It's been years
Since our luck ran out and left us here
Like broken mirrors
Ten million shards of glass and tears
But now we are
Awake enough to show what we hear
Like broken mirrors
Reflections of an unfamiliar face
Broken Mirrors - Rise Against

~*~

The castle had seen better days. Time had been a cruel mistress since the soldiers that once held it had left the fortress. The courtyard held a few practice dummies, aged and unable to withstand the punishment they once had. The wood dry rotted and lost. A simple kick could have destroyed the targeting dummy, and it was obvious that was the intent. The stones held the signs of rains that wore them down, and much like everything else, the colors seemed dimmer, the vibrancy diluted.

It was as if the life was slowly draining from the castle with each year.

A small group of men were gathered in the courtyard. Milling about they seemed to be inspecting the area around a masked man who even then was slowly unraveling bandages from his arms. Dressed in a drab colored kimono the man let the bandages slowly leave his arms revealing the tell tale indentations of continued wear. Gently placing the bandages within his satchel he reached up and took off the mask, his eyes closing as he gently took in the sunlight.

One of the men looked concerned at the masked man before he spoke, “You okay sir?”

“Never better,” Was the prompt reply. The masked warrior smiled softly before he opened his eyes and looked about him. A sigh of contentment left his lips before he looked at the men, “Check the Barracks to make sure that they haven’t been looted. Determine if the mattresses should be tossed or not. Weatherly, head down to the farm and use some of the group's fund to buy straw to restuff the mattresses. Erikson, check that the armory remains locked and we can determine if we’ll need to take anything from it before we leave in a few days.”

Weatherly nodded as he mounted up on a horse and took off down the way to the farm. His gear was one of a farm hand from the great plains of Corone. He rode the horse like he was born to it though, and with a saber he was handy on the battlefield.

With the men milling about Taka took to a task of his own. The General’s Quarters would be checked, for any sign of a return. He wasn't sure what he would do if he actually saw one of the other Generals. Well, of he saw William Arcus he knew what he'd do, but Talen Shadowwalker, Sei himself, Kyla Orlouge, or Duffy Braken. There were days he wasn't sure if any panther other Generals cared, and he hoped one day to never find out.