Fate - First Reply Another Test

[Edric]

Edric's eyes snapped open, a desperate gasp dragging into his shredded lungs.

Ice that had impaled half a dozen organs began to shift and melt away, wounds knitting closed as the shards disappeared. Fingers, half frozen and raw from frostbite curled within the cold earth. He could feel the ebbing power flowing away, drawing into his flesh and healing him.

It did not use all the power that he'd taken at the Brothel, no, there had been far too many dead for that. But healing organs always took more, and thus the lion's share of stolen life slipped from his grasp. Gone with it was that strange call for more, replaced simply by exhaustion and weariness.

Ragged breaths became calm, pain dulled, and Edric slowly began to push himself off the ground. Slowly he crawled over to Noel, still slicked with blood. His voice a rasp. "N-Noel."

She was alive, he could tell that much from her voice and the pale light of her life.

"Are you alright?" It was a stupid question, but the only one that he could think to ask in that moment.

 

[Noel]

”Y-you’re an i-idiot.”

Edric’s sudden urge to protect her could have gotten the two of them killed. There wasn’t any doubt in Noel’s mind that he would have dealt with their frosty friend far better than she. Hell, for all she knew, he could’ve just drained the life energy directly out of the mage when he was in that weird misty form.

She continued to shiver, arms hugging her body tight. Her voice was still shaky but at least her teeth had stopped chattering. ”Don’t ever play hero like that again.” An acorn-colored eye glared up at him, ”I mean it.”

They’d all been warned about the dangers of the cold during survival training in the academy. How frostbite could set in, how your lungs could struggle to flow oxygen in extreme conditions, and the other dangers of hypothermia. But it was supposed to take hours, the battlemage they’d just fought had some sort of flash-freezing that set on in seconds.

”I’m fine,” she insisted, ”g-get the horses and l-let’s go.” Movement might help, or hinder, she wasn’t really certain.

Noel just knew she didn’t want to dwell on how they’d both nearly been murdered. About how Edric had put his own life at risk in some asinine attempt to save her.

 

[Edric]

Edric scowled as Noel practically bit at him.

Lips thinned almost instantly. "What?"

There was a genuine touch of confusion on his tone as he spoke. He didn't understand why she was mad, why she was so angry. There had never been a chance of him dying, not for a second. Not with all the power that had been coursing through his veins.

Noel on the other hand?

She could protect herself, but not in the same way he could.

"What the fuck did I do?" Edric bit at her. "I made the best choice I could. Knowing you could kill him just as well as me."

Knowing he would live, when she might not have.

 

[Noel]

Noel's annoyance didn't subside, if anything it only grew. "I barely won."

It was true, even if she only admitted it to bolster her argument. "I didn't need you to shield me. I would have been fine against that assault of his." Probably. Maybe.

She pushed herself up to her feet and brushed a shaking hand through stiff, half-frozen, hair. Warmth was slowly starting to return to her flesh, causing the pale hue it sported to subside a bit. What more was there to even say? Why was she even mad at him? The thought of him dying had upset her, sure. The thought of him dying because of her might have pushed her over the boiling point. She didn't want to address either concern right now.

"Forget it. We won. Let's just move."

A lingering thought still pestered at her brain and she allowed her vision to shift ever so slightly towards where their foe had fallen. Only where a body should have been there was simply a pile of frosted leaves and smattering of blood. Blood that trickled off and formed a trail heading away from them.

Someone the frost mage had survived and was now, seemingly, running away from the two Dreadlords.

"Shit."

 

[Edric]

"Yeah!" Edric said with a slight scowl, still not really understanding what the issue was in the first place. "We won! So why are yo-"

Edric noticed Noel's glance over his shoulder, then the curse passed from her lips. In an instant he turned on his heel, glancing to where the body had been laying moments ago. Lips thinned, and he quickly let out out the same curse.

He took half a step forward, intending to follow the path of blood, then glanced back towards Noel.

They had gotten lucky the first time, and maybe they could get the man if both of them worked together...but he had used a lot of his magic. Lips thinned for a moment, and then he jerked back and moved towards the horses. "We need to head off the road."

Until now they had gotten lucky, assumed they were in the clear, it was obvious that wasn't the case.

Hunting that mage might have worked. They might be able to kill him, but they also might not. He wouldn't take that chance.

Not when he had a promise to fulfill.

 

[Noel]

The anger had faded and been replaced by fear. Fight or flight instincts kicked in and she was grateful when Edric agreed with her own sentiments of picking flight.

Noel plucked her bloodied hairband off the forest floor and wiped what she could off on her scarlet cloak before putting it back into her black locks. Keeping the platinum hairband on her at all times had become like a second nature to her and it often felt like a safety blanket of sorts.

"Yes, let's stick to the brush," their horses were rested enough for it to work for awhile and if they stuck close enough they could still navigate using the roadway. Noel fetched both of their horses and steadily climbed onto her steed.

It wasn't until she was planted firmly into the saddle that she could grasp just how tired she already was.

A full day of riding was going to be a struggle but they had no choice. Once Edric was mounted she kicked off and her horse began its careful gallop through the trees and bushes of the thicket that ran parallel to the road.

After a few moments she spoke her mind, "I don't think he was in any shape to follow pursuit us." Though she'd really rather not find out.

 

[Edric]

Edric didn't think so either. Though he had only seen the mans body for a handful of seconds. He cursed himself quietly for not checking longer, not even using his magic to tell if the seed of life had fled the man's corpse. It would have been the smarter thing to do.

"Hopefully." He called out over the sound of the horses galloping.

There was no way to tell now, and in truth that wasn't what worried Edric. "We just have to hope he was alone."

His lips thinned.

"Or that he can't send word ahead." Back in Vel Anir they used pigeons to deliver messages over long distance. Sometimes, if it was really urgent, there were a few Dreadlords who could walk in dreams or speak into minds even over hundreds of miles.

Edric had no idea if anyone in the Radiant Church had such powers. "We'll have to be careful."

Even more careful.

"Maybe steal some clothes on the way." These robes might be too dangerous.

 

[Noel]

A brief frown touched Noel's lips. She wasn't a fan of the Radiant Church but she'd come to like the red cloak she'd acquired. It was the warmest piece of clothing she'd ever owned and she was partial to the way it looked too. Changing clothes made the most sense though and maybe she could still get away with wearing the cloak, especially as she was still trying to warm her frigid bones.

"Makes sense," she agreed with the idea. The closer they got to the coast the more obvious Radiant Church Justicars would be. Easier it would be for anyone else looking for them to spot.

Noel wanted to scream though. It was such an obvious mistake by both of them. They had a window, however slim, to finish their pursuer off and they'd blown it. Maybe it wasn't their fault. Edric had appeared to nearly die but then, gods his magic, and Noel couldn't believe she still had the strength to even strike back at him.

Though she doubted Proctors at the academy would've seen the display as anything but weakness.

They kept going, largely in silence, until they were able to spot something on the main road from their vantage point in the trees. A large merchant cart with three or four guards escorting it. "You wanted clothes?" She asked tentatively as the cart drew nearer.

 

[Edric]

As their horses slowed and Noel asked her question, lips thinned.

For a brief moment he considered it, watching as the cart slowly began to draw closer. He spotted the three guards, one of the merchantmen directing the horses. He frowned for a brief moment, glancing at Noel. He was still tired, weary. Even with the pool of strength he still had.

Noel didn't look much better.

After a few seconds he shook his head. "No."

His voice was soft, quiet. There were a dozen reasons to attack the cart, to kill all of them and simply take what they needed. But Edric was tired, he was weary, and more importantly...he was just tired of killing. He had done enough of it in Sene.

"Too much noise." It was a good excuse, at least he thought. "Another thing they can use to track us."

Edric was sure the Proctors of old would have beaten them for taking the weak way out, but in that moment he didn't care.

He bit his lower lip. "Better to find a farm, a clothesline or something."

 

[Noel]

Noel didn't disagree with his logic. She was still regaining the feeling in her toes from earlier and she assumed Edric wasn't at his best either. Still, it was hard not to see the lightly defended cart as anything but fortuitous.

"Farm clothes," she nodded. "We'll blend in well enough in that I suppose." They were in the middle of absolutely no where.

She couldn't have imagined high fashion was of much concern.

Though the notion of dressing like farmers from some far away land did trigger a thought in her head. "Had you not been this... what do you think your life would have been?" A silly, pointless, question but the ride towards the docks was beginning to feel like a bore.

And as Noel wasn't going to apologize, or discuss, her earlier outburst a pointless conversation seemed the only one they could possibly have.

"I reckon that I would've been a blacksmith." Given that's what her father had been. "Or perhaps I'd have joined the Guard on a permanent basis anyway." Seemed fitting. Fighting was all she had ever really known.

 

[Edric]

As they turned their horses away from the main road once more Edric glanced back towards the Caravan. A part of him wondered if he'd made the right call. If it would have been better just to slaughter the guards and take what they needed.

The Proctors would have said so, but they had been wrong about so much. His lips thinned, and as they began to ride he couldn't help but feel that seed of doubt in his chest.

He half turned to Noel as the horses trotted along, her question sparking memories in the back of his mind. For a moment he simply frowned, clutching the reigns tighter as he considered. "The Guard seems like where I'd end up too."

It was what he was best at after all.

"My father was a mason though." He added. "Maybe I'd have joined him."

Edric frowned for a moment before he chuckled and added. "My mother worked in the Archives."

It seemed funny to him, given his antipathy of their studies.

 

[Noel]

Noel snorted. Actually snorted at the idea of Edric burying his nose in books all day while transcribing them with his free hand. The entire image was a funny one and while there were a few in their class, such as Meredith, who might’ve taken up such a life without issue Edric certainly wasn’t one of them.

”Archivist Edric.” She repeated it in her head but shook it from her mind with another dismissive giggle. ”It has a decent ring to it but I think the guard or masonry fits you a bit better.”

Although it was truly hard to say for certain where any of them would’ve ended up.

Perhaps, without the academy, Edric would’ve been as scrawny as Dorian. With his idea of fun being a good book by candlelight before bed. It was only an outrageous concept to her because Noel was only familiar with this version of him. The warrior, the fighter, the soldier…

The killer.

The laughter ceased and she twisted her head towards him, her black tresses flapping in the rushing wind. ”You’d have been a mason. Serving just your mandatory year with the guard. You’d have been good at it.”

It was a dumb thing to think about. A future that didn’t happen. But if Edric really was thinking of leaving, of giving it all up, then he should be allowed to. Even if it’d kill her to see one of the “good ones” just walk away like that.

Because he wasn’t a killer. Not initially. That’s just what the academy had made him into.

 

[Edric]

"Maybe. I have been told I have magic fingers." Edric let out a small chuckle. The thought of being a Mason wasn't too bad. For who he was now, an Archivist was surely a much worse fate.

At least he would be able to keep working with his hands, that was something.

He frowned for a moment, a thought briefly flickering in his mind. He was never one to consider the future much, mostly because his plan had been in place for so long. He'd never much thought there were other options to consider, especially when it came to...to things that couldn't happen.

Briefly Edric glanced towards Noel. "Would you..."

He frowned, glancing back ahead onto the forest path.

"Would you give up your magic?" Edric asked. "Knowing everything we've been through. Everything we've suffered."

Noel hadn't experienced the same tortures he had, but her life had been a forge all it's own. That was the way for all students at the Academy. They had been beaten, broken down. Piece by Piece. "Would you give it up to have a normal life?"

He asked finally.

 

[Noel]

"No!"

It was an immediate, unflinching, answer. Perhaps if she had known a life without magic, without drive, without the academy... perhaps then her answer would be different. But as it stood there was only one fate for her. The peak of the mountain or nothing at all.

To be fair, she didn't know what a 'normal' life would even look like. Would she be happier? More fulfilled? It was impossible to say. No matter how obvious to some the Noel that existed right now would never be able to give herself up for a life of mediocrity. Not when she was so close to excellence. So close to being able to do something that was bigger than her.

Even if she didn't know what it was.

"Strength buys a voice, Edric," she said confidently. Not really knowing how true it was. "We learned that when were just kids. In our lessons about the archons of old."

It was why she strived to be more. Strived to be better.

Because one day, if she worked hard enough, she could have a voice that everyone in Vel Anir had to listen to. A voice that mattered more than any Dreadlord or Mason or Blacksmith. A voice that archivists, like Edric's dear mother, would record for generations to come.

It was what she'd wanted since Noel was a child. What she craved. What still drove her to give her all no matter how dire the situation. It was her destiny or else a fate she'd die trying to achieve.

 

[Edric]

Edric didn't say anything.

He let Noel's answer settle in, as if he were parsing through it's meaning. The sound of the horses hooves echoed out as they continued, the steady beat of their footfalls almost a metronome in it's own sort of way. Edric seemed to get lost in that sound.

Seconds, minutes, perhaps more passed before he spoke again. "A voice."

He repeated.

Was that what they were trying to achieve? Was that what Noel was fighting for? Not the acclaim. Not the legend, but a voice?

Edric had never thought of it that way. He had never intended to stay in Vel Anir. Even before the Revolution he had wanted to leave. He had become strong to leave. Now that the option was simply there, now that he could just do it...he'd realized how empty it had all become.

How empty of a choice it had been in the first place.

He didn't know why. Maybe because of what Noel had said, because of her desire, he need for that voice, Edric finally realized how...vain his goal had truly been. He'd wanted to be free, but why? What for?

As they rode on, Edric fell silent.

Doubts sowing deep within his thoughts.

 

[Noel]

”A voice is all we have.”

Noel had been simply riding, waiting for him to say anything else. After eternity he simply replied with the statement, “a voice.” And, after another eternity of her own choosing she replied with that simple statement.

The academy had taken everything else.

Their dignity was gone years ago. Any sense of compassion had mostly been erased prior to puberty. They had no personal property and their choice of seven noble houses had been reduced to a simple binary decision. To continue and be bound to the Guard or to give up their life’s work.

All they had was a voice.

And their voice was meaningless unless they gave it power. Unless they, through sheer force of will, they ensured that it mattered. That it all mattered. Every tear shed, every drop of blood spilled, all of it mattered if you rose to the lofty heights of making a difference. Of having your voice be heard.

Noel stared straight ahead, lip still quivering more from fear and self-doubt than from the cold now, ”it’s all we have Edric.” Her hands tightened on the reigns and her vision focused on the trail.

Why were they even talking about this? ”Masonry sounds fun though. Rewarding even.” Anything was better than her insecure thoughts.

 

[Edric]

The words rang in his head. Every single one of them.

It was a platitude. An explanation.

An excuse.

Edric knew it. Noel knew it. Both of them had fought so hard. Trained for their entire lives to be the best, to be more. To stand above their peers and become the Dreadlord's that even the greatest envied. It didn't matter that Edric had intended to leave. It didn't matter that he had intended to walk away.

Their competition remained the same, and the platitudes? They were just another way to push aside everything that they had suffered through.

Edric pulled hard on the reigns of his horse.

Fingers tightened, and the great beast suddenly came to a stop, it's hoofs drawing high as it nearly slid in the dirt and muck of the forest. Almost as soon as the beast stopped, Edric slid free from his saddle, his feet pressing into the ground. "Noel."

His voice was stern, strong, demanding attention.

"Stop." His voice echoed out, but it's intent unclear.

Was he telling her to stop her horse. To stop running? Or simply to stop lying.

 

[Noel]

It was jarring.

In an instant Edric went from riding his horse to a sudden stop while commanding her, in a way she'd never heard him speak, to stop as well. She rode in a semi-circle, back towards him after overshooting where he'd come to a halt. She dismounted as well and stared at him.

Her eyes were full of confusion. Questioning precisely what he was trying at.

"What's wrong?" Her words came out like a hoarse croak.

There wasn't any reason to stop here in the midst of the trees. Maybe his magic had sensed something completely out of position or he had managed to spot something she'd missed in her contemplation. Whatever it was must have been important.

Surely Edric, one of the stars of her class, wouldn't just have them stop for something unrelated to their mission. That was impossible. Impossible even.

Noel bit at her lower lip but kept her gaze trained on him, waiting for him to explain himself. "Why are we stopping?" she blurted out. Not content to let silence drag for even a second.

 

[Edric]

Edric stared at her. A thousand thoughts ran through his head. All manner of conspiracies, stories, tales that he could tell himself. They went a mile a minute, never stopping, never conceding. They rushed through him like a torrent.

He stared at Noel, watched her.

"I need you to tell the truth." The words came from his lips without a seconds thought, without consideration. His mind might have stopped him, but in that moment he wanted only the truth.

The honest truth about her. About himself.

He took a step towards Noel. "Why hide anymore?"

Edric urged.

"Why avoid and buck away?" His voice raised ever so slightly. "Why keep...why keep dragging ourselves to what they want?"

The demand rang in the air. Sang to it. Tension and anger filling his voice.

 

[Noel]

A part of her wanted to back away but Noel stood firm as Edric approached. Her vision unflinching towards his face.

What was he getting at? What truth?

”I’m not hiding,” Noel insisted. Adamant in her truth. ”It’s not about what they… wait.”

She was talking too much when she should’ve been listening, really listening to what he had to say. Whatever it was obviously mattered to him. He hadn’t stopped their march to hear her protests, he’d stopped to tell her something.

”What is your truth Edric?”

Noel’s words were softer, kinder, than usual. Her eyes weren’t the same intensity they typically burned with. She wanted to hear him. Really hear what the actual Edric, removed from the academy and the proctors, had to say.

Her shoulders slumped, her guard fell.

 

[Edric]

Edrid frowned, scowled, his lips parting as he was about to say something, demand something.

He wanted to know what it all meant. What she meant. Why she'd been so angry with him. What she was trying to keep hidden, and yet...she was right. None of that mattered, none of it was at the center of why he was so angry.

Every word she had said had gotten to him, but not because of Noel. Not because of her views, but because of the injustice of it all. "I..."

His voice rasped, his eyes staring at Noel.

"What do they expect?!" His voice suddenly burst out in anger, resounding and thundering through the clearing. "They took everything from us!"

As he spoke, the trees around them seemed to quake. Leaves curled, branches fell, and bark began to pale. Edric didn't seem to notice. "TWICE!"

He boomed, and the forest seemed to shake.

"A voice?!" Edric demanded. "Why do we have to fight for something that should already be ours!? Why do we have to demand what they took from us in the first place?!"

He could have been happy. He could have had a family. He could have had a home. Edric could have had so many things, and they had ripped it from him before he'd ever known it.

Then they'd done it again.

 

[Noel]

Edric looked irate. Then he started screaming.

It wasn’t like the angry shouts of a spoiled child throwing a tantrum. It was more akin to a man at the end of his wits. A man trying, and failing, to reconcile with his lot in life.

”I don’t,” Noel’s uncharacteristically meek voice was interrupted by further shouts of rage.

Her face went wide, mouth agape as she tried to think of something to say to placate Edric’s feelings or calm him down. Her mind kept coming up blank.

Tentatively, when she was certain he was finished shouting, she took a step nearer to the fuming Dreadlord initiate. ”We can’t control what happened.”

Noel’s voice was soft and delicate. Her silky tone pressed on, ”all I can do,” she balled her hands into fists as her voice cracked slightly, ”all that either of us can do is focus on the future.”

It was why she threw herself into training. Why she obsessed about becoming the strongest, the best. It was why she wanted to become an Archon. Because if she didn’t set goals for herself she’d have nothing.

Nothing at all.

A tear formed and as it began to fall onto her cheek she twisted her face away from the stalwart boy she’d grown up with.

”I’m sorry,” the words a sniffle as a gentle hand brushed the moisture from her eye.

 

[Edric]

As Noel's voice sang through the air Edric almost immediately felt a pang of guilt in his chest. It cut through the anger, the rage like a razor. The trees around them seemed to slacken, the branches furling upwards, the leaves turning back to green.

It wasn't her fault.

None of this was her fault. It had never been any of their fault. There wasn't anything they could have done, there wasn't anything that they could change...not from where they were. Noel knew that, Edric knew it too...but he hadn't accepted it.

Maybe he couldn't. Maybe in his head it would never be right, but that didn't make it Noel's fault. A frown touched his lips, his head shaking as he saw a tear glisten in her eye.

What was he supposed to do?

They hadn't been taught this. They hadn't been shown how to deal with...with any of this. They were supposed to be weapons. Killers. Nothing more. It all seemed so overwhelming. So much. He opened his mouth to speak as Noel sniffled out an unwarranted apology, the facade she wore so well crumbling before his eyes.

Edric swallowed, his lips pressing together as he took a step towards her. Before he said anything at all he wrapped his arms around Noel, a gentle embrace enveloping her. "I'm sorry."

It wasn't her fault.

 

[Noel]

Noel stiffened as her arms clung straight down at her sides. Initially she thought Edric was trying to subdue her, attack her or possibly choke her out once more for some unknown purpose.

It was only a flicker of a thought though as she realized he was hugging her.

Strange.

While she’d seen an entirely different side of Edric on this mission an embrace like this seemed so far from the image she’d had of him in her mind and it only served for Noel to tense up more. Her arms still hanging by her side, head still twisted away from him, jaw clenched in quiet resistance.

Until it all crashed like a ruptured dam.

Her arms moved upwards and she clung to him whilst tears flowed freely. It was hard to say if she held onto him for seconds or entire minutes as time seemed to evaporate. Her face buried into his chest as tears soaked the Radiant Church garment.

”Should we,” her voice remained ragged from crying but the two initiates were still interlocked, ”what do we do?”

In the moment she wasn’t sure if she was asking about fleeing to the docks or addressing Edric’s concerns or even about their future in this bizarre world the revolutionaries had been carving out.

 

[Edric]

Edric had no idea how long they clung to one another, how much time they spent in that clearing. It was so strange, so odd, yet there was a comfort in it. He wondered if this was what ordinary people felt like, if it was...normal.

He had no idea, and when Noel's question came he felt all but clueless on how to answer. His arms were still wrapped around her, his chest shaking as he took in a deep breath.

Truth was, there really wasn't an answer. Edric had no more idea about what he wanted, what he needed than he had at the beginning of all this. Killing the Doge had been a way to set them free, to allow them a choice the Republic, the Proctors, whoever, would have taken from them. Now though...now he realized that he had no more choice at all.

Maybe that was the truth of it.

Maybe Noel had the right of it. Maybe all they had was the future, and what they did with it. "We go home."

He answered finally.

What they would do when they got there? That remained to be seen. At least for Edric.