Lyndon was bored. His Nephalem friend had left him behind to help Kormac, the Templar, or no longer Templar, find a better weapon. What better way to find it than from the enemy? He grumbled and looked over at the Enchantress, Eirena, but she was casually ignoring him and practicing her spells in silent meditation. He checked over the heavily armored coat he wore and double-checked his quivers. His crossbow was already tuned several times, and it threatened to quit on him if he fiddled with that anymore. How I hate waiting around!
He sighed and decided to talk to Tyrael when he finally walked into New Tristram. Lorath was going over the reward stash, and that was heavily monitored. Not only by the Horadrim there, but also by Izarius and his fellow angelic warriors in their invisible state. So much for trying to steal from them! The Horadrim had special locks and spells on all of the treasures they brought, too. The last time he tried to sneak something, he found his hands stuck in his pockets for two hours from the spell he sprung. He was lucky that Darius wasn't tempted enough to smash a finger or two.
"I'm busy," Tyrael said quickly at the Scoundrel's approach.
"Oh, come on," Lyndon frowned. At the sudden approach of the chocolate-haired beauty, his eyebrows rose with complete appreciation. She caught it and inwardly scoffed at him. She moved right over to Tyrael, and they clasped hands. She had explored the town a bit and was impressed.
"Tyrael, how is everything?" Lilaurael asked with a small grin.
"Here?" he smiled. "We will find out. The Nephalem got here before we did. Oh, this is Lyndon. Eirena is over by the fire pit there practicing her spells."
"Ah. Hello. I am Lily. I was mainly a farmer, but I'm a bit of a warrior, too. Nice to meet you," she said. Tyrael was aware that their true names were hidden away for now. It was just until they knew it was safe to say them. At how Ilerael was stealthily moving in behind his wife, he hid his smirk. When Lyndon paid no attention, Ilerael easily moved to stand right behind the human. One of his specialties was stealth tactics despite his size. He had over a millennia to hone them.
"Well, hello there," Lyndon said in a sly manner. Of course, she had a stunning figure, and he let his eyes roam all over it. He clearly liked what he saw. When he saw her bow and arrows, he was already thinking of how to get close to her with his own form of 'lessons'.
"And I'm her husband, Isaiah," Ilerael growled out dangerously from behind him. When he turned to see the man, his jaw almost dropped under the heavy collar that hid his face. This man was larger than Kormac! It caught him by complete surprise. The two-handed sword the man bore didn't look very nice to shake hands with, either. He was even more amazed at how silent the man was.
"Yes! Of course, you are!" Lyndon chuckled nervously. When the glance to 'get lost' was given, he quickly did so. When he was back at the small fire pit, he grumbled to himself. "Damn! She looks far better than any farmer's girl that I've ever come across!"
"What? We have new guests?!" Eirena gasped with delight at the change of topic from possible flirting and moved quickly to make her acquaintance. Now that they were happily chatting away with her, she seemed to pause after a bit with uncertainty. "You are like Tyrael? I sense it. How can this be?"
"Ah. That's right. She was trained by a Seraph from long ago. She knows us as we are," Tyrael chuckled. "She is safe to tell your story to, Ilerael."
"Very well," he smiled. As Eirena learned of this surprise, Tyrael and Lorath were going over the latest scout reports in the area. Lyndon was about to scowl to himself when a beam of golden light slammed down and reformed into the most stunning woman he had ever seen in his life.
She was wearing solid gold armor that was engraved to be just like Imperius's. From the angelic runes that covered her, to the gold-spun cloth that she wore under and over various parts to keep it from rubbing on her skin. But, it was far more feminine in design, and lighter to wear. The cloth armor that Imperius had around his waist only seemed to come down as slight tassels between her thighs and split down along her legs for easier movement. She lacked a helmet, but her circlet was much like Imperius's halo, save that the point in the front actually sunk lower to form an empty circle for a gem to fit. It actually displayed her mark perfectly in the slender, golden ring for any that could see it.
Her hair was loose, though, much to his insistence. When she moved, it truly did seem to flow out behind her like a set of golden wings. He appreciated the effect. At the two-handed spear she bore, her father was stunned at how closely it resembled Solarion. It was simply lighter, smaller, and easier for her to handle. She looked regal and appeared to be a true angelic warrior.
"Anaurael," Tyrael smiled softly.
"Tyrael," she nodded. "Mother. Father."
"Come here," Ilerael smiled. She moved to embrace them now, and he hugged her tight. "Where did you get this?! It's amazing!"
"Imperius wanted me to bear armor in his image. Including his weapon," she beamed. "He forged all of this himself. He wants to start training me in Pandemonium shortly. He will take me there."
"You have yet to really kill your first demon," Lilaurael frowned. "We should go with you."
"That may be possible. We'll have to talk to him when he gets here," she nodded.
"He plans to appear?" Tyrael frowned.
"Or I go to him," she shrugged. "He prefers to be at my side. He may come here for me."
"As it should be," Ilerael agreed.
"And you are...?" Lyndon asked when he walked over.
"I am Anaurael, ward to Imperius," she said lightly and regarded him with her topaz blue eyes. "My armor is made in his image, and he chose me, himself, to be his champion."
"I see. Grumpy has taste," he mused.
"I beg pardon?!" she glowered. "Imperius is only like that from how he was unable to do anything to the Burning Hells! You know nothing, human!"
"What? Are you not human, too?" Lyndon asked. Lorath had walked over, rolled his eyes and listened in calmly. Something was bound to happen. Izarius nudged his fellow warriors, and they glanced over cautiously from where they stood.
"We may as well," Ilerael smirked. "My real name is Ilerael. My wife's name is Lilaurael. We were both, originally, angelic warriors in Heaven. We cast aside our wings to live here, because we were in love. Anaurael is our daughter. Imperius felt her, visited her on the night of her birth, and liked her."
"Oh!" Lyndon blinked. At the thought of possibly impressing them, he said, "So, Lilaurael, you know how to use that bow, right? I'm a rather good shot, myself, you know..."
"Lyndon," Lilaurael said with a small smile. "I've been using this bow, since before humanity was ever created. I'm an excellent shot, and I always hit my target. No matter how small it may be."
"Well, I can believe that! Oh. HEY!" Lyndon shouted when he finally caught on. Lilaurael was only laughing softly. Her husband was grinning wickedly. "You can see it perfectly at a distance!"
Tyrael rose a brow, but it was Lorath that was whispering to him. Now Tyrael blinked his eyes, groaned, and shook his head with a touch of disgust. Anaurael merely sighed and smiled when Gurzick appeared. When Lyndon quickly rose up his crossbow, she stepped in front of the goblin. "This one is watched by his god, Greed. And he is special. Gurzick can give you a good item in trade. One time trade only, though. So, if you have something to give him, he may have something in return."
"Really? Well, then! Ah, here. Do you think I could get a gold crossbow in return? I always wanted one! And, I promise that this crossbow is one of my best ones!" Lyndon said and handed over a spare crossbow. It wasn't really the best one, but what would a goblin know? Gurzick took it, thought to himself, and looked through his bag. Then he handed over a different crossbow. "Thank you! Oh, I feel so excited, and I...wait a minute! This one is broken?!"
"Yes," Gurzick nodded. Then his crown glowed.
"For all the broken promises you gave in your life, a broken crossbow is a fair enough exchange. At least, I think so. You should know better than to lie to me!" Greed giggled and went silent. Tyrael was biting his tongue. Ilerael and Lilaurael bit back their own laughter, but Anaurael thought it was a fitting punishment. Lorath was chuckling softly at everything. The angelic warriors were clearly amused, and they had the same thoughts as Anaurael. Eirena had an idea and walked over.
"Um, I really need a new ring. Can you help?" she asked. Gurzick mused to himself and took the basic ring. Studying it, he tossed it into his bag and dug around. He pulled out another ring that seemed to enhance her powers, gave her a slightly faster attack, and boosted her health. "Perfect! Thank you! You are so sweet! Cute, too!"
"Yes!" Gurzick nodded and beamed at the last comment. When Lyndon was going to complain, Gurzick casually flipped him off. Now they all ended up laughing. "You bad. Give bad. Get bad."
"But..." Lyndon sputtered. "Fine. I'll find something of good quality to give you."
"We see," Gurzick said and stuck out his tongue. When Imperius slammed down into the village, Anaurael looked over and smiled. As she was about to walk to him, Lyndon stopped her.
"I have a question," he said casually.
"I may have an answer," she said. Imperius was not amused and walked over to his ward. She moved slightly to lean into him and let him rest his hands on her shoulders. He said nothing to the others.
"What does he do to you that makes you his ward? Or, eh, what is a ward?" he asked.
"A ward," she said softly. "is something that I am to Imperius. He marked me. Where the circlet rests on my brow is a glowing dot. You can't see it, because you are human. Only true angels can. With the Horadric spectacles, you can see it. Maybe, in time, you will be able to use them. Otherwise, Imperius is my life. Literally. If he dies, I will die. He is my strength, as I am his. If he gets wounded, I share the same wound. We also have the same emotions most of the time."
"So...you're lovers?" he asked. Imperius seemed to glare, but she pat his hands gently.
"Well, to you, he's my husband," she smirked. "And, he can pleasure me for hours and hours on end without needing to eat, sleep, or take a single break. For a week straight he did this. I doubt you would ever come up to par."
At Lyndon's gaping jaw, her parents busting up laughing, Tyrael's casual smile, and Imperius's smirk, she smiled softly and shrugged. Lorath was blushing a beet red and clearing his throat.
"It is time to go to Pandemonium for you to train," Imperius said.
"We wanted to go with her. It would be her first time confronting demons," Lilaurael said.
"I want to protect my daughter," Ilerael nodded.
"We should go, too," Izarius said when he revealed himself with the other three angelic warriors.
"I accept your decisions," Imperius nodded.
"Can I go?!" Lyndon asked hopefully.
"No. You need to stay in case the Nephalem needs you," Tyrael said bluntly. "I am also staying. I need to inform the Nephalem of the most infested areas here. You might be needed."
"Oh," he frowned. Gurzick flipped him off again with a beaming grin. "Stop that!"
"No," Gurzick chuckled. Imperius was mildly amused. He made a portal for them to all step into and head out of Sanctuary. Lyndon frowned and thought hard. Then he mused and figured that he was too 'man enough' for them. They left, because they couldn't bear to be around such awesome power! Grinning at his own ego boost, he went to pester Eirena, but she was deep in meditative focus. Back to where he started at the beginning, he sighed with defeat and waited.