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Three days after he left his last town, Ashley Riot came upon his next one. It sat high in the hills, but he could see it clearly even from his position on the lowland paths. Walls of pale pink sandstone rose out of a forest of fir and beech trees. Leaves of green and purple stretched upward around it, as though the forest intended to swallow the fortress town whole. Mont Sabine.
A warm fire. A mug of mulled wine. A bath. Although he was a man who required few comforts, the year was growing long and cold, and Ashley found himself coveting the opportunity.
"What do you think," he asked. "Should we go?"
There was no reply, of course. Funny how he had never been very verbose before, and yet now he found every occasion to speak, knowing that there was no one nearby capable of answering. He shifted his arm underneath the leather and fur cloaks he had bought recently. His fingers fumbled at a small pouch around his waist; it was heavy with coin, thanks to the odd jobs he had taken in the last town. He had more than enough for a night of relative luxury.
"I could use a bath." He hadn't taken one in the last town. "My stink must be bothering you terribly."
It was noon when he started toward the city. It was dark when he neared the outer wall. It had been a harder climb than he had anticipated, but he was more than capable of handling it. It wasn't as though he were an average person, after all. But, as he found a well-trodden path toward the entrance, Ashley realized that something was amiss. Something was. . . off.
And there it was. Somewhere not quite in the distance, he could hear the frantic rustling off leaves and the too-quick footsteps of someone running. Someone who was breathing heavily and calling out every now and then.
"I suppose it's time to play the hero," Ashley said, before turning and running toward the noises.
He got to the scene just in time to see a lithe figure scream and trip, falling to the floor. It seemed to be female, young, possibly no more than fifteen considering her height and built. There was some large bipedal beast chasing after her. It slowed as it realized she wasn't getting up, drew its claws and bared its teeth. Ashley knew that he wouldn't be able to reach them in time, but he knew what could.
He focused. It was strange, how instinctual this was. All he needed was a a half-formed thought, not even an articulated concept, and he felt the Dark creeping into his body. It took him over, until he felt almost like a third party watching the scene. Like when you take on the role of spectator in your own dream. The Dark knew what he wanted, it always did, and in an instant Ashley became aware of a massive wildcat nearby.
Ashley took command of the cat's thoughts and movements, made it run and jump, made it pounce on the beast that was terrorizing the young girl. He could feel the cat's claws as it dug into tough hide and sickeningly pliable flesh, could feel the hot blood gush out over fur. When the beast was half-dead and unable to move Ashley released the cat with one last command: run off. The Dark receded as much as it could while still being a part of him. It stained him now, forever, in a way that he could physically feel, but it wasn't so difficult a cross to bear.
Ashley made his way to the girl, who looked like she could hardly believe what had happened.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"I am now," she replied, letting him help her up. She schooled her expression into a more casual one, wiping any shock off of it. "To think that I'd be saved by a Nightpanther."
"Perhaps you shouldn't be out of the city this late into the evening."
The girl shrugged, looking mildly put out by the suggestion. "It's perfectly safe, barring the freak attack of some random beast. I can handle myself."
Ashley frowned. It hadn't seemed as though she had been handling herself all that well, but he decided not to point that out. Children her age had their strange combination of pride and stubbornness. Plus she reminded him a bit of Callo Merlose, and he had never been very good at interacting with her. Before he could say anything at all, though, her eyes went wide, her face went pale, and she stumbled backward. Her gaze was focused over his left shoulder.
"There. . . there's something behind you." Her voice was a shaky whisper. "A dark apparition. . . he has a. . . claw. . . on your shoulder."
Ashley's eyes widened just a bit. "You mean you can see him?"
At Ashley's casual, curious tone, the girl calmed down almost instantly. Ashley wondered if all children these days were so adoptive.
"What do you mean 'can I see him'?" The girl asked, eyebrows knitting into little lines. "That's not the usual response to finding out that a ghost is nearby, you know."
Ashley looked to his left, over his shoulder, to see the strangely dark vision of Sydney Losstarot. He looked like a person standing in shadows, but a little less substantial, a little more transparent. The man was just as beautiful in death as he had been in life. Tall and slim and equally as ethereal either way. He stood almost perfectly still, his eyes gazing toward some near distance. Often his lips would move, as though speaking, but no words would come from them. Whatever barrier separated their worlds, it was one that did not allow the passage of sound.
"How long have you been able to see spirits?" Ashley asked.
The girl blinked a few times. "I don't know. It's not a constant thing. . . every now and then, for as long as I can remember. Though when I was younger I hardly knew that they were spirits. Just strange people who didn't seem to interact with the world around them."
Ashley nodded, his interest in the girl waning. "Do you know where I can find an inn?"
As they walked to the inn the girl kept her gaze on Sydney, who floated along beside them. Ashley had expected a bevy of questions from her (who is he? why is he following you? what was your relationship with him?), but she asked nothing. Ashley was almost grateful to her for the fact. But when they got to the inn door, she stopped him from going through right away.
"I was out this late," she said, "because I was picking flowers. There's a blossom that only grows in this region and that only blooms at night. But if you pluck it at full bloom, it stays at full bloom for months. It's a popular flower for funerals because it shows that there's still beauty and life after death. Maybe you and your friend might like one."
The girl deposited a single blossom into Ashley's hand. It was a delicate thing, almost transparent, its petals were so thin and colorless. Beautiful nonetheless.
"Maybe it will help him move on."
As the girl walked off, Ashley wondered about that. He wondered about what Sydney could move on to. All those that entered Leá Monde were marked by the Dark. When they died their souls returned to the Dark. They returned to Ashley. He could feel them when they died, when their spirits joined the Dark, because it felt like they were becoming a part of him. But not Sydney. Sydney was there, always silent, always beside him.
It was easy enough to get a room at the inn. They gave him a private room with a fireplace and a tub, and as they warmed water to fill it they brought him mugs of heated wine. It was obviously made from the cheapest of red wines, but it was good nonetheless. The scent of vanilla and cloves that drifted from its surface was the perfect antidote for the cold weather, and the hints of cinnamon as it washed down his throat were divine. By the time they had the tub filled, Ashley's mind was nicely muddled. He stripped and sunk into the hot water. Sydney, for his part, had taken position by the closed window, looking out as though he could see through the wooden shutters.
Sometimes Ashley wondered what Sydney could see and hear. His eyes rarely seemed to focus on anything, after all, just stared into the distance.
"This room overlooks the White Lake," Ashley said, repeating what the inn servants had told him. He wasn't sure why. Sydney was there, he would have heard it if he was able to. "It marks the border of Valendia. Past it is the neighboring kingdom. If we walk two days past the lake, we'll come to a thriving market city."
Perhaps he would go there next. Market towns were always good for employment, and he had never seen the lands east of here. It might be interesting to experience new worlds and cultures. Sydney, with his refined upbringing, might enjoy it.
A few seconds later Sydney's lips started to move, as though it were a response to what Ashley had said.
When Ashley spoke again, he couldn't keep his tone from sounding anything but a little bitter. "Your lips keep moving, over and over again, so you must have a lot to say to me. And yet I can't hear one syllable of it."
Sydney's lips moved again, saying nothing.
Frustrated, Ashley sunk his whole body in the water. He stayed there for as long as he could before the necessity of air forced him upward, and felt somewhat refreshed from having been surrounded by hot water. Though it didn't help to clear his head as much as he thought it would; the wine here, apparently, was rather strong.
And Sydney was still staring out the closed window, not even looking at him, lips forever in motion.
"What do you want from me," Ashley said, more a statement than a question. "Why are you here?"
Of course Sydney didn't answer. Sydney couldn't answer.
"Do you hear me, Sydney?" Ashley asked, his voice rising in volume. "Why are you here?"
Nothing. Always nothing. Sydney was forever beside him, forever out of his reach.
"I didn't save you so that you could kill yourself, Sydney!" Ashley said, his voice now a yell. "I didn't carry you out of Leá Monde just for you to die! Why did you do this?"
Ashley buried his face in his hands. If this was how it was going to be, he would have taken Sydney with him to began with. He wouldn't have left him at the Duke's manor.
"I don't want to see you like this," Ashley said, his voice quiet and cracked.
Several moments later he looked up again. His eyes widened to see that Sydney wasn't there anymore. He jumped out of the tub and ran to the window, water dripping off his nude frame to puddle on the stone floor. He flung open the shutters, even though he knew this wasn't just a matter of Sydney going outside.
Sydney was gone. Ashley took a deep breath. Calm down, calm down. Sydney had disappeared before and he had always come back. He would come back this time. He wouldn't leave forever, just because of something Ashley said while drunk. Ashley nodded to himself. It was okay, Sydney would come back.
Sufficiently calmed down, Ashley took a seat on the edge of his bed, unmindful of the water that was now leaking into the sheets. He wondered what he should do now. Sydney had disappeared a few times before, and Ashley had used the opportunities to seek out more human company. He would find a brothel and lose himself between the thighs of a young man who bore some resemblance to Sydney. Never a woman; Ashley couldn't take the chance of producing an heir to the Dark. When he died, he hoped that the strange magic would die with him.
Today, though, he hardly felt like doing that. He had nothing to do but wait for Sydney's return. He took another deep breath, laid down on the bed, and waited.
At some point Ashley fell asleep. When he woke up the next morning, Sydney still wasn't there. So Ashley went down to eat breakfast in the mess hall, then he went about town gathering supplies for the next few days. As he did so, he grew increasingly worried. Sydney had never been away for this long.
Ashley wondered what would happen if he left the town. Would Sydney be able to find him? They were linked by the Dark, so Ashley didn't see why not. But what if Sydney was gone forever? Ashley pushed that thought out of his head almost as quickly as it had appeared. There was no point in thinking about that.
Ashley returned to the inn and packed up the last of his things. As he did so he caught sight of the scenery outside his window; it really was beautiful. The White Lake was nestled in a valley some depth below where he was currently situated. Sun-drenched green slopes and vibrant trees coalesced into a sparkling, still pool. It looked more a deep greenish blue than white, most likely due to the reflection of trees and sky. Behind it was a distant mountain range, tipped with caps of snow.
And then Ashley saw something, some flicker of darkness on the edge of the lake. He didn't usually like to teleport; it gave him nausea and he could only teleport short distances anyway. But he teleported out of the inn, then ran the rest of the way down to the lake shore, jumping over scattered rocks and avoiding branches. As he got closer Ashley could see that the lake was as clear as a crystal and did indeed appear pure white, thanks to the color of the sand lining it. On that perfectly white sand, the edge of the lake water almost touching his eldritch feet, was Sydney. Beside him was the flower they had been given by the girl of before, black and wilted.
Ashley caught his breath as he took in the sights and sounds of the lake. With Sydney found, things didn't seem so urgent anymore, and he could see why Sydney chose this place to stay. It was peaceful. From the gentle ripples of the mostly still water to the song of birds in the nearby forests, everything here was calm and serene. Still, they couldn't stay here forever.
"The people in the next town over," Ashley said, "are said to make mulled wine out of cherries. Come, let us depart."
He started to walk away from the lake. Several moments later he felt Sydney's presence at his back, a comforting warmth as he continued his journey.