Looking Back

[David Augustine]

Chill ran up David's spine as a crack of thunder was heard in the distance. A flash of lightning illuminated the dark place for a second. It had just begun to rain and the moon was hidden behind the many dark clouds. David with his blue eyes could see the many gravestones that littered the place.

And beyond all of the graves laid a single building. A citadel that was ages old. David had been inside of that building on several occasions. He remembered that only about a few years ago that he had visited this place. A temporary hero that saved the life of a young girl. One who thwarted Viktor's plans for that evening and set him back.

However, he had not heard from that villian. In fact, how he had even stopped that individual, the dark paladin of Tiamat, was still a question that many seeked. David kept that method quiet and never really spoke of it for he himself didn't remember all of that fateful evening. He could recall flash backs from everything that had happened.

Thinking back on that moment. David could still see that moment as if it was happening right now. He was leading a group of people that had the same strength of an army. In fact, he was also at the head of the army and militia that had gathered to defend Avaren. He had failed to stop Viktor from amassing his dark army.

The yells and clashing of metal on metal echoed through his mind. The battle that seemed to last for years. Eventually David broke through all of Viktor's army and managed to get inside of the citadel. He did this to end it all and to take out the leader. That night was pretty much the same as this one.

The epic fight between the two occured on the very top of the largest tower. It was large enough to have two small armies fighting. However, they ended up using all of the space that was there. David remembered laying on the ground looking at Viktor. David had injured Viktor considerably, but Viktor had done more damage in less hits. The last thing that he remembered was the appearance of the queen of dragons, Tiamat. Her four heads each one representing the basic elements. David remembered the roar of her many heads.

Another flash of lightning lit up the sky and the area. David shook his head as he was brought back into reality. His white cape billowing violently with the wind. His clothes wet and some of his skin was as well. Another chill ran through his body as he thought on the past. He wanted to know what had happened to that battle that gave him the victory and why was it that he left Avaren afterwards. It bothered him slightly, but not much.

[Verdan]

A dark silhouette was nearing the citadel some distance behind David's back. What brought Verdan here on such a day, at such, nobody knew. Not even him. He was traversing the distance from the city on foot, wearing his traditional forest green cloak with its hood up and wielding his staff.

Verdan woke up that night, tossing and turning, with a strange desire to go here, of all places. Something was going to happen here tonight. Something unusual.

Verdan saw a shape standing before the citadel, its billowing cape illuminated by the flashes of bright lightning, blinding one second, pitch black the next. Having walked closer, he hailed the person, whom Verdan could now distinguish as a warrior. "Nice weather today!" he yells over the rumbling of thunder and the howling of the wind.

[David Augustine]

David managed to hear the footsteps of someone approaching. The larger splashes of water and the sound feet sinking into mud reached his ears. Though he heard the individual approaching, he did nothing to show that he knew. He kept silent and watched the citadel from where it stood. This building was haunting his very memories. He didn't necessarily want to be here. In fact, he didn't think that anyone would want to be here. However, this person that was walking towards him from behind wasn't here for him.

David heard the man's voice though he didn't turn his head to give recognition. He waited for another loud crack of thunder that was quickly followed by another bolt of lightning to illuminate the area to a blinding light that quickly faded. "It sets the mood of what took place here about a year ago." the blue eyed warrior spoke silently. Whether the individual behind him heard or not, didn't concern David at the moment. He wanted to know why this place was like this. Why did it revolve around death and other things?

He glanced around seeing the silhoutes of gravestones. Another flash of lightning appeared illuminating corpses that were on the very field. They were not in graves, because there wasn't time to put them inside of them. Back then they didn't have the time to go and bury their dead. Their skeletal remains still lied there. Some where broken and some were partially broken down. Others were practically preserved perfectly in the armor that they were wearing that fateful night. "So what brings you here this night?" David asked the person that was behind him.

[Ariadne]

Ariadne decided to take a walk on the outer territories of Avaran. One of her heands was occupied holding the aqua colored Water elementalist book that she had borrowed from the library and the other hand she was trying to perform the water moves. She was getting quite the hang of the moves but they would be more powerful if she had the use of both her hands. Ariadne really wasnt paying any attention to her surroundings. She was just walking around aimlessly, practicing her water moves.

She then heard a bolt of lightning and she had finally looked around her surroundings. What she saw wasnt so pleasent. She was walking around on what seems to be a deserted, abondened, broken down Citadel. But that wasnt what bothered her the most. It was the sight of seeing corpses lying on the ground....Some of them even had their armors on. It seems as if a major battle happened at this very sight. Ariadne backed away slowly. And was looking for a place where she wouldnt be able to see dead corpses laying about.

[Verdan]

The squelching of mud and the splashing footfalls getting gradually louder signaled that the stranger was getting closer, and fairly fast. Verdan was hurrying towards the warrior, for his words were getting blown away by the wind and drowned out by the thunderclaps and the constant roar of rain falling onto the already soaked ground. An extra loud squelch and a splash indicated that Verdan was in a bit too much of a hurry. He lost his footing and fell headfirst into the mud. Thankfully, he caught himself in time, getting dirty only his knees and hands. Getting up, Verdan finally neared the lone figure.

"So what brings you here this night?" he asked the man, unknowingly repeating the his words, not having heard them emitting from the spearman's mouth. Verdan stood near him, looking over the graveyard, taking in the gruesome scene of the battle which took place here some time ago. He looked at the citadel, its dark shape standing out against the bright flashes of light.

[David Augustine]

David wasn't one to argue over who asked who first. He silently lifted his head to look towards the sky. Drops of rain splashed against his face violently. He then lowered his head once more to look strait at the silhoute of the building. It was probably at one time a glorious castle with many great things to be spoken of. But then again, it might've always been as terrifying as it looked this day. He sighed and shook his head slightly. He made the expression that he was deep in thought, but wasn't really thinking at all. He slowly unslung his spear and then thrusted the blunt end into the soft mud. He let it stand there a bit before taking it back into his hands and used it to lean upon like a staff.

Before answering the man's question there was another jolt of lightning and another figure was made visible for a brief second. It was a female that was reading a book while it was raining. He figured that it had to be a mage if anything. Though he wasn't one to jump to conclusions so quickly. He turned his head slightly to see who was behind him from the corner of his blue eyes. He saw the man standing there with a forest green cloak. His knees and hands were stained from falling in the mud. And he only knew this because another flash of light was emitted from a bolt of lightning from behind. "The events that took place brought me here." Daivd answered quietly, "And you sir?" His spear being held securely in his right hand as he tried to make out the facial detail of the person.

[Verdan]

Verdan followed the warrior's gaze up to the dark sky, looking for whatever he spotted along with him. Tilting his head up, a barrage of raindrops fell upon Verdan's face, sending rivulets of water running down his cheeks and unto his neck, where the water was stopped by a layer of clothing, soaking up the liquid like a sponge. Noticing the man look back down, Verdan realizes that he got water down his collar for nothing. Curiosity will never bring him good, he knew. This was yet more proof of the fact. Looking back down, Verdan reached into his hood and ran his fingers along his neck, attempting to dry himself as best he could.

Verdan, busy looking at the sky and then shaking water out of his clothes, was not as observant as the warrior and did not notice the figure wandering about the citadel at this unusual hour.

"Events? What events in particular are you talking about?" inquired Verdan, ignorant of the Citadel's history. "And as for myself, I actually have no idea why I came. A strange feeling came over me tonight, and it has brought me here at this slightly abnormal hour." Verdan explains himself, noticing the man looking at him intently, attempting to see his features in the darkness. Verdan took off his hood for several seconds, waiting for a flash of lightning to illuminate his face. Having waited long enough, the burst of electricity showing his face for a split second, Verdan put his hood back up, covering his semi-long blond hair and casting a dark shadow upon his piercing green eyes.

[Ariadne]

As Ariadne was browsing around she had noticed that it started raining. "Great...its raining." Ariadne said to no one in particular as she closed her book and placed it in her bag. There was a bolt of lightning and Ariadne had noticed two figures from afar. She decided to go over there...but not before she saw theyre faces more clearly. Ariadnes hands started glowing as she put her hands together to release an orb of light towards the direction of the two figures. You can see the sphere of light going to the direction of the figures but it just barely skimmed them. Making it able for Ariadne to see them more clearly. Ariadne was able to see that they were both males. Due to the factof their physical structures. Yet one of them looked vaguely familiar to her.

[Verdan]

Verdan saw something glowing behind him. He felt a gentle warmth on his back. Instinctively, he thought he was under attack, so he ducked from the ball of light and answered with his own attack, sending a wave of raw energy back in the direction from where the light came from. It was not enough to seriously hurt anyone: luckily, Verdan was only learning, but it was enough to knock a fully grown man down with ease.

Soon enough, however, he realized that it was Ariadne. It was too late to stop the spell, but there was time to warn her. "Look out!" he yelled to her, hoping she would have the speed to get out of the way of the wave.

[Ariadne]

As Ariadne barely saw the guys. Right after she saw them one of them had decided to attack her. But upon hearing the warning. She thought it was all a misunderstanding. The voice sounded as if it was from Verdan. She then fell to the floor trying to evade the ball of energy. As soon as she had fallen she had regretted it. Since it was raining; the ground was all muddy. Ariadne was drenched in mud. "Great" She whispered as she tried to clean herself off. She picked up her bag and walked up to Verdan and the stranger.

"Thanks for the warning." Ariadne told Verdan sarcastically when she reached him. Not waiting for a reply from her comment to Verdan she asked. "So how are the both of you doing today?"

[David Augustine]

David, who stood a couple inches above seven feet, was about to answer the other male's question. A flash of light from another jolt of electricity lit the face of the other individual. He had just briefly seen his facial features. The short blonde hair and the piercing green eyes was what David remembered. This being infront of him was evidently a mage to have such unnatural colored eyes. He took a few steps away from Verdan, not out of fear but out of precaution. He stared hard at the man that stood before him. He surmised that he hadn't been around Avaren for a very long time to not know what had happened here.

The taller warrior was about to answer the question, but was distracted by something else. He turned his head and saw an orb of light heading towards them. David not wanting to risk being injured by any means jumped further away from the male mage. He landed with a large splash of water and mud alike. His spear was still standing in the mud where he had planted it previously. He then saw the outline of the girl that was coming towards the two. With narrow eyes he dashed towards his spear while watching the girl approached. Once he was near it, he quickly drew the Sword of Fire and Ice. One side of blade glowed red while the other glowed blue showing that it was indeed an enchanted weapon. The aura of the blade provided a constant light that illuminated the girl's face as he was pointing the tip towards her neck.

David managed to understand her question. Though under the impression that he was just attacked didn't make him feel like sheathing his weapon. He looked at her with deep blue eyes. His eyes calm despite the situation and the storm that was around them. The rain was picking up speed and hitting with more force. The winds increased in power and thus increasing the roar. "I'm doing fine considering that I'm not hurt." he answered in a calm voice that displayed his good nature. He had completely forgotten about the other mage's question and that he was there.

[Ariadne]

As Ariadne stood before Verdan and the evidently tall stranger, that was pointing his enchanted sword at her neck. "I suggest you put that sword down. I didnt mean no harm to the both of you two. That was simply an orb of light. Even if it did make contact with you. It wouldnt have hurt you. You just would have felt warm." Ariadne tried to explain to the alarmed stranger.

Ariadne then looked at the sword more closely. "Thats an interesting sword you got there. The two contrasting elements bounded together in a sword." Ariadne said as she examined the sword with her eyes. " Must have been an Elementalist that did that to your sword, I assume?" Ariadne asked the tall stranger with a sincere smile upon her face. She had forgotten about how she was drenched in mud, taking more interest at the sword.

[David Augustine]

"Your suggestion as been taken into consideration." David answered the shorter female mage. He didn't know her and yet she was advising him to lower his weapon. He slowly shook his head slightly. His eyes still locked on the girl that the sword's point was at. He saw her eyes and the smile she was wearing as if she was trying to get out of some predicament that she didn't mean. He heard her explaination, but didn't really acknowledge it. There had been too many times that he had seen magic gone wrong. One spell supposedly supposed to do one thing, but then it ended up doing something else. He wasn't keen on using it and even so warmth could be just a deadly weapon as well.

His ears then picked up the girl's voice. It was talking about his sword and she was commenting on it wondering how it was forged. He sighed and sheathed the sword back into it's scabbard. He turned away from her and walked a few steps away towards his spear. He pulled it out of the ground and shook the mud off of the one end before slinging it back on his back. "That sword wasn't created by an elementalist. Neither of my swords were." he replied to her. He looked towards the citadel and watched as another crack of thunder echoed through the area to be shortly followed by a bolt of lightning.

[Verdan]

Verdan moved his hand in a disarming gesture, signaling for the warrior to lower his weapon. "Don't worry. She's a friend." he assured the wary wielder of the enchanted weapon. Turning to Ariadne, he takes on an apologetic expression, looking guiltily at her mud-covered being. "I'm sorry, Ariadne, but you should be more careful about your spells. They could alarm someone, as you can see from the current situation, and you can end up getting hurt. You're lucky I recognized you. Otherwise, you would still be laying on the ground, stunned, possibly hurt." he apologizes.

Turning to look at the fighter, Verdan catches a glimpse of the enchanted sword as it was being placed back in its sheath. "That is, indeed, an interesting weapon." he says, admiring the blade. "You say it was not enchanted by an elementalist, though it bears the marks of fire and its counterpart, ice, both of which under the control of elementalists. You mention both your swords," he continues, "though I only see one. It would be greatly appreciated if you explain yourself."

"I believe introductions are in order." he says, changing the topic. "This is Ariadne, a fellow mage, as you can probably tell. People call me Verdan. I am also a user of magic, as you must have figured out. However, stranger, you still haven't told us who you are, O Wielder of the Enchanted Weapon."

[Ariadne]

Ariadne saw as he shook his head. She wondered. "Didnt he believe me? Oh well im not going to go into further details about the orb of light." Ariadne thought as she shrugged giving up on that matter. She hear as he answered her question. He was staring at her quite hard, which is rather rude. "I didnt ask about you about your other sword." Ariadne shot back at him. Her smile disapearing from her face. "He must be a warrior ." Ariadne thought. As she rolled her eys and turned to Verdan. "Im the one that should be sorry. I alarmed the two of you, more than you alarmed me. I guess my curious nature got the best of me." Ariadne said as she looked at the ground and then back up at Verdan. Ariadne heard Verdan ramble on about the enchanted sword. She hoped he changed the subject the stranger really didnt seem keen to answer her. She then heard her name and smiled at the stranger as Verdan was introducing her to him.