Well that made sense, he had just mentioned fighting them but did he really kill them with a stick? That must have been some stick. "If she didn't like you getting into trouble why did she give you that Scepter?" Seemed a strange thing to do unless she was worried that he wouldn't be able to handle himself against the local wildlife. "Sounds like she really cares about you. I'm sure she'd be proud of you in her own way." Sounds like his aunt was quite the woman.

It certainly was cold to begin with, the moment it touched her ankle she could feel the drop in temperature and though she didn't like it there was little else she could do at the minute. Once she was back safely in the Glade she would be able to rest it, but until then she was greatful for the mans care. He didn't have to help her afterall, he could have left her at the mercy of the soldiers or even taken care of her himself, but he hadn't. He'd carried her when she was unable to walk and even gone out of his way to speak with her. After everything that had happened with the Empire that day, it was nice to know that not everyone was war hungry. Though she could do nothing now, when back in the Glades she would see to it that he was rewarded for what he'd done for her.

"I think I'm cursed, everytime I leave the Glades I end up injuring myself in some way or other and it's usually for some ridiculous reason." The last time was a sprained wrist when her legs failed to adjust to a ship rocking back and forth in windy weather and she'd lost her footing. Though it had happened many years ago now, the thought of it still caused her embarassment. While thinking back over past accidents, she watched as Levantes bandaged up her foot and then moved off to his belongings.

There was little else she could do at the moment and so leant back against the tree root, deciding to enjoy the tranquility of the area while she could as it was doubtful she'd come this way again. Staring up at the old tree, she began to wonder what her mother would do when she learnt of what had happened. Declaring war wasn't something she'd do at the throw of a hat and it would probably play into the Empires hand, but she wouldn't let the deaths of the bodyguards go unpunished. Though what were they going to do against an enemy that could absorb their magic? Mother would think of something.

"Is that what the soldiers used?" Nahele asked, her gaze had drifted from the tree to Levantes and the item he was holding.

Levantes didn't respond much more about his aunt, too focused at the time on the strange device in his hand as he examined it. He wanted to break it apart carefully and study it in greater detail, but this wasn't the best time for that. He mused a little when she mentioned injuring herself every time she left the glades and looked up at her for a moment,
"I think you should consider yourself blessed. To leave, get injured and return safely each time. There are worse alternatives.." He remarked. This was true, not to mention, there were worse kinds of suffering that could be gone through, far worse.

When she showed interest in the device, he wasn't too surprised, after all it was this very same piece of technology that had made her life a nightmare this very day,
"Yeah. This is it." He replied, "When we find somewhere safer, I'm going to take it apart, figure out how it works, put it back together, then I'm going to try and see how much magic it takes to break it." Levantes added, staring down at it, a slight of determination spreading across his face, "And if that doesn't work, I'll look for every way I can to make it utterly useless.." He gripped it tight, but stopped, he didn't want to break it yet, if that was even possible.

He placed it behind him once more, clipping it onto his gun belt before checking the other amulet near the front. He unhooked it from its position and held it up so she could see it better,
"This is my scepter." Levantes started. The object in question was almost triangular in shape, but the corners were cut off, a golden, shining metal amulet clamped down over a misty white crystal. the crystal itself seemed alive, the mist inside swirling gently, the back of it had a large clip attached to it so that he could hook it safely onto his belt, it was practically the size of a large belt buckle,
"The metal frame isn't as important as the crystal that acts as its core. Memories are stored in it and once you learn to activate it by pressing your palm over it and willing it to awaken; it will feel your call and give you the knowledge stored inside. Soldiers will usually carry one with a circular frame and they are typically a green color. There are different colors for different specialties, Magi carry blue crystals, inventors carry yellow crystals, healers carry pure white ones, but mine isn't one of those, that's just the colors that were mass produced." He explained, it was a simple enough concept, at least to him anyway, he figured talking about something would pass the time and help her ignore the healing ankle.

Though now he thought about it, he'd told her a lot of things, but not really asked much about anything, except about her family. In some way he regarded that the only important question he'd asked during their time together. He lowered the scepter and placed it at his hip again, pausing briefly but then looking up to her,
".. If I were to ask one thing of you.. Never touch this one, I'll find you a safer one, if you ever wish to try it." He stated, placing his hand over the Scepter, he wasn't sure how far her curiosity would go, but it was important she never tried to use his. What was stored inside was not something anyone should have to see.

Blessed? He was right, breaks and sprains were nothing in comparison to life threatening injuries. Perhaps it was time she picked up her training from where she'd left it? In the current circumstances, she needed to be ready and able for whatever was going to be thrown her way in the foreseable future. Mulling over the possible outcomes from todays events, Nahele looked to her injured foot and began to wiggle her toes without too much discomfort, that paste Levantes had prepared for her was beginning to work it's magic.

"Why?" She asked after hearing his plans for the bracelet that had caused so much trouble that very day. "It poses no threat to you and your weapons, what benefit will come from you learning how it works or how much magic it can withstand?" If the worst came to pass, this information would benefit the Glades greatly, it would enable them to fight back and protect their homeland on a level playing field. But why would a former Galtian soldier not only turn on his own to protect her, but want to find a way to make magic shields useless?

From bracelets to scepters, he showed her the item he'd confused her with earlier on and she looked it over from where she sat. It was such a strange looking item, the metal frame was an odd shape and she could sense something odd about the crystal too. It seemed to be alive, the cloudy mist inside it swirling lazily around it's confines. "Your's is pure in nature, it hasn't been tampered with or refined?" The mist inside reminded her of some of the mixtures she'd seen inside an alchemists lab and was sure she'd been told that anything in it's pure form could be more dangerous than anything distilled from it. But that was alchemy and this.. wasn't.

What a strange thing to ask of her. The thought of touching one had never crossed her mind, but now that he'd said that, she was growing ever curious about it. What would it be like to touch a scepter and learn it's secrets? Did she really want to peer into the memories of someone else and use them for her own advantage? "You would not willingly let me touch it and I am unsure whether I would like to touch it or not. We come from different corners of the world, the technology and items I've seen today.. are far too complicated or unnatural for my liking."

"You're right, it poses no threat to me at all." Levantes chuckled, "So who do you suppose figuring out these things would help, I wonder?" He asked calmly, staring at her as if it were the most obvious answer in the world, he wasn't trying to be condescending about it though, mostly teasing, although he realized perhaps his tone came off as a little unusual. The man leaned back raising one of his knees to rest his arm on. Her assumption that it was pure wasn't entirely correct, but there was maybe a little bit of truth to it.

"Whatever happens, so long as you don't try to see into this one," He tapped it softly, though since he had no desire to activate it, it didn't react, he adjusted his coat, hiding the gleaming object and pushed himself to his feet, patting himself off calmly, however he then stepped back and leaned against the large tree, staring up at it once more, still seemingly enthralled by it. In those forests he'd spent a lot of time in trees much like this one. It brought back that sense of childlike wonder to be staring up at such an old goliath.

He looked over to Nahele again, eyes focused on her foot for a moment. She was moving it without too much of a fuss. She would be able to walk and move, but if she tried to run or strain it by putting too much weight on it, it wouldn't heal as fast as he hoped. With any luck, they wouldn't need to do any running although he then looked at the river. Although he had leg strength, he couldn't clear it in a single jump, certainly not while carrying the girl either. He would have preferred crossing it right away to looking for a safe crossing, so this left him pondering quietly, brow knitted as he focused ont he rushing river. He was a fair swimmer but getting the girl's ankle soaked would wash the healing paste away, not to mention the straight there would be just trying to swim. It was never an option..
Wait, there was another option. He should have considered it a little sooner, though hadn't until he remembered he was no longer alone,
"Any bright ideas for getting over to the other side?" He asked aloud, looking at Nahele. Perhaps she had some from of magic that could make crossing the river easier. he didn't want to consider it a fix-all for situations, but he could always ask while the opportunity presented itself.

"I'd gotten that far, but I don't understand why you'd commit an act of treason against your own Empire to aid my people, the very people that are the reason behind the bracelets creation in the first place." Was he being genuine or did he have an ulterior motive? Did it really matter either way? Nahele shook her head and stifled a laugh at herself. "I'm sorry, it's been a long day. I'm sure the Queen will be greatful of any information that will benefit her people."

"Where do they come from?" Those scepters turned ordinary soldiers into skilled fighters, perhaps having one of her own wouldn't be such a bad idea afterall? There were dark days coming and she had to be prepared. "As long as you keep it strapped to your belt, I promise I won't try and sneak a peek." She raised a finger to her chest and drew an 'X' over her heart to affirm her point.

"A bridge?" Now it was her turn to do the teasing. Of course she knew what he meant, the river was too wide to jump, getting her ankle wet would probably wash the paste off and wasn't the quickest means for crossing the body of water. "Though I suppose in the absense of a bridge we could just walk across it." Using the trunk as a support, she rose to her feet and put a bit of weight on her injured foot to see how much it could handle. The paste felt warm against her ankle and even as she placed all of her weight on the foot, it didn't feel as painful as before. Slipping her foot back into both sock and boot, she took a few awkward steps towards the waters edge and crouched down, her eyes scanning the river bed. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for and plucked two small, smooth pebbles from their resting place.

With a pebble in the palm of each hand, she dipped them back into the water and after closing her eyes, she asked the water spirits for their blessing and their aid. At first nothing seemed to happen, but then both pebbles began to glow with a blue hue and Nahele opened her eyes, smiling at the sight before her. It wasn't the glowing pebbles that caused her to smile, but the thought of her finally being able to do something to help.

"Here, as long as you have this with you walking across the waters surface shouldn't be a problem." She slipped the left pebble into the pocket inside her cloak and held the other out to Levantes. "She wants the pebbles back once we've finished though."

The idea of committing an act of treason seemed a bit foolish to point out to him considering what he'd just done, he'd killed an entire squadron of Galtian soldiers. Or whatever they were. The problem with those men from before was that they didn't follow the standard methods of training for Galtian soldiers. Their methods would have been effective, for certain, aggressively dangerous, especially using magic shields, but still, their formations, their movements, it was all wrong to him. Maybe it was a new squadron type. Maybe they were accounting for their advantages, but all of that didn't matter when they came across Levantes.

He smiled a little when she laughed to herself, it was better not to question his reasoning for what he did or wanted to do, not that he would point that out, the question of where Scepter's came from was easily answered but before he could really get into it she made the promise not to touch the one on his belt. He was thankful for that. Again he smiled when she made a wisecrack about how to cross the river. If he ever did that; his Aunt would have smacked him across the head.

Levantes watched the young woman raise herself to her feet. He wanted to steady her, but instead kept his hands to himself. He was sure she'd probably had enough of being carried or being held by him. He was curious about her actions when she went to the riverbank and plucked two stones out. She did something to them before offering one to him and explaining what it did.

Was she serious? Holding this stone would let him walk across the river? Levantes took it curiously, staring at it like some wondrous new device. Well he didn't gain anything by not trying it, if it was some horrible prank then he could probably laugh it off, especially after practically jumping off a cliff with her. But instead of falling in to the water, he found himself stepping out onto it, feeling the rushing water beneath his feet, it was an unusual sensation, almost like feeling earth move below him. Levantes stared along the river in both directions before looking straight down into the clear waters.

He caught the reflection of himself on the surface, the burning sky and the blurry movements of light, this made him raise his hand to his head, almost losing his balance for a moment before he slowly started to walk forward again, getting away from the river and standing on the opposite bank, stone still in his other hang. He turned, looking for Nahele once more, his lips pursed, he hadn't meant to remember something like that,
"Lets move, we should be safe by nightfall," He stated, "Tomorrow morning we can cross the border and get you home."

Nahele remained on the river bank for the moment and watched Levantes stare at the pebble he'd just been given as though he didn't believe what she'd told him it would do. It was just a pebble afterall and she could have been pulling his leg, afterall, how many magic pebbles were there? Though he soon got over his reservations about the small stone and stepped out onto the river. While the water continued on it's journey, the male was able to walk over the surface just the same as he was able to walk across earth.

Not wanting to be left behind, she too stepped out onto the waters surface and followed Levantes across the river, just at a slower pace. Whether it was because of her foot or because she was enjoying being close to the elements once more. It had surprised her how quickly the element had responded to her, they were so far from from her home waters afterall, though she supposed all rivers led to the ocean in one way or another. This brought another interesting thought to the front of her mind, if she could reach water from this distance, would the other three be able to hear her calls too?

She had noticed the males lack of balance, it was only there for a few seconds but it had been there. It wasn't every day one could simply walk across the waters surface, perhaps looking down at the water rushing beneath his feet had caused it? She could see no other reason from where she was stood and the first time her mother had shown her how to do this, she'd had a similar reaction too. Though that look on his face, hadn't he enjoyed the experience?

"Alright." Nahele reached the safety of the other bank and once both feet were safely on solid ground, she turned back to the river and crouched down once more. Retrieving the pebble from her pocket, she thanked the water for her aid and returned the item back to the river bed. "It will be nice to finally be home." She looked across the water as she spoke, then slowly stood and turned to face Levantes. "Though I'm not looking forward to presenting the Queen with the treaty and an explanation of what happened."

Levantes made his way over next to her, watching her, mimicking her motions, although he wasn't really sure of the words as he allowed the pebble to return to the water. He watched the river again, but backed away from the vision of himself silently before he looked at Nahele with a slight smile, "I wouldn't mind doing that again some time.." he affirmed. The experience itself had been quite interesting, best not to let her think otherwise. Most importantly, with the mere crossing of a river they'd bought themselves a great deal of time.

On her comment of it being nice to return home, the man lowered his head a bit, lifting his hand to tip the hat on his head forward a little while he turned on his heel. He took a step briefly but then paused, turning his head partly in her direction over his shoulder, he'd gotten rather serious again, the same determination as before,
"I will return you to your home, that's a promise." The man affirmed calmly. He wasn't sure what to say about the Queen, he wasn't sure what kind of person she was supposed to be but if there was any chance the Queen would try to punish this girl for what happened, he would put himself between them if necessary.

The man began walking once more, but kept his pace slow for the time being, making sure Nahele kept up with him, he briefly reached up to adjust his glasses briefly before he sighed, staring up, the sky was turning a deeper burnt orange than before, he imagined the sun was past the horizon by this point, but perhaps it was too soon to stop yet,
"I thought I'd managed to get rid of some of this gloom, but I keep thinking about the worst things." He let out an exasperated heave, "The state of my country.. Those men.. The Emperor.. My.." He paused and lowered his head again, putting his hand over his face momentarily, jaw clenched for that brief moment, "It's all gone wrong.."

"You enjoyed it? You should visit the water glade if you get the chance, the people there have a floating town a few miles out at sea. Well, it's more a floating market than anything these days, but on a clear day you can pay someone to perform the blessing I just did and you can walk across the ocean. You can see everything below the surface in some parts, other parts are too dark and dangerous to venture onto." The ocean was vast and no one knew for sure just what lurked in the darker areas. Whenever she visited family in the water glade, she always made sure to stop by the market, it was always one of the highlights of her trip.

There was that serious look again, she'd seen it before when he'd told her of his plans for that bracelet. "You do like to make promises, don't you?" She looked up at him with a smile. "Do you always keep your promises?" Walking with Levantes, she kept her mind focused on what they were talking about and found that all thoughts of her ankle slowly disappeared. Her pace eventually picked up a little, enough to keep up with the man beside her anyway.

"Hm." She looked up to him as he spoke about the gloom and thoughts he was plagued with. Human and thought too much. "You are not responsible for any of that. The state of the country is down to the Emperer, he is in charge of it afterall. Those men were following orders and while their fate is regretable, the only thing you are guilty of there is doing what you thought was right." Nahele moved closer to him, gently placing a hand on his arm. "And I am truly thankful you acted when you did."

He stared at Nahele curiously when she questioned his promise, though he didn't think she doubted him, but still the question was a little hard to answer, he couldn't simply be positive about it,
"There was a time I thought I could keep every promise." He replied thoughtfully, staring ahead again, "Life proved me wrong.. But that doesn't mean I cant try anyway." Levantes remained relatively confident in his ability, however he hid a rather pained look, experience in such matters had left him a little weary, but it wasn't enough to falter his stride. He couldn't just make a promise and not try to go through with it.

"I think I would like to visit that place.. I have spent my whole life in land, with stories of the sea and ocean from distant travelers. Whole bodies of water, larger than a lake and deeper than the rivers.." He mused on it half-quietly, it was one of many dreams his younger self once had, an attainable one, no matter most circumstances in his life. Whatever direction he took, it was one of many things he wanted to do.

He listened to her as she spoke of his concerns, her thoughts on the matter, but he felt a strange sense of dishonesty in himself, there was more he could have said, more he wanted to say. But perhaps what surprised him most was when she placed her hand on his arm. The motion alone seemed to soothe a little piece of him, at least it scattered that gloom a little, she seemed so familiar to him in this regard,
"Nahele.. Thank you." He replied, it was about the only appropriate thing he could think to say. He hoped that he could stay along with her past the border, he supposed it was a certain level of innocence she held, in spite of what she'd seen. With any luck, she would not change.

Promises were difficult to keep, this she knew from experience. In her youth a friend had made her a promise and while he hadn't been strong enough to keep it, she appreciated the sentiment behind it though. "It doesn't matter if you can't keep all of the promises you make, it's the thought behind it and the effort put into it that people should appreciate." The people of the Glade took a more laid back approach to life, they took the time to appreciate things everyone else in the world was too busy to notice.

Nahele found it difficult to understand how anyone could have lived their lives without seeing the seas and oceans for themselves. The ocean was such a beautiful sight on a clear day, the lazy waves, the surface of the water glistening in the sun.. "Then how about I make you a promise? After you've taken me home, I'll take you to see the ocean as thanks for everything you've done for me." Because she believed he would take her home and she was comfortable in his presence, afterall, if he'd meant to harm her or take her back to the empire he'd have done so already.

In responce to the thanks, she simply smiled and let her hand drop back to her side. "You don't need to thank me, I don't like seeing people upset, it upsets me." As much as she wanted to cross the border and get home, she'd been awake since sunrise and what with the days various 'activities', her body was starting to register just how tired it was becomming. "How much further?"

Levantes smiled a little bit at her own promise, thinking on it momentarily, not that there was really much to think about really. Though he wondered if she fully understood his promise, it was not simply the words he spoke, it was a certain sense of a vow, but he supposed for now he could at least try to implant the truth of it into her mind,
"I will remember your promise, do not forget mine." He nodded to her softly. He did want to see that place though, he could write it off his things to do list then. The man rested his hands on his gun belt, keeping his eyes on her, although he paused to deftly hop over a tree root.

She really did seem innocent with that line of thought, no matter how he looked at it, she was a good person, getting upset at the concerns of another, some-one she had only known for a short while, he knew very few people like her, but it was always pleasant to find some-one like this.
His face turned to slight concern, she was tired, he couldn't put any doubt to that, not a surprise really given how much had happened this day, though he smiled a little,
"I can carry you again, if you're getting tired." He commented, it was actually just a joke, but he felt it was appropriate. However he looked up at the sky, it was definitely beginning to get darker. True to form, the forest was also getting dark. They couldn't really afford to stumble around in the darkness themselves.

He looked around at the forest, once more relying on those hawks eyes to find something, a decent place, eventually he picked a direction, turning a little off the trail they were already on. There was another large tree, nowhere near the size of its cousin at the river, but it was large enough for his needs. The man led her towards it, pausing occasionally to pick up pieces until he had a bundle of sticks, piling stones on top of that, it would make for a decent campfire,
"I don't suppose you're also good with fire magic?" He asked aside to her with a smile, "I never tried the Scepter of a Magi, although I do know a certain young woman that-.." He froze in place suddenly, looking right through her before he looked ahead, "-.. I forgot about her.." He stated, but then reached his hand up to the back of his head and sighed calmly,
"Never mind. I'm sure I'll see her again some time.."

Of course before she would be able to take him to see the ocean she would have to get permission from her mother, she doubted it would be difficult to get however, given she owes her life to the man. "I will not forget." Nahele replied, her eyes moving from the man to the forest floor, with the increasing lack of light her line of vision was decreasing and she was having to pay more attention to where she was putting her feet. Though her ankle didn't hurt her anymore, she didn't want to lose her footing and hurt the other one.

"Though I appreciated it before, I am really too old and too big to be carried around anymore." She said as she followed him in the new direction towards another large tree. It seemed a good a place as any to rest until it started getting lighter. Approaching one of the roots, she looked up at the tree and around as much of the area as she could see. It seemed safe enough for the time being and so she sat down, back resting against the trunk of the tree.

"Proficient enough to start a fire." She could use fire magic, she'd demonstrated a bit of it earlier on when testing the soldiers shields for Levantes. Speaking about the scepter a magi would use seemed to bring something else to the front of his mind that had previously been forgotten. A young woman? Had he forgotten about a meeting with her or just forgotten her in general? Nahele watched as he looked straight through her, deciding that whoever she was she must have been important to him. "I'm sure she'll forgive you."

"Sorry, I forgot," He replied, the image of her using magic on the soldiers shields, as per his own orders no less, returning to his mind. He had distracted himself so much that it fell from his memory briefly, he half wanted to smack himself upside the head, having forgotten something like that. He gave Nahele a bit of a pained smile at her optimism regarding that women,
"I doubt that very much.." Levantes responded in a rather grim fashion, no it was probably the exact opposite if not worse, and not even as a joke this time. He knelt down, using one hand to clear a patch of grass away before setting the stones down in a circle, giving it a safe area for the campfire. Once he'd set most of the bundle of sticks in the circle, he placed the others a small distance away before he got up again,
"Light the campfire, I'll gather some more firewood."

He set about the larger tree mainly, picking up what branches had fallen around it, circling a little further out as he went, the darkness didn't bother him too much, his eyes were adjusting quick enough. but eventually he returned to Nahele again, another large bundle of branches and twigs under his arm. Even if she hadn't had fire magic to use, he was sue he could have improvised in some way. A little of the powder from some of his bullets, a piece of flint, when struck across the steel underside of one of his guns, would cause sparks.

"You know, I've spent so much time talking about the Scepters, but I've heard little about magic from you. I never used a Magi Scepter so I don't really know what it's like to use it, and I imagine your experience with it is different to how we learn and use it." The man stated, he was more or less prompting her to tell him about magic. All the uses of magic in Galtia were for practical or technological pursuits, but he'd never heard of it being used to let people walk on water, except where freezing over the surface counted..

A lot had happened since the demonstration and until he mentioned fire, it had slipped her mind too. "Even if you were to explain to her why you'd forgotten?" A thought crossed her mind, if this girl was a Galtian and learnt that Levantes had been the one to kill the soldiers and save the emissary, would she applaud him or turn him in?

"Alright." While he busied himself with collecting more firewood, she left her resting spot and knelt before the circle of stone and pile of wood. Just a spark, that's all she needed, anything too big or intense would reduce the wood to ash in no time. Cupping her left hand she focused on it and a few seconds later, a small flame flickered to life in the palm of her hand. Carefully, she lowered her hand to the wood and once close enough, the flame seemed to jump from her hand to the wood, setting it slight.

"I don't know whether the magic inside your scepters is the same sort of magic that we use." Nahele tucked her legs underneath herself, hands folding neatly in her lap. The magic she learnt and used was different to the rest of the Glade, the markings on her body were proof of that. "We live in harmony with nature and the elements around us, we use it to draw great power but also thank it for aiding us. We use magic to live and to play, we don't use it to harm another living being, not unless there's a civil dispute to settle." She said, watching the flame consume the wood. "Every person within the four elemental glades draws great power from their home element and it's uncommon for them to learn magic of any other element as it can be difficult. But the royal family are able to control all four elements, which is why the central glade is named Omni."

"It's not so much that I forgot her.." He started, taking off his hat and placing it on the ground next to him, leaning back against the tree root, "I was so lost and unfocused when you stumbled across me, now I've been remembering things.. It's likely that she will probably try to separate my head from my shoulders if we ever meet.." He smiled in a grim fashion, he believed what he was saying about her, reaching up and awkwardly rubbing his head again. How could he even explain it all? There were no words for his tale. None that he could speak, not without splitting his own heart in two.

He tried to get himself a bit more comfortable against the root, keeping a knee raised, his arm rested across it as he listened to Nahele, eyes intently focused on the young woman. The specifics and details about magic raised some curious questions right away, like why could the Magi of Galtia utilize so many elements so efficiently? It was probably knowledge within the Scepters that allowed for that. Another question was, if people of the Glades focused on one element and it was uncommon to use another element, difficult no less. Yet Nahele displayed more than two elements, he was certain, he'd watched her in that initial flight from the chasing soldiers. Ice on the ground, he assumed that was water. A tornado to lift and pelt rocks and other debris, wind, right? And of course, fire. She was using three elements at the very least.

He looked over to her with a smile,
"Well, you must be royalty then." He stated, as though confident in it but then chuckled, "Or maybe you should see if you are a lost princess.." He added, it was merely a joke on his part, if they wanted to send a royal, wouldn't it have been logical to send the queen..? Still to be chosen as an envoy for the kingdom, Nahele must at least have been pretty high up in the rankings of their society. Would they really just pluck some random girl off the street or some barely known face to represent them in talks with the leader of an Empire?
He found himself laughing at his line of thought and looked over at her,
"Or perhaps you're just some-one who worked really hard to be as talented as she is.." He concluded, honestly unaware of how close to the truth he was brushing at first.

What reason would cause someone to become so lost and unfocused that they would forget things? It was a train of thought she didn't want to dwell on for long, she didn't want to sleep with her head full of such horrible things. "Beheading is a bit of an extreme reaction, isn't it? It's a shame everything can't be solved peacefully.."

She'd explained the basics to him and though he didn't seem to have any questions about it at the minute, his eyes hadn't moved from her as she spoke so she was certain he'd taken it all in. Then came the sudden statement that proved he'd understood everything she'd told him. A royal? She certainly was. A lost princess? At the moment she was. She liked to think she had worked hard, it wasn't just magic she'd been taught growing up, it was all sorts of politics and other information a future queen would need.

"I'd like to say I worked hard, but that would be a lie. Like I said, we learn through play and necessity. I was too small to reach wild fruits when I was a child so a bit of wind would knock them off the branch and all I'd need to do was catch." Nahele explained with a smile, neither confirming or denying her royal connection. It was nice to just be able to talk to someone as herself, rather than in her royal capacity. Telling him now might risk him treating her differently and yet if he found out from someone else he might start acting differently towards her. Her train of thought was redirected, speaking of fruits had reminded her of those she carried with her.

"Are you hungry?" She asked, reaching around behind her and untying the small pouch that had previously been hidden by her cloak. The pouch itself was nothing special and no bigger than the palm of her hand. Inside there appeared to be nothing but a green piece of cloth bundled up, but Nahele removed it from the pouch and spread it open on the ground beside her. The cloth contained a small assortment of dried fruits and nuts, raisins and a few quarters of apricot mainly . "Mother had it blessed before I left."

Levantes simply smiled at Nahele's reaction to what he'd said, if only that were the case, but he probably could understand why that woman would want to kill him, now that he was looking on his situation on a different perspective, but her did his hardest to force his thoughts aside, trying to focus on this woman instead, it was about all he could do for the time being until he found some other way to deal with the stresses on his mind.

It seemed reasonable that learning through necessity helped, but still, as a child, manipulating the forces of magic to such an extent until it became natural was what made it seem so much more than simplistic learning. Not everyone could appreciate their inborn talents until others recognized them first. Whoever Nahele might be, he was glad to have met some-one with such potential. It was perhaps natural instinct that told him there was more, either to Nahele or to her power, he found this idea fascinating, but kept it to himself.

Curiously enough he hadn't thought about food until she mentioned it. Almost cursing himself for not catching a fish at the river earlier, but then she presented the small pouch of fruits and nuts. This was the blessed food she'd mentioned earlier? How curious. The man shifted himself, moving so he was closer to Nahele and stared at it with an interested expression, they certainly didn't look special, then again neither did magically grown food from Galtia.

He took several of the nuts, placing them in his palm and staring at them, they looked so small in his hand, to think something like this could be effectively the equivalent of a full meal. Without a doubt it would have been helpful for travelers to be able to carry around something like this.
He looked over to her again with the same calm smile he usually gave,
"Well.. It will be different to try it at least. Once you've eaten, try to get some sleep." Levantes stated, remaining where he sat, eyes on the fire as he popped one of the nuts into his mouth and chewed, as much as he didn't want to, he still needed to think about some things.

Nahele raised a brow in amusement at the way he began staring at the nuts in the palm of his hand. Physically there was nothing different about them and the taste would be the same too, the difference wouldn't be noticed until the food landed in his stomach and the magic started to work. Though this sort of food was perfect for travellers and even soldiers, it would give no benefit in the long run. One man could not live healthily on a nut a day for an extended period of time.

Choosing an apricot quarter, she folded the cloth and placed it back into the pouch which was then tied back onto her belt. "There is no real difference between blessed and unblessed food, the magic only begins when it reaches your stomach. Eating more than a few pieces isn't advisable either, you'll make yourself unwell." She said and began eating her piece of chosen fruit, her eyes watching the flames dance in front of her.

Time to sleep. Nahele shuffled backwards and got herself comfortable between the trunk of the tree and one of it's roots. It wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep, but she didn't feel any more comfortable laying on the forest floor. Pulling her hood back over her head, she wrapped the rest of the cloak around her as best she could and settled herself down to sleep. It didn't come as easy as she thought it would, a lot had happened over the course of the day and her mind was still wide awake.

Eventually, sleep claimed her, though not before murmuring a 'good night' to Levantes.

Levantes kept his eyes on her, the man remained quiet as she explained not to have too many, that seemed reasonable enough, something like this would certainly have its downsides. He was watchful of her, making sure she got comfortable and slept before he returned to looking at the fire. But he didn't sleep. Through the night he quietly continued to add branches to the fire, keeping it stoked and warm as he began to sort through his thoughts, the terrible thoughts that plagued him about the events in Galtia.

He couldn't sleep in this state, worse still because the unbridled nightmares of recent weeks would return in earnest. The rage deep set in his mind lurked around the corner as his thoughts turned to the scenes that played within his head like moving pictures. Everything that had given him that cold killers edge, every reason that he so readily killed for, it all sat there as a cursed reminder and almost made him want to shout in frustration, but he kept silent. He found himself staring over at Nahele again as she slept.

Goodnight she said. It was almost like a soft silver bell ringing in his mind as his rage subsided, where had all that fury gone? Her presence had been slowly having this effect on him, it was subtle at first, but he was noticing it more and more. Again the image of her face flashed in his mind, the look she gave him, her eyes were so different to his, not even because of their color or shape, but she wasn't a killer. It was something those familiar with killing recognized in others. The world seemed a great deal smaller, darker, there was a certain kind of tiredness in their stare.


Even with his anger slightly calmed, he stayed awake through the night, staring instead up at the sky and the passing stars.
You know..
He remembered the words in his mind, hearing that voice,
I believe the stars represent campfires. Those who have gone before us, lighting millions of campfires at night and enjoying the night with us.
It was such a childish belief, but the man leaned forward, wiping tears from his face with a slight smile,
"Yeah.."


Dawn came, the campfire had slowly dwindled down to the last few bits of kindling, Levantes wasn't sat on the ground anymore, instead on the large root next to where Nahele had fallen asleep, it was a good position to act as a sentry. He could hear birds chirping overhead, the rustle of the leaves as wind scattered them through the trees, the sound of the river in the distance. but no footsteps, it was a perfect moment of silence, the dark sky had been slowly turning lighter and lighter, the sun threatening to rise in the east.

It wouldn't take them more than an hours walk to hit the border. They were close now. Once they got there, Nahele would at least be home free, if no-one pursued past the border. He would keep his promise, no matter what they came across.

Nahele's slumber was not as peaceful as it usually was. The garden she frequented in her sleep was no longer a pleasant place to be. The beautiful flowers always in bloom were now beginning to wither and lose their color. The old oak tree she often sat beneath had been poisoned, it's limbs stretching and twisting in ways they should not and the pond full of colorful fish had lost a considerable amount of water, the poor fish huddled in the water that remained, unable to swim as freely as they had before.

No, not again.. She stared up at the dark sky, thick grey clouds claimed most of it for themselves, leaving just enough free for a single beam of moonlight to illuminate her garden. She couldn't let this happen again, losing her father had almost killed the garden in her childhood and it had taken many weeks for it to begin to grow again. But she was stronger now, she couldn't let this happen.

She stirred in her sleep several times during the course of the night, once to draw her legs closer to her body and a handful of times to pull her cloak tighter around herself as her fingers loosened their grip each time she dozed off again.

She looked back to her garden, the dry grass now littered with the bodies of her bodyguards and she began to understand why her garden was in the state it was. Those were protectors and her friends, they'd given their lives to protect her and she'd left them behind. The emporer.. she could see his face twisted into the bark of the oak tree, this was all his doing. He didn't want a peaceful relationship with her people, he wanted to squash them all beneath his boot and claim their land as part of the empire!

Though there was nothing she could do at the minute for the bodies of her kin, she moved solemnly around her garden and closed the eyes of each body, thanking each for their help as she did so. It wouldn't change anything in the land of the living, but it did chase the emporers face from her dying tree.

Nahele awoke to the sound of bird song and for a moment, forgot where she was. It wasn't until she uncurled from her position and looked to the campfire that it all came back to her. But where was Levantes? When she'd gotten ready to sleep he'd been sat by the fire, hadn't he? She was sure he had and started to wonder if something had happened or if he'd just left her. It hurt to think he'd just up and leave her after he'd promised to take her home, her trail of thought began a downward spiral until the hood fell from her head as she moved onto her knees. With a better view of her surroundings, she caught sight of something in the corner of her eye and quickly turned her head to see what it was, afraid it might be something creeping up on her.

"..." And there he was, sat on the root no more than a few inches away from where she'd been sleeping, how silly she felt! The look of worry slowly morphed into a sheepish smile. "Good morning."

Levantes was quietly inspecting his weapon as he waited for a sign that Nahele was waking up, he had repeatedly practiced drawing and holstering both weapons during the night, freezing only briefly whenever the girl had shifted, afraid he'd woken her up, but she simply returned to her slumber. She was having bad dreams, he was sure of that at the very least, no surprise given her ordeal, but there really wasn't anything he could think of to help her with those nightmares.

When she finally sat up, he shifted his gaze momentarily to watch her rise, she would probably be too bleary-eyed to think straight right away. He calmly popped one of the blessed nuts form last night into his mouth and chewed it meditatively. His gaze only returned to her when she greeted him. His response was a calm smile, as always, tipping his hat to her softly before he slipped off the root of the tree and stood on the ground beside the young woman.

Her ankle was likely feeling pretty good at this point, but it still hadn't been a full days recovery, either way it was time to move, he patiently adjusted his coat, making sure it was loose enough that he could reach for his weapons at any time, as well as the Scepter at his hip. He could feel a slight hitch in his arms, likely only because of tiredness, but it wouldn't affect him too much, at least so far as he could tell.

"Eat something, then lets go, we will make the border before mid-day," He stated, if he remembered the local area just right, it wouldn't be that far, they just needed to walk at pace. The promise he'd made to her was still deep-set in his mind, whatever happened, he would get her home. It was a worthwhile goal and it distracted him from his problems, at least for the time being.

He offered his left hand to her once she was prepared to stand, waiting to help her to her feet, there wasn't anything he could really ask her, he knew she hadn't slept entirely well, nor comfortably in a place like this. For a man that was once a wild young boy, sleeping out here would have been easy were he not so distracted. He felt he needed to say something though,
"You told me you have a mother," He stated, thinking on it, "I've always had my Aunt, but never a mother or father, yet I assume she acted in the way she thought she had to, in order to be my mother. What is yours like?"

How long had he been sat on that root playing sentinel? Surely not all night? She sincerely hoped not but he seemed to be in a pleasant enough mood, enough to give her a smile and tip of his hat anyway. With that worry gone and all memory of her unpleasant dreams slowly fading, her body began to register how stiff and sore it was from sleeping rough.

Midday? That was only a few hours of walking and with present company, she was sure the time would fly by. This information seemed to brighten her mood and she took the hand as it was offered, with it's help she managed to stand, albeit rather awkwardly as her legs were stiff as boards and her feet didn't quite feel 'all there', though they slowly started to adjust the longer she was on them.

"My mother?" It was a shame to hear about his lack of parents, she wondered what could possibly have happened to them that ended up with Levantes in his aunts care. "My mother is very caring, she cares greatly about those around her and she always tries to see the good in people." It wouldn't be long now before she was home, she began to wonder what was going through her mothers head. While she was wondering, she performed a few simple stretches to wake her body and stretch her cramped muscles. "But she's the only mother I have and I think the world of her. You'll no doubt get to meet her when we're home."

Satisfied that her body was ready for the journey ahead, her injured ankle out of mind as it was no longer bothering her, she turned back to Levantes and smiled. "Okay, I'm ready to go." As she spoke she reached around and once again removed the pouch from her belt. "It will be nice to eat food that still has it's moisture again." She said and shortly after, popped one of the last dried raisins into her mouth.

Levantes stared at Nahele, almost as if he was dumbfounded by what he was hearing from her, then again, maybe because his Aunt was such a different person, he could not imagine what it was like to have that kind of caring mother, it amused him so much that he actually had to steady himself, stopping himself from laughing rather quickly, instead biting on his tongue and he smirked,
"That.. Is extraordinarily different to how I would describe Auntie Alexus.. But she did care, I figured that out as I got older. She's a tough woman, twenty years on and off sparring, military education, scepters and I still have yet to beat her in hand-to-hand combat.." He mused, rubbing the back of his head.

If there was some-one in the world he knew he should never worry about too much, it was Aunt Alexus. That woman was a holy terror if threatened or angered. He wondered though, if Nahele's mother would really want to meet some-one like him. he could list off all the worst things about himself, the fact that he saved the girl didn't really come to mind when faced with what he had done in the past. He was a Galtian, of their military no less, Nahele didn't really know more than she'd been told. But then, would she tell anyone at all about such things? He wanted to hazard a guess against that. And in the end he was by any account now a vagabond.

If Nahele was what he wanted to assume, some level of nobility or at least a member of higher society in the Glades, then wasn't it possible he was just using her to get closer to the nobles and maybe even the royalty of the Glades in order to assassinate them? Did Nahele really trust him that much? Did she just not think in those terms?

Probably not. He lowered his head in a slightly defeated fashion, smiling to himself. Of course there was always the chance he was completely wrong, things certainly didn't add up that way, not in his mind, but it would be nice if some of his conclusions were completely wrong and the people of the Glades really were just so strange to him that it was beautiful.

"Blessed food beats military rations any day." Levantes replied, that was his honest opinion, "The special ration meals they give us in the Galtian Military are pretty bland and tasteless.. They're good for your body, but bad for the soul," The last sentence was spoken almost out of character, as though he were some-one else for a moment before he returned to himself,
"We had a man who was a pretty good chef on our squad, he used his own pay to buy food and ingredients to cook up for our squad the first time, every other time we donated a bit of our own."

He briefly glanced at her ankle, just to see if it was bothering her, she seemed settled enough to walk on it. The man looked at her face, smiling again before he turned towards the border, arms rested at his sides as he walked, however he half turned, holding his arm out to her. He hadn't realized he'd done so until it was too late to take back the offer, he felt that if he stopped now he might offend her, the very thought seemed too cruel to bear.

Nahele thought the world of her mother and was proud to be her daughter. In dark times she was a beacon of hope to the Glades, she gave strength to her people when they needed it and was never afraid to show just how much she cared about those around her, regardless of their Glade of origin. From birth to that very moment, mother and daughter had never spent more than a day apart and both were missing each other dearly.

Levante's Auntie Alexus really did sound like quite the character and not one she wanted to rub up the wrong way. The thought of an older woman being able to beat her much younger nephew in hand to hand combat was enough to make her smile, he didn't seem as untouchable now as he had yesterday. "Perhaps you will learn something new in the Glades that will tip the odds in your favor?"

All this talk about her mother had brought the problem from the previous night back to the front of her mind. She wouldn't be able to keep it from him for much longer and she suspected he had his own suspicions about her standing in the Glades, she was never very good at hiding the truth. He was being kind enough to take her home, the least she could do was tell him who she really was before he found out from someone else.

"If the rations are bad for the soul, why do so many Galtians join the military?" She understood that soldiers needed food to fuel the body, but why go through the torture of eating bland food on a daily basis to serve a man like the Emporer? "What a nice gesture." Though she couldn't forgive the Empire for what had happened the previous day, she was beginning to see that her distrust of the Empire shouldn't stretch to all it's inhabitants.

All that time spent around her mother had truly rubbed off on her, so much so that she didn't think twice about linking her arm with his, it had been such a sweet gesture afterall. Though walking alongside him like this seemed to play with the girls nerves and she was unable to look up at him for what seemed an eternity. She needed to tell him, she didn't want to keep it from him anymore.

"Do you remember what you said last night after I told you about our magic?" Meaning the royal and the lost princess, of course. "I.." Now how to word it? "My mother and the Queen.. are one in the same." As she revealed who she really was, she finally looked up at Levantes to see what his reaction would be.