourging sensation that he was lost to her, and that soon Lerris would be as well. "There's something you have to know."

Ragnar Sten
02-22-2005, 03:49 PM
"What? Are you going to tell me that Byron is here...Or the part about how I am already dead in his mind? and that you should start letting go also? The fact you will not be stopping him?" Lerris said in a darker tone then was really needed, but it seemed to be the only way he could and would talk until Byron was gone, or dead. "I heard him talking to you, and waited....did you send him out the back door?" Lerris looked over his shoulder, and stood slowly to his feet, "Where did he go? If he wants to fight go tell the child that I am right here...out in the open..." The brown haired elf pulled free the sword and once again went into his squating position, this time using the sword to hold him up. "I'm sorry Rowen, I...." Lerris said, his tone a little lighter....very little. "I'm not going to run this time, I'm going to fight...and if this ends with him...or me...dead, then atleast one way or the other...I'm done hiding. That's good enough for me..."

Rowenna
02-22-2005, 04:04 PM
Rowen had not expected to hear that come out of Lerris' mouth, any of it... the tone, the words themselves, the intent behind them. She hid her own surprise remarkably well, wishing not to appear weak, especially then. Then was a time for concentration... this had to be resolved, and if it killed her, there would be no casualties that day.

"That won't happen, if I can help it," Rowen said in a tone that carried on from what she had said before. "You won't be fighting alone today."

There was more to it than this, of course. It was not only that she would fight at Lerris' side if it came to that, but she too wanted to prevent any possibility of Byron dying. She did not know how to say that... to say she wasn't just fighting on one side.

"I won't be your messenger," she said finally. "I'll be here when the time comes."

Ragnar Sten
02-22-2005, 04:21 PM
Lerris nodded, thats all he did, the elf nodded. He had no more words to say to Rowen at the moment, he knew inside that she would rather have him and Byron as friends..This, would never happen. After a half hour or so of waiting, the elf became impatient with Byron and stood. "I'm right here Byron, come and hit me! You ever killed anybody face to face before, have you? Always killing from behind in the darkness right?.....It's not like steppin' on ants, Byron. It takes a man to kill face to face...you man enough to kill, Byron?!" Lerris shouted, his face red by the time he was finished, he glanced at Rowen, and brought his eyes back to what was ahead of him. "I've killed before Byron, i've stood face to face with Orcs back before you where born, i've stood face to face with Rowen before you even mattered to me. We're all born with an expiration date. Today is mine or yours....Life is nothing but a grace period, so lets end this period.....I'm sick of waiting..." The elf's voice drifted off as he said those last few words.

Rowenna
02-22-2005, 04:40 PM
The sentiment Lerris so blatantly demonstrated was an obvious cause for concern... no, not concern. Wroth. Rowen looked up to Lerris with a cold glare, contrasting from the fire that was once there when she herself was a thief, and still yet different from the encompassing emptiness after Rohan. These eyes were of ice, as frozen iron or steel.

"I'm not going to pretend there's a happy ending waiting after this," she said in a voice that took on the very feel of her glare. "But do try not to kill the kid."

That was all she could find to say. All that she needed to say. Were her words taken into account, it didn't matter if the end included knocking her former student out, and sending him away on the next ship out, or even getting him into prison, however far that may be, whether or not he managed to get his face on a wanted page by then, as long as he didn't have to die.

Hxlgg
02-23-2005, 02:07 PM
Byron exited the home with all due haste. His first and dying thought was the death of Lerris, and now he had his chance to kill him. To bring death to the man – elf – who had stolen away his friend, his mentor, and his mother. Byron was not going to stand down. He was not going to break. He couldn’t. Not for what he needed to do. The malicious glare of Byron sought only one elf. One victim. Someone would die very soon. Byron’s life would then seem complete. He could leave it knowing he had saved himself, by taking the life of another. Byron’s own precious life would be saved as he slaughtered another, taking away their felicity and joy.

Without any warning, Byron stopped in the middle of his search for Lerris, standing in the center of the dirt road. It finally hit him. It finally came as a horrible blow to his conscious self. A hard knot came to the top of Byron’s throat, and for a moment his breath was stolen from him. A lone tear slip from his eyelid, and Byron slipped into the adjacent alleyway, the darkness encompassing him. What was this? What was happening? Emotions, long lost emotions, crept upon Byron like a hawk upon its intended prey. Swift and hurtful. With hardly a second later, Byron found himself sitting down next to a building, his knees pulled up tight to his chin, and arms embracing his legs. Tears ran down his cheeks, staining them with his own contempt for life.

Why did he have to be like this? Why did his life have to feel complete only once a deadly deed had occurred? Since when did Byron draw his energy from lack there of? Did he really need to have the death of Lerris happen, just to free himself? Questions reeled through his mind, and Byron continued to shed his tears, washing out the disdain and humiliation he felt.

“I'm right here Byron, come and hit me! You ever killed anybody face to face before, have you? Always killing from behind in the darkness right?...”

The sound of the voice startled Byron. It sounded so near. So full of hate and spite. Wiping his nose and wiping a tear away, Byron clutched the hilt of his sword and began to stand up. He needed to be stronger than this. He needed to stand up for what was right for once instead of immediately taking the erroneous route.

The tear-stained man stumbled slightly out of the alleyway. Guilt crept over him again, and Byron knew he did not want to fight Lerris. It would be better to have him as a comrade than as an adversary.

“Here…H-here I am!” Byron’s voice echoed through the town as he choked on the words. There was nothing that he could do to stop it. Byron walked back to where he had entered the elf’s house. Taking his steps slowly and uncertainly, he was unsure of what would happen next…

Rowenna
02-23-2005, 03:10 PM
Rowen inhaled deeply as Byron came to her sight, mind full of her own apprehension. The sight of her former student brought something deeper than former fear, something in his gaze that more so than ever, made her want to seek out a lost ignorance, if only to avoid this coming conflict. This was not an option.

Between the times Lerris had made his call, and Byron had made his presence apparent, Rowen had armed herself. Dagger in her hand, her grip went tight, though not out of any will to fight. Out of the fear of using it. She knew, yes, Rowen knew very well it had to be this way. Her tone soft, too soft for Byron to hear, she said something to Lerris.

"If it can be helped at all," she said in a soft and secret tone, "Don't kill him."

She didn't bother to further explain. She did not elaborate in terms of what was possible, as Rowen did not truly think it possible that both would be alive by the end of the day. In terms of the logical choice, it had to be Byron. She only hoped it wouldn't be by her hand.

Hxlgg
02-23-2005, 04:15 PM
All Byron could do was continue walking. He saw his first ever friend, standing there, clutching a dagger. Silently, part of him seemed to fade. She was willing to kill him. She was willing to give up everything she had. Byron thought to himself. He was being very egotisical. But he wanted her. He needed her. She was his life. For a moment, the man's vision blurred.

He went forward, never taking his eyes off of Rowen. He had already seen Lerris. Gripping his sword with furocious intensity. It was intended for Byron and Byron only. Is this really what it had come for. A man, his mind focused only on death for his life, changes his, mind but is faced with the choice still. An Elf, anger flowing. And a woman, a Goddess, stuck in the middle. What an ending...battle of love Byron thought.

Nothing but heartache and his own life on his mind, an empty man strode to his death.

Ragnar Sten
02-23-2005, 05:16 PM
"...Don't kill him."

Lerris stood slowly, and brought his sword around to his front and held it at the ready. "There, me and you...face to face...It isnt hard now is it Byron?" The elf spun the sword from his left hand to his right, and backed into a better form for using such a large sword. It had been years and years since Lerris had used such a weapon, he always figured it to be such a primitive weapon. But now, as he stood there looking at Byron with nothing but hate in his eyes, a weapon no longer mattered.

He was sick of running, sick of fighting, he would kill him with his bare-hands if he had to...or die trying.

"If it can be helped at all....Don't kill him..."

Rowenna
02-24-2005, 07:58 PM
Rowen's eyes locked onto Byron's, somehow unnerved by the intent stare. She felt it all over again, as she had when she came to the realization of what she did to her teacher. She felt as a traitor. Guilt consuming her, the woman steadied her breath as Lerris spoke, slowly coming to the conclusion that, whether she speak or no, her opinion would go uncharted when the real fight commenced. There remained only sheer blind hope to cling onto, as always, and though it was not her way... there was no other choice. No other choice, but to look to that frail chance, the impossible chance, that things would not end as all events suggested where this would lead. There was nothing else to turn to but this.

And she did. Even as she moved to stand by Lerris' side, ready to fight on his behalf, she held on to her own fallacy, her own illusion, her own lie. Her grip whitened as she held her dagger close, waiting for one of them to strike, waiting for a moment to act. She would not be the one to strike out first, not against someone she once considered her friend, still did, in many respects. If anyone was to be the one to make the first move, to instigate a conflict, wherein there would be no stopping once begun, Rowen knew who it must be.

"Byron," she said, only just loud enough for him to hear, cold tone still yet lingering on her lips. Her eyes were still heavy on his, deepening into the gaze of someone she loved as she child. She hadn't wanted this to happen, not then, not ever... but it had to be. "If you have come here for a purpose, do so now."

Hxlgg
02-27-2005, 03:24 PM
With lingering droplets stinging his eyes, Byron looked at Rowen, an emotionless, blank look steadied on him. His purpose? What in the world was Byron’s purpose? What could he possibly be alive for? Did he have any more reason to live? Should he just stride up to Lerris and ask to be killed? Byron did not have the will to fight, the stamina to survive nor the ability to overcome his breakthrough. He did not want to. Byron just wanted to crawl up into a little ball and sit there. Trying slowly and surely to straighten out his messed up life. He wanted to make things right.

“Rowen,” Byron uttered, ever so blandly, “My purpose is served. My life is at an end. There is nothing left. May you live out the rest of your years in peace, and remember me well.” Byron unsheathed his dagger and shot a daring look at Lerris. As long as he had to fight, Byron would make the elf work for it. Work for his adversary’s death. The broken man ambled forward, out of the vile existence he lived.

Ragnar Sten
02-28-2005, 03:19 PM
Lerris sighed, and stood up straight and brought the sword around so the point was towards Byron's neck. The elf was in no mood to taunt or talk, so he simply took several steps forward and began to parry with the young man. Byron was quick with his dagger but the elf matched every stab and slash with another of his own, the fight lasted several minutes before Lerris gave one hard push with his sword on Byron's dagger and sent the young man stumbling back. The elf caught his breath, glanced at Rowen and walked forward to begin attacking again.

Rowenna
02-28-2005, 04:03 PM
Rowen merely watched as the battle began, consumed by her own deep and devouring sense of uselessness, unable to act, despite the weapon in her head, and former readiness to save at least one of the two she cared for. Byron... he was different, somehow. Different from just a few moments ago, former intent to kill melting into something else, something mellow, sad. How could she fight him? How could she fight anyone in such a state? It was... impossible.

And then there was Lerris. There was no question involved when it came to him; she would not stop him from acting in self preservation. However, if things went too far... who knew. In the correct sense, Byron had gotten himself into something, and now, had to save himself. And so, he would have to do this alone...

Head throbbing from her own analysis, while the action was already underway, her knees almost froze in place as she forced herself forward, dagger at the ready, she herself ready to fight if need be. Then, perhaps, it was not just a case of not being able to help Byron. It was a case of fighting him. She wasn't ready for this, not ready to fight someone she knew as a student, a friend, a son, a teacher... but she would force herself if she had to.

Hxlgg
03-01-2005, 03:25 AM
The elf sparred very well. But that was all this fight was. Sparring. Byron had yet to try. He did not have the full stamina needed for this fight. He needed more. He needed to bring himself up to the plate and demolish this vile being before it got too close for comfort.

Byron held his breath for a moment, watching the elf swinging madly for him. The elf had no clue. No idea how to properly fight. There was a rhyme and reason for every action. Lerris took a jab for Byron's abdomen, and the man shifted to the side, gripping the elf's wrist, pulling him with the weight of the motion. The elf stumbled forwards a few paces until he caught his breath. He was several yards away by now. Byron just needed him to be farther away, then he could finish it.

While the elf regained his composure, Byron sheathed his sword and pulled his dagger from his boot. He grinned at Rowen who's stare bore straight into his eyes, stinging him with pains of regret for what he had to do.

Byron strode toward Lerris, dagger in hand. Someone was getting this weapon in them today, and it wasn't going to be Byron.

Ragnar Sten
03-01-2005, 07:43 PM
In truth, the sword just did not feel right in the hands of the brown haired elf. Lerris almost wanted to throw away the weapon and quickly find his staff, but at the moment that was not an option. The elf spun quickly to face Byron and found he no longer clutched the large sword in his hand, but now a smaller dagger. He figured the boy felt better fighting with something like that, since he was a theif, and that seemed to be the weapon of choice for them. He shook his head, and finally saw his staff laying by the front door where he had left it, he came quickly at Byron, and the boy simply deflected each shot as Lerris made his way around the young man. Once close enough to his staff the elf flipped the sword point down and stuck it hard into the ground, and in one motion was up straight again with his staff in hand. The wood felt good on his palm and he almost smiled at the familiar touch of his staff. He twirled it about his head and fell back into a simple fighting stance that he could hardly even remember the name of anymore. There he waited, waited for Byron to make a move.

[Rowenna]

Rowenna
03-02-2005, 07:31 AM
Rowen ripped the fallen sword from the earth, letting her dagger fall. She herself was far more skilled with the sword than a dagger, though she hadn't thought one was close at hand until Lerris revealed his own. By then, she was sick of waiting in the background as the two fought it out. It wasn't her way, she knew it wasn't her way, and yet, she had continued to remain idle out of her own fear of hurting the one she cared about. Now... watching the fight take its course, she knew how foolish it was, she knew exactly how moronic the concept had been, that she simply wait to be needed. If she had, the opportunity would come and go, someone dying in the process. No... she could wait no longer.

Rowen came forward, a look of remorse on her face as she struck out against Byron. Byron, the one she had taught for so long, had befriended for such a time, and now, it was the moment where it all lay, meant to end by a blow with her sword, or Lerris', she more hoped. She didn't want to be the one, the one to end his life forever, but such thoughts did not prevent her from swinging her weapon with all the skill and power she had. It was this, or let someone die. The choice was not her own, but now, she had to face it with everything she had.

No words were spoken as Rowen continued on her array of afflictions, nothing spoken, as no phrase she knew could properly say exactly how she felt, how sorry she was that she had to do this, and yet, how much of a traitorous act it seemed. She was remorseful that Byron had chosen this route, before Rowen could say something to show him exactly how treacherous his path would be, though even she herself did not know it would lead this way. Above all else, she wished she had something hard to drink to get her though that moment.

Hxlgg
03-02-2005, 04:47 PM
The changes to the situation shocked Byron slightly. The biggest of which being Rowen's alliance to Lerris' side. Was there any point at all to this fight? Byron suspected not. But nonetheless, he would go through with it. Lerris decided to change weapons, which gave Byron a slight disadvantage. Lerris was much better with his staff than that sword. But Byron's skill with his dagger were better, so the change was understandable. But Rowen with a sword was an entirely different story. That is what frightened Byron. He was going to have a hard time with this. A fight from a distance woudl be best, but how could Byron do that?

The board was now set, and the pieces were in motion, and Byron needed a drink. This was getting to be too much. Byron gave an acting smirk and strutted forward, twirling his dagger in his palm.

"What now Elf?" Byron sneered, all the while his mind tearing apart the possibilities of getting out of this. The pair he eyed were still a fair distance away. Byron estimated about fifty paces or around that length.

Suddenly it hit him. There was a way out of this from an advantaged distance. Byron stopped and coaxed the two towards him with a grin.

"If you want me, you'll have to come get me."

Byron poised his dagger, concealing his true intent. He had practiced throwing since he was not even fifteen. This would be easy. As far as Byron knew, he had never shown his skills in front of the elf, so it would come as a surprise. Rowen knew though. She knew he was good. It was finally coming into view. Byron could get out of this unscathed. Or at least he hoped.

Ragnar Sten
03-02-2005, 05:36 PM
Lerris showed no emotion while starring at the boy, he looked to Rowen and was almost worried. He had not wanted her to jump into this fight, he had wanted it to be simply him and Byron. He sighed as his gaze returned to Byron, finally realizing how hard it must be to fight against the young man for her. He said no words to Byron, but simply picked up his staff enough to move toward the boy slowly, he knew Byron had some plan... so he kept the staff close enough to block a quick attack. But other then that..he was blind to what Byron was about to do.

Hxlgg
03-02-2005, 05:52 PM
Byron smirked and chuckled to himself at the stupidity of the elf. He had no idea what he was getting into. The man flipped the dagger in his hand, steadying his mind, setting it up for the task at hand. He was in a trace. Nothing but his current action was on his mind. Byron lifted the dagger up behind his self, gripped the handle tight....

....and for a moment, his eyes strayed. They were brought directly with Rowen's. The panic, fear and sense of worry shot through him as if Rowen was showing Byron her emotions. Time froze for just a moment, and a look of pain was settled in Rowen's brow. Not a pain of hurt, but of emotional distress. Like the look a lover gets when they walk into the room to find their significant other gutted and hanging from the ceiling. Like the look of a young boy walking into his house to find his family mutilated and their blood stretching at his feet. Byron knew that look. He had to disregard it. He had to let it be....

....and the man threw the dagger straight and true, his target sighted and his future sealed. The deed was done, that Byron knew. He already felt relieved the second he released the blade. But something was going wrong.

"RO!" Byron screamed, "Don't!"

Rowenna
03-03-2005, 03:41 PM
Rowen wore an expression void of any describable emotion as a pain shot through her back, and reverberated through the entire form of her body. She was standing face-to-face with Lerris, the hilt of a dagger sticking out of her mid-back. Her figure was forced against Lerris, her own hand wrapping around his clothing. She could feel herself losing poise, barely able to hold herself up. Rowen had thought that the saying, the idea of one's life flashing before their eyes close to death was just a figure of speech... but it was true. Childhood, growth, all up to right then... everything. Her wide open gaze almost seemed to look past everything, her mind a haze. All she knew, was that she was ready. She was ready to die for Lerris.

"Why... why did you do this, Bryon? Why?"

Why was it so necessary for all this to happen? Why must Byron try to kill someone she so cared for? What was meant to happen in the end? Why... everything? Rowen's legs had started to give way, and she could feel herself begin to fall.

Ragnar Sten
03-03-2005, 03:50 PM
The staff spun quickly out of the hand of Lerris and landed with a thud on the nearby dirt road. He brought Rowen down slowly onto her side, and the furthest thing from his mind at that moment was killing Byron. He did the first thing he could think of and tried to stop the bleeding, he ripped off his shirt and started to pad the spot around the dagger, trying to apply pressure to it. He saw no way around it, and took ahold of the dagger...

"I'm so sorry Rowen..."

Lerris pulled the dagger free and Rowen gave what sounded like a scream, but Lerris was to intent on saving her for him to notice. He applied once again more pressure to the wound with his now blood soaked shirt, he fought back the tears for he knew he could do little.

Hxlgg
03-04-2005, 03:20 AM
Shock. Fear. Guilt. Byron's world came crashing down once more. Tearing him to shreds. He finally did it. He went too far. His life, his love was lying on the dirt ground, dying. Then the fear took him. Byron bolted for the forest. He was not going to stay around here. Lerris was going to be more than mad. His rage at Byron was touching as he ran. The fury Lerris intended for Byron was already stabbing at his conscienc, his soul. Burning him to his core.

Nevertheless, Byron just had to get out of here. He needed to go. He couldn't stand himself for what he did. He didn't deserve to live. Byron had killed before. He had killed many a time. Byron none were like this. None were someone he had cared deeply for, as more than just his friend. He had killed his own mother, and now he was going to pay for it.

Endless guilt gripped Byron, and he could no longer run. No longer breathe. He found a large oak and leaned up against it, sinking to ground. His legs spralled out and his hands found a resting place on his face. Byron could not believe himself. Falling into one more fit of tears. Two in one day. What was becoming o his life? What was becoming of Rowen's life? Was she alive? Could he save her? All Byron could do right now was sit and cry. Cry until the tears stopped coming.

Rowenna
03-04-2005, 03:03 PM
Rowen had cried out in pain when the dagger was removed from her back, breaths uneven, face wet with sweat. Chest rising and falling with great irregularity, she could almost feel Byron's presence take part. Whether or not she knew for sure would remain a mystery, though there was one thing that remained on her mind. She had let Philip die, and never completely forgave herself--if Byron cared even half as much about her as she did for her teacher, he must have some regret--and she didn't want him to feel that. She didn't want him to run from his troubles, just to find there was nothing one could do later. Even if she died... she didn't want him to run.

"Lerris," Rowen choked through lips bloodied with crimson red, hand now resting on his neck, as though to pull him closer. Flesh shivering under the weight of pain, she spoke her words in a voice that betrayed all affliction and throe that ventured through her body. "Get Byron."

Rowen's hand fell as a drop of scarlet ventured down her chin and neck, all consciousness abandoning her. As though dead, her spasms ended, breath settling, all looks of feel taking leave from her face, though deep beneath the flesh, a rhythmic beat still kept to its course.

Ragnar Sten
03-05-2005, 01:33 PM
Lerris nodded slowly, and kissed Rowen atop the head. He grabbed his staff and jumped to his feet, bolting in the direction where Byron had run off. The anger the elf felt at that moment was only surpassed by the feeling of agony. He ran through the woods as quick as possible, leaping over fallen logs and bushes and scanning the thickness of the trees for any sign of Byron. After a few minutes of running, the elf slowed as he heard crying. He knew it must of been Byron, seeing as how no one from Aryan ever came this far into the woods. He found him sitting against a tree, and stood over him, his shadow casting over the young man's body.

He did not even wait for the human to look up, he simply brought back the staff and swung.

Hxlgg
03-06-2005, 06:53 AM[/i]
The impact of the staff on Byron's head simply intensified the pain he already felt. He did not want to fight back. He has done enough damage. Byron looked up at the elf and thought him unrecognizable. The fury pulsating through Lerris resinated off like the aurora of a god. Fear stabbed at Byron, his mind thinking of what to do. Lerris brought his staff up once more, taking direct aim to kill, and this time Byron knew the elf meant to go through with his plans.

And why not let him? Why not let Lerris end his life? It would be better that way. But what was Lerris doing out here. He knew Rowen was not dead. He saw where the blade entered.

Lerris brought down the staff again, and Byron rolled to the side. Where his chest last lay was now upturned grass and dirt, citing the impact of the staff.

Byron jumped to his feet and pulled his sword, the clear ringing of metal against sheath echoing through the trees. The silence was broken by the roar of fury that came from Lerris. Staff against blade. Friend against friend, torn apart by mutual love for another.

Byron did not want to kill Lerris. Injure maybe, not kill. His dagger lost by him, Byron had no choice but to use the sword. The impacts would be lasting. The pain would be severe, but Byron was not going to let Rowen lie in Aryan dying. He brought up the sword and turned the blade so it would hit flat against Lerris. And Byron took one last glance at the enraged elf and swung the blade at his legs.

Ragnar Sten
03-06-2005, 05:50 PM
The impact of the blade on his shins sent Lerris to the ground, his head bouncing off the dirt ground with a loud thud. He had lost his grip on his staff and it flew against a tree, cracking up the whole staff, it did not break but Lerris figured it was no longer useable. The elf rolled over and looked up at Byron, although he could hardly see him since his whole head was spinning and his vision was blurry.

"Finish it..." Mumbled the elf, "You took away my reason to live...Go ahead...I'm already dead."

Hxlgg
03-08-2005, 12:43 PM
The look in the elf's eyes peirced through Byron at the fire in the ice. Yet, something stronger pulled Byron to do what he did. Byron lifted his sword high above his head with both arms. With his eyes closed at head bowed, Byron struck. The sword fell through the air as the Bringer of Death, falling, and sinking into contact with flesh. The bowed head lifted as the task was accomplished. Blood began to seep from the fresh wound on the elf, spilling over onto the ground. The elf wailed in agony of the blow.

Another one to stain the earth... Byron thought.

But there were more important things to do than watch Lerris pass on. Byron gripped the hilt of his sword, and slide it harshly out of the elf's abdomen. He slide it into his scabbard, made sure everything he had brought with his secure, and he bolted back to Aryan. Rowen needed aid. More aid than he could administer.

_______________


Byron ripped through the brush and the trees flew past as a blur, as he tore up the earth under his feet. His race to Aryan would not be slowed by any means. Finally, open air breathed new life into him and Byron hurried towards the bloodied mess lying on the dirt road, struggling for life. No one yet had come to her aid. Not one person from Aryan. Pity.

He ran for his love and pulled off his cloak, and laid it across her slowly rising chest. She had lost quite a bit of blood. Byron needed to hurry. He squatted down and lifted his friend off the dirt. She was lighter than he expected.

There was a larger town nearby Byron knew of. He had took a brief visit there once. He couldn't quite remember the name. Zyroni...Zyroxi... he did know. Something like that. But he knew it had a healer that would help Rowen. It was probably couple days journey if Byron hurried. But if that was what he had to do to undo his mistake, he would.

And off Byron went at a steady western pace out of Aryan.

Ragnar Sten
03-08-2005, 03:05 PM
The elf gasped for air as his lungs began to fail him. The area on the forest floor around him was now stained with his blood and Lerris no longer cared. He lay back, taking in each breath as slow as he could, the elf simply starred up at a patch in the trees up into the sky. Lerris began to see nothing but the small patch of sky as the forest around him grew dark in his eyes, he heard a voice off in the distance shouting his name....But didn't bother to look, and actually prayed they did not make it in time to save him from his death.

"Death is but another adventure......" The elf smirked, "Perhaps I'll meet Rowen there."

With that the elf lost consciousness