Ascension - (Alarian Warriors)

Aveyon wasn’t sure what she was feeling, perhaps a tinge of sadness was fitting? A slight pain of some sort? Yet somehow none of those feelings came. It was odd, she thought she should feel more, but no strong sense of grief came. More than anything she felt... hollow inside, void of emotion. Did she want to feel something more for Elaina was that why this was bothering her?

At this point in time, it had only been Emerald who had managed to embed her way into her being so deeply. Did she have room for more in the shrivelled-up organ she called a heart?

It cannot be helped, I doubt I will survive the fight against my father, even if I want to return... I doubt I will. The thought wasn't a surprising one, she'd grown custom to this reasoning. She shrugged the situation off and remained focused on her goal.

Silence filled the air around Aveyon and Vincent as they gathered their belongings and walked away from the buildings. She could tell that he was glancing at her every so often, his gaze lingering on her, studying her.

Was it concern he felt for her? Perhaps she should have faked some sort of crying to make him not worry? Did she care to convince him? Would he be able to tell her feelings were faked with their bond now?

Conflicted feelings surfaced as she thought of Vincent in comparison to Elaina. Her thoughts racing, she glanced at him, and their eyes met. Vincent seemed to smile as though he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t.

The sheepish smile filled her with doubt, was she really that horrible that he had to look at her all the time? Her body told her story, she was deformed, disfigured and ugly to look at-

He spoke before she could finish her thought, stopping her in her tracks. “You’re beautiful, stop thinking anything else.”

She quickly turned her head away breaking their eye contact. She’d have to get used to the link they now shared. Did she see it as an invasion? Or was it to be a good thing that he could sense when she was spiralling downward?

“You do strange things to me...” she muttered before sidestepping him, he’d stopped moving to confront her so she continued past him, moving forward.

He trotted along beside her. “Are you sure you’re ready for this? It’s not going to be easy.” He offered.

Aveyon frowned. “I realize that, but I cannot afford to wait any longer. The world is dying, who is to say it will not just fall apart before I can reach my goal? Everyone else wishes to save the world, I am merely along for the ride at this point. There is no better time to start than now.” She answered truthfully.

Vincent nodded, knowing all too well how she felt. “I couldn’t agree more, the less time we waste, the better. But fair warning, the elves are ruthless.”

They headed for the stables. Aveyon put on her fake smile as the children came running from the garden to see them off.

Oh good, she thought sarcastically. The little gremlins have found out.

Riku was the first to reach the Princess, her smiling face beaming with joy. Aveyon’s eyes widened in defiance as the child hugged her legs tight and nuzzled her face into her thigh, reminding her of the deer she had encountered the first night here.

The other children all wanted hugs goodbye as well, Aveyon sighed heavily and accepted the small limbs while hiding her disgust. She didn’t hate the younglings, but it wasn’t the most pleasant experience.

She could sense Vincent's caring nature as he too received hugs and embraces from the little ones. As he watched them and said his goodbyes his emotions turned to something more dark. She hadn't expected it, it made her chest tighten and hurt, so this is what it feels like to have emotions. She was experiencing it through him, how old. He felt sorrow from the younglings, the last of the supernaturals to be born before the world began to fall apart. Or at least when people started to notice it was falling into chaos.

They finished saying their goodbyes and Aveyon and Vincent saddled and tied their bags to the horses. The children started waving as they mounted.

She looked back at the castle-like structure as they kicked the horses into a light trot. She would miss it; it was a safe haven even if she had slept most of her time in its walls.

“You know, they would welcome you back,” Vincent commented in a whisper. He was right there with her, feeling everything alongside her.

She knew they would. But honestly, she couldn’t see herself living happily ever after, not here. She watched as the children ran alongside them. Riku had grown so much, she played with the other children on her own now and appeared far less awkward around others than herself, she admired the girl for that.

“Thank you, Aveyon!” Riku’s little voice stirred something in her as the faces began to fade away.

Had she really done that much? She hadn’t thought she had helped the child at all, Riku did most of the hard work opening herself up to the world. But it did leave her with a slightly warm feeling inside and not an unpleasant one.

“And Vincent, no kissing my future wife! She’s mine already!” Riku yelled jokingly making Aveyon suddenly scrunch her face in disgust. The warm feeling left her as quickly as it had come. Where had that come from? It must be Emeralds doing, how much had she missed while she slept?

Vincent’s mouth fell open in pretend shock. “Oh NO! Whatever will I do now?”

“Don’t encourage her!” Aveyon shot back rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

They headed for the gates where their last lot of goodbyes were waiting. Soon a small gathering of people came into view. Erosvent, Samuel, Zerophenous and Emerald waited for them. Emerald reached out her hand and Aveyon took it helping the elf fling herself up onto the back of the horse. The two knew each other all too well, but Vincent looked over in confusion. He had clearly missed something.

“I’m coming with you for a short while,” Emerald explained. “We're headed in the same direction until you take the path along the river. I'll depart for the slavers market.”

Vincent nodded and accepted the addition without question.

“All the best my boy, write to us regularly, and if you need us just ask.” Erosvent waved as Vincent’s horse slowly trotted past.

The were-Lynx and the Alarian were next, but they didn’t say anything, they simply bowed their heads in respect.

They kicked their heels into the horses, sending them into a gallop as they passed through the gates and headed into the fog. The gates screeched behind them as the iron bars closed, the three disappeared into the cloaking spell that masked the sanctuary location.

Inside the fog was incredibly hard to see, they had slowed to a walk. Vincent’s horse was close by, and he had taken Aveyon’s reins to keep them together as they made their way through the magical haze.

There was a set path, a maze that had to be followed to make it out of the fog. Minutes passed in silence as the girls looked on into the white nothingness, it was eerie and slightly unnerving.

Vincent pulled them to a stop and dismounted before disappearing behind a blanket of white.

Aveyon stiffened, Emerald squeezed her shoulder whispering that it was all right. Vincent was just placing the enchanted crystal on the pillar at the edge of the cloaking spell so they could get out. She explained, that without it if you entered the fog, you would never be able to leave it. A gale of wind blew past them, mildly startling the horses as the fog parted, allowing them to leave.

Aveyon, Emerald, and Vincent rode for hours, referring to the map they had marked as they rode along many of the same-looking dirt tracks.

Aveyon was grateful to Elaina for packing her a hooded cloak. She grew nervous when around other travellers and found hiding under the hood made her feel slightly more secure.

As the sun began to set and the trees around them thickened, her limbs began to lightly ache. Vincent glanced her way, clearly feeling her discomfort, as she tried to prevent an uncomfortable groan from escaping her lips.

“At this pace, we should get to the temple in two days,” Vincent stated as he pulled his horse to a halt. He didn’t need to ask if she was okay, he could feel her exhaustion. “There’s a clearing just up ahead, I think we should stop and rest for the night.” He added.

With no arguments from the girls, he led the way. The thick foliage began to slowly thin. Breaching the tree line they emerged into a small hidden clearing. A small river, a landmark they had to follow, ran by its side.

It was almost dark now, but the land around them was alive with sounds. Emerald had already dismounted, moving to gather supplies, and set up a small camp area for them.

Vincent dismounted next and went to help Aveyon, but her dismount was graceful, she’d done it with ease that surprised and awed him. Her strength, her composure, she really did seem like a Princess in that moment.

Leading the horse to the side of the clearing she unsaddled it and began brushing its coat. She was rather quiet and seemed to be nodding to the horse, Vincent frowned and took a step closer. “Are you okay?” He asked.

Aveyon's attention wavered from the horse so she could nod at Vincent. “Just enjoying the company.” She added as though it was a common thing.

“Well, I’m glad I could be of help?” He replied jokingly confused.

She frowned. “I meant the horse.” The horse threw its head back making a sound as though it was mocking him.

“Sorry... I think I offended the horse.” He muttered slightly taken back.

“You cannot talk to animals, can you? Or have you not tried?” she asked rather curious. His abilities were peculiar, it may very well be possible given his affinity for all the elements.

“I’ve never tried...” He responded honestly. “Zero has similar abilities to yours, but his are rather limited, he certainly can’t speak to animals.”

“Horses are quite smart; they understand more than you know. Communicating with them is rather pleasant.” Taking an apple from her pack, she fed it to the horse. “Even since I can remember, I have been able to communicate with animals. Though it is not so much as speaking like you would to another.” She motioned for him to come over to her.

“I have little training, as you know. But you may just have the affinity for this as well. It is in the form of, how would you say... telepathy? Whereas our link through the ritual bond is more empathy.” She explained as she reached for his hand and placed it on the animal’s snout. “Now, close your eyes and clear your mind completely.”

Following her instruction, he took a deep breath and pushed everything out of his mind. Which was harder than it sounded, as he had a million different things racing through his mind at that moment.

“Now, push your mind toward the horses, keeping it clear. Use the contact as an anchor. The clearer your mind the more vivid it will be.”

He reached out for the horse, using physical contact as a medium and was alarmed when a flood of images came to him. He jumped back startled breaking the contact. “I don’t think I did it right.” He commented slightly shaken.

She shook her head. “You must interrupt what you saw, horses’ minds aren’t as advanced as ours, and we do not speak their tongue.” She added.

Thinking about this for a moment he came to an understanding. “I think... he’s thirsty, and he also enjoys you brushing him.”

She clapped her hands together, happy with her teachings. She smiled at him. “You are quite amazing, to think you can touch minds.”

“Can you touch anything or anyone’s mind?” he asked curiously.

She nodded. “Yes, it is possible. But many minds have built-in barriers, it can be very dangerous if you do not know what you are doing.”

“Amazing... So that day when you showed me where you were...” He trailed off lost in thought as pieces of a puzzle came together.

“You’ve only just realized that she was in your mind?” Emerald frowned at him. She was sitting on a log beside a pile of wood she had gathered. “How the hell did you know to put down your barrier?” She bit into an apple of her own as the two came to join her.

“I... I honestly had no idea, I felt something but didn’t know what. I guess it felt natural, I didn’t want to it push it away or reject it. But I certainly didn’t lower any barriers, I wouldn’t know how.” Vincent was confused.

“The ability is far from common, Aveyon says anyone can do it, but that's not the case. It may be true for the royals but not for us common folk. Lesser animals and most humans have no barriers. What makes Ava special is that she can enter a person’s mind without physically touching them, however, she lacks the training.” Emerald took another bite of her apple and smirked at Vincent. She was clearly enjoying the fact that she knew more about Aveyon than he did.

“I guess that is true, however, I do not know how to guard or attack with my mind. Which I am meant to be able to do.” Aveyon sat herself down next to Emerald and rested her head on the elf’s shoulder. “Reading minds is one thing, controlling the mind is another entirely.”

“You’re a descendant of the royals. You may have abilities you don’t even know about, don’t fret about it.” Emerald retorted with a half laugh.

“That’s why we are headed to the Elves, at least they will have some knowledge and the know-how to train those abilities,” Vincent added as he sat himself down on the hard dirt across from the two. Leaning forward he lit the small campfire that Emerald had gathered wood for with a flick of his wrist.

“Now see, that I find impressive. All I can realistically do is invade and read minds.” Aveyon huffed.

“The mind is an amazing tool; I once knew an elf that used to send people insane with just one command,” Emerald reassured her. “We all have our talents, though Vincent for some damn reason can wield more than two elements. Which is extremely rare.” She added clearly frustrated.

“You deal in water, right Em?” Aveyon asked.

“Yep, and wind, it has its uses and since water and air make up pretty much every living and non-living thing around us, it is quite easy to wield and imbue objects with.” The elf was back in teacher mode again, but Aveyon didn’t mind.

Emerald looked sternly at Vincent. “I won’t be staying the night with you; I’m going to keep moving as the slavers market will soon move again. I haven’t properly thanked you for finding us, so... Thank you.” She didn’t smile at him, but it was sincere. “You’ll look after Aveyon; I know you will. I get the feeling you care for her as much as I do.” As Emerald continued Vincent sat up straight, the elf was being very serious with him, like she wouldn’t get another chance. He didn’t like where this was going, what was she planning?

“You have no reason to thank me, in truth, we’ve been trying to find Aveyon for some time now, Aveyon knows of Erosvent’s powers, but I don’t think you do.” Vincent placed his hands in his lap as he looked at the girls grimly.