3 A Faithful Meeting (3)

The walk was rather peaceful. Except for a few thugs, nobody bothered Aldryn. Suddenly, the priest stopped in his tracks and looked at a hole in the ground beneath a tree. He silently approached it and curiously peeked into it. He sat down on his knees and peered into the opening, hoping to see something.

"Hello?" He called out and waited, as if expecting an answer.

"What are you doing?" a voice in his mind resonated, sounding both amused and irritated.

"Well… it's a fox hole" Aldryn said as if it just explained his strange actions.

"I am not sure that I understand what you are trying to say" the Thrae spoke again, once it became obvious that the oracle had no intention to add any more information and continued to investigate the hole.

"I want to find a fox" he said, continuing his mission and peering into the dark and musty earth.

"Oh! He wants to find a fox" the voice mocked, "How could I not think about it? It is so obvious. While we are at this revelation, mind sharing with me why we are looking for a fox?" the voice then continued mockingly.

"Well, the first time we met… you had the shape of a fox", after those words Aldryn winced, feeling the Thrae that he shared a body with became irked after hearing his words, "so I thought that maybe you could speak with foxes and consequently, maybe I could speak with them", he hurried to speak, hoping to make the situation better, only for the Fox-shaped God to start howling and throwing insults at him.

The two begun arguing then, one being angry at the mere insinuations that were made, while the other more confused as to what he did wrong. The fight kept on for nearly two days, Aldryn never stopping from his journey despite the unusual inner conflict going on in his head. Sometimes, the oracle was glad that there was nobody around to witness him wincing from the headache that persisted, while other times he truly wished that he met anyone on the path, hoping that his companion would quiet down with someone around.

It was only on the third day that they both stopped fighting. Yet despite this, Aldryn would still privately think that he was right.

'The Thrae had the shape of a Fox and that couldn't be a coincidence. Anyone would have thought that it could speak with other foxes, otherwise why did it chose this form and not that of a human' the oracle silently thought, careful for his opinion to not be heard by said Thrae that resided in his body.

'It has been nearly ten years and he grew only more childish. Is this what humans call becoming senile? Should I start looking for a new host? On another thought, why bother. If all the humans are like this one then I would rather perish. Why did I even think that being stuck like this was better than death? At least it would have been more peaceful', the fox thought to itself.

And so, the two companions would both keep to themselves and not speak to one another. Some people might think that after the many years that the two of them spend together, after the many winters that they travelled, the two would be in harmony with one another. But it seemed that as time passed, their bickering would only become more frequent, while their fights would last longer.

Humans also reacted to them in different ways. Warriors would be wary, unsure if the conflict would take a violent turn. Commoners looking in awe, admiring both creatures in front of them. While Ildurin would laugh.

"So many centuries spend in solitude and yet it is a few years with Aldryn that are driving you mad" the King would say whenever the fox would take over during one of their fights.

"Why did it had to be him that I became bond to, the fates are laughing at me" it would always hiss in return.

"Not only them" the blonde would say laughing, as the possessed oracle would storm off.

It was only on the fifth day after the fight broke was it that Aldryn caved in.

"You will not keep ignoring me forever will you?" the blonde asked the fox, only to be met with silence.

The oracle only sighed. Despite having travelled for years alone without a complaint, ever since Aldryn has tied himself to the Thrae, he could no longer stand to be by himself. It was rather surprising for him. The oracle has travelled alone most of his life and never once did he miss the company of another person. Yet now that he knew what it was like to have the Thrae with him, whispering him about the threats that it felt, or sometimes coming out during battles to vent, he realized how lonely he has been all those years. Even when he was travelling with others, be it a merchant or a party, he never got attached, nor trusted someone to watch his back. But the fox seemed to have turned around his whole lifestyle.

Aldryn was so preoccupied with trying to make the Thrae speak with him again that he completely missed the sound of a fight that took place not far from him. It was only when the smell of blood hit him was it that he quickly turned around on his path and started following it to the source.

The oracle stopped dead in his tracks near the fields. He would never forget the sight that greeted him there. Four men were on the ground with blood still leaking from their wounds. While a young man stood above them, looking at his victims. When Aldryn fully stepped out from behind the trees that shielded him, their eyes met. He looked elegant, the priest noted. His clothes were rich and seemed expensive. What drew his attention was that Aldryn has never seen such clothes before. Despite having travelled the world a few times over, the oracle never once stumbled upon someone dressed in such fashion. The crest sewn on his breast was also not one that Aldryn recognized, despite having by now memorised all the Royal families of those lands. Next were his features. The young man was handsome, perhaps one of the most handsome man that Aldryn has ever seen.

"What happened here?" he asked the young man, but didn't receive a reply.

"Why did you kill them?" he tried again, carefully approaching him.

Meanwhile, the raven haired man simply looked at the priest curiously. He felt different from the humans that he met so far. He also looked different from anyone he has seen so far on those lands. Yet there was something that he sensed from the blonde that he could not put his finger on. Something that made a part of him grip his blade when he saw that the new arrival began approaching him. Something that made him more dangerous that the humans that dared to attack him. And that something made him wish to fight this strange creature that stood in front of him. To see how strong it was.

It was only when Aldryn got rather close to the young man was it that a voice resonated in his head.

"What are you doing?" the Thrae shouted, "That thing is not human!".

"Well look who is back on speaking terms with me again", Aldryn exclaimed, causing the young man to look at him in surprise, not expecting the blonde to say something.

It was only when the words registered in his head, was it that Aldryn jumped back and drew his spear out, causing the young man to rise the blade he was holding in a defensive position.

"What are you?" Aldryn tried to ask again, despite something telling him that he will not receive an answer.

"We should go" the Thrae urged him.

"What if he kills more people?" the priest argued back.

"So let him" the fox nearly shouted at him, "humans die every day. I rather like existing and that" he said making Aldryn's eyes turn toward the young raven-haired man, "is dangerous. I can feel it. I don't know what it is, which says enough"

"You think we can't win?" the oracle asked surprised to hear such words from the proud Thrae.

"Not without draining our powers, not really" it said, sounding nearly bored.

Before Aldryn could make a reply he felt immense danger and jumped out of the way, right in time to not be stabbed by the blade of the young man, who only looked at the priest with curiosity. He made another jab and was surprised again when the priest jumped out of the way.

His movements were too fast to be that of a human indeed, the oracle thought. While the creature tried to figure out what it was facing.

"He is fast" the fox said suddenly, "But not fast enough" it then commented, feeling as if it was challenged.

"Oh so now you want to fight?" Aldryn mocked it, "Can you not decide? One minute you say run and the next you jump into the battle."

This time, before the fox could snap at its partner, they both saw their opponent move again. But unlike the previous attack, they did not dodge, but blocked it using the spear. As if not expecting it, the creature jumped back and studied them for a bit, before he rushed in to attack again. The two exchanged blow after blow without feeling any fatigue. They seemed to dance around one another.

While the creature could not help but think that it finally found a worthy opponent, Aldryn could not help but notice its lack.

"He seems very awkward" the oracle said in his mind to the fox.

"Yes" he felt his companion nod, "It feels as if it doesn't know proper swordsmanship. As if it taught itself how to use the blade."

This time, it was the priest who nodded. Their opponent was agile and the speed at which the young man moved seemed to be his only advantage. But his stance was sloppy and the grip on his sword could use some improvements. It was a surprise that he was not robbed yet, but perhaps his speed was the only thing that saved him from anyone who wanted to attack. That, and its strength. The creature's blow was surprisingly strong and could perhaps disarm an opponent if the hit ever landed. Were Aldryn a simple human, there was no doubt in his mind that the spear would have simply been ripped out of his hand from the first blow by the force that was used behind the blade.

The two of them danced around each other for hours. Exchanging blows and dodging. Sometimes Aldryn would get a hit and scratch his opponent with his spear and sometimes, it would be the creature who would land home and the blade would cut Aldryn's skin.

To a passer-by it might seem as an intense fight, but for the two of them, it was a game. It seemed as if both of them were getting to know each other by every blow, as if they were testing each others limits every time one of them dodged. A match that was not fuelled by bloodlust, but curiosity. And at some point, the curiosity turned into competition, of seeing whom of them would last longer. And after that, each blow that was given, hid within itself a sickening pleasure that the two opponents took from fighting each other.

Some time during the match, Aldryn noticed that while his cuts were bleeding, those of his opponents were not. It caused him to once again question the nature of this young man. But what he also noticed was the black line that stood where the cut was made. From that point, most of the swings made by the oracle were directed to hit certain parts of the young man. He cut his arm whenever he would try to dodge or block, causing the skin to start peeling at some point.

It made Aldryn stop and stare at his opponent and noticing this, the young man also stopped and glanced at his arm where the oracle was looking at. He raised it and his eyes were dancing from his arm to the oracle and back to the cuts. After realizing that the priest's stare held no disgust, but mere curiosity, the young man took a piece of the skin and tore it off.