Hey, Remember the Promise?

[Balthazar Black]

30 Zi'da 720

The Untold was probably named what it was because it was difficult to describe. It was never the same when Balthazar Black came through it. It had been a forest, it had been a field of grass he floated across while dreams floated past him in the sky like clouds, and it was something new now. Balthazar preferred the forest in the snow. He thought it was a decent way to travel but he was not the only traveler. He was not the only one who was moving through the Untold. He was escorting a friend with him. A friend who he had silently sworn never to allow to travel alone again. Metaphorically. He could not be there to walk her home every night, not with Elisabeth (the thought of her name made him smile a little), but when he could be there to help her, he would. He would not let what had happened to her happen again. Others had sworn that, but Balthazar could and would bend space to keep alive.

And if they still failed... well... magic.

It had become quickly apparent to Balthazar that Yeva of Rharne, the Hero of Faldrass, was not Fire Forged when she was resurrected. Her diri was not with her and she seemed just a little... softer... than she had before. Then again resurrection may have simply had that impact on you. She didn't look weaker or wider by any means, just not as durable as she was when he'd seen her before her death. He wondered what she'd have been like if she had been a ghost for longer. Balthazar had liked Yeva's diri and so he had offered to help reunite them. Well at least that was his surface reasoning. He wanted to talk to her about a lot of things but he had no idea where to start. So much had changed since they last met. So much... and yet he couldn't think of one thing to introduce. He had explained how the dreamwalking would work and he lied about one thing. He told Yeva that he had to carry her on his back to escort her into the Untold.

Out of spite for Yeva, Nimue refused to leave the Beneath while Balthazar went on his journey with the red head. Elisabeth was the only reason the journey to Viden was possible. She'd told Balthazar that she would be going and so he picked the right date to synchronize their journey. He and Yeva would be arriving in Viden through Elisabeth and then a few trials later- once they'd had time to rest and get used to natural physics again, they would embark for Scalvoris using the brand Balthazar had placed on Isabella. There he would show Elisabeth his home and then take Yeva to Faldrass so she could reconnect with the Induk she had helped free. It was wrong for her not to be Fire Forged. She had earned it. He did not know, yet, what he would tell Elisabeth but he was not sure that they could take her to Faldrass. He was not sure she would be willing to take the oath they had and if she was not willing, he was not sure he could let her know... but he could tell her they were doing 'cult stuff.'

So the journey began in the waking world, Balthazar convincing Yeva to climb on his back, and he walked through a wall into the Untold. They emerged from the wall into a dirt path with grass stretching up far beyond their heads on either side of them. The sky above them swirled with hundreds of different shades of colors, shifting from light to dark to light again in unpredictable patterns. At first, watching would be mesmerizing but after a few bits it would become nauseating and Balthazar, having experienced both, would be sure to stop Yeva from staring at it too long.

He let her down off his back once they were in the Untold and offered her his arm. While he did not think it necessary to be linked the whole time, he did not want to risk something coming from the grass and pulling one of them away. He was a powerful mage with many mutations and he was in some form of Emea. There was danger. He was not ignorant. In fact, he was well armed. His hammer hung on the right side of his waist, his sword on the left, a different dagger sat beside each weapon and he was wearing pieces of his grave gold armor that he had not packed away. Apart from Yeva, he was only carrying a single bag of his extra belongings. Anything he thought he would need that he didn't mind losing. Everything else he had sent the conventional way back to his home in Scalvoris and advised Yeva to do the same (before the journey).

"How was that?" Balthazar asked with a small grin as he held his arm out. He was trying to keep his focus on Yeva for the moment so he did not become distracted by the chaos that would continue to shape their surroundings. After he knew she was alright, he'd focus on finding Elisabeth's brand.

[Yeva]

30 Zi'da 720

Get on his back?

Yeva looked at the mage with smirking skepticism while Balthazar crouched so she could wrap her arms around his chest and share her weight, "Don't drop me," she joked as he hooked his forearm behind her knee. She didn't really expect him to let her fall, but once they rose, Yeva felt her stomach somersaulting. Balthazar told them that they were going to Emea, to The Untold, and Yeva, who might have had difficulty understanding any of it prior to death, now felt more prepared for different pockets of reality. That didn't mean she wasn't nervous to be adventuring again.

The young woman hadn't come to understand Balthazar's powers or how they worked - but she assumed, like most things regarding the man, that magic was involved. Allowing him to guide her, the mage took them to a wall and walked through, the medic gasping. She had flinched and closed her eyes, but no painful impact followed. Her eyes opened and his grip loosened so she could slid free. Her backpack and all the trinkets and vials tied to her waist jostled as she dropped down, but her head was craned back to stand in awe at the most beautiful dance of colors she had ever seen.

Balthazar held out his arm, Yeva blinking as she realized how much she had been staring around, mesmorized. She took hold of his elbow and had to resist the urge to keep looking up, shaking the sensation off with a smile.

"How was that?" he asked.

She mirrored his grin, attention darting around to the dirt path and the tall grass. Beneath the swirling sky, the place had the most magical feeling, "Breathtaking," One hand on Balthazar, Yeva sense of curiosity and wonder took control, and she wandered towards the foliage to dip her fingers inside the sea of grass. She took a step towards it, wanting if just for a moment to jump inside, but when she looked back at her guide and the small armory he carried, she tucked her against her chest, "How did you find this place?"

Yeva herself was wearing practical gear - a button up of baby blue and black cotton slacks, a grey wool coat, and the leather boots she had been wearing when brought back to life. Unlike Balthazar, she did not have many weapons, but she wasn't entirely defenseless either. Yeva had a sling in her pocket and a new hand axe that hung from her hip. She wasn't skilled in using either, but she had made sure to bring her medical gear and a some camping gear, like a canteen of water. She hadn't known what to expect on their travels but seeing Balthazar so bare in his approach, besides the 'essentials', she suddenly had doubts if bringing a quilt for sleeping was as practical.

She touched the grass again as they walked, plucking at a couple strands. Her hand made contact and the field began to bleed, its stalks turning a ripe cheery color and spreading like wildfire, each blade of grass changing color to a sea of crimson wheat. Yeva jumped, afraid she had broken something and looked to Balthazar for explanation, pulling away from him in the process. Above them, the colors slowed and fat rain clouds began to knit together in the sky, "Maybe we should hurry," she shuffled back and forth, searching him for any sort of red contamination in case she had been the cause of such a shift of setting. "What are the rules? Did I..?" she hesitated, unsure, "Did I do that?"

[Balthazar Black]

?? Zi'da 720

Drop her? Sober? He laughed. How could he drop her now? Granted, if something had gone wrong and he had just walked head first into a wall he might have very well dropped her onto the floor. They made it into the Untold as safely as anyone did and once they'd linked arms and began walking, Balthazar found his eyes lingering up towards the multicolored sky of ever shifting energy. There were lights in the chaos that only he would see and lights he would never see. They were his brands and they were like white holes in the shifting colors above. While Yeva wandered towards the tall grass, Balthazar looked at the very sky he was worried she'd become lost in. She asked how he found the Untold and Balthazar laughed. "Find it?" He repeated with a small grin, his eyes shifting from the colors in the sky to the redhead standing by the grass.

"It's a long story." He was trying to figure out how he would explain this place to her but even he did not know how to. It was not... material. Nothing there was and yet it all was. He'd explored it enough that he knew how to go from one place to another but he had honestly never successfully gone where he intended to go... not that he had mentioned that part. "When I was in Yaralon, I got trapped on the other side of a... tear in space." Balthazar began, they had time for the long story, "I was stranded for a few trials when I slept I found I had a strange power unlike before- well no, it wasn't really a new power. I have enough magic to know. I gained a sort of control over my dreams. Most people call it dreamwalking. First I learned to become aware, and with that awareness I was enabled to train in my dreams as well as in the trial. Then I learned to create whatever I could think of" Balthazar wanted to but could not demonstrate. Not in the Untold. "Then I learned to leave my dream and enter this... veil between dreams- I know it must sound strange. A little while later I figured out how to bring my body through- though I didn't know how to bring my belongings with me and ended up... exposed in Viden." Balthazar laughed, thinking back to that strange memory. "I've learned a lot since then, like how to bring guests here." He gestured to Yeva while they walked.

She reached out and touched the tall grass beside them, causing a ripple of crimson to wash through the green until it consumed it completely. The sky shifted from vibrant reds, yellows, and pinks to dark blues, purples, and greens while thick brown clouds seemed to formulate above them. Yeva pulled away in surprise and Balthazar held up his hands to try and calm her down... although his words were probably not the most comforting. "In a literal sense yes, you touched it. But I really don't know. Don't worry, it is alright, this place is far different than the world you know. Just forge ahead with me and we will be fine." Balthazar offered Yeva his arm again so they could continue walking. "This place is beyond dreams. Nimue has told me about the Beneath. I know..." His voice trailed off a little and the clouds grew thicker above them.

Black, ink-like rain began to drop around them slowly but no drops had hit either of them... because they were moving slowly. The droplets fell seemingly in slow motion around them and Balthazar continued, "It's a similar concept. Adjacent but separate to Idalos. Harder to predict and less bound by the laws of nature... and more dangerous for mages so I won't be using magic to fly us anywhere." Balthazar explained, hoping he covered all the important safety information. "Lets go get away from this cloud."

[Yeva]

30 Vhalar 720

Yeva was mystified listening to Balthazar tell his recollection of events, trying to imagine what he must have been feeling when such a thing happened. A rip in space? "Wow," she whispered, comprehending. Most of the explanation was easy to understand, whether she liked it or not. Yeva knew about the veils and the Beneath and she seemed to tense at the comparison. What didn't make sense was the dream walking. For so long she had merely thought of dreams as slumbering thoughts, or maybe even visions, but if it was a place... what did actions in a dream mean?

Could they die?

Brow furrowing, her concern must have been obvious, as Balthazar soon tried to reassure her.

"-Don't worry, it is alright, this place is far different than the world you know. Just forge ahead with me and we will be fine."

Everything was going to be fine.

Her confidence was fading. Yeva had wanted so desperately to get back on the road, clear her mind, but now that she was here, nerves were fraying quickly. Doubt held hands with fear.

Forge ahead.

The smile she gave wasn't much, yet it was the best she could manage. Interlocking their arms, she moved closer, footsteps doing their best to align with his. Above them, the clouds began to cry obsidian, the black droplets falling like the notes of a song, "Yes," she agreed, "That would be best." Yeva had felt largely unsettled in the trials since her revival, but it came and went in waves, unpredictable in its intensity. Moving quickly at his side, Yeva took the opportunity for conversation. Something to keep her from overthinking. There was a lot she wanted to ask him but where to begin?

"Tell me about Nimue," Yeva looked up at the mage, inquisitive, "She is a ghost? A spirit?" Yeva had pieced together what she could, but she couldn't remember Balthazar mentioning her in conversation or if they had ever met. Then again, her memory had been so spotty. She strained for a moment, chewing her bottom lip in fear of her own forgetfulness, "Does she know of me? I... I don't remember the name."

This time, Yeva sighed, at least relieved that they were given some privacy to talk. So many of her family and friends had come to visit since the Mummer's Ball - she was thankful, but the simple, honest conversation had become something of a novelty for the woman, "I always feel like I'm forgetting something important now."

[Balthazar Black]

?? Zi'da 720

He could tell she was nervous but he didn't know exactly what to say to make it better. They were in a dangerous place but it was amazing all the same. It was more dangerous because she was traveling with him, a very, very powerful mage. However he knew to be careful and he knew how to get out at a moments notice as well. He could keep Yeva safe. She wasn't a mage, nothing there would be interested in her. That probably could have comforted her if he thought to mention it. He didn't though. Instead he thought about jokes he had heard soldiers tell each other in Melrath and Quacia. He didn't really understand the ones from Quacia but the ones from Melrath were funny... if you were there. How did you cheer up a woman who had died before?

Death did not have to put a damper on things. That was what Vri meant to show him wasn't it? No... probably not. Vri was also the Immortal of Sadness so he was probably loving it. All the same Balthazar wanted to make Yeva's smile larger. It wouldn't do to travel in sadness through the Untold. The dark clouds and the black, slowly falling, ink like rain seemed to follow them as they moved together down the path. The dark rain eventually shifted in the sky and that which hadn't fallen began to return to the dark clouds above but the clouds continued to follow the two travelers. The crimson wheat around them seemed to slowly shrink in size while they walked onward until the path they were walking on faded entirely and they were left walking on red grass through the Untold.

When Yeva said Nimue's name, she'd feel his body tense up a little. He was not expecting her to ask further questions about Nimue and he expected that if the ghost could hear them, she'd be mad they were talking about her. However a trill or so later he seemed to relax and he answered Yeva's questions, glad to do something to distract her from her worries. "Nimue's a ghost who I met a little after the incident at Faldrass. I have her anchor, a dagger that an assassin tried to use to kill me." Balthazar explained as if it were just a normal meeting, "I swore to protect her anchor, she swore to protect me, and we've worked together more or less every trial since. She knows of you because I talked about you, I-" Balthazar chuckled slightly, "I told her to look for you but... she didn't find you."

He took a deep breath and looked at the swirling clouds above them for a moment, trying to figure out how to best say what he had to say next. He decided, "Nimue's mad at you about the resurrection. It's not your fault but..." What ghost didn't want to live again? "I think she'll get over it in time but I wouldn't expect her to show up here." Well, unless she showed up to attack Yeva but Balthazar thought that would be strange. It would not serve Nimue in any way to attack Yeva.

Yeva said she felt like she was always forgetting something and Balthazar's head nodded slightly. "I understand that feeling." He sighed and looked ahead of them at the endless field of red stretching into the multicolored horizon. "So much has happened and is happening that it's hard to keep track of everything, and I can't begin to imagine what it must be like for you." Well he could, he was arguably best friends with a ghost so he had an idea of how death caused them to deteriorate but Yeva had not been dead for arcs so perhaps she'd done better. "How have you been since the ball? I'd have visited more but I figured you would have plenty of visitors to deal with already, Hero of Faldrass." Besides, between Storm's Edge and Elisabeth's initiation, he had been very busy. "I still prefer Matchstick."

[Yeva]

??? Zi'da 720

"She's mad at me?"

Not even alive for a whole season and she already had enemies. As much as she wanted to be upset by the revelation, Yeva knew what it felt like and how jealous she might have been if the roles were reversed. To her, Nimue was justified. It meant this life was already turning out to be more eventful than the first one. Balthazar explained further and she nodded, but she felt caught up on the detail he had let slip. Or maybe it just did not strike him as purposeful, "Wait," she wanted to slow, but wasn't sure how to formulate everything she wanted to ask and the cloud was still present. She tasted the question.

Why would someone try to kill you?

Balthazar was focusing on her, how she felt. It was sweet, but Yeva wasn't sure how to answer.

She started simply, "It's alright," Not visiting her wasn't something she could hold against him. There had been a lot to take care of in her return and those who knew her in her former life had their own feelings to process on the matter. Maybe being around her now was hard? The whole rug had been pulled from beneath her, the medic hadn't quite figured out where she stood, "I've been... busy."

It was sort of a lie, but only a very small one. It was an untruth. Some trials had been busy. Others were here simply 'resting'.

In many ways she had stayed focused. Recovering financial responsibility, reunited with family and friends, getting admitted to a psychiatric medical ward for observation and trying to convince everyone she was just as she was... then again, Yeva had never been a good liar. When he called her Matchstick, it drew a quick grin but the warmth of the expression smothered itself. Tied to it were memories that bubbled to the surface. Good ones, like the times spent with him, laughing, drinking, thinking. But alongside it laid regret. They were supposed to see each other again. And then she died.

She wanted to apologize for broken promises.

Everyone said it wasn't her fault she died, but she failed them. They had grieved her. They had suffered. They had moved on. And now she was back and she might not even be the same person that they wished for. She was an imposter.

"I've been great," she managed, looking ahead while she inwardly screamed. She was lying to him and she was sure he could tell. He could always tell. "It's been nice to, uh... to see everyone again."

What was it that he had told her once? When you struggled to lie, to turn the attention back on the other person? Say something embarrassing? Something personal? "Elisa came to visit," Yeva looked up, "She's really nice." She exhaled, relieved to switch back to the truth, "She met my entire family, actually... Well... not Isaac, I guess."

Truthfully she was surprised to find the brunette actually follow up on her interest after the ball, half expecting Elisa to only be invested in her life because of Balthazar. They had clearly talked and were close. Yeva hadn't quite figured out how she felt about being the topic of detailed discussion given how they had left things, but if Balthazar had found someone to give him happiness in tragedy, then it meant something beautiful had bloomed from amidst her ashes. That had to stand for something.

"I went to Storm's Edge too... To see Vega."

Yeva played the trial in her mind, "To thank her for... talking to Ziell. She said it was because I was brave. She said... she said I didn't deserve it." Death.

'But who does?'

Yeva really didn't want to cry. She closed her eyes, letting Balthazar guide them as she calmed herself, "But I was so scared," The running, the panic, "It was time to fight and I was useless. I.. I did... I did deserve it."

[Balthazar Black]

?? Zi'da 720

"Wait." He stopped walking for a moment and looked at Yeva but when she did not continue with a question, the mage moved on. He did not think about how unusual it was to casually mention assassins coming after him. He thought Yeva would have expected him to face that relative danger. She was into stories about detectives wasn't she? Didn't they always have some nemesis? His just happened to be a Yludih... thought that wasn't even the assassin who'd come after him with Nimue... he thought. Hard to keep track of every man with a knife who made a run at Balthazar. A lot of people did.

He knew she was lying. He knew it but he said nothing about it because the least he could do was offer her the small consolation. If she didn't want to really talk about how she felt, she didn't have to. He had come to respect death and the dead far, far more since he'd been marked by Vri. Death. Everyone looked at it differently but everyone faced it. Even the Immortals. Balthazar had to wonder what it would be like it Vri died. Could he? Didn't matter. What mattered was moving forward through the Untold and keeping Yeva safe. Yet something sat uncomfortably in his heart about what she had said. Great. Great? No... that he couldn't ignore.

"Yeva, I've lived with a ghost for almost an arc now, I know there isn't a 'great' after you refuse judgement." Balthazar said softly, hoping that it would encourage her to be honest rather than to conceal things for his sake. "But if it helps, I'm glad you told Vri to shove it." Balthazar looked up in the air as if silently apologizing to Vri before looking back at Yeva. "The world is better off with you in it, one way or another." Yet the continuously looking dark clouds overhead told Balthazar someone was not feeling well... Well not exactly. They told him that something was going on and that made him paranoid. It was hard for him to recall distinguish whether something was wrong with Yeva or if something else was wrong. All the same he did his best to keep a cool head and not stare into the mesmerizing sky.

Yeva mentioned Elisabeth and Balthazar grinned, the etheric cracks on his cheeks shifting a little as his grin curled into a full smile. Of course she visited Yeva and of course Yeva turned the conversation to him. Clever. Using his own moves against him. He was adequately distracted. Elisabeth had met the whole family and Balthazar had only ever known Yeva. When she was... gone, he hadn't gone to see her family because he didn't know what to say. "Hello, I'm Yeva's powerful mage friend who did nothing to help save her." No. He thought not. So he hadn't said anything to them. He made sure they were alright using his network of friends but that was as hands on as he had been. "Elisabeth," he repeated her name once as he thought about the woman who'd become so much to him in such short a time. "She is... a light in the dark." Literally in the case of traveling through the Untold. Metaphorically in the case of how she'd affected Balthazar. "I'm glad you two had a chance to really meet." And he'd leave it at that as well.

Yeva told him about visiting Vega at Storm's Edge and the ink rain seemed to adopt a more normal speed but it still fell around them rather than on them. There was a curious effect created by black rain falling around them but neither of them seemed to notice how their vision was being impaired slowly. At least Balthazar did not. He was preoccupied listened to Yeva. He stopped walking and turned to face the redhead clearly trying not to cry. He wanted to hug her. He thought it might make her feel better if he gave her a hug... but he didn't. They'd just spoken about Elisabeth and for some reason he felt that he shouldn't... so he resisted the urge this time and instead came up with something to say. It took a little longer than he wanted it too so he started walking with her again.

"Do you remember Ornthrus? The Mountain King?" Balthazar asked after a moment or so of silence. On the surface the memory would not be pleasant. He had, for lack of a better term, considered burning her alive on the mountain when she stepped in-between him and his vengeance against a spirit. His hatred had never been directed at her but she'd have become a casualty of it if she wasn't her. That was what Balthazar wanted to help her understand. "When that giant rock was stomping around and Woe and I were flailing atop his head, you weren't much use then either." Okay not the best start but he'd get to the point, "Yet not one of us would have made it to that fight if it weren't for you. We'd have all been trapped in that spirit's 'truth' forever. You saved us. You." He paused, trying to think of a better way to put it. "Your value has never been as a warrior. Make no mistake, if you want to learn I'll teach you to fight, but your mind is what makes you special. I have... four magics now, a mark from the Immortal of Death, powers from Faldrass, and more mutations that I can really keep track of... and yet I envy you your mind. It is something special and I'm sure one death isn't enough to change that."

He'd gone off topic. He had lost his point in the midst of discussing her mind. "When the end came," He swallowed, not quite happy to reflect on her end, "you did not deserve it. No one deserves death. It is what it is. The end of life. When Vri marked me, he made me swear to give every person I killed the proper rites and I didn't understand it at the time but I am beginning to think I get it now. Death happens. What matters is how we face it. You happen to have faced it and come out the other end very well."

[Yeva]

??? Zi'da 720

Did she remember Ornthrus? Did he mean the time they were kidnapped by the Immortal, Tio Silver, and dumped on the side of a mountain to solve a pending supernatural disaster?

"...you weren't much use then either."

Yeva's brow knitted and she opened her eyes to peek up in confusion at the mage. He was distracting her but not in a good way. Thankfully, he continued:

"Yet not one of us would have made it to that fight if it weren't for you. We'd have all been trapped in that spirit's 'truth' forever. You saved us. You."

Her mouth dropped. She hadn't expected him to say that. So much time had passed since the battle with the Mountain King, she didn't think he would have given it much thought. Yeva had chalked that day up as a failure. Sure, they had stopped the raging spirit but at the cost of man's life, one she wanted to save. Not only was he reminding her of her own unique value, but he painted her someone to be envious of. All her life, she had felt lesser than, for not fitting in with all the athletes and warriors in Rharne; it was nice to look at Balthazar - a fighter and powerful mage whom she respected - and hear compliments for one of the few things she took pride in.

The smile she offered was humble but genuine and she nudged against his side as they walked, "Thank you," she whispered, feeling just a little bit lighter. She had some doubts about coming out the other side of death 'well', but the sentiment stuck for now, "I needed to hear that."

Yeva squeezed his arm and gave a soft sigh, thinking over his encouragement, "You showed me Rupturing, you've told me about Attunement, you impressed me with Defiance... What's the fourth one?" Did she forget? The medic paused, three fingers up to note the magic and waiting for the fourth to join the count.. Balthazar was also Fireforged, Scalvoran Element, freelance detective and marked by Vri, "I guess that's a pretty notable resume... Although," her brown eyes lifted to regard him steadily, "You should really stop killing so many people. It's not very nice."

Although, if the victims were assassins.... that might be an exception. Memories of Balthazar being a bad influence seemed prevalent.

When Yeva grinned a gentle wind blew, even as the world around them began to darken from the rain. The steady downpour of liquid ebony drew her head back as she stared once more at the shifting sky until she seemed to scuff her feet and stumble forward. Still holding on to Balthazar's arm she quickly caught herself and muttered an embarrassed apology while her cheeks reddened from her fumble, "That's embarrassing," she remarked, not at all unfamiliar with her own clumsiness and distractions, but unfortunately reminded. She slipped her hand from his forearm and began to smooth her hair fretfully, "I can barely walk sometimes," feeling her curls smooth and reform beneath the pressure of her palms was strangely reassuring, "It would be mortifying if you tried to teach me to fight. I'd likely hurt myself. I'm just... well..."

Balthazar was so cool, like the tournament winners in Rharne. She had seen the battle scars he carried - if he came to fully understand the extent of how physically pathetic she was in comparison, it would be horrifying. What if he was disgusted?

Shame flooded her, white lightening cracking across the sky.

Yeva nearly jumped out of her skin when the flash faded and the downpour roared, making even Balthazar's glowing silhouette dim amidst the sheet of rain, the thunder rumbling the world around them.

[Balthazar Black]

?? Zi'da 720

He grinned when she nudged his side and kept walking beside her, happy to have made her feel some relief even if it was only for a moment. "So Defiance was the only impressive one?" Balthazar commented first when Yeva asked her question about his fourth magic. He chuckled slightly and thought back to his initiation in Melrath. It had happened between their last meeting on Faldrass and her return. He did not have four sparks when they'd last really spoken to each other. "I have learned to manipulate raw ether to create various effects. Some call it Transmutation but the man who initiated me said that we could also be called Etherists and I admit I like that name a little more." Balthazar wanted to show her something but he knew better than to do it in this strange place. He kept his focus on moving them towards the brand in the distance, not his desire to show off his magic.

"You should really stop killing so many people. It's not very nice." Balthazar laughed aloud at what she said and a wide smile spread over his face that lasted long after he managed to get his laughter under control. He nodded his head a little and nudged Yeva, "I think Vri agrees with you but to be fair, I have been working on it since we met." It might not have been completely related to them meeting, but ever since working with her and Darius, he had changed. He joined the Elements and with that responsibility came more mercy than he was used to. "I try not to kill the people I fight but I'm not really given a choice most of the time." When someone wanted to kill you and did not want to be caught, they went to extreme lengths to get what they wanted. "But again, working on it." He looked out at the dark ink pouring around them when he felt a small breeze.

Wind in the Untold? No... just the feeling. It wasn't really wind and he refused to reach out to it as uncomfortable as it felt. Yeva tripped over the uneven red floor beneath their feet and Balthazar was quick to help catch her so she didn't crash into the ground. He noticed how the embarrassment seemed to take over her and it amused him a little. He didn't laugh at her thought because he thought that might make it worse. "You tripped, it happens." He said with a small shrug with she played with her curls. The she said that him trying to teach her would be mortifying and the mage seemed a little take aback by her word choice. Was he that bad of a teacher? Well... Elisabeth could argue he was. She said she'd hurt herself and then seemed to trail off in dark thoughts. The black rain fell harder around them and lightning cracked across the clouds. He stepped closer to her, growing somewhat concerned at the lack of visibility that the dark rain was causing.

"Yeva, I did not become what I am totrial overnight." Balthazar said in an oddly serious tone after long enough consideration. "You have seen my scars- at least some of them. I didn't get all of those at once. It was through arcs of learning through fighting. I can teach you how to do what I can do in a... relatively safer environment." There was no getting around certain things. "You'll probably get hurt. We all do while we are learning to fight, but I won't judge you for the way you throw a punch if you don't judge me for... having a violent past. You don't have to learn to fight, but if you decide you'd rather save lives by stopping bad people than by helping the injured, I'll help you learn."

[Yeva]

30 Vhalar 720

"So Defiance was the only impressive one?"

"Defiance is the only one I've seen," she corrected, "I've never witnessed any other magic. Well... divine magic, is different, I guess," smirking as he explained his most recent initiation. Yeva still did not fully understand how magic worked, but she imagined that, like the experience of death or existing as a ghost, one didn't fully understand it until they felt it for themselves. The idea of raw ether being manipulated was a curious thing and it distracted her for a good few bits while they walked. Balthazar admitted to preferring the name 'Etherist' and she laughed softly, "That doesn't surprise me," she spared him a glance, "It sounds very.... hmmm... you." Mysterious.

The downpour around them had grown unrelenting and Balthazar had to step closer, either to keep her within proper visibility or to be heard, reassuring any interest she might have had in combat skills, "Yeva," she looked up at the sound of her name, "I did not become what I am totrial overnight."

The tone of the conversation was changing, heavier now. The weather certainly didn't help. Quietly walking at his side, Yeva listened, nodding at the mention of his scars. She had seen them. It had been their last meeting before her death. So much had changed, whereas some things felt the same. Still, Balthazar offered his expertise and she gave a small considerate nod. Maybe it was time to claim the 'Of Rharne' part of her name, "I'm not really scared of the pain. Not anymore."

It was a vulnerable admission. Physical pain was tolerable, predictable. She knew its limits and boundaries. It was agony that struck the soul that couldn't be contained. It was all consuming. Inescapable. She squinted, searching his face with a calculating expression, "Are you just looking for a reason to beat me up?"

The question was asked with a frowned seriousness, and then, after observing his reaction, Yeva split into a grin, wrinkling her freckled nose at him in clear amusement, "Like you need a reason, eh?" Her laughter bounced and echoed, ending in a sigh. She dropped her eyes to their steps, his larger shoes beside her own. Then, when the rainfall was steady once more, she blurted the thought she had been holding onto since her return, "I'm sorry I died."

Despite the topic, she was afraid she might never say her piece if she didn't say so now, "I know I messed everything up. I... I let a lot of people down, Balthazar." It was hard to admit her feelings about the situation, but she was tired to acting unbothered. She was tired, "Knowing how many people I ended up hurting... how could I ever judge you for your past? At least you were surviving," she held on to him a little tighter, brow furrowing in her frustration, "I hurt everyone I ever cared about! I stabbed them in the heart and that's-" her voice broke off, cracking, "That's so much worse."

"Damn it!" she cursed, wiping at the hot tears that ran down her face. She was tired of crying.

Yeva scrubbed furiously at her face, "Sorry," she was huffing at herself. Normally an emotional person, she was prone to turning on a dime now, "Anyway!" Shaking the bad feelings away, Yeva took a deep breath and tried to brighten, "What... uh.." she cleared her throat, regathering her thoughts to the previous topic, "What's the first thing a fighter learns? Distract me."

"Please."