Leave It All Behind

For nearly a year I have given myself to the service of the Crown of Mare Maris. The benefits have been vast as I have been able to spend a tremendous amount of time enjoying the beauty of its landscape and honing my skills as both an operative and a tactician. Not all of my employers had martial problems to be solved, but some wanted to apply my martial prowess and strategic expertise to their political ambitions or even their mercantile ones. It is quite interesting and astounding how easily the teachings and truths of battle can be applied to business endeavors. It is within this region that I also met friends like Ashurei, who had become quite an interesting companion of mine. I would be able to keep in touch with him should I survive what was to come. I had waited for months to actually open the pouch of items that the Moon Witch had given to me. I was busy with missions for the crown as well as aiding my old friend and now something of an employer himself in Jyn. That was still a strange experience all in itself.

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I had agreed to aid in helping his ambitions come to fruition. Certain deep rooted feelings would not shake on both the positive side of things as well as the relatively negative. I was still upset about the way things ended over two years ago between the two of us. He abandoned me and there is part of me that views him as a responsible party for why I have yet to be able to find and rescue my Master. Jyn was always stronger than I was, so I figure that with his help, I could have ventured into the Core and we could have done our own search for my Master. I would have helped him with whatever it was that took him away in such a haste, but he never gave me that chance. I have felt betrayed by that day for two years now. My thoughts fall upon fighting him in combat once again. My muscles tense up as I realize that I can vividly visualize such an encounter. Only the difference is that this time I am able to use the terrain to my advantage and I watch as he falls before me. There is no boasting or anything of that nature.

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Instead, the other emotional that I can't seem to break free of when my falls upon thoughts of our childhood is one of my closest friends and almost older sibling relationship. We were both orphans and both taken in by my Master. I remember following Jyn around on our own little adventures when we were kids and while to most they were no big feats to us, they were epic encounters in which we got to travel and showcase our skills to one another as well as to others we encountered and the older members of The Guild. So in this vision where I fight him, there is no anger or resentment in my heart towards. A stark distinction from what I truly feel at the moment. This duality consumes my thoughts for a moment longer. Soon though, I am drawn out of my thoughts to the present. I am standing in a military compound with the Lord Captain, a man whom I have frequently worked for as an Operative of Mare Maris. He approaches me and we walk and talk. The rumors had been flying around already.

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I was going to be leaving the service of Mare Maris to undertake a personal mission and to aid Battousai. We discuss the state of things in Mare Maris as well as the southern border lands. It is a very pleasant and light conversation. He asks if he could persuade me to remain in service to the Queen but he already knew the answer before he asked. There were matters that I had to tend to and soon. I needed to undertake this mission to get some real answers about what happened to my Master and to acquire this power that the old hag spoke of. This new power would allow me to finally be strong enough to neutralize my enemies and protect myself and my allies. While we are chatting, I inform the Lord Captain, "If you are ever in need of my help yourself, you know how to contact me. I'm sure that bird would find me no matter where I go. If it is for you, I will come to your aid, Lord Captain. You have always been loyal to me and treated myself and the other operatives with respect, so the same will be shown to you."

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The Lord Captain thanks me for my service and my loyalty to the Queen and her interests of peace. It is rather ironic that that was indeed what I was doing though I typically perform such duties in very violent ways. There was a rarely a time when no one was harmed, maimed, or killed in one of my peacekeeping missions. Hell, even negotiations tended to end up on the more aggressive side of things. That just seems to be the way things play out. While I am a rather calm and collected individual, my normal environment is one of chaos and destruction and I completely love it. I look around the compound and recall the beginning and ending of numerous missions that I had undertaken for him. It would seem that they are all coming to an end now. Nodding my head to the Lord Captain, I tell him to stay safe before my body begins to fade away. With a gentle breeze, dark purple and black smoke fades away.

I reappear outside of the compound and without taking a single look back, I walk off towards the north gate. As the sun seems to shine down over me, my body shimmers out of sight again.

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Walking thru the Void, I find myself getting closer and closer to a moment that I know full well will not be easy. As I exit and stand upon the beach, I look forward to see a figure standing there at the cliff. There are a couple of guards around as well. They are official Mare Maris noble security. Moving forward I note that the guards at first do not notice me until I am standing pretty close to the figure. The golden brown curls streaming down both sides greet me before the saddened face follows to look upon me. It is the young Lady Gantele. So she had already heard that I was leaving Mare Maris. I suppose it might be better since hopefully it has given her more time to process the news and accept it.

Standing next to her, I find that it is possible that giving her two weeks would not have helped enough. She looks at me and asks softly, "Is it really true? Are you leaving?" I nod to her. She asks why. "I thought you enjoyed your work here. Why do you wish to leave us?" I tell her that I have matters that I must attend to and that a friend of mine is in need of my skills to help them establish their own dominion in this realm. "Mare Maris has enough operatives to handle its affairs and I have personally selected my replacement in serving your father and looking after you. You will definitely like her."

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Gantele retorts, "I already have a Guardian that I like and trust and that doesn't treat me like a fragile little child. I already have you, Dravec." I smile at her before telling her that she will always have me looking after her even when she doesn't know that I am. "I have no intention of cutting ties with my network of operatives here in the coastal regions or in the desert lands to the south, so I will stay abreast of what is happening here. Rest assured that you will remain safe, my lady." She hugs me and holds on to me tightly as tears start to stream down her face. "You cannot go. I will not let you go b/c you told me that no one would ever hurt me as long as you are around. If you're not around then I can be hurt." I smile at her and tell the guards that we will be right back. "Medius, shimmer." We enter the Void in a puff of purple and black smoke and I dash forward with Gantele wrapped in my arms. She has traversed the Void with me before and she would notice that I do not have to pause as often as I did before. Now I could move further without needing to exit the Void. We arrive in Medius a few minutes later before I whisk us back to the cliffs. With a smile on my face, I tell her, "So you see, my lady, I am never too far away from you. And as I get stronger and my reputation as an operative spreads, no one will think to harm you as it will be clearly known that I always look after you."

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