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Post by Stage on Apr 21, 2018 2:33:10 GMT
"So there are slavers here as well, are there? Well then, let them try. I was a child then. They will not find it so easy now."
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Post by Orcus on his Throne on Apr 21, 2018 2:42:16 GMT
Mana turned away from Lark. "I am sure you are correct. But it would be wise to nonetheless be wary. Dangerous foes lurk around every potential bend and even beyond the veil, as I am sure you have discovered yourself."
She glanced backward briefly before stating, "Now, I recall you saying you needed a way across No Man's Land, yes? Where was it you were heading?"
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Post by Stage on Apr 21, 2018 3:22:06 GMT
"A city, in the far south. Mival, I believe it is called." She cast her mismatched eyes northward. "I grew... tired of the lands above."
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Post by Orcus on his Throne on Apr 21, 2018 3:31:45 GMT
"Mival? Mival..." Mana scratched her chin, as if pondering these words. After a few moments of silence, Mana spoke up again. "I believe I know of the place you seek. It is a decent distance away, but not unreasonable to reach. Maybe.... hmmm.... four days at most?"
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Post by Stage on Apr 21, 2018 3:38:43 GMT
Lark looked out across the southern horizon. "I see. And you said it would be impossible without your wisdom, did you not?"
The woman in black hummed, and the slightest of smiles changed the shape of her stern mouth.
"It seems I am very fortunate then. Many thanks, Mana of the Karadd."
Her pursuers would not be able to follow her now.
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Post by Orcus on his Throne on Apr 21, 2018 3:44:40 GMT
The woman gave Lark a bow. "It's the least I can do. It is dangerous to wander these lands without proper knowledge, after all."
Through the layers of cloth and veils, Lark could also make out the faint hint of a smile across Mana's face.
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Post by Stage on Apr 21, 2018 4:28:44 GMT
"Shall we go then?" Lark asked. She dipped her head to the robed woman. "I shall follow your lead. Many thanks once more."
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Post by Orcus on his Throne on Apr 21, 2018 4:31:04 GMT
"Yes, let us head out. The less time wasted, the sooner we will reach our destination."
With a quick turn of her heel, the figure began to march southwards, her walking stick serving to help aid her balance. It was obvious just from her gait that she was not necessarily the quickest on her feet....
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Post by Stage on Apr 21, 2018 4:35:04 GMT
Following behind Mana, the woman in black noted her troubled pace, but said nothing. The robed woman had not commented on her eye. She would return the courtesy.
"Are you alone here?" she asked instead.
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Post by Orcus on his Throne on Apr 21, 2018 4:44:08 GMT
Mana stayed silent for a few moments when Lark asked her the question. Her pace visibly slowed, and her face seemed to fall into a emotionless, wide-eyed stare. Eventually, this lull passed as quickly as it had come on.
"... Yes," Is all Mana offered as an answer. "And what of you? Alone as well?"
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Post by Stage on Apr 21, 2018 4:46:48 GMT
Lark nodded after a moment. "Yes. I have not had a family since I was very young. And... and I lost my only friend not long ago. I suppose it is what drove me on this journey. Nothing to stay for."
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Post by Orcus on his Throne on Apr 21, 2018 4:53:34 GMT
""... I'm sorry about your friend," Mana replied solemnly. "Losing the ones closest to you is always the hardest. Especially when they are the only thing keeping you tied to the world you once knew."
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Post by Stage on Apr 21, 2018 5:00:45 GMT
"Thank you," Lark nodded. "Though shortly before her end I learned that she... was not who I once thought. That perhaps stings more than her passing."
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Post by Orcus on his Throne on Apr 21, 2018 5:05:25 GMT
"How so?" Mana inquired, though she somewhat regretted letting her curiosity get the best of her. Perhaps Lark did not wish to speak about it...
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Post by Stage on Apr 21, 2018 5:35:23 GMT
For a long moment, Lark did not reply. As Mana began to fear she had become offended though, she spoke. "She was a guard for the city I made base in. I was a traveler. A merchant who traded silk. It is a Faxialon specialty, you see. Her tongue was sharp, and so too were her knives, with which her abilities were second to none. I... suppose you could say that is how we became friends. I am familiar with blades as well. She was always kind to me, so I thought her a kind person, but... I found she had spilled blood not only to protect the citizens of the city, but the agendas of its ruler as well. When I confronted her, she showed me parts of herself I had never seen. Scorn for the people she was supposed to protect. Razor criticism of my naivety to not realize her true nature. So I-"
The woman in black paused. Her grim face had changed little, but there seemed to be a storm underneath it.
"Then she died. And I am not sure if it is right to grieve for her."
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Post by Orcus on his Throne on Apr 21, 2018 6:10:19 GMT
Mana absorbed Lark's words as she spoke, her face falling as the story unveiled itself in its unfortunate finale. The woman placed a stern hand on Lark's shoulder. The woman in black could feel the hard, callused palm hold tightly against her own softer skin.
"There is no shame in grieving for a lost comrade. Even if she was not who you wished she was, she was nonetheless valuable to you. No one in this world is perfect; every person has a flaw, a weakness, something that could be improved or strengthened. So look not upon her and her flaw of arrogance and rancor as a mistake; look upon her as another fellow human, just as flawed as you, but nonetheless worthy of your admiration, foolish as it may have been."
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Post by Stage on Apr 21, 2018 6:18:32 GMT
The woman in black chuckled humorlessly. "That's true enough. No human is unflawed. That is the domain of the divine. No matter how much they act as if it is not true, kings and emperors are human as any of us. Your people, do they have such a ruler?"
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Post by Orcus on his Throne on Apr 21, 2018 6:24:51 GMT
Mana shook her head. "My people... we are a tribal folk. Decentralized. Scriptures tell of a time when our people once had a great kingdom in the desert, but it fell 'when the world was split'... whatever that means."
She glanced toward Lark. "You see, Karadd is the name of my particular tribe. The 'proper' name for my kin is 'Alcarin', or 'Sun Scorched' in our speech."
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Post by Stage on Apr 21, 2018 6:28:33 GMT
"You are better off for it," Lark said bitterly. "I have seen both kings and emperors, and both are foul things. Self-concerned and poisonous to those they should guard. It is why I travel, no longer attached to one home."
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Post by Orcus on his Throne on Apr 21, 2018 6:31:27 GMT
"So you abandoned home for disdain of tyranny?" Mana inquired before nodding. "I can sympathize with that more than I am proud to admit..."
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