Fate - First Reply In the Desert Again

[Edric]

Amol-Kalit
Somewhere In the Desert

The desert was unforgiving, unkind, and utterly brutal for someone who was not prepared for it. The sun alone was enough to kill most, and when one mixed in the lack of water and the vast dunes which seemed to shift and change almost on a whim it was near impossible to cross the vast distance safely.

That was why Edric had been chosen to venture once more into Amol-Kalit.

On his last journey he had been accompanied by someone else, but this time he had been asked to come alone. Gilram had called him to his study, and once again he had asked his questions, and once again Edric had answered. There had never been a choice, not for the young Dreadlord. For he knew that every mission, every task took him one step closer.

Now though, standing before the ancient ruin he couldn't help but wonder if he was the right choice.

Edric was no scholar.

In the Academy he had never paid much attention to many lessons, nor had he studied as others had. His focus had been on the violence, the brutality, staying alive. Always he had wanted nothing less than to survive. Always he had pushed himself to the edge. Now? Now it might come back to bite him in the ass.

Banishing the scowl from his face, Edric shook his head and continued to trudge forward. Moving towards the distance ruin, ancient and forgotten.

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair had requested 1 year of leave to get his affairs in order for his House. The request had been granted, but only one small problem. Al did not actually have any idea how to actually get his affairs in order. He knew that it involved getting out of Vel Anir. He had to find wealth or influence in a place that was not already as cemented in its society as Vel Anir.

What did that mean for Alistair? Well, it meant he was doing a lot of traveling. He had already visited the outskirts of the republic and Ragash to retrieve new members of his family. He had promptly dropped them off in the care of his mother and left once again on 'business'.

That business had brought him through the deserts of Amol-Kalite, it was funny, he seemed to be spending more and more time in this place. He would start here and head towards the coast, stopping in Elbion before heading east.

The path he had decided was originally meant to be quick when his curiosity finally outweighed his desire to follow his schedule. There were just too many long-forgotten ruins in these sands that not enough people explored. He would be one of the select few, if not the first, to look at these places in hundreds of years.

Alistair had taken the process slow, exploring the outskirts of the ruins first. While he was excited to explore, he was no idiot. There were still dangerous things here. Speaking of which...

Al pressed himself against a wall as he hid from sight. In the distance, he could see a lone figure move toward the ruins. He squinted his eyes, inspecting them. Hmm, they did look familiar.

Edric

 

[Edric]

Edric's feet came to a stop just a few dozen meters short of the ruin. For a few moments he simply stood there, frozen. His eyes seemed to flicker over the extent of the ruins, drawing over some of the crevices and fallen walls.

Then slowly his gaze turned down towards what lay just ahead of him.

A long breath drew into his lungs, the heat of the air scorching his inside as he slowly shook his head. "Alistair."

His voice boomed through the silence of the desert, underpinned only by the sounds of wind slowly pushing through the valley. He could feel his former classmate behind the rubble, that flicker of life which he had come to know. Each one as different as the pebbles on a beach.

"I know you're there." Edric called. "Lets not do this a second time."

There were no Anirians here to protect this time.

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Edric did not have to wait long as Alistair stepped out from behind the ruined wall with a nonchalant smile on his face. The more distance Alistair kept between him and Edric, the safer he would be. Yet, Alistair began walking towards the former initiate turned traitor.

"Nice trick. Maybe I will figure out how to recreate it...I did not expect the first time, and now here. If I did not know you can't read Edric, then I would think you a scholar."

The light quip was nothing serious, but one he made anyway to show he had no fear in the situation. Maybe not in a fight, but there was no other Dreadlord in his class that he would consider better than him when it came to the Academic arts...He studied hard for that.

He looked back towards the ruins behind him and then at Edric.

"I had originally stopped by this place out of my own curiosity, but it must have something important inside if Gilram is sending you to fetch it."

Edric

 

[Edric]

A small smile twitched on his lip.

It was no secret that he had never much focused on his studies at the Academy. A fact which hadn't been much of a detriment since the last year or two. "Is that what you think I am?"

He asked Alistair.

"An errand boy?" The words he spoke on his own somehow stung more than both of Alistair's jests. Edric did not like what he was doing, he did not enjoy following Gilram, but he knew that it had to be done. Just as he'd done what was needed in Salesia. "Maybe I'm just out here because I've turned over a new leaf."

Slowly he began to walk forward, towards the ruin, towards Alistair. "Started reading and all that."

 

[Alistair Krixus]

There was not much of a point of beating around the bush. Edric would be more insulted if he did not tell him the truth. The smile dropped from his face.

"In the past few months? That's exactly what you are."

Gilram sent Edric around retrieving little bits and bobs or just making him do things as if to show the Republic, See this one. The one you put so much effort into making. He is mine now.

As Edric came to stand beside him, Alistair turned to look back at the ruins they had both come here to inspect. At this distance, Edric would certainly have a decent chance of killing him if he wanted to.

"So, what are you here looking for Ed?"

Edric

 

[Edric]

For a few seconds Edric didn't bothering answering.

Instead he stared up at the expanse of the ruins in front of them. His eyes flickering over the ancient sandstone walls and broken facades. Lips thinned, and then slowly he turned his attention back towards Alistair. "I can't tell you that."

His voice was soft, calm.

Edric didn't want another fight. He was so tired of fighting.

He'd nearly broken a girls neck. Killed dozens of Anirians, slaughtered a Dreadlord before he could ever speak a single word. All of it had been for a goal, all of it would be worth it in the end. He knew that it would be, but the weight was getting harder to carry every day.

"But maybe you'll find out." He continued. "If you come with me."

He let his gaze linger on his former classmate.