Basking in the warmth of the campfire. Veythar sat, glancing at the skies, admiring the beauty of the three moons above. He did not know when the flow of time had slipped away from him.
It was twilight.
Heaving a drawn out sigh, he turned to the girl sleeping beside him. Curled into a ball, Eosira slept with the faintest glimmer of a smile adorning her lips. 'She is not human, not even remotely. She bears the strength of an infant titan or giant.' Veythar thought, watching her slow steady breath.
Exhaling another weary sigh, he lifted his hand so it was eye level. "It's not bad. Aestheticaly, I look the same. But it's all synthetic. In order to escape, I had to sacrifice everything, my bloodline, body and even my soul." he muttered before continuing. "Creating a body from nothing was already a miracle... it defies the laws of equivalent exchange, but it it seems it is not without consequense, my body... can't seem to heal." He whispered looking at the throbbing blisters on his feet.
Closing his eyes again, he took a deep breath, it smelt of burnt wood and wind. The air felt cool and... for once it didn't burn.
For a while, Veythar lay there looking past the moons to the endless cluster of stars beyond and the star ring that seemed to extend to the curvature of the unknown planet he now lived in. He wondered of revenge, wondered if he still had it in him. The pain was over..., the endless torment that never allowed one to adapt for reprieve, much less hindered him solace in the fall to madness.
He was forced into a hell that kept him sane until timed seemed to cease.
And even now, he still shook when he remembered it "... welcome to Avernus." The mysterious voice, dark and distant, had intoned before his hell began.
"I wonder... I wonder if my brother is still alive. What about my sister, did they escape? How long was I gone?" he stopped. Asking questions to ghosts would not help him. He needed to hide, to grow.
"And to do that, I need you. " He said looking at the peacefully sleeping Eosira. "Until I regain my power."
***
When dawn broke through the horizon, Eosira's eyes snapped open. "Eosira's up!" excitedly exclaimed the young girl. looking around for her playmate. With a belly full of last night's deer, she was already on her feet, finding Veythar watching the sunrise from the edge of a nearby cliff.
"You know that's dangerous right, big brother?" she said as she approached him.
"Then I will cast zephyr's grace." he replied plainly.
"Zephyr's grace?" she repeated. "What's that?"
Draped in a set of furs from last night's deer, he said "It's a spell that makes you glide through the air like gentle wind."
"You're an arcanist!? will you teach Eosira?" she excitedly squealed as she sat beside him.
"I don't see how that helps with hunting dear and boar." he replied dryly.
"You.. you never know." she wavered slightly.
Finally, he turned to the sulking girl beside him and sighed. "Haa, fine I will teach you if you jump with me." He said, smiling as he pointed at the five hundred meter drop.
Eosira looked down and gulped, "You want me to jump? why?"
Veythar shrugged, swinging his legs over the ledge. "Call it a test of fate, if you jump, I'll teach you everything I know."
This was crazy, she didn't know if he was truly an Arcanist and he was asking her to jump. "You are going to catch Eosira, right?"
Turning to face the young boy, she could not tell if he was lying or not. His face betrayed no emotion only a blank mask. Taking a deep breath, "If Eosira dies, she is going to haunt you for eternity big brother." she said before diving off the ledge.
Stunned, the young boy's face was a picture of disbelief, his eyes wide open and his mouth slacked.
It wasn't the piercing scream of Eosira reached his ears that he broke out of his daze.
Quickly looking down, he cursed "Fuck! doesn't this idiot care about her life?" he uttered, 'I was just joking.' Cursing the heavens for meeting this crazy idiot he dove after her.
The wind whiped at his hair, moisture covering his face. His skin rippled as he hit air resistance feeling his furs flutter. He had to admit it felt exhilirating being able to use his body like this again.
Hearing the young girl's scream, he was brought out of his musings. By now they were just above a cluster of clouds. Narrowing in on her location, he repositioned his body so that he was shooting straight to her location.
Hitting the clouds he was upon her in an instant. He took her hand then closed his eyes. Reaching into himself, he felt the cool, mysterious flow of the power in his depths. At his touch, the Arcana responded, spreading through his body in invigorating waves. It spread through his twelve gates and appeared at his fingertips. It held a twinkly silver glow, illuminating his face.
Just as they were thirty meters from splattering on the forest floor, he intoned ***Zephyr's grace*** . They abruptly lost all their momentum, creating a boom in the air as they halted.
With wide sparkling eyes, Eosira watched as they floated down gently till their feet were firmly planted on the ground.
"Woah!? that was awesome." Eosira exclaimed. " Can we do that again big brother?"
"No." Veythar replied flatly, looking at the girl as if she had grown an extra head. 'Wasn't she just screaming a while ago?'
"Why did you jump anyway? what if I was lying to you?"
"I trust you big brother!" she replied confidently.
Dumbfound, he thought 'Was she dropped on her head when she was an infant?' What she was saying was just absurd, they had only just met yesterday and she was willing to risk her life on his word. She was an oddball.
"Don't look at me like that!" the young girl responded, offended by the look he was giving her. "Humf!" she huffed turning to face another direction, pouting.
"Whatever," he responded. shaking his head, he changed the subject "Listen carefully." He continued, already moving in the direction of the Village.