Up in Flames And Other Misadventures -[Ell]-

[Amur]

Things had been moving slowly since their arrival here, not that slow speed particularly bothered Baldur all that much. It was his younger brother’s incessant complaining about their lack of progress that DID bother him, though, as much as he loved his brother there were times when Ace could be... Bothersome. Not that Baldur could blame him for it, trying to explore a land he knew nothing about had admittedly not been one of Baldur’s better ideas. And, if he was honest, if it had not been for the request of Nemesis Morona, he would have left the task to someone else. He sighed gently; nothing could be done about it now.

Things had started off relatively well, he had managed to find several populated areas –each and every one of them had left Ace in a state of wide-eyed awe. Though, that was down to being raised on the run. Baldur had already seen The Hallowed Capital.- and had managed to get some sense of direction from each of them in turn. But now, Baldur had absolutely no idea where he was, and only a vague idea of which direction he was heading in, which, as he had expected had resulted in Ace, first complaining and then teasing him for.

“So, Brother, how lost are we?”
Ace had teased.

“We’re not lost; we’re just taking the scenic route.”
Baldur had countered, that response had prompted a small laugh from Ace and kept him quiet for at least a few hours. But, they had soon found themselves very close to the middle of nowhere; they had stopped to rest for the night. Much to the displeasure of Baldur, resting out in the open had never resulted in good things, and he was sure that tonight would end up being no exception. So, he had taken it upon himself to remain awake and keep guard as Ace slept. Baldur did not require sleep as his brother did, so he would be fine.

And that had been everything right up to this point; Ace had yet to actually sleep and was simply sat on the ground, gazing intently into the small fire that he had managed to make, even with minimal firewood. He may not have liked it, but Baldur had to admit that Pyromancy had its uses, not that he expected his brother to get much better at it, Baldur only knew the bare minimum about Pyromancy, not nearly enough to give his brother the tutelage required to actually advance as a Pyromancer.

He stood in silence, the tip of his weapons sheath planted on the ground while his hands rested on the pommel of his katana-esque sword. Things had been silent for some hours now, which had allowed Baldur to relax just a little bit and gaze into the fire himself. It was a quiet night, if anyone... Or anything was approaching then Baldur would have known before they would be able to close the distance, so there was little danger of them being caught unaware.

“Well, well, what do we have here?”
Ace was on his feet while Baldur had simply turned to the source of the noise. He blinked several times; apparently, some of the people here were exceptionally good at sneaking up on people. That was somewhat irritating, how had Baldur missed...

He paused to see exactly what the odds of this situation were. Well, there was definitely a large gathering of them, which only caused Baldur further confusion, how had he missed them?

“Looks like we got some rich boy, and a kid, what did I tell you guys? Easy money, eh?”
That only made Baldur feel even worse about missing the approaching threat, common thieves? A whole new low, after besting three different Warlords, Baldur’s first surprise attack was from a gathering of common thieves? This land just kept piling on the surprises.

He sighed, looked directly at their apparent leader, rabble like this –especially pure-breed humans- were little more than a minor irritation to Baldur, heck, he would have figured that even Ace could have put these fools in their place... Never mind.

“I will give you only three opportunities to back away. After that, any action I take against you will be your own fault.”
Baldur said calmly. That drew only laughter from their potential aggressors, an unfortunate response by all means. These men and women wouldn’t last the night, for they had no idea just how out of their depth they were.

“What’s the matter with your eyes, Rich Boy? Been away with the Elves, have you?”
Baldur raised a hand and adjusted his cravat gently, he had no idea what this fool meant, but it sounded as though he was trying to insult Baldur... Apparently here, people with glowing eyes were common enough to approach with confidence.

“One”
Baldur stated simply.

The man approaching him seemed confused, Baldur’s warning had been clear enough; he was even perfectly willing to follow it through if necessary... But this pure-breed just took another step forward, trying to square-up to Baldur despite being almost an entire foot shorter than him.

“Don’t you try to intimidate me, Rich Boy. I have a group, you just have that sword.”
Oh, this pure-breed fool had no idea. Calmly, Baldur placed his left hand on the sheath of his katana-esque sword, lifting it into a more comfortable-for-combat position and then ran his free hand over his hair.

“Two”
Baldur stated simply.

A visible expression of rage contorted the features of the fool before him, just one more wrong move and Baldur would have no issue whatsoever cutting this pure-breed in half, the light leather armour he was wearing would be of no protection against Findinokhind. In fact, the chances of any of these people having anything coming close to the same level of craftsmanship as Findinokhind was nil, Baldur could confidently state that as fact.

The pure-breed fool drew closer, keeping Baldur’s calm gaze with an intense glare. If only looks could kill, this fool might have actually been a threat.

He heard a cry of shock and immediately turned to find his brother held with a knife to his throat, now; they were going to regret their actions.

“I think first, we’ll take that sword. It looks nice.”
Baldur simply held his sword out flat in front of himself; the apparent leader sent one of his minions to retrieve the sword. Once Baldur had released his grip on it, they muttered some kind of comment about it “being heavier than it looked” and trotted off, the burden clearly becoming greater with each passing second.

“My brother” Baldur said calmly “I think we need to extend to these people a proper Nirvanian greeting.”
He finished off calmly, out of the corner of his eye he saw Ace smile widely. And then, all hell broke loose, the minion whom had taken Baldur’s sword off of him started panicking as the weight of the blade became too much. His friends moving in to help, trying to pry the blade from his hands, there was a moment of confusion and then a loud curse as the man restraining Ace dropped his knife to the floor, watching in shock as it started melting the second it hit the floor.

That was all the distraction that Ace needed, he squirmed his way out of his stunned captors grip and quickly slammed both of his palms into the man’s gut.

“YOU’RE ‘IT’!”
Ace taunted childishly, the man looked confused for a moment and then noticed the hand-prints of fire on his torso. He blinked as the realisation hit him too late. With little more than a finger-snap from Ace the flames spread and engulfed the man’s entire body, he ran around in circles, almost comically screaming for several seconds before bolting into the distance, still screaming, and still highly visible, no matter how much distance he managed to gain from the gathering.

Now, it was Baldur’s turn.

In the space of only several seconds he closed the distance to the fool still screaming about the sword being too heavy and in one move pushed him onto his back and then stomped on his throat, crushing his neck and killing him instantly. He retrieved his sword, holding it comfortably as he casually walked back to his brother, if these fools needed any more incentive to flee then, well... Baldur would commend their determination.

Ace was now holding two orbs of fire, one in each hand, a look of almost giddy excitement etched into his features as he waited for the fools to renew their assault. Baldur on the other hand simply lowered his stance slightly and placed his free hand on the hilt of his sword, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his younger brother.

“Kill them! Then loot the corpses!”
Baldur shook his head gently, if that was the way they were determined to react to seeing what they just saw; then Baldur had no qualms about ridding the world of a few fools whom refused to learn their lesson.

“Remember my brother.” Baldur said in a calm, but informative tone. “Don’t play with them; combat is not to be treated as a game. You let them make the first move and when you find your opening, strike them hard and fast, no mercy. That isn’t what combat is about.”
He finished off; the orbs of fire Ace was holding seemed to flare brightly in response before Ace actually answered verbally.

“So! Ke.. Kee..” he cleared his throat loudly. “KICK! Their asses!?”
Baldur nodded gently.

“Do exactly that.”
He replied calmly.

[Elloria]

Josk sighed as he and his servant Tathar Meneldur made their way across the plain that separated Ilirea from Du Weldenvarden. They were still several days ride from the City of dragon Riders, but that barely fazed Josk. He was just glad to have a few moments of peace. Life had been…interesting since he had gone to Master Nhaésdar’s to pick up Niko’s vase – and that was putting it mildly. The potter’s bumbling apprentice had been a perpetual thorn in Josk’s side ever since and the elf couldn’t figure out if he liked the youth’s attention or if he wanted to wring Yren’s scrawny neck. A little time away had definitely been in order. Not that he was particularly eager to arrive in Ilirea. He still despised the place with a fervor bordering on religious, but his love for his brother would help make the ordeal bearable – even if the filthy sneak had gone and become a Dragon Rider behind his back. And look at the trouble it had caused him. His baby brother was no longer allowed to roam around freely with minimal supervision because of an altercation between Niko, his dragon Arashi, and some human named Solomon. Josk shook his head. He knew Niko’s temper would get him in trouble someday and he highly doubted that Arashi was blameless either.

“Danta-ebrithil…”

Josk jerked back slightly, startled from his thoughts by Tathar’s urgent tone. Tathar had worked for the Danta household for as long as Josk could remember. Of all his servants, he trusted Tathar the most if only because the older elf was the most sensible and shared the most similarities with Josk’s personality. Their relationship was the closest thing Josk had to a friendship. “Yes, Tathar-vor?”

“I believe a flaming male human is approaching us from the left flank, crying out for help.”

Frowning, Josk murmured to his steed Eöl. The sleek, pitch-black stallion slowed to a halt and Tathar’s Elensar followed Eöl’s example. They watched silently as the vaguely human-shaped flames staggered towards them. Off in the distance from whence it had come, Josk could see a large group of figures around a campfire – and he could almost taste the magic in the air. As the flaming human collapsed, Josk instructed Eöl to turn towards the magic he could now sense. With a muttered spell, he extinguished the flames before they could spread. Eöl and Elensar warily approached the burnt human whose life force was rapidly fading. Josk looked down at the dim light with curiosity more than sorrow and then reached out with his mind to soothe the terrified human before pulling the last of its energy from it and storing it in his obsidian ring. No point in wasting good energy, after all.

“What shall we do with the body, Danta-ebrithil?”

Josk shrugged. “Leave it. What do I care what happens to a human’s body after it has recklessly walked into the Void? Now let us investigate that campfire. I’m rather intrigued as to the battle that is apparently going to take place there.” With that, he urged Eöl forward and the four of them made their way over to the campfire at a brisk trot. They stopped just outside the firelight to watch what was already proving to be a rather fascinating display of human barbarity.

“So! Ke.. Kee..” A short, average looking human male – probably still a youth by human standards – cleared his throat loudly. “KICK! Their asses!?” The boy’s accent and obvious difficulty with Common hinted at lands far from Alagaesia. And it was from the boy that the tingling magical energy was coming from. This was a new form of magic that Josk had neither seen nor studied before – and that was impressive considering the status he held among the elven mages. Magic was his passion just as much as poisons, venoms, and torture. Yes, he definitely wanted to see what this boy was capable of. The man with him – if man was the right word – was slightly less interesting. Were it not for the glowing yellow-gold eyes and strangely distorted skin, he would hold no interest for Josk whatsoever. “Well. It seems we’re in for quite a show. Wouldn’t you agree, Tathar-vor?”

“Frankly, I’d rather we went on our way. What entertainment could mere humans offer us?”

“Just watch, Tathar-vor. If the Cleansing of the Maleficent has taught us nothing else, it should have taught us that we should never underestimate humanity. They’re a disgusting, lowly race but they show potential. We should not be so quick to smother it if we can possibly use it to our own advantage.” With that, Josk shifts so that he is seated more comfortably in the saddle and watches the battle unfold before them.

[Amur]

The silence that now prevailed was tense and Ace was tempted to do something just to break the tension. But, his brother would likely scald him for that, so he kept his mouth shut... At least for the time being, until these people were dealt with, it was time to be serious. Ace maintained his stance, watching and waiting just as his brother had taught him, but clearly, these guys had, had the same idea. The silence continued, causing the tension to mount, Ace kept the orbs of fire he had conjured ready, his brother kept his unusually calmness intact.

And then one of the men broke their line and tore forward. Ace knew before the man had even reached his brother that he was already dead, there was a flash of movement as the man raised his weapon to strike, only to be silenced by Baldur striking him in the gut with the pommel of his sword. The man fell to his knees, gasping from breath, and was silenced seconds later as Baldur hit him over the head with the pommel of his sword.

“Strange. You have superior numbers yet he was the only one to attack... Clearly the idea of strength in numbers is lost on you.”
Baldur said; Ace knew from his tone that he was stating it as a fact, lecturing them on the mistake that they had made. Ace chuckled at the idea of people older than him being taught how to fight when they had been the ones to attack, that was the vocalisation that seemed to get the attention of the rest of the group, as at once they moved in to attack.

“Be careful, my brother.”
Baldur muttered to Ace, Ace nodded, seeing no-need to repeat to message back to his brother, these men weren’t even close to Baldur’s level of skill... And, well, Ace thought it was implied that he would have given his brother the same words. Ace backed away from the three men advancing toward him by several steps, not complaining, he knew that his brother would be facing down twice that many by himself... He was just going to have to try his best to keep up with the speed his brother would undoubtedly be able to take them down with.

His first move would be to take away their weapons, after that Ace would have much more breathing room... Just one physical touch was all he needed in order to do that. So what better way to do that then by having a little fun with them first? He span one of the two orbs of fire around his hand before catching it again, faking-out various little moves to make them forget about closing in on him and focus more on trying to dodge the move that Ace never ended up making. More than once he got them to dive out of the way without actually doing anything.

Ace laughed.

“We’re ha... haa...” His smile dropped and he frowned, momentarily frustrated he threw one of the orbs of fire at the three men, whom scattered themselves in all directions... However, the orb of fire just stayed where it was on the ground, not doing anything.

“Haa... HAVING! Fun, right?”
One of the three, whom had recovered fastest, ran forward, and Ace’s smile returned to him as the man ran over the –apparently useless- orb of fire still lying on the ground. Already in control of the orb, Ace forced the fire to expand violently, creating a large burst of flame which consumed the man in seconds.

There was barely even a scream of anguish as seconds later a flaming form lie still on the ground... well, that just gave Ace one more source of fire to control which would only end up making him look better... Ace did enjoy show-boating, after all.
---

After disposing of the first pure-breed fool the efforts of the remaining others seemed to have increased significantly, it was admirable. Futile, but admirable, since Baldur could tell from the way they were holding their weapons that they lacked any formal education in combat, the second that these fools had decided to continue trying to steal from Baldur and his brother, they had sealed their fates.

Baldur had intentionally worked the positioning of this fight to ensure that most of the men here would be against him, he didn’t doubt his brother’s abilities, far from it. He knew Ace was a very capable –albeit undertrained- Pyromancer, but he was still only fourteen, six-against-one were odds that were still out of his brother’s reach.

Baldur had decided that he would finish this without drawing his sword from its sheath; he simply would not dirty the blade of Findinokhind with the blood of these fools. He dodged an incoming strike by swiftly stepping to the side, grabbing the wrist of his aggressor he manoeuvred himself around and then behind the attacker, twisting the man’s arm as he did so. He then span and pushed the man away, into the blade of one of his comrades.

The second attacker wore an expression of horrified shock as he stabbed his comrade, Baldur took full advantage of that and immediately slammed the pommel of his sword into the man’s throat. The man gurgled and then collapsed, leaving Baldur with only four opponents to deal with, he span, raising his sword and catching the blade of a weapon between the cross-guard and the bottom of the hilt of his own weapon.

As the weapons locked Baldur seized the opportunity and placed the open palm of his free hand at the man’s chest. There he gathered the required energy and then unleashed it in its rawest form, there was a loud cracking sound and blood dripped from the man’s mouth before the impact truly hit him and sent him flying through the air by several meters.

He drew in a short breath, steadying his stance as he felt the expected drop in energy. He wouldn’t allow that to show, not when he still had three pure-breeds to put-down, there would be time to rest when they were dead.
---

At this point the two remaining thieves had become more cautious; of course Ace was still smiling, he couldn’t help it, to see two full grown men be made so cautious just because he could set them on fire was a sight Ace never thought he’d see. He liked this place, the people here were soft. Ace span the remaining orb of fire around his hand again, throwing it into the air a short way only to catch it again.

The two men flinched, and then Ace threw it at them, watching as one dove off in another direction, while the other ran at him... Ace chuckled; the foreigner clearly thought he was going to try the same trick twice. He snapped his fingers, a small spark jumping between his thumb and middle finger as he made the motion... The finger-snap was unneeded, Ace just thought it looked good, and he liked the spark it made.

This time the orb of fire expanded mid-throw, getting the man right in the face. He didn’t even have the time to vocalise his pain, Ace once more controlled the fire and increased its intensity, causing it to flare brightly, of course, Ace was unaffected by the sudden increase in brightness, it was his own fire after all. The other man, however, was forced to shield his eyes with his arm, which left Ace more than enough to fist-pump enthusiastically.

“Fight the powah!”
He yelled out playfully, once more creating an orb of fire, this time, it was only the size of a marble. Not practical, he could admit that, but he was just having fun, no need to be super-serious now that it was one-on-one and Ace had the clear advantage.
---

Baldur had noted with some distaste that the pure-breeds were now just figuring out that they had bitten off more than they could chew. Since then, they had changed their formation, the leader had retreated a short distance and left his remaining two minions to face Baldur while he hid behind them... Apparently none of them had learned anything from the speed in which Baldur had dispatched the first three attackers.

They were trembling; Baldur may have felt bad for them had they not believed that they were onto some “easy money” only moments ago. One of them moved in, swinging almost wildly, Baldur simply raised his right arm and used the bracer hidden beneath his sleeve to catch the blade. He moved closer to the attacker, glaring down into his eyes. The man shrank away, dropping his blade he tried to retreat. But, he had learned his lesson far too late. Grabbing the man by his shoulder Baldur switched positions with him forcefully and watched as the attack that had been aimed at his back now sliced the man down the torso.

He released his captives shoulder and allowed the corpse to slump to the ground; he advanced rapidly, striking the man in the chest with the pommel of his weapon. The pure-breed keeled over, clutching at the impact point and then lie still... Baldur didn’t take any chances, for good measure he stomped on the back of the man’s head before turning his attention to the former leader of the group and slowly advancing toward him.
---

Ace was having fun, his final foe had dropped his weapon and was now backing away frantically trying to justify attacking him and his brother. Ace wasn’t listening to his excuses though, that these foreigners had thought they would get away with putting his life and more importantly, his brother’s life in danger was not something that Ace was going to forgive, ever.

He held both of his hands out in front of himself, his palms facing inwards; keeping the small orb of fire between them he advanced smiling playfully.

“Don’t you wunna’ hold it?”
He asked, watching as the man tried to turn and run only to trip over his own feet, Ace took his chance and moved forward, dissipating the orb of fire as he moved. As the man raised himself into a sitting position Ace placed one hand on each of the man’s shoulders, he flinched and then sat motionless, his face pale.

Ace smiled widely.

“That was clumsy.”
He commented cheerfully, moving his hands away, leaving flaming hand prints on the man’s shoulders before standing up and backing away. The man looked at his shoulders, his breathing becoming more panicked as he realised what was happening.

“Wh-what are you?”
He stammered, causing Ace to raise an eyebrow in confusion... He didn’t understand the question, but, decided to answer it in his own way.

“Me? I’m ah...” He paused. “Ah...Mahy...”
He furrowed his brow in frustration and then gave up; reverting to his native language to finish the sentence he was trying to say. He didn’t care if the man didn’t understand, that’s what he got for being a foreigner.

“Erstaunlich!”
He yelled, finishing off his sentence and then coating the man in fire from the hand-prints he had left on his shoulders. The man screamed, but otherwise didn’t move. Ace backed away from the flaming corpse as it fell still, rolling his shoulders he sighed loudly, now bored since he had nothing left to do but wait for Baldur to finish his lot off.
---

Baldur advanced slowly on the final pure-breed, the strong smell of burning flesh telling him that his brother had finished off the three men that Baldur had left him. All of his former confidence gone the final pure-breed backed away in fear, he could have tried to run –not that it would have done him much good- but he instead opted for the slower approach.

He grabbed the pure-breed by his throat and lifted him to be eye-level with Baldur –but still kept him at arm’s length- he looked into the man’s eyes, seeing his fear. The pure-breed wrapped his hands around Baldur’s wrist and attempted to kick him, however, his efforts ended in failure and he only ended up tiring himself out.

“What... Are. You?”
He asked through gritted teeth. Baldur didn’t immediately answer, just kept looking into the man’s eyes.

“... An abomination”
He answered flatly, crushing the man’s throat seconds later. Dropping the corpse to the ground he made sure that his cravat was still straight and turned to face his brother.

“Put the corpses out, my brother. The smell of burning flesh is an unpleasant one.”
He said calmly, walking back to their camp fire once more.
---

Ace did as his brother asked, now that silence had fallen once more Ace absently wondered just how long it would take for the wildlife to approach the corpses... Well, at least the ones his brother had dealt with, those corpses weren’t burned beyond recognition. Once Baldur had returned to the edge of the light provided by the camp fire and was once more stood with his hands resting on top of the pommel of his sword he sighed gently.

“I hope you non-humans enjoyed what you saw.”
He said, looking into the darkness. Ace blinked and looked around, he didn’t see anyone. Looking back at his brother he was about to ask him who he was talking to when Baldur cut him off.

“Give yourself some more light if you can’t see.”
He said, Ace blinked once more but once more gathered the energy he needed to control the fire he had created earlier, and with his will alone he increased its size, expanding the pool of light it provided. Ace backed away a step, shocked that the two people on some variety of horse had managed to get so close...

“Wenn tat sie!?”
Ace asked to his brother out loud. However, Baldur didn’t answer, he seemed to be more focused on these two people, his expression as impassive as it always was... Ace knew his brother well enough to know that he was trying to decide just how much of a threat they posed, but he kept his silence, watching, waiting for his brother to speak again.

“I assume that is why you didn’t get involved, so tell me; was the entertainment sufficient?”
He asked flatly, Ace just stood in silence, letting his bewilderment show... Who were these two men, and why had they felt the need to stop but not to help? Sure, neither Ace nor his brother had needed help, but that wasn’t the point... Was it?

[Elloria]

Josk watched the battle with a keen, critical eye. Oh, this human and its guardian – he assumed it was the boy’s guardian, it was certainly protective enough – were definitely not from Alagaesia. He had never seen nor heard of anyone using this style of magic nor this style of fighting in general. It was fascinating to watch the large group of humans be utterly overwhelmed and destroyed by two opponents. He found himself chuckling from time to time as the fight went on, mainly amused by the boy’s antics. It was quite the one for posturing, wasn’t it? And it showed such promise as a mage. The tall one was average at best – average by human standards, at least; he was utterly mediocre compared to an elf – but Josk knew Niko would find the creature’s hand-to-hand and sword techniques intriguing. The smell of burnt flesh was strong, at once vile and delicious to the mage’s sensitive nose. Oh, these two knew how to fight with a heartlessness that was almost enviable. The horses weren’t pleased about the magic flying through the air or by the smell, but with a few soothing mental strokes they remained in place until the very end.

And apparently Josk and Tathar had not gone unnoticed during the scuffle. Josk wondered if perhaps Glowing-Eyed-Humanoid was able to see as well in the dark as an elf due to…well…the glowing eyes. The boy certainly hadn’t noticed them, if his startled reaction to Glowing-Eyed-Humanoid’s acknowledgement of the elves’ presence was any indication. The boy’s surprise only grew as he magically increased the fire, illuminating the unmoving forms of Josk and Tathar astride their pitch-black stallions. Josk wondered what language it was the boy had exclaimed in…but that could wait for another time. He silently urged Eöl forward a few steps and turned the stallion so that their left side faced the two victors. He tried to remain as non-threatening as possible. While he would certainly be able to floor them both with a word, he had no desire to engage them in battle – not until they presented a greater challenge, at the very least. “The proper term is elf, humanoid. I would give you a proper greeting, but you probably would not know how to respond in kind so I will refrain for the time being,” he replied in lilting Common. “I merely saw the boy’s handiwork as it came running towards me and could almost taste the magic in the air. So I decided to sate my curiosity.” Josk leaned towards the two, his irises almost white with the delight and eagerness he felt. Only the faintest shade of grey remained in them, creating a starker contrast between the deep black of his pupils than usual. He grinned at the humanoid and its human charge. “It was a rather remarkable fight. Though I suppose it would have been more entertaining had your opponents been worthy of your talents. Allow me to commend you on your skill and introduce myself. I am Josk of the noble Danta house of Ellesmera.” He then gestured towards his servant, who had remained in his original spot. But his hungry eyes never left the two that stood by the campfire. “That is Tathar Meneldur, a loyal servant and friend of mine.” He quirked a dark, delicate eyebrow, the grin never sliding out of place. “And you are?”

[Amur]

Baldur maintained the relaxed, more neutral stance he had taken before verbally confronting the non-humans that had approached just moments before the slaughter had taken place. He watched them both closely, they didn’t appear to be violent, but, there was still a sense of lingering distrust that Baldur simply couldn’t dispel.

Not given the present circumstances.

He remained silent, ever-maintaining his neutral stance as the non-human spoke... Or “Elf” as he had corrected Baldur only moments ago, that was indeed interesting. To learn that the non-humans here actually had a collective name for their species when those back home didn’t. Then again, those back home had stopped being pure-breeds in their majority for at least seven-hundred years, many of them, however, didn’t have the slightest clue about it.

He did, however, find the use of the term “Humanoid” strange, the Elf knew that Baldur wasn’t a human, and clearly couldn’t place him... Not that it bothered him, no, Baldur had been called MUCH worse by people back home. Humanoid was actually one of the more respectful things he had been called.

Though, what he had said soon after was correct, neither Baldur nor his brother knew anything about this land... Perhaps, this could turn out to be a fortunate encounter after all. Baldur, however, kept his silence, allowing this Elf to continue what he had to say.

Baldur cast a half a glance down at his brother as the Elf mentioned seeing his handiwork and noticed that Ace was actively trying not to look too proud with himself, and that certainly was uncharacteristic of him, Baldur was unsure if Ace was uncomfortable with this encounter, or simply overwhelmed with the events of the night.

He would ask his brother is he was all right later, though. He returned his full attention to the Elf before him as he once more continued to speak... Baldur didn’t like that grin, nor did he like the look in the eyes of the Elf, whom had now revealed his name to be Josk. But, he kept his straight face and his impassive expression. Despite a few small points of dislike, this Josk had given Baldur no reason to believe that he was here looking for a fight.

So, he had no reason to show the disrespect implied by refraining to give Josk his name.

“Baldur of the bloodline Vauxx respected Warlord heritage of Empire Nirvana.”
He introduced himself.

“And this is my brother-“
He began.

“An’ I’m Ace! An’ there’s a reason they call me that!”
Ace cut in abruptly, well, there it was, one of his brother’s more in-character responses to a question. Baldur, however, paid his brother’s usual childish arrogance no mind, it was common enough for him to ignore, he would simply have words with Ace about it later-on, along with words on how he had completely ignored what Baldur had said when the fight had started... He allowed the silence to follow his brother’s comment to settle for several seconds before taking the moment to speak himself.

“So, the pure-breed my brother set ablaze earlier managed to find its way to you. Interesting... I must admit that I am curious as to what business you would have that is so urgent that it would require you to be travelling during the dark-hours.”
He said calmly, not so much as a way to break the proverbial ice, though there was a slight element of that to his question. It was more to see if he would be able to gage just how much he should distrust this Josk, well, that was of course provided that he got an answer, and he had no reason to suspect that he would. In which case, it may have been better to remain lost for another few days and find their own way to the next populated area.

[Elloria]

Josk’s grin slipped away as the human boy interrupted his brother Baldur – clearly the more sensible one – to insolently introduce himself as Ace. The mage focused his gaze on Ace, his face inscrutable and eyes calculating as they stared into the boy’s mismatched eyes. Silence settled around the group briefly before Baldur began questioning Josk’s presence. But Josk did not reply immediately. He continued to study Ace for several moments until the boy began to fidget nervously. Josk was seemingly oblivious to Baldur or Tathar as he took stock of the boy and made a few judgments and decisions based on his observations. He then continued to ignore Baldur’s question in favor of speaking directly to Ace in as simple of terms as he could think of. “I am not certain where you gained your over-inflated ego, Ace, but I would hardly say that your handiwork here is worthy of your name. It was sloppy and unfocused. You allowed one target to escape with its life and had I been a more merciful person I might have healed him. Very fortunate that I am not so merciful towards fools like that man obviously was. But more importantly, you treat magic and battle like they are just children’s games. That attitude will get you killed one day. You need a proper instructor if you wish to truly become the ace that your name implies.”

Josk then turned his attention back to Baldur. The serious demeanor he held just moments ago was quickly sloughed off in favor of a more mellow and relaxed expression. He contemplated Baldur for a moment, trying to recall what the half-breed had asked. When it finally came to him, his eyes and expression brightened. “Ah, yes. You wondered as to the reason behind my late-night travelling. Simply put, I prefer the night so I base most of my activities around that fact. As for my purpose, I am travelling to Ilirea – the City of the Dragon Riders – to visit my younger brother, Niko.” He tilted his head slightly to one side. “And what brings you to this wonderful corner of Alagaesia?”

[Amur]

Ace had some trouble holding the gaze of this Josk guy, but he managed it. In fact, within seconds he had already started to make Ace feel uneasy, and eventually he managed to get Ace to break eye-contact and fidget around as his nerves began to get the better of him... And then, he lectured Ace. The young boy grew flustered as Josk told him things that Baldur had already told him on multiple occasions, he clenched his fists, already he had started to sound like Baldur did.

“Ye. Yeah.... Ja. Well, well. You-“
Ace stammered.

“I would cease talking for the time being, my brother, if only to save yourself from further embarrassment.”
His brother cut in. Ace stammered for a further several seconds, but ultimately gave up, silencing himself with a frustrated grunt he moved closer to his brother.
---

Baldur silently kept a very close eye on Josk as he moved to gaze at Ace, unsure what to make of this he simply stood and observed, ready to make a move should he need to. His caution was unneeded, however, as moments later the Elf actually started lecturing Ace. Baldur blinked slowly, keeping his expression impassive. He knew exactly how his brother would react to such a lecture, Baldur had given him more or less the same speech more times than he could count –though, minus the idea that someone might heal his foes.- and each and every time the outcome was the same. Ace would get frustrated, try to answer back, and then ultimately embarrass himself in doing so, it was for that reason alone that Baldur cut him off before he had a chance to speak.

It was as Ace moved closer to him that Baldur knew that Ace was overwhelmed. He moved one of his hands away from the pommel of his sword and wrapped it around his brother’s shoulders, drawing him close. And he listened, most of what the Elf was saying, was of course foreign to Baldur, however, he did understand that Josk was heading to a city to visit his brother... He could respect that, and he softened a little, just a little.

“Exploration”
Baldur answered simply at first.

“We’re part of a group of people whom arrived here some months ago. Obviously none of us know anything about the land, so I volunteered to explore and learn what I could... Unfortunately, the unfamiliarity of this land has caused us to become lost.”
He elaborated, believing that explanation should have been sufficient enough. Since Josk had mentioned a city –it took Baldur a moment to commit the foreign name of it to memory- it meant that they had at least been travelling towards civilisation and not away from it. That was a fortunate step forward, at least... There was one thing that was bothering Baldur, though. He had heard Kaime’s report, or at least a part of it, but there hadn’t been any mention of these “Dragon Riders”... At least, not to Baldur’s memory, so, there was only one thing for that, after all, there was no shame in asking a native about their land.

“What’s a Dr... Drah... Drahgun Rider?”
Ace blurted before Baldur had even had the opportunity to phrase his question in a more composed manner... However, there was little need to ask his question now, since Ace had already done it for him... There was of course one other question, one that was a tad more important, and that would be the question that Baldur would ask, since his brother still hadn’t learned quite how to prioritise things correctly yet.

“Just how far are we from this city?”
Baldur asked calmly, if they were going to get anywhere, it wasn’t going to be by walking in any random direction and just hoping that they came across someone, this chance encounter had been unexpected enough. Who knew when they would next meet someone to get directions from?

[Elloria]

“Danta-ebrithil…Are you certain you should be so open with this information?”

Josk turned slightly in his saddle to face his servant. “They are part of some refugee group, Tathar-vor. What threat do you think they pose to me?”

“Considering they just decimated a much larger group of humans-”

“You insult me, Meneldur. Last I checked, I was of a noble elven lineage.”

Tathar pressed his lips into a thin line of displeasure, but held his tongue. Satisfied that Tathar would no longer pose bizarre and irrelevant questions to him, Josk turned back to face Baldur and Ace once more. He gave the pair a small smile. “My apologies. Tathar tends to be a bit skittish around strangers.” He leaned towards the pair once more, looking at them with undisguised curiosity and mild confusion in his eyes. He elected to ignore Baldur’s sensible question for the moment. There was plenty of time for Ilirea later. “It is strange that you have never heard of the Dragon Riders before. They are a quite well-traveled and meddlesome group of individuals. And, as their name suggests, they travel on dragons. You have at least heard of dragons, have you not?”

[Amur]

“It’s understandable; given the circumstances that we met in most would be cautious in the very least.”
Baldur replied calmly to Josks apology, however, what Josk had said did pique Baldur’s curiosity; his servant seemed to be highly distrusting of Ace and Baldur. While Josk himself seemed to be very self absorbed, especially if his comment about his nobility was anything to go by... Then again, Baldur couldn’t put him down for that, had Ace not been born then Baldur may have very well surpassed his father and become his successor, inheriting all the elitism and arrogance that came with the position of Warlord... And, oddly enough, it was not an outcome that Baldur liked to think about.

What did surprise Baldur in this instance, however, was not a difference between this land and his homeland, but rather what seemed more like a similarity. He couldn’t make too confident a judgement since his contact with the natives was limited, but so far, it seemed as though the people here were secretive to the point of paranoia as well. It was odd, Baldur had lost count of just how long they had been travelling the sea on beast-back for and already he could pick out some small things that seemed similar to home.

Just some small things, though.

And once more Josk spoke of things foreign to Baldur, once more thinking back on what Kaime’s report had contained of this land when Nemesis Morona had, had Nel repeat it to him... He could remember several references to some variety of giant lizards, but Baldur paid that no mind, it was highly likely that he simply meant Wyverns and that the natives of this land had another name for them, but, if they had managed to tame these beasts, then, well, they weren’t going to be popular at all... Not if Wyverns were as hated here as they were back home.

He looked back at his brother as he blinked first in response to Josks question. There was a short silence as Baldur thought about bringing up Kaime’s report; Nemesis Morona had not given any instruction to withhold identity. The way he had explained it Kaime had been relatively intelligent during his time here among the natives and had kept himself relatively quiet... So, there was very little chance that the name of Morona’s Right Hand would mean anything to anyone here, at least Kaime’s set of skills was growing.

That much Baldur could respect the man for.

“No.” Ace said simply. “... So, what’s a Drahgun?”
Baldur held his tongue a moment longer, thinking of the best way in which to word his question... And, well, finding his brother’s inability to pronounce various words in this tongue to be something of an irritating oversight on his part... He would have to step-up his brother’s education slightly to rectify that.

“It is a word that is foreign to us.”
Baldur admitted calmly.

“Kaime did mention something about Giant Lizards in one of his reports to Nemesis Morona, but I don’t remember a name being given for the species... Many of us have assumed that he was referring to some variety of Wyvern... Though, why anyone would want to tame those beasts is beyond me.”
Baldur continued calmly, giving as much as he knew on the subject over willingly, it was hardly information to any degree, and once Kaime had given Morona his full report, Baldur would have it soon after... He did have need of such information after all.

[Elloria]

Josk stared at the brothers for several long moments, baffled by what he was hearing. There were lands that the Riders had not visited? Then these two could not possibly be from Alagaesia. The Riders had explored the width and breadth of the continent. Even if there were lands outside of Rider control, the Order was at least known. The thought was just mind-boggling.

Then he thought back on what else Baldur had said and couldn’t help it. He started laughing. Wherever they were from, they knew about wyverns but had never heard of dragons? That was too rich. It took Josk a while to regain his composure, but really it was just too funny. They had thought dragons were just a species of wyvern! When he finally regained his breath, he grinned at the brothers. “Oh, I would never mention that little comparison in front of a dragon. You are liable to be ripped to shreds over it – particularly by one of the wild ones. Wyverns are a distant – and I do mean distant – cousin of dragons. Our dragons have four legs, two wings, and are incredibly intelligent. Even the stupidest dragon possesses more intelligence than the wisest beings you can imagine. It makes them unfailingly narcissistic and almost impossible to deal with, but they are powerful.” He lifted his gaze and turned it towards Ilirea, an almost dreamy look softening his features. He never in his wildest dreams wanted to be a Rider – but dragons as a species were enviable. If anything, he would want to be a dragon rather than its partner. “Cleverness and intelligence, coupled with keen natural instincts, near-boundless energy and a propensity for magic beyond anything a mortal could begin dreaming of. And there is a wild beauty to them that is beyond description. That is what a dragon is.”

He slowly wrenched his gaze away from the distant Ilirea to look back at the brothers. “They are not tamed beasts for us to ride about on. They are our partners and our superiors. We are fortunate that they chose to not obliterate the elves so many centuries ago when it was well within their power to do so.” He frowned at the pair, curiosity and concern slowly growing in tandem. “Honestly, you would have to be from somewhere across the sea to not know that. Where are you two from?”

[Amur]

What happened next was not something that Baldur had expected –though, admittedly he had indeed expected to at least be held back by his lack of knowledge on this land- the laughter, however, Baldur couldn’t quite place, was it disbelief? Was it really so hard to imagine that lands outside of this one existed to the natives? The thought was incomprehensible to Baldur, surely they must have at least considered such a possibility.

But, he kept his composure; undoubtedly, the idea of habitable land outside of their own was something they had not considered, not judging by Josk’s reaction.

He waited for The Elf to recompose himself.

The response he got was as unexpected as the initial laughter, so, these Dragons were sentient... After years of travelling and facing off with Wyverns the idea of sentient giant lizards capable of flight was not something that appealed to Baldur... And judging by some aspects of the explanation that they got from Josk, he seemed to both envy and loathe them... But there was something else there, something that initially he had trouble place, it almost seemed as though alongside that envy and loathing that in some way Josk admired these creatures.

An observation for another time, however, he still wasn’t sure just how much he trusted this Josk, so, he kept his silence. Taking his gaze off of The Elf, just long enough to look down at his brother, whom, to no surprise was almost wide-eyed following the explanation, they had just received. Baldur, was not so easily impressed, he would reserve judgement for the time being, partially because, he needed more than just one explanation of these things to make an accurate judgement of them. And partly because he was somewhat reminded of the False Gods that littered Nirvanian history, and that, would not be a good comparison to make, not this early and without actual contact with these creatures.

He would, however, likely thank Josk later regarding the Wyvern comparison, had a statement like that been made in ignorance, then well... The outcome may not have been one that Baldur would be able to control... But, he would see, the obtainment of knowledge was his primary reason for being this far from home, after all.

Though, he had found it surprising that Josk knew of the existence of Wyverns –not that he allowed it to show- was it possible that those beasts had once been more wide-spread than Empire Nirvana? The possibility of that was something that fascinated Baldur, he would look into it later-on, when his free time would allow.

For the time being, he would keep the fact that he suspected that he had at least some Wyvern blood in his heritage quiet... If he ever grew to trust anyone enough with that information... That train of thought ceased immediately, not even his brother knew of his suspicion surrounding the several censored generations of his bloodline.

And that was the way that Baldur intended to keep it.

“A very thorough explanation”
He observed out loud.

“But, it is one we clearly needed. I’ll reserve judgement, however.”
He continued. Though, he was sure that Ace hadn’t understood all of it, given that he had yet to master the common tongue of his land. The question of where they had come from was not altogether unexpected. After all, Baldur was sure that the last thing that Josk wanted was to show up to a city that seemed to be held in high regard with a couple of off-Landers whom knew nothing about it. He had no reason to withhold such information, however, so, he thought on how to best begin.

“We originate from a land that ignorance has named Empire Nirvana. I’m unsure of the exact distance, I lost track of the time we spent at sea. And we had several other stop to make before we finally managed to find our way here, but I can tell you it was a fair while.”
He began, unsure of exactly how to continue explaining it to an out-Lander.

“And, well, that’s all I can really say on that matter, unless you had something more specific to ask about Empire Nirvana... We arrived here several or so months ago, and have since been exploring as a favour to Nemesis Morona. We’ve been lost for several days, which right up until now have been largely uneventful.”
He paused for a moment longer.

“If you have other things to ask, would you mind if we did so on the move? Once we’re able to get direction we’ll leave you be if that would please you.”
He said calmly, the earlier attack had him concerned for his brother’s wellbeing now, if anything, he just wanted to leave this place behind and know that he was at least travelling in the right direction to fine civilisation, and if the opportunity presented itself, perhaps actually obtain a map of some sort... Though, he wasn’t hopeful on that front, none of the other places that they had come across seemed to possess those elusive things.

[Elloria]

So they were from across the sea. Josk knew they were not from Alalëa, the ancient ancestral home of the elves. Aside from the fact that by all accounts Alalëa was now a blight-ridden land, the distance was not so great that one could lose track of time during the journey. Now wasn’t this an interesting situation? What should he do, then? If they were refugees looking for a place to settle down, their best bet in achieving that goal would probably be the Riders. And what good fortune it was that Josk happened to be heading directly towards the seat of their power!

“If you have other things to ask, would you mind if we did so on the move? Once we’re able to get direction we’ll leave you be if that would please you.”

Oh no. Josk had no intention of letting this opportunity slip away from him. This humanoid – this Baldur – seemed rather concerned after that little battle. It was probably for his brother’s safety and well-being, since the humanoid was clearly capable of handling himself with aplomb. That…was something Josk could definitely use to his advantage. He was fascinated by this Ace’s potential. In fact, it was the first time any mage had ever captured Josk’s attention so totally. The elf felt a strange desire to nurture the spark of magic the boy possessed – to teach him the mysteries of magic that Josk had learned and possibly tap into a more obscure branch of magic the elf had yet to explore.

But he kept these thoughts to himself, not letting any of them cross his face as he gave the refugees a small, kind smile. “I suppose you are a bit concerned about further attacks. A reasonable reaction, after what you have just faced. I would be most remiss in allowing you to continue wandering about on your own, despite your obvious capability.” He leans slightly forward, eyes locked on Baldur with great intensity. “So, I propose that I accompany you to Ilirea – I am headed in that direction, in any case. This will allow you to arrive there without further assault. I might even be inclined to take you before the Riders, since they will not be pleased to have a load of refugees trying to set up camp in this land without Rider knowledge or consent. What do you say, Baldur?” He could feel Tathar’s displeasure at the proposal. And he knew that he would certainly be hearing about it at the first opportunity. Still…Josk couldn’t withhold the offer. Not when there was the possibility of a wonderful opportunity to gain an apprentice who showed such potential – even if the boy was only human.

[Amur]

Baldur kept a straight face as once more Josk spoke; the offer was indeed tempting if only because he needed some way of finding his way around... But that was just it, the offer and the information given seemed a little bit too good to Baldur’s ears, rarely were offers like that not hiding ulterior motives. He couldn’t quite figure out what Josk could possibly want from either himself or from Ace, but he would keep his thoughts to himself for now... If he ended up confronting Josk to find out his intentions later, then so be it, but for now, there was little need to burn a potential bridge.

He made no effort to speak as he ran through his thoughts on the matters that Josk had brought to his attention. As had been expected there was going to be no possible way for their presence here to remain secret, however, Baldur disliked the idea of being the one to explain their presence in this land to these “Riders”, he was no politician, he was a warrior –a very intelligent warrior, but a warrior nevertheless- but, it seemed that there would be no way for him to avoid at least meeting them. Outside of that, however, he would likely point them in the direction of Nemesis Morona, he was, after all the man leading those whom had fled Empire Nirvana.

Besides, he yet lacked any in-depth knowledge of this land.

He kept a straight face as he briefly considered whether or not he would have any other options, and the consideration was very brief. He had no other options save wandering around blind for a greater length of time, and such an option was, quite simply unacceptable to Baldur, he had already wasted enough time in being lost on this little expedition.

“Pleasant words and a tempting offer, Josk.”
He said finally, he still didn’t entirely trust Josk. But, at present he had no other choice, he was a Warlord in everything but title, it would be a simple matter for him to fight again if he so chose. However, he kept his thoughts quiet. Until he could decide on whether or not he could trust Josk, he would be planning for anything.

Silently, he nodded.

“I find your offer acceptable...”
He stated simply, seeing little need to acknowledge anything else about what had been said, he had other thoughts of his own, but however, many of them were largely unimportant. Generally little things he would be able to find out with a little effort, those ones he was able to keep quiet. There was one that was important enough to warrant asking about.

“Are there any forms of racial tension that I should be aware of?”
He asked calmly.
---

Ace had moved away from the hug he had initiated with his brother as he spoke to this Josk guy, the words passing between them largely boring to Ace. What did he care what the older-people spoke about at length? Especially when they could have been doing better things, like actually walking as they spoke, though frustrated at how slowly things had once again gotten Ace managed to keep himself quiet as his brother spoke to this Josk guy.

And once he started finding that difficult had conjured three orbs of fire and started absent-mindedly juggling them if only to give himself something to do... Well, and he liked juggling, a simple action that could keep him occupied for hours. He could never get tired of it.

He yawned widely, his juggling continuing as he did so. In part because he was tired, and also in part down to his being bored, why didn’t people ever stop talking and actually get on with things? It annoyed Ace that the older people could spend so much time complaining about things and then never doing anything about them... It had reached a point where Ace was about to announce his frustration to his brother, when he heard talk of actually getting moving.

At that Ace ceased his juggling and simply held the orbs of fire that he had conjured. A small jolt of excitement shot through him as he dissipated the orbs he had just summoned and held an open palm in the direction of the fire he had created for him and his brother before they had been attacked.

At once the fire snaked its way across the distance and into Ace’s outstretched palm, where he forced it into a smaller, more compact flame that he was able to keep in the palm of his hand, revealing that the fire he had set on the ground had not actually been using any kind of fuel to burn –no wood, nothing.- he kept the flame in his palm for his own personal light source, if they were going to get moving, then he was going to need it.

“We gettin’ movin’ now?”

[Elloria]

Josk grinned as Baldur accepted his proposal. Things were going just swimmingly. He would have liked the man to ask about payment, but all in good time. It wasn’t as though they wouldn’t have time to discuss it. The mage’s mind immediately began considering how he would phrase his request when the subject of payment did arise. He would have to tread carefully and with due caution. He highly doubted that Baldur would easily acquiesce to the payment option, considering the humanoid’s obviously fierce devotion and protectiveness towards its brother. That could make things tricky. And then, if the proposal were to be accepted, there was the matter of where he would house them that was easily accessible to Josk without actually bringing the humans into Ellesmera.

“Are there any forms of racial tension that I should be aware of?”

“We gettin’ movin’ now?”

Josk shook his head ever so slightly as he was jerked from his thoughts. The grin slid from his face and his expression became blank. His eyes, however, showed the slight concern he felt about the question. Oh, yes. Racial tensions indeed.

He supposed that would have cropped up sooner or later. Perhaps it was best that it was occurring sooner. He cleared his throat before turning Eöl towards Ilirea and silently asking the black stallion to walk slowly enough for the humanoid and human to follow. Eöl snorted but complied with the request. As the elves and stallions started walking away, Josk called over his shoulder in reply to Baldur’s question. “You will find that most non-Rider elves will not treat you or your brother as kindly as I am. A war between my people and the humans ended just ten years ago – and unlike the humans, elves can afford to hold onto their lingering hatred. Now let us not tarry, hm? It is still a fair bit of travel until we reach Ilirea and it would be best to cover as much distance as possible.”

[Amur]

Baldur nodded gently to Ace, whom “whooped” in response. He shook his head gently, his brother’s impatience could indeed be irksome, but he couldn’t really expect too much on that front, Ace was only fourteen after all... Patience came with age; tutelage could only get him so far. So, he ignored it, there was little else he could do.

Baldur was the last to start moving as Josk lead the way on his steed, moving at a pace that would allow the two of them to follow. The response he got regarding his question on possible racial tension was both intriguing and served to reinforce Baldur’s sense of caution. He was hardly a man that believed in the idea of destiny or fate, but he had lived long enough to know that impressive coincidence was highly-suspect.

What then, where Josks reasons for wanting to Help Baldur and Ace so much? Why wouldn’t he treat them as poorly as others of his kind? He arched an eyebrow; he would ask Josk his questions when interruption from Ace was not possible.

“Fascinating.”
Was the first word that Baldur uttered in response.

“It seems that, wherever pure-breed humans go, war follows them.”
He stated thoughtfully. The brief look he got from his brother told Baldur that Ace did not approve of what he had just said. But, it was simply a statement of fact, not an insult to the species at large; various historical events largely supported such an observation... However, he pushed the thoughts aside, this land seemed to have a rich history of its own, and Baldur would strive to learn it, after all, it was only right that he should learn of the land he was going to be staying in.

... And even if Ace disagreed, he was going to make sure that Ace likewise learned of this lands history. Knowledge of the past granted understanding of the present, after all. And that would prevent history from repeating itself.

He remained silent and continued to follow.
---

Much of the trip had passed in relative silence –though Baldur wasn’t sure if he found it awkward or not- which Baldur was somewhat thankful for, it gave him the opportunity to sort through his thoughts enough to confront Josk on his motives without coming off as too aggressive. Not that he really needed to plan that, his tone-of-voice never really shifted from what he thought of as “calm”, however, he knew that people had a tendency to misinterpret the meaning behind certain words and questions no matter what tone-of-voice they were spoken in.

At some point during their walk Ace’s tiredness eventually overcame him; Baldur recognised the signs as the flames he was holding in his palm flickered before extinguishing. It was at that point that he literally picked his brother up and set him over his shoulder with his free hand without slowing his gait.

This was nothing new; it had been how Baldur had managed to keep them ahead of the remnants of his father’s army back in Empire Nirvana. Ace didn’t exactly weigh much, and, Baldur could go for at least week without sleep. He wouldn’t rest until his brother was out of harm’s way.
---

They stopped during the Sunrise at Josks request to set up camp –Baldur simply agreed in silence, he could go without sleep longer than even Nemesis Morona could- which gave Baldur time to set Ace on the ground a short distance away. And then he spent several seconds simply observing, curious. He couldn’t tell if watching the sunrise was something that Josk did as an odd kind of hobby, or if he took some kind of pleasure from it...

“Life’s simplest pleasures are often the best.”
He reflected silently, Baldur was indifferent to such things. They just seemed, frivolous.

Nevertheless, he waited a respectful length of time before approaching, as frivolous as such pleasures were to Baldur, he could respect that other people may have genuinely enjoyed them; he was not unreasonable, after all.

“I’ve been thinking over what you said, Josk.”
He started calmly, once more assuming his more neutral stance by resting his hands on the pommel of Findinokhind. He didn’t allow the silence following his statement to hang for too long, there was little need for him to mince words.

“And while I’m not one that believes in the ideas of destiny or fate. I also find impressive-coincidence to be hard to believe.”
He stated it factually.

“That we happen to draw one of the seemingly rare few of your species whom doesn’t hold said ‘lingering hatred’ toward Humans towards us makes me wonder just what you hope to gain from helping us.”
He continued, taking a brief moment to adjust his cravat as he spoke.

“If the racial tension is as high here as I think it to be, then simply helping us could be damaging to you in ways we couldn’t understand... Especially if the reaction of Tathar is anything to go by.”
He paused for a moment.

“Such circumstances could only mean that you would be looking for something, so, what is it? What do you hope to gain from helping us?”

[Elloria]

Josk gave a quiet snort at Baldur’s observation. War followed all mortal beings wherever they walked. Perhaps it followed all beings – there were surely immortal beings out there somewhere. Josk wasn’t certain where they might be, but the possibility surely existed. But that was beside the point. The Cleansing of the Maleficent was not entirely the fault of humanity just as it was not entirely the fault of the elves. But what would a foreigner know? Not even Alagaesians could agree on where the fault lay. Josk would leave it be, unless Baldur brought it up again.

So the journey passed largely in silence, though not without discussion between Josk and Tathar. Through looks and thoughts, Tathar clearly expressed his displeasure at the assistance they were giving the human and humanoid. Josk mostly brushed aside the displeasure and reasonably explained the purpose of it. Aside from now being owed a debt by Baldur, there was also the opportunity to learn about Ace’s magical education. And besides, what would Niko think if they had just left the brothers alone to be mercilessly targeted by who knew what manner of beings as they wandered aimlessly in search of civilization? Tathar rolled his eyes at that last excuse, but finally let the matter drop. And a good thing that was too or else they might have missed the sunrise. Josk silently commanded Eöl to stop and turn towards the east. The stallion complied and Josk turned to look at Baldur. “We shall set up camp here once the sun has risen.” With that, Josk turned back towards the east watched the sunrise while Tathar dismounted and quickly laid out the elves’ bedrolls. Josk never considered explaining this ritual to Baldur – it was too deeply ingrained in him to think that someone else might find it odd. It probably didn’t matter in the long run, in any case. The sense of peace Josk – the knowledge that at this very moment, Niko’s gaze was turned towards the sun as well – was enough for the mage.

“I’ve been thinking over what you said, Josk.”

That peace was why he felt instant irritation when Baldur rudely interrupted his ritual to begin asking questions. Thus, Josk’s eyes were dark and cold as he looked down at Baldur. He doubted the humanoid cared one way or the other, but it was simply a natural reaction. People glared at those that interrupted them.

“And while I’m not one that believes in the ideas of destiny or fate. I also find impressive-coincidence to be hard to believe. That we happen to draw one of the seemingly rare few of your species whom doesn’t hold said ‘lingering hatred’ toward humans towards us makes me wonder just what you hope to gain from helping us.” Baldur adjusted his cravat and Josk continued to hold his tongue. “If the racial tension is as high here as I think it to be, then simply helping us could be damaging to you in ways we couldn’t understand... Especially if the reaction of Tathar is anything to go by.” That point was rather irrelevant. Josk’s reputation and standing among the elven community was damaged enough by Niko’s entrance into the ranks of the Dragon Riders. More importantly, Josk didn’t particularly care what the world at large thought of him so long as it didn’t interfere with him and his work. With the way this conversation was going, the only thing that would redeem it was if Baldur asked what Josk desired for payment. Fortunately, the humanoid didn’t disappoint. “Such circumstances could only mean that you would be looking for something, so, what is it? What do you hope to gain from helping us?”

Josk continued to glare coldly at Baldur for several long moments before he deigned to answer. “First, I have never held any hatred for humanity. By and large, I am indifferent to their existence much as I am indifferent to everything’s existence. Second, my brother is a Dragon Rider. Aiding you cannot damage me anymore than he has. I also hold a high enough standing in our society that few would consider attacking me. Third, I could not care less what other elves think of me. So long as they leave me to my business, they can think what they will.” He paused and again considered how he would phrase his request. Now that it had come down to it, he was not sure how he could ask this without instantly raising the humanoid’s proverbial hackles. He mentally shrugged and just went for it. “Now as far as what I desire out of this little excursion, the answer is quite simple. I wish to take your brother as an apprentice. I am a mage of some considerable talent and he shows much potential. I have never encountered a being that has chosen to be thoroughly specialized in a form of magic as he has. He offers a wealth of knowledge and I offer the opportunity for him to grow, as it was painfully obvious from your battle that you cannot give him the tutelage he requires. I do not wish to see his talent wasted.”

[Amur]

The glare that Baldur received in response to his interruption told him that he had not given Josk enough time to enjoy his frivolity before approaching. An unfortunate miscalculation on his part, he would apologise for that when time allowed him to do so. However, he managed to hold Josks glare with his usual calmness, there was no need to show signs of discomfort when he didn’t feel them... After all, he had received glares much more intense from the three Warlords he had already killed, many of them from over inter-locked weapons.

Even after Baldur had finished speaking Josk simply continued to glare at him, and as before Baldur simply held that glare with a steady and calm gaze of his own. The tense silence continued for a time longer than Baldur cared to count for before Josk began to answer what Baldur had, had to say... He had to admit that he hadn’t been expecting the long tirade that he initially got, however, Baldur could admit that perhaps his ignorance was irksome. He certainly despised the feeling that his present ignorance of this land gave him.

And while it was a tirade the words that Josk spoke were enough to improve Baldur’s opinion of him ever so slightly. He did find it interesting, however, that The Elves would turn on one of their own simply because said individual had become one of these Riders. They were almost as elitist as the Warlords and their armies, those whom would turn on an individual for something as small as how they surpassed their superior.

And then Josk stated what he desired from Baldur and Ace.

Baldur disliked the sound of what he heard almost immediately, however, he didn’t allow it to show... He never did. He simply listened in silence, casting the odd glance back to his brother’s prone form and then looking back at Josk again. He paused for a long while as he ran what The Elf said through his head; the desire for knowledge was there, that much was obvious. And perhaps, Baldur could even use that to his advantage to acquire knowledge himself.

He pushed the thought aside. He would consider that angle later.

What did truly perplex Baldur was that Josk seemed to have never heard of Pyromancy. Surely that must have been some kind of joke; the discipline was ancient to the point of being primitive. As a mage himself, how could Josk have never heard of Pyromancy? However, he kept a straight face, even through the very minor pang of hurt pride as Josk noted that Baldur was unable to help Ace advance his magical abilities.

However, he could admit that. As a swordsman Baldur knew he could teach much to those even considered a “Master” no matter the species, however, as a mage, while far from useless, Baldur lacked the required ability to be able to teach anything to Ace. Whom, when compared to Baldur was capable of living magic.

“Direct aren’t you?”
He said first.

“It is perplexing that you’ve never heard of Pyromancy, however. But, I can pass that off as a difference between our lands.”
He said calmly, now slowing his line-of-thought as he considered how to best word what he had to say next. Baldur was almost certain that Josk knew exactly what proverbial notes to pluck, after all, he had already pointed out that Baldur was incapable of giving his brother the necessary tutelage to help him advance his Pyromancy. However, Baldur was unable to tell whether Josk was just being blunt, or if he was trying to manipulate Baldur.

He would reserve judgement on that one.

What annoyed Baldur further was that he knew that Ace would jump at this chance. He would undoubtedly discuss this with Ace, it was ultimately his decision, but there were factors that Baldur did not like about this.

“... I’m not sure. You understand the bond-of-brotherhood, that you would continue to undoubtedly love your brother unconditionally when by all other accounts you should hate him tells me that much.”
He said slowly. Working his way to his next point, or question rather. He wanted to get across to Josk, just what he was asking of Baldur and what he was asking of Ace before he even started considering whether or not he would think on Josks desire.

“So, think with that bond for just a moment. Why would I accept and potentially lead my brother into an area occupied by Elves when they would clearly pose a threat to his life based on an old hatred?”

[Elloria]

Pyromancy – that was what these foreigners called it? How strange it was that they would choose to specialize at all. Then again, humans were notoriously inept at magic in general. Perhaps it did make more sense that they would focus all their energy into one form of magical expression rather than experimenting with the width and breadth of magic. There were, after all, a larger number of human witches and sorcerers than there were elven ones. Well, Josk supposed it was largely irrelevant. Magic was magic. And if Josk knew anything at all in this world aside from Niko’s love for him, it was magic.

But he could not deny that Baldur’s concerns were reasonable. He remembered feeling them at the thought of going to Ilirea. It was an unknown place full of potential danger and the last thing Josk had wanted was for Niko to find even more trouble than he already did – and possibly get himself killed in the process. Of course, Josk’s fears had been somewhat irrational. Ilirea was probably one of the safest cities in Alagaesia, even if you did try bringing the wrath of nearly every seedy individual down upon you. The only thing you really needed to fear was the wrath of the Riders and Niko had always toed that line with exceptional care. His baby brother respected and loved the Riders too much to risk upsetting them – or at least that had been the case in their youth. Josk gave a mental shrug before focusing back on Baldur. He gave the humanoid an understanding, almost kind smile. “Let me ask you to also think with that bond in mind, Baldur. Your brother clearly loves working with magic. I do not yet know him well, but if he is anything like my brother then I am certain that all he wishes is to become stronger so that he can make you proud. Ace would forever resent you for denying him this opportunity – just as mine would have resented me if I had tried forcing him to return with me to our home.”

Josk stifled a yawn. He knew without looking that the sun had now cleared the horizon and it was time to curl up under the bed roll and zone out. He gracefully dismounted from Eöl, took off his black brocade cloak and handed both the cloak and the reins to Tathar. He then began stretching his body to rid himself of discomfort – two days of straight riding would do that to a person – feeling grateful that he had chosen a looser set of tunic and trousers to travel in. As he stretched, he continued speaking. “Let us be honest here, Baldur. You probably coddle the boy far more than is healthy, even if you do not think you do. Besides which, I have no intention of allowing him to be near an elven city in Du Weldenvarden while I am training him. There are several places I could have him stay where he would be safe from this ‘old’ hatred, as you call it, while still being easily accessible to me.” Finished with his stretches, he straightened up and tilted his head slightly down to look Baldur in the eyes. That would forever be a strange sensation, looking down at someone when he was standing upright. He was normally either eye-level or shorter than the people he kept company with. “And if you so desired, you could stay with him to ensure his safety.”

[Amur]

Baldur listened carefully as Josk spoke, yes, he understood. And he was doing a very good job of addressing Baldur’s concerns, and it was for that very reason that Baldur only became more cautious of him. He was picking apart and analysing the situation very accurately, there had to be another angle that this man was working... But what, the desire for knowledge was as clear to Baldur as it could be; he could outright explain how Pyromancy worked at the most basic level. So why not ask? Did all Elves not believe in just asking? It wasn’t particularly well guarded knowledge either, in Empire Nirvana anyone could become a Pyromancer.

However, he kept a straight face; he would never knowingly deny Ace an opportunity to grow. He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, yes, definitely an attempt to manipulate him. Baldur would have to find ways around that and play Josks techniques against him if need be, it was not a “game” –as some had taken to calling it- that Baldur was new to. But, one moment at a time, he would have to discuss this with his brother at length.

It was his choice, and if he decided that he wanted to take the opportunity, then Baldur would support his decision, no matter how much he currently distrusted Josk.

He would go along with it, even if it meant having to continually be on his guard... He had faced worse odds before.

He watched in silence as Josk began stretching and recoiled slightly as Josk made the suggestion that he coddled Ace. He managed to reign in his reaction and keep it controlled, but he couldn’t help but cast a half a glance back at his brother, if just for a moment.

He kept his face straight; he saw no reason to otherwise acknowledge his previous reaction... He didn’t coddle Ace, no, he couldn’t have... He was protective of his brother, just as he knew Ace was protective of him, but he... He remained silent a moment longer, the amount that Baldur had given-up for Ace was large, but he didn’t coddle Ace for it... Did he?

No, he knew that his brother was capable; Baldur just understood what was beyond his brother’s grasp.

And Josk continued to address Baldur’s concerns reasonably, he was still apprehensive, everything was moving quickly... Baldur already felt that he had little control over this situation for he knew that Ace would want to grow as a Pyromancer... However, that was the problem, Josk knew it as well.

And when he went as far to offer Baldur a place alongside Ace, if only to assure his brother’s safety... What was he doing? Baldur continued to stand in silence for a moment, turning everything over in his mind, something about this still didn’t sit right with Baldur... But for now, he could back away at least.

“I would never knowingly deny my brother an opportunity to grow. It is ultimately his decision, but, we will still discuss this at length.”
He stated calmly, he had no need to voice that he didn’t appreciate being told that he coddled his brother, his visible recoil had already seen to that. He remained silent for a moment longer, one of the conditions he was going to attach to this should –likely “when”- Ace were to accept this had already been addressed.

“Should he decide that he wants to go along with this, I will be attaching conditions, one of which you have already addressed... But, there’s little point detailing the rest until I know his answer.”
He picked his blade up and held it by the sheath.

“For now, I shall leave you to rest and ensure that Ace does not wake you with his impatience.”
He said calmly, turning his back to Josk as he began walking in the direction he had set his brother on the ground in. Stopping after a few steps, remembering he still had something to say.

“I apologise, clearly I approached you too early with what I had to say. I will keep that in mind if it is to happen again.”
And with that, he continued walking, stopping only when he stood at a respectable distance away from the Elves. Even if the gesture was unneeded, Baldur would remain awake and stand as some sort of sentry, at least for the moment. He did not need sleep as many pure-breeds did, he would be fine.

[Elloria]

Josk listened patiently as Baldur spoke, already trying to guess what the conditions might be and how he could reasonably weasel his way around them. He was certain that Baldur meant well, but the humanoid’s smothering would simply have to come to an end. It was for his own good and Ace’s as well. But he did not wish to think about that right now. Josk was tired and starting to feel grouchy again. He waved away Baldur’s apology and meandered over to where Tathar had set up their bedrolls. Murmuring a brief sentry spell to alert him should a threat come entirely too close for comfort, he crawled into his bedroll without even bothering to change into proper sleeping attire. If there was life after death, he was certain his mother was screeching at his disregard for such fine silk. Josk supposed it was a good thing she was dead, then.
+++++++++++++++++++
The next day, early afternoon:

Josk groaned as Eöl nudged him awake. The elf squinted up at the stallion, then grumbled and rolled over. He was rewarded by Eöl knocking the wind out of him with a well-placed head-butt. He smacked the horse on the nose, causing him to snort in disdain and then whinny quietly. Josk took a few deep breaths and then crawled out of his bedrolls, looking suitably tousle-headed and in utter disarray. He yawned, stretching as he did so. Tathar was already up and had a small breakfast out for Josk, having already eaten on his own. Josk accepted the apple and honeyed bread that was offered, munching on the bread as he glanced at Ace. The boy had been playing with an orb of fire earlier, but was now avidly watching the elf eat. Just behind the boy was Baldur – apparently asleep on his feet. The humanoid’s eyes were still open – probably some sort of defense mechanism; spirits, how creepy that was – but they were totally glazed over and unfocused. So Josk waved Ace over, holding out the apple towards the boy. Now would be the perfect time to pick the boy’s brain for information and convince him to become Josk’s apprentice. Though honestly, it probably wouldn’t take much to win that argument. “You look hungry, Ace. Have something to eat.”