Time To Talk

Nygozy took a stance, one hand up with her axe and the other hand lower with the scimitar. Her eyes were trained on the shoddily made scarecrow as she stayed absolutely still. Suddenly, her weight shifted from one foot to the next and the small warrior attacked. Her moves were swift, deadly and exacting. The makeshift dummy's arms went flying, then the legs and last the head just before the stick which held the form upright broke and the rest of it dropped horizontally to the ground.

For a moment she stood there then her weapons returned to their holsters and she turned to look at the damage she wrought. Makeshift patterns were drawn out in the dirt from the head of a stick and in each pattern was a scarecrow body part of the same base form. One arm was angled part way out of it's spot but it was mostly in there.

"Is that better timing?" She asked Kai as she grinned.

Kai watched as the small figure attacked in an intricate and brutal dance. "Very impressive Hero. You sure showed him who is boss." He replied with a grin. "Remind me to stay on your good side." He chuckled.

Suddenly he was gone, fading into the shadows. He reappeared a moment later right behind her and planted a kiss on top of her head. She had worried him sick so many times in the last two days that he couldn't help feeling giddy and playful now that everything seemed to be going smoothly once more.

"Now, I believe you wanted some endurance training? I believe the insane beserker mentioned a backpack full of rocks?" The assassin replied as he moved to stand infront of her once more. "Or I can think of something a little more fun." He said with a wicked grin. He knew he was probably pushing his luck, but simply couldn't help it.

Kraven watched Nygozy from a distant; admiring her skill and dedication to her craft. He did note that she acted more the warrior than the rogue she was known for, but that did not matter. She was good at what she did and that is all that counts.

He enjoyed the feeling of the sun on his face; this is something he could not get over. After going for so long without being able to just enjoy the simple things in life. And now, the only way he was able to enjoy it was to ascend. He sighed, wishing that his life as a mortal being could have been less violent. He wished it would have given him more time to enjoy things.

By nature elves were not a violent race, they had been shoved into war that they did not wish to fight. They lived for so long and had left the brutal existence of way far behind in their past. There was no real need for it; most of the wars that were fought were in their early years. In a time when the elves were but scatted clans; a lot of what they are now. A time before they were united until the cause of peace, a cause that would span many thousands and thousands of years.

This was before the humans came to Thedas, this was before the darkness, before the blight. If only humans would see that their ambitions for power in such a short life span was reckless and dangerous to all around them.

He shook his head, hoping that the future would hold much better things for all the people of Thedas; both elvhen and human a like.

Right now all that concerned him was the being known as Draconis; a prime example of the ancient brutal nature of the elvhen race. A being that did not change with the times; who fought his brothers and sisters, spilled their blood without care.

Now he was his brother; the last Elvhen god. The first of a new line that will bring the Elvhen race from extinction and slavery, making them a race to be proud of once again.

He watched Nygozy and her shadow; he could feel how much they loved each other. A love that went beyond lust, beyond the need to be with someone. This love touched their very souls; it warmed them and sheltered them from whatever darkness lay before them.

For a few moments those two were capable of forgetting everything around them; just seeing each other.

If he could, he would give up the powers of the Elvhen Pantheon, just to feel that as a mortal being. Instead of what he felt as someone who ascended, someone who felt love for all things natural.

He cleared his throat as he stepped towards the two lovers, wishing to make his presence know before things got a little too heated between them.

"Paragon, " he said as he gave her a bow of respect, "I do not wish to disturb you and Kai, but there is a new arrival to your camp. He is an old Elvhen teacher, Uthza; that roughly translates to Wizard Royal. He has been a guide and adviser to many Keepers in his time. He does not have a clan of his own but has at the pleasure of meeting with the Keepers of the more civilized elvhen clans."

The joking was something no one else got to see from Kai and if he thought there were anyone else about then he would not be acting that way. It was sure enough that everyone thought he was a cold statue with no feelings whatsoever but if they thought any different he would likely be distressed. He had a nasty exterior to keep up and it was rather amusing to watch the differences between personal and outside their privacy.

As he disappeared she stayed in place waiting for where he would show up. She could feel his presence and was getting better at sensing others who hid as well. Kai was really good though and she only noticed him reappearing as he kissed the top of her head and she turned to look directly in his eyes.

"So what kind of 'endurance training' would you be proposing?" She asked as she got close, putting her hands on his chest just below his collar bones.

Then Kraven arrived and she sighed resignedly, "Kraven. You say a master mage is here? That is interesting but there must be more if you came to speak with me. Spill it."

And please don't let it be too long as to take away the rest of my time off in escape. She thought.

Kraven gave her a knowing smile as he nodded to her.

"There are several things that need to be discussed. Firstly, Uthza wishes to teach more than just my apprentice. He knows there are many mages here that have gone for to long without any real training. But that is for you to decide, as well as for those who wish to learn."

"Secondly, there is the matter of the elemental essences that need to be retrieved. Have you made a decision on what you would like to do about those? The only other alternative would be for me and him to stay locked in an eternal battle. But that would keep the rift open and the amount of magic and power that would be thrown around would devastate that area of Fereldan worse than any blight could."

Kraven smiled at her as he waited for a reply.

Kai looked longingly at Nygozy and supressed a growl as he heard Kraven's approach. There were certainly major downsides to being in love with the Hero of Fereldan. Lack of spare time and privacy being the highest on the list.

At least Kraven had calmed down and was no longer much of a threat he thought to himself as he reluctantly moved away from the dwarf. He moved off to reset up some of the training dummies and set up some obastacles for training as the two talked.

Kai moved off and Nygozy waited until he was away at work resetting up her training patch before turning her attention back to Kraven. She gauged how far away Kai was then wrapped her arms around her tummy and started to walk, seeming as if she were just traversing around the field but she was also getting out of ear shot due to Kraven having mentioned the elemental essences to avoid his reactions to the conversation then realized what their blood bond was supposed to have done.

She looked up at Kraven and thought at him, "You did say we could talk mind to mind so I am testing out that little bit of assistance to discussions."

"Yes this will keep others from prying. I do not think many would dare try to invade the mind of an ascended being."

It was obvious to Nygozy that Kraven was quite uncomfortable with using the word God, nor was he fond of what had happened to him.

"There are so many young and inexperience people in your camp Paragon. This would not bode well if a major attack were to happen. Not even your most well trained warriors would be able to protect them all."

"That is only part of the reason why I am here. I say that because those essence must be found. But.....There is no one in this camp that would survive such a task."

He looked at her, his sightless eyes boring into her soul, "Not even you Paragon. Not without being prepared first. But this quest is not yours to take. Not when you are with child."

"What you carry inside you, is no normal child. A warden was not meant to have children, this being inside you is going to be something far different that you have ever seen before. A new race if you will, and you the mother of it."

"Then I was correct that all I had to do was think towards you." She sighed, "There are too few trained wardens, this is true, and the other sects of the Grey Wardens sent fewer than was requested. I fear there may be reason for this lack of support yet when they decide they require us they will be forceful in receiving such. The young ones will have to learn and quickly. It is incredibly unfortunate; however, the addition of Uthza will at least be helpful in the growth of the mages' training. I will have to meet this master mage soon."

Nygozy leaned against a tree for a moment, watching Kai, "If there are none here to go after these essences then what do you suggest? You would not have come to me in order to ask what my decision was just to say there is no one in my camp who can complete the task. That usually means one has an idea but is hesitant to speak of it."

When he spoke of the child she took a deep breath to calm her nerves, "This child was conceived with the essence of magic as it's forge. I do not doubt that the little one will be different but it will take time to find out how different and what can be done. It may be a good thing that this child will be pretty much brought up by a village, in a sense." She chuckled at the jest.

Kraven reached out his hand as if to touch his belly, "There is something I sense in there. Something that is common with all darkspawn."

He turned away from her, "The child you carry will be born with no soul."

He turned back to her, "He must no learn magic. If he shows any sign of the ability, I must remove his connection. No, he will not be made tranquil. His elvhen side will be suppressed, bringing his Dwarven heritage to the surface."

"If he were to ever hide his ability; even with proper training, he will not be able to fight against any demon who wished to take him for themselves."

"No one must hear of this. If the forces that work against us were to catch wind, they would take that child by force. And not even you, slay of the archdemon could stop an army of dragons."

"Now to the problem at hand. The elemental essences. There is away for us to get them and use the people we have at our disposal. There are four elements that we must get, fire, water, earth and air."

He paused for a moment, choosing his next thoughts carefully, "As an ascended being, I have the ability to siphon myself off, giving that energy to a select few. But not just any few, these people must be true of heart. They must not thirst for power, they must be as innocent of this world as a child would be. They must be like clay, to be molded and shaped for this. With these select four, I can give them a fragment of my power; binding an element to each of them. One of fire; One of Earth; One of Air; One of Water."

"Each of these individuals will have the ability to bend those Elements to their will. And with the help of Master Uthza, they will be able to control it properly. Without this training they would be as those elements, wild and untamed. Eventualy succumbing to it's call, just like a warden would. But, like I said, Uthza can train them so this will not happen.

He crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for the reply of the Paragon.

Words came from Kraven regarding the child and it made Nygozy shiver with concern. Hardly a day had gone past and she already worried for the little one's life, felt deep concern over it's welfare. No soul? Unable to use magic if it has the capability or it would be easily manipulated by demons. What in the ...

"What do you mean no soul?" She said out loud with a tremor to her voice that carried upon the wind then bit her bottom lip for saying it out loud. This was not the time. They needed to concentrate on how to deal with these elemental essences for the upcoming problems.

Nygozy steeled herself to listen to the explanation of what could be done as she fought back her internal concerns for her baby. Her mind fought to keep her attention and she kept it, for the most part.

"Very well. We will have to look into these four who will be able to help. I am not sure exactly who would be good for this. There are the youth in the group who may be more like a child but I'm guessing that you have considered specific people. Please, elaborate if you have.

The sound of Nygozy's voice brought Kai's head up quickly. He didn't quite catch what she had said, but she sounded upset. He was trying to give the two privacy to deal with leader type stuff, but now Nyzogy was upset and he didn't care about privacy anymore.

Instantly he abandoned his busy work and ghosted to her side. He knew there wasn't much point as Kraven seemed to always know where he was, but it was habit. He reappeared at Nygozy's shoulder and glared at Kraven, before putting a hand reassuringly on her shoulder.

"Dark spawn are created with no soul. They have no need for one, as it would hinder them in what they do best, killing. The blood that runs in your veins will be transferred over to your child, preventing his from receiving its soul when it is born"

He smiled at Kai as he expressed his love and protection of the woman he chose as his mate. Not just that, but of the woman who is carrying his child.

"Souls are created for countless creatures, all at the time of their birth. An entity known as the Soul Keeper guards a place in the face; The Well of Souls. It is from this place that souls leave to enter their new bodies. And because of the nature of the creation of Darkspawn, no soul is created for anyone born with darkspawn blood in them."

As he began to explain things images of what he said began to appear before the couple. Showing the limitless expanse of the fade and what looked like a gapping hole in space where swirling masses of light seemed to be pouring from. The image shifted into a mortals perspective; as what the fade does when any mortal mind or body goes there.

It showed a large stone temple with swirling balls of light racing from it. A large armored figure stood at the bottom of the steps. Its mass blocking the entire entrance into this temple, into what the couple realized was the well of souls.

"However, that place is the key to making sure your child gets a soul. Before the dawn of your child's first birthday, if you can go into the soul well and retrieve a soul you will be able to save your child the emotionless life it would otherwise have."

"However, there is another way as well, reincarnation. When a body dies, it will release it's soul back into the fade. However, sometimes that soul will remain bound to this plane and will seek out the soul of a new born. The window of opportunity is very small, several hours at best. All those that do not find a host will be retrieved by a soul eater."

"So, if someone were to die near you, while your baby is born, there is a chance that soul will enter your new born baby. As your child grows older it will start to remember more and more of its past life. This can cause some, unwanted side effects. Most of which involve the personality of the past life exerting itself over your child. At which point it will no longer be your child."

"There have only been a small handful of people who have been reincarnated; five or six in the last ten thousand years. Two of which I know first hand; Flemeth and someone in your camp."

"Now to the task at hand. We will need four volunteers. One for each element; there is a fifth, but I will not impart that on anyone."

"Kassina, Robert Schwarzer, Takara, Tatsoo, Darkmoor, and Maghai. Maghai would honestly be a last resort. His mind is so far gone that him joining with something as unstable as the power of an element might not be a good thing."

"Unless there is anyone else in your camp that you think would be a good fit. A good fit and are willing to commit to the task at hand."

Darkspawn were created with no souls and were only used as a weapon. This child would be almost the same, no feelings or much of a life past existing. Would it be like being Tranquil? She could never do something like that to a baby. To just be there was a terrifying possibility.

She turned her head and looked to the side, eyes downcast as Kraven explained possibilities to obtain a soul for the baby. That must have been how things worked for Morrigan and why the killing of the Archdemon had not taken her life. That brought to the mind more concerns but that was something they could think of later. They had to save Fereldan, again, so she had to push those worries back.

Her head snapped up and she blinked, "Someone else in my camp? I do not know of someone like that so I'm guessing at your friend, Uthza."

He was back to discussing their issue finding the essences and she nodded, "Those are all good choices, except Maghai. I do not wish to see what he could do with something like fire when he is stoned, which is generally as much as possible. Let's go round up the possible candidates and bring them here since it is ... forget it. We'll bring them here so I can be in the sunlight and training. Kassina, Robert Schwarzer, Takara, Tatsoo, and Darkmoor. I believe Khael may be a good choice as well. Let's get them."

Kai stood silently beside Nygozy and watched the strange images form and swirl infront of him. Nygozy looked as if she was listening but Kraven wasn't speaking. What was going on here? Then the images ceased and Nygozy began to speak, but he had no context for her words.

"Anyone going to tell me what's going on here? What's with the crazy images?" He asked, and then Nygozy's last words caught up with him and he sighed. "I knew an afternoon alone would be far too much to ask." He muttered, shooting a dirty look at Kraven.

"I had not thought of Khael, he would indeed be a good choice as well. I would suggest they come here at once. This way a decision can be made as soon as possible. We will give them them choice to choose."

He bowed to Kai, "I am sorry this will ruin your afternoon alone with your love. Sometimes sacrifices must be made in these times. You are fighting for these things, without them, there would be no reason."

Kraven lowered his hand, his palm down. And with a slight raise of it, an earth chair rose from the ground.

He sat down thanking the earth for allowing him to sit upon it in such a fashion.

The afternoon was shot for personal time but she would try to get the evening then, if possible, for just them. Right now she was not in the mood for foot work so simply grinned at Kraven and howled for Kassina, telling her to gather Robert, Takara, Tatsoo, Khael and Darkmoor and bring them to the clearing and where it was.

She then looked at the earthen chair and a brow rose, "That looks comfortable. Now, did you wish to explain to Kai what we were discussing in our minds or should I?"

Kraven smiled at her and asked the earth to provide another seat for the Paragon. Of course it obliged and a comfortable seat emerged.

It was cushioned by soft grass and it had both arm rests and a high back for support. It looked remarkably similar to a throne.

"Take a seat Paragon. The earth has allowed it and would be more than honored for you to rest upon it."

Kraven sat back in his chair, looking at the Paragon sitting directly across from him. His fingers were pressed together as he lost himself in his thoughts.

Kai watched as chairs rose from the ground for Kraven and Nygozy. The assassin crossed his arms, waiting impatiently for a explanation of what the hell was going on. What had gotten Nygozy so upset? What were all those crazy images? And what did they want with the 'cubs' as Calliara refered to them.

Kassina froze in place when she heard the howl. She relaxed when she understood it was the commander with instructions. She was still with most of those the commander wanted, so getting them all wouldn't be too hard.

The elf left the tent were the cubs were still fast asleep and went outside to the others. "Small alpha call. Want Taka, Kay, Dartmoor. Stay Fremmy, Sophia watch cubs. Must go now. Field edge camp." She said and pointed the way. "Go now. Kassina go get others."

With that Kassina sniffed the air for a moment, then ran off to find Robert and Tatsoo and deliver the commander's orders.

"Are you really that mad at me?" Maddox asked as he blocked against Robert's attacks. The two had began sparring with another, due to Robert's insistence that he would rather not train with Pendra. However, after their previous sparring session, Maddox forced Robert into sitting around with the other 'cubs'. Now he was wanting to get back at him.

"No, I'm 'glad' you did that. Can't you tell?" Robert remarked as Maddox knocked him back.

"You know, sarcasm isn't going to win you many friends." Maddox turned his head slightly thinking he heard a wolf howl. The direction didn't seem like it came from the wolf pack, however.

"Thanks, 'mom'. I'll be sure to remember that." Robert replied as he began to charge once again. He stopped short of hitting him when he noticed that Maddox was distracted. Had they had proper training weapons with them, he wouldn't have hesitated to attack, but at the moment they had been using their own weapons, which meant they really could hurt each other. He listened in to see what it was. It sounded like a wolf call, but it wasn't from a wolf.

"You said you were a ranger, right? Did you understand that?"

"It wasn't from a wolf, I believe. I didn't hear most of it. Maybe they will be another call."

Kraven looked at Kai and began to explain everything that he and Nygozy exchanged with their link.

He mentioned the quest they could partake and the dangers that were involved.

He explained how a reincarnated soul could also counter act what would happen to the child, but with a possible unwanted side effect of losing your child as it got older.

Kraven sat back and waited for Kai's response. His fingers still pressed together at face level, is sightless eyes glowing over the tips.

Kai listened in silence as Kraven explained everything. At one point he reached down and grabbed Nygozy's hand but he was too shocked to do much else.

"Just point me in the right direction." Was his response when he recovered enough to speak. "I'll do whatever needs to be done."

Kassina followed her nose to the one called Robert that the small alpha wanted. She found him training with another human she recognized from around the camp.

"Ro... Robet?" Kassina asked, unsure as she approached. He had been at the campfire with the others when they were singing, but she hadn't really talked to him and hadn't practiced his name. "Small Alpha want. Clearing edge camp. Now." She said, pointing the way, then running off in search of Tatsoo.

Kraven looked over at Kai, "You might just have to do that. But that is for the future. I would not worry about that now, for there are more pressing matters at hand. When the time is right and you are fully prepared, I will tell you what you must do."