Orange flames reflected across the dirt of the campsite warming the two the best it could. Lucky for them the camp had remained untouched through their whole debacle. Ray listened to the fire pop and crackle while holding her knees to her chest, a wool blanket over her shoulders, and her eyes on the flames. It reflected in her glassy eyes. She tried her hardest to hold back tears from forming, but the sting behind her lids did not dissipate and she failed to keep calm. After rubbing her nose and running an arm over her eyes, she grabbed a stick, tending to the fire she built in a cone.
"Jex, I hope you're safe…" she whispered. It was lonely without him, out in the wilderness. She was not alone, however.
Her eyes wandered towards the figure sleeping under blankets, stripped of his shirt and bandaged the best she could manage. It had taken two days and the small amounts of medicine they had to stop the bleeding in Nimer's shoulder after she removed the arrow. Though the task hadn't woken him and he remained in what felt like eternal sleep.
She had found Nimer only a few days earlier lying unconscious in the dirt. She feared he may be dead but shallow breaths still exited his mouth. It was the least she could do by dragging him through the forest in search of their camp. She nursed him back to fair heath, pouring water and brew from his bag down his throat and messaging it to help it go down. She was lucky her grandmother taught her healing as a child.
She slowly stood, fetching a morsel of food from her saddle bag. They were running low, so she ate small portions. During the day she did her best to hunt small creatures with her bow, but the wood was barren, for the animals had made their way off the mountains and toward the forests at the base or hibernated deep underground.
With a water skin in hand, she knelt down by Nimer and parted his mouth to hydrate his slumbering body. This time, as she poured, he reacted with a grunt and she pulled away while he coughed, choking on the cool water. After a moment his eyes parted, and he turned toward Ray in a daze.
Her eyes watered. "Oh thank gods…"
It took a struggling effort, but Nimer finally sat up, and the blankets tumbled off his bare shoulders. He raised a hand touching his wounded shoulder, admiring the handy work she had done.
"How long has it been…?" he asked, his voice raspy.
Ray capped the water skin and took it back to his saddlebag. "Two days," she answered. "I-I thought you would not make it."
"I'm sure that may have been better for you," he stated, quietly. He did not sound aggressive in his subdued state.
Ray pulled her blanket over her shoulders once more. She gazed at the fire before shaking her head. "No, it wouldn't have. I'm sorry…You could have died because of me." Tears fell and she buried her face in her legs.
Nimer moved his shoulders. His movements were slow. Small tremors caused him to shake. They stopped as he woke up. "I've been through worse. I won't blame you for what happened," he said with a light sigh. He was busy examining his arms and chest. Light markings, only visible at a close distance, imprinted his skin as animalistic stripes running up his arms. Even in the darkness, Nimer saw them. He wouldn't admit they haunted him. "They're getting darker," he whispered quietly and reached for his shirt next to him, slipping it on over his head.
Nimer tugged the strings at the neck of his shirt to tighten them. He surveyed Ray before letting out a lingering sigh, "This is your first time in the woods like this, I presume," he said standing and pulling on his coat, being mindful of his injured shoulder.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Ray asked, raising her head and glaring at him in her own defense.
"It means you are not an expert with fighting dangers out here in the woods. A deer is one thing. A mage wielding dark magic is another," he said, taking a seat in the dirt by the fire. "Like I said, I don't blame you for what happened."
Ray turned away from him. "I didn't even want to come."
"Then why are you here?" Nimer asked.
Ray softened, gazing into the fire. "Jex…" she answered quietly. "He's always dreamed of leaving Aldoak. He wanted to go on an adventure...but-" Tears welled in her eyes and streamed down her face. "I found happiness running my grandparents farm, watching him work hard in our fields, hunting in the mornings, and visiting the butcher's shop. I wanted nothing to change... it was perfect."
"But you came with him, why?"
Ray rubbed her nose, "I love him."
Nimer gave her an even stare. "It sounds like you were not made aware of the heartache this journey causes."
"That's why I wanted to stay… I want to marry him, have kids, and a...and a house... a peaceful life," Ray cried.
"Many of us have those dreams, Ray. It's not always that simple." Nimer's voice was distant, and he too gazed into the fire.
She was silent for a moment and stared at him. "You've been searching for the kingdom all your life, haven't you? You don't seem like you have anything to lose," Ray mumbled.
Nimer returned to the momentary silence. He watched the flames rage and sparks dance in the sky. "That's because I have already lost it and am trying to prevent others from losing it."
Ray stared at the man's face, the sad glint in his eyes making her heart ache, but she tried to resist because she didn't believe him. "What could a man like you lose? You have everything; luck, fortune, skills."
"I don't have her touch," Nimer said.
"Her touch?" Ray asked, her eyebrows knitting in disbelief. "You were in love?"
"Anyone can be in love, and I was deeply in love." Nimer picked up the stick to poke the fire. "We traveled for months to find the kingdom together. It was all that we could dream about, starting our lives in the Kingdom of Zaniah, that was until she became ill."
An eerie silence filled the space and Ray swore she could see a different side of the guide. His voice became more sullen, but he did not cry. "I begged a clan of clerics to save her, nurse her back to health. Instead, they took her from me, telling me she was no longer fit for humanity the way she was. She died that night in their city. I receive news by letter."
Nimer's eyes turned up toward the sky. "I can still remember the day I gave her up so she could heal. It was raining, and her face, though streaked with tears, held the most beautiful smile…" He closed his eyes and drew in a breath before turning to face Ray. "After I heard she passed, I fell off the maps, out of contact with everyone who traveled with me. I retreated to my hometown, and I ran away. I would not face the clerics who took her from me."
Ray listened and crossed her legs. Part of her empathized with him while the other remained untrusting of his word. She pulled the blanket tighter around her looking up towards the night sky. "That's terrible...I'm sorry for your loss."
"I try not to think of it," Nimer said as he stood and retrieved his brew from his saddle bag before being seated again.
"Can I ask what made her sick?" Ray spoke up again.
Nimer took a good swig of his brew before setting it down, "It was her awakening, and she was awakening because we were collecting the shards."
Ray's eyes widened, "The shards make you sick?"
Nimer shook his head and explained. "The shards are the key to the kingdom. They are woven with great power that speaks to the soul in anyone who is destined to awaken, whether it be to great power or their true selves. Hidden in the soul is an enormous, slumbering power."
Ray blinked, her tears now dried on her cheeks. "Does it have to do with the legends of the god war long ago when Myrkatha and Albranis sealed everyone's souls?"
Nimer nodded. "I didn't think you of all people would remember that story."
Ray seemed fond. "Jex likes that story. Someone told it at a Hearthfire Harvest Faire one year. I don't believe a word of it."
"You should believe it. Because it's true," Nimer said.
"Who is Mykatha? I thought she was an evil Goddess," Ray remarked.
"She is not evil, she is just part of the dark council of gods and not by her own volition," Nimer said. "She was once part of the light council. But after she combined her power with Albranis, and they sealed the souls of the creatures that walked Celestara, she also shattered the keys to each kingdom and spread them throughout the land. The key speaks to the soul and once touched, the awakening cannot reverse. Your soul will awaken until you gain full potential whether you want it to or not. The time before you awaken may be painless or painful. It all depends on your destiny. Anyone who awakens will lose their humanity but not always in a bad way. The more shards you have the less painful it will be."
Ray raked her fingers into her hair, "Jex has been the only one to touch the shard-"
"You have too," Nimer said nodding towards her bow. "Those destined to handle shards seek them without meaning to. If a shard is placed in the wrong hands, there is a higher chance they may kill whoever is using them or may not affect them at all. The shard can kill others if used on them. This allows some to use the shard for destruction and vainglory."
Ray picked up her bow and examined the fine detail carved into the bow. "But there are no shards inlaid in my bow."
"They are inside your bow," Nimer answered.
"That means you can sense shards," Ray insisted.
"Indeed, I can," Nimer said and stood and crossed the camp to his saddle bag, withdrawing a bag. The content sounded like glass scraping together. He sat back down and untied the top and poured out the content. Sixty bloody, red shards fell into a pile in the soft dirt and glittered in the light of the fire.
Ray was in awe, "How did you get so many?"
"From fallen friends, dragons, trolls, anything I have slain," he answered. "They are my prize."
Ray's mouth hung agape. "How many shards are there?"
"The key has been broken up into eighty shards for each key," Nimer answered.
"How do you know?" Ray asked suspiciously.
"I've talked to gods, remember?" Nimer said smugly.
"Right," she huffed. "And where do you find all the shards?"
"Dragons keep them safe and several are in the hands of ogres, goblins, elves, and more. It would take time to gather them all."
Ray eyed each shard, her mind filling with visions of what it would have been like to slay each creature to receive the shards. "I think Jex would challenge you for these. He collects things like stones and gems." Ray's face felt sad as she thought of Jex challenging Nimer in a race or a sword fight to win the pot of shards. She could only think of where he was and how he was doing. She curled her hands into fists.
"We need to find Jex," she uttered looking up to Nimer. She knew she needed his help more than anything. "Please, help me find him."
"I can't do that," Nimer said, drinking more of his brew.
"What?!"
Nimer gave her a cruel smile, "I am no longer in your service. If you want my services, you will have to ask for them, nicely."
Ray scoffed, crossing her arms across her chest, her lips bunching in a pout. "I nursed you back to health, and this is how you repay me?"
"I took an arrow for you, and this is how you treat me, still?" Nimer raised an eyebrow.
Ray turned red in the face and scoffed. "May I please have your services?"
Nimer lay back with his left hand behind his head and the other draped across his stomach, crossing his legs. "Just this once."