Chapter 2: The Necromancer's Regrets
Guy sat hushed in one of the many chairs in the waiting room in the Mecical facility of the Malkuth Military headquarters. The screaming winds seemed to be but a mere whisper outside the heavily enforced walls of the base. But the sound of the many docters in the next room was more than audible in the hellishly silient room. Guy could hardly remember being rushed back to the city. It was all a blank memory in his mind. If it hadn't of been for Jade, he and the perosn they'd found below in the chasm would both be dead.

The human whom they'd found was in critical condition, their wounds were being accesed by the healers and the docters. Guy remembered though that halfway to the city that he'd heard someone yelling the person had stopped breathing. He doubted though that the person was going to make it, especially considering that the person was a woman.

Part of the reason Guy had frozen up was because the person had been a woman, but also because of his own carelessness. They'd discovered that the woman had been surronded by a fonic glyph, something not even Jade had sensed until coming within the radius of the area it affected. A fonic arte was triggered by the pressence of Guys own fonic frequency, or so Jade had told him. The glyph had assembled fonons that had somehow paralyzed Guy's body. Poison had been singed into his clothing, and was quickly burning it's way into his skin.

Jade was still in the forest investigating the glyph. Apparently, it was something he'd never heard of, and the ever curious man wanted to know more about it.

Guy felt a wave of shame, for in his moment of weakness he'd left himself and the woman in grave danger. If it hadn't of been for his fear the minutes that seemed like hours while staring at the dying warrior could've been prevented. He would have been able to move himself and the woman out of the glyph.

Jade had saved him, he remembered that. The Necromancer had pulled the both of them away and up to the other soldiers that immediately rushed the two back to Grand Chokmah.

Guy wasn't as concerned for himself as he'd thought. His mind was on the woman they'd found and rescued, even if the rescuee had a slim chance of surviving into the next few hours. What had happened in the forest? Did the woman encounter a beast of some sort and had attempted to fight it off? Had she been the one whom produced the poison needles and the fonic glyph?

Like a raging fire, all the questions marred into his mind. Questions in which the answers would have to wait.

Hours passed like minutes as Guy was greeted by a rain soaked Colonel Curtiss, whom had repossesed his glasses. He looked oddly distressed and hardly noticed Guy as he entered the facility outside the emergency room.

"So, did you find anything out about the glyph?" Guy asked as Jade paced back and forth in front of him. His sopping wet clothes dripping on the floor, then he stopped in front of Guy, as if he'd just realized the man was there.

"Oh, no. Not much anyway. What we have discovered though is that it was indeed formulated by whom we suspected," he said dully. Shaking his head, he brought his hand up to his forehead, brushing back his bangs he looked up at the ceiling. "Though how this fonist created it in the conditon they're in, I don't know." Jade looked down at Guy, the light polished his glasses almost seeming to hide his crimson eyes. "How is the condition of the woman?"

Guy looked down, considering Jade's words. So, the person was definately a fonist, a female fonist, and they had created the glyph most likely when they were injured. But how? "They've been in there for a few hours, ever since I got here. But the Military Healers haven't said anything about her condition, I'm worried."

"Oh well, we did what we could," Jade added, almost trying to comfort Guy.

Though it was unusual for Jade to feel any sort of regret towards anyone or anything, somehow, Guy knew this was different.

After a few moments of silience, a young man came quietly out of the emergeny room. He had splotches of blood here and there on his scrubs and gloves. Guy could only imagine how the woman was doing as this point. He wanted to ask, but saw the man was to busy removing his bloodied clothing to notice the two other men. When he did, he turned and noticed the two and nearly jumped as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Are . . . you two waiting for the woman?" He asked, and walking towards the men. He was a young man, whom surely had just come into the Military as a healer fonist. He had frizzy, long light blonde hair hanging behind him, he was of medium height with dark skin compairable to the Emperors. With his light blue eyes he looked like a regular citizen of Grand Chokmah. Though he looked unfit for his job as a healer, for his eyes held pools of unthinkable kindness.

"I am. Colonel Jade Curtiss. Is she in stable condition yet?" Jade vented rather gratingly.

The young man smiled, "Well, we do have her in a more suitable condition compaired to when she got here. Though some higher class healer fonist's are working on stablilizing her breathing, the bleeding has been clotted and her wounds have been assesed. If you like, I can explain to you in more detail of her status. You see, I've been allowed to leave, they don't need so much assistance at once any more."

Seeing as Guy was the one needing medical attention at the moment, the wounded man felt invisible between the two men..

Finally it seemed that the healer noticed Guy, and turned to look at him. "I see you have a few wounds yourself...you haven't been acesed yet?"

Guy shook his head. "No I haven't, but I'm fine, . . really." Guy said, with a forced smile, he was more than likely trying to hide the pain. "The main concern right now should be on the woman."

"Don't worry," he said, his smile was reassuring and bright despite what had probably been an unyeilding day. "She's in capable hands now, I'm sure within the hour she'll be able to breathe properly on her own. Now, how about we take a look at your wounds."

"I'm a little surprised by all this really . . .," Lieutenant Thaine said as he gently removed Guy's clothing. Cutting Guy's clothing off piece by piece, Guy could hardly remove his own garb due to the pain he caused when he moved or flexed his hands. Thaine had moved both Guy and Jade to a seperate room for the less critical cases, and had settled Guy into a bed to get his wounds looked at. Now he was beggining to explain the woman's condition. "And . . . to be honest, I'm surprised that womans even alive."

Guy flinched as Thaine pealed off Guy's gloves and sleeves. Since Guy had returned with Jade to Grand Chokmah he'd begun sporting Malkuthian attire, which he found much cooler than his usual cuffed shirt and near skin tight pants. The poison from the glyph had burned up from his hands to his elbows, and was quickly tingling up his arm to his shoulder.

"What do you mean?" Guy asked, teeth chattering from the dull coldness and the pain that was resounding throughout his body.

Thaine's smile turned into a flat look, and he shook his head. "At first her wounds were so deep, and there was so much blood, we wondered what we could possibly do for her. But Armondor-the head of the healer fonists in the Military-said there was just enough of a fonic frequency coming from her body to at least try and ressistate her."

"So, she was on the borderline of death," Jade said almost to himself from across the room. Closing his eyes, he pinched his nose in thought. "That might explain the glyph . . ."

"Your mean," Thaine looked at Guy with wide eyes, and trailed off. "...these wounds were caused by a glyph?"

Guy nodded. "Yeah, but it was no ordinary glyph, there was something special about it, something different."

"So then you've been affected by the poison to," the lieutenant said. "The man that came in earlier with the needle in his foot is just starting his recovery. It looked like his foot was going to fall off, clean from his leg, but just when we were considering to amputate, it started to look fine."

"This poison is serious," Jade said, his eye's narrowing. "Who could've created something like that? They must have an intresting part of knowledge at their disposal. I have to admit, I'm looking forward to meeting this fonist."

Jade, excited? "You can't be serious, Jade!" Guy snapped. "I mean, for all we know this could've been purposely done and we're all just being used! For all we know this person could've left the needles and the glyph as a trap!" Guy hardly noticed the intensity of his own voice as he spoke, and felt he could not stop himself. "This woman, could be a disciple left over from Van, just setting us up. We can't possibly trust her, not after what we saw in the forest!"

Jade smiled, amused by the sudden vent of anger, "This is understandable," Jade said calmly, as if the younger man's tirade hadn't phased him. "Your concern of this person's intentions are perfectly natural. I myself am quite confused."

"Then you'll be happy to know," Thaine started, as he poked the needle from a syringe into Guy's arm, injecting a whitish-purple substance into the warriors body. "General Seseman has put the women on constant watch, during, and after her recovery. Now that we know she was the one whom made the needle and the glyph, she might even be put under temporary arrest until this whole thing is straightened out."

Thaine then suddenly seemed focused on Guy, "The antidonte I just gave you will dull the pain, and reduce any imflamation that may surface," he said, he placed the used needle on a tray that had many substances and dressings on it. His face looked worn out already, and it was obvious he was trying to take in the day's events just like everyone else. Though unlike everyone else, Thaine had been one of the few to have seen as much as there was to be seen. More than several soldiers, even Jade and Guy. It would take a while for the thought of something this strange to sink in as reality.

Jade appeared unsteady, his movements weren't as collected and smooth as they usually were. His body seemed fidgity, and he was constantly shifting his weight from one leg to the other softly. It was all very uncommon for the man. "So, what exactly is the damage with this woman?"

Thaine began wrapping up Guy's hands with a soft looking dressing, something that would be comfortable with Guy's hands, undoubtedly stinging with pain. "She had first degree burns all over her body, nothing really compared to everything else. She also had some fairly severe lacerations on her legs and arms, and even a few wounds that were holes that went straight through her body. But, the worst wound had to have been on her side, there was a laceration that barely missed any internal organs. Like I said though, most where in her arms and legs. It's so strange though, I can't think of anything that could cause this sort of trauma."

"Hmm," Jade stood still for a few moments looking down at his feet. He was contemplating hard about something, but neither Guy nor Thaine could really think of what might be bothering the man. The three were silient for several moments, when Jade spoke again. "I'm going to infrom his Majesty of the current events. If anyone requires my pressence, I'll be at the Palace."

Something's not right, Guy thought as the Colonel turned to leave the infirmiry. But he knew whatever it was, Jade would not confide in him about it, maybe Peony, but no one else.

Before he left the room, Jade turned to look at Guy, he smiled his usual surreptitious smile. "Guy, get some rest, you deserve it."

And with that, Jade was gone, leaving the two men to ponder on the Colonels thoughts.

If there was ever one definite reason Jade hated Grand Chokmah, it would be the rain. It rained almost every week, and when it did, it was always a terrible down-pour. Though when it wasn't raining, it was at times unbearably hot. Jade would've taken the heat over the rain of Grand Chokmah anyday. Now though, the rain felt comforting, beating down on his body, almost as if it were punishing him for his sins. He guessed it was because of that, he welcomed it.

Jade walked slower than he usually did to the palace, and considering the circumstances, of what had just happened. He should've been going at a considerably faster pace. But he was enjoying the rain, soaking his body down to it's very core and cleansing away his baneful doings.

It felt just as she'd said years earlier, Sometimes, when the rain falls, I think it cleanses us. Washing away all the bad things we've done. So pure, and beautiful, never alone. I wish I could be like the rain, always pure, and with someone. So I could always forgive everyone, no matter what.

Those words had never made really that much sense to Jade.

She'd said that before all of this had happened, before Jade met Luke, before Akzeriuth fell. Before a world without the Score had ever been envisioned. Despite all that'd happened though, Jade knew Auldrant had become a world that had confused many. He only wished she were here, so he could see her smiling face, and know her happy and innocent thoughts of now, to see if she were the same person. Jade didn't miss her, not to a point where it pained him. He only wished to see her one last time, just to know she had made it through everything.

Because of him though, she was gone. Gone forever somewhere he would never be able to find her. She'd probably thought he'd completely forgotten her, and in a way he had. He rarely thought of her, and when he did, it was quick, and passed as soon as he wished for it to dissapear.

Though, she'd been different. Either from the way she looked at him, and spoke his name. From the way she always stood up for him, and tried too hard to impress him. Jade never felt the same way she had. He never longed for her the way she did as a mental and physical partner. Though it was uncertain if these had been amoung her true thoughts. Jade knew her well enough to know that they very well could've been. Jade had never thought hard about it, only about what it would've been like to have her as his mental or physical parter.

Jade had never often if ever made a strong bond mentally with a woman. He usually wouldn't allow himself to be taken by a woman, not to consider anything past sex and the knowledge of having them for himself.

Though it wasn't the longing of her mental support being by him, or her actual physical being that put him in a dismal mood. It was the thought of her being at the side of another man, fufilling the other part of someone. A feeling that left him alone in his thoughts, feeling as if he'd lost a true friend, nothing more, nothing less.

He didn't want to think of how happy she would be without him there. But smiled when he knew it made her happy to be with someone instead of alone like she'd always thought she would be.

Jade hadn't noticed he'd stopped in the middle of the streets when the thunder tore him from his thoughts and into the real world again.

Maybe, it was time. Time to finally just let her go all together.

It didn't hurt in the slightest.