Entry Two
Unexpected TalesThe night began one way and ended, unexpectedly, in another.  I wasn’t sure what to make of Sa’vern when I first encountered him.  He seemed not unlike so many knights-errant that I’ve encountered in my travels: hidebound by his sense of duty, viewing himself only as a tool of the people.  It made me wonder if he had known any other life than war or lands in conflict.  He spoke briefly only of family long-since dead and spoke longer still of his affinity for keeping people at arm’s length.
Yet, despite that, we spoke for quite some time about various things and finding a mutual respect for the way each of us viewed the world. Â There was something about him that seemed so desolate, as if few dared to look past the armored countenance to see the man beneath. Â Even though he said he preferred it that way, I had difficulty believing that was true. Â A man who desires nothing of others would not have reached out to me, struck up conversation with me as he had. Â He could easily have ignored me.
So when I mentioned I might have some martial skill – with a bow that was not present – he challenged me to a duel, merely to test my strength, he said.  And to keep himself in practice.  Given that I had stopped with archery long ago, I could only meet his challenge with my skills with the aether.  Even then, I hesitated because there had to be more to this than merely testing himself.  My lapse led to my defeat which wasn’t entirely unexpected.  I was but a fledgeling yet with this spellcasting ability, so my combat senses really only came into play when my life was on the line.  I knew it wasn’t here.
Afterward, I fully expected him to dismiss my ability as soldiers are often wont to do to my ilk, but he didn’t.  We spoke again for some time and I revealed to him things about myself that I’d long since kept secret and for good reason.  Duskwight are still reviled in many circles, so much so that I oft lie and say I am a Wildwood.  With the good fortune of my coloration, few ever say me nay on the matter.  Yet, as Sa'vern spoke of his own exile from his people, I felt a kinship with the stalwart Miqo'te that demanded the truth.  So I told it to him – and waited for the revulsion and dismissal.
It never came. Â Instead, we continued to spend the evening together where he surprised me in more ways than one and I learned more about the Miqo'te than I ever had from books.
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