Bronze rings of chainmail scrunched together as a black-clad figure rounded an old yew tree and sat down on a small boulder, over which snarling roots had grown throughout the cycles. The old man - for that's what he was, circumstances besides - sighed as he pulled the brass bastard sword from his side and plunged it blade-first into the dirt. Up went his arms, and with no small amount of commotion he doffed his haubergeon and set it aside. One hand traced over his chest as he frowned in consternation... not skin, but crystal.Â
Dead center in his chest gleamed a dark black crystal, and from there through his chest to his shoulders... he stretched, left then right, pivoting where he sat, wrenching his torso this way and that. He could feel the implants, the tendrils of improvised metal veins that now stretched throughout his body, drawing on the chill that came with his burden, the chill that made him Crow. He glanced left, then right, traversing the grass beneath his feet, the numerous leaves wilting as he watched. The cold aura that announced his presence was gone; in its place was now a heavy dry heat as his implant sucked the cold from him and he sucked the moisture from the air. Vacuum, that's what it was. And its purpose... he tapped his fingers lightly over the crystal.
"Should you exhaust your own aether, you will fall to their mercy. This will not protect you from fire forever."
Banurein had proven true to her word. Two suns had not been enough time for what he'd wanted, but for the interim, she had provided security. The implant in his chest, he could appreciate, but... with a sudden snarl, he ripped the gauntlet from his left hand and stared at the other crystal, the purple one implanted into the back of his hand. He clenched that hand into a fist and grit his teeth at the memory.Â
"This may... disorient you when you return. It may even awaken the second soul within you. Understand, it is... to be reserved for the most dire situations."
He would not need it, he had decided. He would take precautions. He would stay the course, follow the path on which he'd set out, and his will would be done.
I will not allow her to interfere. She will not keep me from destiny. She may have what she desires, but only after I ascend.Â
Life beckoned. There was death to deal. Treacherous Crows to dispatch. Atrium and Oubliette, he had expected not to show. That moment when the tension on his mind had snapped, and he had reached out only to hear silence, only to find the Voice gone... it had been disorienting. That the others hadn't shown was telling. Iglujivaq hadn't made the rendezvous at the Respite, either. Only Aviarium had showed, and that hadn't surprised Rotunda. Were they not Adin and Rema?
Jin'li, though... Jin'li needed to be dealt with.Â
Bloom of ages....
Dead center in his chest gleamed a dark black crystal, and from there through his chest to his shoulders... he stretched, left then right, pivoting where he sat, wrenching his torso this way and that. He could feel the implants, the tendrils of improvised metal veins that now stretched throughout his body, drawing on the chill that came with his burden, the chill that made him Crow. He glanced left, then right, traversing the grass beneath his feet, the numerous leaves wilting as he watched. The cold aura that announced his presence was gone; in its place was now a heavy dry heat as his implant sucked the cold from him and he sucked the moisture from the air. Vacuum, that's what it was. And its purpose... he tapped his fingers lightly over the crystal.
"Should you exhaust your own aether, you will fall to their mercy. This will not protect you from fire forever."
Banurein had proven true to her word. Two suns had not been enough time for what he'd wanted, but for the interim, she had provided security. The implant in his chest, he could appreciate, but... with a sudden snarl, he ripped the gauntlet from his left hand and stared at the other crystal, the purple one implanted into the back of his hand. He clenched that hand into a fist and grit his teeth at the memory.Â
"This may... disorient you when you return. It may even awaken the second soul within you. Understand, it is... to be reserved for the most dire situations."
He would not need it, he had decided. He would take precautions. He would stay the course, follow the path on which he'd set out, and his will would be done.
I will not allow her to interfere. She will not keep me from destiny. She may have what she desires, but only after I ascend.Â
Life beckoned. There was death to deal. Treacherous Crows to dispatch. Atrium and Oubliette, he had expected not to show. That moment when the tension on his mind had snapped, and he had reached out only to hear silence, only to find the Voice gone... it had been disorienting. That the others hadn't shown was telling. Iglujivaq hadn't made the rendezvous at the Respite, either. Only Aviarium had showed, and that hadn't surprised Rotunda. Were they not Adin and Rema?
Jin'li, though... Jin'li needed to be dealt with.Â
Bloom of ages....
![[Image: 1qVSsTp.png]](http://i.imgur.com/1qVSsTp.png)
