Author's Note: As the title of this chapter says, this takes place two years later, like in the game. I've tried to change Maialin's character as a result, I'm not sure how it turned out. I think she seems a little erratic. But I guess it's kind of logical.

Thanks for the review by the way, Mr Anonymous, I don't mean to be picky, because I really like reviews, but it would be nice if you could tell me what you thought of the story. I do agree though, this section really needs to get going. Guild Wars is a fantastic game, so there should be more writers (and hopefully, more reviewers!).

TWO YEARS LATER

Maialin stopped for a breath, wiping the sweat from her brow. Ascalon had always been hot, but it was as if the Searing had scorched the very atmosphere that kept the full force of the sun from them. Of course, it could be that there were no more pleasant fields or cooling rivers to absorb the heat, just dull dead rock and bubbling tar pits. She took a deep breath. She was home. Ascalon City. Or what was left of it. The ruins were still scattered around, even after two years nobody had been able to clear them up. Street vendors stood around with makeshift stands to display their wears. Maialin laughed to herself. How ironic. Even after the very city had been scorched and thousands killed the citizens of Ascalon still wouldn't pass up an opportunity to make a profit. Maybe they had deserved the Searing. If they hadn't been so caught up in their petty battles they would have seen it coming, but humans had been too busy warring with other humans.

She tried to shake the feeling that the two years had changed her. She liked to think of herself as the same person, but thoughts like that were unnatural to her. She had to expect them, she'd been away, fighting the Charr with the army. She'd signed up a few months after the Searing, desperate to make a difference, desperate to get vengeance. Except it hadn't been like that at all. Beaten at every turn, they couldn't drive the Charr back. How could you win a war you had already lost? And now, she was back, and not under a flag of honour, or a returning hero, but a disgraced soldier thrown out of the army. She sighed. They'd be dead if it wasn't for her, but they still threw her out.

Worse yet, she never found her. Arziel had been missing since the Searing, but she wasn't dead. Maialin knew that much. Arziel was a survivor above everything else. Maialin figured that she had joined up with another patrol, and stuck with them, but in all the time away, she never found her. More than once she had considered the worse, but she simply knew she was still alive. She had to be.

Maialin rolled her eyes, passing a stand selling dyes. Dyes? At a time like this? Where did vanity fit into a destroyed world? Dozens of people dying every day, tens of thousands already dead, people giving their very lives on a regular basis just to keep the people cowering in this city safe, and people were concerned over what colour their clothes were? Maialin was disgusted. And people were actually buying them! Like-

"Leine?" She said in shock.

"Maialin?" Leine suddenly exclaimed, turning around. She ran up and hugged the shocked necromancer. "You're still alive! I haven't seen you in years!"

"Yeah, ever since I decided to leave and fight and you cowered behind." Maialin said bitterly. Leine recoiled, a little surprised.

"Maia, I didn't want to join the army." Leine explained. "You know that."

"Because you were afraid." Maialin stated simply.

"Of course I was afraid!" Leine protested. "They killed everybody I knew!"

"Everybody except me and Arziel." Maialin countered.
"Maialin! Pay attention, it's been two years! Nobody's seen or heard from Arziel. She's dead." Leine argued, wondering how what should have been a happy meeting between old friends had gone down hill so quickly.

"Don't ever say that again." Maialin growled, getting ready to draw her weapon. Leine sighed.

"I'm sorry, Maia." She said quietly. "It's good to see you again. I was afraid you weren't coming back."

"What's going on here?" Maialin asked in shock. "Stores selling stuff. People making profit. We've been out there dying for you and you concern yourself with petty crap like this!" She took the dye from Leine and held it up in front of her.

"Maia, people are trying to get things back to normal." Leine explained, snatching the dye back. "And this is for a play."

"A what?" Maialin gasped in disbelief.

"Oh, it's not like you think!" Leine said quickly to defend herself. "We do stories of the heroics of you guys. To try and raise moral. You know how it is."

"So you play little games pretending to be soldiers?" Maialin scowled.

"Come on, Maia, don't be like that. I may not be a warrior, but I can entertain. It makes people feel good, and it makes them realise the sacrifices people like you are making." Leine begged. "I'm only trying to help."

"Try helping out there, then." Maialin suggested.

"Doing what? The wall keeps the Charr back. Do you really think we can reclaim the whole of Ascalon?" Leine looked around with a sigh. "Sometimes I think Prince Rurik is right."

"You've heard his plan too?" Maialin was slightly surprised.

"We did a play on Prince Rurik and his arguments with the King." Leine explained. "It was a public awareness thing. We wanted to make everybody aware of the two sides of the argument. Run away to Kryta or stay here and fight for Ascalon." She paused. "Urm, it wasn't written very well." She blushed. "We were supposed to make it non-bias, but I kind of ended up leaning towards running away."

"Wait, you write them?" Maialin asked, surprised.

"Well, apparently I'm a terrible over-acting actress, so I took up writing instead." Leine smirked slightly.

"You're never going to forget I called you that, are you?" Maialin laughed, their old friendship shining through.

"Well, I am in a lot of the plays." Leine admitted. "Actors are short, you understand."

"Yes, I can see that." Maialin went up on her tip toes, looking down on Leine.

"Not that kind of short." Leine grumbled. "I meant there aren't many."

"Too many people doing worthwhile things." Maialin half joked, but she was partially serious.

"I'm looking to sell a tribal blade!" Somebody cried walking past her, and she cringed.

"Okay, perhaps not." She admitted.

"Come on, Maia, it does help." Leine told her. "Not everything has to be done with the pointy end of a sword, you know?"

"Hell no, I use a staff." Maialin grinned, and for a moment Leine thought she was back to her old light hearted self.

Maialin and Leine had become close friends despite the short time they had known each other. The Searing had killed Leine's family, and separated Maialin from Arziel, meaning all they had was each other. Maialin had done much for Leine at first, who took it far worse than she did. Upper class upbringing is all very well and good until it's gone. Traumatised, Leine had stuck close to Maialin, and Maialin had been glad of it, having lost everybody she cared about. The two had began to fight back at first, trying to stop the Charr from ripping through the city with the Ascalon guard, but Leine took a wound and after that became very withdrawn, too scared to leave the city. Maialin stayed with her for a long time, but began to hate the feeling of not being out there, taking an active role, so joined the army and left. Leine had been far too frightened to go with her, and stayed behind. Meeting each other again was a strange experience, they were good friends, despite their differences. They just about had to be, considering what they had been through.

Leine sighed, deciding she was never going to convince Maialin that what she did was for the good of the people. Maialin had clearly never liked actors or theatre, thinking of it as a waste of time and seeing everybody who acted as vain people who simply wanted to be in the spotlight. Apparently Arziel liked them even less, which made Leine wonder why she had helped her out so long ago. Leine knew defeat, and decided it was time to change the subject.

"So, why are you back?" Leine asked hopefully. "The war over? We win?" She was being sarcastic. It needed no answer. Any hope of winning had long gone. It was a simple case of surviving now.

"I, urm, had some disagreements with my commanders." Maialin explained.

"Disagreements? What happened?" Leine sounded concerned.

"Well, I'm no longer a soldier, for one." Maialin said with an ironic grin.

"You got discharged? What? Why?" Leine asked quickly.

"We got-" Maialin sighed. "We got pinned down. Charr ambushed us. We took cover behind some rocks, but couldn't break out, and they were constantly firing arrows at us. We couldn't move. More and more of us were getting hit." She paused. "Most of us were dead. The rest of us were finished. I-" She gulped. "I started casting my spells. Resurrecting our own dead soldiers as bone horrors, and used them as distractions. We managed to escape. Six of us from a patrol of forty." Leine fell silent.

"I'm sorry, Maia." She said quietly. "I had no idea you went through that." She took a deep breath. "But you saved them all. Why discharge you?"

"Leine. I brought back the corpses of our own fallen soldiers as mutated monsters used only to distract the Charr. They frown on that kind of thing." Leine shuddered at the thought of the bone horrors, they still made her feel faint and sick whenever she saw one.

"But surely they saw it was necessary." Leine argued.

"They said it was better to die with honour than dishonour our fallen comrades." Maialin explained. "I don't care. If they throw me out for saving our patrol, then I'm out. I've had it with Ascalon!" She was clearly getting very angry again, and this time Leine could understand why.

"Maia, I know, it was unfair to throw you-"

"Don't act like your not a part of this!" Maia snapped. "You're half the problem! You and everybody else in this city!" She was now attracting quite a lot of attention. "Going about your petty affairs! Trying to make profit, carrying about money and entertainment instead of all the people dying!"

"Maia, we're just trying to get on with our lives." Leine tried to explain.

"Yeah! While ignoring the sacrifices we've been making!" Maialin yelled. "You're a coward Leine! The only reason you're here is because you broke a nail while fighting!"

"Maia, those Charr ripped right through me." Leine said sadly, holding her side where the scar still was. Maialin's spin on her wound irritated her quite a bit. "I barely recovered, even with those monks healing me."

"Yeah, so instead of getting revenge, you cowered here." Maialin spat.

"Maia, it hurt! I'm not a fighter!" Leine argued back. "I hate the Charr as much as you do, but I don't want to die!"

"Exactly. Coward!" Maia yelled, pushing Leine. Leine fell over backwards, startled at just how strong Maialin had gotten in her years away. Leine looked up, close to tears.

"I did everything I could. I fought at first, didn't I?" She tried to argue, but her voice didn't reach a volume above a croak.

"Didn't we all? But as soon as it was safe to cower, you did so." Maialin sighed. She tried to let the stress fade out of her. Leine was fully crying now, tears streaming down her face. She got up and went to walk away. "I'm sorry Leine. I'm just so angry. So upset. You can't imagine what it's been like out there. And I return to all this. It all seems so petty."

"I know, Maia. I understand." Leine sobbed. "I deserved that." Somehow Leine admitting she deserved it just made Maialin feel worse.

"No, you didn't. Nobody did." She sighed. "I just lost it for a moment. I think I need rest. Travelling outside of the city can be stressful."

"My place is still standing, you can still stay there." Leine's house had escaped damage mostly during the Searing. The roof had taken a hit, and caved in on one side, but it hadn't collapsed, and the rest of the rooms were still in one piece. Maialin's home had been totally obliterated in the original assault, but since it had just been a small shack it was unsurprising. Leine's rich background was much clearer upon seeing her home, and Maialin had always felt a little guilty staying there while so many people had to sleep in the streets back before she left on patrol, but now, after so long fighting, she loved the idea of staying in relative luxury. Even if luxury post-Searing just meant a house with more than one room.

Maialin had no idea how long she had slept, but her stomach told her it was at least time for some form of breakfast. She got up sleepily, seeing her armour resting in the corner of the room, but deciding she was far more comfortable not wearing it. It was nice to wake up in a soft bed without being relieved you made it through another night without being ambushed. All the concerns she was used to were gone, she began to understand why Leine and the population of Ascalon were desperate for normality in their lives. She wondered out of the room and down the stairs, remembering the days she had spent clearing the rubble from them. That's when she had learnt to never do any physical work with Leine. She'd just complain about how hard it is and do nothing while the other person did all the work. In truth, Leine had tried, but never being a physical person she couldn't move the rubble herself.

Maialin wondered into the main room at the bottom of the stairs, slightly surprised to see Leine sat at the table looking very worn and tired, clutching a large map.

"What are you doing?" Maialin asked, rubbing her eyes. Leine yawned.

"Oh, I was thinking about what you said yesterday." Leine explained. "I've been busy."

"Have you slept at all?" Maialin questioned, slightly surprised.

"No, didn't have time." Leine explained. "Come here, look." Maialin looked over the map. "Here, to the west of Ascalon." She pointed. "I talked to one of Prince Rurik's men reassigned to be a gate guard, and he said they ran into a ranger and an elementalist there."

"Vahlahn and Arziel?" Maialin suddenly became much more animated, sitting down beside Leine quickly.

"Well, I think so." Leine explained before another sleepy yawn. "That's not all. A lot of the people who were on duty during the Searing report two adventurers helping them out in the defence. Two people not of the army. And they say one was a girl with a bow and one a mage of some kind."

"How did you find all of this out?" Maialin asked.
"I know a lot of people in the army." Leine told her. "You know, when making the plays, I did a lot of research-" She paused, remembering how much Maialin hated that idea. "Urm, I did a lot of research for the stories we told. I met up with lots of people, I know a lot of contacts."

"At least you have one talent." Maialin joked. "Even if it isn't acting. But what does any of this mean?"

"I think Arziel survived the Searing." Leine explained.

"Well, I figured that." Maialin sighed.

"But judging by the fact she met up with Prince Rurik, and after that nobody heard from her, I think I know where she's gone." Leine smiled slightly.

"Where?" Maialin asked. "How could you figure that out?"

"Rurik's been trying to convince everybody he met of his plan to flee Ascalon, right?" Leine told her. "I think she heard the plan, and went with it."

"What?" Maialin said almost instinctively.

"Well, nobody with that name is in the army, so she didn't join. And she wouldn't have spent the years out there alone without returning." Leine explained. "And if this is their last reported position, it's just a stone's throw away from the Shiverpeak Mountains."

"You think she's in the mountains? With the dwarves?" Maialin asked, slightly shocked.

"It would make sense, if she's not on Kryta by now." Leine explained. Maialin smiled.

"So we need to get to Shiverpeak!" She exclaimed.

"It's a long journey." Leine admitted. "Across the whole of Ascalon. But we can do it!"

"Wait, we?" Maialin repeated, surprised.

"I thought about what you said. I've done nothing. I may not be able to fight in the army, but I can help find Arziel." Leine said softly.

"Leine, you haven't set a foot outside of this city since you got hurt, have you?" Maialin asked sceptically.

"Well, it's about time I did, don't you think?" Leine laughed.

"I don't know if you'll be much use." Maialin sighed.

"Hey! I can still cast all my old mesmer spells, ya know?" Leine pointed out. "Besides, you'll need some back up."

"I could hire help." Maialin said. "Better than you getting yourself into trouble."

"I'm touched you care so much." Leine joked. "But I know you, you're too proud to hire help."

"I know what you're like! You complain when you get dust on your boots. How are you going to survive a journey into the mountains?" Maialin pointed out.

"Oh, give me some credit." Leine sighed. "I planned all this didn't I? And you're the one who was yelling at me for not doing anything." Maialin blushed.

"Sorry about that." She laughed.

"So then, I'm going." Leine stated. "Unless you want to stay here."

"No, we'll go." Maialin reassured. "We'll need time to get some supplies together, it's going to be a long journey."

"Obviously." Leine replied. "And I need some rest." She yawned. "Finding this information took a long time."

"You realise we're going to be spending more time awake out there? To avoid getting ambushed in the night, we'll have to take turns on watch and things?" Maialin pointed out. "You had better not fall asleep on me and get us killed."

"Yes, yes. I know. Plays, remember?" Leine smiled.

"Don't remind me." Maialin grumbled. "Fine. You go sleep. Got any food around?" She asked.

"Of course, in the other room. Roof is still cracked, but it works for storing food. Help yourself." Leine yawned again, putting her head down on the table.

"Urm, don't you want to go to bed?" Maialin suggested. Silence was the only reply. "Oh." She said to herself. She looked at the map, Leine sleeping on it. "I'm coming for you, sis." She whispered.