What we used to be [Flashback]

[Rael Telano]

16th of Fall, 494 AV

"Tell me about Zeltiva. I've been telling you all about Ravok these last few day." Rael chewed his lip nervously. The older boy still seemed a bit intimidating, being quite a bit older than him. Still, he had been told to be friendly.

"Zeltiva's… different? It's really cold in winter, really really cold. We'd sometimes call the wind "The Bonesnapper", because.. it so cold it can.. snap.. bone?" He trailed off, realizing he never really understood why it was called that. "Um, there's not a lot of food sometimes. There's a lot of fish, but that's it. And kelp. But kelp is gross, especially when it's in beer." Aren stared at him, and Rael quickly revised his statement, realizing how stupid it must sound to the Ravokian. "I mean, I've never tried it, but even the smell is ugh. And I don't know if there's actually kelp in there, or it it's just the name."

He was talking nonsense, but Aren didn't seem to mind. "Go on. I'm just curious. I've never been outside of Ravok." For a moment, his voice sounded slightly wistful.

"There's the Old Quarter, which my mother said was there before the Valterrian." He smiled a little then, proud he could say the word without stuttering. "Most of it is the University. They teach a lot of stuff, but only for older people." Aren nodded in understanding.

"So it's like the Institute of Higher Learning here. Have I shown you their building?" Rael shook his head. "Come on then. It's in the middle of the city."

As they walked, Aren alternated between pointing out landmarks and asking more about Zeltiva. Rael was telling him about the Svefra when his companion suddenly shushed him, and stood up straighter, staring across the road. Confused, Rael followed his gaze, and gasped softly. Striding down the road was a black armored man. He was tall, handsome, and confident. With his cloak fluttering behind him, and his helmet under his arm, the man made an imposing sight.

The man turned to glance at them, and Rael saw that one eye was entirely white. Beside him, Aren straightened up even more, if that was even possible. Around them, people were glancing at the man, smiling at him, nodding respectfully. When he was gone, Rael turned, confused.

"What was that? Who was that man? Why was everyone looking at him like that?" Aren grinned widely, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"That, my friend, was a paladin. One of the higher ranking members of the Ebonstryfe." His eyes widened. He had heard about the Ebonstryfe, but hadn't expected… he wasn't sure what he had expected. "You can tell from the eyes. You saw it, right? The paladins have one white eye, and the leaders have both of them white. They say it's a gift, from Rhysol."

Rael glanced back, but the paladin was out of sight. "Well, we certainly don't have anything like that in Zeltiva." His friend chuckled softly.

"Well, you're staying here. You'll be seeing them a lot." For some reason, that made him smile.

"I hope so."

[Rael Telano]

57th of Spring, 497 AV

"Are you crazy? You know your uncle and my father would kill me if I tried teaching you to use a sword. I'm more likely to knock you unconscious accidentally than teach you anything." Rael sighed, knowing their friend was right.

"What can we do then? I want to do something ." They grumbled softly, leaning out over the bridge. Below, a few ravosala floated down the canal, leaving ripples through the water. They stared wistfully at the city center, where they knew the Vitrax stood. "Do you ever think about joining them?" There was no need to specify which them.

"Nah. It's a great job, and I respect them as much as you do. But you know, I think I'd be better as a guard, staying here, keeping the city safe, follow my father." They shrugged, understanding, but not agreeing. They wanted to serve, not just defend.

"So what do you want to do then?" They asked. "We have almost a bell before we have to go." Aren slipped his hand in his pocket.

"We go get some food? I have a few coins." The two grinned at each other in agreement. "Race you to the market." The words were barely out of his mouth when he started running. Rael rolled their eyes, and gave chase. They spotted their friend running into the crowd, and ducked into an alley. Taking a longer route would be worth not having to dodge around people and risk crashing into someone.

They emerged into the People's Market from the southern entrance, and looked around for Aren. There was no sight of hi- No, they could see him now, stuck in the crowd. He hadn't caught sight of them yet, so Rael moved off to the side. The good thing about being small was that they were often overlooked, even by Aren, who really should know better.

The older boy passed them, and they laughed softly to themselves. It looked like he was scanning the crowd for them, completely unaware that they were already there. They snuck closer to the older, intending to give him a scare, when he turned around and scooped them up, slinging them over his shoulder. They yelped in surprise, and smacked his shoulder. "Put me down!"

Aren laughed, and Rael scowled. "Come on, did you really think I didn't know you would try to do that? I know you too well." He teased, setting the younger down on the ground. "Come on, let's go." They gave him a look. "We can buy chestnuts."

They relented then, at the promise of their favorite snack, and followed Aren around the Market. The two of them made a complete circle around the market, chatting, watching a few live cookings, and taking more free samples than the sellers would like. True to his word, Aren bought a bag of chestnuts, and they shared them as they made their way back to the docks.

They were late to their lesson, naturally, and was scolded, but, really, it was completely worth it.

[Rael Telano]

83rd of Summer, 498 AV

Sitting on the lakeshore, Rael stared out across the lake. Closing their eyes, they started meditating, breathing in and out as evenly as they could. This was always the hardest part, the mental shift. With the other thing, it happened in their sleep, without them knowing, and they'd just wake up knowing what they'd be that day. With autistics, they had to really focus. It was easier to keep their eyes closed, at least for now, so they didn't have to see it.

One day they'd be able to switch at will, just like that. Both of them, with a bit of luck. Until then, they would have to make do.

They focused on the idea of an aura, trying to remember that haze of color and texture that surrounded everything, trying to remember how it had felt to be able to peer into the very essence of something. Something clicked in their mind, and they opened their eyes hesitantly, then grinned.

They had chosen this location for how isolated it was, remembering their aunt's warning. Still, the colors were overwhelming. A shimmering blue veil covered the lake, and it hurt their eyes to look at it. Turning away, they picked up a small pebble, and inspected it carefully.

It was flat on one side, and Rael resisted the urge to skim it. It's aura was simple, a bland looking grayish blue that stuck close to the surface of the rock. It was a dead thing, had always been exactly as it was now. Perhaps it had once been much larger, with jagged edges, or once part of a boulder, or even a building. Still, it was exactly the same. It's aura was stagnant, unchanging, and they wondered if they should envy it for that.

They were so engrossed in their study of the rock they didn't notice the shadow that fell over them, or the almost unnoticeable sensation of familiarity. The soft, unexpected tug on their hair shattered their concentration, and they started violently, dropping the pebble.

"Are you ever going to cut this?" Rael sighed in relief, and rubbed the bridge of their nose. Already, their eyes felt slightly sore.

"Probably not for a while." Their hair already came down to their shoulders, and it still felt too short, some days. It was easier be comfortable with hair too long than it was too short. "How long have I been gone?" Their friend shrugged.

"Over half a bell, maybe. Come on, let's go." Rael nodded. Standing, they followed Aren throughout the docks. As they walked silently, they watched their friend, considering him curiously, wondering what he would look like.

Closing their eyes briefly, they grasped at that feeling, of finally, finally, being able to see. When they opened their eyes again, they nearly gasped. A person's aura was so large, so different, with so many different colors and patterns and textures merging and overwhelming each other. Looking closer though, the aura made little sense, although Rael could catch snatches of emotions and feelings. Feeling exhaustion creeping up on them, they cut the flow of Djed, watching mournfully as the image faded away, revealing how much they were lagging behind Aren.

Tomorrow, Rael decided, jogging to catch up. When they were rested, they'd try again. They wanted to understand those colors, to understand their friend further.

They wanted to understand everything.

[Rael Telano]

73rd of Summer, 499 AV

Sometimes, Rael wondered if Aren was holding back on her. Then he'd disarm her and knock her down, and she'd decide he probably wasn't.

"Ow." She mumbled, sitting up and rubbing the back of her head. Her uncle shook his head in mock despair.

"If you keep getting disarmed like that, you'll either run out of weapons or get stabbed in the face." Picking up the wooden gladius, he tossed it at Rael, who barely caught it. "Don't do that with a real blade."

Rolling her eyes, she took up a simple defensive stance, loosening her tense shoulders. Keeping her sword at an angle, she watched her opponent warily.

He started with a horizontal slash at her midsection, which she countered with a blow downwards. Stepping to the side, she swept the blade at his legs, and pressed forward as he jumped back. "Good! Stay on the offensive if he's better at attacking, or you'll get worn down. Make your opponent fight by your rules." Her uncle instructed. She obeyed, using a flurry of quick, sharp blows to drive her opponent back. Aren blocked all of them, but had no time to attack back before the next blow came.

Slowly, the older boy was being backed into the corner. Her strikes were growing slower now, and her arm ached fiercely, but she was still on the attack. Rael knew, and Aren knew that being trapped was as good as loosing. In hindsight, she should have known he wouldn't let that happen.

Knocking a blow aside, Aren kicked out, and she yelped, and jumped back to avoid being kicked in the worst place a boy could be hit, allowing her opponent to reverse their roles. Now, Rael was the one on defense, and Aren was far more experienced than her.

What she needed was an edge. Knocking away a blow, she took advantage of the momentary distraction, and focused.

His aura was confident, but still a little wary. Now that she saw that, she noticed it in his actions as well. He was well aware of how quickly his luck could change. She'd have to catch him off guard to stand any chance of defeating him.

She slashed at him, and he parried it easily, sending a blow back at her that clipped her elbow. She repeated the action, just a little slower, and saw his aura glow with confidence. Once more, she slashed at him, and as he began to parry, she suddenly turned it into a thrust, right under his ribs.

He let out a grunt, and half doubled over. Bounding forward, she used her sword to shove him forward, and kicked his legs out from under him. His sword clattered to the floor as he fell, and she dropped down on top of him, pinning him to the ground, her gladius against his throat.

"Yeil- ACK" She yelped as her head was tugged back by her hair, and before she knew it, she was on the floor, her own practice gladius pointed at her chest.

"Not quite good enough." Aren laughed, dropping the weapon and helping her back up.

"Almost good enough. You're going to have to do something about your hair. People will use every little thing in a fight." Her uncle said. "Still, that's enough for today."

Rael sighed, rubbing her scalp. "Cheat." She grumbled half heartedly.

"Opportunistic." Aren corrected, a smirk on his face.