⌘ Chapter 10.

Mira is a name nobody remembers, and why should they? After all, Mira was just a poor child of a disgraced cook for a minor lord. She was just a girl that enjoyed wandering barefooted through the forest on her own, tickling moss with her fingertips and dipping her toes in the crisp waters of the babbling brook, giggling with the water nymphs of her own bright imagination. She danced to a tune that nobody else could hear, and when she was hungry she found mushrooms or berries or even honey from beehives to snack on. What she asked of mother nature, was given freely to her.

Until Mira turned 13, folk thought her ordinary, if a little odd. But her puberty prompted some rather unusual changes. Her ears grew long and pointy, her skin grew milky white, her eyes became a deep forest green and last but not least, she gained power. Power to rival the voidwalker himself were he not just a legend.

It was not long after this that she came to be known by another name. The child of light. Yes, she became the 13th member of the Ljosalfr council. Yes, it was she who forced the split between old and new. Yes, it was she who rejected the Codex Fobius and condemned what they had done to prevent the prophecy of the breaker from coming to fruition.

Her faction was not strong enough to stay at the heart of the old forest, so they vanished. We have not heard from her and her people for over a century, but given the ungodly lifespan of the alfr in general, not to mention those with powerful gifts being as good as immortal, she is most likely still alive somewhere, holding out for change.

Waiting and watching as the wheel of time spins and fate draws nearer and nearer to the precipice, to peek into the void. And when that day comes, she will aswell, a wave of light washing over the lands, envigorating crushed hearts and mending broken hope, the child of light shall once more walk among us, and we shall be united, not by nation or creed, but by the living ideal.

-From the bookscroll, The Ancient tales are alive. Vol.3. Written by Mildred Persephony Tilaeus. (326-479) ABS.

Over rolling green hills the party travelled, and all around her Ves saw them. Fluffy white things so cute she wanted to jump off the caravan and go hug them. Distant bleats aside, the wind swept through the colorful hilly landscape, occasionally broken up by stacked stone barrier as the dirt road crunched beneath the wooden steel reinforced wheels of their little home away from home.

Jack sat beside her, his eyes wide as his head swivelled about as though he'd never seen anything like it before. A thought occured to her, but she dismissed it out of spite. He was always so genuine and real in his amazement and inquiries. Always acting perfectly in accordance with his role.

Ves furrowed her brows, but put it from her mind. There was no need to push the man if he felt it so necessary to lie about his origins. Besides, she had long since accepted that he was how he was.

They passed several bands of explorers on the road going out towards the forest, armed to the teeth and ready to cleanse the taint and get paid for it. Ves resisted the urge to yell at them that they were too late, but kept her mouth shut. There were groups of guards patrolling all the roads near Midshear too, so it seemed that the mayor had not completely foregone protection of the lands.

The unusual monster activity was worrying though and she might have to involve herself with the local authorities. She wanted nothing of the sort though. They would be fine without her. Besides, she had to get back to her father and Master Gideron soon.

When they neared the gates, Jack stood from his seat. "I thought it would be a small settlement, but this... is larger than I expected." Jack said.

Ves resisted the urge to laugh. "I think I mentioned this before, but Midshears quite the trading city. Most of Dorwine's wool comes from this place actually." Ves said.

He didn't utter another word as they passed by the gates, a few guards eyeing them but otherwise doing nothing untoward. They were here to guard against monster attacks and bandits, not harass random travellers. It also helped that the caravans bore the mark of the explorers.

In any case, once they were in Midshear, Ves felt her shoulders relax slightly. They turned left right as they entered, and parked their caravan at the large area designed for such things. Some men came and took their horses aswell, leading them to the nearby stables. It was all nice and smooth.

Once on foot, the group wandered through the cobbled streets. She had to force herself to move past the delicious smelling bakeries and pastry shops that lined the main street. For his part, Jack kept quiet and just observed everything, even the cobbled street beneath his feet.

"Barnas, go report to the guild for us will you?" Ves said as the neared their destination. The man grumbled, but bowed his head when he received a brief scowl from her. "As you wish, milady." He said. Now that they were in more civilized lands, Barnas would act more stiffly. He always did, except when he was drunk in a tavern somewhere.

"Come on Jack, in we go." Ves said. She felt her heart jump into her chest when she reached out and grabbed his hand. For his part, he just let her drag him toward the noisy tavern.

"So you were serious about extorting me with alcohol." Jack remarked flatly. A few people exiting the tavern eyed him oddly and behind her, Morgan snickered.

"Quite serious." Ves said, nodding solemnly. Then she squeezed his hand and pulled him through the entrance and into the noisy tavern. Although it was only afternoon, the tavern was quite lively. Jack's eyebrows rose, but then he smiled. "I see. So it was this kind of establishment. I have heard of them, but never been to one before." Jack said, again in his trademark deadpan serious voice.

Morgan walked over to Jack and smacked him on the back. "Come on man, let's go get a drink. Hey, Marl!" Morgan shouted, raising a hand in greeting. The barkeep greeted him back and motioned to the right.

"Over here." Morgan said, and Ves followed him, making sure she had a firm grip on Jack so he didn't run off and start wooing the bemused barmaids that watched the arrival of the strange group. Atleast that's the reason she gave herself for holding his hand tightly and sticking to his side.

"It is good that we are seated in a corner. I don't like having people at my back." Jack remarked, his eyes scanning the crowd. "You have Mina at your back right now." Ves remarked.

"I trust her, unlike most people." Jack said.

Things proceeded as they were fated to, and the waiter arrived with the first set of drinks. Ves sat opposite Jack, who was flanked by Morgan and Keith. Next to her was Mina and Torkan.

Morgan tipped his head back and let out a long sigh. "Ah. Finally something to moisten the throat." To Ves' surprise, Jack gently shoved the man with a shoulder and said "You moistened your throat last night, far as I recall. And no that's not an innuendo." The men burst out laughing, and Ves shook her head but smiled.

It seemed like Jack was in a festive mood despite his earlier comments, so perhaps she might finally get him drunk enough to reveal who he really was. Grabbing a mug off the serving plate, she gestured to the others and they followed suit. As one, they banged their mugs together and cheered. "To the future!" Ves shouted, and the others repeated. Wooden mugs knocked against each other, a bit of beer splashing onto their table but it was of no concern.

Ves put the mug to her lips and gulped down the delicious, cold beverage. "First!" She grinned, smashing the mug down into the table with a sound loud enough to catch the attention of the surrounding tables. Just as she had planned, Jack soon emptied his mug aswell and gave her a tentative smile.

"So will the manservant be joining us later?" Jack asked, still glancing down at the mug with a contemplative look. Chuckling, Ves replied. "No, Barnas has alot of work piled up and I'm sure his group has missed him. I've been borrowing him for the better part of a year after all."

Raising an eyebrow, Jack studied her closely. Ves nearly lost herself in that intense gaze, but thankfully remembered to wave a gesture at the passing barmaid so she knew to bring a fresh round.

"I see. So for what purpose did you go on this excursion. It seems a rather risky endeavour since you were given the gift of the black rose. Or perhaps that came after you set out?" Jack said. His tone of voice, word choice and strange manner of sitting reminded her that this guy was a not normal. He somehow did not mesh or fit in with anyone else. Ves looked around her, seeing the many varied taverngoers. Big burly men in sweat drenched shirts downing mugs of ale after a long days work, men and women in armour, explorers like them, and ordinary folk, even a few kids here and there though they weren't drinking, merely keeping their parents or older siblings company she supposed. Jack did not fit into any category she knew, and that unnerved her slightly.

Clearing his throat, Jack looked at her. Ves felt her face redden slightly and told herself it was the alcohol. "Uh.. right. I... well I used it as an excuse to get away from it all for awhile, you know? Running away might not have been my finest decision, but grit damn it I was getting tired of training and studying all the time, and political intrigue..." Ves paused as a short, robust barmaid sauntered over, balancing a tray of mugs on her enormously huge ladylungs. She took them from the barmaid, raised her mug and said. "Round two, fight!" This time, it was Jack who slammed the cup down first right before she did.

Ves harumphed, and Jack smiled at her. "I like this game." He said. "Anyway, your story?"

She didn't really want to talk about it, but everyone here beside Jack already knew, and she felt that he had a right to aswell. Or atleast a right to know her a bit better.

Then perhaps he would in turn gift her with knowledge of himself. That was the idea anyway. "The fatherlord's recent decisions haven't been for the good of Dorwine I think." At this Jack frowned, looking more worried that he had a right to be unless he was directly involved in the conflict somehow. Ves hadn't considered it before, but sands forbid if he was an Empire scout sent ahead of the invading army. She shook her head, no that wasn't it. She refused to believe that.

"I think after our little party here I shall pay a visit to the one who oversees this region." Jack remarked as the third wave of beer arrived.

"Bottoms up!" Ves shouted and they smashed mugs together and gulped. Again Jack was first. Of course Mina wasn't joining in, since her religion forbade her from drinking. On occasions such as this, she would act as a perfect sentry and guard for them as they got shitfaced. Though Ves planned on drinking the strange Jack fellow under the table.

"That's all well and good, but I'm currently more concerned about the people that wish you harm, Vesteele Veris." Jack said, looking at her seriously for a moment before relaxing his posture again. She felt her heart thump thump in her chest, but ignored it. This was after all their farewell party. The Jack fellow had things to do and she had places to be. They would go their seperate ways...

Ves must've gotten a dark look in her eye or something, because she felt Mina gripping her hand beneath the table and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Ves looked over to give her friend a smile to say she was fine, even though she wasn't.

"There's little I can do about it right now." Ves said. The fourth round arrived and she was feeling the buzz, but she couldn't give up. Jack nodded. "This is a threat one must eliminate at the source, since the killers are contracted and will keep coming if the reward is lucrative enough." Jack said, sounding too sober for her liking. He'd only had three mugs though, she reminded herself. She would get him in time. "Uhuh." She replied with extreme eloquence.

It took five more rounds before Torkan, Keith and Morgan excused themselves, wobbling away with a few of their old time explorer buddies. Ves head swam and she felt dizzy, her vision was a bit blurry too and she felt like giggling at Jacks every little joke, of which he made many.

Since they left, all three now sat on one row, Jack sandwiched between her and Mina. He looked a little too pleased with himself, so Ves reached over and pinched his cheek.

"Don't you know it's rude to...uh...gah." She removed her hand and felt her face grow hot. To her utter horror, Jack actually reached out a hand and placed it on her forehead.

"You've had alot. You sure you're fine?" Jack said, just as the barmaid arrived with their tenth round, looking a little askance at the three of them sitting so close shoulder to shoulder smelling of beer. "Hic, I'm fine. Dow..down. I mean, butts up!" Ves shouted, feeling her world spin as she grabbed a mug and raised it to the skies in what she thought was a very grand and majestic gesture indeed. Beside her, Jack had the gall to laugh! Laugh out loud at the princess of Dorwine! That would not do.

She turned to him and puffed out her chest. "Yo-you do da, dare laff atsh mi?" She asked. Then she remembered the mug she still held high, and glared up at it. How dare it be up there all high and mighty. She brought it down to its proper spot, and kissed it, wrapping her beer soaked lips around the edge of it. Slowly, she sipped at the beer. She would drink it all. She had to win. But win what? What was she even doing?

Ves vaguely recalled that her purpose had been to get Jack really drunk and have him tell her about himself, but instead... gosh her head spun and she felt herself swaying as she slammed the empty mug down on the table. "Fwwaaah!" She said, grinning dumbly as she stared first at the mug, then over at Jack. "I.. I win." She said. Why was her vision so dark and grainy? Jacks face looked funny, all distorted and weird. His voice sounded like it was underwater and she couldn't understand his words. She saw him turn to Mina, saw her friend flash her digits at Jack, then everything faded to black.