Eryndor and Riven run out into the ruined streets. It was nothing new to them at this point; if anything, it was beginning to feel normal for them. The outside ashy skies, hollow buildings, and glows of fires in the distance.
Riven points his finger, shouting to Eryndor.
"Let's take shelter just over there, we'll catch our breath before we do anything else."
"Right," Eryndor remarks, nodding. quickly following Riven's lead.
The two began to run at a steady pace, scanning the surrounding area for any signs of life as they continued to make way into the destroyed city.
Eryndor and Riven both parkoured their way through the streets, leaping over bodies, piles of rubble, and fires that still lingered.
"C'mon, just a little further," Riven said, vaulting over a half wall, catching himself as he lands.
Eryndor follows up, landing just a little further behind him, catching himself as well.
"This place has seen better days, to say the least," Riven said, brushing his sleeves.
The two now slow their pace, catching their breath for a short while.
The plaza wasn't very big, only having a few stalls and stores around, now all abandoned or destroyed from the incident.
"The train really tore through the south, didn't it…" Riven says in a low voice, wiping some dust off his mask now.
Eryndor nods quietly, looking down at his arm to see if anything had changed in the moment.
Weird, it was glowing just a moment ago in the tunnel…
Riven turns to face Eryndor now, adjusting his mask.
"Just over there, I think that church is our best spot to lay low for now."
The church in question loomed at the edge of the plaza, its bell tower cracked down the middle like a scar. Its stained-glass windows were long shattered, leaving jagged remains to the frame; even so, the building stood the tallest among the rest in the area.
Riven tugged his coat, tightening it, before moving forward. "Let's go." Riven picks up his pace again, heading for the church.
Eryndor followed behind Riven, their boots hitting the cobblestone underneath them with each step.
In that plaza, it felt as if a shadow was following them, each window looking on as if it were a silent eye. The sack of filters Eryndor carried rattled through the dead air, a small, brittle sound.
Inside, the church offered temporary safety; the pillars that once rested high and tall were now shattered on the floor, covered in dust and ash.
The altar was cracked in two; however, a cross of iron hung crookedly from its mount. The moonlight shone through the holes in the roof, leaving rays of light inside the building.
Riven leaned against a pew, panting, looking down at the messy floor.
After a while, he spoke again—however, quieter this time. "Hey, back in the station…when that Garrick guy shouted your name. You know him?"
Eryndor looks over to him, shaking his head. "I've never seen him before, but maybe he knows me… Tilting his head. "Even so, I don't think I could forget meeting someone like him."
"No kidding, but that cloak of his did seem a little familiar to me. I felt like I've seen it somewhere."
"Now that you mention it, the cloak he had on back in the station looked like one of a Glyph commander's," Eryndor says, taking a seat at one of the pews, looking up at the open, expansive ceiling of the church.. "What was it? Purple and black?" questioning himself.
"Yeah… That's right, purple and black…" Riven begins to clench his hands, his eyes narrowing behind his mask.
How could I forget that cloak… that person…
"Hey, are you alright? You seem pissed, more than usual, to say the least."
Riven didn't say anything; he just stood there, stiff and silent.
"I'm guessing you know more than you did before."
He fixed his posture, calming himself, unslinging his harpoon to now sit down on the pew.
"Yeah… I know exactly who that bastard is now; it's all coming back to me."
"Is that right-? What happened between you and him… was it- something bad?" Eryndor says, looking over at Riven curiously.
"His name is Garrick, Verman Garrick…" Riven looks up at the ceiling now.
"V-verman? It's not ringing any bells."
"That's not surprising, considering… what they did to you."
"Wha- what do you mean?" Eryndor says in a confused tone
"I'm assuming… that they wiped your memory after that incident of yours." He slouches back on the pew, spreading his arms out.
"Do you mean the work one?" Tilting his head slightly.
Riven nods silently.
"Come to think of it, there's a good chance they're just lying to you."
"The nobles and higher-ups are just ones not to be trusted."
Eryndor's eyes widen beneath his mask, surprised by Rivens' words
"B-but why would they?"
He freezes, gripping his prosthetic arm.
w-wait, H-he could be right… h-how come I never thought of that… i-
Eryndor's mind slipped away from the world, leaving nothing but black. The edges of his thoughts blurred until even his own name felt like a stranger's.
The world felt heavy, like it was crushing him. He crouched from all the madness, gritting his teeth while tears had begun to form in his eyelids
W-why c-cant I remember? I-I never considered it really, w-why is that? Di- did they try to cover me up…? really just … who… am… I?
Who am I? Who am I!? Who am I?!? Who am I!?!?
Eryndor grips his ashy gray hair, beginning to break down as his arm starts to glow like a heartbeat.
WHO AM I?!? WHO AM I? WHO AM I? WHO AM I?
Riven sees Eryndor panicking, like his mind has gone insane. He stands, calmly walking to Eryndor, who's clearly distressed.
He stands over him, sighing, cracking his knuckles as he strikes Eryndor on his cheek through his mask.
Eryndor freezes, his breath being caught between halfway of a gasp and a sob. The glow in his arm now slowly fading away.
Riven sighs, looking at Eryndor dead in the eyes behind his mask.
"Y-you hit me?" turning his head slowly to look up at him.
Riven takes a seat next to Eryndor, looking at the ground.
"Calm yourself, Eryndor, what's done is done, and you can only move forward, so don't be in your head."
"W-what do you mean?" Eryndor says in a somber tone
"You heard him shout that name, didn't you?" Riven said, his voice sounding depressed.
"Draemont."
Eryndor now looks at Riven intently, as if his eyes were burning through the atmosphere.
"Y-you know that name? M-my last name?"
"I-I do." Riven looked away in shame and
"W-well, spill it… what do you know?"
"Where do I even begin?" Riven shifts in the pew, still looking the other way.
"The name Draemont was widely recognized in the smolder; they were quite popular with the people of the commonwealth. They were kind people, helping those in need, no matter the cost."
Riven sighed, standing to grab his harpoon
"Some nobles couldn't stand that, helping low-lifes and wasting resources on the poor, it outraged them."
"Eventually, those same nobles turned against the Draemont house, purging the family." Riven's eyes narrow, his voice becoming low.
"I was there that night of the raid." Riven swallowed, now slinging his harpoon over his shoulders.
"Garrick… had led the raid on the Draemont house. We didn't know why; we were just following orders given to us, like always."
"We were just told that some traitors had entered the noble realm or something along those lines."
Riven words echoed in the air for a moment as the outside wind breezed through the shattered windows.
"I remember it, living that awful nightmare every day…"
"That night… that bastard… Riven grits his teeth, his fist clenching.
"Killed Seraphine or… your mother Eryndor."
Time slowed down for Eryndor; the lighting of the church dimming, his hand consciously touching his arm. "M-my mother…?"
"He killed her right in front of me… I-" Riven doesn't dare to look at Eryndor, ashamed of himself.
"I couldn't stop him… and why would I? If I had-"
Eryndor lets out a short breath, collecting himself. "What about my father-? Is he dead, too?"
Riven shakes his head, turning to glance over at Eryndor, who sits on the church's floor.
"He was taken alive, dragged off somewhere undisclosed, for all I know, he could already be dead. After all, it's been 14 years since."
"I never thought our paths would cross again, but fate has its twisted way of making people come to interact with one another."
Eryndor felt like something hard and cold had settled inside him. His arm began to flicker, alternating between a crimson red and a royal blue.
"Then how did I escape alive…?"
"I-I couldn't live with the guilt of killing a child… I had to get you out of there."
"W-why tell me all this now?" He asked, his voice sounding a bit shaky.
"Because Garrick is still out there, and he won't stop until you're dead, that much should be clear… and I…"
Riven stands in silence, closing his eyes beneath his mask.
Eryndor cries quietly, his eyes widening as he stares at the floor of the crumbling church, his tears pouring onto the visor of his mask, not even bothered by the way he looks.
Riven runs a hand through his hair, trying to stay composed as he relives the day.
Dammit it all…
Riven walks to Eryndor's side, grabbing him by the collar to yank him onto his feet.
"Dammit Eryndor! This is no time to lose it!"
Eryndor narrows his eyes behind his mask, slightly looking up to Riven as he gets yanked. His vision slowly becoming blurry from the tears in his eyelids.
"Losing it…? Me losing it…? Don't give me that shit!" Eryndor says as if a burning rage was building inside.
"You've watched countless people die in front of your eyes, and you're telling me you haven't gone crazy!? That's bullshit."
Eryndor shakes his head as he flings some tears against his mask, gripping Riven's arms.
"Of course I have!" Riven pulls him closer, raising his voice.
" I relive those memories every day of my life! But I still push through! Something you need to get a grip on!" letting go of him*
Eryndor stumbles back, breathing hard, staring through Riven through the fog on his visor. The echoing of Riven's ringing through the hollow building.
The two stand there, breathing harshly as they try to contain their adrenaline and hatred, the only sound being the slow gusts of wind that pass by the church.
Riven exhales sharply, lowering his voice.
"You think I don't hate myself after that day? For what I did to your family and the countless others?
"Then I'll ask you again… Why save me, Riven?" he clenches his prosthetic hand into a fist, feeling its heartbeat getting louder and louder.
Riven hesitates, catching the words in his throat. As he looks over to him.
"I-I truly couldn't live with myself, not especially after looking into your mother's eyes as she was being stabbed."
He shakes his head, closing his eyes, trying desperately to get that image out of his head.
"Because she was smiling, Eryndor… I could never forget that face she gave me."
He says, gripping his hair as if he were trying to rip it out.
"I-I never knew why…" Riven doesn't dare to look at Eryndor, instead giving him a cold shoulder.
Eryndor walks toward Riven, his breathing finally steadying as the truth begins to sink in. Wiping his tears streaks from the mask, letting out a quiet breath.
"I get it… But know Riven, it's not your fault, it never has been…rather, those bastards up in the sky. They're the ones who started all of this despair."
He tilts his head back, staring through the cracks in the roof. The noble realm looms above them, its white glow faint through all the smoke and dust in the Smolder.
"Besides," Eryndor mutters, tilting his back down. "You're right. We can't just break down after all the things we've been through."
The silence sits in as the two awkwardly stand there.
Riven turns to face Eryndor, rubbing his neck. "Jeez, did you really have to sound so corny…"
"Well, sorry for trying to lighten the damn mood!" He says furiously yet in a playful mood, gritting his teeth as he clenches his fist.
Riven laughs, shaking his head side to side. "I guess I'll have to give you some credit for the attempt."
The air felt lighter inside, like a heavy weight was lifted off the two.
"Well, I think that's enough of us being so gloomy," He says, slowly regaining his composure.
Riven fixed his posture, wiping his mask from the fog and dust that had built up over it.
"Hey, we never found out what happened to Liora, did we?"
Eryndor drops his anger, instead nodding to what Riven said
"Yeah, we haven't seen her since we split when heading to the station, now that you mentioned it."
"Then, we should get moving; we stayed in here long enough anyway."
Eryndor smiles slightly, nodding his head, like he was filled with a new, renewed determination.
I'm coming for your Garrick. If it's the last thing I do… and then you bastards up there…