[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/250616/6c550814b23a82499075c378347e4fb9.png[/img][/center]

[hr]

[i]"Raeretha...I cannot consent to going to the Surface. We have survived Blight after Blight down here with the blessing of Falon'Din. We will continue to do so until his return."

[color=plum]"With all due respect, Night Mother, this Blight is...different. You didn't see the way the hordes seemed to be almost more aware. We barely made it back without casualties. I had heard Anise had been sent to the Lava Ruins after he started showing signs, and when I went to talk to my contacts in the Downtown District, there was a quarantine wall in the way."[/color]

"If you do this, you will never be able to return. You will no longer see your parents, everything you've known will be-."

[color=plum]"I know what I must personally sacrifice for my people. Do you, Night Mother?"[/color][/i]

[hr]

With a soft groan and stretch, Raeretha stared at the angled ceiling of her tent, the soft thumping indicating that the rain from last night stayed. The sands of Anderfell didn’t allow for the easiest place to hide from the sun.

Right now in her cozy tent she was coherent, of sound mind, but the moment that sun cracked above the horizon, she was loonier than a nug for mud. That wasn’t quite right, her thoughts were normal, it was her words and demeanor that changed. Rae guessed it was the effect of the sun on her people, maybe that was the reason why they didn’t go to the Surface. It was also why she kept to herself amongst the mercenary group known as the Rethari Blades during the day. But the storm was a comfort itself, it meant that the sun wouldn’t be shining.

Raeretha joined about six months ago but she had been following them for about a year. They had been the closest group with the most diverse races and highest numbers that she could blend in. She helped here and there with gathering herbs and spices for potions as well as hunting for game at first. Trying her best not to stand out more than she already did. Slowly, she began volunteering for night watches or nighttime missions. Proving to the leaders that she was trustworthy and got jobs done quickly.

In the meantime, Raeretha kept to herself, half the time entranced with the newest flora or fauna she came across, taking out her journal and sketching its likeness. No one in the camp could guess when Raeretha appeared amongst the ranks but since she was helpful, no one questioned her. She supposed that she looked like any normal Elvhen woman minus the red Vallaslin, so that probably helped more than anything. 

Raeretha sighed slowly as she forced herself to get up. She needed to pack her belongings before her mind went south for the day. She slipped her red embroidered with blouse and tugged on her dark trousers before stepping into her black leather boots. Rae quietly gathered her belongings into her pack before she stepped out, shielding her silvery eyes briefly. Even as the sun was trying its hardest to peek through the storm clouds, it still seemed to have some sort of effect on her. She was glad that she had taken watch last night and was allowed to rest during the day. It was better that way.

Raeretha slipped on her leather coat as she swept her gaze across the vast array of the camp and flipped up her hood. Perhaps there was time to sketch that lovely patch of flowers that was near the canteen area. Once her belongings were properly secured, Rae took off in that direction, her mind became softly clouded with the whispers that bombarded her mind. Her gaze flicked slowly around as if she had smoked a strong strand of Royal Elfroot. She tilted her head as a group of medic mages were tending to a group of injured recruits who looked as in a herd of druffalo stampeded them. Rae decided to get a closer look inside the medical tent.

[color=plum]”Curious, Clarice, what happened?”[/color] Raeretha asked as she pulled a bundle of healing herbs out of her pack and handed it to one of the head medics.

The elder elf woman with long braided auburn hair with streaks of gray and emerald green eyes appeared exasperated and annoyed at the same time. “These idiots decided to challenge Rasaad,” she replied as she took the wrapped bundle of herbs. “Thank you, Raeretha, we’d be strapped for herbs without you,” she added.

[color=plum]”It is my pleasure to help, hopefully, their dreams come back soon. One stays in darkness when fighting a Qunari like Rassad,”[/color] Raeretha replied with a smile. 

Clarice blinked her eyes for a moment and laughed. “You have the oddest way of describing things. Yes, I’m hopeful they recover from their concussions soon.”

Raeretha’s smile faltered a bit and shrugged. [color=plum]”I must not be fully awake yet. I better go grab something to eat,”[/color] she admitted before walking away from the medic area. Glancing up at the sky, unbothered by the rain drops, she sighed in relief as she could begin to see stars. That was good, she’d feel like herself soon. 

Even on the cobblestones of the canteen hall, Raeretha’s boots barely made a sound. Instilled in her at the Temple Academy, one of her standing was to never been noticed, never to make a sound. Yet here, she was more unique than she had anticipated. Raeretha sighed softly as she grabbed one of the wooden bowls for the evening stew that cooks managed to throw together. The voices whispering in the echo of her mind caused her to try and focus on the weathered details of the canteen hall as she followed the line.

Echoes of once was lost to time and decay, they almost seemed to coincide with the voices. Her silvery eyes flicked to the horizon as the darkness began to fill the sky. The mage fires became alive in the lanterns and candles producing comfort in the dark. Oddly enough, Raeretha wasn’t affected by mage light, such an odd affliction she had. 

Rae blinked her eyes to clarity as the stew was slopped into her bowl. She smiled softly and thanked the cook before finding a spot to sit down. Raeretha clasped her hands together and silently thanked Falon’Din for the meal before digging in. Her sensitive ears picked up on whispers around her. She paused her spoon’s motion to her mouth. Apparently, Delilah, Dean, Minerva, Klef, Celeste, and Diana got together after Kelf and Vae’nra returned from a scouting assignment. 

[i][color=plum]”Must be bad if all they all got together,”[/color][/i] Raeretha thought as she continued to eat. She just broke her roll in half to clean up the remaining sauce of the stew in her bowl when she heard a few whispering about her. Many people didn’t believe that she could eviscerate a person in moments. She was soft spoken, kept to herself most of the time, and smiled gently like nothing could hurt her. Raeretha bit her bottom lip softly as she remembered the horrors she witnessed in the Deep Roads. Never had she been more afraid of the Blight than now. 

Rae shivered and shook her head before finishing her bread. She  caught a glimpse of the famed Rasaad. He had quite the warrior reputation. Idiots couldn’t help challenging him and he always seemed to agree, at least that’s what Raeretha heard. Qunari were interesting beings, not at all what she taught at the Academy. But there were a lot of things in the last year that Rae had to relearn thanks to the Academy. She was taught that Qunari were monsters, no more than muscled vessels for the Blight to consume. They weren’t worth Falon’Din’s time, and therefore, not worth her people’s time.

Raeretha sighed as more Qunari had been accepting of her odd appearance than any others. She noticed a stitched fresh wound on his bicep. It was interesting how Qunari’s were boastful about scars, considering most mages could heal that easily. Rae finally finished her meal, she gathered her bowl and spoon before she stood to move away from the table. She could finally go find those flowers to sketch.