A Knight of Nowhere

Chapter Four - Awakening

The cold air cracked the room. Splitting the hairs across D'maya's arm. The hairs were thin and delicate, yet attuned to every slight change of her environment. She was almost a hunter, almost. Though even these senses didn't rest her unease with the tension of the room. The silence was so fine that one of her blades could likely cut through it now.

"In death there is life..." She whispered to herself. They weren't her houses words, rather, they were the words of House Nikor. Lord Ryonis' house. They were sacred words by every sense of it.

Thinking of blades, she noticed one of the members of the Brotherhood - Drayke she believed his name was, either way, he was the more threatening of the two. He had taken the sword from the man's person, placing it near the hearth. D'maya was no smith, in fact, she had never done any sort of forging, only basic maintenance. But she didn't need any sort of expertise to spot how well made the blade was. Ice-white, with one of the sharpest edges she had ever seen. It was rare for metal to hold an edge like that for too long though. Still, how did it manage to attain that colour?

Still, she couldn't shake the feeling of unease that both Drayke and the 'knight' on the table provided her. It was almost cold to her, like a leech siphoning her blood. It didn't feel right to her it was off. Not the situation at hand, rather, her discomfort at it. Surely her training would have offset this feeling from ever occurring within her again. She thought she had killed this part of herself, yet fear still existed within her, like an unwanted acquaintance.

"Well then," Drayke said from across the room. He patted the other on the back. "Better luck next-time, ay Thomas."

"Aye," Thomas replied. He seemed disheartened more than anything else. Not being able to put himself to proper use. She knew the feeling she saw on his face, it was a mask she had even worn herself once. Insignificance. That thing was a pit, borderline inescapable. She somewhat pitied the lad, seeing a piece of herself within him.

A shiver ran up D'maya's left arm. A familiar one, as if brought by the northern wind itself. She averted her gaze to the left by a couple of inches. Noting the black-light she could see out of her periphery. A black-light that only meant Lyris had shown up. With his arrival, came the breaking of the pent up tension. That, was at least... something, as it seemed to be almost crippling the room.

"So," Lyris began, a nonchalant smile upon his face, seemingly oblivious to everything that had been going on. "What have I missed?" If you would have been here like any other Honourguard was, you would have known. Part of D'maya wanted the words to leave her mouth. Chastise him, show him where to improve upon... well himself. Yet, she found herself holding back for once. She had caused him enough pain already with what she had said. She even held back the temptation to give him a heartfelt answer, he probably wouldn't think her to be pleasant at this time. When do I ever get to feel... He had left her, for years he had abandoned her. How was she supposed to feel? No one ever taught her that...

"Seemingly nothing, my dear boy," Lord Essenger said.

"Hmph," Lyris muttered in sheer disrespect. Sometimes D'maya wasn't even sure if he knew that he was doing it. It just seemed to be part of him at this point. Even Lord Ryonis had adjusted to his quirks. Has Arren set him up as a Kaligny? She thought to herself for the moment, but then quickly snapped out of her mind's anchor. She didn't need answers right now, she needed focus.

"Well then," Lord Ryonis began. Even he sounded disheartened at this thought. For someone this far north, he had a strange belief in magic. Almost uncanny for that matter, considering those around him. So seeing it's failure in working was likely crushing, though he barely let it show. D'maya knew his signs by now, of course, she did. She wished to be his Kalligny, one without an Irregularity.