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Kamui lays down resting outside the town, and when he feels refreshed goes down to a river and cleanses himself "you are wrong brother. Because we have the strength it does not mean we should abuse it, doing that just lowers us to their level. The truly strong persevere through adversity, and come out a better person. You have let your hatred blind you and you have become no better than those you hate. I shall redeem you to yourself brother, I swear it." feeling more resolve he stands up and heads off no longer hiding his wings from view.

"Excuse me Issildia but your melancholy sonnet has grown tedious-- let us be silent until we reach the next outpost, it is not wisdom to continue speaking just as it would for a cat to mew in the forest at night-- there are many beasts in these woods." Khastur kept his head low as the horse continued trotting on.

"Hmmph." Khastur whipped his horse a bit and urged it to move faster, he had nearly slipped out "Don't make me kill you." his evil was growing restless, and his good frustrated-- he was glad at least for silence now.

Issildia only glared at him before resuming a state of silence, continuing to walk beside the horse that carried Archer's still form.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Within the Tower of Vestain, Luin Ryera stood on the hanging balcony that overlooked the desert. His expression was vacant as if he was somewhere else completely. The silence of the dark obsidian chamber was interrupted by the near silent footsteps of Jadea, Luin's most trusted of friends.

"How far have they gotten Luin?" she asked as she came to stand a short distance behind him.

Luin's vacant gaze did not waver in the least as she asked this question. "They approach the plains of Keirdon, soon they will be rid of this desert and free to move as they will." His voice was almost monotone as he said this.

Jadea only nodded then quirked an eyebrow, "How goes your task...well I presume."

A slight smile crossed Luin's pale lips the first sign that he was indeed alive and himself, "Yes, these empathic abilities have become quite useful of late..." He paused as his eyes flared in excitement. "They all have their weaknesses...for Issildia, it is her memories...for our good friend Khastur it is his lack of a past...these catalysts in their minds make it rather easy to fuel an already flaring temper...all they needed was for someone to tend to the fire." Luin said.

Jadea only smirked at this. "Your strength has grown, there was a time when even you could not project your thoughts beyond the next room."

"The trinkets that our friend Lord Akurie hunts so passionately have been rather useful in augmenting my abilities." said Luin musingly as he finally closed his eyes and turned away from the balcony, retracting his consciousness from those that he had been linked to.

Jadea's expression then grew cold, "Adenia returned...she was defeated."

Luin only smirked at Jadea, "She served my purpose...for now. Tell her to prepare for a trip to the east. Our friends seek something within the Caves of Eska, I know not what the item is that they seek...but from what I glimpsed with their consciousnesses...it is a powerful item."

Jadea curtly bowed then departed from the room, leaving Luin to concentrate on deciding on his next action.

(((It has been dealt with Streak.)))

((When the time comes, I'll play the blacksmith.))

Khastur set about pitching up some tents, he wasn't an elementalist or else he would've helped with a fire-- but maybe it was a better idea to not start one up. After one side, light or dark, surged Khastur became extremely nuetral and worn out-- he generally couldn't think for himself and simply followed instructions-- maybe that's what brought him to having no memories in the middle of a desert... "The smith's name..." Khastur said with a halting monotone "Is Marley, he prefers to be called by his last name exclusively...He's a tad...eccentric as I remember. Very tall and strong as you would expect from a smith, he has hands rough as stone, with scars and burns all over his body and face. Whenever he comes to town to smelt or gather materials, he wears a brown robe over himself and speaks only with his hands-- He must have done something, something that makes him want to not be recognized by the enemy; but I do not remember what-- or if I was even there to be able to remember...The final detail is that on top of the robe he wears a headress with massive horns upon it like some monstrous bull, and wields a great hammer on his back. This is all I know for now-- but it seems enough that a villager would know of what we speak...Excuse me outburst earlier Issildia, when I get like this, processing another's words..It gives me quite a headache." Khastur slung off his pack and threw it into his tent before digging a small ditch in the sand to prop a pot with for cooking.

Archer seemed comatose as all this happened, but he was aware of it all. As he pieced together his mind, one jigsaw puzzle at a time, he simply stared into nothingness. He was lost, confused, afraid, but with Yggdrassil's powers he had completely changed. He could not lose the darkness that welled inside him. He grew weary, and was subtly glad as Issildia laid him in a bedroll. He stared into the stars for answers, but soon was sleeping. He dreamed he was in a black room, with only the white outline of a door. He was naked, and weaponless, and could not even see his hands. He could never approach the door, and could never seem to move faster than a walk. A dark presence rose, and covered his wings, spreading to his body. He did everything he could do to fight it off, but it crawled over every inch of him, and as it covered his face and entered his eyes and mouth, fire is all he could feel. Pain, and immeasurable amounts of it. In the real world he spoke softly at first, and gradually grew to fidgeting subtly, inable to wake from this nightmare, his first of many.

Issildia immediately noticed Archer's almost seizure like movements. "Archer?" she said, a slight amount of worry inching into her voice.
She kneeled down and attempted to wake him by shaking him by the arm but to no avail.

"This reminds me of when you were trapped within your consciousness as the edge of the Talnea forest Streak." said Issildia quickly.

"But it is not the same..." she added when she put her hand to Archer's face, instead of the chill that had taken hold of Streak's blood back on that day in the Talnea forest, Archer's blood seemed to have been taken by a harsh fever.

"This ailment eludes me," she said with slight disbelief. "I know not what is causing this, for it does not originate from his body" she explained.
She checked his pulse at the neck and found it to carry no irregular qualities in it's rhythm, "Whatever this is, it is not his body's doing. His heart remains steady as does his breathing patterns."

"I don't know what to do." Issildia said bluntly with a subtle hint of worry in her statement.