[h3]Aemoten[/h3]

	[i]“I guess? I mean there are similarities, at least, but I can’t say for sure whether she’s exactly the same as a lich... I’m not that good.”[/i] Olan shrugged. [i]“And it’s not like something is missing from her soul, not like that; to be honest I’m not even sure that I’d be able to tell if her soul had been split. It’s more like, eh... normally a soul kind of looks like its body, right? Because it identifies itself with how it looks physically. But this one, it’s like it isn’t sure what it is. Does that make sense? It has a vague idea of it, but it doesn’t have a fully fledged identity.”
[/i]
	"She has forgotten... Or she never was not just humanoid, but a living being as we know them altogether ... in spite of being mortal? Someone else ... [i]made[/i] her?" Aemoten surmised to himself. Those were the only two immediately evident ways he managed to come up with in the way of making sense of everything Olan was saying and he had witnessed. Jaelnec beside him mostly just looked weary, even as this matter - which quite closely pertained to him - was discussed. 
	[i]“The being in Angora...”[/i] Olan begun when the issue that had made Jaelnec's ... "passenger" more relevant than before was addressed again. [i]“No, not malevolent. It doesn’t really feel like anything out of the ordinary, really, just... a blank canvas projecting raw emotion. If it wasn’t latched onto Angora I doubt I’d be able to see it at all.”[/i]
	That did not help much. Nor was the pain, weariness, or altogether ill mood particularly conductive to effective thinking. But at that point, none of those was anyone particular's fault. Just that of circumstances. 
	
	It did not appear like Angora was capable of delivering any overview of the circumstances that led to her being afflicted thusly. 
	"Go on, then."

	He himself and Jaelnec were to be removed from the scenario - for a short while, at least. He did not lead the younger nightwalker in any particular direction, rather just [i]away[/i]. Away from Angora's aura, from the others' range of hearing ... he could not feel the aura's influence as others did, but he could feel the distinct pain in his head subside as he put more distance in between himself and the source. It might have not been completely gone by the time he stopped, but at the very least it had become indistinguishable from the background of thirst, exhaustion ... and what was bound to be an [i]actual[/i] mild headache. He had barely even realized earlier...
	Their camp remained behind his back when he stopped, Angora and the lot by the other edge of it. He did not speak up immediately after halting, but rather stood in silence for a bit, just leaning on the other, head tilted back and eyes closed. Try and clear his head a bit. Maybe he should turn to the One for that purpose, once again after a while of notable amount of stress, but yet not doing so.
	"Do you know why the order you're part of is called Order of the Will?" he finally mused. "Willpower, for one, is quite valuable commodity. One that can run out, not unlike physical strength. And much the same, it can be trained... Stretch it just a bit further every subsequent time. But run out of it at an inopportune moment, and the consequences are dire. Convictions get cast aside, principles broken, emotions listened over reason. Wear people down enough, and they'll start acting in ways they never would under normal circumstances. Koraakan knows we have had more than enough thrown at out faces, and no chance to properly recover..." 
	Pause. 
	"They also say the sense of futility begets anger. People get angry when things aren't as they'd like, and there is not much they can do to do about it. And that's followed by followed by either hopelessness or acceptance. By this point I would not be surprised if most of us were silently spending up most of our willpower just to not take the head off of anyone who dares look at us wrong." And to think of the fact that they managed to endure several days of [i]her[/i] presence not all that long ago... Some of them had even advocated protecting her. "That aura - or whatever that is - is, was not exactly helping, either. That's mostly why I wanted to get away."
	Finally, the foreign warrior sighed, lowering his head and opening his eyes.
	You can probably guess I'm not too fond of that entity ... who is in your sword, apparently. At least it isn't another demon or devil or some such. But, you saw her," the foreign warrior ever so slightly motioned his head towards where Angora was. Whatever they were doing ... it probably hurt. There were screams. "Doesn't mean it will end well. I think I agree with Thaler - she is not evil. And she probably genuinely wants to help. But back then, I also saw a being - suddenly in your body, no less - who was arrogant, lacking in self-control and all too willing to make decisions over you in your stead - rather poor combination of traits." 
	A bit too reminiscent of someone else ... it was peculiar how often the opposite sides could end up surprisingly alike. 
	"She made it [i]very[/i] clear that she was both ready and willing to hurt any of us - threatened me, wanted to kill the three-quarter-demon -, but any harm we tried to inflict upon her would just damage you. She is not humanoid - never was -, and cannot comprehend humanoids, of that I'm certain. And quite evidently, she doesn't realize what her attempts at protecting you are doing to you, either. 
	It doesn't even matter what her intentions were or are - she damaged you shutting you down and taking over back then, and in continuing to do so, she rends your mind apart, bit-by-bit. It might not seem much at first. One thought you can't tell whether is yours or hers, one memory which doesn't have a place in time and keeps intruding the present because for [i]you[/i] it never ended... And that's [i]on top[/i] of taking control of your body, and thus removing all choice from you. These things will accumulate. Might even explain why she herself doesn't appear to have an identity. Who knows."
	Pause. 
	"If you want to remain, well, you and sane, she cannot be permitted to do that. Furthermore so because there is little predicting what she thinks You said you had heard the voice before, but figured it was just your own subconscious? She has become more active the past few days? Has she done it more than once, are any periods of time missing? Any thoughts or memories you're not sure about? It seemed she had arbitrary access to your memories and feelings while possessing your body ... I presume the opposite is not true - I don't think you should try, though. Not worth it; we have been through enough without any of us willingly sacrificing more pieces of ourselves when it can be avoided."  
	Too much talking. He thought he could taste more blood than before, and his throat was definitely raw. He should probably find something to drink ... and sit down, unless he wished to continue using Jaelnec as a crutch. As he took a look over his shoulder, trying to seek out suitable source for the first and location for the other, he became aware of the absence of something - or rather someone - who should have been there.

	"Where did..." he inquired on reflex, his brow furrowing. It was the first time since parting from the others that his voice was anything but thoughtful. Now that he was actively trying to locate Thaler, it occurred to the warrior that she was not the only one of their numbers who was nowhere to be seen - the injured raven was also no longer on her by now usual perch on Immanuel's donkey's saddle horn. Had she gone along with Thaler? Quite surprising; he would have thought she was now Olan's bird, if anyone's, and that Thaler was a bit apprehensive towards her. "Thaler said she was going to get things ready for when we reach Zerul..." He elaborated, and then paused for a moment, eyes becoming unfocused as he was running the exact scenario through his head once more. "She didn't mean she intended to arrange something [i]in[/i] Zerul City, did she?"
	For some reason, it did not feel like Thaler would have outright lied to him - Aemoten did not want to believe she would, in any case. [i]She probably did intend to say she is headed to Zerul City.[/i] Which meant that she would be trying to travel all the way over there in her current state. No mount, no one who would be able to help her if need be - probably no weapon to defend herself with, either, unless she had also retrieved her sword from the donkey's pack. Not that her current physical condition saw her fit for further combat to begin with. Or even an on-foot trek of that length...
	And even if she managed to reach the city - she had never even met William, their designated contact and the person who was supposed to organize their stay. And naturally, she did not even have a token from them, and there were people who might recognize her in an unfavorable fashion... No matter how one looked at it, just hoping she would make it ... no matter one's belief in her abilities, it did not feel like a good idea. The foreign warrior heaved a heavy sigh.

	Find a woman you love from the most unexpected of places. Be ready to stand whatever horrors the world had to offer and her, and see her do the same. Discover that the greatest of threats had for a long time been within her instead. Stare your greatest fears in the face and make mistakes. Let the woman you love go just to give her a bit of space. Go bring her back. Fight a deity over her. Dare take a break - or collapse after riding on sheer willpower for too long -, only to find her fending off another threat. Agree that she should not have to deal with the aftermath. And then go after her again. Perhaps this was how it was supposed to go...

	"I think I should go after her, just in case," he commented after a couple of moments of thought. "Etakar should be able to take care of us both ... if we don't head back to meet you, just continue to Zerul and we'll meet there. Dou you reckon you can handle things here?"


[h3]Domhnall McRaith[/h3]

	It felt almost unbearably long, even though it was not him who was subjected to the treatment. The screams cut though bone, and though Angora was but one and they were several people holding her down, it took significant effort to handle just her closest arm. 
	His heart was racing, and though he hardly noticed, he was shaking himself, but somewhat unspectedly, one of the savage's cries stood out from the rest. 
	"Ye... Tha's Rodorian," Domhnall voiced, stating the obvious. "Ye unders'and me?"
	His eyes flickered from Angora to Iridiel to Olan. She seemed ... saner? The aura, however, was still there, and her voice, though the words were now comprehendible, still had that unearthly tone. 
	"It's... We don' mean tae harm ye, ye know, righ'?"