Lust the Gunslinger I

"The Thanatonauts recommend it."

"Those people say a lot of things," another voice replied, "Doesn't make it all worth listening to."

"Harsh words." The corner of Ikora's lips twitched upwards. "And here I thought some of them were your friends."

"And I thought you were beyond mincing your words."

Ikora's fingers slid over the smooth screen of an open datapad before picking it up. "I see no reason this thing doesn't have to die," she said, "It's making a mess of our operations on the Moon." She handed the tablet over to her companion. "Osiris could do it but Osiris is gone now."

"I refuse to believe even you could tear Osiris away from his own ass long enough to serve the City he once called home."

Overcome with a strange sense of defensiveness. Ikora said, "Kabr's death and Pahanin's…injury, they changed him. He never really forgave himself."

Silence followed, soon broken by a resigned sigh. The tablet was put back down. "Saint is available. His birds won't miss him too much. As is Rezyl Azzir." The Guardian stepped away from the table and turned. "Personally, I recommend Azzir."

Ikora hummed. "Any particular reason why?"

"He likes the Moon."

A pause, then soft chuckling. "Will do." The clicking of footsteps increased as the other Guardian began to leave. "Eriana?"

The footsteps stopped. Ikora turned her head only slightly. "Thank you."

Silence. Then the footsteps resumed.

The darkness boomed. Shards of stone rained down from the ceiling and pattered against the ground.

Another boom rocked the pitch black, trembling with the force of a quake. Then another, even harder than the last. Then another and another. With each rattling impact, the surrounding stone cracked, letting rays of light spill forth like water.

Then three slams; massive and in quick succession. The cracks in the slabs widened into crevices then holes before the entire wall shattered with a resounding crash. Light flowed through like a burst dam and against the stream stood a figure, tall, broad and imposing.

The shadow of a Ghost appeared over his shoulder and through her eye, more light beamed into the now open cavern. She flew further in, turning from side to side, scoping the entirety of the area. "You know for someone in such a rush," she said, "You sure took your time making us an entrance."

"I told you, Kiara." The Titan stepped closer to the hole, peering over the edge to examine the drop. "Couldn't risk caving in the place."

"I already told you it was hollow," Kiara shot back. "You just like punching things."

The Titan opened his mouth and before anything could come out, she snapped. "Go ahead. Deny it to someone who can read your mind."

"I wasn't…" Kiara glared harder somehow and her big Titan, successfully cowed, chuckled, "Alright, alright."

Rezyl Azzir dropped into the hole and landed with a heavy, grunting impact. His eyes followed his Ghost's eye and when he was sure the way was completely clear, he began to move forward. "Let's get through this quickly," Rezyl mutters. Louder he says, "I want to go see Serene soon."

"I can't believe you enjoy this place," griped Kiara, keeping her eye on the ground and herself close to Rezyl's shoulder.

"I like the stars without all the lights of the City," he replied, "I like the sight of the Earth from the Anchor of Light. I like that I can see Mars from the Archer's Line. I don't like the caves."

"The Moon is all caves. And Hive. And whatever else." Kiara affected a shuddering sound.

"How do you feel?" Rezyl asked, slowing to a stop.

"Fine," Kiara said quickly, "Just the usual."

"Every Ghost says that and they never specify."

"Sagira always felt it a bit worse." Her shining eye turned down. "She only ever said 'down there'." Her eye came up. "The less time I spend in these caves, the better. We're looking for a Hive Wizard named Xyor," she explained, reading from Ikora's briefing. "Her and her Knight…" Kiara paused, sighed and then corrected, "Knight-Consort."

"How does that work?"

"You don't want to know. She spends her time terrorizing the Hellmouth and her downtime around here. Scouts always see her retreat to the Circle of Bones." Kiara paused. Rezyl stopped as well. "The last of Ikora's Hidden that tried to follow her further very nearly died. Attacked by something she couldn't describe except that it was big, metallic and had weird, red, glowing eyes. She barely escaped."

"Back to me then." She floated to him and disappeared. Rezyl brought up his right fist and set it alight with Arc lightning. "Not the same as Solar Light but we'll make do."

There was still no explanation for how the deaths of the Iron Lords resulted in the collective loss of their Light. The strongest of them could only manage two elements and even those who could before call upon a third, like Saladin, Tallulah and Rezyl himself could not muster up their previous abilities. Lord Saladin had accepted it as further punishment. He could not protect his team with his fire so he deserved to lose it.

Rezyl stopped in his tracks for just a beat. Then in one fluid movement, he pulled a hand cannon out from behind him and fired into the shadows. An ear-piercing screech rang out, echoing and fading. Rezyl drew closer to the origin of the sound and held his fist further out.

A Thrall, crumbled to dust but the head remained, with the white, slender bullet of Rose jutting from the center of its skull. "These are their babies, right?" Kiara silently confirmed that they were. Rezyl turned. "Then mother must be nearby. And her Knight…Consort. How does that-"

Another screech echoed out of the cavern, joined with another and then another. The stone under his feet, above his head and in the walls around him rumbled with activity. The dirt shifted and Hive Thrall began to claw their way to the surface; out of the ceiling, out of the ground and the walls, flooding the tunnel Rezyl was traversing. Rezyl lifted Rose and fired again, dropping one of the Thrall. He lunged forward with the Arc fist, discharging it into a second before shooting a third, a fourth and a fifth.

Many began to change direction, running around Rezyl as well as back and away, making it impossible to keep track of them all at once. The Thrall did not need long to take advantage of their numbers. Rezyl felt one suddenly latch onto his back. He grabbed it and threw it off before two more jumped onto him. More and more followed suit until the Titan was obscured from view, smothered from head to toe in a violently writhing mass of Hive with more and more of them piling on.

A streak of sharp blue lightning was the only warning. The mound of Hive blasted apart, the explosion illuminating every corner of the cave. Sheathed in his Light, Rezyl struck Thrall out of the air into dust as more continued to jump at him. A swift and hard rounding kick tore three into pieces. A vicious shoulder charge sent two more flying back into the darker recesses of the cave and knocked one flat to the ground, it's head crushed under heel before it could stand.

There were few left after that display and even less of them dared outright confrontation. They waited, running back and forth around the same space, searching for an opening, a lapse in his awareness.

One only thought it found it. It charged; head low to avoid gunfire, the Thrall crossed the short distance between them in three long strides. It jumped, arms held high, claws aching to rend and the ever-present screech spewing forth from its desiccated throat.

The screech was cut short. A massive, armored hand darted out and grabbed the Thrall by its neck. Rezyl held the alien aloft, its thrashing doing little to sway him, wailing in fury and indignation. Beneath his helm, Rezyl gave a smile. "Is your mother home?" He asked, "I'm here to take her out."

"You know how that sounds, right?"

The retort on Rezyl's lips died when a new sound reached his ears. Heavy stomping and the sound of stone grinding against stone. Rezyl, keeping the Thrall in place, only turning his head to the side. And then upwards.

A Knight. Taller than him, taller than even Shaxx and even Kabr. It stepped forward from the obscuring shadows, dragging behind it a massive cleaver. The remaining Thrall, still roaming the outskirts of their makeshift arena, parted to let it through and the low light streaming in from the holes they had made turned its skeleton smile into something even more gruesome and disturbing. It came to a stop at some distance, just watching him. Rezyl watched it back, absent-mindedly squeezing the neck of the Thrall in his hand until it gave way. He released it, letting it crumble to dust beside his feet.

At that, the Knight roared. It lifted its blade high into the air and charged, its pounding footfalls shaking the ground beneath the Titan's feet. Rezyl ripped Rose from its holster, infusing its core with his Light. Practiced to be quick and thorough, the empowered hand cannon practically sang back to him. Rezyl aimed and fired, missing the Knight by bare inches. Instead, it blasted through the skull of the last of the Thrall, the force of the shot knocking it against the wall. Rezyl himself charged, tucking and rolling beneath the Knight's descending sword to reach the Thrall's crumbled body. From it rose a sphere of Light, shimmering in the air.

As soon as Rezyl was near enough, the sphere darted forward and splashed against his weapon, causing Rose to begin glowing. As soon as it did, he twisted around and before the Knight, who had changed its course, could properly react, several bullets sprouted from its chest.

Rose's empowered shots staggered it. The holes left in its armor glowed with white hot fire, setting every part of its insides alight with pain. But pain could be endured and forced past. As soon as Rezyl stopped to reload, the Knight recovered, grabbing a large boulder off the ground and lobbing it in his direction.

Rezyl barely had enough time to move out of the sailing stone's path. The Knight used his stumbling, charging again with its cleaver held high over its head. Rezyl barely managed to avoid the drop. Rolling to the side, kicking up to his feet and reloading, Rezyl fired again.

The Knight didn't seem to notice, running through Rezyl's shots as if he was pushing against a strong gale of wind. When its shoulder connected with his chest, the Guardian felt more surprise than pain. It took but a second to realize he had been knocked off his feet and sent sailing through the air. He twisted in his flight, forcing his feet to the ground and coming to a sliding stop.

Rezyl's eyes came up and were greeted to the sight of another boulder, this one thrown too soon after the first strike for him to avoid. Instead, he called forth the Void, taking the nothing of the universe and donning it like armor. The second impact was less of a surprise, giving way to pain, less so with the Void between them.

Rezyl righted himself once again. A machine gun came up with him and without hesitation, he opened fire. The bulletstorm lit up the cavern like a torch. Streams of holes were carved into the walls as the Knight ran. Tucking into a roll just as Rezyl did before, it came to a stop behind another boulder. Clawed hands clutched the sides and dug into the stone before lifting it. Large, heavy and thick, the Knight used the boulder as a makeshift shield as it ran hard towards Rezyl.

The Titan dropped the machine gun. His free hands came up and caught the boulder. Though he was able to keep himself from being overwhelmed, Rezyl found that he could not stop the Knight's momentum. The Knight forced him further and further back until he was against the wall. Using only one hand to keep the slab from crushing him, Rezyl drew back his fist and punched it. Just as this whole incursion had begun, Rezyl struck out again and again and again, cracks growing in the face of the stone. One last Arc-infused punch blew the stone slab to pieces. Pressing its advantage even more so, the Knight jumped away and grabbed for its blade, discarded on the ground.

The strike finally connects. Rezyl fell hard, slammed to the ground. Air left his chest in one strangled gasp. From his back, he could feel the shards of bones that had been his ribs pushing into his lungs just as he could feel his Ghost rushing to stem the tide of blood pooling in them.

He sees the Knight. Two of them. Then just one as everything comes back into focus. It stands over him, wide and proud, relishing in Rezyl's defeat even more than in its accomplishment. The Knight took the handle of its cleaver in its second hand and raised it over its head.

"Hold it…" Kiara said.

"Holding…"

"Hold it…"

"I'm holding…"

Ghost and Guardian watched the blade rise higher and higher. "Hold it…"

"Still holding, Ki-"

The sword dropped. Rezyl heaved, Arc Light bursting from beneath the surface of his skin and swinging his legs around in a wide, circling arc. Timed with extreme precision, his legs met the descending blade and the arms holding it at the elbow's level. Now, his strike connected and it was to devastating effect. The legs tore through the arm and the entire set thudded loudly to the ground; both the blade and the arm that had held it.

The only thing louder than the weapon's fall was the Knight's scream. It staggered back some distance, stumbling away even further once it took sight of Rezyl, on his feet and advancing. The Titan bent down and took hold of the cleaver, heaving the weapon up and ready with both hands.

The Knight suddenly threw itself forward and its remaining arm was darted towards Rezyl's chest. Simply stepping to the side and bringing the sword down earned him another satisfying, echoing scream. It stumbled again, its legs giving out from under it and dropping the Knight to its knees, with no arms to help it rise again.

Rezyl walked around towards its back, slowly, dragging the Knight's own weapon behind him across the stone, reminiscent of how their fight had started. The head twisted weakly, following him, shoulders rising and falling in an imitation of breath long ago made unneeded.

With a yell, Rezyl twisted. The blade lifted and sailed around with him before coming down hard on the Knight's neck. The cleaver slid through chitin and bone like butter. The Knight's head clattered to the ground. Its body slumped over further and then pitched forward, clattering to pieces after it.

Rezyl stands over the body, shoulders heaving, cleaver still held tightly in hand. Kiara silently went to work on his injuries, refastening torn sinew and repairing shattered bone. Rezyl stretched his back as soon as it was less painful to do so. Taking a few more seconds to regard the body, he let the blade fall to the ground and threw a kick at its head, sending it sailing into the shadows.

"Childish."

"Worth it."

"True."

The head froze. Floating above the ground but no longer flying, the skull spun in the empty air until gnarled, bony claws reached out of the dark.

Rezyl's hand went back to Rose. He watched as they took hold of the skull, tracing talons into cracks and bony crevices as if it knew them better than anything else in the world.

The creature floated forward. Hive, garbed in the familiar, flowing robes of a Wizard. She paid Rezyl little mind, cradling the severed head close to her body and cooing in a gentle tone, one that was both sad and unsettling.

Rezyl shakes off his trepidation, though he keeps his hand near Rose. "Xyor, I presume," he called out. The Wizard didn't dignify him with a response. He kept on anyway. "Word on the street is you're single."

Now, she looks at him, head turning slowly to set her burning eyes on her love's murderer. Rezyl pulls Rose from its holster, brandishing it so she could see what was coming next. Her eyes stayed on him. Her claws continued to trace the lines of the Knight's face.

"How does it feel?"

The sudden question stopped Rezyl in his tracks. The face hadn't shifted, the mouth hadn't moved but Rezyl was more than certain the Wizard had spoken to him, in perfect Common, no less. He resumes walking.

"Did it feel good?"

He stopped again.

"Did it feel good?" she asked again, "To take those most cherished from those who cherish them?"

Rezyl kept his eyes on her face but he couldn't miss the subtle dig of her fingers into the Knight's severed head. "Surely, you are developing a taste for it. For you will do it again. And again. And again."

"I didn't come to answer your questions." Rezyl's voice echoed out. "I didn't come to trade gossip like a couple of teenagers. I didn't even come for an explanation of why you're doing what you do."

Rezyl opened his Light to Rose's shard. He aimed it down. "I came here for your head." He shrugged. "I was going to make it quick and painless but…" he gestured with his chin at the Knight in her hands. "You understand," he said. "Now if you have any more children or lovers you want to throw at me, feel free. I'd be happy to start with them."

"No," Xyor said.

"No?" Rezyl repeated. "Out of children?"

"No," she said again, "The end of Rezyl Azzir does not come here. Only the beginning of the end. The start of the fall. And the abyss, it is eternal. Enduring." Xyor began to move, slowly gliding forward, bobbing through the air as if she was as weightless as paper. Sense told Rezyl to step back. Or maybe it was Kiara. Same thing, really. He couldn't bring himself to listen.

She stopped before him, forcing him to crane his neck upwards to look at her. She was taller up close and Rezyl was no small man. He readjusted his grip on his gun and kept the sights aimed down.

"Rezyl's Azzir's Light. Strong. Unyielding but not boundless. A beacon of hope. A message of the Gardener's love," she intoned, "A taker of joy. A destroyer of spirits. It shall shatter lives. It shall be shattered just the same."

Rezyl did not move.

"He will cause the pain he has caused me. He will force others to endure the trial he has forced me to endure until the stars grow cold. And this time, he will not survive his reckoning."

Xyor's eyes narrowed and she began to bend down, until she was right at ear level. Once she was near him, she whispered, "Nothing dies like hope. Nothing is more sweet than watching the light dim in their eyes as the voice telling them there is still a chance falls deathly and then eternally silent. You will experience it. You will despise it. And then, in time, you will come to crave the euphoria it brings. I look forward to meeting you again, Rezyl Azzir."

The cavern came alight with gunfire. Rezyl Azzir fired off several shots into the Hive Wizard, his finger still pressing down on the trigger even as it clicked empty. He blinked, his vision swimming. When the world became coherent again, Xyor was gone and the face of the stone wall was filled with holes.

"She's gone,"Kiara murmured to him. "Hold a moment. Let me…" she paused, "Review the...playback."

"Kiara? What is it?"

"There's no one there. There never was," she tells him. "We've just been standing here, talking to nothing this whole time."

Rezyl turns to where he had killed the Knight. Its body remained in place, still down in the position it had died in, flat on its stomach. He turned his attention back to the wall and stepped closer. He put up a glowing fist and held it out.

The head was gone.

His fist dropped. In the other, Rose was still held in a tight grip. Rezyl holsters it and starts his way back. Kiara calls down his ship.

"Ikora, you there?"

"We hear you, Rezyl."

"We didn't find the Wizard," he said, "We found her Consort. A powerful Hive Knight."

Her affirmative hum buzzes over the comms. "The Knight was slated for assassination himself but it is strange you did not see her."

Rezyl gripped the arm of his seat. "We didn't find her, Ikora. But we did see her. She appeared in my mind, somehow. She just said I'd pay for what I've done to her Knight."

Another hum. "Odd. She's never directly communicated with anyone before. At least, not in any way that wasn't hostile." Ikora then sighed, "We will continue our monitoring. Thank you, Rezyl."

"Of course, Master Ikora."

"Are you going to go see her now?"

Rezyl's finger froze halfway to ending the connection. A small smile touched his lips and at the mere mention of Serene, the fog on his mind began to clear. "I am. Gonna be down there for a while too."

"Good. You've earned your rest," Ikora said, "Take it."

"Happily, Ikora."

"And-" Muffled shouting cut her off. "Okay," he heard her say. "Okay, I'll tell him!" Her voice turned back to him. "Rezyl, Saint says hello."

"Why is he shouting?"

"He's on the other side of the hall."

"Just have him come closer."

"So his yelling can be louder? It's Saint." Ikora then chuckled softly. "We'll speak again soon, Rezyl. Goodbye for now."

Early. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon and the mountains that lined them. They would have a clear day, at least, it's what they hoped. But again, the day was still young and the weather wasn't as predictable as people wished to believe.

Bran pulled his fingers out from between the blinds, darkening the room again. He sat back down on his bed and pulled his boots onto his feet before standing again. He rounded it, stopping by his wife's side. Blue fingers ran gently through white hair before Bran bent down to press a kiss to her lavender cheek. She burrowed deeper into their covers.

He left the bedroom as quietly as he could, shutting the door. As soon as he did, he heard noise coming from downstairs. He started towards the steps, pausing by a room and found the door slightly ajar. He smiled and kept on.

"Serene?" Bran called. The sounds downstairs stop.

"I'm down here, father," came the reply.

He went down the stairs. "Yes, I can see that." He turns the corner to find her in the kitchen, looking as if she had been there for a while. "Making breakfast?"

"Yep." She paused to push a strand of black hair from her face. "All your favorites."

"My favorite includes a mug of beer." She turned to him, eyebrow cocked. He raised his hands. "Just saying."

"The healer said no more."

"The healer doesn't control me."

"No but mother does." She turned with a cup in hand, placing it down. Coffee, black and steaming. "This will have to suffice."

Bran snorted derisively. Then he smiled. He took up the mug and sat down at the table. "Thought I was getting up early. Was gonna get started on breakfast myself."

"I promised Sebille I'd help her with shearing the sheep today." She dropped several things into a cooking pot hot on the fire. "She likes to start early."

"Her wife still away?"

"Should be back the day after tomorrow." Sound from the steps caught their attention and Aquinea paused halfway down. "No one in this family sleeps as they should, do they?"

"Good morning to you too." Bran raised the mug in greeting. He only received silence and another cocked eyebrow. "It's coffee."

Aquinea looked at her daughter. Serene turned around with another mug. "It's coffee, mother." She put the cup on the table. "And this is tea."

The eyebrow relaxed and so did Bran's shoulders. He felt his wife press a kiss to the crown of his head when she passed to sit down. "How's your back, dear?"

He took a sip. "Better," was all he said.

"I know you want to work on the fences," she said, "But I still think you should give another day or two."

Bran chuckled and took hold of her fingers. "I'm fine, love. I swear."

"You were groaning on the stairs, father." Serene comes back to the table, hands holding plates of pork sausage, fried eggs and fruit. She placed them down and followed with a steaming loaf of bread down along with a warmed knife and some butter at the center.

"Wooden stairs. Cold weather." Bran immediately cut off a piece and popped it into his mouth. "You're a smart girl, you figure it out."

"Bran…" Now Aquinea takes his fingers in hand.

It was all she needed to do. He sighed. "I'll do a little today and see if I can get one of the neighbors' boys to help me. Deal?"

"Deal."

Serene finally sits down with her own plate and her own mug full of coffee, slightly sweetened. They eat and talk, going over their plans for the day as they've done every morning for nearly three decades. Time always seemed to pass so quickly when they did and inevitably, one of them would complain of how high the sun was in the sky already. If that wasn't a sure sign of their enjoyment, there was none.

Bran was the one this time. He slid back his chair and stood, pilfering the last piece of bread before his daughter could get to it; the price of betrayal. He leaves the table behind and takes up his coat and hat waiting for him at the door, putting both on. Bran put his fingers to the blinds at the door, peeking out the window.

"Um…"

Serene and Aquinea stopped talking. "Bran?" He turned to look at Aquinea for just a second before turning back. "Bran, is something the matter?"

He pulled his finger back. "The…fence. It's…fixed."

The two of them stood and came over to the window. Bran moved aside to let them see. It was as he said, their fence, knocked over in a storm, knocked over no longer. Bran pushes the door open. His family follows close behind, giving distracted greetings to neighbors and others passing by. "Could someone have fixed it for us?" Aquinea asked.

"In the night?" Serene pointed out, "For free?"

A pained yell rings out into the morning air, causing Serene to jump and Aquinea to grab hold of her husband's arm. Still, they both followed Bran as he walked the path of the repaired fence. The work was well done and very recent. Which only made the entire thing more confusing. As Serene said, this kind of work? For free?

The three of them turn the corner, following what sounded like work still being done.

Rezyl Azzir pulled his finger out of his mouth and spit out what looked like a splinter. He then lifts and puts down another log, standing it up on one of its ends. Out of his armor, Rezyl had on simple, functional farm clothes with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing scarred forearms. An old cap on his head keeps brown hair out of his eyes and his beard had grown longer and shaggier since he had last visited.

Ensuring the log was properly settled, Rezyl took in a deep breath of air. Then he lifted his fist high above his head and brought it down hard. The log sank hard into the ground, punching through the soft dirt until it was set and sturdy.

Bran and Aquinea part as Serene pushes past them, calling out Rezyl's name. The Guardian turns and waves, opening his arms just in time for Seren to leap into them. He lifts her up into a massive hug, flourishing spin and all. Aquinea's hand leaves Bran's arm as the both of them begin to relax.

"He's just showing off," Bran mutters as the two of them begin walking forward.

"You're jealous."

"Just saying. Most people use a sledgehammer."

"And most men can't wrestle a rampaging bull to the ground."

Rezyl still has Serene held up in the air, her forehead pressed to his sweaty one. Bran and Aquinea stop before them, allowing them a moment of quiet and space. Bran's patience ran out much quicker. He cleared his throat and smiled at the way Rezyl's eye popped back open, as if he remembered there was still a world outside his love's arms.

"Uh, sir! Ma'am!" He put their daughter down and lowered his head in greeting. He pulled the hat off his head and unsurprisingly, a mess of brown hair fell into his eyes. "I saw the fence when I arrived and some of the other villagers told me what had happened. I thought I could help."

"Well, we thank you." Aquinea hooked her arm through Bran's. "This one's back thanks you most," she said, laughing when Bran shooed her away. "Thank you, Rezyl. Really." She pulled her arm back. "Unfortunately, we do have our own work to get to."

"I'll leave you to it then."

Serene's hand, still held in his, slid out as she pulled away, quiet promises to speak later.

When they were alone, Bran asked, "How long have you been here, Rezyl?" He leaned back on one of the wooden posts and crossed his arms.

"Just about four hours."

"You don't sleep?"

"Haven't needed to." He slams another wooden post into the ground. "I still do, on occasion but I don't require it."

"Well, your usual place in the barn is available," Bean gestures at the large building behind the house. "I still wish we had room in the house to give you. It can't be easy, what with the smell."

The other man's lips lift just slightly in amusement. "I've taken a poisonous sulfur spring full to the face, sir. On the Sink," he said, "Horses and cows mean nothing." Rezyl shrugged, "I assume it smelled worse. Sense of smell was the first thing that had shut down. Either way, I'm grateful."

"As you say." Bran turns his head back towards the house and the center of their village. He sees Serene briskly walking past, heading to Sebille's place down the street. Naturally, she turned to wave again. Both men waved back. "Still doesn't feel right. Aquinea and I pretty much regard you as a son now.

Rezyl pauses in his work, his face remaining carefully neutral and blank. Bran continues. "I trust you have plans for that? If you're waiting for our blessing then you've had it for months."

"Serene and I have spoken about it. Mainly how we'll handle the issue of my immortality."

"Is it a big problem?"

Rezyl put down the log he was holding, taking a moment to wipe the sweat from his forehead before it could reach his eyes. Then he said, "I can bury Serene, should she go before me. I've always thought it a possibility. But I can't bury my children. Or my grandchildren. It would be too much to ask of me." Rezyl takes the wood back up. "It's something we'll figure out eventually. Just have to give it time."

Bran smiles and puts his hand to Rezyl's shoulder. "Like I said, take all the time you need. I may have had my doubts before, as any father would, as you will with your own children but you've proven yourself more than good for Serene. When the two of you are ready, we're all here."

"Thank you. Really, thank you."

Bran began to walk away. He stopped. "Dinner's at sundown, Rezyl. Don't be late."

"Yes, sir. I'll be there."

The night was clear; just as cloudless and peaceful as the day had been. It's cool, as could be expected for a village so close to mountains.

The wind blew. Rezyl could hear it among the rafters. He could feel it in the draft that had passed. The barn had little in terms of bedding save for bales of hay and blankets Aquinea had set out for him, when it became clear that the Guardian who had saved their little village from a Fallen attack would come to make it his home away from home.

It was quiet. That was all he needed. The wind was soothing, cooling the bare skin of his back and arms better than the shock of a cold bath. What was best was the view. The barn stood higher than most other buildings in the village. From its upper opening, Rezyl could see far over the village, far past it into the woods and most importantly, at the night sky and every star that graced it.

In the night, he could only ever hear Kiara moving about the barn. The animals were always relatively quiet unless someone entered the barn. Rezyl liked to think they were warning him.

They started warning him now. Kiara paused in her gliding and peeked over the side of their floor to the first one. Then she turned and came back to him. "Serene is here."

Rezyl sat up slightly, hearing footsteps on the stairs and sat up all the way when she indeed appeared. "Serene…"

"Sorry." She smiled and came up the rest of the stairs. "I hope I didn't wake you."

"No, no. Was just…" he gestured to the sky, "Stargazing." He took just one step forward and she came the rest of the way. He lifted her into his arms again and this time, with her parents not around to watch, he kissed her deeply.

They parted. A beat passed. Then she said, "You reek."

Rezyl snorted into her neck. "You like it," he retorted.

He placed her back down on her feet. "Why do men always think that? We like the sweating, not the smell. Maybe other men like it."

"Oh, there's no denying that." He kissed the top of her head. "You're staying?"

"I'm staying," she answered, kicking off her slippers. "Not sure how you stand it up here. It's cold," Serene said, sitting down on the bale.

"I've been to colder places." Still, Rezyl pulled extra blankets out from a hidden corner. "Could've worn more clothes."

"You're half naked!"

"And I've been to colder places!" He put the blankets down on the bed. "Spent my first thirty years in snowy mountain ranges. Froze to death at least four times," he said, dropping down from the second floor. He went over to the massive sliding door and with some effort, pulled it shut, covering them in total darkness. With a running start, Rezyl jumped and used his Light to lift himself even further. He landed on the second floor with a thud, earning a groan of complaint from one of the cows down below. Serene didn't even have the decency to fake being impressed.

"Sometimes I forget how old you are," she then said, "Thirty years, centuries before I was even born." She laid down on the bed and moved over, allowing Rezyl to join her under the covers. "Just you and Kiara?"

"Just the two of us." He pulled her into his arms. "Afterwards, I decided to stop ignoring the pull in my head and we sought out the Traveler."

"Can you still feel the pull?"

"All the time." He aimed a finger towards the door, which was pointed south. "Always do. No matter how far away from Earth I am."

"And how far have you gotten?" Serene asked.

"I've left the system at least twice," he said, "Without permission, of course. I don't anymore. Nothing good out there. My attention is better served here."

Serene huffed in amusement. "Okay, that was sweet. I'll give you that."

"There's more I'm sure you can give."

She tugged on his beard. "Don't push it, cradle robber." She tugged on it again and this time pushed herself up and kissed him. "Now, I believe I was owed another story."

"Owed a what?"

"A story," she repeated. "You fell asleep the last time you were here."

Rezyl huffed out a laugh and pulled Serene further onto his chest to further warm her up. His other hand reached down to pull the blankets further onto her. "Alright then. Neither of us knows how to shut up so might as well. Any re-"

"Efrideet's Spear," she immediately ordered, "You were going to tell me about Efrideet's Spear. Then you left me hanging."

"You could've asked for it all the times I called."

Serene sighed and adjusted herself on his chest, fingers running gently through the hair. "It's not the same, Rezyl."

He craned his neck to look down at her. Then he laid back down. "Alright," he said, "Lord Saladin and Lady Efrideet had responded to a call for help from a nearby village. The Fallen had deployed a Walker and their defenses were beginning to fail…"