The battle mage, his thinking often stoic, very spartan and minimalistic suddenly was plunged into a pool of feeling when the young woman reached for his hand.  He had been an expert at keeping his feelings controlled ensuring that only those he needed to channel ever came to the surface.  It had been his only way to manage his loss.  It had been his only way to take control of a life that had been very much out of his governance. 

 He had not lied when he had said that he had wanted this life to end the day he had all but melted his mother’s killer turning the man’s bones to dust.  He had taken many lives, some innocent, some not so much that day.  The young mage had released all his pent up hate that day and the inferno had consumed half a block of the slums where the whore house had been. 

Those feelings had been strong and fueled a fire that had been devastating.  The feelings that currently surrounded him were more temperate.  They evoked feelings of warmth that can only be found in a hearth.  The song’s his mother used to sing him when he was a child resonated in his mind.  He almost pulled away when she touched him.  A feeling such a electricity coursed through his body.  The feeling had frightened him by the potency of its wake.  

Arn had been struck more by her face.  It had resembled so much the look of his mother when she had held her as the raging flames circled all around them.  She had seemed at peace.  It had perplexed the mage for many years why she could be in such a state when so much destruction surrounded both of them.  Now her last words made more sense than ever

Live free

It must have been a split of a second but in Arn’s mind, the moment lasted eons.  As their hands were held there, he felt a connection that transcended human understanding.  It could be that they both had been captives of some sort.  It could be that both shared a link to the world and in a way to each other.  It could be that they had, in the short time that they met, shared deep thoughts they had not shared with any other.  

Whatever the case, for that brief second, the mage felt as one with Eilis.  Involuntarily, the magic that was often fueled by hate, and rage and repressed feelings, released on its own.  Yet, from the hand which the young lady held, not destructive fire emerged.  Instead, his magic produced a sort of warm glow.  Eilis could not see it of course but she could obviously feel it, as evident by her comment. 

He looked down at her in surprise, almost fear.  When his eyes found hers he gasped.  Dark Sight did not seem to prevent her from somehow looking into his soul.  He took in a shuddering breath.  He did not know why but he smiled at her.  He took another steadying breath and he placed a hand on one of her own as she cradled his hand like some sort of life line.  He cleared  his throat and then said in a raspy voice trying to suppress emotion. 

[color=0054a6]“I can say without an iota of doubt that you have awakened something inside of me that I had believed lost.”[/color]  He did not know what else to say.  He feared that he had spoken out of turn or that his words might be misconstrued.  Yet, he did not move, he did not break their hold.  It seemed that nothing less than the Sorcerer King could break them apart.  

Tobi looked through the window of the door.  A smile and a shake of his head was the only evidence of what scene was playing on in the room on the other side.  He turned around assumed his post as the de facto guard to the room to prevent anybody to disturb the pair.