Private Tales Broken Compacts

[Órlaith]

Órlaith's shoulders lifted to her ears as she pulled the blanket tighter around her, her lips twisting with a small smile at his reasoning, and she cleared her throat as he spoke of his mind. How funny that he'd put it that way..

Her expression paused for a moment and her gaze fixed on him as said she wasn't different. He'd been the first person ever to say it, to acknowledge that she too was human... a person. She'd spent her entire life being taught just how different she was, and his words struck a cord that reverberated through her and sent her emotions crashing around her mind so fast that her eyes watered. She cleared her throat, and dipped her chin in appreciation before letting her gaze fall to the flames.

"I uhm." she sniffled and rubbed at the bridge of her nose, discreetly catching a tear. "I'm an empath. I can feel other people's emotions as if they are my own.." she frowned. It was a difficult thing to be in a world where everyone was either angry or sad and hurt.

"But I can also make others feel emotions that aren't their own, too. Manipulate the mind to feel.. anything really. I, mostly used it to calm people. They'd know, of course, and punish me." she glanced up at him.. "They found a way to make it hurt, if we used our abilities.. "Corrective measures"" she mocked and shook her head, her tone dipping as she huffed quietly. "Like they were ever going to let us back into society. They could've drained every last drop of magic from our veins and we'd still never have been allowed to live amongst the rest of you."

 

[Cal]

Cal couldn't help the goosebumps that rose over his flesh.

Had she manipulated his feelings? Had she changed his thoughts? Had she twisted him and made him escort her out into these woods?

His head swiveled to look at her, eyes locking onto Orlaith's as he considered the truth of the situation. He frowned, and then a pit formed in his stomach. Guilt wracked him, the idea that had formed in his mind weighing on his shoulders.

That was what an Inquisitor would have thought.

Conspiracy, hatred, anger.

That was their way. That was how they chose to think, how they thought about the world that was laid out in front of them. She was a mage so she was an enemy. That was how his masters would have thought of her. Not that she was an innocent little girl. A woman who had been raised as little more than a slave.

A breath filled his lungs. "I can't imagine how they must have wanted to use you."

He finally answered, his head shaking.

"I'm sorry." Cal could not even imagine such a life, a part of himself utterly cut off and controlled by someone else.

 

[Órlaith]

She watched him, saw the way he looked at her. Órlaith was by no means able to read minds, but she could read eyes, she could feel the subtle shifts in moods, in behaviours and expressions. She knew what he was thinking without him having to speak a word, and she felt herself withdraw a little, partly wishing she hadn't said a word. Her gaze was dropping before he spoke, and she lifted it once again to his face and a soft sigh escaped her nose.

"Yes.. They did." she answered bluntly and left it at that, her jaw clenching as she bit down her own rise in anger at the memories that flooded her mind. She cleared her throat and caught another tear on her wrist, and was quiet for a moment.

"I haven't, by the way.." she told him quietly, glancing at him before looking back at the flames. "Manipulated you, I mean.." she frowned. "You're not under some 'spell'.." her eyes rolled. It was always how her ability had been described, a spell, a hex..a curse. She'd have agreed with the latter.

 

[Cal]

"I know." He said softly, tentatively.

Trust was not something easily given. Not in Rhagos, at least not in the circles that he operated in. Inquisitors, politicians, nobles. All of them lied to each other, all of them tried to gain the upper hand in some way some time.

It was a universal truth.

Yet he tried to learn the lesson that he had been taught. He tried to take her words to heart. She had promised him that not all mages wanted to hurt, kill, manipulate. That some just wanted to live. She had broken an entire lifetime of conditioning.

So he would listen to her, even if she was dead. "I believe you."

Cal said with a nod of his head, reassuring himself as much as her.

 

[Órlaith]

Did he though?.. She understood how that information might give someone like him cause to feel paranoid, and her brow furrowed as she nodded back at him. Her teeth latched onto her lower lip and she bit down for a moment before shrugging the blanket from her shoulders, and shuffling over to sit next to him..

"May I?.." she asked as she reached to take his hand in one of her own as the other pulled the curtain of dark wavy locks around her shoulder. She tilted her head and brought his hand to the nape of her neck to let them run across the rune marking, risen in scarred tissue..

"Those who fear magic so much used it against us.." she quirked a brow. "It makes using my abilities painful. Like, there's fire in my veins that goes straight to my mind.." she frowned and let go of his hand.. "If I was doing anything to your mind you'd know." she assured him.

 

[Cal]

Cal let his fingers run over the scar tissue on her neck, frowning for a few moments as he recognized the mark that had been set there.

He knew the rune of course, he also knew the other two that were used on mages. One numbed them to their magic completely, made them little more than husks but allowed them to 'live' within polite society. It was an empty existence, and those marked with said Rune often took their own lives.

The last was perhaps the worst. It was set not upon the flesh, but threaded into the skin as a metallic collar. It rendered the mage as little more than a slave, their magic directed and twisted by whoever held their leash.

That one was the worst. "I'm sorry."

He said softly, his eyes closing.

Cal fought the urge not to say "It could have been worse", deciding that such words would probably not make her feel at all better.

"The Inquisition isn't exactly..." She likely already knew. "As stringent as they would have most of Rhagos believe."

He glanced briefly at the saddle where he still had Lorinth's things.

 

[Órlaith]

Órlaith knew well of the other methods of binding magic in Rhagos - death was better than some of them. She had known many who had suffered those fates, some of them friends, one of them more. "No.. And they'd have had me think the only reason I didn't suffer worse was because of my father. But it was because they found me useful and used me like a tool when they needed me.." she frowned. Now that she'd escaped however, she was a problem. Just by telling Cal that they 'used' magic in this way at all was dangerous.

She moved away from him again and pulled the blanket back around her, hazel eyes studying his face for a moment. "You don't have to keep apologising, you know. You didn't do any of those things.. Seems you had just about as much choice in the matter as I did.." she forced a smile. Her eyes were heavy-lidded and she yawned against her shoulder. It was an odd thing to be in the middle of a forest, and even more so that she felt safer here than she did in her own cot.

 

[Cal]

She was right, in a way, but after all that he had seen it was difficult to tell himself he was but a victim of circumstance.

He had not become an inquisitor, he had denied the test, but he had been a soldier and served Rhagos. In the cities name he had helped put down rebellions, fought the dwarves in the Kal'Azzad mountains, and done any number of things that now brought him only shame.

Cal had accepted the truth of what Rhagos really was, what they did do their own people, but it did not erase his past. It might have been better than some, he might not have tortured or broken innocent men and women. Yet he had his own crimes that still haunted him.

Still, he tried to push those aside. "Get some rest."

He told her with a forced smile.

"We'll ride again tomorrow, passed Tel Amos." There were a few villages near the mountains, they were more isolated and drawn away from Rhagos. Perhaps there they could find some shelter, at least until they decided what their actual plan was going to be.

 

[Órlaith]

His guilt would tell her more about him than he realised. It was what separated him and them, and it gave her cause to trust him.

"Alright.." she nodded gently and sighed, clearly struggling to fight sleep and so she wouldn't argue. She pulled her bed roll as close to the fire as she could and curled up into her usual tight ball, her blanket pulled tightly around her..

"Will you sleep?.." she breathed out in a sigh, her voice drifting as her eyes rolled shut, and her body stopped shivering.

 

[Cal]

He nodded his head. "The Mantic will tell us if anything gets too close."

The beasts were rather remarkable in that sense.

Most of them had been trained generationally. Mother taught it's children all the tricks that it had been taught. They were mounts, but also watch dogs, plow horses, and a dozen other things that humans used animals for. One would think they would be more common, but Rhagos had long kept their breeding a secret.

They were a valuable asset after all.

"Besides." He said with a yawn. "I didn't sleep much last night."

Laying down on the bedroll Cal let his eyes closed. "I need the rest."

 

[Órlaith]

"Mhm..." she mumbled drowsily as sleep dragged her under, and for a few blissful hours she let her mind and body rest by the dwindling heat of the fire in the cocoon of her blanket. She dreamt of the monastery, of Lorinth and his whip, but they were no worse than her usual nightmares and she wouldn't allow them to chase her from her slumber. Sleep was far too precious, and she needed it to heal.

She fell so deeply that a hurricane would be hard pressed to wake her, and so with no gentle words or Mantic able to penetrate her mind, Órlaith would sleep on through the morning unless forced to do so.

 

[Cal]

A little past dawn Cal woke up.

He didn't quite startle awake, though close enough to it as his eyes suddenly snapped open and his head quickly turned left and then right. His heart skipped a beat in his chest, and he could feel the paranoia digging into his skin.

There was no reason for it of course, the Mantic lay on the ground, it's head lulling in rest. Orlaith was similarly still passed out, and the forest around them was as quiet as could be. For a few seconds he remained sitting there, softly breathing. "Right."

He said rubbing his face, deciding that his own dreams were what had haunted him.

Quickly Cal got the fire going, setting up only a small flame with a pot in order to cook some porridge. The Porridge would be delicious, and describing it's method of cooking would no doubt bring great joy to anyone reading it.

Nevertheless, Cal eventually leaned over towards Orlaith and gently shook her away.

"Hey, time to wake up." He told her softly.

 

[Órlaith]

She may have been dead to the world, but the shake woke her with a jolt, a gasp of air flooding into her lungs and her eyes snapped open, no longer hazel but entirely white and swirling like mist on calm water. Her hand shot to his wrist to grip it. In her waking brain, he was Lorinth, and the sudden fear took front and centre of her mind and drove her before she could allow any logical thought to stop it.

Pain, something to deter him from harming her, a defensive lash like an animal, short and sharp to allow her a chance of escape. It was a pain caused without inflicting a wound, an invisible hot poker lanced straight through the mind..

 

[Cal]

Pain lanced through his consciousness.

It gripped, grasped, and tore through any thought that he might have had in that moment. His mouth opened to voice some kind of protest, but the instant the lace of pain lashed across his mind Cal found himself brought tumbling low.

"Agrhh." A guttural noise close to a groan escaped his throat, fingers curling into a fist as he kicked out his leg in a desperate attempt to get her to...stop.

His mouth felt dry, his muscles seized. "Orla-"

Cal couldn't finish the sentence as he fell to his knees.

 

[Órlaith]

The boot to the ribs was enough to wake her, but she forgot to let go until the rune on the back of her neck seared. Her fingers uncurled immediately and she rolled onto her back, a cry of agony tearing its way from her throat. The torturous pain seared down the length of her spine and spread into her limbs, her back arching from the ground as she writhed and cried and pounded her feet and fists into the earth as it finally took hold of her mind and set it alight.

"I'M SORRY!! PLEASE!" Órlaith begged as she had done a hundred times before, only this time there was nobody here inflicting this pain on her, only the magic they'd marked her with. The pain ebbed and flowed, and slowly each ebb grew a little further and further away until she was left shaking in a ball in the dirt, too afraid to move and too confused to speak.

 

[Cal]

Cal half curled into a ball, his head spinning, his mind utterly blank.

The idea of a thought formed somewhere, somehow, but it barely scratched the surface of his conscious mind as the pain began to ebb away. Distantly he heard Orlaith scream, her voice echoing out suddenly snapping him into reality.

Tides of a migraine began to form in the front of his head, a hand coming up to gently rub through his hair as if that would somehow sooth the pain. His head turned, and slowly he crawled over towards Orlaith.

"Fuck." He swore quietly, not reaching out to her this time.

"Orlaith." His words were slow...careful, tinged with fear. "Are...are you alright?"

 

[Órlaith]

His words washed over her like icy water as she realised where she was, what had happened, and what she'd done. Her grimace slowly smoothed out, the spasms became less frequent, and she dared to breathe again, long, careful breaths that caught in her throat each time another sharp jolt took her by surprise.

Shame left her curled in her ball for a little longer than she had to be. She didn't answer him, but when she finally looked up at him she frowned.. "I'm sorry.. I thought-- I didn't mean..." she dropped her gaze and pulled herself further away from him, her body still shaking in protest of the pain it'd just endured. Her hand pressed to the back of her neck and she closed her eyes for a moment, a shuddered sigh tumbling from her lips.

"I'm sorry."

 

[Cal]

Cal fell back onto his rear, letting out a long shaky breath once he was sure Orlaith wasn't going to lash out at his mind once again.

The tone of her voice made some of the weariness drift away, the genuine pain of it assuring him that she had at least not done it on purpose. Lips thinned for a brief moment, and he took another short breath to try and steady himself. "It's alright."

He assured her quietly.

"It's alright." Cal repeated, a hand coming up to run through his hair.

What the fuck had he gotten himself into? "We shouldn't stick around here too long."

Not after she had used magic. Not after the mark had been activated.

 

[Órlaith]

The sleep felt pointless thanks to the exhaustion that now fell over her, and she quietly groaned at the thought of travelling for hours again. There wasn't a muscle in her body that didn't ache.. "It's not alright.." she muttered.. "I preach to you about not being dangerous and then I hurt you." she rubbed at her face, fighting back tears. After everything she'd endured, this felt like the last straw.

"Fuck.." she huffed and let her head fall back, her gaze following the skeletal boughs and heaven-bound branches of the trees they sat under.

"Maybe it's best that you go on without me. It's only going to get worse. I can't be responsible for you getting killed. They're tracking me, not you." she frowned and got herself to her feet, brushing the dead leaves from her clothes.

"Just go, Cal. I'm sorry. I appreciate you getting me this far.." she nodded to him, too ashamed to meet his gaze and so she turned to leave on foot.

 

[Cal]

Cal stood quietly for a few seconds.

By now someone had probably come looking for Lorinth, tracked his path and realized that he had gone to see an old friend. Once they figured out that friend was him they would find the Inquisitors body, and once that happened it would all be over.

At least any legal standing he might have held would be over. Fingers tightened for a moment, and then he let out a long breath. "I don't think it matters anymore."

He said quietly.

"I killed Lorinth." She could claim she had of course, that would buy him some time but...well there was another thorn in all of this.

Cal knew that if he left, that if he just went on his own way without Orlaith she would either die in the wilderness or be caught by the Inquisition. Leaving her was a death sentence, and that was not something he could allow.

He took a few steps, weary, careful, but caught her by the shoulder. "Let's get over the Mountains first, at least."

 

[Órlaith]

Órlaith paused, the muscles in her shoulders bunched and tense, but the eased slightly as she turned to look at him, her hazel eyes glassy and tired. A ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips and she sighed.

"Thank you Cal.. But there's little point in pretending that I can outrun this, I'm only lying to myself. My life was never worth living from the moment I was born, it would have been a mercy to have thrown me to the wolves then.. It would.. still be a mercy." her head shook and fell with a quiet sigh.

"What sort of life will it be? I'll be hunted to the ends of Arethil, there is nothing else. There's no happiness or peace waiting for me. I can't even touch someone for fuck's sake." she looked down at her hands with a scowl and clenched them into fists that she wrapped around her ribs..

 

[Cal]

Cal hesitated, not entirely sure what to say. Pretending to know what she was going through would have been an utter lie. He had no idea what it was like to be trapped in a world such as hers.

His situation had never been good, never ideal, but it hadn't been a tortured hellscape either.

For a brief moment he took a breath, colelcting his thoughts as he looked at her. A thousand thoughts ran through his head, but none of them seemed particularly good. She was right, in a way, the Inquisition's reach was far and her father...her father was powerful. "Just come over the mountains with me."

Cal said quietly.

"See a village they don't control." He continued. "Meet some people who won't despise you for what you were born into."

He bit his tongue for a second, then added. "Live a little, before you give up."

 

[Órlaith]

Órlaith frowned gently at him as he persisted in trying to help her, and she looked away at the aimless path through the forest that she'd intended on taking alone. It filled her with a sense of dread and fear, but she knew if she took it, she would not live to suffer it for long. To set a foot onto that path was to give up entirely.

Perhaps he was right, though. If she was so certain that she was going to die anyway, what did it matter if she spent what short time she had left seeing a little more of the world. Well, of the Spine at least. "That, would be nice." she agreed with a frown and she hesitated for a moment before finally turning to face him.

"If you're sure.." she nodded and chewed idly on her lip.

 

[Cal]

"I am." Cal said with a nod of his head.

There was little else that he could say about it. His lot was set and so was hers. Any other path seemed foolish, dangerous. They could survive together, for a little while at the very least. A trek across the spine, a few villages away from Rhagos.

That wouldn't be so bad. "Come on."

"There's a whole world beyond what they've built." Cal told her as he clicked his teeth. The Mantic slowly wandered over towards the, Cal climbing into the saddle with one quick and limber motion. His hand was offered to her a second later. "Let's go see it."

 

[Órlaith]

His words did tickle her curiosity despite the cloud of doom that seemed to hang over her head. He seemed so sure, so enthused by the prospect of new places and so certain that she'd get to enjoy them that she couldn't help but smile.

The smile faltered as his hand was offered out to her, and she glanced between it and his face, a brow quirking as though to ask him if he were certain. The pain wouldn't happen again, not if she could help it, and certainly not whilst she was conscious. Still the fact that he was even willing to touch her again eased her tension, and she nodded as she took the hand and climbed up into the saddle to wrap her arms around his waist.

"Let's go see it." she repeated, and held on tightly.