T A L O N
34 Searing 122
Talon did not even lift his head as the doors to the cathedral opened and hurried footsteps shuffled inside. Whatever was occurring did not concern him in the least as it was likely more of the same. The same preparations, the same pain, the same everything. Even the hushed whispering did not draw his attention. The movements of the guards, however, did. He lifted his head, ceasing his quiet meditation, to open his eyes and watch. His eyes fell upon a smartly dressed individual whose face he did not recognize. It must have been one of the lesser Inquisitors. Talon watched as several of the armored Kathar donned their helmets and moved with a businesslike determination. Something was happening.
In the span of a minute, his ever-present guard was halved. The armored knights went from lining each side of the great hall to converging to those spaces nearest to him. He watched as the raven wings of his watchers twitched slightly. There was an edge to the atmosphere that was not usually there. Passive indifference was usually how his watcher regarded him. Now he caught an air of nervousness to them that had him peering at them curiously. He rose to his feet, the jangle of the chains that kept him in check, echoing in the hushed chamber. He caught the tensing of shoulders and the subtle movements of those in the chamber to inch their muscles toward a readiness to act. Then it happened.
It was hard to describe. It was as if there was a veil that had been resting over his thoughts. He never would have said that his ability to think and focus had been hampered. He had spent every day for who knows how long at this point, resisting their every effort to intrude upon his thoughts. It was a battle he did not always win but he had considered himself still resilient in terms of his will to resist. When the fog lifted however, his eyes went wide and he stumbled forward. One of his hands flew to his chest as he drew in a shocked gasp. The world came into focus with a stunning clarity. For the first time in months, it felt like he could think. For the first time in month, it felt like he could breathe. Had his senses been so dulled? It felt as if the world was no longer muffled but vibrant with sharp and glorious precision.
11:25 AM
The first thing that he noticed was that though his mind was clear, his physical strength was still greatly diminished. He lifted his hands, staring down at the silver shackles that bound his wrists. He could feel the power inside of those chains. He could feel them working against him with startling certainty. He could not focus on that however. His mind raced with the freedom it had suddenly been given and for a moment it was almost overwhelming. Memories of everything he had suffered and had lost over the past few months wanted to come rushing back to him. He shoved them aside with a forceful clearing of his thoughts as he felt the stirring of something across the Bond that had become something of a chain itself. He felt Aoren awaken. He felt his husband’s shock. He felt his husband’s fear. Most of all though, he felt that rising clarity brush away the fog even more.
11:26 AM
Talon felt the urgency of this moment. He felt the confirmation of its importance across the Bond. They could not waste this opportunity. Already he could feel the weight of twisted magic trying to reassert itself back onto his mind. Across the Bond, he sensed clearly that Aoren was already being grabbed and ushered to a place where he could be watched more closely. Talon recognized that the still did not have the physical strength nor arcane power to free himself or his husband. But in that moment, he realized with sharp clarity that he had no need of such powers. As if he had been missing a piece of himself, he felt knowledge offer itself up to him from deep within the core of his soul. He touched a hand to his chest, feeling a welling of warmth and solidarity wind itself into his heart. He closed his eyes and extended his senses. He touched upon the province of Light, gently ushering it into motion. He spread his gaze far and wide, opening himself up to the vision of all that the Light could see.
11:27 AM
Hope filled him as he took in the sight of everything the Light touched. He could see. He could know. He could soar in ways that he had never known were possible. And in that moment, he took the Hope that filled him and through the sovereignty of his dominion over the Light, he reached out to every soul that carried a piece of his divinity. He did not fight. The gift he would give was not one that was an instrument of war or destruction. It was a gift of knowing, a power to simply be shared across the dozens, perhaps hundreds of threads that were tied to him as a deity. Following that river of Hope and Light, Talon beheld not just all that was within his immediate purview but that which those he had marked and those who carried a piece of him saw as well.
He saw the reason for his sudden clarity of thought and focus. He saw the chaos and destruction being unleashed across so much of what the Light touched. Through his own eyes and through the eyes of those tied to him.
11:28 AM
I am with you.
He sent it to all who were tied to him. To every person that he could See and Feel. He gave them what he felt they needed in that moment, he gave them Hope. To his marked however, he shared with them what he Saw. He shared with them a racing vision of the road between them and finally…to what the Light touched upon the world outside his prison. Seeing many of them fight against so much horror, feeling them drawn upon his strength to defend against the suffering unleashed, it resolved him. It invigorated him. They were fighting. He recalled the dreams, the urgings of Florian to tell him to keep fighting. His body thrummed as a new awareness of things beyond the time in front of him came surging to him. He felt...he felt a connection to himself that he had forgotten. It filled him with such a powerful realization of just how far he had fallen from the man he once was, that he felt his resolve spike higher. He felt himself join hands with himself. He could not give up. He could not fall to the dark that hungered for him so desperately. He told himself to fight.
He had to.
So he would.
11:29 AM
The doors to the cathedral flew open. He could hear shouting in the chamber around him. He was not swayed by the commands being given to the people he heard rushing inside. He continued to let Hope and Light flow freely from him across the bonds he shared. To share with them as much of what he could See as he had time to.
And then his chains grew taut. Talon felt his arms getting yanked to the ground. He resisted as best he was able. His muscles strained as he struggled to hold on to the connection that was flowing out from him. But it was too much. He was too weary to fight in the way he had when he had first been captured. His body had been too hurt.
So he was slowly pulled to his knees. He kept his eyes closed, his brow furrowing as he felt the warped magic of his jailers begin surging forth as the Inquisitors around him began joining their aether to the great circle that contained him.
Slowly, agonizingly, Talon felt the edges of his mind begin to grow cloudy. He grit his teeth. He clenched his fists.
The clarity of the Bond with Aoren went dark.
Talon squeezed his eyes, brow furrowing in concentration. A single tear of grief and frustration beaded out of the corner of one eye.
The haziness encroached further and he lost sight of the further edges of those tied to him. It pushed in deeper but he pushed to keep his focus. He heard a body drop to the floor. He could feel the Inquisitors straining to get him back under their control.
The fog pressed inward and Talon almost roared in frustration but finally he felt the flow of Hope and Light dim and blink out, receding back to the deeper core of his soul. Talon gasped, his chest heaving as he slumped forward just as several other Inquisitors collapsed around him. He opened his eyes, staring up at the sweat drenched face of his jailer.
11:30 AM
“I...am...Hope.” Talon felt a bone deep weariness overtake him. His eyes fell shut and he collapsed to the ground, unconsciousness taking him. He went to the dark not with fear but with resolve.
Hope had returned to him.
So he would fight to bring it back to the world.
Talon did not even lift his head as the doors to the cathedral opened and hurried footsteps shuffled inside. Whatever was occurring did not concern him in the least as it was likely more of the same. The same preparations, the same pain, the same everything. Even the hushed whispering did not draw his attention. The movements of the guards, however, did. He lifted his head, ceasing his quiet meditation, to open his eyes and watch. His eyes fell upon a smartly dressed individual whose face he did not recognize. It must have been one of the lesser Inquisitors. Talon watched as several of the armored Kathar donned their helmets and moved with a businesslike determination. Something was happening.
In the span of a minute, his ever-present guard was halved. The armored knights went from lining each side of the great hall to converging to those spaces nearest to him. He watched as the raven wings of his watchers twitched slightly. There was an edge to the atmosphere that was not usually there. Passive indifference was usually how his watcher regarded him. Now he caught an air of nervousness to them that had him peering at them curiously. He rose to his feet, the jangle of the chains that kept him in check, echoing in the hushed chamber. He caught the tensing of shoulders and the subtle movements of those in the chamber to inch their muscles toward a readiness to act. Then it happened.
It was hard to describe. It was as if there was a veil that had been resting over his thoughts. He never would have said that his ability to think and focus had been hampered. He had spent every day for who knows how long at this point, resisting their every effort to intrude upon his thoughts. It was a battle he did not always win but he had considered himself still resilient in terms of his will to resist. When the fog lifted however, his eyes went wide and he stumbled forward. One of his hands flew to his chest as he drew in a shocked gasp. The world came into focus with a stunning clarity. For the first time in months, it felt like he could think. For the first time in month, it felt like he could breathe. Had his senses been so dulled? It felt as if the world was no longer muffled but vibrant with sharp and glorious precision.
11:25 AM
The first thing that he noticed was that though his mind was clear, his physical strength was still greatly diminished. He lifted his hands, staring down at the silver shackles that bound his wrists. He could feel the power inside of those chains. He could feel them working against him with startling certainty. He could not focus on that however. His mind raced with the freedom it had suddenly been given and for a moment it was almost overwhelming. Memories of everything he had suffered and had lost over the past few months wanted to come rushing back to him. He shoved them aside with a forceful clearing of his thoughts as he felt the stirring of something across the Bond that had become something of a chain itself. He felt Aoren awaken. He felt his husband’s shock. He felt his husband’s fear. Most of all though, he felt that rising clarity brush away the fog even more.
11:26 AM
Talon felt the urgency of this moment. He felt the confirmation of its importance across the Bond. They could not waste this opportunity. Already he could feel the weight of twisted magic trying to reassert itself back onto his mind. Across the Bond, he sensed clearly that Aoren was already being grabbed and ushered to a place where he could be watched more closely. Talon recognized that the still did not have the physical strength nor arcane power to free himself or his husband. But in that moment, he realized with sharp clarity that he had no need of such powers. As if he had been missing a piece of himself, he felt knowledge offer itself up to him from deep within the core of his soul. He touched a hand to his chest, feeling a welling of warmth and solidarity wind itself into his heart. He closed his eyes and extended his senses. He touched upon the province of Light, gently ushering it into motion. He spread his gaze far and wide, opening himself up to the vision of all that the Light could see.
11:27 AM
Hope filled him as he took in the sight of everything the Light touched. He could see. He could know. He could soar in ways that he had never known were possible. And in that moment, he took the Hope that filled him and through the sovereignty of his dominion over the Light, he reached out to every soul that carried a piece of his divinity. He did not fight. The gift he would give was not one that was an instrument of war or destruction. It was a gift of knowing, a power to simply be shared across the dozens, perhaps hundreds of threads that were tied to him as a deity. Following that river of Hope and Light, Talon beheld not just all that was within his immediate purview but that which those he had marked and those who carried a piece of him saw as well.
He saw the reason for his sudden clarity of thought and focus. He saw the chaos and destruction being unleashed across so much of what the Light touched. Through his own eyes and through the eyes of those tied to him.
11:28 AM
I am with you.
He sent it to all who were tied to him. To every person that he could See and Feel. He gave them what he felt they needed in that moment, he gave them Hope. To his marked however, he shared with them what he Saw. He shared with them a racing vision of the road between them and finally…to what the Light touched upon the world outside his prison. Seeing many of them fight against so much horror, feeling them drawn upon his strength to defend against the suffering unleashed, it resolved him. It invigorated him. They were fighting. He recalled the dreams, the urgings of Florian to tell him to keep fighting. His body thrummed as a new awareness of things beyond the time in front of him came surging to him. He felt...he felt a connection to himself that he had forgotten. It filled him with such a powerful realization of just how far he had fallen from the man he once was, that he felt his resolve spike higher. He felt himself join hands with himself. He could not give up. He could not fall to the dark that hungered for him so desperately. He told himself to fight.
He had to.
So he would.
11:29 AM
The doors to the cathedral flew open. He could hear shouting in the chamber around him. He was not swayed by the commands being given to the people he heard rushing inside. He continued to let Hope and Light flow freely from him across the bonds he shared. To share with them as much of what he could See as he had time to.
And then his chains grew taut. Talon felt his arms getting yanked to the ground. He resisted as best he was able. His muscles strained as he struggled to hold on to the connection that was flowing out from him. But it was too much. He was too weary to fight in the way he had when he had first been captured. His body had been too hurt.
So he was slowly pulled to his knees. He kept his eyes closed, his brow furrowing as he felt the warped magic of his jailers begin surging forth as the Inquisitors around him began joining their aether to the great circle that contained him.
Slowly, agonizingly, Talon felt the edges of his mind begin to grow cloudy. He grit his teeth. He clenched his fists.
The clarity of the Bond with Aoren went dark.
Talon squeezed his eyes, brow furrowing in concentration. A single tear of grief and frustration beaded out of the corner of one eye.
The haziness encroached further and he lost sight of the further edges of those tied to him. It pushed in deeper but he pushed to keep his focus. He heard a body drop to the floor. He could feel the Inquisitors straining to get him back under their control.
The fog pressed inward and Talon almost roared in frustration but finally he felt the flow of Hope and Light dim and blink out, receding back to the deeper core of his soul. Talon gasped, his chest heaving as he slumped forward just as several other Inquisitors collapsed around him. He opened his eyes, staring up at the sweat drenched face of his jailer.
11:30 AM
“I...am...Hope.” Talon felt a bone deep weariness overtake him. His eyes fell shut and he collapsed to the ground, unconsciousness taking him. He went to the dark not with fear but with resolve.
Hope had returned to him.
So he would fight to bring it back to the world.
