Ayuen
Road towards Herhor's End, Grasping Isle
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Her heart was pounding in her throat as she breathed clouds of vapour into the vestiges of cold air surrounding her. The three people that attacked her and Rove lay still a little distance away from her, their bodies battered and bruised. Ayuen looked at her hands, still shaking from the effort. The magic she used ripped her disguise had been to shreds. Instead of the hands of an old crone, they were her own slender fingers again. Her whole body was as cold as the ice which now covered the green summer grass. Her wings shivered uncontrollably, rattling softly like a child’s toy. How long had it been since she last drew upon these spells? This horrible talent? She couldn’t recall, as she stood there in shock, memories of flames, pain, and sadness flooding her mind. Trying to cope with this onslaught of memories and the fact she just killed three people, Ayuen stood there for what seemed like an eternity. Suddenly, a moan shocked her out of her stupor. Rove was still alive, barely clinging to life, laying on his back. She rushed to his side and crouched down. A dagger stuck out of his chest, a flower of blood forming around the weapon. Better to leave it in until she could treat it properly. For now, it was of the utmost importance to get out of this place and find shelter where the two of them could recover. She hired him, so he was her responsibility, no matter how rude the man was.
Her confidence and determination returned as Ayuen sheathed Rove’s sword and strapped it to her belt. Putting her arms below his shoulders, she tried to heave him up, but it was no use. She wasn’t strong enough. Grunting, she stubbornly looked around for a solution. Her eye fell on the splintered remains of the carriage, the remaining horse, and the Lon warrior’s shield. Rapidly, a plan started to come together, a small victorious smirk forming on Ayuen’s lips.
It didn’t take Ayuen long to get Rove to a safe location, taking as many supplies as she and the horse could carry. Using a makeshift stretcher made from a few shattered planks and shield, and using their remaining horse to pull it, she could easily make her way to a nearby forest without causing Rove too much damage. When she was happy with their hiding spot, she tied the horse to a nearby tree and then set to the arduous task of improving Rove’s condition. Looking at his wounds, she would have to use magic. The art keyed to Creation, Beacon Magic. The magic that she used to hide the more destructive part of her.
She wasn’t proficient with Beacon magic on a professional level, but she knew enough to close his wounds and let him recover faster, although it would take a day or two. Losing time against losing life was not a difficult choice, after all.
With regret in her eyes (this was her good cloak after all), Ayuen ripped a strip of crimson cloth from her cloak and with a deep breath, she pulled out the dagger from the wound. The wound started bleeding more profusely and Rove stirred, moaning softly in his undoubtedly agonizing dreams. She drew the surrounding magic inside her and started to mould it. She envisioned it as a shapeless mass, going through different moulds of shapes and channels as it slowly took on the form she wanted. A soft green light started to emanate from her hands, strands reaching out for the wounded man in front of her. As more and more strands bound themselves to Rove, she could use those strands to safely channel more magic into him, controlling the flows and waves of it to do her bidding more effectively. She knew that without those strands, the magic could as easily rip Rove’s body apart as heal it. Ayuen had trained long and hard to master the theory of Beacon magic, but was never able to master the execution of it. As a result, her spells were rather weak when compared to other practitioners and used up significant amounts of her stamina, but it would have to do.
Why did her talent have to lie in Destruction magic? Pulling in the magic and forming it into ice and fire came easy to her, her spells backing a huge punch. Which was exactly why she had to hide that part of her. Hyra’s face appeared before her mind’s eye and Ayuen grimaced. Yeah, she had to hide it deep within.
When she was finished, Ayuen felt as if she had dragged Rove here herself, instead of the horse. Panting, she sat down and took a look at the Herhor’s wounds. The lesser wounds had all closed, leaving little scars where they once were. His chest wound, while still bleeding a bit, was almost closed and looked far less severe than before. His breathing was steady as well, and he seemed more at rest now. Her teachers would have surely shaken their heads in disapproval if they saw her handiwork, but she thought she did quite well. She wrapped the cloth tightly around Rove’s torso to keep the wound shut and sat against a tree next to him. Slowly, Ayuen drifted into a river of her thoughts, her mind wandering over all that had transpired today.
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After a blissfully peaceful time alone with her thoughts, the rustling of leaves caught her attention. Rove started to stir beside her, still in a daze. She kept still, trying not to startle the Herhor, as he probably would not recognize her as his client. Shifting her position nervously, she grew increasingly worried about his reaction. Under the name of Aya, she withheld important information from him and misled him. Nevertheless, she needed him if she was to be successful in her mission. The question was if he would see that the same way. Her doubts about that were the reason she used a disguise though…
As Rove took in his surroundings, his gaze fell upon her. His eyes grew wide in shock while he looked at her and for a few seconds, neither of them said a word or moved a muscle. Then, after swallowing back something, he sighed and seemingly regained his composure. He worked his way up to sit against a tree facing Ayuen, grunting in pain when his bandages limited his movement.
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“Guess I owe Brenstead an apology and a whole pile of coin. Although I wouldn’t have guessed it would be under these sorts of circumstances. Never thought to see one of your kind in this corner of the world.” The Herhor said after a brief pause.
Confused, Ayuen frowned. “’ My kind’? Don’t tell me you don’t have Hybrids here.”
The Herhor kept looking at her, his thoughts unknown to her. Damn it, she had never wished to be able to read minds more than at this moment.
“Not many, no. Only saw a handful of Hybrids at the trader’s guild once, but none that ventured further onto the Isle.”
Some of Ayuen’s spark returned, the poët feeling the need to clarify before they went on.
“Okay, before we go on though, I’d prefer you call my people what they’re named. Although my people are part of the group your people call the Hybrids, we prefer the name of Pyrn.”
“Yes, yes, fascinating…urgh..” Rove winced as she shifted his position before the man continued.
“Why in the blazes didn’t you tell me what you were and what you wanted when we made the contract? It’s a rather stupid thing you’ve done. Not to mention reckless beyond compare.”
Ayuen readjusted her position and averted her eyes from the man’s gaze, starting to feel quite uneasy. According to the stories she read in Marlight, the people deeper in the Day of Life were quite hesitant to interact with a Hybrid, let alone lend them their help, and Rove’s reaction made her fear the worst. Some of her people were similar in that regard. Every society had its shortsighted individuals. Hers or Rove’s was no exception. Ayuen just hoped her bodyguard had a good head on his shoulders.
“I was unsure if I could put my trust in you. I never dealt with Herhors before. And I didn’t know how you’d react to, you know, my appearance.”
Rove let out a scornful laugh.
“And hiding the truth from your bodyguard whose trust you need is better than having one awkward moment up front? You’re way too naive to be here.”
Ayuen felt her cheeks grow warm with embarrassment. She understood that she made a grave mistake, but his words still stung.
“I did it out of consideration for you!” She retorted. “I do not want you to get into further trouble after our business had concluded!”
“And that is exactly why you need to tell everything up... front,” Rove said, shifting into a more upright position against the tree, albeit with some effort.
“The most important thing between Herhor and their client is trust. Utmost vital. And you neglected that entirely.”
To Ayuen’s alarm, he grabbed a dagger from his belt and stood up, still wobbly. With his other hand clenched on his dagger wound, he pointed the weapon at her.
“So if you’d excuse me, I’ll…take my leave now.” Even though his breathing seemed laboured and his voice was soft, his voice was permeated with confidence.
Ayuen quickly stood up at Rove’s sudden urge to leave but kept her distance. She wasn’t sure how to resolve this situation effectively, but she did know the Herhor would bleed out if he stumbled through the woods in this state.
“No, you cannot. Your wounds are too severe. You need to rest and let me take care of you. I’ll grant you that I’ve made an error in judgement. Let me help and remedy that. After that, we can continue our journey.“
“Now give me one good reason to do that. You withheld important information from me, which almost got me killed.”
Rove pointed to the chilled corpses laying at the side of the road.
“They couldn’t be persuaded with money. That was a vital piece of info.”
Ayuen’s skin began to tingle as the fur in her neck began to stand upright at this shift in tension. She was a prideful woman and being told that he almost died because of her negligence was a hard statement to swallow. Nevertheless, making peace with this man was more important than her pride right now.
“I’m…...I’m sorry. It was very foolish of me to not give you the full picture. But still, I require your help. Success is out of my reach on my own.”
“That’s nice and all, but not my concern. You broke the contract and got me in unnecessary danger. I see no reason to hang around.”
Ayuen stood in front of him, arms outstretched, blocking his way. She was getting desperate, and sweat began trickling down her face, and her thoughts darted in every direction, looking for a solution. Her eyes were frantic, darting everywhere as she tried to find a way out of this predicament. Her large ears quivered, beginning to droop as her demeanour began to shift.
“At least take your rest and consider the ramifications of going back, you’re in no shape to mo-.”
“YOU BROKE THE CONTRACT!” Rove suddenly screamed at her. The effort made him reel, grabbing the tree for balance. A few drops of crimson blood started trickling down his abdomen. If he didn’t calm down right now, Ayuen feared that he might lose consciousness, with his life following shortly after. Startled and taken aback immensely by Rove’s sudden outburst, she kept silent, still standing in his way with shaking arms. Somewhere in the back of her mind, something nagged at her thoughts. But that little feeling of instinct that there was more going on was overshadowed by distress. And so she stayed quiet.
“A filthy liar, that’s what you are.” Rove spat at her, seemingly getting more riled up because of her silence. “Nothing that comes out of that wretched mouth of yours can be trusted. You’re just leading me to my doom. I’m leaving. Our contract can just be left to rot.”
He just looked at her with a scowl on his face, the tip of his dagger still aimed at hers.
“You’re just a pathetic, lying bitch. I almost lost my life, and for what? A handful of gold coins and a pat on the back. No thanks. Our deal is done. Let….me….pass.”
“No, I cannot.” Ayuen stubbornly continued to stand her ground. “Please reconsider.”
“Oh, give up already. Your little ‘quest’ is over. Go home, you failed, end of story.”
At Rove’s verbal barrage, Ayuen’s nervousness started to shift to full-blown panic as a cascade of negative thoughts began racing through her head. Her voice began to shake, her words losing her usual eloquent edge.
“P-please Rove. I need your...your help. I need to help my people, my paps and mams.”
Rove just looked at her with uncaring, cold eyes, and what he said next struck her like a sledgehammer breaking through a brick wall.
“That is your problem, not mine. I don’t care. It’s your fault that I’m now leaving here. This is on you.”
“I-I-I-I...” As she tried to speak, her voice broke. “Plea… plea…”
Sobbing, she sank to the ground, her wings flapping weakly on the dirt with each sob. Hopelessly, she tried to think of the right thing to say. But nothing came to mind. She could only find a deep black void within her, its icy tendrils slowly consuming her insides in a vortex of negative emotions. She had been naïve in thinking a man like him would be willing to help her after he almost died. It was over, there was no way she could reach her goal. She’d be as useless as everyone had said, as Hyra had told her time and time again…And her mam’s and pap’s efforts to help her would’ve all been for nought…..
“Mams, Paps, everyone, I’m sorry…..” She thought, at the edge of just giving in to her emotions.
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