Within Ullari's red command tent sits a wooden meeting table large enough to seat Ullari's captains, at the end of the table is a high-backed chair for Ullari himself. Along the sides of the tent stand smaller tables with maps and reports spread out over them.
Rayne followed Gurthar into the tent, wondering how to approach him with her questions.
Gurthar hadseated himself at the far corner, wondering how he could answer he questions. Much of it was bitter past and deep scars that had long lost their feeling. He sipped away at a beer whaching as a water Vamp....with an all to familiar marking approached Rayne "My my what have we here? the vixen away from he handler?" the vamp tormented her.
Rayne turned slowly and looked the Vampire boredly up and down. Before the Vamp knew what happened, a pillar of fire hit it square in the chest, flinging the creature across the tent.
The Vamp reappeared in front of her "Missed" he groweld, using his ability with water to lock her arms to her sides and freezing her in place "Where to begin....hmmm.
..your to small only a snack and your so...impure" he mocked running his toungue up her neck before noticing a shadow behind him. Gurthar placed a firm grip on the Vampires shoulder, shattering it easily, his eyes where jet black, yet they seemned to be on fire "I will be back shortly he said hauling the frighened vamp outside. Gurthar returned a few moments later, sitting back down at his table.
Rayne cringed in disgust at the feel of the Vampire's mouth on her neck. She stood where she was until she felt herself released from the vampire's hold, she then approached Gurthar. She placed a long slender hand on the back of his chair, "What was Ullari talking about?" she asked quietly, even a bit hesitantly.
"To what exactly?" he asked softly. He dreaded answering but it didn't show. He set down his mug, pushing back the remnants of what he had been eating before the vamp showed up.
"What did he mean when he said you are the reason that he and I can be together? Why did you cut him off." Rayne's voice was still quiet as her hand rested on the back of his chair and she looked down at the top of his head.
"Because....do you remember back when Ullari treated you as his daughter?...you even called him daddy for alittle while" he sighed "The crusnik clan i was apart of favoured Lomien and the alliance....one night on your way back i intercepted seventeen men who where headed to ambush you....those seventeen where all Crusnik, seven of whom where the leaders of the clan....that is the first instance" he said formally, his voice emitting no emotion yet his eyes and features betrayed him....the deep seering pain of having to kill off his entire family an clan "The secound was when Ullari was on the run temporarily...he holed up in a village of ten thousand three hundred and eighty eight high elves. They realized he was there...surrounding him and after a seven day battle that saw his guard over powered and Ullari cornered...i ended their lives that day so that Ullari could go free....then there is the third...these are the three that stand out..." he said taking a pull from his mug.
As Gurthar told his tale, Rayne's eyes faded to a dull, almost black colour, like barely smoldering embers. "I appreciate your sacrifices." she whispered, matching his formal tome, though there was genuine sincerity in her eyes.
"The third incident got me into trouble....and i must apologize for letting the Vampire touch you....in him dropping his guard he alowed me to...for now...stave a threat" he said grimly "The one time i fail and now it has grown to be such a threat" he sighed
"What are you talking about?" Rayne whispered, "Gurthar, what do you mean?"
"There was a Crusnik coven that employed vampires trained in the use of elements....one such off shoot decided to play double cross and at the same time gain a seat from the captains council....i thought it was good...especially since there where...and still are a few incompetants that have managed to keep their seats. Unfortunately that was not what they had in mind...they wanted your seat. I intercepted and disposed of their little posse...that little brawl you heard behind your tent that one night...well that would be them....ever since then i have been tieing up loose ends...ever since they went under ground" he said with a groan.
"My...My seat?" Rayne murmured, gripping the back of Gurthar's chair even tighter, "Gurthar" she whispered hesitantly, "why...why do you watch out for me?" she paused, unsure of the ground she tread, then continued on, "Why do you protect me...It would have saved you so much pain if you had just live and let live, and yet you protected me...So many times."
"Why? hmmm" he mused as if not sure himself, before looking her in the eyes "Because quite frankly you where one that needed looking after" he said lightly, his face turning more serious "Because i was not about to let you be torn apart by your own rash behaviour when you had so much potential...truth be told" his voice said sinking lower "You remind me alot of one i lost as a result in everything save that you are an elf not Crusnik. I failed to protect her...figured i had been given a secound chance...." he stopped himself, realizing he was musing openly "I could sense the bond Ullari had with you. You meant somthing to him even from day one....that is also another reason why i decided to keep you alive...because i have a dangerous sense of curiousity" he said with a slight laugh, trying to forget he had brought up that part of his past...that he failed, and in his mind betrayed some of the closest people to him all for a sloppy raid to
Rayne gazed down at the Crusnik, questions raging through her curious mind, but only one made it past her lips, "Why?"
"Why what Rayne?" he asked, his voice soft and reassuring "Feel free to ask anything reguarding the matter....it is your past, half of which you where kept blissfully ignorant of" he said with a forlorn smile "Maybe that was my first mistake" he said near inaudably.
"Just...why?" Rayne asked, "Why did you go to such lengths to protect me?"
"Her name was Sonia marionette lelaith" he said with a far off look. Gurthar proceeded to tell her of his meeting Sonia, her being a human he had saved from a the vampires, only to realize that she was a Crusnik. Then the war, his seperation, then reunion and eventual marriage. Then the rebellion swept across the island, drawing him away "When i returned...i found her dead, my children all save one also dead. The last one passed on to me the message of his dead mother before he to died...." he said lowering his head "Her final words where words of hate" he said bitterly. He breifly detailed the scorn rife in the words "Shortly after you joined...you looked so much like her that i thought this to be my secound chance...of sorts..."
Rayne stared at Gurthar, she understood that the Crusnik was deeply rooted in his honor, and she knew hat the words of his wife must have cut deeper than anything else could have, "I am sorry Gurthar." she whispered nearly inaudibly, moving her hand from his chair to his shoulder.
Gurthar smiled "No offense but my son had taken a likeing to you....he made me promise to look after you" he said with a smile "The least i could do...like i said though Rayne...Ullari took you in at a young age, it was a first...a first i was not about to overlook....." his voice trailed off again. He felt her hand on his shoulder...even through the ornate shoulder peice he had on "I knew if Ullari came around that you two would end up together Rayne" he said with a smile.
"He...Your son?" she asked, trying to recall which of the many faces Gurthar might have been referring to, trying to take in everything Gurthar was telling her.
"Yes" he said calmly "I had five sons and three daughters....yes i know...quite a brood...now you know why im so patient" he said with a smirk at the memories "He was my eldest....and perhaps the closest of the entire lot to me...." his voice trailed imperceptably off. He was trying to masque it...some times more successful than others.
"What happened?" Rayne asked, almost inaudibly.
Gurthar stiffened alittle, then relaxed "As far as i can tell...Dark elf legion on wherewolves...and they wheren't even the target" he spat the last word bitterly "Everything was so damaged i couldn't even recognize anyone save for my son...and only then by the necklace he had around his neck" he said holding up a necklace. It was a long icey spike made of a single diamond, with gold, ruby and black crystal vining up it to the top where sat a ruby "This is all i have left of him or anyone" he said setting it on the table "The cleaning crew came quickly after"
Rayne stared at the necklace, "I...I am so sorry Gurthar." she whispered, giving his shoulder armour a short squeeze as a single hot tear slid down her cheek.
"There is nothing to be sorry about" Gurthar said softly turning to face her "Life goes on" he said distantly "You have had your own share of troubles...many of whom you are not aware of..." he caught himself damn whach yourself...poor girl doesn't need to know about that...you only spent a month erasing it from her memory he kicked himself mentally.
"Whom?" Rayne looked at him, "What do you mean? What troubles?"
"Troubles young one...that you do not remember...because i not only erased permanently the memory of such things but restored both your body and mind to the condition it was before any of it happened" he said softly "Trust me on this one Rayne, you don't want the memories and the pain back...i will tell you inpart what happened though if your insatiable curiousity has not been satisfied" he said teasingly.
"You know me well." Rayne admitted almost ashamedly, "What happened?"
Gurthars ears perked in surprise "Well i suppose then it wouldn't hurt you to tell you....brings back some rather...interesting memories though" he said with a slight smile.
Rayne looked at him, her curiosity plain on her face. She nodded, urging him to go on.
Gurthar sighed, knowing he was not likely to get out of this one oh where is Ullari when you really need him....probably flirting with the new ice whitch he thought to himself "What do black sails mean to you?" he decided he would see just how much she remembered...he always had marvled at her ability to be in the right place at the wrong time.
Rayne looked at him, her curiosity only increasing, then she remembered something, an image from the past, fuzzy, but the shape was unmistakably a ship with black sails. "There is nothing, just an unclear image."
"Thats good....means i did my job well" he muttered "Well the black sails are used by a pirate coven...these ones where of the dark arts though" he said shuddering at the memory "You where a young captain then given your first command. You where tasked to secure the small city that is now part of Tervel. The black sails came....next thing i know you, myself and the nearly one thousand others where hanging from a roof top in a dark cellar" he paused.
Rayne wished he would quit stopping and tell her what had happened, but she simply nodded encouragingly to him. Her face though, was as always an open book.
"Sufice to say we had hung there for awile before being put into cells...all manner of rats...and whatever else dwells in forgotten prison cells. Needless to say i escaped, and upon finding you discovered what they where up to.....they where trying to replicate the body....cloneing if you will....from the flesh and organs of their captives" he paused to let it sink in before continueing "You where one such victim....what was so inhumane though is they somehow kept their victims alive to the very end....you where one such victim....i found you...and what i would have supposed to be your dublicates in their cells. Having freed you i then spent the next month on the run as we where deep in their territory" his voice faded alittle "Perhaps that is why i am so protective...." he said musing over what he had to do in order to bring her back.
Rayne stared at Gurthar, not sure what to think, how to feel. How was it that she remembered none of this? And after all that he had just told her he did for her, she still had treated him as a threat to Ullari and his cause, as one who did not deserve the position that he had been given, "I must apologize Gurthar, for everything. For the way I have acted, for the way I have treated and spoken toward you. I had no idea what you have done for me, and you have my gratitude." Rayne bowed her head, this was a big step for her, as much as she was sorry for the way she had treated Gurthar, and as greatful as she was for all that he had done, it hurt her pride to say this to him, and he would know that.
Gurthar smiled "Rayne there is nothing to apologize for...i erassed every part of that from you...come to think of it im surprised you didn't start asking questions after i patched you up not to long ago" he mused "And you're welcome Rayne. you had no idea because you where almost entirely remade...and made to forget...i don't fault you at all for anything"
Rayne nodded, her eyes still turned downward, "Thank you," she whispered, "for everything."
He didn't let the surprise show in his face "You're welcome....to be honest Rayne i would do it all over again" he said quietly "You still have questions" he said noting her face and appearance "Ask away Rayne, i will answer as best i can"
"I...I am not even sure what to ask. How can I ask about what I do not know happened?" Rayne looked at him, trying to think, trying to remember, "Just tell me? What have you erased from my mind?"
"Where to begin....namely that, because not only was it painful and intense....but i wanted you to not remember anything, also was the destruction of your estate...the city, the loss of your family..yes you had a family, the...unsightly death of your friends at the hands of a deamon warrior incursion....the sinking and loss of your extended family at sea by the hands of brutal raiders, these i erased from your memories Rayne because it was at the time to much for you to handle...how do i know? because when i found you huddled in a corner your mind and body where so traumatized that not even Ullari could read what had happened to cause you to become like that...so after rebuilding most of your body...please dont ask how i did it...its why i don't like the medic wards...i resolved to basically give you a clean slate" he sighed awaiting the flood of questions...hoping one at a time.
As was typical of Rayne, the questions came in a flood, "How did it happen? How did they die? Why them? Why my family, my friends? Why could it not be someone else?" Rayne stopped, hot tears stinging her eyes, then she raised her eyes to his, "Did you know my mother?" she whispered, her hand moving slowly to rest on the necklace that she wore.
"I did" he said simply "how did what happen? how did who die? Your family and your friends died because of a horrific deamonic spell that one of your friends had uttered not knowing what it was...you where in the other room...your father was away at the council...i was tending the guarden as was my...how you say..official duty"
"You were...The gardener?" Rayne stared at him, not knowing what to think of that piece of information. She decided however, to pursue knowledge of her mother, "What was she like?" she asked.
"Eccentric, beautiful..you remind me alot of her in fact...and no i was not there specifically to garden your plants...somthing your mother did very well before i came round....despite my getting them to grow to a level beyound her satisfaction....a noble feet in itself mind you" he said laughing at the fond memories.
Rayne couldn't help but allow a small smile, "So she loved her garden then. What did she look like? How...how did she die?"
"She was tall...nearly six four...i think she was a sea elf..least according to the descriptions in books..temperment wise she was fair, with her fault..or the closest she had to it...would be she was very to the letter"
Gurthar's smile faded "A deamon portal was created in her....as you know withing secounds...the deamons..step out of the portal" he said
Rayne bowed her head. Yes, she knew exactly what would have happened, "How did it happen? Who was responsible?"
"A little friend of yours...though i believe she was innocent...you see my real job was family security...your father had a bad habbit of pissing of powerful drug lords as well as crime bosses" he roled his eyes in memory "Someone triggered it accidentaly...i think she got into my rooms and chanted a spell because it sounded pretty...stupid girl...she came back complaining she was sick....your mother sat her down in the room where you where all playing cards...you came into the kitchen to ask me for somthing...when it was triggered....i never did let you see what happened..despite your insistance to see your mother..." his voice faded alittle at the memory.
Rayne kept her eyes on the floor as a tear rolled down her white cheek, "I wish I knew her, I have no memories of her at all."
Gurthar looked at her "Do you want the memories of her back?" he asked softly. He knew he could give them back without the haunting images of her mutilated corpse....he just didnt know how much damage it would do to him...at the moment it mattered little if at all.
Rayne looked quickly up at him, "You can do that?" she asked, the black in her eyes lessening.
Gurthar nodded "I can, i'm not sure you want them back...to be honest it will leave more questions and few if any answers, but i can restore all of them for you if you'd like" he said quietly "I'm not sure it would be a good idea though"
Rayne hesitated, "Why not?" she asked quietly.
"Because many of those memories are like what you experianced at the hands of the cabal...only far worse...and..sorry to say but in the process of practically rebuilding you, some of the most powerful ones may have been lost all together...somthing that would cause you harm...there are ways to safe guard against this however" his tone was casual, though it was by now clear why he did not like to work in the medicae tents....he hated messing with peoples memories or otherwise altering their minds and bodies...even if it was for the better.
Rayne nodded, "Could you just give me some memories of my mother?" she asked him quietly, "They don't have to be much, just something to remember."
"Ofcourse" he said, his voice taking on a slightly disembodied tone. His psychic powers on their own where not great...and it took an imense amount of effort to bring them to where he could affect her memories. "Done" he said with a slight smile. He had given her exactly what she asked for, just enough to remember everything about her mother, without revealing anything about the circumstances surrounding her death.
Rayne closed her eyes and smiled, a small sad smile, as the memories washed over her mind. Memories of her mother in the garden, readying for a party, on the side of Rayne's bed, singing to her, "Thank you, Gurthar." she whispered, opening her eyes to look gratefully at him.
"You're welcome Rayne" he said, alowing a slight smile. Gurthar fidled inoluntarily with the necklace around his neck.
Rayne looked questioningly at the necklace, she had never noticed it before, "What is that?" she asked quietly.
Gurthar held up the icicle like necklace with a ruby at the top, and gold lace threading down it to a diamond at the tip "This i made...for the one i lost long ago at the begining of the war...the one who repayed me in final words with hate and scorn" his voice was hollow and emotionaless "I keep it, because it reminds me of what i once had.....the icicle is real ice..frozen solid now for well over two hundred years" he said with a hint of pride "I keep it also in the event that i do meet somone...a trivial gift i know but i gift none the less" he sighed "So what of your past? that which you remember...anything of interest?" he asked sipping at the mug.
Rayne nodded silently, not sure how to respond to that, "I have no questions at the moment, not that come to mind, but if I ever do, then I shall come to you. If you do not mind, I want to take a walk, clear my head. Thank you once again...friend." she added that last word quietly, almost as if she was unsure of giving him that title. He had, after all, been her rival for over two-thousand years. With that, Rayne left for the Dark Army training grounds.
Gurthar whached her go, remembering he had some buisness to attend to he headed down for Telmar "New recruits from Telpurion? well this is a most welcomed thing indeed...though i wish they would all come in on one or two large ships instead of the long boats that they favor" he sighed heading off down to the ports.
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