{SWE}First Step From Darkness

It was early evening when Renaud found himself taking his first steps into the Wildwood, crimson rose in hand.  The Ascended didn't have the first clue about his new home, Caido - he didn't know the culture, he didn't know the history, and he certainly didn't know the people.  It had only been a matter of days, just a handful of days, since he had arrived at The Spire.  He had been entirely aimless, lacking direction in a profound sense.  However, once he had visited the Shrine in the Wildwood and dug up those three roses, he found purpose.

Something in his head spoke to him, seemed to shout at him to travel to three locations and plant each rose he had retrieved for himself.  It wasn't an explicit voice - no fully formed sentences or even words -  but an almost instinctual guide that told him to go into the Greatwood and find the Mathair.  And so Renaud went.

He stumbled around the woods, searching everywhere for his goal.  He did find it, eventually, but it was in no short time.  The sun had only just begun sinking down to the horizon when he set out on his journey - when he finally found his first objective, it would only be three hours until daylight began to return.  

Snow crunched under Renaud's boots as he approached the Mathair.  A thick, gray coat sat heavy on his shoulder, his white shirt flowing gently as breezes caught it.  The collar was untied, leaving his upper chest exposed.  His chest rose and fell as he walked, but no steam escaped his mouth.  The habit of "breathing" had not yet left his body.

Cartier knelt to the ground before the Mathair, a curious reverence in his body and spirit.  He placed a rose carefully on the ground, and began digging up the snow and the dirt with his bare hands.  No thoughts occupied his mind.  Shit was weird, but he did it anyway.

His almost desperate determination to plant his rose allowed no room for Renaud to keep an eye on his surroundings or even to listen for footprints in the snow.  As he dug, anything or anyone could approach unnoticed almost with impunity.  And he was unarmed, as well ... how unfortunate for the little soldier.

The white sheep of the family

Loren probably should’ve come straight out to the tree he’d seen when the gods had instructed him in his task. However, the Greatwood was an unknown quantity to him—especially given the blight and the snow all around, the dark and white making a stark contrast with one another—and he had felt almost compelled to take his Roses elsewhere first. He could only put off the inevitable for so long, though. So, after having one too many encounters with the blighted in the Hollowed Grounds (honestly one was too many, though there’d been more than that), the Launceleyn decided it was time to see if the woods proved to be any safer.

Unfortunately, even with divine guidance, his tracking and woodsmanship were still pretty terrible. So, he got lost, and went in circles a few times, and almost turned back more than once. As a result, night began to fall before he reached his destination. At that point, he probably should’ve gone home, not wanting to be caught in these woods after dark. However, he’d come to far already, and so he persisted, and was eventually rewarded with the sight of the great tree appearing before him. He almost cried out at the sight, but the urgency to plant his rose just meant his feet picked up the pace.

As he burst into the clearing, though, he was greeted with the sight of an unfamiliar man. Slowing, the Launceleyn regarded the stranger cautiously. It didn’t take long to see the splash of crimson in the other man’s hand; immediately, relief coursed through the summoner. This man, whoever he was, was an ally and not a foe as Loren had feared.

”Hi there. Glad to see a friendly face for once.” The Launceleyn made sure his voice was low and not at all threatening. He’d come from behind the stranger, and the last thing he wanted was to startle the other man into doing something foolish. Already, Loren’s own Rose was in his hands, and he knelt next to the ground the other man had cleared, scraping away a bit more snow at the foot of the majestic tree that dominated this clearing. Under other circumstances, Loren would have examined the Mathair much more closely, but planting the flower took precedence over all else.

Soon enough, the summoner reached bare ground, and he pulled a trowel out of the pack he’d brought. Breaking up the frigid dirt, he eventually cleared a spot for the Rose. Reverently, he placed it in the earth, and then cautiously patted the soil back into place. Only then did he turn to the stranger and hold out his dirt-streaked fingernails. ”I’m Loren.” It was past time to introduce himself.

Will blood tell

Coding base by Sky!

Renaud spun around on his knee when the stranger spoke, his fists raised.  When it became clear, after perhaps less than a second, that the newcomer meant no harm, Renaud dropped his guard and offered an awkward, apologetic laugh to the man.

"I've uh, yet to see many faces here at all, to be honest."  His voice, warm and youthful, rung out almost in defiance of the cold around them.  The snow from the ground had completely coated Renaud's pants, and his hands were likewise covered in snow and dirt.  Unlike a normal person, Renaud's hands were neither pink nor shaking.  He also did not shiver or shake in any way, even as he turned back and thrust his hands back into the freezing ground to continue digging.  

When Loren introduced himself, Renaud offered an introduction in return.  "Renaud Cartier," he spoke without pausing his work in the dirt, "Cornet of - Ah.  Heh.  I guess my previous titles are irrelevant now."  He glanced back up at Loren.  "Still getting used to that."  He offered a polite smile, sharpened canines gleaning in the thin rays of moonlight that shined through the trees.  

Taking note of Loren's roses, Renaud felt a wave of relief wash over him.  Perhaps this man understood what was going on.

"Uh, I'm ... new.  To Caido.  I ..."  He placed a fist full of dirt next to his shallow hole in the ground and lifted his rose in the air.

"I have no idea why I am doing this.  Could you, perhaps... offer an insight?  I visited a shrine in the woods and then just decided to take these roses and plant them, almost outside of my own volition."  A cringing smile grew on his face, an unspoken apology for how foolish and odd he likely sounded.

The white sheep of the family

The other man’s reaction was swift and obvious; Loren held up his hands in a placating gesture to show that he meant the stranger no harm. ”Sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you.” Thankfully either the summoner’s words or posture broke through to the unfamiliar man, who dropped his defensive stance. Up close, the Launceleyn could see that the stranger was boyishly handsome, and around the summoner’s age. He could also see that the stranger was not properly dressed for the cold, and yet not at all bothered by that fact.

Loren, on the other hand, was bundled up in a fur-lined cloak and thick leathers, and even then he shivered and his nose ran. So the stranger was likely an Ascended then. ”Oh? Is that so? I’m sorry to hear that.” And from that awkward comment about not really seeing people, the summoner guessed the other man was likely a new arrival: somehow, Loren seemed to be running into quite a few of those these days. On the one hand, he was getting quite good at the welcome spiel. On the other hand, he really wished that someone more well-versed in the goings on of the Hollowed Grounds was responsible for integrating newcomers.

Still, as always, the summoner would do his best. ”It’s nice to meet you Renaud.” As the other man flashed Loren a smile—which also confirmed Renaud’s Ascended status—the librarian smiled back. ”And I don’t know about completely irrelevant. But you will. Get used to it, that is. I did.” Of course, the Launceleyn hadn’t necessarily wanted his titles. But the other man didn’t need to know that.

And it appeared that Loren’s other guess (that Renaud was new to this world) was correct as well. Giving the other man another small smile, the summoner double checked that his own Rose was completely planted and ready to thrive before he launched into the explanation. ”Welcome to Caido, then. And I can offer more than an insight. First you already know you’re in Caido, which is an excellent start. Has anyone explained to you what that means?” Loren didn’t want to go over it all if Renaud had already been given the relevant information.

”As for the Roses…” The summoner’s voice trailed off, and he bit his lip, wondering how much information to give the other man. Mentioning the blight seemed like a bad idea, so Loren would stick to an abbreviated and incomplete story. ”The gods occasionally require their mortal followers to perform tasks for them. In this case, that involves planting and protecting these Roses in the locations you see in your mind. The reason they just appeared there is because that’s how this particular god chose to communicate with you.” That was all true. It was just a horribly incomplete truth.

Will blood tell

Coding base by Sky!

Renaud tilted his head a bit as Loren asked if he knew what being in Caido "meant". His mind traveled back to his conversation with Cera.  "If you mean do I realize that I am to be stuck here for the rest of my days dealing with fantastical wonders and dangers, then yes I understand my situation at least that far."  He turned back to the dirt, finally placing his rose and set to work covering it.  "If there is more to it I would be delighted to know."

The soldier stopped for a moment as Loren explained the roses and their existence as a communication tool from the gods.  He shifted his weight back to his knee, his gaze slowly climbing up the Mathair for no particular reason as his thoughts ran their course in his head.

"And these gods have communicated with you as well?"  He glanced back at Loren and his recently planted rose as the question was voiced.  "Are they benevolent?  Are only some?  How am I to know?"  If gods, or creatures with at least some powers akin to those of "gods" truly did exist and hold power in this realm, Renaud had no desire to piss them off or to serve the wrong ones.  

"I am assuming that planting these roses is accomplishing something good in Caido."  He hoped that didn't make him a fool.

The white sheep of the family

It seemed that Renaud had spoken to someone before Loren, which would make this process significantly easier. Despite his recent spate of helping people through the transition, he still felt that a single wrong word would make the experience so much worse than it already was. ”Yes, I did. I did mean that. And that’s the most important aspect. I promise it’s not all bad, though.” The summoner gestured at the Rose that the other man was planting, which was beautiful even in the dark, especially against the snow. ”I don’t know about you, but we didn’t have wonders like this in my old world.” Well, actually, they probably had, but Loren hadn’t gotten to see most of it, just the horrors.

Nodding at Renaud’s first question, Loren tilted his head at the next set of them. ”I was compelled to plant them as well, yes. As for benevolent, well…” The Launceleyn hesitated, wondering how much to say, then ran a nervous hand through his hair. ”That’s a complicated question. Some of them are, some of the time, though that depends on who you are. It’s...well, it’s better to say that some of them are on your side. Though their own agendas and natures always come first and foremost.” That probably wasn’t what the other man wanted to hear, but it was the truth.

Sighing, Loren glanced down at his own Rose. ”I’m not really an expert on the subject, to be honest. They...they don’t like me or my kind that much.” Giving Renaud a considering look, the summoner decided that given how little the other man knew about the deities of Caido, he likely also didn’t know much about the races and how they were perceived by the divine beings. ”That because I’m an Abandoned. I was born with magic that comes from within me and not any divine source. The gods don’t like me or the other Abandoned. Hence the name. Abandoned by the gods.” Explaining that always left a bitter taste in his mouth, but educating Renaud was more important.

Although Loren had never met the gods, he’d been doing a lot of reading about them, since he wasn’t going to be able to get the information directly from the source and those who might teach him were far to busy with much more important matters. ”There are Accepted, who are beloved by all gods, again, hence the name. Then there are the Attuned. They can shift into animals, and the old gods favor them.” Loren paused before listing the last race (well, that mattered for this conversation). ”Finally, there are Ascended, who are favorites of the new gods.” Idly, Loren wondered if anyone had explained to Renaud that he himself was one of the Ascended. If not, the Launceleyn would do his best despite his highly limited knowledge of the race.

At the final question from the other man, Loren felt his heart go out to Renaud. It was something the summoner might have asked, and it certainly endeared the other man to the Launceleyn. The summoner smiled as reassuringly as possible. ”Yes. I can promise you that you are doing good.” Loren probably should’ve just told the whole story to Renaud to begin with. Though the Launceleyn was trying to protect the other man, in his shoes the summoner would’ve wanted to know everything. ”There is a blight that is targeting many in the Hollowed Grounds and beyond, and even threatening the plants and animals of the Greatwood, the forest you’re in now. I’m not sure how, or why, but planting the Roses is supposed to somehow heal everyone and everything of the disease.” At least, that was the vague sense Loren had gotten from the gods who’d planted the flowers when he’d visited the shrine.

Glancing up at the night sky, Loren hugged himself as a chill wind sprang up. Just because Renaud was immune to the elements and untiring didn't mean the summoner was. "I know you probably don't mind the cold and the dark, but I'd rather not get trapped here overnight, and you don't want to be here come sunrise. Do you have a place to stay? If not, I live in a very big house with many empty bedrooms. You'd be doing me a favor by taking one." The Launceleyn had been making that offer quite often recently, but he meant it every time. Regardless, he probably should start heading back and hope that the woods wouldn't lead him astray.

Will blood tell

Coding base by Sky!

Renaud smiled as Loren gestured at the beautiful red rose in the ground.  "My world has its beauties, but nothing like this."  He had used the present tense so unconsciously that it had not even occurred to him to correct himself.

As Loren began to explain the gods, the young cavalry officer couldn't help but drop his head and laugh quietly so as not to interrupt the gentleman.  His own world had had mythologies in its past that sounded quite similar to the pantheon of Caido.  Renaud felt as if he had fallen into an ancient Roman fable.

Renaud listened as Loren explained the races of Caido, a talk he had heard once before.  This time, however, there was the addition that there were gods that preferred those like Renaud.  

"Favored by the new gods?"  A tiny smirk creeped up in one corner of his lips.  He found the idea exciting despite himself.  "I suppose I should learn more."  He had no idea exactly what the relationship between the gods was like, but even the idea that there were "new gods" was titillating to the young man.  Perhaps the idea appealed to his revolutionary spirit.  If there were new gods, could there eventually be newer gods?  Gods 3.0?  At any rate he decided that it was best to be favored by these new gods, assuming that they were not malevolent spirits.  

He stayed quiet as Loren explained the Blight, a phenomenon of which Renaud had certainly not heard.  No reply came to his mind, so he stayed quiet.  The situation sounded dire, but Renaud was happy he had been assisting in efforts to heal the land even without conscious knowledge.  He was filled with a renewed drive to plant his remaining two roses, assuming he could trust this Loren.  The stranger had given no indication that he was untrustworthy, and so Renaud decided that he would extend the benefit of the doubt to the man until given a reason not to.  

Cartier glanced up at the night sky through the trees as Loren made it clear that it was time to go.  At the prospect of returning together to Loren's home, Renaud pondered for a moment.  "I suspect," he said finally, "that returning to your home is a safer decision for me than trying to leave here alone.  Admittedly I don't know the land well enough to navigate effectively."  Renaud stood, careful not to harm the roses in the inner pocket of his coat as he rose to his feet.  

"If that is all then, lead the way Sir."

The white sheep of the family

Loren just returned Renaud’s smile, not catching the other man’s slip of the tongue. Even if the summoner had, he probably wouldn’t have said anything. They all needed time to adjust, after all, and even now the Launceleyn found himself thinking of Northaven as his real home and Caido as this strange new world he barely knew. Of course, a lot of that had to do with his long mental breakdown. ”See? It’s not all bad.” There was just a lot of darkness out there, so finding the light and the good wherever possible was important. But Renaud could enjoy this one night, hopefully, without getting too worried about the horrors that lurked in the shadows.

The other man mostly stayed silent through the summoner’s long explanation, for which he was grateful. It would’ve been difficult enough to get through it all without answering questions, though Renaud no doubt had many. However, as an intensely curious person—sometimes to the point of recklessness—Loren could hardly fault others for that. Thankfully, the other man seemed to know exactly what he was, which spared the Launceleyn from having to tell Renaud what little Loren knew of the Ascended. ”I wish I could help you with that, but basically all I know about the new gods is that one of them is called The Voice." The rest of the information was pretty baseless accusations from someone with the blight, so the Launceleyn didn't exactly trust it

"One of the other Ascended could probably tell you more, though. I’d be happy to reach out to the ones I know, assuming you haven’t already met.” Of course, the only two Ascended the summoner knew personally were Wessex and Rexanna. And of those two, he’d definitely put Renaud in touch with Rexanna. It wasn’t that Wessex would be bad at explaining all this, per se, but rather that the queen had a lot to do, and Rexanna was a much friendlier and open person, and would probably put Renaud more at ease. So yes, actually, Wessex might be bad at explaining this. She was understandably less than patient with outsiders.

Luckily, the other man took the Launceleyn up on his offer to stay at the Manor. It was a relief to know that he’d at least have someone to walk him back. At night, an Ascended was probably the best traveling companion the summoner could ask for. However, when Renaud mentioned getting back, Loren gave the other man a sheepish grin. ”Well, to be honest, I don’t know that I’m much better at navigating these woods than you are. But hopefully we can figure it out together.” The summoner ran a nervous hand through his hair: although the Rose had guided them both to the Mathair, the Wildwood could often be fickle with outsiders. Granted, it usually wanted interlopers to leave, and seeing as they wanted to leave it might actually work out in their favor for once.

However, when Renaud addressed Loren with an honorific, he couldn’t help but chuckle. ”Oh no, none of that. I’m no sir, definitely not. Just Loren is fine.” He smiled at the other man, then gestured at the path leading away from the great tree that dominated the clearing. ”Shall we?” Assuming Renaud followed, the summoner would start walking, pleased at the evening’s developments.

Will blood tell

Coding base by Sky!

Renaud nodded at Loren as he mentioned 'The Voice'.  The young soldier had not yet heard of this 'Voice', so he cataloged the name in away in his head.  He assumed it would be vitally important in the future.  

Loren was the second man to offer to put Renaud in contact with another Ascended.  Cartier smiled lightly and nodded, spoke a kind word of appreciation for the offer, and let the conversation continue even as he mind ran wild.  Are we driven Underground? he wondered, Why is it that I do not simply run into my own kind on my own?  Where are we all?

Renaud laughed at Loren's confession of navigational challenge.  "Well, that certainly puts us in a lovely situation, does it not?  We shall try our best."  

Renaud was a bit surprised at Loren's objection to the title of 'Sir'.  It was simply good manners and a show of respect, but he chalked it up to a change in convention from his own time and let it go unchallenged.

"Yes please, lead the way."

Renaud followed Loren away from the Mathair, his mood high.  When he looked over his shoulder, the beautiful rose he had planted caught the moonlight with an elegant sheen.  He patted the remaining roses carefully as his feet carried him from the woods.  He knew he would not accomplish any further rose planting for the evening, and even though he had no desire or need to sleep or eat he nevertheless looked forward to rest at Loren's home.  He had lacked consistent shelter since he had arrived, and Loren's offer was one of intense generosity that Renaud would not forget.

The sky was slowly turning pink with sunlight by the time the pair completed their journey outside of The Wildwood, two successful rose plantings behind them.