PaulM, my man! I'm so happy to see you still around here! You have godlike patience, I hope this fic will be worthy of it in the end. :) Thank you for sticking with it all this time.

Chapter 43

Teeriel was a very weird chicken.

He was scrawny, pitch black and constantly shedding his feathers. Also, his voice was shrill and annoying as he clucked, running around in a small circle. Quiet looked at him with worry, tilting his head slightly. He almost believed Teeriel changed into a chicken by himself, only he felt the remnants of a spell tugging at his own being, trying to get him to change as well. Quiet frowned and dismissed the magic.

Why would he want to turn into a chicken? That sounded dumb.

The Beeests (herrr-bee-w—whats?) snorted in annoyance, being roused from their sleep by Teeriel's shrieking. Some of them slowly stood up, grumbling under their noses.

- Why didn't you change?! – demanded a female voice from the darkness.

Quiet turned towards the newcomer. At the weak light of the campfire, he made out a pretty lady with a big staff. She was dressed in purple clothes and her hair was blonde and she smelled of flowers. She was a very pretty lady, except that she made a strange face, that looked angry and surprised at the same time.

- Hello! I am Quiet – the little angel waved at her. – You made Teeriel into chicken?

Teeriel jumped there and began pecking at Quiet's shoulder, almost like he wanted the little angel to do something.

- What in the Hells—? – the pretty lady shouted angrily. – You were supposed to get hexed! Both of you!

- I did no want to be a chicken. That is dumb. – Quiet frowned, still sitting despite the increasingly hurried pecking of Teeriel.

- You mizzerable little—! – the lady grabbed her staff with both hands, she looked angry.

- What is "mizzerable"? – Quiet frowned, trying to copy the word.

Teeriel and now this lady used such strange words at times. Leendonn was far easier to understand.

Instead of answering (rude! Leendonn told him never to be rude!), the lady looked at Teeriel who was now trying to drag Quiet away by his sleeve.

- I expected much from you, Teeriel! I did not want to believe when Johhana told us you were in leegh with daemons. But here you are, sharing a camp with the eldest of them all! – she frowned, before raising her glowing staff. – I am sorry, but I must ensure Sanctuary's protection. But don't worry, I will do everything in my power to save you from the corruption!

Quiet stared at the staff. What was her problem with them? Why was she hurling a ball at the—

Teeriel tackled him in his chest, knocking him away from the fire. The ball exploded where Quiet stood a moment ago, sending out a strong wave that knocked everything further away, the two of them included. Teeriel's letter and stuff went flying as well. The Beeests reared back, honking in alarm. The alarm bells in Quiet's head sounded at full volume, and that only reeled the animals into bigger panic.

- Get back, foul kreetures! I must slay this daemon! – the pretty lady jumped back from the stomp of one of the Beeests.

Teeriel clucked with fear, again running around Quiet in circles. The little angel glared at the lady, his anger rising. What did he do?! Why did she attack him, why did she call him a "daemon"?! He did nothing bad to her!

Did she know about the strange big house in the river, and what Quiet did there?

The little angel would have frozen to his spot, but the lady made a big mistake: she attacked the Beeests. She created a strange glowing circle on the ground where the animals were stomping and trying to scare her off. With dread, Quiet could immediately feel what the circle was doing: it was sucking away the life of the animals, who honked in pain and alarm. One of them collapsed, its body quickly eroding.

With newfound anger Quiet screamed, demanding that the world took up arms for him. The ground exploded, sending the bad lady flying with a shriek. She rolled over her head, her staff falling out of her hands. Quiet ordered the grass to grab the staff and carry it far away from the lady, which they did with great hurry. The lady tried to call it back to her hand, but the grass cleverly wrapped themselves around it, stopping it from moving anywhere.

The remaining Beeests charged, angry because of the attack. The lady threw a ball of light, that missed everyone completely and exploded far up into the sky, throwing sparks everywhere. She had to turn around and run away from the animals, then she disappeared into the night. Quiet could still sense her, her feet trembling the ground as she ran as fast as she could.

Teeriel kept clucking, hopelessly jumping up and down and gesturing at the sky with his head. Quiet looked up at the sparks. Strange, how they didn't disappear yet… Chicken Teeriel ran up to his scattered stuff and began pecking them, while the Beeests honked and shook their heads, trying to scare away whatever else was in the dark. Something approached from the far north, something very strong and… evil. And he knew her very well.

They had to go, Quiet realized. The strong evil thing was still far away but they couldn't wait for her to arrive.

The little angel ran and quickly gathered Teeriel's stuff into a nice pile, then he asked a disc-shaped part of the ground to start flying and carry the stuff for them. Teeriel loudly clucked, then the next second Quiet found himself on his back, just as the Beeests began moving again.

The herd thundered across the plain, Teeriel running next to them, and the ground disc carrying their stuff following them. Suddenly the chicken had another idea and quickly turned away from the herd, running in a different direction.

- What are you doing?! The town is that way, they said – Quiet shouted over the noise of all the Beeests.

- Cluck!

- You are a very dumb chicken!

They ran into a forest leaving the Beeests behind completely, then found the stream flowing into the river they had made camp at earlier, and Teeriel immediately jumped into the shallow water, running upstream. Quiet had to hold on tight to stay on his back. Before them, a wall of cliffs rose from the ground, only a small crevice allowed the water to pass through it. Teeriel could pass through it, just barely, as Quiet had to pull himself into a tight ball on his back. The ground carrying their stuff was left behind.

They emerged to a hidden and very nice grove, bidding Teeriel and Quiet to stop and gawk. The source of the stream was no mere spring, it was a tall rock that… that almost looked like a kneeling crying woman from the right spot. The water poured from a crack where the eyes should have been, and it gathered into a small pool in front of the "knees" of the rock, before starting its journey towards the river out on the plains. Next to the cliff, covering it halfway with its roots rose an ancient weeping willow, its long branches swaying gently in the slight breeze. Lush green bushes filled the entire grotto, flowers and berries covered much of them.

Teeriel sat on the ground, no doubt just now feeling his exhaustion. He clucked softly, staring at the woman-shaped rock. Quiet climbed off of him, enjoying the untouched nature of this place. It filled him with warmth and welcoming. With a bit of concentration, he managed to lift the ground disc over the surrounding cliffs and gently lay it down next to the pond.

- This place is safe – he told Teeriel with the outmost certainty. – We can stay here and rest.

The chicken replied with a glare. Quiet locked eyes with him for a brief, confused second.

- Oh right! You want to be back? – the little angel finally exclaimed, to which Teeriel crowed with disdain.

The little angel rolled his eyes, then gently petted the chicken's head. He had no idea how exactly he could lift the magic, but reached out with his mind anyway. He saw the strands of the spell around Teeriel, like a net almost, keeping him in the bird's shape against his will. Well, poking and pulling at these things will surely do something, so Quiet did just that. After pulling on a random thread, Teeriel crowed in alarm, before bursting into sparks and turning into a—

- You are a funny pig! – Quiet couldn't help but laugh loudly as he pointed at the small, black-skinned animal that had two rosy spots on its fat cheeks.

Pig Teeriel squealed with the highest offense and stamped his stubby legs.

- Alright, alright, I'll help! – Quiet regained control over his chuckling and went back to the spell.

Maybe if he did something to the whole thing at the same time? Quiet slapped both sides of the net with his tiny hands, sending a red shockwave through the strands. The spell burst and Teeriel turned back into his human form with a loud shout, jumping and crashing back into ground hard.

- Ouch – the man moaned, pushing himself up into a sitting position.

- You are back! Told you I could help – Quiet exclaimed happily.

- I could have used the help without the pig part, but I'm fine, I guess. Thank you…

Quiet looked back at the lady rock.

- We can stay here, right? – he asked.

- Feels safe to me. I've done my best to lose the pursuers when we were fleeing. Hopefully the stream would do the trick – Teeriel glanced up at the rock as well. – But you are the… you are more in tune with the world. What do you feel?

- Safe.

- Then we can probably stay here – Teeriel stood up, rummaging through their rescued stuff.

- You finish the letter to Soffia? – Quiet asked him, drawing closer to the cliff.

-… I should, yes. But maybe I'll leave this part out…

- Why?

- If she knew I got turned into a chicken, then into a pig on the first day of the journey, she would personally go after me and drag me back to Westmarch by my collar, no doubt.

- Why? – Quiet frowned, imagining the scene.

- Because – Teeriel sighed deeply –, she will be worried about me and she wants me to be safe.

- Leendonn worries about me all the time – Quiet pointed it out.

- I bet he does…

The conversation died down as Teeriel went back to writing his letter. Quiet sat by the small pool, close to the big rock. It was a strange rock, but looked almost friendly. The little angel smiled up at it. It was because of the big rock that he felt safe, so he patted the "knee" of the rock.

There was still a good amount of night left, so they could get some good sleep. Teeriel yawned widely and stretched after finishing his letter, putting everything away then placing the mats on the ground.

- Such good fortune that we do not need fire. The air is surprisingly warm here – he stretched again before lying down. – Get some rest, I—Quiet. Who knows what tomorrow brings, after this madness.

He fell almost immediately asleep, long before Quiet could actually answer. The little angel thought for a moment then he grabbed his mat and dragged it next to the big rock. He didn't feel alone next to it.

As it quickly turned out, there was a good reason for that.

Quiet woke up not far from himself. He was lying on the mat, curled up into a tight ball and buried in his blanket, but he was also sitting by the pond, facing the huge rock… that was no longer a rock.

It was a very pretty lady kneeling in front of him, just as big as the rock was. She didn't have a face, just like Quiet, and instead she had a nice yellow hood on her head. She wore long grey clothes that had a nice shine to them. And she had wings. Big beautiful white wings waved behind her back, easily avoiding the branches of the willow tree.

- Hello. My name is Quiet – the little angel waved dutifully at the woman.

He wasn't scared, even though he couldn't remember ever seeing the pretty lady.

- Inarius! You are back! After all this time – the lady clasped her hands together.

- I am no Inarius! – Quiet frowned, angrily punching the ground. – Inarius is bad! I am no bad!

Why did everyone insist he was someone he clearly wasn't?!

- You… you do not remember? – the pretty lady asked in confusion. – I am Amaniel. One of your followers!

-… I have no followers – Quiet stared up at her, just as confused. – Well… Teeriel follows me now to the big grassy place, but nobody else. Why you follow me?

- In—Quiet, was it? – the pretty lady anxiously ran her hand over her dress. – Little one, what do you remember? What is the oldest memory you have?

Quiet thought for a moment. Did she mean the one about Leendonn, or the one the bad ghosts showed him in that dark place? Quiet instinctively knew both belonged to him… at the same time, the latter did not feel completely right. Not only was it ugly and showed a very bad angel, but it also didn't quite fit in to him.

- My good friend Leendonn promiss-d everything will be alright – he finally concluded with outmost surety.

Yes, that was his earliest memory. Everything else was… well, he didn't know what those were, just yet, but he would figure it out! That grassy place can help somehow.

-… Leendonn? Is he a Neffelem? – Amaniel tilted her head slightly.

- What is "neffelem"? – Quiet asked back.

- It—They are our children with the demons. Try to remember, little one. You had a son and a daughter as well! I had ten beautiful children with my mate, Tuon, before—before… – her voice faltered and she covered her dark face with her hands.

-… He died? – Quiet asked in a small voice.

- He was killed. As was I, nearly. But my soul clung to this land. I cannot return to the High Heavens, I will lose who I am! Sanctuary and my descendants are all I have left! – the pretty lady cried.

- I'm sorry – Quiet mumbled, feeling very sad.

"Some of those men you've killed… they had someone at home waiting for them, just like you would be waiting for me. Wives. Children. Sons."

The sadness squeezed his throat and Quiet wiped his eyes with his little fists.

- You liked him? – he asked.

- I loved him. He was everything I've ever wanted: caring, patient, brave. But the Heavens wouldn't understand because he was a demon – Amaniel sniffled.

- There are good demons?

- A few, but yes, there are. You truly do not remember anything. Not even the Purge? Not even L—?

The lady suddenly straightened, staring at the distance. Quiet turned around following her sight, but all he saw was the tall rocks surrounding this place.

- I cannot say her name. That will draw her attention, and you are not ready, little one – the pretty lady stated seriously, hunching back down. – I know not what happened to you, but I see you are on a mission.

- I am going to the big grassy plains! There is a white house there, it's very big – Quiet announced dead seriously.

- I may know what you speak of, but I cannot remember any white building there – Amaniel mused aloud before shaking her head slightly. – No matter. You are travelling with Teeriel himself, which could be a good sign for reconciliation. For too long we lived as Renegades and Traitors. The Council never tried to understand us.

Quiet tilted his head slightly with a hopeless expression, quickly losing track of the nonsense this pretty lady was saying. She must have noticed as well, because she cleared her throat:

- My apologies. I did not wish to confuse you, Quiet.

- You are very confusing.

- Have you passed through the Arch and lost your memories that way? But then… why would you be so small and frail? – Amaniel mumbled under her nose.

- I passed through many arches – Quiet explained, recalling his travels. – People like them very much. They are everywhere in the big cities.

- Oh. I, uh… that is not what I meant.

- You are very very confusing.

Amaniel actually chuckled at this, prompting Quiet to laugh with her. It felt good, helped him temporarily forget his sadness. This lady was very nice, unlike the one with the strange staff and the chicken magic.

- But you are very kind, too – the little angel added after a few moments of chuckling uncontrollably.

- Thank you, you are kind too. I'm happy to see some things never change, even if you do not remember – Amaniel returned.

- I—I wasn't kind – Quiet's laughter died down as he remembered what the bad ghosts had showed him. – I was bad. I killed people.

He felt a soft brush on his head, different but still similar to his first memory of Leendonn. He looked up, seeing the pretty lady patting his head with one big finger.

- I do not know what events you speak of. I know that you have far outlived all of us, but I wish I knew what happened to you in that time. I have only regained a part of my konshusness in the last century. But I do know that while we were all still alive, you were kind and kompassionat. You always made sure we had everything and that we were well-protected from the Etternal Konflict.

Quiet frowned as he struggled to understand all those big words the confusing lady was using. He got the feeling that what she was saying was good, that he was kind in the past. Why couldn't he remember it then? Why only the bad part where he killed people?

- But I do no remember – he whined pitifully.

- Perhaps this journey will bring clarity to you. I can only pray that it does.

- What is "clarity"?

- Understanding. Knowledge.

- That would be nice, yes – Quiet nodded, mumbling under his nose.

He did not like that the world was so confusing.

Amaniel looked at the sky.

- Dawn is approaching, little one. You should wake soon, and I should return to the earth. I have made a promiss that I shall remain on Sanctuary until the last moment of this world. This is my home, after all. Perhaps I am not the only one who remained. You can seek them out for protection and guidance.

- Gu—ga—what? – Quiet stared hopelessly at the lady.

- They might be able to show the way, where you need to go – she offered.

- Oh, alright. They sound kind.

- I am certain they will help you, even the demons.

Quiet frowned again. Demons were bad! He did not like demons! They were ugly, skerry and tried to kill him many times. This lady was convinced that there were good demons too, but he was not so sure about that. But he kept his opinion to himself as Amaniel patted his head again:

- I wish you luck on your journey, Quiet. And I am grateful that you are back, no matter the sirrkumstances.

- I'm happy I met you. You are a nice lady – Quiet reached up and patted the big finger in return.

Amaniel withdrew to her spot and lowered her head, looking at the pool.

Quiet woke up on his mat, yawning widely. He had twisted his blanket around himself as usual, because it was warm and soft, and it reminded him of Leendonn. He liked it, but he did not like that he had to climb out of it in the morning. Teeriel was already packing away his things, wiping his mouth free from the bread crumbs from his breakfast.

- Morning – he said.

-… Yes, it is morning – Quiet agreed after a pause at this strange sentence.

Teeriel looked at him for a second then turned back to his things, chuckling:

- I meant "good morning". This is how we greet others in the morning. Leendonn never said it to you?

- No, he asked me how I slept – Quiet shook his head then thought for a moment. – But good morning.

Teeriel nodded.

- Let's get going. We need to put more distance between us and where Eyrena had attacked us.

- Eyrena?

- The woman who turned me into a chicken. I—I don't know why her hostility shocks me… I should have foreseen it. Kormak was very much the same – Teeriel mumbled, clearly sad, only Quiet didn't know why he was sad.

The bald man then looked around, frowning slightly.

- Strange – he mumbled to himself.

Quiet glanced up at the big rock. He patted the knee of the rock, smiling:

- Thank you for the good sleep, Amaniel.

Teeriel wasn't paying attention, he was busy lifting all their stuff to his back.

- Let's go, In—Quiet. Can you part the rocks so we can squeeze through?

He still had trouble with his name, but Quiet figured that was the best he would get for now. So he wordlessly obeyed and opened up a way forward for them, back to the big forest. He made sure to seal the entrance back, though.

No one should bother Amaniel.


It's time to improve your vocabulary, Quiet! Let's start with some big words. That will surely work! :D

Also, yay, Eirena's here! I wonder where and how she will end up. This is gonna be fun!

Well, it's not exactly rapidfire, but I am proud of the speed this chapter came around at. I think I am over my Writer's Block. It's not easy, trying to slightly degrade my vocabulary whenever I write a Quiet-centric chapter.

As always, thank you, cupcakes, for your continued patience and support!

Lore & Trivia Corner

- Eirena's abilities are from the game itself. The two mentioned are Mass Control (the chicken spell), Forceful Push (the knockback spell), and Erosion that deals damage in an area. She might receive made up spells later on in the story, but for now her in-game kit is enough to roll with.

- Amaniel is based on another ancient soul within the lore. During the Sin War, Uldyssian accidentally stumbles upon the ruins of a temple-like structure where the sliver of a demon took up residence. As they fight, it turns out (to the reader, at least) that the nameless demon was once a follower of Inarius. During the Purge, his angel love was killed before he was and his unadulterated rage and grief shackled a part of his soul to Sanctuary. In his rage, he attacks anyone who senses him, at the same time he is capable of showing compassion to those who also lost someone important to them. While the books weren't the height of literature I've ever read, this scene was among my top favorite ones. It is also one of the few (if not the only) instances in the entire Diablo franchise where a demon is actually an okay dude. We could use a few more of those, wouldn't you agree?

- Groves, hidden grottos are awesome. I love em. :D Especially when they have like a little pond or a stream or something.