Grim Ruination, Birth of a Soul (On Hiatus)

The Blessed Warrior

"You're lying." Susain said, her eyes knit in confusion. "I know my family, and you aren't-"
"Our family used to be farmers in the northern section of Vanderin. I used to live in that house over there. Albeit it's bigger than it used to be. I'm not really sure how our family became the Reeve of the town though. I died over 200 years ago and I've been brought back from the dead. That's why when we shook hands yesterday my hand was so cold. My blood doesn't flow through my body." Darris explained, although even to him the words sounded ridiculous as he said them.

Susain looked more awed and confused then she had a moment ago. "How could... It's been so long. I've visited the gravestones several times and none of them were..." She paused and began to think. "Prove that you're Darris Grimhul." She demanded.

Darris sighed before reaching forward to grab Susain's hand, however she quickly pulled it back. Darris glanced up at her. "Just trust me for a moment, alright?" He said calmly. Susain simply looked at him for a moment before letting him take her hand. She shivered as she felt the lack of warmth on Darris's hand.

Darris moved Susain's hand up to the side of his head, the side that lacked any form of skin beneath the illusion. Susain felt the ridged bone of Darris's skull as it touched what she thought initially was skin. "I have an illusion over my body that makes me look alive. Like I have skin. Like I have blood. It makes it look like my heart actually beats like it used to." Darris explained as he trailed Susain's hand toward his eye. "My face was torn from when I died." He said, his voice becoming evermore faint as he spoke.

Darris moved Susain's hand through his illusory eye. Susain let out a small gasp as her fingers felt inside Darris's skull. After a few moments Susain drew her hand away. "I've been looking at an illusion this whole time?"

Darris nodded. "Svalken casts it on me when I go out. It doesn't last very long though." He noted.
"Is that how you actually looked when you were alive?" Susain asked, eyeing his dishevelled brown hair, brown eyes and  thin build.

Darris glanced down at himself; at his illusory skin. He remembered his hands being slightly scared from many battles with practice blades. He remembered his hands behind more callused than they appeared to be. There was also a scar that was on Darris's side that Svalken never added, then again it was nearly impossible for him to know it had existed. "It's not a perfect recreation. Some parts of me were different. My hair wasn't as long as it looks. I also had a few small scars on my hands, along with a few other things." He explained. Then Darris turned to glance at what used to be his home; the house of the Reeve.

"What was it like? Living 200 years ago I mean." Susain asked, turning to look at her house.
"This town was about half the size it was now. The Rusty Cup has gotten nicer. I actually knew an ancestor of one of the waitresses there. The Mathinnil family. I knew them. I was great friends with one of them. He'd lost his leg and died of old age, so I've heard." Darris explained.
Susain looked at Darris. "You mean Old Elmer?" She asked quickly. "Was it true that he was a great warrior? He said he lost his leg from a demon attack past the mountains. Was that true?" She asked.

Darris chuckled. "I didn't know him when he was a warrior like you said. I just knew him when we were young kids. I left to be a part of a guild a bit earlier than him."

"You were part of Fame right?" Susain asked. "You were a warrior too, right?"

"Yes I was part of Fame. I'm surprised you still know after all this time. I'm surprised anyone remembers anyone from 2oo years ago." Darris stated. I understand how Elmer is still remembered. His family was pretty big when I was alive. Along with that he also had an interesting story to tell," He said.  "And he lived to tell it." Darris added after a brief pause.

"You were famous too. You appeared in a burst of light on town square. A lot of people thought our family was blessed by the gods; that's why I hadn't thought you'd been brought back to life. I thought your soul was... protected or something. We still have no idea what exactly happened. We buried you and, overtime, collected bits and pieces of your belongings to put on your grave. As time went by our family got a lot of 'donations' from everyone else. About a generation afterward, Darek became the next Reeve of the town. The rest is history." Susain explained.
"My brother was a Reeve? What about my parents?" Darris asked.

Susain just shrugged. "Too old, I guess. Everyone still respects our family. From what I know none of our family has had any connections to any deity since then. Even now they think we are blessed. They thought I was when I was younger due to my innate magic, but none of it was divine in any sense, just a bit of frost." She explained, holding out her hand with her palm facing upward. Suddenly a small glint appeared hovering above Susain's palm before growing bigger. The small glint became a small shard of ice that Susain then let fall to the ground.
Darris glanced down at his own hands, imagining divine light emitting from his palm. He recalled the fight with the Ice Devil at the Ziggurat. He didn't remember much, but he knew that a strange light had given him a burst of energy, but soon faded. "Do you have any idea what deity blessed me?" He asked, turning to Susain.
She shrugged. "No one knew, or, at the very least, never thought it important enough to pass down. Some assume it was some god or goddess of justice or sorrow. But who knows."

Darris glanced back toward the house ahead of him. "Can I see it?" He asked.

Susain looked at him and knit her brow. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Can I see inside the house? I haven't been inside for over 200 years; I want to see how it's changed." He explained.

Susain studied his face, as if to see if he was serious, then glanced at her home. "What are we going to tell them about you?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You're-" She turned to look at him. "You're Darris Grimhul, we can't just say that to them. If they end up believing us then they'll end up just telling everyone in town. That would end up just causing a ton of problems for both you and my family." She explained.

"They're technically my family as well." Darris replied.

Susain pursed her lips then sighed. "I am just going to introduce you as a friend from the academy who I brought home to study some magic, alright?"

Darris knit his brow. "There's a mage academy in Vanderin now?" He asked.

Susain sighed again. "Do you want to look at your old house or not?" She asked. Darris simply nodded, before they began walking across the street to the front gate.

It was odd walking to his old home. He remembered when it was still an old hut run by a well-off farming family. He could still see the form of the old hut within what was now a small mansion, which was nearly twice as large. The outside had been painted over in a light blue colour. The path up to the house was now neatly paved stone instead of a small and rather vague dirt path that only existed from years of foot traffic. The door, instead of being a rickety wooden slab with a handle and some hinges, was now a finely carved and sanded door with a metal knob along with a silver knocker on the front.
Susain reached up, grabbed the silver ring and slammed it against the wooden door several times before retracting her arm and waiting.
"Why do you need to knock? This is-" Darris was cut off when a small floating eye appeared between the door and them. The floating eye looked toward Darris before a voice rang out from it. "Susain Grimhul, are you aware that you have been followed by a young man?" A middle-aged woman's voice came.

Susain silently sighed before replying. "Yes, Helda, I'm aware. His name is... David. He's from the academy. He was having trouble with runes so I offered to help him study." She replied.
The eye was silent as it turned it's gaze to Susain as she spoke. "Why not his own home?" It replied.

Susian opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Then Darris took half a step toward the eye and spoke. "My parents are a bit strict. They don't really like me interacting with other people." He quickly explained.

The eye turned to Darris and floated closer to him, making him lean back as it got uncomfortably close to his face. Then it hovered back to its initial position. "Very well, you may come in." It said before suddenly shimmering away into the aether.

A faint click sounded from the door as Susain opened it. "You can come in, David." She offered, giving Darris a light smile.

Darris took a breath before stepping through the door; into the house he hadn't entered in over 200 years.