A Very Spooktacular Event

Freedom was an odd feeling. Truthfully, Aeron wasn’t sure she had really gotten used to it yet. Things had worked out about as perfectly as one could ask in her situation, despite the horrifying truths she had been forced to accept about herself. Finding out that you were just one part of a whole of a woman whose mind had been fractured with insanity and trauma was… well, not something that Aeron was sure she’d ever really be able to understand or accept, but ever since Mythal had found a way to split the three of them apart to become their own people, it was like a fog had been lifted from Aeron’s mind, one that she’d never been aware was there in the first place. And thankfully, her memories – and only her memories – were retained, though that didn’t stop her from struggling with the idea of her own existence.

A lifetime of paranoia also had not allowed her to relax thus far. Thana was dead at the hands of Mythal’s brother, Vandrad, and yet Aeron simply could not shake off the ominous feeling that she still hadn’t truly escaped the woman. Mythal and Serilda had offered her temporary lodging in their home, assuring her she was welcome and that she wasn’t the only long term guest they currently had, but Aeron had declined. She was grateful for the offer, more than she could ever express, and she more than trusted Mythal and his fiancee a thousand times over, but the former dark mage was… well, embarrassed. She needed time and she needed space to collect herself after everything that had happened, everything that had been revealed.

That being said, Mythal flat out refused to let Aeron return to the total isolation that was her abandoned fortress in Sin. She was no longer a dark mage in need of hiding, especially with Thana gone, and he would not accept her continuing to live in squalor. She had been receiving supplies from him for some time, of course, but that hadn’t truly changed her actual living situation, which he had tolerated up until that point because it had been the safest place for her – and meant Thana was less likely to show up in civilized areas unannounced. Now, all that had changed. So instead, Aeron accepted the second offer that had been pitched to her: letting her stay in the Rune Knight barracks.

By this point, word had spread through the ranks of the soldiers about who she was, and while some certainly treated her with suspicion and apprehension, she had been surprised at how many more were understanding and accepting of her presence, some even going out of their way to try and help her feel welcomed. Mythal visited her frequently, and oftentimes Serilda was with him. The white haired leader of the Rune Knights was beyond intimidating, but she was friendly enough. Their warmth and patience helped greatly in easing Aeron into her new life, though it was going to take a long time for her to truly be comfortable, surely.

She had been encouraged by a number of people, including the Rune Knight leaders, to get out and actually see a bit of Fiore in a way she’d never been able to before. It was odd to see the sights without having Thana around to ruin everything with her perverse idea of fun. Most of the time Aeron didn’t really know what she was doing outside of just… walking around and observing the people around her, perhaps trying different food places here and there. But there was a sort of serenity that came from the simplicity of it all, and for once in her life she didn’t feel the need to look around every corner before she stepped, though she was still acutely aware of her surroundings at any given point in time.

That was much more difficult in crowded places, however, so while she was still leagues better than she had been before, Aeron was still having to fight off the urge to give into her paranoia with so many people jam packed around her. Rose Garden was absolutely infested with all kinds of people that were dressed up and enjoying the Halloween festivities. She had been to gatherings like this before as Fiore and many other nations held similar events with every major holiday, but this was the first time she’d truly been given the chance to try enjoying one without worry about Thana showing up and wreaking havoc. She played a few carnival games, watched the families around her as they took part in various activities, and even stopped to enjoy some of the live music that was being performed.

The current performance was a band being led by a well dressed man with dark skin. She’d never heard the song he was performing, but even Aeron had to admit it had a very catchy beat that she was having a hard time not tapping her foot to or nodding her head along to the beat with. The former dark mage did love music. All the time she’d spent alone in Sin had left her with little to do other than what could be done on her iLac, which meant that she’d spent a great deal of time watching movies and shows or just filling the silence with music. Aeron had really come to appreciate music in general, so it was always nice to hear different sounds and different singers. Though she wasn’t educated enough in the field to have any kind of expert opinion, it was obvious the singer had a lot of talent, and it made her a tad envious.

When the performance was over, she moved on and found herself stopped by one of the gaming stations near one of the food stands. The premise of the game was to use a rubber mallet to hit little zombie figurines that popped out of holes on a board. A little kid was in the middle of playing and seemed to be having the time of his life, even if he wasn’t very good at it. Aeron herself didn’t necessarily feel an overwhelming urge to give it a shot; it all seemed a bit silly to her. But it wasn’t like she had much of anything else to do, so when the game finally ended and the machine was free she gave a mental shrug and stepped up.

Putting her game tokens in the machine, she collected the hammer and prepared herself for the game to start. The zombies were easy to keep up with at first, starting rather slow with only one or two appearing at once and with plenty of time to beat them back down. But as the minute ticked down, they became to show themselves with increasing frequency. Aeron’s brow furrowed into a very intense focus as she did her best to keep up, missing as many of them as she hit. It was a bit frustrating for such a simple task, though that may have had more to do with the fact that her reflexes were painfully slow ever since she’d lost all her magic. By the end of the game, she hadn’t beaten any records, but all in all she also hadn’t done too badly. There was a small smile on her face as the machine spat out a skull shaped token for her to take.

It was only then she looked up to realize that she was being watched by a man that was leaning on the counter of the food stall closest to her. It took her a moment to realize it was the guy that had been singing and playing guitar on stage only a minute or two ago. Suddenly feeling very foolish for being caught doing something so silly, a sheepish blush lit up her cheeks. She jammed the skull token in the pocket of her jacket like it was on fire, her mind scrambling for something to say. “Good job. Up there. With the song. I liked it. You, uh… you did really… good.”

Well, it was nice to know she still had her crippling social anxiety.

Well this was just the absolute worst. Aeron didn’t like attention at the best of times, so turning around to see a complete stranger watching her while she struggled to beat some stupid children’s game was just mortifying. She managed to babble some kind of commentary in an attempt to deflect, though in truth it only made her feel more foolish. Luckily, the man didn’t seem keen on calling her on her anxiety. He took her compliment well, ineloquent as it was, and after a drink from his beer admitted that she’d probably done a better job on the machine than he would have. Aeron earnestly wasn’t sure if he was lying or not. He hadn’t really given her a reason to assume he was lying, but there was no helping her paranoid nature, and she didn’t have Darius with her at the moment to confirm what was truth. “Uh… T-thanks, I guess…”

Smooth, Aeron. Very smooth.

He offered her his hand with an introduction, calling himself Trevor. Aeron blinked apprehensively at the limb, knowing what the gesture was for but having such little exposure to the social world at large that it took her a moment to ease herself into it. Nervously, she took his hand and gave it the smallest of shakes. “A-Aeron. I’m Aeron.” Trevor moved the conversation along with such ease and comfort that she was earnestly a bit jealous, bewildered at how easily speaking with strangers seemed to come to some people. He admitted that he was a bit out of his element at the festival, as it was his first Halloween event, and he asked if she was with any company or if she would mind letting him accompany her. “Oh. Well, uh… I mean, I’m not here with anyone, no…”

She didn’t give him a straight answer right away, the expression on her face betraying that she was trying to decide if she would accept or not. Aeron really wasn’t good at people. Then again, that was part of the whole reason she had come. Mythal and Serilda had both been encouraging her to try getting out and experiencing more of society, even challenging her to try and make some friends, or at least to not be afraid or shy away from opportunities to learn and grow. The brunette only gave it thought for two or three seconds before giving a little nod. “Y-Yeah, sure. Why not? I’ve never been to a Halloween thing like this, either. Honestly not used to being around this many people. Maybe it’s easier to manage if I’m not totally by myself?”

Aeron didn’t sound totally sure of that, but if nothing else he would be able to tell that she was genuine in accepting his offer of company. With that decided, he polished off his alcohol and pointed toward another nearby tent, mentioning that he’d been interested in seeing what was happening in that area. Her blue eyes followed the gesture of his arm to see a little kiosk where a woman dressed as a witch was handing out drinks from a cauldron, and laughing wildly in the fashion of her character. Aeron followed him over to the table with her hands in her pockets, watching quietly as the woman greeted Trevor and offered him a glass, cautioning him that it might have mysterious effects.

Her companion gave it a whiff before shrugging and taking a drink. Aeron’s eyes went wide as she watched his body shift before her eyes, becoming translucent like a ghost. It took him a moment to notice for himself, but he was pretty amused when he did, looking over his limbs with a chuckle and giving the barista his compliments as he accepted the little skull token she provided him. Then, Trevor turned the challenge over to her. It didn’t take a magic drink for her to face to visibly pale a bit. “Never,” she admitted when he asked if she was feeling adventurous, and it was the honest truth.

Yet, she didn’t step away, even as the witch poured another cup and held it out with a grin, waving it around gently as if trying to entice – or more likely, peer pressure – Aeron into accepting it. With reluctance, the brunette took hold of the cup though she didn’t drink it right away, her gaze locked on to the liquid with a slight gulp. She did not like surprises. More than that, she didn’t like not being in control of her body, and who knew what kind of embarrassing thing would happen once she drank it? “Don’t be afraid to try new things…” Mythal’s words had the focus of a practiced mantra under her breath, the woman fighting through her anxiety to essentially give herself a pep talk, though she had perhaps spoken a little louder than she realized. Taking a breath to steel herself, she quickly raised the glass to her lips and took a hearty gulp before she lost her nerve.

Aeron stood there for a moment, her body tense as she waited and looked at herself to see what would happen. A couple long seconds went by and… well, there was no change. The drink was admittedly very delicious, but… had it been a dud? Her posture relaxed and her expression morphed more into confusion than anything else. ♫ “Did anything happe-” ♫

Her free hand practically slapped itself over her mouth. Why had she started singing just now? Red as a beet, she cleared her throat and dropped her hand to try again. ♫ “Sorry, I don’t know why I-” ♫ Oh no. The potion. It was making her sing every time she tried to talk. She practically wheeled on to the witch lady, desperation in her eyes as she asked in song, ♫ “How long is this going to last?!” ♫

The woman was giggling as she placed a skull token in Aeron’s numb hand. “Oh don’t worry, darling. It may last a few minutes or a few hours, but it will wear off eventually.”

♫ “A few hours?” ♫ Aeron couldn’t think of a worse hell. At least, for a moment this seemed like the worst possible outcome that could have happened, the former dark mage so thoroughly embarrassed that she thought about running back home to Era right then and there. But somehow, she managed to find her center, if with some struggle. As embarrassing as this was… well, somehow the edge was eased by the mental reminder that at least she didn’t have to worry about Thana showing up at any point. It was mortifying, but she was safe… and she had to keep reminding herself of that. ♫ “Well, it does taste good so… Thanks.” ♫

He was kind and patient enough, she’d give him that, though she wasn’t sure why her stomach felt like it was flipping over when he smiled down at her with such ease and confidence. Luckily, Aeron didn’t have to put much thought into it as Trevor led the way to the tent with the witch and the drinks they would partake in.

It had taken her all of her willpower to take the sip, forcing herself well beyond her comfort zone to take a risk at being social and trying to have some fun, which she knew was the ultimate purpose of gatherings like this. Aeron had been to festivals before – though not any focused on Halloween – but with Thana lurking around every corner it had been hard to really relax to the point where she could even attempt to enjoy herself. With Thana no longer an issue, and Aeron now being under the protection of Mythal and the Rune Knights, it had given her some solid footing with which she could attempt to spread her wings a little bit at a time.

But a potion that forced her to sing in front of hundreds of people was not something she had been prepared to handle. Aeron had never sung in her life, not even when she was by herself, let alone in front of anyone else. She was so caught up in her anxiety that she didn’t even realize that she didn’t sound half bad, not that she’d really have been able to realize that even if she was listening to herself. One’s voice always sounded different to themselves than it did to others, after all, and it wasn’t like she was a bundle of confidence to begin with. As she practically slumped into resignation over her fate – already leaps and bounds of growth more than had she been going through this mere months ago – Trevor spoke up to reassure her that it wasn’t as awful as she felt it was. He even went so far as to compliment her voice, deeming it as audience worthy.

Her eyes went wide in dread as he seemed to suggest that they put her on the stage, but thankfully he chuckled and admitted that even he knew her well enough already to know that would just be mean. He wanted her to have fun, not be upset. She exhaled in visible, almost comical relief. ♫ “Good, cause I’d shove my face inside that cauldron and drown myself to death before I’d humiliate myself in front of an audience.” ♫ Then, after a moment, with another small rosy tint to her cheeks, she added. ♫ “And, thanks… I’ve never sung before. As stupid as it is, it does help to know that I don’t sound as ridiculous as I feel…” ♫

Her companion led the way to another gaming table that was set up like a shell game, but with coffins. Aeron was a little surprised he didn’t seem to know what the purpose of the game was, as even she had seen such games before, but she chose not to say anything. He was being very kind to her so far and she didn’t want to repay him by being judgemental, particularly when she didn’t know anything about him. He did ask her for confirmation on the point of the game after the coffins had stopped shifting around, and she nodded. ♫ “Yeah, I’ve seen games like this before. That’s pretty much the gist of it.” ♫ He lamented not having paid enough attention and chose one at random, finding nothing beneath the lifted coffin besides another skull token. ♫ “Those kind of games are simple, but not really all that easy. It’s hard to keep track of if you lose focus.” ♫

They moved along, the pair wandering slowly down the aisles of attractions to see what all the options were. Building up her courage, Aeron took a step to attempt being friendly. ♫ “So… Where are you from? If you don’t mind me asking. I’m assuming it’s not anywhere near here, if you’re not familiar with Halloween…” ♫

He reassured her that she sounded just fine, stating plainly that he would never fib over something like that, though of course Aeron didn’t know him well enough to know if he was being genuine or giving her a kind lie to make her feel better. In the end, it didn’t really matter. Still, he encouraged her to try doing more of it, even if it was just when she was by herself, claiming her voice was… beautiful.

Being complimented was an odd feeling, her gut once again doing annoying somersaults that she typically only dealt with when she was around Mythal. If Aeron wasn’t completely sure that she didn’t want the attention of any gods, she’d be praying to anyone listening that her newfound freedom hadn’t turned her into one of those stupid women that swooned over the slightest bit of kindness and attention. It was the first time anyone had ever called her, or any part of her, beautiful though, and a small part of her couldn’t help but be humbled by it. ♫ “Maybe,” ♫ was her quiet reply after a moment, and while the single word would normally suggest disinterest from anyone else, her tone betrayed that she was giving it very sincere consideration.

They moved to the coffin shell game and then past it once he had lost, moseying through the crowds to see what other avenues of entertainment were before them. Determined to use some of the tools therapist had been trying to give her, she forced herself to be brave and made an attempt at striking conversation, asking about where he had come from. To her delight – and horror – it had actually worked. Trevor laughed quietly and admitted that his origins were complex, but otherwise admitted that he wasn’t exactly a native. His home had been destroyed, and he couldn’t even recall its destruction all too well. He had been “whisked away” before the end… Aeron could only assume he meant he had been rescued by someone. And when he’d finally come to, he was in a completely different land, having to learn how to move on. Halloween wasn’t something they celebrated where he was from, or really any holiday.

It was odd, but his story seemed to put her at a sort of ease, the brunette finding more than a few similarities between his experiences and hers. At the very least she was more than familiar with finding herself in strange places with no explanation, and having to scramble to either protect herself or make the best of it. Aeron nodded softly. ♫ “Well, I’m… sorry to hear about your home.” ♫ It was the only thing she could think to say, her lack of social experience blindingly obvious, but the sentiment was sincere all the same.

Unfortunately, conversation was a two way street and Aeron would soon pay for her bravery by having the question turned back around on her. Like a deer in headlights, she quickly swallowed down her anxiety and stayed focused. ♫ “Well, that’s uh… also a bit complicated for me.” ♫ Taking a small breath and hoping beyond all hope that this insufferable singing thing would be over sooner rather than later, Aeron dug in her heels and pushed forward. Ironically, she was too distracted by her annoyance about singing everything to be too shy about talking. ♫ “I’ve never really had a home. I was technically born in Bellum, but… I was a slave since I was a child, and we were always on the move. Eventually, we- I mean, I managed to escape a couple years ago. I sort of had a home in Sin for a while, I suppose, but my friend… He won’t let me go back. He says I’m not allowed to isolate myself anymore.” ♫

It was difficult and confusing trying to talk about her past, though not for the reasons he might think. Certainly the emotional traumas were there, but the truth was that Aeron was currently struggling with a conflict of identity given the recently revealed truths about her connections to Thana and Trinity, and that struggle to feel like a whole individual wasn’t going to go away any time soon, therapy or no.

They were able to walk a few more feet unhindered before Aeron suddenly found her vision blocked by a festival attendant in a vampire costume. He smiled at them both, gesturing to the station beside him. “Come! Try your hand at our Tunnel of Terror,” the man bade them, speaking in a character accent and playing up the spookiness of the ride by sounding like a discount Dracula. “What do you think, lovely lady? Do you and your boyfriend dare to look upon the face of fear itself?”

Aeron’s blush returned anew. ♫ “Boyfr- He’s not my- we’re not-” ♫ Between being flustered and still being forced to sing everything, the former dark mage found herself flailing comically for a response.

Aeron was admittedly surprised to hear that he had some personal exposure to life as a slave. The concept of slavery wasn’t all that outdated, unfortunately, so it wasn’t like it was a one in a million chance that she would eventually run into another former slave at any point. Still, she hadn’t been expecting it given how… in control of himself and confident he appeared to be. Though by his own admission, slavery where he was from wasn’t as abusive, or at least that’s how he made it sound. His own path had given him the chance to rise up and make a change, but it seemed that he hadn’t really managed to do much better than those who had imposed on him and the other less fortunates around him at the time.

She watched him carefully, her head hung a bit low out of social trepidation but her gaze otherwise on him with invested interest. He spoke up about her friend and how it sounded like he was trying to do what was best, but at the same time insisted that her time alone was important, too. Aeron scratched the back of her head awkwardly. “Well that isn’t… really what I meant. I get plenty of alone time. Mythal is very careful and mindful with me, more than he had to be. He should have arrested or killed me a long time ago. Instead, he saved my life and chose to be my friend. Went out of his way to take care of me, despite my being a dark mage at the time. Made sure I was taken care of when I was afraid…”

Even though her singsong voice, it was almost painfully obvious that she far more than respected the man. “My isolation wasn’t exactly shutting myself up in my room when I needed space. When my former guild disbanded, I stayed behind and lived in the abandoned city by myself for almost two years. But…” What exactly was the easiest way to put this? She frowned a little as she fought for a way to explain things that would make sense. “I guess you can say that my past caught up with me recently. I was dragged out into the open and… learned a lot of frightening things about myself and others in my life. If it weren’t for him and his brother, I’d be worse than dead. He’s not trying to take away my alone time… he’s just… trying to help me overcome my fears.”

She wasn’t really sure why she felt the need to go out of her way to explain all this to a complete stranger. A large part of her was likely just not wanting him to get the wrong impression about her only friend, but she couldn’t deny that Trevor was making himself very easy to talk to, even for a woman such as herself. And in opening herself up to this man a bit, she was fulfilling the promise she’d made to both herself and Mythal to try to improve herself. She had been almost entirely alone for nearly two years, which was grievously unhealthy, and that was what her friend was trying to save her from.

Of course, all that progress was turned on its head by the interruption of the costumed man trying to encourage them onto his ride. The manner he approached his coaxing had left Aeron flustered, but Trevor stepped in to not only clear up the confusion, but also to chastise him for making assumptions. Aeron was feeling quite relieved right up until he told her she was beautiful and gave her a smile that could make a more stubborn woman melt. The Rhaegarian would find himself richly rewarded with her deepest, darkest blush so far, her cerulean eyes suddenly interested in just about everything around her except for him – though there was, perhaps, the slightest of smiles fighting for purchase on her lips.

Either way, it seemed they would be giving the ride a try. Aeron shuffled alongside Trevor as they passed through the tunnel and the fog that awaited them there until they were met with a small two person boat waiting on a river. She almost didn’t know what to do when he offered her his hand again, but after a moment it dawned on her that he was trying to help her step on board. With a mental gulp, and perhaps a little tremor, she took his hand and accepted his assistance with another blush of epic proportions. “Uh… Well, I suppose that would make sense,” she murmured when he joked about them repurposing the ride for more romantic events at other times of the year. “I’ve never been to any of the Valentine’s Day festivals either. I uh… kind of avoid that one at all costs.”

Somehow, she managed to find a way to give a small sheepish smile at her attempt at poking fun of her own insecurities. As soon as they were seated, with Aeron almost painfully aware of how close they sat next to one another, the boat began its trek down the river. At first, there wasn’t a whole lot of anything except for darkness and fog, and the gentle scent of the river water. “Is… Is this supposed to be scary, or..?”

“Oh, my darling little Aeron…” The sound of a painfully familiar voice sent an instant chill down Aeron’s spine, her entire body rigid in immediate tension. The brunette started looking wildly around the area to locate the source. “Now why would you go asking yourself a question like that? It’s right on par with ‘what could possibly go wrong?’, it is not? But if you’re looking for terror, you know that I am all to happy to deliver…”

As she spoke, a figure that looked exactly like Thana materialized before them in the boat, as beautiful and smug and deadly as she ever was. Aeron didn’t even realize that she was gripping her seat so tightly that her knuckles were going white, her nails digging into the wood and pelting her finger tips with splinters. For the briefest of moments, unadulterated panic washed over her… and then she settled down with some effort, her expression becoming stony disinterest. “Ha ha, very funny. But you’re fucking dead and it’s gonna take more than some stupid illusion trick to mess with my head, so fuck off.”

Aeron honestly wasn’t sure why she hadn’t expected something like this. She had a lot of fears, admittedly, but even after her death Thana was still at the top of her list. The mere sound of her voice was enough to invoke instinctive fear in the brunette, her body reacting before her mind could even have a chance to catch up.

But her mind did catch up, and simply put, Aeron refused to allow such a childish trick to get the better of her. So for better or worse, she chewed the illusion out and told it to get lost. And much like the real Thana, the hallucination’s smile only deepened with pleasure at the obstinance before her. In truth, the illusion was terrifyingly realistic… but it was little more than an illusion all the same. Trevor seemed rather proud of her, giving her a big grin and cheering her on, even rubbing the moment in the fake Thana’s face.

His own enthusiasm died, however, at the sound of a new voice chiming in. A man spoke up, materializing beside Thana. He had dark skin like Trevor’s, with dark eyes and feathers hanging from his ears. Aeron couldn’t help but stare at the man as he proceeded to degrade Trevor before her eyes, flat out calling him worthless. And even worse, a quick word from Trevor was all it took to realize that the spectre was his own father, the man disowning his son and stating that Trevor should have taken his place in death.

Trevor was silent for several moments, but Aeron was not. Giving the illusion a thick glare, she told it, ♫ “I don’t recall anyone asking for your fucking opinion.” ♫ It was all she would get out before her companion finally spoke up, his composure sad but soft and collected as he… agreed with the illusion. Clearly there was a lot to unpack there that Aeron knew nothing about, and she simply didn’t have the people skills to know how to comfort him, so instead she opted to just keep her mouth shut.

Thana giggled. “Aw, how sweet. Did you finally make a friend? Finally decided holding out for a married man wasn’t going to get you anywhere?”

♫ “Pretty sure I told you to get lost.” ♫

Oh, how the vision smirked. Illusion or no, Aeron’s skin crawled all the same. Finally, the fake Thana shrugged. “As you wish. It matters little. You and I both know that death has no true hold on me. I’m sure we will see each other again someday soon..” And with that final foreboding promise, the illusion disappeared. The ride came to a stop and they were finally able to disembark, and this time Aeron was too preoccupied to be flustered over Trevor touching her hand.

Though she was ripped out of her moody, intrinsic thoughts rather quickly when she went to let go and found him a little more insistent on holding on to the limb. Aeron blinked up at him, and before she could even have a chance to give way to frantic embarrassment, he told her that he was well aware the thing he had encountered on that ride wasn’t his actual father. In fact, his father would never have said anything like that. However, the ride had clearly fed off of his own internal fears, and the things that he had thought about himself were reflected in the illusion. Aeron wasn’t really sure how to respond to that. Thankfully, he changed the subject slightly, going back to Mythal and apologizing for making assumptions about the reasons Mythal had dragged her out into society. The short exposure he’d gotten of her own nightmare was enough for him to confirm that Aeron had some pretty torrid shit of her own, and if Mythal was helping Aeron work through it then he was doing the right thing as her friend.

That, and apparently he’d quite enjoyed seeing her get a little feisty. She was practically in a permanent blush at that point as he finally released her hand, suggesting that they walk around for a bit and decompress after all that. ♫ “Works for me, sure.” ♫ The brunette didn’t even realize that she had clasped her hands together lightly as they walked, in an subconscious attempt to recreate the warmth she had felt from his briefly holding the limb. It took her a while to put some words together, the woman wanting to say something in light of what she had witnessed, but completely fumbling in her mind with how to approach it.

♫ “You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself,” ♫ she finally offered quietly. ♫ “At least, that’s what Mythal tells me all the time. It’s… a struggle. But it’s good advice. I don’t know what you went through. Obviously. But.. if your dad wouldn’t have talked to you like that… maybe he wouldn’t like you talking about yourself that way either?” ♫ She wasn’t about to speak for a man she didn’t know, but the logic was there and she was, at the very least, attempting to be comforting in her own utterly inexperienced way.

She shoved her hands in her pockets. ♫ “My fear… her name was Thana, though most people knew her as Trinity. The Warlord of Madness. And up until very recently, she was pretty much the only companion I had my entire life. If you could call her that.” ♫ Aeron wasn’t entirely sure she was ready to get into the truth of all that, mostly because she was still coming to grips with it herself. But, that didn’t mean she couldn’t talk about some of it.  “And whatever magic was on that ride, it hit the nail almost perfectly on the head. I owed her my life for a very long time, but she was dangerous and… disgusting. I saw her do a lot of horrific things. I… helped her do a lot horrific things. She was arrested by the Rune Knights recently, and Mythal and Serilda – they’re in charge of the Knights – they had her executed. It was a relief but… I don’t know. As much as I try to move on, I can’t help but feel like I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop. And as terrifying as it is to admit, the insinuation that she might come back from the dead isn’t that unlikely a possibility.”

“I don’t really know where I’m going with all this. I guess I just wanted to say that I get it, the feeling of that voice in your head tearing you down. I’ve lived with it my whole life, and sometimes I can’t tell if its truly my voice or if it’s hers. But, I hope you find a way to make peace with it.” It took her until that moment to realize that somewhere in the middle of her story, she had stopped singing and finally started talking normally again. When it dawned on her, Aeron just about stopped dead in her tracks and looked up at him. “Wait, did the spell finally wear off? Oh thank gods…” Her relief was palpable.