Author's Notes:

Alright, I lied. I'm running out of pre-written material but I still have enough for about two updates. With any luck my muse will be willing to start picking up after my slack and help me to get this story posted at reasonable intervals.

Thankyou, all of you for reviewing this story. Knowing that someone else is reading this and waiting to find out what happens next is truly a giddy feeling. This update is extra-long to make up for the length of time between it and the last update.

In truth, I have most of the story planned out, I just need to actually sit down and write it. The story will not be finished anytime soon, there is far too much action to happen before what I'd like to make the end of the story. If I manage what I'd like to, this story will come to about the length of one of Salvatore's works and neatly loop into his world and his works. Well, that's the theory anyway. Here's hoping it works!

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Dathien waited with Kannath for Iria's return. They had ridden most of the night and only stopped when the sun had become too painful to his still light-sensitive eyes. The drow had dismounted gratefully, though quite clumsily. Muscles that he hadn't known he possessed had apparently disagreed with the ride and were making sure that he knew exactly what they thought of it. Despite them, until he'd dismounted he had enjoyed the ride through the woods on the marvelous creature Kannath called a horse quite a bit. Their continued movement kept him focused on how to best ride the creature, and in admiring their surroundings rather than thinking about what he had almost done.

Though the day was warm, the drow shivered as he thought about the human, one of Kannath's friends.

He wasn't sure what was worse, that he had almost killed a human or that he had /reacted/ like that on instinct. As he'd held the sword to Jain's throat he had felt the desire to kill and remembered how to do so most efficiently. Those thoughts had frozen him in place and caused his hand to shake with fear. Even after Kannath had taken the sword from him, memories of fighting moves, practice and training routines came rushing back.

The worst thing though was the remembered sound of children screaming. Despite his attempts to shake the sound aside he found that it echoed in his mind, haunting him and taunting him. A reminder that the truth of what he was was stirring just beneath the surface of his memory. He found himself hoping it would stay that way. To fear what he might have been and guess at atrocities was one thing. To /know/ what he had done, with his own hands and not be able to deny it was another. If his memories did indeed return with details of this sort of life Dathien planned to ask Kannath to finish what he'd started, or to confront the human ranger again without attempting to save himself.

Dathien pushed away those thoughts, but only with force. They remained distant for perhaps a minute, then the sound of screaming children came back. Miserably, the drow tried to push the sounds away again but found that he could not. After a few tries the drow gave up and stared through squinted eyes at the sun. The light from it assaulted his eyes and the physical pain seemed to negate the emotional pain.

Kannath noted the drow's agitation as he set up camp for the day. He made several half-hearted attempts to start up a conversation but the drow heard none of them

It was only when Kannath stopped working and took a seat by Dathien that the drow came out of his thoughts.

"Speak your mind and have done with it." Kannath said bluntly.

"When the ranger, your friend Jain attacked with his sword, I remembered how to parry the blow."

"That moved saved your life." Kannath said softly. He'd been too far away to do anything other than marvel as the drow had stopped Jain's charge without using any weapon.

Dathien nodded. "When I saw that sword I reacted, then I /remembered/ how to react. Killing moves, training routines, drills, all of it returned. Kannath, I know how to fight. I know how to fight much better than I should, yet I still have no idea what I was or what I did." The drow's confusion and worry showed as clearly in his expression as it did in his voice and Kannath felt a pang of sympathy for him.

"Perhaps what you most need to know is what is coming back first." He suggested hopefully. "However you ended up here, chances are you needed to fight at least once. It is not so uncommon an ability, and knowing how to fight does not necessarily mean anything."

The drow shook his head. "You do not understand. I should not be this good."

Kannath made a noise of amusement at the drow's seeming arrogance. "You really think you are that well trained?"

Dathien gave him a look and the noise died in his throat. Carefully, the drow stood up and searched around for a moment before his eyes settled on an appropriately sized stick. The drow picked up the stick and flipped it casually in his hands then snapped it before launching into what appeared to be a training routine. The stick looked to be little more than a blur and the drow moved with a speed and intensity that was both astonishing and almost frightening. In all of his life Kannath had never seen anyone move with such deadly precision and skill as that moment, and the sight left him breathless.

The drow moved across the forest floor, perfectly balanced and in seeming perfect harmony with the weapons in his hand. The two sticks moved with a precision that created an impenetrable defense against any foes as the he moved with a grace Kannath could only envy. He lunged, feinted and stabbed forward in such a way that it actually looked effortless. Dathien finished the routine with one last blurring movement then sat back down gracefully. Kannath noted that the drow had not broken a sweat during the exercise, though by all rights he should have been tired.

"I take my words back." Kannath said, "You are better than anyone I've seen fight."

The drow nodded in response, then sighed, seemingly not too pleased with this information.

"Perhaps it is a sign that other memories are on their way." Kannath suggested, "And even if this is not true, at /least/ you will be able to fight. For a drow, in the Underdark or no, such seems to be a needed skill."

"True enough." The drow agreed reluctantly. "Though I would give much not to have this skill or to know what it means. I fear ..." Dathien paused and considered his words. "I /know/," he corrected, "that my hands are not clean of blood. I fear discovering whose and how much."

Kannath thought on this for a moment, trying to find some way to refute this before realizing that Dathien was right. As a drow, below or above ground it simply did not make sense. To know as much as he did ... Dathien was different from any drow Kannath had heard of but there was no logical explanation for that level of fighting skills unless one used them, and had fought to the death. Yet Kannath knew that he had killed too. He had focused his attacks on those who were evil, true, but his hands were no less stained for that.

"Perhaps what matters most is not who you were, but who you are capable of becoming. Let your past be just that, your past. Focus instead on who you wish to be. Whatever you were you can leave it behind if you try hard enough."

"Perhaps in theory." Dathien agreed hesitantly, "but in reality?"

"In my travels I have heard many stories of humans and elves alike who have gone from being dishonorable folk to being heroes. Each of them managed, despite their past, to become someone worthy of respect."

The drow laughed at that. "These villains-turned heroes, have you met any of them personally? Can you prove that they exist, or are they simply stories of hope?"

"Rhynn." Kannath replied. "She was a member of my group and she used to have quite a reputation. The story is one I do not have the right to tell but she caused much injury to others before turning away from violence and towards her God." Kannath remembered very well when Rhynn joined their group. They had taken the former assassin in with some doubts but Rhynn had proven her dedication and reversal of ways so many times since then that she had earned everyone's trust.

"Dathien, you are the first I've heard of, in my time to bear the mark of Mielikki, regardless of race. Trust in that, trust in the Goddesses judgment and worry only about what comes next. If you dismiss what you were, whatever you were, then it will cease to matter."

Dathien nodded, then patted his shoulder. The mark of Mielikki no longer glowed as it had that first night but other than that the sigil had remained the same. "The Mark of Mielikki, hm?" He repeated, marveling at the trust that this goddess had shown by giving him the right to bear her mark when he knew so little about her. "Well then, as a bearer of her mark I suppose what I should do first is learn how to properly follow Her ways ..."

"Mielikki does not force her followers to bend to her will." Kannath explained, "the path of Mielikki is more one of following your conscience and learning about the balance of nature. Many use this skill as Rangers, like Iria, and to protect."

"Ranger..." The drow repeated the surface word. The drow tongue had no translation for the term but somehow it seemed familiar. "It sounds like a good thing to be. Perhaps I can put these blades to good use." He mused, a half-smile coming to his face at the thought of a drow actually doing good.

/I will not worry about what I have been, what I am now and what I am becoming, those things I can change. For the Goddess, and for myself as well, I will,/ he vowed silently.

They traveled quickly for the next few days, pausing only to rest and to gather food. Iria led the way, taking them through the most-isolated and deeply wooded paths she could find. All three knew that the less they were seen the better, as Dathien's dark heritage was bound to get them into trouble with those who did not understand.

With this in mind, Dathien pushed himself to the edges of his endurance, closing his eyes and relying on the horse to lead him correctly when the light grew too harsh for his eyes. The discomforts of traveling seemed a small price for the companionship of the two elves who had taken it upon themselves to guide and watch over him. Without them he had little doubt that he would have gotten lost or come across a group that he could not flee from and have suffered a violent death based on what he was. Iria and Kannath had disregarded the fearsome stories and experiences they'd had in order to give him a chance to prove himself and for that he was extremely grateful. He knew that they would stand by him and protect him if need be despite the possible costs to themselves. This loyalty ran contrary to everything he knew his people held dear. Indeed, part of him balked at the seeming madness of it. The other part marveled at it. He found himself silently promising to do whatever it took to repay them for their kindness and to ensure that no harm came to them. Between jests and conversations he found this loyalty deepening into the ties of friendship.

During the trip Dathien also found himself opening up and joining in on their conversations more and more. Though he had little to say about his past, he remembered enough about his people to trade information about their respective homes and people. At the same time, he was frantically trying to remember everything Iria told him about Mielikki and the wilderness. She had taken the news that he wanted to follow the ways of her goddess with a smile, pausing only long enough to ensure that he knew what he was committing himself to before beginning a thorough teaching of what she though he needed to know and prove himself capable of.

Iria was an eager and skilful teacher and under her tutelage the wilderness transformed from a place of mystery to something more like an old and trusted friend. As he learned and Iria explained things that he didn't know, Dathien realized that he had to have lived in the Underdark all of his life. Too many things that even a human babe took for granted struck him as being new and mysterious. The slight changing of colors of the leaves into new, lush colors as the summer which Iria assured him would change even more come fall were one such example. Iria and Kannath's descriptions of the different villages elves, humans, dwarves and gnomes called their own left the drow wide-eyed and amazed. As Iria corrected his misconceptions on how most elven villages were set up and what they looked like, Dathien allowed himself to breathe even easier. Based on what she told him there were yet many things that he did not understand about their world, things he could not have missed if he'd taken part on an elven village raid. The remembered sound of children screaming disappeared from his dreams and he felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his heart.

And so, it was in a state of half-relief and half-regret that Dathien found himself in when they at last arrived at the grove Iria called home. While he was glad that they had arrived at their destination safely, Dathien knew he would miss the open roads and the feeling of exploration he had felt when on them. At the same time, he found himself extremely relieved to dismount from the horse he had been riding and cover ground with his own two feet again. As much as he had enjoyed the contact with the horse, he knew that he would not miss the aches and pains that riding it had induced.

Aside from that, as they entered the grove, Dathien felt the sensation of many eyes watching him. The drow tried to brush the feeling off as one of paranoia but found himself unable to do so. The forest, which had seemed so full of noise and movement while they were journeying towards this grove had grown absolutely still and the disharmony of it did nothing to comfort him. He glanced over to Kannath and his alarm grew. The elf was as taut as a bowstring and one hand rested upon the hilt of his sword. Still, Iria seemed unconcerned and confidently led the way to the center of the grove. It was only when she had reached it that she turned to regard them both then burst out laughing.

Without bothering to explain she turned away from them and cupped her hands to her mouth, letting out a twittering call. Instantly the forest around them came to life as if a curse had been broken. Birds burst from their trees followed by squirrels and all manner of other furred creatures, each making a beeline for the ranger and chattering away at top speed. Among them was a large hawk which was nearly entirely white. This bird landed first, perching itself upon her shoulder before the smaller birds landed, seemingly unafraid of the creature. Iria laughed as they raced up her arms, then launched into their own speech while Kannath and Dathien stared in amazement. Her conversation lasted for several minutes, during which time the hawk left Iria's shoulder and flew over to Kannath and Dathien. To Dathien it seemed as if the bird was looking for a place to land and so he lifted his arm in front of him to forma comfortable perch. The hawk landed gracefully, retracting its talons as it did so so that the drow's skin remained uninjured. The hawk leaned forward; cocking its head and fixing the drow with a curious, intelligent look. Dathien stared back at and did his best to impart that he meant no harm. The hawk gave a satisfied, almost humanlike nod then inched its way up his arm, coming to rest on his shoulder. Dathien got the feeling that he had passed some sort of unspoken test, a feeling that was reaffirmed when Iria shot him a pleased look before calling the bird back to her side. The hawk took off lightly, far more lightly than Dathien expected anything of its weight to manage. It landed on Iria's shoulder, scattering the other birds as it settled down again.

"This is Shavariel," Iria said by way of explanation, "My partner and the one who watches over the grove while I am away." The hawk made an odd chirruping sound and began nibbling on a strand of Iria's hair.

"Amazing ..." Kannath said in awe. "Truly you trained him well." The elf reached out a hand to pet the bird then drew back his hand as Shavariel made a noise of protest and glared at him. Shavariel turned to Iria and made the same chirruping nose as before.

"Shavariel is a she." Iria explained. "And she does nothing that she does not want to do. Of the two of us, I am probably the more trained one."

Dathien laughed at that and after a moment Kannath joined in.

"She is not an ordinary bird, is she?" Dathien asked, stroking Shavariel's smooth feathers. The hawk preened a little, then rubbed her head against his hand.

"She is anything but ordinary." Iria confirmed. "When I first found this grove she was already here, waiting for me as if in welcome. She has lived much longer than any natural hawk would and she is much more intelligent than any other hawk I have met. Shavariel would also tell you that she is prettier than the rest of them as well, the vain thing she is."

Shavariel trilled in what sounded like agreement at the comment and continued to preen herself.

"Amazing creature." Dathien said reverently, truly meaning it. Kannath murmured his agreement.

At Iria's insistence, they unsaddled their horses and set them loose to graze. Kannath protested this at first, then stopped when Iria shot him a look.

"They will come when needed." She explained. "You give your mount far too little credit."

Kannath threw up his hands and sighed at that but did as asked. Dathien watched his moves as he fumbled with his own horse's straps. It took him a little longer, but he managed to unsaddle his horse and remove the packs. His horse whickered at him as he finished, lowering her head so that the strap to unbuckle her bridle was easier to reach. He thanked it silently as he undid it, then stroked her mane. In response, the horse nuzzled against him and seemed to sigh in satisfaction. Dathien let out a surprised laugh, then looked over at Kannath and Iria, who were both watching.

"You will make a fine ranger." Iria said approvingly.