Agarth had once told Ceros that she should make her occupation solely in stealth and leave sagecrafting as a hobby. True, the woman was very gifted in both, but Agarth claimed to have seen enough battles along her side to know where her opportunities (and her heart, he supposed), belonged. It was in moments like her present one when Ceros realized that the older Fateweaver wasn't wrong.
While Ceros could have easily cloaked herself with a spell or two, she found herself instead drifting into the shadows of the Lunar Gardens in an effort to remain hidden from upper Rathir's midnight patrons. While the woman had no particular reason or intention to go unnoticed that evening, she simply felt an urge to be unseen. Maybe it was her subconscious telling her to avoid men making their way home after a night of drinking, when their minds were made awkward and perverted from liquor. Or, possibly, it was a lacking desire to ruin a couple's romance as a handful glided by giddily hand in hand.
Whatever the reason, Ceros didn't bother to ponder on it as she stepped back into the moonlight after a tiny throng of laughing, gossiping ladies wondered across gardens. She didn't have the brain power for that much contemplation. The night's sky, rarely clear enough at this time of year to see the moon and all the constellations that Ceros knew by name, cloudlessly enchanted her. Although autumn wasn't quite upon the Faelands, the sensation stirring within the woman felt like magic. The calm fall nights were impressive to those who were patient enough to walk under bright stars and falling leaves.
Returning to the spot she had held for the last hour (with the exception of time spent hiding from those that wandered by), Ceros relaxed against the wall overlooking the coast. Distant lights were upon the opposite shore, coming from Mel Senshire, like flickering candles lit upon an altar.
A small grin broke the woman's captivated expression. A thought surfaced for what felt like the first time that evening, rising above the overpowering sense of ease and tranquility. Existing peace was almost an amusing thought when compared to chaos that had twisted about the world not so long ago. Two years ago to the day, it had been widely believed the kingdoms of Amalur would eventually fall to Tuathan armies and their god. Most Fateweavers predicted that it was only a matter of time and resilience. Yet here Ceros stood, atop a city that surely would have been demolished into a crater of rocks and ashes upon Gadflow's victory. The Crystal War over. Its remaining scars being tended to, slowly but surely healing.
The reality of a pleasant ending that was never fated to happen, much like her own existence, almost sprang a triumphant laugh from Ceros. Still, as if she were afraid that a chuckle would shatter the current serenity, the woman only allowed herself a small sound to escape from the deeps of her throat, no more than a huff or a sigh.
"I don't think I've ever seen you so content. It's almost a frightening sight."
With those two sentences Ceros' sense of serenity faltered as a voice tickled the Fateless One's ears. Had she lost herself in peaceful night so much as to allow a Rathir resident to sneak up on her? Or was there someone just as trained in stealth as she who was waiting behind her? Whatever the situation, instinct propelled the woman's fingers to the daggers she wore upon her hips. However, before her advance progressed very far, the sight of a fellow Dakkalfar woman blanked out Ceros' battle impulses.
The Fateless woman's priorities gravitated from attack to hesitation as she tracked the source of voice to a familiar figure poised against a nearby pillar. A feminine face with eloquent ashen skin, pale eyes and dusky hair sending her mind into a whirlwind of recognition. A supplely sculpted body clothed by tight, scarce leather that only the most confident of woman could pull off raced Ceros' pulse into a frenzy.
"Hello Fateless One." Her company greeted with an all to familiar tone that had always made the fateless woman feel warm and melty in the past. Now, it had stirred a mixture of sensations in her ranging from bafflement to mystification. Nevertheless Ceros struggled to keep herself somewhat composed. With some effort she managed to reply to hello directed at her, whispering the name of the one before her.
"Alyn."