Once Forgotten 1.8

A lone man entered into a tavern. His contact was in here somewhere. He took a nervous gulp. This contact was one hard man to find. He shook his head. After all, this man wasn't even a human, though he walked as one more often than not. He spied a deep red cloak at the bar and cautiously approached. The contact didn't even bother to look up from his drink. "You can relax. I'm not gonna bite you." He took a gulp of his drink. "I've got info that you need to take to our mutual friend." The man gulped as a tail protruded from the contact's cloak. "Word is, Kadrin has taken on an apprentice. Picked her up in Salcar."

"That's odd." The man said. "He's never shown signs of this before."

The contact shrugged. "Doesn't matter. He has his reasons. The Freedomists are gathering as well."

"Do you know where?" The man asked. The contact shrugged.

"Of course. Am I going to divulge that information? No." He gulped the rest of his drink and signaled for another. The man got up to leave, but the cloaked man stopped him. "Tell her Majesty that I'll be dropping in for a visit soon." The man nodded and left. Another man approached.

"You didn't mention anything about our...situation." He told him. "Just what are you up to, Flamian?"

"Dylan doesn't need to know about that, and if I know her as well as I believe I do, then she already knows about everything." Flamian answered. "I still haven't quite figured out how she finds it all out. Anyways, you need to head back to your base. Kadrin will be headed here."

His companion frowned. "Why on earth would he be coming back here?"

"One, to find me. Two, to talk with Dylan again. Any other reasons than that? None that I know of." Flamian answered. He swigged the last of his drink. "I need to head out now. We still need more info, and I'm going to an...'old friend' to get it."

"You can't be serious! Calrius? You're going to Calrius?" his companion asked, shocked.

Flamian dropped a few coins on the bar. "What choice do we have? Calrius is the best...damn! Of course!" He exclaimed, smacking his forehead. A laugh escaped his lips. "It all makes sense!" He laughed again. "Now, I'm headed out"

The man sat alone, holding his mug before him, its contents untouched. He sat, lost in his thoughts, for hours into the night, before he stood, laid a few coins on the bar, and walked into the waning night. His thoughts were filled with memories of his past. Memories that haunted him. Memories of a girl.
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Kadrin walked slower, keeping pace with Rya for once. "Now, what do think happened the other night?"

She thought for a moment, a small frown on her face. "I don't know. Why didn't they kill me? I've heard tales of it happening. To interrupt sylphs in their dance is almost certain death."

Kadrin nodded. "This is true, unless you know the correct response."

"The correct response? All I did was apologize..." Her eyes opened with realization. "I didn't beg for my life! I didn't treat them as superior, but I spoke as if I were on their level!"

"Exactly! Elementals are powerful creatures to be sure, but at heart, the majority of them simply wish the proper respect. And not only did you apologized, you offered your hand to them willingly." Kadrin nodded, satisfied by her answer.

"And what was that about? At first, the sylph was trying to force me to open my mind, but it became gentler when it realized I wasn't trying to block it." Rya voiced.

"It was angry." Kadrin said simply. "It acted as you or I would react. But you calmed it. You calmed all of them, as a matter of fact. You were afraid, terrified. I could feel it rolling off of you in waves, and so could they. However, you didn't let it take you over. You let it course through you, but you remained calm throughout the ordeal." They walked in silence for a while, before he spoke again. "Have you thought more on the meaning of names?"

Rya nodded. "I have, but I have not gotten very far. I guess I just don't know that much about you yet to piece together everything. The same for Gartrand's. Master, tell me something..." She was quiet as she tried to form her question. "Do we choose our names based on who we are? or who we wish to be?"

Kadrin was silent as he thought it over. "It's both. When we choose our name, we slip into a state of introspection without even realizing it. We find who we are, but since we do not see ourselves as that yet, we strive to become our name."

"Wait...are you saying that...I already have control of my power, but I think I don't?" She frowned.

Again, Kadrin just laughed. "Not precisely. What I mean is we already are our names, but we need to grow into them. That's why you are merely called Rya, and that will be who you are until I deem you otherwise." He chuckled. "And that won't be for a long while. So, I'm stuck with you."

"Stuck with me??" She frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I have a particular interest in your well being." Kadrin said simply. She knew better than to pester him further and fell silent. "But for what it's worth, I wouldn't wish to be stuck with anyone else."

"And why is that?" She asked.

He turned slightly to her. "Because in some ways, I see myself in you." She blushed and faced forward.