Nenam Macharius breathed a deep sigh as he sat near one of the large lifts
to his home, Kelethin. Kelethin was a beautiful Wood Elven city in the
trees, located in the Greater Faydark, the most beautiful forests on
Norrath. He thought to himself how many years it had
been.....one?.....two?.....too many, he thought as yet another orc on a
suicide mission attacked him. With his green eyes closed, and not even
moving from his seat, he made the orc pay twenty times over for what he
did. Nenam hated orcs, from his first year as an official ranger to now.
Nenam's ears perked up when he heard the whimper of a younger Elf. He could instantly tell someone was in trouble, he uttered the small cry once or twice in his youth. After a split second to pinpoint it, he drew his bow, nocked an arrow, opened his eyes for aim, and let the arrow fly. The arrow flew true, not surprising to Nenam, but rather surprising to the young druidess, even more so to the orc, who was dead before he hit the ground.
The druidess walked up to him. "Hi there," she said, "Thank you so much. I'm Chioke, and you are?" "Nenam, Nenam Macharius," Nenam said with a bow. He noticed something....something in her eyes....but he couldn't put his finger on it. "What are you staring at?" Chioke asked. "N-N-nothing," Nenam stammered, almost blushing. "What are you doing for dinner?" Chioke asked with a wiry smile. "Nothing," Nenam replied "Just eating this fruit and vegetables out here in the forest." "Then how about dinner? At the tavern?" Chioke asked. Nenam almost tripped over his own two feet, even with him standing still. "I'd love to." Nenam said, barely containing his excitement.
Nenam relished seeing another orc laying dead at his feet. He was in Crushbone, home of the orcs that had terrorized the Faydark as long as Nenam could remember. With an additional slash, he cut the legionnaire down before it had a chance to run away. Nenam lived in fighting, ever since the fateful dinner with Chioke a week ago he had been a nervous wreck, except for on the battlefield. "The night was good," Nenam thought as he let an arrow fly into a slaver, "She had a good time." His thoughts jumped to the good night kiss she had given him. It was....different from any other kiss....it...had something. With the temporary lapse of concentration, an orc pawn came dangerously close to breaching Nenam's banded armor. "So close, and yet so far." He thought as the orc became the latest wall decoration.
"Hey you!" Nenam heard as he spun around to kill yet another orc. "Hey yourself." He said to Chioke as she ran up. She had that same...something in her glistening blue eyes, her silky brown hair, and in her unbearably beautiful smile. "How about we have dinner again, at my place this time?" Chioke asked as she put her arms around Nenam's neck. "S--s---sure" Nenam got out of his shaking lips as he put all of his will into not breaking down with excitement. "I look forward to it." Chioke said with a smile as she kissed Nenam gently. Suddenly Nenam felt a very dark presence in Crushbone. He couldn't quite place his finger on it, mostly because he was locked in a rather passionate embrace with the most beautiful woman he's ever seen.
"RUN!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!" a rather short Dwarf yelled at the top of his tiny lungs as he ran past Nenam and Chioke. "INNORUUK IS COMING FOR US! SEND FOR THE PALADAINS OF FELWITHE!!" Nenam would have just laughed at the young Dwarfs outlandish claim, but Emperor Crush appeared in his throne room window, his eyes set afire with the power of Innoruuk, the god of Fear, flowing in him. "Lets go!" Nenam yelled as he yanked Chioke with him.
"Tunare be blessed," the Paladin said as Nenam passed onto the highest Main Platform in Kelethin. The guild leaders were all gathered, from the Rangers, the Druids, the Rogues, Even the Paladins from Felwithe, the High Elven city, had arrived to investigate this. Nenam met the leaders, and as one of the most experienced in the city, Nenam was given an Officer to the General position. He would fight along his mentor, Maeysn Trueshot. The plans for an investigative team to be sent into Crushbone were cut short with cries from the young adventurers near the hill which the orcs claim as their own.
The cries grew in number as Nenam and Maeysn rushed to the lift closest to Crushbone. The bottom of the lift was clouded with bodies, Elven and Orc alike. The guards were holding their own though. That was, until the Royal Guards came. Nenam witnessed the attack they used before, but not from an orc. The elven guards writhed to the ground, screaming in agony, their bodies blackened and burned by the touch of the Royal Guards. The orcs now had the first lift into Kelethin.
Nenam parried the forceful blow of a Legionarre, and another. He siezed the obvious letdown in the Legionaries guard and shoved the orc off the ledge of the platform. He glanced to the teleportation pads the wizards of Felwithe were setting up. The wizards would have taken longer to teleport parties to Felwithe, so Nenam came up with the idea of using the pads. His thought was interrupted as a crude orc arrow plowed into his helmet, bouncing off of the armor but still sending him off balance. Maesyn appeared at his side, grabbing him and saving his life. Before a word of thanks could be muttered, the orcs were on them again. The fighting was fierce, yet Nenam's thoughts were not on the battlefield, but on Chioke. He lost touch with her as he left for the first meeting with the Paladins. He hoped he would be with her soon, after he killed the....five....no ten....no twenty....no.....too many orcs.
"NENAM" an unearthly voice shouted. The forest was dark, the sounds of battle became dim, everything became oblivious to Nenam as an immense figure approached him. It was Crush, with Chioke draped over his back. "YOU ATTACKED MY LANDS, POISONED MY PEOPLE WITH DEATH AND THOUGHTS OF 'TUNARE' THE SO CALLED GOD. YOU WILL DIE AS PUNISHMENT, AND THIS WOMAN YOU CALL CHIOKE WILL WITNESS IT, BEFORE HER OWN DEATH." Nenam would normally laugh, but Crush's Innoruuk influenced glare made him think otherwise. Nenam drew his axe and put his claws on as Crush dropped the woman he was so concerned about to the floor. With a blood-curdling howl, Crush charged across the platform in very few strides, shaking the entire tree with his steps. Nenam parried one, dodged two, but the third swipe nearly wrenched his arm from his body and flung him to the floor. Crush's immense figure towered over Nenam, the powerful odor making it hard to breathe. Crush raised his crude and rusty axe for the final blow, when he stopped. As Crush turned towards Chioke, Nenam could see the arrow in his armor.
Chioke panicked in the presence of Crush, Nenam saw as he closed on her. She was scared, Nenam could see it in her eyes. His arm with his axe was useless, he would never last in combat with the behemoth closing on his dear Chioke. Nenam took his axe and hurled it with all of his earthy strength at Crush's head. The axe landed true, embedding itself deep into the skull of the orc. Crush paused for a second, then continued. Nenam cursed as he remembered that the brain was not one of the things the orcs can not do without. Feeling brave, or stupid, Nenam charged. Not Crush, but Chioke. He grabbed her and kept running full tilt across the platform. With a quick mutter of prayer to Tunare, he launched himself from the platform and fell the twenty feet or so onto the platform with the pads on them. His legs took the brunt of the fall, he jumped so that Chioke would not be hurt by the fall, but Nenam didn't regret it, even after he felt the lances of pain shoot into his legs.
The citizens were already through the platforms, now the general troops were being sent through. The heat around Nenam began to rise, and the tree tembled, as if filled with fear or dread. The Main Platform, the hub of all communication, and the location of the evacuation pads, was on fire.
Nenam thanked Tunare, his legs were not broken, but sore enough to make him limp. He checked on Chioke, she was good, just exhausted. Nenam made his way towards the pads, as the worst feeling of dread filled his body. The first of the three pads exploded, the second was simply drained of energy. All Nenam saw after that was darkness. He was awake, but could not make out the darkness in front of him. The backhand to his jaw made Nenam realize that it was an orc, a very strong one at that. It was a warlord, standing between the pad and Nenam. "YOU CAN ESCAPE, IF YOU CAN GET PAST ME." the warlord bellowed. Nenam rose to his feet, and knew instantly that he could not fight the warrior, so he would stall. He motioned to Chioke to make a run for the pad, in hand signals the Warlord was too dumb to pick up. Nenam backed off, hoping to lure the Warlord out, which the stupid orc did without hesitation. Faster than his senses could pick up, the warlord was in Nenam's face and holding him in the air by his throat. "DID YOU HONESTLY THINK YOU COULD BEAT ME" the orc roared. "I did!" Chioke shouted as she let loose a fireball at the orcs back. The fireball connected solidly, killing the orc and knocking Nenam to the floor. "You are crazy, you know that!" Chioke yelled at Nenam over the roar of the orcs. "People do crazy things when they fall in love." Nenam said with a smile only a woman like Chioke could bring out in a man. Words weren't needed anymore, Nenam kissed Chioke.
"Lets go," Nenam said after he broke the embrace. Chioke just held out her hand and smiled. As they walked towards the pad, the entire platform shuddered violently as Crush dropped onto it, between the couple and the pad. With one swipe, Crush sent Chioke flying to the edge of the platform. Nenam instinctively lunged for Chioke, all sense of battle thoughts lost, only his love was in control, but Crush caught him by the throat. Nenam flicked his claws into position, and jabbed them into the abdomen of his most hated adversary as hard as he could. Crush laughed and tossed Nenam to the floor, breaking the claws off inside of Crush at the same time. With one kick from the Emperor, Nenam was across the platform. With another, he was teetering on the edge. With the third, Nenam was sent over the edge of the tallest platform in Kelethin.
Crush stomped his way towards Chioke, intending to finish the job himself. The axe from the human was a rather good weapon, he would use it to kill the woman. He lifted the frail thing off the ground and studied it. He pondered the skinniness of the elves, their pointy ears, their hair. He needed to get through that pad, and he might as well finish this job now. As he raised the axe back....
Nenam was lucky to be alive. Who would have guessed there would be a branch, if anything, at this level. Nenam wanted to let go, to be in Tunare's arms, to be free, but he wouldn't let go. He felt warm, he felt inspired, as if the Mother herself was with him. With his new strength, he climbed back up to the platform, where he saw Crush over his love. Nenam was on his feet and rushing across the platform when...
The platform lurched suddenly to one side, throwing Crush to the ground, and sending Nenam skidding across the floor. The center tree was cracking, falling, dying, and at the moment, all three lives were depending on that very tree for theirs. The platform was stable enough so that when Chioke was thrown free, she did not slide off. Nenam was on his feet and in Crush's face before he was up. He kicked the axe from Crush's hands, then delivered one to his gut. But Innoruuk was with Crush, neither had any effect on him, or his ability to send Nenam sprawling. Chioke was up again, crawling for the pad. Crush was at her instantly, but so was Nenam. This time, Crush picked Nenam up by his waist, not his throat, and put his large boot on Chioke, stopping her. The fire in Crush's eyes was pure hate, and Nenam could not look into them. Red energy flowed over Crush's hand, as if he was preparing to use his gift of a deadly touch.
Nenam kicked Crush in the jaw, shouted curses at him, did whatever he could to get his attention, which was achieved almost instantly. Crush roared with triumph as he held Nenam over the edge of the platform. But what Crush didn't see was Chioke throwing the axe at Nenam. Nenam caught the axe, and in one fluid motion, removed the Emperor of the use of his hand. Catching himself on the edge of the platform, he vaulted himself up and over Crush, and cast the most powerful fireball he could muster straight into the orc's face at point blank range. The now former emperor toppled over the edge. Nenam was blown back by the blast of the fireball, landing in view of the pad and Chioke. The pad flickered for a second. "GO!!" Nenam shouted as Chioke looked towards him, "I'll be right behind you, I promise!" Chioke nodded and flashed Nenam that smile she only ever gave him. As she got to the pad, she stood, and was about to walk onto it, when the platform lurched again. It was Crush, hovering over Nenam, minus the skin off his face and his right arm. Nenam's reaction was both in love and in battle instinct.
Nenam rolled backward, kicking Crush backwards towards the edge again. As Nenam's feet reached the platform behind him, he used them to launch himself at Crush. The Emperor was caught off guard, staggering backwards and off of the platform. Nenam twisted around in time to see Chioke step onto the platform, but as she did, the platform blinked out, causing her image to flicker, then disappear. As Nenam feel the 500 or so feet to the forest floor, his thoughts were with his town, with Tunare, and with Chioke.
"Nenam..........Nenam........" the voice echoed. "Mother?? Is that you Mother???" Nenam asked the voice. "No, Nenam, I'm a cleric. Wake up for us, sir."
Nenam's eyes shot open. What was this place? Is this where he would be with his Mother?? No...it was Felwithe....and there was Maesyn.
Maesyn explained the story to Nenam. The rangers found Nenam on top of what was left of an orc, presumedly the Emperor Crush himself. In a way, Nenam owed his life to the orc, but he wasn't grateful. Chioke was gone. Not dead, well, at least no one thinks so. The wizards never received anyone after the last troops were out. She was lost, but Nenam knew she was alive, maybe not here, but somewhere else, another world...just somewhere. He felt it, in his heart.
Nenam's ears perked up when he heard the whimper of a younger Elf. He could instantly tell someone was in trouble, he uttered the small cry once or twice in his youth. After a split second to pinpoint it, he drew his bow, nocked an arrow, opened his eyes for aim, and let the arrow fly. The arrow flew true, not surprising to Nenam, but rather surprising to the young druidess, even more so to the orc, who was dead before he hit the ground.
The druidess walked up to him. "Hi there," she said, "Thank you so much. I'm Chioke, and you are?" "Nenam, Nenam Macharius," Nenam said with a bow. He noticed something....something in her eyes....but he couldn't put his finger on it. "What are you staring at?" Chioke asked. "N-N-nothing," Nenam stammered, almost blushing. "What are you doing for dinner?" Chioke asked with a wiry smile. "Nothing," Nenam replied "Just eating this fruit and vegetables out here in the forest." "Then how about dinner? At the tavern?" Chioke asked. Nenam almost tripped over his own two feet, even with him standing still. "I'd love to." Nenam said, barely containing his excitement.
Nenam relished seeing another orc laying dead at his feet. He was in Crushbone, home of the orcs that had terrorized the Faydark as long as Nenam could remember. With an additional slash, he cut the legionnaire down before it had a chance to run away. Nenam lived in fighting, ever since the fateful dinner with Chioke a week ago he had been a nervous wreck, except for on the battlefield. "The night was good," Nenam thought as he let an arrow fly into a slaver, "She had a good time." His thoughts jumped to the good night kiss she had given him. It was....different from any other kiss....it...had something. With the temporary lapse of concentration, an orc pawn came dangerously close to breaching Nenam's banded armor. "So close, and yet so far." He thought as the orc became the latest wall decoration.
"Hey you!" Nenam heard as he spun around to kill yet another orc. "Hey yourself." He said to Chioke as she ran up. She had that same...something in her glistening blue eyes, her silky brown hair, and in her unbearably beautiful smile. "How about we have dinner again, at my place this time?" Chioke asked as she put her arms around Nenam's neck. "S--s---sure" Nenam got out of his shaking lips as he put all of his will into not breaking down with excitement. "I look forward to it." Chioke said with a smile as she kissed Nenam gently. Suddenly Nenam felt a very dark presence in Crushbone. He couldn't quite place his finger on it, mostly because he was locked in a rather passionate embrace with the most beautiful woman he's ever seen.
"RUN!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!" a rather short Dwarf yelled at the top of his tiny lungs as he ran past Nenam and Chioke. "INNORUUK IS COMING FOR US! SEND FOR THE PALADAINS OF FELWITHE!!" Nenam would have just laughed at the young Dwarfs outlandish claim, but Emperor Crush appeared in his throne room window, his eyes set afire with the power of Innoruuk, the god of Fear, flowing in him. "Lets go!" Nenam yelled as he yanked Chioke with him.
"Tunare be blessed," the Paladin said as Nenam passed onto the highest Main Platform in Kelethin. The guild leaders were all gathered, from the Rangers, the Druids, the Rogues, Even the Paladins from Felwithe, the High Elven city, had arrived to investigate this. Nenam met the leaders, and as one of the most experienced in the city, Nenam was given an Officer to the General position. He would fight along his mentor, Maeysn Trueshot. The plans for an investigative team to be sent into Crushbone were cut short with cries from the young adventurers near the hill which the orcs claim as their own.
The cries grew in number as Nenam and Maeysn rushed to the lift closest to Crushbone. The bottom of the lift was clouded with bodies, Elven and Orc alike. The guards were holding their own though. That was, until the Royal Guards came. Nenam witnessed the attack they used before, but not from an orc. The elven guards writhed to the ground, screaming in agony, their bodies blackened and burned by the touch of the Royal Guards. The orcs now had the first lift into Kelethin.
Nenam parried the forceful blow of a Legionarre, and another. He siezed the obvious letdown in the Legionaries guard and shoved the orc off the ledge of the platform. He glanced to the teleportation pads the wizards of Felwithe were setting up. The wizards would have taken longer to teleport parties to Felwithe, so Nenam came up with the idea of using the pads. His thought was interrupted as a crude orc arrow plowed into his helmet, bouncing off of the armor but still sending him off balance. Maesyn appeared at his side, grabbing him and saving his life. Before a word of thanks could be muttered, the orcs were on them again. The fighting was fierce, yet Nenam's thoughts were not on the battlefield, but on Chioke. He lost touch with her as he left for the first meeting with the Paladins. He hoped he would be with her soon, after he killed the....five....no ten....no twenty....no.....too many orcs.
"NENAM" an unearthly voice shouted. The forest was dark, the sounds of battle became dim, everything became oblivious to Nenam as an immense figure approached him. It was Crush, with Chioke draped over his back. "YOU ATTACKED MY LANDS, POISONED MY PEOPLE WITH DEATH AND THOUGHTS OF 'TUNARE' THE SO CALLED GOD. YOU WILL DIE AS PUNISHMENT, AND THIS WOMAN YOU CALL CHIOKE WILL WITNESS IT, BEFORE HER OWN DEATH." Nenam would normally laugh, but Crush's Innoruuk influenced glare made him think otherwise. Nenam drew his axe and put his claws on as Crush dropped the woman he was so concerned about to the floor. With a blood-curdling howl, Crush charged across the platform in very few strides, shaking the entire tree with his steps. Nenam parried one, dodged two, but the third swipe nearly wrenched his arm from his body and flung him to the floor. Crush's immense figure towered over Nenam, the powerful odor making it hard to breathe. Crush raised his crude and rusty axe for the final blow, when he stopped. As Crush turned towards Chioke, Nenam could see the arrow in his armor.
Chioke panicked in the presence of Crush, Nenam saw as he closed on her. She was scared, Nenam could see it in her eyes. His arm with his axe was useless, he would never last in combat with the behemoth closing on his dear Chioke. Nenam took his axe and hurled it with all of his earthy strength at Crush's head. The axe landed true, embedding itself deep into the skull of the orc. Crush paused for a second, then continued. Nenam cursed as he remembered that the brain was not one of the things the orcs can not do without. Feeling brave, or stupid, Nenam charged. Not Crush, but Chioke. He grabbed her and kept running full tilt across the platform. With a quick mutter of prayer to Tunare, he launched himself from the platform and fell the twenty feet or so onto the platform with the pads on them. His legs took the brunt of the fall, he jumped so that Chioke would not be hurt by the fall, but Nenam didn't regret it, even after he felt the lances of pain shoot into his legs.
The citizens were already through the platforms, now the general troops were being sent through. The heat around Nenam began to rise, and the tree tembled, as if filled with fear or dread. The Main Platform, the hub of all communication, and the location of the evacuation pads, was on fire.
Nenam thanked Tunare, his legs were not broken, but sore enough to make him limp. He checked on Chioke, she was good, just exhausted. Nenam made his way towards the pads, as the worst feeling of dread filled his body. The first of the three pads exploded, the second was simply drained of energy. All Nenam saw after that was darkness. He was awake, but could not make out the darkness in front of him. The backhand to his jaw made Nenam realize that it was an orc, a very strong one at that. It was a warlord, standing between the pad and Nenam. "YOU CAN ESCAPE, IF YOU CAN GET PAST ME." the warlord bellowed. Nenam rose to his feet, and knew instantly that he could not fight the warrior, so he would stall. He motioned to Chioke to make a run for the pad, in hand signals the Warlord was too dumb to pick up. Nenam backed off, hoping to lure the Warlord out, which the stupid orc did without hesitation. Faster than his senses could pick up, the warlord was in Nenam's face and holding him in the air by his throat. "DID YOU HONESTLY THINK YOU COULD BEAT ME" the orc roared. "I did!" Chioke shouted as she let loose a fireball at the orcs back. The fireball connected solidly, killing the orc and knocking Nenam to the floor. "You are crazy, you know that!" Chioke yelled at Nenam over the roar of the orcs. "People do crazy things when they fall in love." Nenam said with a smile only a woman like Chioke could bring out in a man. Words weren't needed anymore, Nenam kissed Chioke.
"Lets go," Nenam said after he broke the embrace. Chioke just held out her hand and smiled. As they walked towards the pad, the entire platform shuddered violently as Crush dropped onto it, between the couple and the pad. With one swipe, Crush sent Chioke flying to the edge of the platform. Nenam instinctively lunged for Chioke, all sense of battle thoughts lost, only his love was in control, but Crush caught him by the throat. Nenam flicked his claws into position, and jabbed them into the abdomen of his most hated adversary as hard as he could. Crush laughed and tossed Nenam to the floor, breaking the claws off inside of Crush at the same time. With one kick from the Emperor, Nenam was across the platform. With another, he was teetering on the edge. With the third, Nenam was sent over the edge of the tallest platform in Kelethin.
Crush stomped his way towards Chioke, intending to finish the job himself. The axe from the human was a rather good weapon, he would use it to kill the woman. He lifted the frail thing off the ground and studied it. He pondered the skinniness of the elves, their pointy ears, their hair. He needed to get through that pad, and he might as well finish this job now. As he raised the axe back....
Nenam was lucky to be alive. Who would have guessed there would be a branch, if anything, at this level. Nenam wanted to let go, to be in Tunare's arms, to be free, but he wouldn't let go. He felt warm, he felt inspired, as if the Mother herself was with him. With his new strength, he climbed back up to the platform, where he saw Crush over his love. Nenam was on his feet and rushing across the platform when...
The platform lurched suddenly to one side, throwing Crush to the ground, and sending Nenam skidding across the floor. The center tree was cracking, falling, dying, and at the moment, all three lives were depending on that very tree for theirs. The platform was stable enough so that when Chioke was thrown free, she did not slide off. Nenam was on his feet and in Crush's face before he was up. He kicked the axe from Crush's hands, then delivered one to his gut. But Innoruuk was with Crush, neither had any effect on him, or his ability to send Nenam sprawling. Chioke was up again, crawling for the pad. Crush was at her instantly, but so was Nenam. This time, Crush picked Nenam up by his waist, not his throat, and put his large boot on Chioke, stopping her. The fire in Crush's eyes was pure hate, and Nenam could not look into them. Red energy flowed over Crush's hand, as if he was preparing to use his gift of a deadly touch.
Nenam kicked Crush in the jaw, shouted curses at him, did whatever he could to get his attention, which was achieved almost instantly. Crush roared with triumph as he held Nenam over the edge of the platform. But what Crush didn't see was Chioke throwing the axe at Nenam. Nenam caught the axe, and in one fluid motion, removed the Emperor of the use of his hand. Catching himself on the edge of the platform, he vaulted himself up and over Crush, and cast the most powerful fireball he could muster straight into the orc's face at point blank range. The now former emperor toppled over the edge. Nenam was blown back by the blast of the fireball, landing in view of the pad and Chioke. The pad flickered for a second. "GO!!" Nenam shouted as Chioke looked towards him, "I'll be right behind you, I promise!" Chioke nodded and flashed Nenam that smile she only ever gave him. As she got to the pad, she stood, and was about to walk onto it, when the platform lurched again. It was Crush, hovering over Nenam, minus the skin off his face and his right arm. Nenam's reaction was both in love and in battle instinct.
Nenam rolled backward, kicking Crush backwards towards the edge again. As Nenam's feet reached the platform behind him, he used them to launch himself at Crush. The Emperor was caught off guard, staggering backwards and off of the platform. Nenam twisted around in time to see Chioke step onto the platform, but as she did, the platform blinked out, causing her image to flicker, then disappear. As Nenam feel the 500 or so feet to the forest floor, his thoughts were with his town, with Tunare, and with Chioke.
"Nenam..........Nenam........" the voice echoed. "Mother?? Is that you Mother???" Nenam asked the voice. "No, Nenam, I'm a cleric. Wake up for us, sir."
Nenam's eyes shot open. What was this place? Is this where he would be with his Mother?? No...it was Felwithe....and there was Maesyn.
Maesyn explained the story to Nenam. The rangers found Nenam on top of what was left of an orc, presumedly the Emperor Crush himself. In a way, Nenam owed his life to the orc, but he wasn't grateful. Chioke was gone. Not dead, well, at least no one thinks so. The wizards never received anyone after the last troops were out. She was lost, but Nenam knew she was alive, maybe not here, but somewhere else, another world...just somewhere. He felt it, in his heart.
