The Dawn Has Come

[Hikami]

龍 5th of Glade, Year 123, A.o.S 龍
Company: Himself| Thoughts: Ive been having weird dreams| Mood: Curious

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龍 He had been having wierd dreams as of late. After the demontide battle and the raging rathor he encountered, not to mention the pillar of light he saw on the 3rd of the season, he found his dreams plagued by things he couldnt quite understand. At first, he wrote them off as a residual effect of everything he had been going through, but the more and more he remembered of each one, the bits and fragments that he could recall, they were more than just dreams.

If he was being honest with himself, he believed them to be visions, visions of a past life. He wondered what these dreams were trying to tell him, but as he walked he could feel the presence of light touching his skin. Standing on the horizon overlooking the destination he found himself drawn to, he gazed upon it in all its majesty. It was awe-inspiring, a true work of beauty, and it felt as though it was calling him home.

"So this is where this feeling has brought me." he mused, feeling as though whatever pulled him to this place was pleased he was here. He ventured forth, making the journey till he could see the gates of the settlement coming into view. He was soon impeded by a patrol, men and women of various races dressed in silver armor, weapons poised and at the ready. Not a single step further, state your business.

The Iceborne was unsure how to explain it but he did his best. "I can't explain it, but I was compelled to come here, something wants me to be here." he began, his guan doa forming in his hands as massive wings of frozen crystal grew from his back. "However, I won't be threatened either." he said as wind and ice began to whip up around him. 龍

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"Common Speech"
"Synskrit Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"

[Talon]

“Always so ready to fight.” Talon stepped out of a shaft of light that shone brightly down from one of the watchtowers overlooking the citadel. The silver-white of his hair was crowned with morning light. His wings were touched with a luminous quality and all the world around him in this place was drawn to mimic the serene sense of Hope that he exuded. As soon as he appeared, the guards at the citadel gates sheathed or dismissed their weapons. Several dropped to a knee in reverence.

“Lightbringer.” The lead knight knelt, bowing his head. Talon inclined his head. With that gesture, the knights got back to their feet.

“Peace, Hikami.” Talon smiled at the other Avialae. “Come.”

Talon motioned for Hikami to follow him. As he did, he turned and began walking through the gates of Dawnhold. As soon as he entered the hallowed grounds of his realmspace, Talon felt a shiver go up his spine. All around them, the citadel was illuminated as though bathed in gentle sunlight. Knights young and older were going about their business, many training the newly clothed aspirants who had been trickling in from either Kalzasi or other various parts of Karnor. Talon did not speak as they walked. He merely let Hikami take in the sights that were around him. As they walked, he allowed himself to attune to the auras of those people that were going about their business. For the newest residents of the citadel, their auras were unfamiliar and curious. For those who were long-standing knights, their auras were resolute and attentive. Whenever he neared those who bore his Emblem, their auras practically sang in his presence. He could sense a version of this in Hikami’s aura.

“It has been some time.” Talon took them toward a route that would lead them to walk along a more scenic road on the citadel grounds.

[Hikami]

龍 5th of Glade, Year 123, A.o.S 龍
Company: Himself| Thoughts: Ive been having weird dreams| Mood: Curious

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龍 Like something out of a divine book, Talon had calmed the situation before it could evolve into a pitched battle at the gates of the settlement. Hikami watched as every knight present sheathed their weapons and knelt in reverence. Hikami found tears rolling down his face as this was the first time he had seen the man since that ill-fated day. When called to follow he did so, wiping the tears from his face as he followed behind Talon, his frozen wings shattering and glittering into icy dust in the light.

As they ventured through the streets Hikami was without words as he took it all in, this place was beautiful. He felt a jolt run down his spine as the light of the high towers washed over him, and in that moment he was brought to that same place of blinding light, and the same presence reaching out to him, a few words flashing in his mind. "We are home." those words calmed the iceborne even more.

Talon had spoke, which brought him out of that trance, and Hikami could only chuckle as he came to match the pace of the Prince of Kalzasi. "Indeed it has your highness, though I dont think what I have been going through can amount to what you have been subjected to." he began. "I wouldn't even know where to begin, though I guess if I have to think about it, my life changed after that avalanche almost destroyed Udori port."

He would then begin to divulge everything to Talon. How he saved the port of Kalzasi by allowing the spirit of the lake to overtake him, how he almost died afterward and had become a living amalgamation of water, aether, and ice. How he had the vision of winged women trapped behind some form of rip in reality. Meeting the woman named Freya who had been speaking in his head at Lover's Pit, to finding it empty of its original inhabitant but meeting her, and how he helped her save that woman and her dragon. He explained how a moderately powerful Ice spirit was now suffused to his soul as a result of helping her save the dragonrider and her dragon and Freya calling him her dragon.

He then began to tell Talon about the dreams he had been having. About how they were more so like he was reliving someone's past, seeing it through their eyes. About being given a book that filled his very being with dread, and hearing the name "Eikaen" in another's voice. How he saw a fortress filled with warriors wearing the same silver armor as those that walked the streets of the settlement now had been assaulted, how he watched as saw this past life die before his very eyes. It was a lot to take in, but it was even more to explain and relive.

Taking a moment to let that sink in he looked to Talon. "I can feel that presence even now, see their silver-scaled arm like that time I did during the battle with the demontide, though my memory of that battle is still a bit hazy at best." He couldn't help but scratch the side of his head when he was nervous or put in an awkward situation, and Talon normally flustered him in such a way. 龍

---

"Common Speech"
"Synskrit Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"

[Talon]

“Suffering is relative, Hikami.” Talon spoke softly. Even as he did so, he could recall clearly a great many of the voices and prayers that still filtered their way to him on the edges of his awareness. A great source of it came from Zaichaer but there were other places across Karnor where some of his knights were dispatched as well.

“I would never wish what I went through on any soul. I understand however, that what I have suffered and what others suffer are not lesser, merely different.” He did not expect a farmer who was simply trying to provide for his family to grasp the complexity of what he had faced. Nor would that farmer particularly care. Their view on the world was not his view. That did not make it wrong, merely different. He was a Divine and a Prince, with a mind focused on much broader and worldly things than the tilling of fields but he understood that the tilling of those fields had a great impact on the rest of his country.

He listened as Hikami recounted his trials ever since that day. The warrior had been through a great deal. It both saddened him and made him proud. Hikami was an example of everything that his people should be, a bulwark against many of the terrible forces that sought to bring calamity to this world. He stepped forward, bringing up both hands to rest upon Hikami’s shoulders in order to give them a squeeze.

“You are a good and brave man, Hikami. I knew that the moment I met you.” He smiled. “I still think you are often far too ready to brawl but I would not change you for the world.”

Releasing his hold on Hikami, he guided them along the path. Where they walked, the sunlight shining overhead practically sought them out. It shone softly in the feathers of Talon’s wings. He contemplated the meaning of the dreams that Hikami had been having.

“What do you believe the dreams mean?”

[Hikami]

Company: Talon| Thoughts: Help me Understand| Mood: Frustrated, Afraid, Confused

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龍 He couldnt help but chuckle at the remark of him always being ready to fight. It was something that had become etched into his soul at an early age and one of the many defining characteristics of him. He was also glad to be in the man's presence again, the effect of being around Talon finally setting in and allowing him to relax. He held a big smile as Talon regarded his bravery and commended him, almost blushing from the praise of it.

Scratching his head as he pondered what all his dreams could mean and he could only come up with one conclusion when Talon posed the question to him. "It's weird ya know, these dreams feel so real, but they are of things that I don't ever remember experiencing like they were vivid memories of past events. Oddly enough one such dream keeps recurring now more than ever. Im standing next to a man, who is bathed in golden light, and when I look at him I see you, and the name Arcas comes into my mind. He looks at me and says Well done Valkonyn of House Targyrius, you have made me proud."

He took a step back and found a spot to sit down at. Running his hands through his hair he was frustrated, unsure of what all was happening to him. But more importantly, he was afraid, afraid of losing himself. "I'll be honest. I know little about certain things, and I've only heard of the phenomenon once, but I think I am an incarnation of a warrior from long ago. A warrior who fought alongside you, for you. Ever since I was hit by dawnfire, I have had these dreams, and I think it has led me here to you." He now looked to Talon, tears pooling behind glowing swirling hues of shifting blue.

"Help me understand Talon." he pleaded, burying his face into his hands, tears running free from his built-up frustration and fear. 龍

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"Common Speech"
"Synskrit Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"

[Talon]

He vividly remembered the feelings that had welled up inside of him when Arcas had revealed that he was but a fragment of the demigod’s soul. A mortal who was incomplete. He had been terrified. He had thought he was going to be absorbed into the greater weave of the demigod and fade away forever. The reality was something far more complicated where he was and was not fully himself. He was a union of the two. He was Talon. He was Arcas. He was also neither but someone and something entirely new. A mortal who had lived a completely mortal life but also the ancient demigod who had served as a guide and friend to many. Mortal man and Immortal demigod had united to become something more. Something that had not been before.

“It is not something understood.” He spoke those words with a wry smile. “It is something experienced.”

Talon motioned for Hikami to follow him. Talon walked them steadily toward a quieter place. A garden that was bathed in soft light, filled with silver petaled flowers that glinted with hints of golden dawnlight.

“If you are afraid, ask yourself why. If you are in pain, what is the source of it?” He did not interrupt Hikami’s need to express his emotions. It was not something easily processed. He allowed the man to go through sorting himself out.

“You have been through extraordinary circumstances. You are an extraordinary man. I do not believe that anyone would fault you for feeling frustrated and afraid.” He gave a half-smile. “Certainly not myself.”

[Hikami]

Company: Talon| Thoughts: Help me Understand| Mood: Frustrated, Afraid, Confused

---

龍 The Iceborne couldnt help but chuckle, as he knew well that if anyone could empathize with him it was Talon. The man was an incarnation of a god after all. Hikami took a moment to analyze his words, trying to figure out the answers for himself. Why was he afraid? What was there to fear? He knew that answer well enough. He wasn't so much pained by the experience, it was simply that he didn't know what would become of himself if he sought out the answers.

Looking to the demigod he wiped his tears away, and then turned his gaze to the display of light that had been dancing around them and the garden they had been occupying. "I am afraid, afraid of losing myself. But ever since I became what I am now, the Hyoga you once knew no longer exists. I am something more now, and it keeps piling on the more I go, having more questions then I have answers. I am exhausted from it all, but I guess when I truly think about it, Hyoga died that day, and what I am now has just been a blank canvas, holding onto what once was." he chuckled nervously, falling back into the cool grass of the garden.

"If this Valkonyn awakens and I am no more, I can honestly say I lived my life the best way I knew how, as a warrior to the end and in service of those who couldn't defend themselves. I would leave this world knowing I did what I could and go with no regrets, well except one." his eyes turned to Talon, as he braced himself for what he was about to say. "When that time comes, know that I love you. I have always loved you since the day we first met, and you showed me so much kindness."

He laughed, as he truly began to think about it. He would be no more or more so, melded with this Valkonyn soul. He wondered what would happen then or if anyone would remember him. Standing he began to hum a tune that he had been hearing in his dreams. He wondered if it was something that Talon would recognize. "You know, in each one of those dreams, it was faint, but i could always hear a song being sung so subtly in the background. It sounded like a chorus of folks singing, paying reverence to their deity." He could hear those words clear as day, and began to sing them the best way he knew how.

When shadows fall, and your hope has fled
Steel your heart, for the dawn will come

The night is long, and the path is dark
Look to the sky, for one day soon
The dawn will come

The shepherd's lost, and his home too far
Look for the light, the dawn will come

The night is long, and the path is dark
Look to the sky, for one day soon
The dawn will come

Bare your blade, and raise it high
Stand your ground, for one day soon
The dawn will come

The night is long, and the path is dark
Look to the sky, for one day soon
The dawn will come

He smiled and turned to look at Talon. "I am sure none of this makes sense to you, and I am sorry for burdening you with my problems. But you are one of the few people who truly understand what I am going through. he said putting a hand to his chest. "Whoever this is living within my soul, he wanted me to be here, to bring him home." 龍

---

"Common Speech"
"Synskrit Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"

[Talon]

Talon listened to what Hikami had to say. In many respects, his experiences were not that different from his own. When Arcas had first begun to reach out to him, the part of him that he had never been aware of, it had been a frightening experience. He had not known what to think. He had been confused, angry, afraid, and he had just wanted his life to go back to the way it had been before. There was no going back, however. The bell, once rung, could not be unrung.

“When I first awoke to my divinity, I was lost.” Talon reached up, brushing his fingers over one of the silvery leaves of a nearby tree. He gently held it between his fingers, letting the texture of it ground him as he recalled his memories and feelings.

“I had thousands of voices in my head. People and prayers calling out aimlessly for Justice. There was a desperate hunger for it in the world that I thought would drive me mad.” He had nearly been lost to all of it. The crushing weight of so much being yearned for had been nearly too much to bear.

“But then, I remembered who and what I am. I am Avialae. We live with connections, people, voices and Bonds our whole lives.” Across his own Bond he could feel his husband. He could feel the light tethers that existed between himself and his family. He could feel the divine link between himself and his faithful, both those who carried one of his emblems and those who simply believed in him with great conviction.

“As I grew to know who and what I had become, I realized that there is no divide between Arcas and Talon. We are one and the same and something altogether different. It is not a competition. There are not two souls living inside of me. There is one being with many memories.” His gaze grew distant for a moment as he searched the long recesses of his memory. At times he felt as though he would get lost in it all but then he grounded himself by remembering to stay focused on the here and now.

“I imagine that you are experiencing something similar.” He looked at Hikami and then was dumbstruck by the declaration of love. It made him blink as he worked to process what the warrior said. This, followed by the song and Talon was not sure what to say. He was not sure if he should say anything at all.

“Dawnhold can be a home for you, if you wish it to be.” That was all he could manage. The Order was beginning to serve as a sanctuary for many who were coming from all walks of life. If Hikami wished to join them, he certainly would welcome one of such great skill.

[Hikami]

Company: Talon| Thoughts: i'd Like That| Mood: Frustrated, Afraid, Confused

---

龍 Those words were more meaningful to him than anyone could imagine for him. He wasn't sure what to make of any of it, but he knew if anyone would understand it would be Talon. It meant more that it came from Talon, his words gave him some clarity that was for certain. He could sense that this place was the best place for him to be in order to build that relationship with whatever soul that was melding with his own.

"I would like that very much. I think that would be best for me." he accepted, chuckling feeling awkward now that he had bared his soul to the man, unsure if he had embarrassed himself in front of a god. He thought about how he would go about learning about his past life, and he knew that getting the answers he needed would be his biggest priority, among other things.


"I won't stay here for free though, I'll pull my weight ya know." he said, tapping the demigod on the chest with his fist. He held it there for a moment, before embracing the prince in a hug. It was an impulse but he wouldn't regret it. "Thank you......for everything. I can honestly say you have been nothing but a true friend to me." he added, patting the avialae prince on his back. Pulling away he averted his gaze from the god so as not to add to his further embarrassment.

"Now what can I do to earn my lot and help around here? I assume I would have to become a Dawnmartyr? Im not sure how this works exactly." he chuckled, nervously scratching the back of his head, as he always did when nervous. 龍

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"Common Speech"
"Synskrit Speech"
"Self-Thoughts"