Ascending Legends

[Dragongal]

Arryn looked up at him for a minute. How could she say no to that...? "Okay." She kissed his cheek then got up, grabbed her pack, and went to the bathing room. She didn't want him to see her grab bandages, so she used what was in her pack. While she was bathing, Theodas walked over to check on Dayn. "How're you holding up?"

 

[BookWyrm]

Once Arryn had walked out of the room Dayn sat up and pushed his back against the headboard. The thought that he had been cut up by the banshees like Arryn had almost made him feel weak. He welcomed the sight of Theodas walking into the room. "I'm here I guess. It hurts, but I'm alive." Dayn looked up at Theodas and grimaced slightly. "Arryn's hiding something from me. I know she is. I've caught glimpses of her own bandages, and I've heard you and Mum telling her she needs to take care of herself." As he sighed his shoulders slumped like some kind weight was bearing down on him. "She won't tell me what happened to her, or how we got out. She blames herself for the whole thing, and I know she is scared that I don't trust her anymore. Theodas, I love her more than life itself. I can't bring myself to hate her for something that wasn't her fault, but she is breaking my heart by keeping me in the shadows. I know I'm messed up pretty bad, but I wish she would just be honest."

 

[Dragongal]

As Arryn relaxed in the bath, she let her mind wander to the first time this had happened.

Spoiler

Arryn brought her shield up, deflecting the knife, and swung her sword, cutting the banshee’s stomach. One more swing and she’d cut through its neck. It collapsed to the ground, and she stumbled back. She was dizzy and tired, and everything seemed to be blurring. One push from a banshee was all it took to knock her to the ground. The worn wooden floors were cold against her cheek, and she tried to move, but her body wouldn’t listen.


She felt a blade sink into her back, just inside her right shoulder blade. It hurt, but she couldn’t cry out or move. She’d lost all will to move until she remembered her team. She put all of her energy into trying to get her hands under herself, and she managed to move her arm slightly, but then the banshees started to sing, low and quiet. Arryn closed her eyes, slipping into sweet, sensuous narcotic blackness.


Atria woke up, trying to understand where she was. She was laying face down… on a bed? But… where had she last been? And where was her shirt? Why was there bandaging wrapped around all of her upper body? She tried to roll onto her side, yelping as she tried to move her arm. She couldn’t move her right shoulder without causing herself extreme pain, it was almost hard to breathe. Her whole back felt like it was on fire, and her arms felt like she’d reached into buckets of razors. She felt a hand press her back down gently. “Who…?”


“Sh, it’s alright, you’re safe here. I’ll go tell Sol you’re awake.” It was a medicine woman, young and kind. Atria couldn’t move now that her panic had died down, and she was already slipping back toward sleep. The woman left the room, and Atria noticed something… odd. She could smell the healer’s draught, a concoction just about all healers used to keep themselves awake at their patients’ bedsides. She’d known it since she was a child, working with her mother, and had been drinking it since before she could cast a spell. The draught smelt… odd, though, there was something off about it in the slightest. But she couldn’t ponder any more on it, as she passed out again.


Atria woke up slowly, the burning on her back and arms clouding her mind before she even opened her eyes. She looked to see who was at her bedside now, surprised to find Matthias. She tried to get her hands under herself, but couldn’t. She woke up quickly. Her voice was hoarse, and it hurt to talk. “What… what happened? Where’s my team? Why can’t I - Why can’t I move my arm?!”


Matthias moved next to her, gently pushing her back down by the back of her neck, scared to touch her back and cause her more pain. “Calm down, you’re safe, for now. You got real badly injured in that last raid.”


“My team?” she asked. Mathias stayed silent, still holding her down. “Matthias, let me look at my arms,” she said stubbornly. He knew when it was useless to argue with her, so he removed his hand. She raised her head stiffly, looking at her arm. She stayed silent. Her arms were covered in bandaging like the rest of her upper body. She used her left hand to begin unwinding the bandaging on her right arm.


Matthias grabbed her wrist, saying, “Arryn, you need to let it heal.” She gave him a glare and he let her go. She turned her attention back to her arm, unwinding the bandaging until she could see her skin. Her brows furrowed, and she unwound the bandaging more, until she could see up to her elbow.


She had no words. What was there to say? A deep design was carved into her arm, and she knew it’d scar, there was nothing she could do about it. She had absolutely no mana, or the will to work it, and those banshee’s blades had been enchanted anyway. In places the cuts were stitched, but for the most part they were open. A design like feathers was etched into her upper arms down to halfway up her forearms, but the pin feathers were broken, and the Northern-style design of a shattered chain wrapped around the rest of her forearms.


“Is this what it all looks like?” she asked quietly.


“Well, your back has, well…. a dying tree carved into it. In the center is, it looks like a three-pointed knot, but one part is missing - “


“Body,” she quietly said.


“What?”


“Trinity knot, mind, spirit, body. I’m not insane, I’m not despairing, so it’s body that’s been broken. Anything else?”


“Well, across your shoulders is the phases of the moon, on the tree is a very odd bird, and uh, at the base of your neck, um, is a griffin.”


“Ironic bastards, I was using my shield and it was a full moon. Probably why there’s the feathers on my arms, they thought the griffin was funny. Why can’t I move my arm?”


“The medicine woman said the blade cut through your… um, trapezius, and.. and rhom - um, rhom - “


“Rhomboid. Those bastards angled the blade. I won’t be able to swing a sword anymore.”


Matthias paused, shocked. “Well, I mean, I’m sure with time - “


“It’s gonna be a long time before I can swing a blade again. Or draw a bow. Or use a staff. I may as well master another weapon in that time.”


“But you’re a healer, you’ll be fine!”


“That’s not how it works. I haven’t any energy to heal it now, and the blades were enchanted. I can feel it. The damage will have set in a good deal before I can begin repairing it at an accelerated rate. It’s going to take time.”


Matthias sat back down. He was obviously tired. “How long ‘til you can travel?”


“I dunno, why? What aren’t you telling me?”


He was silent for a few minutes, then said, “We leave as soon as you’re ready.”


“Well, what about the rest of the team? They’ll take longer to heal than I will.”


Matthias stayed silent. “Just… get more rest, alright? Everyone’s worried about you, they’ll be pissed if they know I let you stay awake to ask questions.”


She nodded. She was already very tired, so falling back to sleep was easy.


Theodas looked at Dayn for a few seconds, deliberating. "You did get messed up worse than her... in ways... well, I guess you wouldn't know because you don't have experience with defensive magics.... She used a shield-shatter spell. I've only seen her use on maybe twice before. It's very advanced defensive magic. It causes almost instant complete mana drain, usually a lot of backlash. Because she was also subject to a paralytic spell at the same time, it only made the backlash worse. And she made two small ones. If you're not good at magic math, that means she didn't just burn off all of her mana, she even spent some of her life force. Now, before you panic, it's not going to kill her or cause lasting damage. She needs to rest and regenerate her lifeforce before she could even begin to regenerate mana. But she hasn't been resting, she hasn't even been eating. Also... look at how she walks when she comes back. How she holds her posture. The sway of her spine as she walks. She'll be holding it odd, I promise."

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn felt his heart drop at the news, but not at his own injuries. He could deal with those later. What he was more worried about right now was Arryn. He leaned his head back against the headboard, his eyes closed as the tears slowly fell. "I would tell you to keep her away from me, to have you or Lenza take over from here and keep her out, but I know it would be useless." Dayn felt his body tense up as whatever damage the banshees had done to him laced with burning pain. He bit into his cheek to keep from screaming in pain. When the pain finally passed Dayn tried to catch his breath as Theodas words echoed in his mind. You did get messed up worse than her... in ways... "What happened to me?", Dayn asked after a moment. "Arryn refuses to tell me anything other than that I got cut up pretty bad. She won't let me check anything." The pain came back for a second spell, this time drawing a quiet whimper and almost causing him to black out. "How bad is it?"

 

[Dragongal]

Theodas shrugged. "They etched designs into your skin. I don't know what the designs are, she hasn't really let anyone take care of you but herself. You're much better off than she was the first time this all happened. Only got cut up on about three quarters of your back and your upper arms. You did suffer a good bit of bloodloss, though. Take it easy, those enchanted daggers have a nasty bite that lasts. Physically, you came out worse than her. Mentally and magically, well.... I don't know. I think she's scared that you'll try to take care of her if she shows you her injuries."

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn was quiet for several moments as he took all of this in. "I knew she was hurt, I just wish she would have been upfront about it." He shook his head as he tried to wrap his mind around Arryn's reasoning. "If she wants to help me then she needs to let herself be cared for. I can't do anything for her right now, and the fact that she won't let anyone else help her....the last thing I need to be doing is worrying about her, but I can't help it if she won't let anyone care for her." Dayn felt the etchings begin to burn once more, though at a magnitude he had not yet experienced. Luckily, depending on how you looked at it, Dayn passed out within moments of the pain starting.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn was going to go straight back to Dayn, but Lenza caught her and tried to convince her to eat. She just shook her head and pulled away, continuing on her path to find Dayn. Her heart dropped when she saw that he had passed out. She ran to his side and crawled into the bed with him, checking him over as best she could. Theodas sighed. "He's okay. We were just speaking. He wishes you would take care of yourself, or let one of us take care of you." Arryn looked up at him for a few moments, then back to Dayn, gently pulling him closer to her. "At least eat? He's okay for now. Please, just... eat." Arryn looked at Theodas for a few moments, tears welling in her eyes. "You told him how bad off I was.... You knew I didn't want him worrying." Arryn looked down to Dayn, gently brushing his hair back. "Did he really say that?" "Yes. Now, please, at least get some food." Arryn slowly nodded and got out of the bed, making sure to pull the covers over Dayn as she did. Lenza was quite happy to see Arryn willing to eat, though she ate very little. Arryn simply couldn't find an appetite. Once she'd eaten a bit she crawled back into the bed ext to Dayn, wrapping her arms around him protectively before tucking her head into the hollow of his neck and falling asleep.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn awoke to find himself shivering. He felt cold, which not doubt had to do with the blood loss. He groaned as his back and arms began to burn, tucking his head down only to find Arryn snuggled up against him. He let out a frustrated sigh before he nuzzled against her. Neither Dayn nor Arryn wanted to the other to worry. It was touching really, if not a bit far fetched. They had both just gone through Hel. Worrying just came with the territory. At least while Dayn had a moment to himself he slowly tapped into their bond enough to let his mana connect with her. He hated knowing that she had risked the use of her own lifeforce to save him, though the sentiment was touching. The least he could do now was to help her in the only way he could. So Dayn let his mana flow merge with Arryn's, lending her strength to help her recover, though it did drain him of some energy. He gently wrapped his arms around Arryn before brushing through her hair with his hand.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn slowly stirred a bit, moving closer to Dayn. She quietly mumbled, "Morning, mo chroi." Of course she noticed that she wasn't as tired as she had expected to be, but she didn't realize it was Dayn's doing. After a few moments she remembered what had happened, and opened her eyes. She looked him over quickly. "How are you?"

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn leaned forward and kissed Arryn on the lips gently before nuzzling against her cheek. "I'm worn out, cold, and sore doesn't do how I feel justice, but I'm here with you." Dayn slowly moved to kiss under Arryn's chin before nuzzling against her neck. "That's all that matters to me right now." Despite being in severe pain and feeling like death, Dayn was still present enough to want to cuddle. Feeling Arryn there next to him, her arms around him and the warmth of her skin were enough to help ease some of the pain and keep the nightmares away for now.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn smiled slightly and kissed Dayn's forehead. "I'm sorry I can't heal you with magic. I wish I could." She closed her eyes and nuzzled against his cheek.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn shook his head slightly before pressing against Arryn's cheek in return. "It's okay. Just be here and hold me. That's all I need right now." For several quiet moments Dayn lay against Arryn, nuzzling her cheek and gently rubbing his hands over her back. He could feel new bandages on her, in places there hadn't been before. He knew she had been hurt again, but he chose not to address the issue right now. We both need to heal first. Dayn's shivering had declined some but had yet to go away completely. He tucked his head down under Arryn's chin and pressed his face against the hollow of her neck. "My nose is cold.", he said with a smile.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn smiled and tucked her head down over his. "Then I'll help you warm it up." She felt a minor ache every time he ran his hands over her lower back or brushed against her arms, but it didn't outweigh how comforting it felt. She pulled the blankets up a bit more for him, hoping to keep him warm and stop his shivering.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn's shivering let up after a few minutes, though it didn't stop him from snuggling up closer to Arryn. When the pain came again he pressed his face against her neck and held her as tightly as he could while trying to fight back the tears that threatened to fall. When the pain wasn't overwhelming it still managed to be a thorn in his side. His shoulders and back throbbed and burned constantly, reminding him too much of the feeling of silver. After waking up from another nap about an hour and half later Dayn tried to stretch out his stiff body, but only managed to make him cramp up as the pain stopped him halfway.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn sat up with a bit of a jump when Dayn started stretching, and quickly diagnosed his problem. She wrapped her arms around his neck to try to distract him from the pain. Though he had woken her from a nightmare, she wished she hadn't had to wake up to him being in pain.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn managed to lean his head against Arryn's shoulder while he waited out the rest of the cramp. A minute or so later he relaxed into Arryn's arms, panting as he tried to regain his breath. He nuzzled against her neck, kissing her gently as he wrapped his arms around her. "Thank you."

 

[Dragongal]

"You're welcome," I'm sorry. Arryn closed her eyes and pressed her head lightly against his shoulder. She put her hand on his arm, lightly running her fingers over the bandaging, making sure it wouldn't hurt him. She didn't like looking under the bandages. It reminded her too much of all the pain they had just gone through.

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn smiled as he felt Arryn brushing her fingers over his arm. Her touch was so delicate, so loving. "I know you are hurt.", Dayn said after a moment. "I know they hurt you again. I'm not mad at you Arryn, so please don't start to think that I am. I don't blame you for any of this. Honestly...I was the one who said we needed to pursue the lead. I am also the one who said we needed to go down to the church that night. I should have listened and waited until daylight, but I couldn't stand the thought of that man getting away any longer." Dayn tensed as the burning increased for a few moments. "I'm sorry that you had to go through this again. I'm sorry that you had to watch them butcher me. I know that hurts you more than what they did to you. Most of all...I'm sorry that we couldn't catch him, and that you had to risk your life to save mine. I love you Arryn, and I'm sorry."

 

[Dragongal]

Dayn's words brought tears to her eyes. She kept her face buried against his shoulder, unable to look him in the eyes. "Don't apologize, please...." He knew that she'd been hurt. He knew that she had risked her life in a desperate act. He was right, what hurt the worst was having had to watch the banshees descend on him while she was helpless. "I love you, Dayn."

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn's own tears joined the mix as he pulled back from Arryn's shoulder. He gently laid his hand on the back of her neck, encouraging her to look him in the eye. When she finally came around Dayn embraced her as tightly and warmly as possible. "I love you too Arryn. With all the strength in my body up until my last breath, and then on into the next life." Dayn pulled back enough to wipe away the tears from Arryn's cheeks before kissing her forehead. "It breaks my heart to see you like this Arryn. It's neither my fault nor your own that this happened. Neither of us need to try and carry that weight." Dayn was fighting back the tears that threatened bring him to his knees. "I need you here Arryn. I need you focused on trying to get better, and I need you here. I'm....I've been broken by this Arryn. I need you to help me get through this."

 

[Dragongal]

Dayn saying that this had broken him pushed Arryn past her limit. She was quietly sobbing against him. "I'm sorry, I just was too scared of leaving you to care for myself, Dayn. I didn't want to leave you. I'm so sorry. The-the banshees, I think they may only have hurt you because of me, and I'm trying not to feel guilty, I am, but it's hard. I'm trying to help you mo chroi, I promise I am. I'm so sorry."

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn laid his head against Arryn's shoulder and just cried. Deep in his heart he knew Arryn was trying to care for him, and he knew her worry kept her from having much of an appetite, but the knowledge that she had been hurt and wasn't eating or taking care of herself.... When he finally regained enough of his composure to speak he leaned back to look Arryn in the eyes. "I-I know you are love. I know you are trying to help. I'm sorry if I am sounding ungrateful." Dayn pressed his head against Arryn's collarbone before taking a shaky breath. "I just...I know that you are hurt. I don't w-w-want you getting any worse off." Dayn slowly started to rub his hand against Arryn's neck. He managed to lean back up and press his forehead against Arryn's. After a few quiet moments Dayn finally opened his eyes, his hand moving to caress her cheek as he smiled. "Hello love."

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn smiled a bit in return. "Hello mo chroi." She wrapped her arms around him, being very careful so as not to cause him any more pain. She wasn't crying anymore, but it was quite clear that she had been. "Are you hungry?"

 

[BookWyrm]

Dayn nuzzled against Arryn's cheek for a few moments as he thought over her question. "If there is some soup or broth that would be nice, but I don't think I could eat anything substantial right now." Dayn was starting to feel some mana drain from helping Arryn recover. "Love..how are you feeling?" If she felt good enough Dayn would pull his mana back and let her natural recovery take over, but if need be he would continue to help her.

 

[Dragongal]

Arryn kissed his cheek. "Better. Not so... exhausted. Sore, but I'm going to be like that for a while, I expect... I doubt as sore as you, though." She slowly pulled away and climbed out of bed. "I'll get us something light to eat. Okay?" She wasn't hungry, but she figured he might not eat unless she did.