@Siron:
Upon your mention of Dignity, Corvus stops in his tracks. Since you met him, his expression has never strayed from one of jovial humor. He seems very much a carefree, easily approachable person… someone you can’t help but to trust and like. Yet, the heartbreak is evident upon his face, and his smile wanes, then dissipates entirely.
“Remarkable is an understatement.” His voice catches in his throat. “In my youth, I frolicked until my heart’s content and called many a strange bed my home for a night, maybe even two if it suited me. I have had my share of admirers, and can claim a countless amount as lovers. I have been called names by jealous husbands, and endured the wrath of many fathers...Lieutenant Fierce included." Corvus chuckles. "I'll never forget his face when I emerged stark naked from his eldest daughter's room."
The moment of levity quickly passes, and again his eyes are affected by pain. "Over the years, I have lain with a bounty of beauties.” You get the sense that he is not saying all this for the sake of stroking his own ego. There is certainly truth to his words. “But in all my life, in all my years, I never truly loved… until her.” His expression is absolutely broken, and you can clearly see just how much the loss of his beloved has affected him. "I had intended upon making her my wife... I had it all planned out. When we returned from the front lines, I would finally have the strength to ask her to be mine and mine alone. For from the first I laid eyes on her, my heart could only ever be hers."
He reaches into a pouch upon his belt and extracts a simple, gold ring. It is beautiful in its simplicity. "I would have given her a jewel big enough to cramp her finger, but she was always one for simplicity. She took pleasure in the overlooked joys of life. This... this is what I would have given her. She loved the ocean. She had grown up beside it in a kingdom by the sea. In her mortal life, she had been a serving girl, and any time she was not waiting upon her lady in the castle, she was out upon the beach with her toes in the sand and her head in the clouds. I had planned to bring her back to her homeland, to that same beach that had been a refuge from her harried life. Yet... it was not to be."
He returns the ring to its resting place. Corvus’s eyes are downcast and he takes a deep breath in an attempt to regain his composure. “The Forsaken are not the only threats to our survival, Siron. The Adversary attempts to claim us in many ways. On the front lines, there are horrors that I cannot begin to even put into words, save for nightmarish. They are creatures of innate evil with power beyond compare. Beasts, monsters, twisted abominations, shattered mirrors of things we know as living. While we may only be killed by other Immortalis, we may be injured, our bodies broken, our will destroyed, captured or otherwise incapacitated.”
“As for the numbers of the Immortalis who have died, that I cannot claim to have knowledge of. Dethys Night is the First Scribe of the Sacred Order, and the Keeper of the Tome of the Immortalis. It is a book that details the birth, death, and second death, of every Immortalis, Ageless and Forsaken alike. As I recall, there are only ever 300 Immortalis in existence. Before Severan, they were all loyal to the Divine. Severan was the first who fell from grace, and many like Fortuna and Cauter followed suit.”
“For a time, we still managed to command the majority of the Immortalis, but eventually Severan’s forces came to equal our own. Now, rumor has it, that the Forsaken have a slight advantage in numbers. However, while the Forsaken have the Adversary’s creatures to aid them, we have found aid within the human realm. People from all over the world united in a common goal: to ensure humanity may thrive, even in the shadow of the Adversary’s continuing quest for domination over all.”
“The members of the Bulwark are truly formidable. Not many of us have been claimed upon the front lines, yet, Dignity was once counted among our numbers, and she fell. Yet, despite the fact that our more recent recruits, yourself included, are comprised of Childer Immortalis, we also boast the most experienced and skilled of the Ageless."
“What is important for you to consider, is whenever an Immortalis dies, another one is made. As much as Dignity’s passing tears at every fiber of my heart and mind, I find some comfort in knowing her spirit was welcomed into the kingdom of the Divine. You are here because an Immortalis died. Perhaps you took your second breath the moment she passed. I know not nor care not who had to die so Siron Entrima could live. But know this: take to heart this second chance at life. Never forsake the great gift the Divine has given you.”
@Sembas:
A glance is exchanged between Besnik and Faile. You know this look. It is the same one Archer gave to you upon hearing you would be leaving for the Sanguine Fields. He is clearly worried for the survival of his mate, and you can see in his eyes a sense of pleading. He glances down at the nest, then back to Faile, and if falcons could attempt a half-hearted smile, then that is the expression he would wear upon his face.
“It must be your choice, Faile. We have a duty to our children, but your duty to Sembas was formed well before this. It will be okay, love. I will guard our nest. I will ensure our children are warm and safe. If they are anything like their mother, they will have your stubbornness and simply refuse to be born until your safe return,” jokes Besnik.
It is evident this is a difficult choice for Faile. She sits in silence for several moments, carefully weighing her options. “You’re right, Sembas. It is dangerous… all the more reason I should be with you. Yet…” Her gaze drifts to the eggs within the basket. “One of my fondest memories of my mother is the first I have of her. I remember when I emerged from my egg. I was the last of them. My brothers had managed to make their way out before me. I was also the smallest, so small that a lesser falcon may have even tossed me out of the nest and let nature claim me. Why waste one’s time with a sickly creature with two healthy young ones to feed? Yet, my mother, she pressed her head close to mine to let me know everything would be okay.” Faile’s gaze locks onto yours. “I don’t want to miss a moment of my children’s birth, yet if anything happened to you without me to take care of you, I could never forgive myself.”
There is a sudden movement of air around you, and you can hear the flutter of large wings, followed by an unfamiliar voice.
“Good thing you won’t have to.”
Letting out a wild screech in greeting, another falcon lands beside Faile. The newcomer bears a striking resemblance to Faile; even their markings are similar. However, it is slightly smaller than your companion.
Faile shakes her head in disbelief. “Anlaf!”
“Straight from the Raynar Mountains. I got here as fast as I could.” The newcomer peeks into the nest. “As I hear it, I am to be Uncle Anlaf. I must admit, I rather like the sound of it.”
Faile presses her head against the new falcon’s, Anlaf, as he is called. You recognize the name from some previous discussion with Archer, but at first you cannot place it. The recognition quickly dawns on you. Zarine, Faile’s mother, had three children. Faile, and her two brothers, Anlaf and Cuthbert. You recall Archer mentioning that Anlaf made his home in the Raynar Mountains.
“Not that I am complaining, but why are you here?” asks Faile.
“To spare you the hardship of a painful decision,” returns Anlaf. “Besnik got word to me this morning that you would be departing on a journey with your master. You now have other matters to tend to, so I will be happy to stand in your place, should your master have me.”
“How did you get here so quickly?” asks Faile.
Anlaf cocks his head to one side. “Ah… that is for me to know, and for you to never find out. The point is I am here.”
“I can’t let you take my place,” argues Faile. “If something happens to you, I would feel terrible! Sembas is my responsibility! He gets himself into all manner of troubles! One time, Archer had him pinned down fast and he was crying out something fierce. She had stolen his wriggly worm with her legs and I had to swoop down and scare her away so he could free himself!” Faile pauses. “You know he didn’t even say thank you! He was all waving about telling me I ‘killed the mood.’ Fine way to thank someone for saving your skin!”
Anlaf appears confused. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“The point is, it is my job to take care of Sembas,” rationalizes Faile. “He’s my responsibility. I decided when I took a human as a pet that I would take very good care of it, and I have. You’ve never even had a human, Anlaf.”
“I’ve never had the desire to shackle myself in such a way. I come and go as I please without anyone to answer to. It’s well and good if you and Cuthbert take it upon yourselves to endure such a bore, but I like to think there are better things to do with my time. However, I am willing to babysit your human just this once. Your responsibility is in that nest,” states Anlaf firmly. “There will be plenty of time for journeying about once your young ones have arrived. Please, sister, it is the least I can do after all the jesting you endured as a chick.”
“I know you were only joking,” states Faile.
“I was. Cuthbert really meant for you to get stuck in that jam jar. Awful sense of humor that one.”
Faile is reluctant, but after much persuading by both Besnik and Anlaf, she finally relents and gives her blessing to the arrangement.
Anlaf turns to you. “Now, what do you say, human? Will you have me?”
“Of course he will!” interrupts Besnik as he shoos you on your way. "Now, off with you! We have much to discuss and you best be seeing my mistress before you leave.”
In all your time with Faile, you have found it is useless to argue with a falcon, so you swoop down to the little window in Archer’s kitchen to seek out your lady.
Archer is sitting at the breakfast table with a book in her hand and a large map unfolded on the table in front of her.
“Hello, dear one,” speaks Archer without raising her eyes from her book. “I take it you’ve met Anlaf. I hope you are not offended that he has offered his services to you. I know you would much rather have Faile at your side, but I assure you he is just as capable of performing the same tasks she would. Even I was forced to give Zarine some space when she was tending to her eggs. Her mate belonged to another Immortalis, an Ageless falconer named Zep. Both he and his master perished on the front lines, and Zarine had to tend to the nest alone. It was difficult without her. At least you have another falcon to serve with you. In her absence, I had to make do with a rather foul-tempered crow.” Archer frowns at the memory. “Anyway. I found this book for you. It was given to me shortly after my arrival in Avalon and details the practices one should abide by to be an effective tracker. I felt it may benefit you in the field.”
