Two Halves Of A Whole Virkyn [Duncan]

[Jade Alanon]

14th Brightening of Cryxatum, Season of Spring

The suns were setting over Frigid River, heralding the coming darkness yet again. Nymira sat next to the window near in the suite she shared with her elder sister and sighed, resting her chin on her human hand. It was strange that such beauty came before the darkening. It was almost poetic really, though Nymira was in no mood to think such deep thoughts, tonight would be the second darkening which she sat waiting for the Rhasic she had sent for to arrive, she had no way of knowing if he would even come, but she had the advantage of him not knowing what her human for looked like. She would sense him as a Rhasic and since she had no Virkyn, he wouldn't know that she was a Sanguine and in fact had met her once before.

Jade reclined in front of the fireplace, relaxing before the dancing flames, her body sore from Nymira's transformation. Jade was beginning to wonder what was going on with her younger sister. Nymira didn't like using the emerald all that much and she couldn't use it all that much easier, their bodies couldn't handle it darkening after darkening. Nymira's willowy form was covered with a dark blue dress that was a bit big for her, but fit nonetheless. Around her neck on a golden chain rested the emerald pendent that allowed for Nymira's transformation, it had it's consequences of course and both sisters endured it, but it was worth it to be able to walk on two legs again.

Nymira rose gracefully to her feet, still aching from the transformation as well, her limbs feeling as though they had been set ablaze. Her long sleek ebony hair hung down her back as her glanced at Jade with her dark eyes. Jade might not have been as intelligent as Nymira was, but she was still smart and Jade knew there was something going on with Nymira, but being the sister she was, she didn't ask questions. She would leave it to Nymira to come to her and speak about it if that was her wish. "I'm going down to eat, do you want me to bring you anything?"

The brunette assassin shook her head as she watched Nymira exit the room, she had half a mind to actually follow Nymira and see just what was going on. Had Nymira somehow met someone? No, that couldn't be it. Despite her curiousity, Jade chose to remain in the suite that she had paid for, her aching head calling for her to rest and perhaps sleep.

Nymira spotted Jade's violin case nearby and grabbed it, she felt like practicing for she strived to be the best once again. Nymira closed the door behind her and hoped to the gods that her sister didn't sense Lazarus' arrival as well and seek out the Rhasic, she just wanted this to be between herself and Lazarus, Jade would only put an unnecessary obstacle in this conversation, should it take place really. Nymira was a different beauty then Jade, Jade was a brute that was built with muscle though slender due to her elven heritage while Nymira was tall and lithe, missing the muscles but not lacking curves. She was a stunning beauty with her long raven black hair and delicate features, her intelligent brown eyes held an uncommon predator look to them, no softness resided within the chocolate orbs, these were the eyes of a killer.

She bore no weapons for she didn't need them, rather she had her mind which was better equipped then any foolish weapons. She sat alone at a table after ordering a piece of apple crumble, her eyes on those around her much like how Jade looked, for even in human form Nymira was on the prowl.

Sitting alone for the moment, Nymira opened her case and pulled out the sleek black violin from it's velvet casing, Jade did well to keep the instrument well kept, though Jade rarely played it. Nymira ran her slender fingers over the beautiful ebony wood and then the strings, closing her eyes and looking as though she could almost feel the music within the strings. Pulling the bow from the case as well, she began to tune the violin, not caring if she disturbed anyone. After a few moments, sweet music began to fill the tavern, Nymira with her eyes closed as she felt the music, she didn't move too fast for she wasn't too confidant just yet, but she was working towards it. For a moment she almost forgot just who she was waiting for.

[Duncan Sythe]

Lazarus Varshari was cautious. It was understandable despite the precautions both had taken in arranging this meeting that some degree of care was required – after all despite it being a seemingly public tavern and inn there could have been arrangements made. He doubted there would be a hoard of Sanguine waiting for him.

But it was possible.

Dressed in worn leathers and with a rusty sword at his hip the slate-grey eyed, roughly shaven and hard bitten Lazarus had close cropped blonde hair and a lantern-jawed face that spoke of hard years in the saddle and on the job, his shoulders wrapped in a ragged grey cloak For Lazarus, as for Duncan, a body was a weapon to be kept clean, unrusted and sharp.

Putting his hand to the door of the Trellis he slipped inside and his eyes instantly scanned the room. They flicked, point to point before he'd even stepped through the door. Now though he made his way down towards the reception desk and had managed to look everywhere – and found no Virkyn.

This was not, of course, unexpected. It was extremely unlikely he'd walk in when they were sitting down at a table again and he wasn't even anticipating meeting them for another brightening or two perhaps...but it paid to keep an eye out none the less.

As he paid for a drink - some kind of northern whisky, his eyes passed over Nymira several times but made no connection. Why would he after all? He was looking for a Virkyn not a woman. She would not however have missed the unmistakable gravel tones of Lazarus Varshari as the man ordered his drink, thanked the barman and made his way over to the fire. Pulling a chair over near to it he slipped his boots off and put them by the heat to dry, putting his feet up on another chair with his cloak draped over the back to peer into the flames, glancing up every so often to the window and its vista or to the door, half-turned as he was to face the room.

Firelight glittered from those grim eyes as he slipped the spirit, waiting patiently to see what happened tonight and listening to the conversations around as much to find out what was going on in this part of Aelyria as to wait for Jade and her Virkyn.

[Jade Alanon]

As Nymira played her violin, she had to wonder if Lazarus would come that evening, would he be in the disguise he had shown to the sisters once before or would he surprise her with another? Such was a mystic, they had the choice to appear as any they wanted, though Nymira didn't have a distaste for arcana as Jade did, she accepted it and worked with it herself, though she was a fire elementalist. She worked with the elements rather then the mind, though she refrained from using her craft in front of her sister and really, she couldn't do it in Virkyn form anyway.

Being in her human form had it's disadvantages, she lost her claws and her sharpened teeth as well as her strength. She was more vulnerable without her senses and really, being in this form was dangerous, but it was something that kept her from completely losing her humanity when she was in her Virkyn form. Her body ached and she wasn't as alert as she usually was, her human form could be disorienting at times and yet she loved it and needed it. Being in her human form also meant she could play the violin to her heart's content and she could feel as though the times of bloodshed and pain had gone, the times where she had lost everything in one darkening of greed.

With her eyes closed in musical rapture, she failed to notice Lazarus enter, the feeling of the Rhasic crystal calling to her was ignored as she continued to play songs she had known from heart centuries ago. She could remember receiving her first violin, the candlemarks spent practicing and shirking her keeper duties in order to do it, the smile upon her face she thought back on Daekon, the man she had loved before her world had been taken away from her and torn into pieces. Thinking of the man caused a great deal of sadness to echo within her halved soul and she chose to halt her hand, ceasing the music the had flowed so nicely from the violin.

Upon halting her music, the feeling of the Rhasic came upon her and she looked around, almost angry with herself that she had allowed herself to become so into her music that she had not noticed Lazarus' entrance. She had to take a few breaths for the wave of emotion crashed down upon her so suddenly at the memory of Daekon that it took her by surprise, causing slight tears to touch her dark brown eyes. She wiped them away for they showed weakness and she set the violin back inside it's case for the time being. Her dark eyes fell upon Lazarus and she watched him, not too keen on making eye contact, though it was doubtful that he would believe she was Nymira, the Virkyn that had acted so hateful towards him.

He was expecting Jade after all, for Nymira had used her sister's name to get him there. He was sitting near the fire now, relaxing it seemed as he waited for the sisters to come. She pondered for a moment whether it would be wise to approach him as well or if she should wait a few moments. She smiled as she picked up her violin and moved over to his table, it wouldn't be so odd that she approached him, he wasn't too handsome, but he was alone and she was alone, so perhaps it made sense. "Is this seat taken?" She asked softly, gesturing the the chair, she chose to remain nuetral for the moment or perhaps thoughts of her Rhasic love kept her from revealing herself and her hatred too quickly. The only thing that might remind Duncan of Nymira would be her dark brown eyes, feral and intelligent.

[Duncan Sythe]

Those grey eyes had watched her since she passed beyond the tables near to the fire where it was quieter, although in a discarded, absent way of one double checking where another person was going in case they had to react.

When Nymira actually came up to the man and asked her question however his eyes shot to her face for a long, careful moment that was a good deal more in depth than should be expected of one lone man being asked by a woman if he minded company. Nymira knew why of course, the suspicion and caution in his eyes was palpable.

It also went away answered.

She was after all in a human form and had nothing about her that could be linked to Nymira the Virkyn. Had he seen such, his reaction would have been very different. As it was he slipped his feet from the chair they had been on and half stood, one foot moving to ease his further away and give her a space by the fire.

“Only by my laziness.”

He replied softly, looking away for a moment and entirely like any other man who had just walked into a tavern, just for that moment as he took the seat again and crossed his feet, leaning them towards where his shoes were now to warm them.

Looking back at her after rearranging so that she could sit down however he looked with more detail. Yet for Duncan Sythe even those eyes were not enough. In truth they were why he'd asked her to sit down rather than putting her off; but he didn't know them well enough to judge who lay beneath them, only what.

For there was culture and intelligence in her tone and those eyes, plus he'd noted the violin as he came in. That combination meant he was happy to speak with someone else while he waited for Jade and Nymira and especially if they did not, he did not after all avoid the company of all others in general, just deplored those who sought his company for their own reasons or thought to gain something from who his illusion was at the time. Given how he looked now though, he doubted this woman wanted either of those things.

“You play nicely.”

Lazarus complimented her quietly, left hand on one knee, the right holding his drink atop the other, grey eyes open and unlike at the tavern in Jaedaxia, unassuming and unfocused. Oh there was still every inch the scrap of intelligence and awareness there that was always, but none of the menace or malice or careful judgement of threat. He was actually decidedly relaxed.

“I myself have dabbled with the flute, although I cannot exactly say well.”

A quick, deft movement that belied other things switched the drink from one hand to the other as Lazarus extended a hand utterly innocently for her to shake. There was after all nothing for him to worry about from this woman, she wore no weapons and was not casting spells and trying to kill him. Short of being absurdly paranoid to the point of enciting the very madness he knew might one brightening claim him he could not know any different.

“Lazarus Varshari.”

He didn't add 'why have I the honour' because he figured it would either be forthcoming or she did not want to tell him yet, given all he was doing was sitting down and having a drink under a pseudonym, that suited Duncan Sythe just fine.

[Jade Alanon]

Nymira had no doubt that Lazarus was cautious, most arcanists were quite paranoid, they knew that there was more to the world then seen with physical eyes. Nymira was much the same, though she had another reason to be paranoid, she and Jade both did. There was a sense of relief that Jade had not been there with her, Jade would have possibly messed things up. From what Nymira could feel, her sister was resting peacefully in their shared room, something she needed since her poor sister had such restless darkenings, haunted by two pasts that couldn't be so easily resolved.

Nymira didn't make a move to take the chair, she didn't wish to make him think she was too eager to sit with him. Lazarus didn't exactly sport a handsome look that would draw women to him, so it couldn't be that for Nymira was a reasonably attractive woman. No, she had an ulterior motive to approaching him, but he would never guess such a motive for she bore no Virkyn at her side nor did she hold any weapon. Unless one counted a violin as a weapon.

She waited and watched to see just how he would respond, she actually smiled as he moved his feet from the chair to show that she was allowed to take a seat there at the table with him. How would she drop it on him just who she was? After their last encounter, it was doubtful that he would actually wish to speak with her, though she had a feeling that she puzzled him more then Jade did. Jade was wonderful, but she was an open book with a closed mind at times, she was narrow minded and did as she was told whilst Nymira was different. The sisters were different yet in some ways the same. Nymira had more of a past to her because she accepted her memories while it seemed like Jade rejected them. Jade didn't do it on purpose, but Jade somehow closed her mind to the collective memory, though Nymira figured she knew why, Jade had one past that she had to remember and deal with, having another was just confusing.

She took the seat that was now empty of feet and set the violin down on the table gently, showing just how much she valued the black instrument. She brushed back her sleek black hair from her face and observed the man before her, he wasn't much different then she recalled him except here he seemed relaxed. Perhaps that was because he didn't see Jade or Nymira lurking about. It was a humorous situation to say the least, though she hardly doubted Duncan would take it as such when Nymira revealed herself.

Nymira seemed relaxed as well, trying to play the part of a curious young violinist that had come over to his table because it was more quiet. The firelight flickered in her dark brown eyes as she ran a slender hand over the ebony wood as Lazarus spoke. She recalled the anger she had felt when he had spoken and it still resided within her, she just chose to keep it in control. It was easier in this form, she had a clearer mind and less of a primal temper. She nodded as he complimented her, she was not one to blush and giggle at a compliment, she merely took it as it came.

He spoke of dabbling with the flute and she looked up from the violin. "Shame you don't have it with you, might have been interesting to hear." She assumed that he didn't have it with him, was easier then assuming he did, she guessed anyway. She looked down at the hand offered to her and she hesitated only for a moment before she slipped her slender hand in his. He gave her his name and she nodded, shaking his hand and pulling it back quickly enough.

There was a look in her eyes, as though she was hiding something that brought her great amusement. Once her hand was free, she looked right into his gray eyes, the firelight from the fire being met with a fire burning from inside her. "I'm Nymira," there was no dramatic pause to her voice, she spoke causally, almost as though she wasn't revealing to him who she really was. Would he catch on or believe it to be coincidence? Would he become defensive? It was hard to say really. "I liked your eyes blue rather then gray." Her observation was followed with a feral smile, leaving no doubt as to whom she was.

[Duncan Sythe]

He regathered his hand to himself and just looked across at her with new, thoughtful appraisal. He was not dead, he had not been attacked. This meeting bore stark reminiscence to one he'd had with Niravia – although to tell Nymira that would be a dire mistake he suspected. But bluntly put, the very fact that he was alive and well and that she was sitting down meant that he very likely had little to fear from her.

Lazarus's feet did unfold though and he crossed his legs instead and folded his arms, appraising her carefully. So this was Nymira, it was unexpected and his eyes had narrowed at the revelation but the shock had been mitigated by that recent meeting, he'd already had one Sanguine spring on him, another in a similar manner was more easily accepted.

Still, she was human. That was a shock and more than cause for the narrowed eyes as he leaned back in the chair. The smile, the expression, he knew it was her...the problem was what on Telath she wanted.

“This is unexpected, but at least you haven't ripped my throat out.”

Lazarus commented with Duncan-typical dryness. He didn't usually resort to such phrases these brightenings but something about the situation drew it out of him.

“And I doubt you liked my eyes either way, but it served the purpose lady Nymira.”

His arms unfurled and rested on his knees as he overcame his initial surprise. Questions were of course whirling through his head, foremost among them how a Virkyn turned to a human – if that was indeed really what happened. He doubted he'd get an answer to that on why however, so he stuck to a question he may get an answer to.

“I presume Jade is not coming?”

Duncan Sythe instead asked, hints of Lazarus vanishing as his expression changed – not the face, this was no shifting of the illusion – but the lightness and relaxation was replaced with the characteristics she'd seen in their last meeting, business seriousness and deadly intent.

[Jade Alanon]

Nymira was amused at Lazarus' reaction to her own introduction. She hadn't tried to hide whom she was because it would have been too easy. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was shocked at this revelation but he did well to hide it from really showing on his face. Just as she thought, his hand receded quickly and he appraised her in this new form, he wouldn't deal with another Virkyn like this until the curse was complete because really, Nymira shouldn't have been allowed to obtain her human form once again. It had been because of the Luduan Statue that she had been given a second chance at finding the joys of her humanity.

She had no reason to know that he had met with Niravia, though such knowledge wouldn't have really affected the Virkyn other then questioning why he had been left alive. She didn't try to attack him as she might have in her Virkyn form, but it was mostly because she couldn't, not that she wouldn't. It appeared as though the only weapon she bore was her violin, but she was stronger then she appeared, not as strong as she had once been back when she was a keeper but one couldn't count her out just yet in terms of arcana.

Still running a hand over the ebony wood, she appeared as though she was speaking with an old friend rather then a hated enemy of hers. She had displayed such aggression towards him when she and Jade had last met with him and it was still there, boiling beneath the surface, but she had a reason to speak with him, a curiousity that was perhaps planted there by Jade. Being a human had surely shocked him moreso then knowing she was a Sanguine.

His dry humor caused Nymira to shrug, she was not on edge as Jade had been, she wasn't nervous and shaking. She was cool and confidant, much like she usually was when she wasn't in a blood rage. "Do I appear as one that could rip your throat out?" Appearances were deceiving and if anyone knew this, it would be Lazarus.

He accepted who she was, which was a relief, meant she didn't have to explain how she had come into her human form. Her body still ached as did the half of her soul from her earlier thoughts, but she hid that pain deep down where it didn't show. Again she shrugged, as though she cared little for what he had to say. "Eyes are windows to the souls, they have their uses. Blue eyes simply suited you better for what you really look like." Perhaps one reason she didn't fear Duncan so much was because she didn't have such a distaste for arcana like Jade did. She knew it, had studied it all her life and accepted it for what it was.

"No, Jade isn't coming, she knows nothing of this meeting." She knew that Jade would be beyond angry at her if she found out that Nymira had gone behind her back. As she watched him intently, she took notice that his expression changed, which was no surprise really. He knew he was in the presence of a Sanguine once again, no more relaxtion and friendly conversation, he was now quite serious while Nymira remained relaxed. "Would you have come had you known it was I that wished to speak with you?"

[Duncan Sythe]

It was true she did not appear in any state to rip his throat out any more but he wouldn't have exactly discounted the notion. Whatever transformation had brought her to human form might have left her with other similarities besides the eyes and her soul and mind. It was very curious though, extremely so. If a Virkyn could do this there were potentially implications for the Rhasic curse if it at all spoke of the way that had been implemented by Kalendyras. A few possibilities therefore floated through his mind, for now however unimportant besides the woman herself who had caused them to be considered.

Her next words however caused him to tilt his head to one side in thought, a slight smile coming across his lips. An odd reaction? Perhaps, but not really in the context of how long Duncan had been doing this sort of thing. To him this discussion was an educated, coherent thing. There were uncertainties to be sure but also rules to be played by when the players in the game they now sat down to were experienced.

Nymira was, he could see this. It made him ironically more at ease than dealing with amateurs. Simply put, it was indeed true that an inexperienced amateur was more dangerous than someone who had been dealing in intrigues for a long time...the amateur could do something unexpected and make a big mess. With experience came the desire not to scare the entire tavern, so to speak.


The Sanguine's question was still curious though. Clearly a prelude to something else but also he sensed a judge of who he was. His expression had raised eyebrows slightly when she'd mentioned Jade wouldn't be coming but he wasn't surprised by that, more curious as to what Nymira wanted...

“Admittedly not given I did not believe this transformation was possible.” He said at length, honestly. “But then what's done is done and we are both here. There is obviously something you want.”

Duncan said with a shrug, sipping the amber liquid in the glass and feeling the tartness on his tongue.

“First however I owe you this, as you were saying about the eyes.” His left hand rose gently, palm open and forward as he drew a very small amount of Mana and mana shaped the Illusion that masked both his arcane talent and his features, although not the Rhasic crystal tang he bore beneath his skin and soul.

Grey eyes became blue, he dare not change more for sake of those in the tavern who had already seen his features, but he would grant her that at least in order to aid in the honesty of the discussion.

“What can I do for you Lady Nymira?”

Duncan Sythe asked at last, simply and to the point.

[Jade Alanon]

While Jade had been nervous enough to not realize the smell of tainted blood and the call of the crystal when they had first met with Lazarus, Nymira showed no signs that she was really bothered by Lazarus' presence. Perhaps there was a sense that had he wanted the sisters dead, he would have killed them last time they had encountered him. Also she knew that he was more for peace and the resolution of the war then the continuation of it and that intrigued Nymira to no end. Why would a Rhasic that surely would be hunted until the end of his life be for saving not only his race but the other clan that existed in the war? Was it because of Albrae? Nymira has a suspicion that it was, she had been suspicious since she had first learned that Albrae had let Duncan see into her mind willingly.

Was there a connection between the two, Nymira believed so, but she couldn't prove it and so she didn't delve into those thoughts further, she could do that when she was alone. As though she was able to read his mind, she waved her hand in a dissmissive gesture. "Don't bother thinking that other Virkyn have this ability for they don't." She didn't further explain her transformation, it was none of his business really. "I am the only one that can do it that I know of."

Nymira brushed back a strand of ebony hair from her dark eyes, she barely seemed to show any anticipation or emotion at all, though if Duncan looked close enough, he would see emotion deep within her eyes, emotions she did well to suppress so she could get through this conversation without making herself to look like a fool. What did she seek from the man before her, she had seen earlier that he had as many answers as the Sanguine held themselves, he was simply biased towards the Sanguine. No, it wasn't those kind of answers she sought, it was something else.

Lazarus didn't seem to care either, though his calmness might have been from his security in his power. He had been more uptight around Jade then he was with Nymira now, though whether it was because it had been because both sisters had been there or perhaps because Jade was not as stable as Nymira was in person. Being that Nymira had something that Jade hadn't had, she was at ease as well, she didn't have the primal anger that she had in her Virkyn form, which kept from distracting her. She took a few breaths and entered mediation as she watched Duncan, she loved the feeling that it gave her to practice her arcana again.

She watched with interest as he he changed his eye color, she could feel the change since she was an unbound mage herself, her eyes showing her interest, though she didn't fear it like Jade had. She looked into his blue eyes and blinked a few times, perhaps asking him this had been a mistake. No, she knew why she had mentioned about his blue eyes, Daekon had blue eyes that sparkled when they looked at her. She didn't want to be reminded of Daekon but it helped her to speak with him without feeling the deep sense of hatred and anger. She didn't thank him for doing it, no sense in doing so.

"I wanted to speak with you without the anger that I hold in my other form and Jade's feelings clash with my own. I didn't want anything in my way when I chose to speak with you again." She sighed as she looked up into his eyes. "I haven't spoken civily with a Rhasic for eras, I usually don't give them a chance before I murder them." She spoke casually about the topic of murder, such a thing had to be considered a travesty. Nymira ran a finger down the wood of the violin, she was calm and ready in case she needed to cast a spell against Duncan, though surely an elementalist wouldn't last too long against a mystic.

"You said Albrae let you see behind her eyes, see what had happened to her during the burning of the Krevion. Do you wish to do the same with me?" There was a strong resonance of panic as the words fell from her lips, what was she saying? She hated the Rhasic with a passion, but there was a need for someone to understand the reason for her hatred. "Perhaps it would help you better understand my own anger at your race."

[Duncan Sythe]

Contradictions and complexities. The blue eyes narrowed as if trying to see the trap then widened again when they found none. If Jade had been intriguing her sister Virkyn was...utterly fascinating. Truly all Sanguine seemed to be, to say there was no depth to the group would be like saying water didn't sparkle in sunlight. It was hardly surprising though, generations of rebirth and the need to kill people left a lot of soul searching to be done – both literally and metaphorically in the Sanguine's case...and librarians were hardly stupid when they were turned into assassins.

Her earlier words seemed a precursor, a remainder of that Virkyn...instability, as he chose to refer to it, fighting to snap and snarl against the true reasons she came here and sat before him. Both her revelation about the uniqueness of her ability to resume human form and her comment about the Rhasic were bitter cutting, slightly prideful...yet ultimately distracting as if she was trying to circle the point and ignore it entirely.

Well Nymira had certainly gotten to it in spectacular style as Duncan's eyes lowered from her for a long moment to take a sip of his drink, creasing his face as the acrid liquid swirled around his mouth and was swallowed before he put the glass down on the table beside him with a soft tinkle.

Both hands laced together in his lap and then ascended, fingers steepling as he brought the tips to his mouth and below his nose, staring at her over them now in careful thought. If there was one thing Duncan did not do...it was react with anything less than profound respect.

The hands lowered now, still together, to his lap as he spoke. “I do because it will help me understand the Sanguine better.” He said with soft, honest truth. Every words carefully spoken in regard to her panic and the seeming instability of the woman before him. Far more in control than Jade – certainly – but that didn't say much when Jade had been a walking contradiction.

“All I want is a solution to this, for everyone concerned.” Duncan continued, putting his hands on his knees. “If you truly wish to do this?” He asked with a pause, a definite question. She must have known well enough he could have done it to her or Jade or both of them before yet she indicated that she believed he had not...that much was positive and a definite improvement in trust even if she refused to admit it.

For Duncan knew very well this had absolutely nothing to do with him and everything to do with her, this was her wish for her piece of mind and perhaps hope to understand something about her own views on the conflict...although what and why he couldn't yet know. He would of course benefit in his own way but this was most emphatically for a moment not about Duncan Sythe or the Sanguine; it was all about Nymira.

When he received a quiet nod he nodded thoughtfully in return and put his hands on the arms of the chair, getting himself comfortable.

“I am going to draw on the planes now. I will draw enough mana for roughly an apprentice spell and then lay it over your mind to form a link between us. Just think of what you wish and I shall also sense it.”

He didn't add that he wouldn't be guarding his own mind very carefully either, she wouldn't see his memories as he would see hers but she would sense what he sensed in reaction and any memories that came up in the process. There were dangers in that, especially related to Albrae but he would guard his thoughts as best he could from progressing too far down that road and knew enough of modifying the spell to hopefully ensure it.

In truth though he knew if he was to gain any benefit from this in her trust of himself she had to experience that he was human and sensitive, not just a cold Rhasic Mystic looking at what she offered without emotion or concern. Thus as he drew the essence for the spell, melding it into mana and laying the shaped Telepathy over her mind, his thoughts were as clear to her – generally speaking – as hers were to him.

What she would sense foremost was curiosity and caution, the huge hesitation and weight of importance Duncan placed on this meeting and on resolving the conflict. The most startling revelation for Nymira however would be the sympathy, the same thing that had allowed him to empathise with Albrae – although not quite to the extent he felt it for her. He understood the Sanguine conflict as well as any and knew its depths and details and travesties, his thoughts were plain to read in all he thought about it, the stupidity, the innocence of the Sanguine as much as the Rhasic and the way they were tied to it all – and how he understood....even if underlying that was the determination that it would end – at whatever cost.

For there was also that coldness lay underlying the sympathy, an iron and very Rhasic determination to see the Right Thing Done. The dangerous part of Duncan that Nymira and Jade had seen in Jaedaxia and that had scared them. It was not gone, merely...waiting in the background as the other emotions and his respect for Nymira's journey took precedence.

[Jade Alanon]

The eyes that had gone from grey to blue looked at her as though trying to see a trap that she might be laying, but they saw none for there was none being set. Nymira had laid it down before him, she had her say and not it was up to him on what he chose to do. Jade never could have allowed something like this to happen because she had such a fear of arcana and she trusted no Rhasic. Nymira had no reason to trust the Rhasic before her other then he hadn't killed the sisters nor had he erased or altered their memories of him, he had let them be.

She chose to fiddle with the violin rather then look at Duncan, she didn't wish to look too anxious because really, she wasn't all that anxious to have someone sifting through her mind and memories. He could easily do something to her whilst he was doing his spell and really, should Nymira jepordize not only her own safety and mental health but Jade's as well? Such a thought was almost enough to make Nymira rethink her decision on allowing Duncan into her mind. It had been her idea in the first place, but it had been done on a hunch, a gut feeling that she had decided to follow.

There was a risk, but such was life, as Nymira was continously finding out the longer she survived in this world. She could feel Jade sleeping in the room upstairs, her mind in a panic from a nightmare she had, though this was nothing new to the sisters. Nymira waited patiently, but Lazarus wouldn't have too long to decide for Nymira was not normally a patient creature, being human helped that patience just a bit. She felt his gaze upon her and while she had such a hatred for him and his entire dirty race, there was respect in her dark eyes for the fellow mage, though his chosen sphere was different then her own.

She brought her own hands in front of her as she turned her attention to Lazarus as he began to speak, he had made his decision and his words caused her to keep her own decision in tact. She nodded as he spoke, showing that she understood, he did not do it for her but for himself and his own understanding. Why Nymira was choosing to do this remained to be seen, she had a hidden motive for this, perhaps even hidden from herself. She didn't let any emotion show, once again she was showing just how in control she was, she was the younger sister, but she had more of a connection with her human half then most Virkyn did. She could feel the burning ache within her half soul that cried out for completion, it was what drove her forward and what drove Jade as well.

We can't always have what we want. She thought as he spoke, though she didn't bother to speak such words, it would show her bitterness even more. "I do wish to do this, if I hadn't, I would have never suggested it." She sighed as the edge in her voice became noticable. She was nervous and it showed and she hated for it to show, she wanted to remain calm. She reached for the blessed feeling of meditation not to ready a spell but to calm herself and allow him to do what he needed to do.

There was a mixture of respect and irritation as he described what he was going to do, she figured what he would do, she had studied arcana for eras before, she might have known more about it then he did even though she did not use mysticism like he did. She knew how to go about it, but she suspected he spoke this to keep her from panicking and also to gain a small amount of trust, which she wouldn't give so easily. "Alright," she breathed softly, trying to show that she was calm, the feeling of peace was invaded by the panic she felt and guilt as well. Guilt that came from how she had reacted when Jade listened to what Duncan had to say, how would Jade react if she knew what Nymira was doing now?

Nymira felt the effects of his spell and could feel what he was feeling in regards to her, she felt his curiousity and also the amount of caution in attempting this. Concern was felt and she was slightly startled, but she quickly pushed it away, she didn't want that concern, didn't need it either. "Keep your pity to yourself." She concentrated on the memories that flowed so freely in her mind, all she had to do was think it and he would hear it, would see what she wanted him to see.

A memory came to mind that she didn't want to delve into, shouldn't have, but it had to be shown so he would better understand her, understand her hatred at all she had lost because of the war.

A young ebony haired woman sat alone in the gardens, her eyes down on the dark wood violin she held in her hand. She seemed to be waiting for something, the suns shone brightly overhead, the heat of the brightening relieved only by the small fountain that sat nearby, trickling and splashing the young woman. There was a sense of peace and yet anxiety as the young Nymira played her violin, her song light yet with a tinge of sadness.

A small sound off to the side caused Nymira to look upwards, casting her dark orbs towards the sound, a look of hope touching her eyes. A young man stepped, his jet black hair slightly damp and his shining blue eyes looking at Nymira with love and desire shining. Nymira set down the violin quickly and ran forward, embracing her lover tightly, her Rhasic lover.

"This is...was Daekon, the love of my life. He was a Rhasic mage that shared most of the same interests as me. My love was kept secret from that of my family not because things were slowly heating up between the Sanguine and the Rhasic but because I wanted something that was mine and mine alone."

Her words floated through as the scene continued to play out in her mind.

While the Nymira he saw in her memory and the one that sat before him looked the same in appearance, it was easy to see how different they were now. How much the curse had changed Nymira from a loving peaceful Keeper into a cold blooded killer. The woman in Nymira's memory smiled as though everything was right and perhaps then, it had been. She had her duties as a Keeper, her studies in elementalism, her family, and finally, her lover, what more could she have asked for? Daekon kissed Nymira with an obvious amount of passion and love before pulling back and getting down on one knee. In his hand was a beautiful gold ring that glittered in the suns light, he was proposing marriage. Chocolate brown eyes widened for a moment in surprise, glittering with unshed tears of joy, she couldn't have expected such a thing to come so soon. She blinked the tears away and smiled happily, letting him slip the ring on her slender finger before throwing her arms around his neck and embracing him tightly. She was going to be married.

"I couldn't have been happier, but the fates didn't wish for the union to take place it would seem.

The scene melted away with the sound of violin music being played, going from spirited and beautiful to slow and sorrowful. Acrid smoke and a burning sensation could be felt as the next memory came to Nymira's mind, Nymira's eyes were closed but even still the tears fell down her cheeks. The sound of the violin broke off, replaced instead with the sounds of screaming and the sound of some dying. He might have seen this scene once before with Albrae, but he wouldn't have seen the true source of Nymira's hatred and ever-living pain.

Nymira ran throught the halls as fast as she could, her dress held up so she could run without falling on the long skirts. Her breath was ragged, indicating that she had been running hard and long, the sound of screams around her. She was desperate to reach the outside, she knew Jade was fighting and wanted to help, she ignored Jade's order to remain back among the books, she had to help her sister, had to keep her sister alive.

Once she was outside, the sight she saw broke her heart and caused her soul to cry out in despair, the Rhasic were attacking the Krevion, but why? Surely their need for knowledge was not so great that they would murder the Keepers? Surely Daekon wouldn't...

Nymira's gaze fell upon Jade through the smoke, Jade with her magnificant double blades in her hands, blood staining the blades as she cleaved through another invading Rhasic. Jade thrived in battle, she always had and now she stood on the front lines, cutting down any enemy that came her way with cruel abandon. Never had Nymira felt such respect for her elder sister then she did at that moment, fighting even when she had been injured, blood flowing from a wound in her shoulder. Nymira hurried and began to cast her spells as fast as she could, but the invading Rhasic were just too much, too strong for them.

Something caught Nymira's eye and she turned to see Daekon, her lover and fiancee rushing foolishly towards her sister, a sword in his hand. Daekon knew nothing of Jade and Jade had yet to meet Daekon, feth she didn't even know Nymira was engaged. Nymira stood frozen, tears streaking her ashen face as she watched. Dare she shout, if she distracted Jade, Daekon would kill her, but saying nothing would mean his demise. She didn't know what to do and it was killing her....

"What would you have chosen?"