Coming to terms

[Gamling]

Lauan stood in the Refectory, watching a few knights stand guard as the Red Wizards ate their meal. She stood by the door, next to the table Pyras would sit at, with an icy stare that glanced about watchfully, though, there was nothing of note going on, only the thoughts in her head.

Her upper lip twitched as she continued to think. Think about the words spoken by her friends, Kathyrn, Osclow, and the mysterious tiefling in black armor. She cringed a bit, realizing how she had poured her emotions onto all of them.

The Red Wizards laughed as they stood to leave the room. She gave them a respectful nod, then, looked to the spot when Pyras would normaly sit, and scowled.

"Leave me in this damned valley, Pyras? When I could be protecting you, so simple, just to protect someone." She thought to herself. She looked back up, peering through her visor at the almost empty refectory. A few knights were talking with each other quietly.

She brought her hand in front of her face, clenching and un-clenching her fist. She did not know why she did this, maybe to remind her she had somewhat of a control on her self. "A deeper connection? I've tried three times, and every time it ended in failure." She placed a hand on the hilt of her blade, and squeezed it. Her eyes fluttered with realization, then anger as she remembered that one statement she could not discern, that she meant to ask. "It's because you try."

She continued watching the knights, with an angered look on her face. she never properly introduced herself to any of them, for, she never really cared, they were not her friends, not her allies... Yet.

She took a step forward to approach the small group of knights, then stopped, mid-step, slowly placing her foot to the ground and sighing.Could she have a connection like she wanted with her fellow Thayans? No, most likely not, but it was better than pretending with another.

She idly tapped her sheild, stepping back as the other knights talked in murmured voices, Lauan unable to hear. She continued to watch them. She envied them, they were so... Cut off from emotion. The only reason they talked was to gather information from eachother of current happenings.

She had tried three times to find happiness in her emotion, all ending in bitter disapointment of sadness and hate. It would be a miricale if these feelings could just go away, so she could not act on them like a fool. This moment she wanted to cry, to break down and let the tears flow from her eyes. How would that look in the enclave? It would result in utter embarassment of Pyras, and a beating for Lauan.

She looked down, fighting these emotions, fighting them until she could no longer hear herself cry inside, or scream, laugh, smile. She would strangle the last remenants of the little girl within her if she had to. Though she was surrounded by friends, she was used, and alone on the inside. The knights had stopped talking now, and were now standing, watching Lauan with her head hung, eyes squinted shut.

"Lauan." One of the knights barked her name to get her attention, his brow furrowed. They may not have been introduced, but they knew eachother by name. It had been a long time since she smiled, or giggled care-freely. The only emotions she could feel were anger, sadness, hate. These things were self-destructive, and if she had to remove all of these feelings, the good, the bad, to not feel this pain anymore, so be it.

"Lauan!" The knight sounded angry at not being answered the first time. Lauan fluttered her eyes, looking up, completely calm with a hollow smile to the three of the knights standing before her. "You seemed distant... Keep on your guard." The knights began to walk away, their eyes lingering on her for a moment before the door closed. She watched them leave, and the hollow smile turned into a grin.

She was free, or at least, free from herself.

[Gamling]

There was an eerie piece in the giant crater known as Shar's Abbadon. The mountain where the mighty Xithis was slain, and then collapsed. This was all that was left. Lauan overheard Hano and Osclow speaking of returning to this place. She was pulled to this place, had to return.

The giant crater, a testament to her failure to Pyras went deeper than the group had thought. The path lead downward into a deeper pit, with a small, tight descent into the crater. Lauan, Hano, Osclow, and Fenton made their way in, a look of awe on their faces as they took up some nearby torch-wood and lit it to see better.

The place was littered with a purple like glow, probably from the various rocks that shone. It was beautiful, or at least Lauan had thought so. Along with the discovery of some old bones, and a strange purple liquid, Lauan found a door when she wandered off, along with Vader and Kennison, oddly enough.

"I've found a door... Deeper in the place." Lauan pointed back, as Hano examined the water, while Fenton and Osclow conversed. They were relieved to find Lauan, though, Lauan could feel other wise. She lead them back to the door, but it would not budge, for no one. Osclow's attempts at listening did not succeed either. Disappointed, the group of now six made their way back, only to be taken on by an unpleasent surprise.

A Balor, more powerful then any of them had seen blocked their path. Talking to it failed, Hano's mighty blade failed as well. The demon very much amused, saw the sport in letting them run. He vanished, as the cave began to collapse.. "Run!" Someone shouted, as they sprinted toward the exit, narrowly missing the falling rock.

Unwilling to lose momentum, they ran to the top of the crater, ready to leave as the demon appeared once more, blocking the only road out of this serene nightmare. After a few taunting words, the demon shot white lights into the bodies of Lauan's companions, would-be friends. She watched them all, as the balor named off their loved ones, she clutching Osclow's shoulders to find and bring comfort.

The balor then set his gaze on Lauan, somewhat amused, he said. "Ah... Thayan Knight, the best for last." He raised his hand, bringing forth a similar light to pierce Lauan's mind. Lauan made a pained grunt, standing up straight, staring the Balor in the eyes as his expression turned from amusement, to shock, as his hand weilding the light, burst into flame.

Lauan held her head, the balor looking inbetween the knight and his hand, a grin creeping across his face. "My... I have never met such a torn mortal, such misery." The demon had infiltrated her mind, releasing the dark feelings that had been bottled up for far too long, a place better left off untouched.

((Other peoples sides of the story would be nice. ))