The Immaculate troops made the ground shudder as they marched in unison up the slightly narrow path to the grove. All the soldiers were looking wary, on the lookout for anything suspicious. There was not a single ordinary mortal among them, as they had to expect the worst. All their animas were fully active, forcing them to march a few feet apart from one another. The three marching lines illuminated the still-dark land around them in a riot of color; green the color of leaves mixing with sky blue, the reddish-orange of hungry flames, earthy brown, and flowing water-like blue.

Rosethorne watched the procession with a detatched air. Her hands clenched as she clung to the tree, her armored fingers digging into the bark audibly, earning her a glare from the Solar one tree over from her. The questions of why he had saved her life, and was helping her now remained unanswered. However, her own honor would not allow her to give in and slay him; not before she repaid the life debt she owed him. She had mixed feelings about this. Rosethorne felt a seething cold anger at being indebted to another for her life, as he had prevented her from having a true warrior's fate on the battlefield. Not only that, but his interference on the battlefield two days ago had cut down her ambushing force; had that force been allowed to attack the Immaculate army as she had planned, then she could have had the numbers to rout the second army, and report back to her Lord, victorious. That Solar's meddling had cost her greatly: she had lost her command, had possibly cost Rosethorne her position as General of the Mask's armies, and to cap it all off, she owed him her life.

Her fingers relaxed as she thought further, still automatically watching the Immaculate guard marching as she lost herself in thought. On the other hand, he had extended kindness to someone who by rights was his enemy, three times now. He had saved her life in the canyon, he had tried to talk the Immaculate soldiers out of getting suspicious, and he had shown her a place to hide properly when this larger force came looking for the first.

Rosethorne smiled. She would have let that first group go unharmed, if it weren't for the absurd way their leader had tried to paint her with words. She was a taker of many lives; a scourge borne of Oblivion, a harbringer of the Abyss within a living being - all these things were true. However, she also had a strong code of honor she abided by, and she would never suffer a fool gladly who tried to stain her honor, whether it be through an insulting remark or act.

Her senses of honor and purpose had kept her focused on each and every goal she had been turned toward by her Lord with unwavering attention, not allowing her own feelings to ever cloud her decisions. She wore her honor like a second suit of armor, preventing her feelings from ever escaping the dark recesses of her mind, and preventing others from seeing any potential weaknesses in her.

She shook her head slightly to bring herself out of her reverie, seeing that the Immaculates had reached the grove below. They fanned out as soldiers should, surrounding the scene. She smiled at their confusion. She had to admit, that Solar in the tree next to her was a good trickster - his idea of leaving all their weapons in their hands befuddled the Immaculate patrol to no end. It annoyed her slightly to still be unarmed, however, that would be taken care of in time. Just because she owed Kale her life didn't mean that she couldn't beat him into unconsciousness with her bare hands, if needs be, and take her weapons back.

She listened to the conversations starting down below, amused by their confusion.

One of the soldiers, wearing blue jade armor and a large sheathed blue jade sword inspected the area, before barking an order at the soldier next to him. "Report!"

The young man saluted, clicking his heels together smartly as he did so. "Sir, We found all five of the patrol, sir. All five had been beheaded, one was disemboweled before he was beheaded. Three of the five had puncture wounds on their necks. All five were found with their weapons in hand. We also found a single black helmet with a large dent in the back by the tree to the North."

Rosethorne winced. She cursed herself for leaving her helmet behind.

The soldier in charge motioned him to continue, somewhat impatiently. "And what sign of struggle, Corporal?"

The younger soldier continued his report, standing ramrod straight. "Sir, whatever happened, happened very quickly. The two with no puncture wounds walked toward the tree where we found the black helmet, and were beheaded there. There was little sign of a struggle. We found a few more footsteps around the other three, suggesting they had been rounded up back to back at first, before being slain and punctured."

The one in charge nodded. He looked again at the young soldier still saluting him. "Good work. Any ideas as to the construction of the helmet?"

"Yes sir, given the metal and its properties, it appears to be made of soulsteel."

Rosethorne closed her eyes and shook her head. Despite that annoying Solar's bright ideas, this one would fall flat, and they would be discovered. She was sorely tempted to save them the trouble and greet her own fate now, but decided not to.

The soldier in charge began pacing the area, looking for himself. He barked to the young soldier following him obediently. "Anything else you found, soldier?"

The younger soldier saluted again, smartly. "Yes sir, we found traces of a strange dust near the helmet, making a rough approximation of a man-sized creature."

Rosethorne glanced swiftly over to where she could still barely see Kale, in the tree next to her. He turned his attention away from the troops for a moment to look back. He smiled at her, winked, and looked back at the scene below.

The one in charge raised an eyebrow before barking at his subordinate. "Is that all?"

The young soldier saluted once more. "Sir, yes sir."

The Immaculate in charge hailed another soldier, barking another order. "Lieutenant, what's your analysis?"

The soldier hailed stood, and faced his commanding officer, saluting smartly. "Sir, my guess is that our soldiers defeated whatever it was, though they all gave their lives valiantly to contain such an evil."

Rosethorne could barely hear the valiantly-concealed laughter coming from the tree next to her. She glared at him, and he grinned back at her, unrepentant. Utterly undisciplined, he was.

The blue jade armored soldier roared out orders for all his contingent. "Collect the bodies and all their belongings, along with the helmet of the spirit who was defeated by the might of those with Dragons' Blood roaring in their veins! We will give them a proper heroes' burial at camp. Move!"

With that, the soldiers efficiently made stretchers for their fallen compatriots, collected all the evidence of the battle, and began to march down the path, toward their camp down below. The sun began to appear on the Eastern horizon.

Rosethorne and her strange companion both waited at least fifteen minutes, for the Immaculate soldiers to be completely out of earshot. Once they were, the first noise she heard was Kale finally giving voice to the laughter he'd been holding in for so long. She unsteadily began climbing down, ignoring him. She grew impatient, and simply leapt from the tree branches above, landing on all fours to absorb the shock properly. She looked to the tree next to her, and saw Kale leaning against it, still chuckling slightly. She fixed him with a wintry glare, which seemed to have no effect whatsoever on his exhuberance. "Proud of yourself, are you?"

He grinned unrepentantly at her. "Oh, yes indeed I am. I think we both know that if they found nothing to blame their friends' deaths on, they'd still be looking here. I gave them something to blame their deaths on, and off they went."

She didn't think she could take being in proximity to him much longer. She had to admit to herself that he was right, and...to a small degree, the idea was amusing. However, he was also an undisciplined, irritating, cowardly do-gooder. "Was it worth the price of my helmet, Solar?"

He shrugged. "You left it behind, and I thought it would be perfect for the purpose."

Rosethorne shook her head. She didn't have a proper answer to that. She idly began to feel the back of her head again with her right hand, wondering just how much that wound had cost her. She felt that a large scab had formed, and was already beginning to shrink in size, owing to her accelerated healing.

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, you're probably better off here without your armor."

She whirled around to face him with an icy glare. "And why is that?"

He shrugged. "The Dragon-Blooded are probably on the lookout for anyone in black armor now, since they don't know what happened to you during the battle."

She shook her head, and focused her attention on the sunrise. It had been many, many years since she had seen one. It made her feel...unexpectedly peaceful. Even as the peace began to steal quietly into her thoughts, giving her a sense of calm once more, she couldn't help but wonder once more. "Why are you helping me? Why are you going through trouble to help someone who tried to have you killed?"

Something told her that even though she couldn't see him, he shrugged again. "I have my reasons."

Rosethorne took a deep breath, still staring at the emerging sun. "I will discover your reasons sooner or later, Solar."

She heard quiet laughter from the direction she knew he was still standing. Well, guessed he was standing anyway, that little sneak evidently had a talent for throwing his voice. "Only if I actually tell you, and that's not going to happen. Not for a very long time."

She heard the muffled noises of someone stretching, and heard him speak up again. "I know that we both don't need as much sleep as we once did, but I'm tired, personally. I'm going to go get some rest."

She was no longer surprised that she heard no noise as he found a proper place to sleep. Knowing him and his tendancy to play at being a monkey, that resting place was likely in a tree. She sighed, and sat down crosslegged on the ground, still beholding the morning sun's brilliant rays, beginning to lose herself in thought once more.

Why had the accursed Essence within her been so quiet, ever since she had reached the surface? She didn't notice it at first, but it made her suspicious. After all, there was a Solar nearby, why had the insane Essence within her not even spoken up once about slaying him? She felt uncomfortable as she began to examine her own feelings, being nearly alien to her now, having lived for so long without acknowledging them. She knew intellectually that five years wasn't a very long time, but much had happened in those five years. And why did she feel a sneaking sense of...peace around that annoying, scruffy Solar?

Rosethorne took a deep breath to clear her mind. It wasn't good to dwell on such things, as emotions were a mark of the living. Even with that statement she had repeated to herself so often over the years to keep her emotions well-hidden even to herself, she couldn't help but think of that wraith she had taken that mirror from. He said many cryptic things to her that she had dismissed as insane ramblings of one trapped in the lands of the dead for over a thousand years. One of the things he had said stuck out in her mind now, though. When he was describing "true life" and "Oblivion-sustained life," the words he used deliberately implied that though she was an Abyssal, she was still alive, and by extension, human still, with all the frailties and weaknesses that humans have.

That thought made her shudder. She decided to end this journey of thoughts, as she was quite uncomfortable with where they seemed to be leading. She decided to rest now, to sleep away this accursed brightness the sun brought. She climbed inexpertly into the tree she had hidden within earlier, and found a place that would serve as a decent enough place to rest, and closed her eyes, welcoming the darkess of sleep.

Many strange, disconnected images and scenes played out in her mind as she dreamed, unable to make sense of them. They seemed to bear no relation to one another, but ensnared her in their embrace anyway. After a time of this, she heard his voice once again; the voice she had been alternately dreading and waiting for. He seemed to be more insane than usual.

"I left her behind...I should have stayed strong..."

She felt that she should speak, in these dreams. "Who did you leave behind?"

"Her...My one..."

She began to get slightly annoyed. "Who is this her you keep mentioning?"

"I'm glad we're on the surface now, so I don't have to hear the accursed whispers of that desiccated lump of flesh worming into my mind. It can't seem to reach me here...but that means I'm lost in my memories..."

Rosethorne was growing increasingly annoyed at his non-sequitor. "Since you're not hearing voices right now, would you mind explaining your prattling?"

She heard a deep, rumbling chuckle, in the shadows of her dream. "You can't go back, you know. They hunt you, even now."

Even in dreams, a deep breath managed to help her retain her calm. "So now I'm a rogue, is that it?"

"You know just as well as I that due to what happened, you've already lost your position as general of the Mask's armies. Your life is forfeit, now."

She thought that over. She was half-surprised to realize that however insane he was, he was also right in this regard. She fell in battle and failed in her appointed task, which was a crime of failure to her Lord. She hadn't accepted death on the battlefield for falling as she did, which was a crime of cowardice, despite the circumstances. She was also now, however briefly, keeping company with a Solar, which was a crime of fraternization with the living, and a serious one.

"Yes, you see now. They will come for you, as you disrupt the flow of the Mask's plans by existing at this moment."

"So, what then? Do I just allow myself to fall when they do, and give myself a true soldier's death?" She was half surprised, actually. He was actually talking sense, for once.

"That's your choice. For a small glimmer of hope I still hold onto, I suggest you stay alive. If you die, then at least I'll finally have peace, but you'll be hearing the Malfean's whispers until you're able to sleep. I'd far rather I deal with it than you."

"And why, exactly, are you being so self-sacrificing?" This was certainly getting interesting.

"To...to show her that I'm trying to atone for my weakness. I'm staying strong now to try making up for what I've done."

That irritated her. He seemed to give no more than vague hints. "You and that Solar are a lot alike. Neither of you say what you mean, obfuscating it behind vague hints and misleading words."

She felt a glimmer of a smile from him, like white teeth in the darkness.

"And what is this glimmer of hope you hang onto? Hope is for the living."

"Aye, it is."

She woke up abruptly, her jaw clenching in irritation. She wiped the sleep from her eyes as she surveyed the place around her now. It was now late evening, her nose detecting roasting meat and a fire nearby. She stretched slightly, the underpadding of her armor beginning to feel a little sweaty. She climbed down, and saw Kale roasting some small animal over a fire. "Why don't you eat it raw?"

He didn't look up from what he was doing. "Why don't you eat at all?"

Her eyes narrowed. One thing she despised about this man was that he seemed to be quicker-witted than she. Marginally. She sat near the fire, feeling the heat begin to steal into her skin through her armor. She just sat there, gazing into the flames.

She shook herself after a time to discover that Kale was no longer sitting there, but rather standing a ways off, looking into the valley below, and toward Thorns. She exhaled a bit more forcefully than necessary. Was she so abhorrent? She decided to get up and see what he was looking at. She walked softly through the grass, stopping at his side.

He pointed out with his finger toward something in the valley below. "Friend of yours?"

She noticed that his voice had no hint of amusement this time. She squinted into the darkness, and could see a small moving figure, but couldn't make out any details. "What is it?"

He continued looking for a moment before answering, all traces of a smile absent from his face. "Whoever it is, it looks almost exactly what you looked like two days ago. Black armor, and riding a headless horse."

"Warstrider," she corrected him automatically.

"Whatever. Whoever it is, they're headed this way, and in a hurry." He continued gazing at the figure, hawk-like.

She inhaled slowly, clenching and unclenching her hands at her sides. "It's another Deathknight. Whoever's riding the warstrider is after me, and me alone."

He looked at her solemnly. "I take it your former boss is angry at you for not dying?"

She nodded, not looking away from the figure, slowly growing larger as it moved swiftly toward them. "Among other things."

He looked back at the figure, taking a deep breath of his own. "I see."

She saw him calmly take the bow from over his shoulder, nock an arrow, and aim at the approaching rider. She reached out, and moved the arrow down, not moving her eyes from the incoming Deathknight. "No. I must face him alone."

He shrugged, and put the bow back over his shoulder, placing the arrow back into his quiver. "Very well. But do me a favor, and check the ground around you before he gets here."

She narrowed her eyes, and turned to look askance at him, but he had already gone. She moved her gaze downwards, and saw her sheathed scimitar and claw lying neatly at her feet. A small smile began to disturb her normally stone-like features as she crouched down, and began to arm herself.