Viem The man held the lifeless hand long past the last grips of life had signified the young girl’s passing. He sat there in the darkness. Blood wet on his trousers and shirt, hers. He rested his head on top of her still warm one. A tear streaking down his cheek to fall on the departed girls head. It hurt, not only because she had been brave. Not only because they had been close. It hurt because nobody except the few that remained would remember. No one would know that she had died for a cause much higher than any living in this patched up world of Ith would probably hold. Her sacrifice would go un sung. She would be even less of a faceless person that live and die living their own lives. What hurt the most is that he would not even be able to bury her body. As it was, he was risking the same fate taking those precious minutes that had allowed her to pass on gently into the flux. He gave her one last kiss on the fore head and sobbing laid her down as gently as he could. The man picked up the crumpled parchment that had been the cause of her death and tucked it into a hidden pocket in his cloak. He turned northward and ran. His lungs burned as he rushed through he wilderness. He could feel more than see his pursuers. He was thankful that they had those of magic capability with them or he would be as blind as any other person. However, thanks to his training and connection to Gia, his pursuers where also his helpers. All he had to do was keep ahead of them. A few hundred yards in front of him, he could see the sun beginning to shine as it rose over the cliffs. The rendezvous point was near. Not slowing down, the man made for the edge of those same cliffs. The ground began to end quickly. Yet, he did not slow or faltered. Taking a running leap he hurled himself into the void and was suspended for a second before gravity attempted to take hold. The man tapped into the Aether to deny gravity its prey. Death had already claimed one Watcher, it would not have the satisfaction of claiming another. Magic burst forth from his hands and feet and a powerful air jet stream propelled him forward. Normally, mages would only be able to go a short burst but the man managed to fly 800 meters upward and forward. Out of the clouds a small fast ship suddenly appeared. It was littler more than schooner which accounted for the speed at which it appeared. The man skillfully guided himself towards the deck and despite a barrage of various types of magic, both man and ship were out of their range. Once on the man was safely on deck, the ship sped off towards the deep sky. It would be gone before reinforcements could arrive or give chase. The man looked back at the disappearing land mass with sadness. [color=00a651]“Oy Jonathiel, where’s Clara?” [/color] The man turned towards the older gentleman who looked like an old salty man of the seas should look and shook his head as response to his question. The older man sighed and clapped the man comfortingly on he shoulder. [color=00a651]“ah, she was a good lass. We will miss her. But I promise ye, it was not in vain.”[/color] He looked at the young man with his one good eye. [color=00a651] “that is if you managed to bring it.”[/color] Jonathiel produced the old and worn parchment and handed over. [color=fff200]“Yes Alessandrus, here is your damn note. It is more cryptic than anything. I would say hardly worth the life, let alone the years it took poor Clara living undercover in that damn Tahjai convent.”[/color] He pushed the parchment into the old man’s hands and stormed off. The old man followed the young man until he disappeared down below and shook his head. [color=00a651] “I wish this was not our lot in life but we cannot choose what destiny we prefer. We just have to follow the path laid out before us.”[/color] He looked down at the parchment. [color=00a651]“You tried didn’t you my dear Estell but you could not.”[/color]