Sorry for the late update! School was a killer last week. Enjoy!
Golden sunlight warms the mountains and the tiny village nestled between them. A light breeze plays through the valley, weaves through the peaks, rustling the ancient pines. It fans out the hem of the stranger's cloak as he stands on the mountain itself, on the edge of a precipice over the village. He reaches a gloved hand up to keep his hood from blowing off. He will not reveal himself. He wards the wind away with a wave of his hand. A falling vortex of darkness envelops him, hem to hood, and he disappears.
An identical dark portal materializes atop a house in the village and falls away from the stranger. He leans forward to peer into the courtyard below. His quarry, a young priestess, bends over a small child laying on a cot against the opposite wall. Her back is to him, but if the child looked up, the stranger might be spotted. Small chance of that. The child, weak and frightened, struggles a little as the priestess places her hands on his chest. She speaks soothingly to him, words the stranger cannot catch, and the child relaxes. The stranger stands upwind of the pair of youths, and it picks up again, playfully trying to remove his hood. Irritably, he passes his hand again to keep the wind away.
The priestess speaks again, with the steadiness of a chant. A holy light gathers around her, gentle and white. The stranger leans forward, his fascination nearly pulling him off the roof. The light seemed strangest at her hands, where she pressed them into the child's chest. After a moment, the gray pallor in the child's face fades into color, and a look of deep peace descends over him. His eyes close as the priestess withdraws, the light dimming, and his breath comes slow and deep as if in sleep. She sits back on her heels and gazes down at the child.
"Amazing," whispers the stranger, also leaning back, away from the edge of the roof.
As if she heard, the priestess spins around and stares at the chimney the stranger was hiding behind. He curses and withdraws into a dark corridor. He reappears on the outskirts of the village, near the waterfall. Stupid! Sloppy! He scolds himself, before the slapping of sandaled feet stops his thoughts. Growling, knowing his cover is blown, he whirls to defend himself, summoning his six lances.
The priestess skids to a halt on the opposite side of the platform. She stares at him with wary brown eyes. Reluctantly, she raises her tonfa, gazing uneasily at the stranger's lances. The water from the falls is carried by the wind, swirling around them as they stare each other down.
"Wh-what are you?" she asks, voice shaking.
"Nothing – much," the stranger answers, smirking at his own joke.
"That's just it, though," she murmurs, almost to herself, "You're here but yet not here. The wind breaks around you yet I sense no life force."
"An empty shell stands before you," the stranger bows ironically. His hood falls as he straightens, revealing long, wildly dreadlocked black hair. His violet eyes are hooded by heavy eyebrows and framed by sideburns that throw his cheekbones into sharper relief. The effect is quite vicious. The girl gasps involuntarily and takes a step back.
"What are you doing here?" Talim asks, fighting to keep her voice from trembling.
"Seeing if you could really heal those corrupted by that sword you call 'Soul Edge.' And my observations were satisfactory." Xaldin regarded Talim as if she were beneath him. He was fully prepared to sneer when she asked why, but not all all ready for what she said next:
"Do you need healing, then?" Talim's voice was tight with pity, "Are you a product of the evil sword?"
The roaring waterfall drowned out Xaldin's laughter. "There's nothing to heal," he said, now looking at Talim with something like amusement. "So you'd be wasting your time. And no, I am not at all related to the sword. In fact, it may help me recover what I've lost."
"But the sword is evil!" cried Talim, "All it gives is destruction and despair!"
Xaldin rolled his eyes, "Always we try to distinguish between good and evil, but there's no such thing."
"But there has to be," insisted Talim, a stubborn set to her jaw, "The world can't all be gray."
Chuckling again, Xaldin said, "You're looking at someone who is, in fact 'all gray'."
Despite his frightening Cheshire Cat grin, and his unmistakable aura of malice, Talim lowered her tonfa. A pity was twisting in her heart for this man. "What did you lose that you're so desperate to get back?"
Xaldin said nothing and, still smiling, stepped backwards into a dark portal. Talim started forward, but the darkness enveloped him, and he was gone.
The wind sighed in relief, but Talim did not. Sympathy still lingered for the mysterious man. After a while, she turned and made her way back to the village. There were people there who still needed her help.
Yay Xaldin's my favorite X3 Please leave a review, darlings; I appreciate and respond to every single one! Stay tuned for the next update in 2 weeks!
