The brave young monk wandered through the new land with an open mind. Where could he possibly have been? Thoughts spun around his mind as he cursed his ever bad luck. His shirt, like always, was not evident as his chest showed goose bumps, from fear. His fists clenched tightly at his sides as he grumbled a few words under his breath. Among this strange town's ruins, however, he saw the towering cathedral. He couldn't help but step inside.

He looked around, cautiously, then stepped in all the way. He was scared, but brave for his word. He looked down, then back up. Clichély, his neck-length hair now limped over his left eye, as he saw normally from his right. He looked about and chattered his teeth. He could only imagine the haunting spirits that surrounded him. But he couldn't let his guard down, he knew. He was alone, in a new place... He had to be strong, and keep his wits about him.

"Isurphéollyn... What have you gotten yourself into now?" He asked himself. Talking to himself always helped him keep his calm in... disturbing situations. "Stay strong," he continued to mutter, "for your god. He watches you," Isuphéollyn was bold, "he keeps you safe." Quickly, his feet came to a halt. Was he going mad, or had he just heard whispers?

Oh, this was truly a chilling experience. He had wanted to press on, in his lord's name, but the fear wouldn't let him. His legs were in shock -- stuck where they were, and wouldn't move another inch. "Who's there?!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, almost positive that he had heard more than one whisper. The spirits were talking to each other, he knew it... Just about what?

Aegion turned a corner, and found a long crumbling corridor. His cloak billowed behind him as he quickened his pace, his soft shoes making a muffled padding sound on the moss covered floor. His heart lifted when he spotted an ancient wall.

This wall may look old and crumbling, but it is protected by a strong defensive magic shield that could only be removed by strong deities, as this shield was cast by an ancient god in the first place.

Aegion knocked the wall softly a hollow sound echoed back. Adrenaline starting to course through him, he felt his boredom lifting and he removed his leather glove from his right hand, placing his palm on the wall.

His hand hovered over the wall, fingers brushing the moss. Closing his eyes, he began to feel a pattern in the moss. Slowly, an image took form in his mind and he snapped open his eyes. Delightedly, he began to start work. After all, concentration was his forte.

His fingers traced the faint magic aura from certain types of moss on the wall and he released three pulses of magic on the top, left and right region of the moss. Then, he stepped back and clapped his hands after putting back on his leather gloves.

The three spots where he touched glowed with a pure white light, the natural color of Aegion's magick, and gradually glowed blue. Like in a fancy Connect-the-Dots game, lines of blue began to trace its way across, around, and through the moss, connecting the three spots together. Finally, an intricate design of a triangle was formed, with an exquisite diagram of lines, dots and squares in the center of the triangle.

Aegion furrowed his brows and concentrated on the triangle, letting his mind wander. After a while, his vision naturally snapped to a circle with four squares around it. This must be it. He stepped forward and raised his right hand. Placing his index and middle finger in the middle of that circle, he exerted his magic force on it as the wall crumbles into dust and revealed a darkened stairway spiralling downwards.

Yeah! I've got it!

He stepped forward and the wall formed up behind him again. He could hear the faint shuffling as the moss rearranged itself.

Typical god's imagination...

He descended the steps and entered a large area. Aegion frowned. He studied the surroundings, and realized that he was in the entrance of the cathedral. Heart sinking, he looked around and indeed confirmed his suspicion.

Closing his eyes, he let his mind wander, then something struck him. The atmosphere wasn't right. When he first entered this cathedral, the air was calm and serene. But now... the air is whispering to each other, the shadows moving of their own accord, the serene atmosphere changed to an electrifying charged atmosphere. Could he be... in a different realm... or in a different area that looked the same?

Aegion stepped forward and saw a young guy standing there, seemingly trapped by his own senses. Studying his face, Aegion could tell that there was an expression of fright, but nervous confidence, if that makes any sense.

"Greetings! May I ask your business here?" Aegion called out, wondering if this person was on the same quest he was on or if he wandered here by accident.

Scared and distraught, he left his right fist fly into the air, with the most certainly false hope of actually hitting something, even though he knew down in his heart that he wouldn't even come close to hitting anything. Alas, it was true, and his attempt went in a horrid vain as nothing but air vanished from the area he assulted so ruggedly. Dust flew rapidly through the air, away from the spot he hit with his wrapped fist.

He wasn't satisfied, however, and needed to hit some more air, in more vain attempts to hit something. This time, his left first flew forward. He punched, this time, with so much force that he had to take a step forward with his left foot, to keep his balance. With this punch, however, came even more fear. As his fury was fully unleashed, and the punch reached its greatest point of intensity, Isurphéollyn's eyes lit up in fear.

His eye lids would not blink as they shot open, and he took two steps back. Now, unfortunately, since he had just stepped forward, and was still in the middle of a punch motion, these two steps back were more like stumbles, which then led him to fall back onto his rear end. He scooted back as fast as he could, using both his hands and legs to push, "Aaaah!" He screamed very loudly, as he could have sword he had just hit something with his last punch... But saw nothing. "These lands are... are cursed! Xlander save me, get me out of here!"

He rolled onto his back, and let his legs swing over head and behind him, so he had done a full back-roll onto his feet, quickly. After he was on his feet, he simply dropped back to his knees and put his hands together to form one large fist, his fingers locking. "Xlander, I beg of thee. Use thine powers to save me; RESCUE ME!" He was shouting, urgently. Never before had he been encountered with such invisable spirits, though he had heard of them sighted back on Valdar, where he came from. This was extremely odd for an ex-Eligrathian; a religion that worshipped dark forces and evil.

Soon, he was shot back onto his feet though, as he heard another voice. It was a whisper, though, not like the other voices he had heard. He looked around, and saw a man... Or, did he really see a man? Was this just some creepy way to freak him out, used by a dark force that surrounded this cursed cathedral? Ah, Isurphéollyn didn't really care right about now... He needed a human companion.

"HELP ME!" He shouted more urgently. "My god has left me stranded in this realm, I am not of this origin! I am lost, let me leave this place with you, please! I shall do or give anything to befriend you!" He shot over to this man quickly, running. "Really, sir, anything!" He wasn't sure if this man would kill him, torture him, help him... But he didn't care. Evil, or good, he was actually human. Or, appeared it.

Belladonna strode through the ruins red eyed and distraut. Her face showed that she had been crying...Or, more accurately, sobbing. Her family had burried her mother in the old cemetary just the day before, and she had decided to visit and mourn for her mother without the company of her family, for her family rejoiced in her mother's death. Fools. One day it would come back to haunt them, Bella swore by it.

She was robed in a beautiful, velvet, dark green dress. It's beauty seemed macabre, however, as it was a funeral gown, and not something one would wear casually. Atop her red curls was placed a golden circlet, and attatched to it a long mourning veil that fell down her back and front to the small of her back. She seemed very eerie, walking amongst the misty ruins in utter silence.

Her sorrowful silence was broken when she heard a man yell in the distance. Curious as to what was going on, she rushed to the cathedral where the noise had come fron, only to see a young man swatting at invisible beings. She did, however, sense the presence of the undead. Spirits were surrounding the man, tauting him. When he yelled that this land was cursed and yelled for the name of a god she did not recognize, she became even more intrigued.

Another man stood in the distance, and the strange, seemingly dillusional man had seemingly begged him to befriend him. Slightly amused, she removed her veil to show her pretty face that was just noticably tearstained. Her red curls showed brightly against her rich green gown. She carefully approached the man, and placed a delicate hand on his shoulder. Amused, she asked,"Is everything alright you two? You seem slightly disturbed, sir."

Aegion was stunned when the man started to shout for a god to save him.

Xlander... Xlander... sounds familiar. I'll look up on him later.

There are more important things to do. He took a step forward, wanting to help this person, when he suddenly shot over to himself, shouting for him to help. Aegion could hear the urgency in his voice, and the distressed feeling of being lost in a strange area one is not familiar with.

Studying the man's face, Aegion felt a pang of pain in the back of his head and images and memories started to flash one by one, quickly, yet enough for him to recognize the scene. This... confused and desperateness... Aegion put a hand over his eyes and rubbed his temples.

-FLASH-

Aegion entered the Bone Chamber, careful not to step on any of the decaying bones. When he finally reached his destination at the end, he found what he was looking for: Prince Cawlaine, the crown prince of this country. Well, ex-crown prince. Seeing his stir, Aegion was delighted. Maybe I would succeed after all. He focused his magic and let loose a vast holy purification over the whole chamber, eager to heal Prince Cawlaine. To his horror, the prince was not rejuvenated, but instead yell with pain and slumped to the floor. Rushing forward, he studied the prince's face urgently, to find out what was wrong.

Something was wrong. In fact, something was very wrong. The prince is not human any more. He had the basic humanoid shape, but the skin was gone. Instead, lay muscles and veins, exposed for all to see. His ribs were halfway exposed, and the faint silhouette of his beating heart could be seen. The prince opened his eyes and saw him.

Mustering all the strength he got, Prince Cawlaine grabbed Aegion's right leg and whispered desperately, "Help me! I am stranded here, I must go back! I'll give you all the riches you can think of! Anything! Just get me out of here!"

-FLASH-

Aegion summoned his white magic and cast a minor heal over himself to recover from his disorientation.

Pull yourself together, man!

He took a deep breath, then held the man's shoulders, letting his healing magic flow through his hands and into the man.

"Relax, brother! There are no spirits here, do you hear me? There are no spirits here! You are safe, this is your body, your mind, and no one can take it from you. Pull yourself together!", Aegion urged the man, calming him with more of his healing magic.

Aegion could hear the worried voice of a woman nearby, but he did not pay attention to what she was saying. When he was in deep concentration, focused on doing one thing, he tended to block out what was happening around him unintentionally.

He could feel the spirits around him, the whispering intensified and the shadows starting to solidify. He felt like a hypocrite, but what he needed to do is to calm the man before deciding what to do next.

He blinked softly as the man he had begged looked to have been in trance... Deep thought. A memoir, perhaps? If it was one, it wasn't a pleasant one, it seemed, just by looking at his face expression. When he snapped back, however, he was quick to assure Isurphéollyn that there was no spirits. Shaking his head frantically, Isurphéollyn was positive he had just hit something in mid-air, but saw nothing at the same time... His fist hit nothing, but still hit something. He was so confused.

"Don't lie to me, please... That is not what I need, Sir," he even seemed to calm down, now, just to get that one sentence out... But soon to return were the frantic claims and loud shouts. "This place is condemned! We mustn't be here, this place is not sacred... Can we even leave? Are we trapped here? Oh, why did I enter this cursed place?!" He groaned softly, and put his hand over his face, brushing some of his hair out of his face. He stepped back once, making the man let go of his shoulders. He didn't like to be touched... Especially by people he didn't even know.

He literally jumped, though, when the unknown voice from behind had taken form and touched his shoulder. He stepped forward, back towards the man, then then away from both of them, to the left, so he could look at them both at the same time. He was scared, but suddenly... He seemed soothed. Upon looking at the woman's face, he seemed not to shout, nor scream. The coward was tamed? Soon to be found out.

"What... are you doing here, Miss?" He was now calmer than ever, keeping his cool. It even appeared that he had been puffing his chest out... Oh, the poor, naïve young man trying to impress a lady. "You shouldn't be here," he said, then mumbled: "None of us should be..." He coughed to cover this mumble, then returned to a normal tone and volume. "The exit is that way..." He pointed, "allow me to show you out. It's dangerous in here." Isurphéollyn smiled softly.

His eyes widened as he felt something brush against his back, but he tried his best to keep cool. He just kept a fake smile up and laughed nervously. "Shall we?" He motioned for them both to take lead towards the exit.

Belladonna kept a perfectly straight face, though she was laughing heartily on the inside. Was the man trying to woo her? She had to admit that his attempt to impress her had worked to a degree, in that it had made her happy for the first time that day.

She was, however, slightly miffed by the fact that he did not believe she belonged there. Why, an adept theif and vampire such as herself would be perfectly fine in such a setting. She found it quite natural, in fact, and comforting even. The whispers of spirits long passed did not bother her. She could see them, walking amongst the old buildings, shells of the people they used to be, misty figures of pale steam.

Unaffected by the ghosts, who she knew would do no harm to any of them and were merely clinging to the life force of the nearest beings, she said in a soothing voice," There is no danger here. The spirits that stalk these grounds are merely lonely. They cling to things that are alive, trying to feel what it is like to live again, the poor souls."

Wistfully, she looked at her side as she felt one of the spirits brush against her gown. Looking up at the young man, she smiled softly, and said," We can leave, if you wish."
She did not wait for an answer and headed for the great gothic gates that were set at the entrance to the ruins. Her red curls bounced as she walked, velvet dress skirting the old ground. Without turning, she asked," You're not from around here, are you? What's your name?"

Aegion released his grip when the man stood back, realizing that the man did not like being touched by just anyone. What he did noticed, is that the man suddenly pulled himeself together and is now more calm than ever. He looked around him, and noticed a woman.

Ah... a young man trying to impress a young lady... how cliche.

He hid his smirk and closed his eyes.

"Advoco contego: spiritus!"

With the end of these words, Aegion stretched his right hand upwards, with his index and middle finger pointing the sky - indicating help from the Light. His left hand is pointing to his left, parellel to the ground. He felt his magick reserves being drawn as he brought his right hand down and his left hand rightwards to form a square at his chest, both fingers of both hands forming two 'V' shaped signs which made the square. The 'square' glowed yellow-white and he thrust it forward to the man, imbedding into it a psychic message that only the man can hear.

This is a minor life shield, my friend. In it contains the basic essence of life. The spirits will now cling onto it instead of you, look at this as an aircraft's countermeasure.

Aegion did not want to ruin this man's chances by actually revealing this to everyone and making him look as a wimp.

He gazed deep into the woman's eyes as she motioned to the man. She is definitely not human, but she does not seem to have any malicious intents to them at the moment. He nodded his head more to reassure himself than to anything.

"I don't suppose I could have the pleasure of knowing your names, my kind sir and lady?"

He smiled softly, and followed right next to the woman he had just met. He smiled brightly, even, as she asked him his name. With pride, he gladly answered, "Isurphéollyn Phaelisu..." He blinked, and sighed. "Yeah... A lot of people can barely pronounce that name... To be honest, even I call myself Fé sometimes, for short."

He sighed softly, and shook his head. "No... I'm not from around here. Anywhere near here. I'm... Well, lost." He didn't want to say that he wasn't even from this land... He didn't know what that would do for them. Would they be surprised? For all he knew, if he introduced a new realm to them it may change their entire culture, their way of thinking. He had to be partially honest, though... He had already been screaming to a god that he was positiven they'd never heard of before, since Xlander was only in Tynl.

He sighed and nodded. "My customs are different than yours, I... guarantee it. I apologize in advance for anything I may do wrong," he nodded, "my land is far from here..." He choughed, "uncharted on any map, I could almost guarantee that too." He was trying his best to make a cover story... He had really assumed it wasn't working that well, but oh well.

Aegion remained silent as he mulled over what Isurphéollyn said. From the way he spoke Aegion could tell that Isurphéollyn was not lying, nor was he telling the whole truth.

He's concealing part of the truth, I suppose.

From the god that he could hear Isurphéollyn shouted earlier, Aegion was sure that Xlander did not exist in Imythess, nor in the planet Chaon, in which the continent Imythess resides in. Another possibility was that Isurphéollyn was a radical, praying to his own god. But by the looks of it, Isurphéollyn did not look like a radical. A short stare into his soul revealed that he was not in any way a radical.

Another realm, perhaps. That's the only possibility.

Stepping forward, Aegion tried to pronounce his name correctly.

"Isurphéollyn, are you from another realm?" He ventured.

He noticed that expression in Isurphéollyn showed that he was afraid to reveal the truth for the people here might get a different, maybe negative, impression of him if they knew the truth.

"Do not worry, for I myself am a Planeswalker." Aegion added.

"My name is Belladonna," Bella answered the man, and listened to them converse. She smiled and nodded now and then to acknowladge their conversation. Isurphéollyn Phaelisu, she thought, Strange name. I like it.

When one of them mentioned that he was a Planeswalker she became immediatly interested. Mother had a friend who was a Planeswalker, she thought. Planeswalking was the only field of magic that she was even remotely interested in. Her mother had a friend, Guiwen, whom she'd met. Guiwen had even tried to teach her how to Walk, but it was difficult to learn, and her father, K'ral did not approve.

"Many people are not of this realm who live here, in Imythess," Bella said, reassuringly. She herself was not totally of Imythess. Her father was a half fiend, which made her a Teifling. She did not, however, share her father's (or her family's, for that matter) Chaotic Evil alignment. She was content remaining Neutral.

The name of the god, Xlander, seemed familiar to her. Perhaps, Guiwen mentioned him, she thought, Guiwen wasn't even of Imythess, nor did she really fit on Imythess. She herself was once a godess, so I suppose she would know.

Aegion nodded in acknowledgement when Belladonna mentioned that most people here do not originate from this realm as well. He has several friends, now which he has lost contact with, who walked the planes together with him in a party, questing and adventuring. Ah... the old times.

He glanced at Isurphéollyn with concern and said, "Is there anything that we can do to help? You seem lost..."

( Oh-So sorry for the hugantic wait on this post. I've run into a few family problems, I hope it's understandable. Again, so sorry! And I have Strep Throat =/ Icky white puss in my throat. )

"From..." He blinked, and gulped, "another realm?" He chuckled, nervously, and shook his head like it was some silly joke. Like this was all some bad lucid dream, where he knew he was sleeping, dreaming, but couldn't help but just enjoy the nightmere. Sadly, there was a pit feeling in his darn gut that said Uh, no, buddy, this is REAL!

He was a little bit comforted, however, when he was told of the planeswalker in his own presence. "Are... you really?" He sighed, softly. He had just made it rather obvious, if it wasn't before, when he asked that question. However, still, he was scared to bring Tynl into their knowledge. What if, rather than changing their way of life, he changed Tynl's way of life? He couldn't live if he did that... What if this new place ripped open a protal to Tynl, and conquered it? Oh, my! No, he couldn't do that!

He looked to Belladonna, when she spoke, and was extremely comforted when she spoke her words. Simply, of course, because he was enchanted by everything that escaped her lips, even her named. "Belladonna? That's... a very beautiful name." He said, with a certain look upon his face. Alas, he soon blinked, "Ah... Well, yes, I..." He sighed.

"To be honest, I am not sure if I am from another realm. I... Am from Allemange, the capital of Valdar. In the realm Tynl. I am not there any longer?" He didn't know... At first, in fact, he had simply thought he was just on a different island in Tynl's massive ocean. But, that didn't seem likely at all, because Valdar is the largest island in Tynl's ocean, and this new place he was in seemed... Much larger than Valdar was -- He was scared, in fact.

(( OOC: Ouch... hope you get better... I doubt it's comfortable having icky white puss in your throat. ))

"Allemange... Valdar... Tynl?" Aegion mused to himself. Those who knew him well could practically hear the gears in his head speed up as he searched his mind for anything that mind have any relations to these words.

Of course! Tynl... isn't that the semi-aquatic realm? He and his party of friends had been here once while hunting down 'Musty Mak', the ancient evil undead sea captain who escaped to this realm while they were searching for him on a fully aquatic realm, Shyraa. Yet, this had happened so many years ago he could not fully recall whether he had been to Allemange or Valdar in fact... considering the fact that Tynl had smaller lands than this realm, but much larger and vast oceans that seem to stretch all the way, seemingly beyond the horizons.

"I... I believe that I might have been to Tynl once... but for a short duration only." Aegion said, partially unsure of himself.

He had indeed been on that realm for a short period only, since after banishing 'Musty Mak' back to the etherealm, they had moved to another plane, hence he could only deduce the name of that realm from words said from passers-by, as well as his vast knowledge of the planes. As far as he knew, the only realm that rhymes like Tynl is Rinvil, but Rinvil is a realm of fire and magma, totally unlike Tynl.

((*scampers in* Whoo! I just got back from Minnesota...One of the worst trips ever, stress wise. My dad's side (which is who we were visiting) is...Eccentric, to say the least. Anyways, I'm glad to be back home...And glad to have the blessed high speed internet connection back!))

Bella looked at Isurphéollyn with concern, and gracefully touched his arm to comfort him. Smiling, she said," Why don't we all find a nice tavern where we can sit and work this out? I feel like a good ale, anyways."

Poor guy, Bella thought, subconciously hooking her arm in his. A new voice entered her head. It was a female voice, but older, richer, and seemingly of a very high intelligence. It belonged to Amarwen, the purple spider, who was currently scuttling in the shadows of the group's wake. Smugly, it said, Bella, Bella, Bella.

Ama, don't get started.

The spider replied with a sly silence, and Bella decided not to continue the conversation. Besides, he certainly wouldn't like her as much when he found out that she was a theif...And a vampire, for that matter.

As they approached the gate, Bella withdrew her arm, and open the great iron doors. Fog rolled out onto the cobblestone street, and her slippered feet made only a light tapping sound on the stony path. The next town was an hour's walk away, and it was rather cold. The vampire in her told her it would only take fifteen minutes to get there through flight, and she was anxious to get off the ground, but she was forced to restrain herself. Sighing, and brushing a stray curl out of her face, she said," Well, the next town is an hour's walk away. Taras- It's a rather large city; you'll definetly be able to find lodging there- is quite a ways away."

( I wanted for you before I posted. Figured it would be weird if you had to catch up with a thousand posts. Glad y'er back!! )

Fé sighed softly and nodded, "Aye... a nice pub wouldn't be the worst thing right now... A good water would do me good; I try not to drink, after all." He sighed, and blinked with joy as he heard his other new friend say he might have been to Tynl before. He, literally, jumped up with joy as he was told this, in fact.

"You've been to Tynl?!" He shouted, excited, to the other man. "It's nothing but a huge ocean, we call it Tynl Sea, and there's hundreds of thousands of little tiny islands in the ocean, the biggest one is Valdar, which governs aaaall of Tynl... That's where I'm from, Valdar. It's so large! Uh..." He sighed softly, "Well, it's really nothing compared to this new land. I'm so lost, I've never been anywhere so enourmous."

He sighed, but brought his head up and nodded. "Uh," he continued, trying to help the man remember if Tynl was really where he was, "it's beautiful... Nothing but ocean everywhere. And, oh, uh... Some of the islands. Well, the most famous ones are... Valdar... Klavakia... Oh, and Relund! Let's see, there's also Etedel, that's a pretty big one too." He sighed, "Any of these ringing bells?"

He turned his head, however, to Bella when she had wrapped her arm around his. He blinked softly, but in absolutely no way did he deny her arm. He walked in pace with her until they reached the gate, where she had lat go of him. He listened to her speech, and nodded as she went. At some point in time, however, he could have sworn he heard her talking to something called Ama, but he wasn't sure. Great, was he going insane?

"Teras? Sounds pretty... Well, if that's far away, I suppose I should start walking. Are..." He was a little hesitant to ask, shy as could be around girls. "Are you coming, as well, Bella?"

((Me too. Sorry I didn't post earlier. I was at church camp. My summer is jam-packed.))

Bella mulled it over. She hadn't gotten a job in a while, and the Bloodseal Tavern and Inn was promising, if she could get a chance to visit. Her mother had grown to love that place, and the Elenhuine's had many connections there.

Theiving, however, did not seem as fun as it usually did. It felt, in fact, rather illegal, as though a sense of right and wrong she never knew she had had sudennly appeared from nowhere. Her thirst for blood (even though she only hunted livestock) had diminished too. Her confidence had been destroyed, too. Every day Bella felt less and less like an Elenhuine, and more and more like what her mother had once been.

After thinking it over for a couple of seconds, she replied with a gentle smile and soft words," Of course. Taras is lovely."

Taras? Ah, well...Mabey I'll meet an old friend, Amarwen spoke through their mind link.

Don't you mean we? We'll meet an old friend? Bella asked, slightly surprised.

No. I mean me. I wasn't always a spider, you know. I used to govern my own place in the Abyss. I used to have a lover, too.

A hapless mortal who stumbled across your path, misguided and lonely, I suppose?

No, a fellow demon. He used to accompany your mother, in fact. As a cat, I believe. He left her when she married your father, you know. Wasn't to happy about her choice in spouse. He didn't have much of a choice anyways. Not a chance against The Cleiara.

What!? Bella replied. Their conversation was halted when she felt the shock of her feet moving across the cobblestone. She was thoroughly relieved when she found that she was headed in the right direction. Smiling, she calmed down and returned her arm to where it had previously been, curved around her companion's.She felt like resting her head on Isurphéollyn's shoulder and sobbing until she'd never have to cry again. What was Ama talking about? Who are the Cleiara? Why did this all have to happen right after her mother died? What did any of this have to do with her? Her mind was a spinning mess of confusion, and she occupied herself with thinking of how nice the cobblestone looked, how she needed new boots, and what a very large ale she'd be consuming that night.

His most basic monk instincts told him to turn back. That place's evil must be defeated, he would naturally think to himself, whether the spirits that float about in the large, spooky place be good or evil. On Tynl, it was said that when someone died, they were decided of two fates: Pure bliss as an angel in The Land of the Living, with the great blessing Xlander'Teth; or pure torment as a writhing tortured soul in Elmrini with the hated Sa'Tan. Those who stayed on the living plain after death, it was said, were cursed beings, and even the fires of Elmrini would be more merciful than an endless search for death after undeath on the mortal plain. It was a monk's job, such as Fé, to kill these spirits once more, sending them to their rightful place.

But Fé wasn't thinking that, at all. His mind was completely occupied by something else -- Nay, several things. A new land, a new search, a new life, and a new love. Oh, how his mind wandered around Bella's head, just admiring her unspoken beauty, one that need not be introduced. He hoped deeply that she wasn't already spoken for. Besides that, he hoped deeply she wasn't something... else.

"Bella," he said a bit reluctantly as she replaced the air about his arm with her own once again, "is there something bothering you?" He wasn't afraid to butt into someone else's business, and she seemed rather distracted in more than just one way. "I mean not to intrude on any personal business, but... I know you don't know me well, but I'd be more than happy to help -- It's my duty, my vow for my lord."

Bella did want to answer his question. Her reason for misery burned inside her, waiting to burst out. She desperately wanted to tell anyone, but if Fé knew of what she was he'd kill her- no questions asked. Quietly, she said," It's...a family thing."

She looked away from him, as though looking at the scenery they strode past. Not that there was much, or any at all; just shadowy figures barely seen through the dense fog. Her bright red curls hid a solemn tear that ran down her cheek. She felt stupid for crying, but she had a very good reason. Wherever she went she was rejected. Her family despised her, any friends she made that weren't rogues she had to lie to, and vampires couldn't stand her because she wouldn't kill. All she had was a purple spider and some money. She brushed away the tear, and changed the subject," What will you need when we get to Taras? Lodging, I expect, and probably some clothing...Did anything come through with you when you appeared in Imythess?"

Forcing a smile, Bella looked up at him. She felt awful for having to lie to him...Mabey, after a while, she'd tell him. When she was ready. When she could handle being rejected again.

Fé looked down at her, a little disappointed in the fact that he wouldn't be able to help. "If you say so..." He smiled softly, hoping that his story following would cheer her up at least a little bit. "You know, family's something I know a lot about. I was raised in a family clan, one of those bands of people that don't allow anyone but blood in. I was only about eleven when all of them died, you know... My two older brothers, and my parents. They were all killed by another stupid clan." He kind of chuckled softly, "You know, a lot of people would cry at something like that. But, I have never cried at the lost of my family." He smiled, still looking down to her as he walked along with her pace, since she was locked with him at the arm. "You want to know why? Maybe I'll tell you when we get to Teras," he smiled.

It was obvious that she had changed the subject because it was sensitive. He certainly didn't want to push the subject though. "Well, yeah, everything came through with me...." He laughed, and looked down at himself, then at her again. "This. This is all I had, just my belt, baggy ol' pants, and my mighty fists." He blinked, and pulled out a paper. "Oh, and this peace request. I was on a mission." He sighed, and put it back into his pocket, "Now that I can't complete it, though... I think that the Valdarian capitol will always rage war with the clans of Ryshyayf." He sighed a bit more, but shrugged it off. "My lord will save me. He always has, and shalt not halt." He sounded very confidant, as they walked towards Teras.

(the topic will be called "[P]Fé's New Bell")