An Old Man's Company.

[Lord Anglekos]

Solo. Takes place after Agrigon. (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=18574)
He gazed with a small smile at the sprawling grasslands before him and the road he was currently walking upon. It was good to be back in the wild, away from the constraints of civility and cynicism. The sky was bright and cloudless, and with his black cloak and hood pulled over head, Eric felt like a dark cloud amongst this clear day. Sighing, he pulled back his hood and let the fresh air enter his nostrils and lungs. It was days like these that reminded him that it was good to be alive. That there was more to life than just these constant battles and bloodshed that seemed to be the curse of every warrior: No matter where they went, trouble followed. He smiled, if a little grimly, at the thought. Ah well. This was the life he'd chosen, the path he walked. No sense brooding about it now, right?

Speaking of paths, the one on which he was currently traveling was making his boots dirty, as each step made dust rise from the seldom-used road. He'd just cleaned them too...Eric sighed. At least it was silent. Silence was a thing he'd found rare these days, as the past few had been filled with the busy noise of cities and combat, and he'd come to appreciate it whenever he'd found it. Save for a few birds chirping merrily or the whisper of the breeze, he was utterly alone to his thoughts as he traveled across the countryside to Radasanth.

The name of the bustling and bruising place brought back memories of his purpose in going there, and even more of battles at the famous Citadel he'd recently taken part in. His first battle had been out of curiousity, but he'd found that fighting for pure enjoyment just wasn't his thing, and hadn't returned to the arena until he'd been mysteriously hired by a man with a shark's smile. Again, he'd found that being hired as brainless muscle turned him off from the whole thing, so he'd finished the battle and taken his money before walking off. Now, however, his purpose in going to Radasanth had nothing to do with the Citadel, to his relief. On the other hand, it did have something to do with the war in Raiaera, and he was not looking forward to joining it. However, it seemed that no one was able to escape their past, not even he, and war called to the soldier's blood in his veins.

How long has it been? He wondered in his head as he traveled onwards, letting his feet blindly guide him as he lost himself in his thoughts. How long has it been since that day...that day when... Tch. He felt a wave of disgust go through him at his inability to get past that day. Even in his thoughts...

"Hey there, youngster!" A voice called out to the side of him, snapping Eric out of them, and he turned to see that he'd walked up the slope of a hill to whereupon the crest there was a large oak tree. Resting on one of its lower branches was an older man, probably in his fifties in his sixties, with a full, white beard and a somewhat jolly smile upon his wrinkled face. He was dressed in the garb of a traveler, and even to Eric's eye he could see that it'd been worn and used many a time. Grey and as wrinkled as the man's flushed face, he doubted it would last much longer against the coming storms of spring. The old man held out his hand and in it was a bottle of some light-looking substance that refracted the light of the sun onto the tree and into Eric's eyes, whereupon he had to cover his eyes with one hand to prevent being blinded. "Care for a drink?"

[Lord Anglekos]

The swordsman considered the old man carefully. He looked harmless, but who knew in these strange lands? On Althanas, the most innocent looking Fae could turn into a man-eating monster in the blink of an eye, so one had to keep on his toes to survive. Still, being paranoid didn't help either. "Sure. Why not." Eric unshouldered his pack and walked over to the foot of the tree before setting it down. "I've been walking a while anyways, so I'm a little thirsty."

"Good t'hear, 'cause I've got plenty of this stuff..." The old man wiggled the bottle of the clear-looking substance again. "...and if you hadn't come along I don't know if I could've drunk it all." The man also wiggled his toes, which Eric could see for he wasn't wearing any shoes, and with a graceful movement belying the man's age he hopped off the branch before landing on his feet before the swordsman.

"Oww..." The older man winced as he cracked his back. "Ooomph. There we go." There was one more crack before the man gave an apologetic smile to Eric, white teeth exposing themselves from the thickness of his even whiter beard. "Lemme tell you, youngster; age is not a fun ride." With a sigh the man sat down and indicated for Eric to do the same, which he did swift and gladly. "Now, what's your name? Seems kind of rude to call you 'youngster' constantly without even knowin' ya."

Eric smiled slightly. "Name's Eric. Eric Anglekos." He took a bottle of the clear substance from the old man's offered hand and sipped it slowly. It made a tingly, sharp taste in his mouth and for some reason the swordsman was reminded of days lying in the sun and the sparkles of light in a faerie's wings. Hunh. He'd tasted some strange stuff but this was definitely one of the strangest. Not unpleasant, just....strange. "Yours?"

"Ah, you can just call me Darion." The other man replied and took a swig from his own bottle. "I ain't got a fancy last name like yours, but I make do."

Eric chuckled and Darion joined in before the two of them fell into silence, broken only by the small sound of liquid being drunk and the occasional flutter or chirp of the wildlife. They sat together, old man and young man, staring at the burning sun in the air, until finally Darion broke the silence with a question.

"I hope ya don't mind me asking, but..." He sat his now-empty bottle down and reached for another in a crate full of them. "...where are ya headed to? You seemed to be deep in thought when I saw, and it's not good for a youngster such as you to be burdened by such thoughts."

Eric grinned as the other man guessed correctly. "I was...and they're not exactly something I can help, I'm afraid." He polished off the last of his own bottle and looked towards Darion, who already had another ready for him. Taking it with a nod, he continued. "I'm headed to Radasanth, if you really need to know."

The old man ahh'd and nodded his head. "The Citadel, I take it?"

Eric shook his. "No, I'm afraid. I don't go there much." He leaned his head back against the bark of the tree trunk and closed his eyes. "I've fought there before...and found it's not really my sort of thing, y'know?"

His eyes still closed, Eric heard the other man chuckle and take a gulp of his drink. "Ah, I do indeed, Mr. Anglekos. I used to be a soldier for the Citizen Army of Corone, till the higher-ups decided we weren't needed anymore and fired the lot of us."

At this, Eric opened his eyes and blinked in surprise at the old man's contemplative face. "A soldier?"

"Aye, a liutenant I was. It wasn't the best job on Althanas, maybe, but we got paid well for our services." He finished off his bottle and tossed it besides an ever-growing pile of them before reaching out and popping the cap off another one. "Still, the life of a soldier ain't something I recommend, kid. You lose comrades, friends...even lovers." The man's dark eyes grew sad at this and he turned to Eric. "You may think you've got it made with your sword of yours now, but I tell you now that the life of a warrior is not an easy one."

Eric chuckled sadly as he closed his eyes and put his hand on the hilt of his blade, where Amalia's hair twisted and curled around his fingers. "Oh, believe me, I know all too well what the life of a soldier is like."

[Lord Anglekos]

"So." Eric began again, after the two exchanged a brief period of silence after his words, punctuated only by the slow sloshing of drinks. Up above him the daylight pierced through the leaves in the trees like spears as time began to pass the two, leaving a strange combination of heat and cold from the shade to wash over the swordsman's exposed skin with the wind. "What do you do nowadays, Darion, if you're not a soldier?"

The old man chuckled heartily, a throaty sound that belied his age and ruffled his white beard. "Not much, lad, not much." Lifting one thin leg, he grinned, and wiggled toes covered in filth and dirt. "Basically, whatcha' see here with me is whatcha get."

Anglekos raised a brow at that, and noticed with slight surprise that his second bottle was almost gone. He'd drank that much already? Despite this, however, he wanted more; there was something within the drink that had become almost addicting. Turning, he was about to ask Darion, when he nearly bumped his head into the waiting bottle the man was holding up with that mischievous smile of his. Laughing quietly, Eric took the bottle with a small nod of thanks, and unscrewed the top with one deft movement from his fingers.

"I don't know 'bout that." He replied to the man after taking a swig, and let out a small breath that was cool from the liquid running down his throat. Raising one dark eyebrow, he sat up slightly against the tree, careful not to let the bark rub too much against his skin. "After all, everybody's got a story these days."

"Oh, is that true?" His conversational partner laughed jovially again, and Eric could swear there was a twinkle in his eye. "If so, why don't you tell me yours, eh?" Darion jabbed him slightly in the side with a bony elbow and cackled as the swordsman frowned and rubbed the spot, now sore. "After all, you've heard all 'bout me. Curious 'bout you now."

Eric frowned deeper, in consternation. He really wasn't one to speak about himself, but...It must have been the drink, because he could feel his inhibitions towards doing so slipping away. After all, he thought to himself, it was just a curious old man he was speaking with; he would probably forget his story in a couple days anyways. Taking a deep breath, Anglekos's clear eyes turned skyward, where the sun hung, it's burning orb blazing constantly. "There's....not much to--"

"Oh come now." The old man interrupted sharply, although that humorous lilt to his voice never left, and he gave the youth one raised, gray eyebrow. "Yer' young, but not that young."

Smiling slightly at the other man, Eric gave up dancing around with his words and sat his drink to his side, folding his fingers slightly. "Well, to start with...I'm not from 'round these parts."

"Ain't surprised." The older man snorted, and gulped down without hesitation the rest of his drink somewhat haphazardly, some of it spilling onto his garb. Surprisingly, Eric wasn't bothered by this in the slightest, and merely watched as the other wiped the liquid from his beard with an old, used handkerchief. "Sorry 'bout that. But as I was sayin', if you'll 'scuse me, you carry the bearin's of a foreigner, if ya get m'drift."

The swordsman laughed and brought his knee up slightly, resting his arm upon it comfortably. "I do, I do."

"Mind if I ask where yer' from?"

"Not at all, but I'm 'fraid you probably won't have 'eard of it."

Darion snorted at that. "Try me, youngster. I've been 'round a few times."

Eric smiled thinly. "You heard of Saleria?"

The old man blinked, before laughing and shaking his head, droplets of his drink spraying from the tip of his now darkened beard. "Can't say I have. Guess y'got me beat, don'tcha?"