This takes place on the same night that we left off on: the dracolich has been killed, Arius is back (with his new owl-familiar Saege), and everyone has recieved their special little "gifts" from their respective deities. Feel free to post your character's reactions to those gifts in this story.

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"Bonded""

Darkness.

A feeling of detachment washed over him, a sensation of drifting through some timeless, non-existent plane of reality where nothing really mattered. It was, in some ways, a familiar feeling; he had, after all, spent so much time in that ethereal, ageless void while awaiting his return to life.

So similar, yet so very, very different…

There was no hope here. He had no chance of escape and nothing to look forward to in this darkness, though that knowledge caused him no despair. He was utterly and thoroughly detached—mentally and emotionally—from his life.

No… What used to be my life.

For years he drifted, for ages even. He remembered the past, his friends and loved ones, and the circumstances that had brought him here; he remembered the blank, soulless expression that Duriel had wore when she’d emerged from the Oracle’s chamber, so alien.

He remembered the look of incomprehension, the faint glimmer of fear that had marred Febrien’s features as he’d taken the glass sphere that held Duriel’s conscious and crushed it…

That memory, that one vibrant, vivid memory was the only thing that made him feel anything in this place, and that feeling was something akin to sorrow. At the same time, though, he couldn’t feel sorrow here, not really, but it was certainly something.

Disjointed, fragments of memories came to him at irregular intervals. He saw images of his life, watching as if outside himself through a veil of shadow. More time passed—centuries, millennia, eons?—and he simply drifted on through the all-encompassing darkness.

A voice!

“Son of Galdria…?” Soft, feminine, and full of deep concern. “Do you hear me, or are you truly too far gone?” Silence, though the feeling of trepidation remained.

Arius tried to respond, but found himself unable.

“Ah,” that same, calming voice said, a hint of relief coloring it. “So you are still aware; listen well, then: We have work for you.”

We?

“Yes, we. Lord Corellon and myself.”

Corellon, and…? Who?

“I am called Saege, and I have chosen to bind myself to you.”

Oh no, not another bond, not another spectral creature to control him and manipulate him…

“No, no,” that voice said soothingly. “Not like that, Bonded. In me, you will always find comfort, for I will be your eyes when you are blinded, and your shadow when you are alone—”

Alone.

“Yes, Arius, my Bonded. You will never be alone again.”

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Arius awoke.

He didn’t move, he just continued to lie there, staring at the ceiling of the tent. Beside him, Febrien stirred, unconscious worry furrowing her brow, perhaps sensing the strain that had awakened her companion. After a moment the elven woman’s features once again became a mask of sleepy contentment, causing a faint smile to ghost across Arius’ lips. He sighed, returning his attention to the canvas roof as he sent out a thin, mental tendril, seeking the familiar presence of Saege, who kept watch in the trees above.

“I am here,” the “owl” responded within his mind. “All is well; just try and relax for a change, for no harm will come to you while I watch.” Her faint, audible hoot drifted down from the canopy, as if that single sound would provide the comfort that her silent voice would not.

“As you say…”

With that promise of safety, Arius allowed himself to drift back into sleep.

Until…

“Bonded, one approaches.”

Instantly awake, Arius’ hand slowly crept to the side of the tent, where his rapier lay within his reach. “Show me.”

A gut-wrenching sensation followed as Arius closed his eyes, only to open them to—

The forest, shrouded in a darkness that should have been impenetrable, but to Saege’s eyes was as bright as day. In the distance, the pale glow of the Oracle’s City, which was never truly dark, even at this late an hour. The narrow, not-quite-path that cut through the undergrowth, and moving steadily, cautiously down that trail…

Someone.

“Saege?” Arius thought-spoke to his familiar. “I need you to find a place for me to come in behind him, or her. Can you do that?”

Silence followed that question, though through Saege’s eyes Arius watched as she flitted almost soundlessly through the trees, seeking a suitable place for the eladrin to enact his plan.

“Here,” the not-owl finally answered, coming to a stop and focusing her eyes on a massive tree that grew beside the trail, a few paces behind the unknown stalker. “Will this do?”

Rather than reply, Arius simply appeared beside the ancient tree, the scabbard of his rapier in his left hand as his right clutched tightly to the sword’s ivory hilt. The night air was cool, much cooler than it had felt within the confines of the small tent, and a thick layer of grey clouds kept the moon and stars hidden in perpetual darkness. Drawing the blade soundlessly, and clad only in a pair of black trousers and his dark blue under-tunic, Arius stepped out onto the path, making no effort to hide his presence.

“No further,” Arius said softly, shifting his perceptions slightly to see the natural currents of magic that flowed through the world around him. Doing so had proven a boon in the past, for not only did it allow him to “see” nearly as well in total darkness as one born with darkvision could, but it also gave him a good idea of what sort of creature he was up against, and whether or not they came equipped for battle.

What he saw caused his mouth to drop open involuntarily.

“Peace, brother,” a voice spoke out of the night, speaking that accented form of elven that Arius recognized as one born here, on the mainland. The figure—whose body was literally aglow with eladrin magic to Arius’ mage-sight—turned slowly, his arms out to the sides and his hands open, showing that he held no weapon, though Arius knew from bitter experience that sometimes the most dangerous enemies were those unarmed. After a moment’s hesitation, a faint click was heard as Arius sheathed his own weapon.

Seconds later, a sphere of darklight sprang to life in Arius’ now-outstretched right hand, illuminating the surrounding area in that peculiar, black-and-white luminosity. The mysterious eladrin stepped into the light, cautiously, stopping within sword-reach of Arius, as if to prove his trust of the purple-eyed swordmage. Arius made no move, and said nothing as Saege—still wearing the illusory disguise of a common owl—swooped down from above to rest upon his left shoulder, ruffling her feathers as she landed.

“Brother,” Arius finally replied, inclining his head gesturing for the other eladrin to be at ease. The darklight orb drifted forward to float between and just above them, casting its eerie glow around the two eladrin, who faced off somewhat guardedly.

In the magic illumination, Arius studied the eladrin, perhaps a little warily, using both mage- and mundane sight. He was fairly nondescript—so far as eladrin go—being tall, somewhat rangy, and fair skinned. In the darklight, it was impossible to make out colors, but it was obvious that the stranger was clad in mottled brown, grey, and black clothing to better camouflage himself in the forest at night, though his long, light-colored hair would certainly give him away were someone looking for him. (“Indeed it did,” Saege put in, obviously quite pleased with herself for having spotted him.) His eyes, though, startled Arius, for even in the colorless glow of arcane light, they gave off a pale purple glow.

“You do not remember me,” the eladrin said softly, inclining his head slightly.

“No.”

“I cannot blame you, for when last we met, ‘twas not under the best of circumstances…” The stranger paused, tilting his head slightly to the side as he waited for Arius to remember—

A battle… Demons and their minions… A group of prisoners… Humans, elves, and—

Eladrin…

“I remember,” Arius said, nodding to himself. “My companions and I freed you from a band of demons, among others.” The swordmage studied the eladrin again in light of this new information as Saege cooed soothingly into his ear. “You look well.”

“Only thanks to you,” the eladrin replied with a small bow. “I am Aearion, Prince of our people.”

“Prince?”

“Yes, did you not know?” Aearion asked, his iridescent purple eyes widening. “When I call you ‘brother,’ I mean so in a very literal sense.” He smiled warmly, placing a hand on Arius’ shoulder. “From the same bloodline are we, though our ancestors surely parted ways in ancient times. Tell me, brother: how fair our people across the Sea?”

“Not well,” Arius answered honestly. “We are few, broken and scattered, for much sorrow has befallen us…”

“It saddens me to hear such,” Aearion said sincerely, his shoulders slumping with grief. “Then I fear the news I have come to bear shall only deepen your sorrow.”

“What news?”

The eladrin Prince shook his head, and for a moment Arius thought that he saw a tear run down his face. “I know not what lies in your heart or mind, but if you held out any hope of finding a home here, among our people, lay that hope to rest, for it cannot come to pass.” Aearion turned his back on Arius, bowing his head and sighing with grief.

“Why is this?” Arius asked quietly, his voice subdued. What difference does it make anyway, really? he thought to himself, clenching his fists. I don’t care whether or not these people accept me; I didn’t come here looking for a home, did I?

Did he?

Aearion continued. “Word of you has come to the ears of those highly placed in my father’s court, Fey King, and you must understand that in such times as these, the ruler of our people here guards his power jealously…”

“I am no King,” Arius answered vehemently. “What right I had to such a title here, on this plane, I forsook long ago. And as for those creatures who raise me up as some kind of Lord of the Feywild, they are gravely mistaken.”

Aearion shook his head, looking back over his shoulder to grace Arius with a said smile. “Perhaps you can hide it from your comrades, or even your lover, but what you so desperately try to conceal from others can never be concealed from those of the Blood…” He gestured absently toward Arius’ head. “The crown of lights dances even now upon your brow, and the spirit that rests upon your shoulder is proof enough that you have been marked by He Who Guides Us.”

Corellon…

“So you have been sent here to warn me?” Arius asked, raising an eyebrow quizzically. “You have been sent here to assuage your father’s fears?”

“I have come here to make sure that there will never be cause for trouble between us,” Aearion replied sadly. “I ask only that you stay away, my brother; stay far away from us, lest my father seek to turn his hand against you.”

“I do not respond well to cryptic warnings and threats, Prince,” Arius shot back, narrowing his eyes as a flare of amethyst light escaped them. “But for the sake of our people, I shall heed your words.”

“That is all I can ask of you…”

Arius continued. “But know this: the day will come when I will call upon your father, for he has much to answer for. He has abandoned the people of this continent to death and bondage at the hands of my most hated enemy, while he sits comfortably safe behind his walls of magic. For that, I will see that he gets exactly what he deserves.”

“That, then,” answered Aearion with a nod, “is between you and my father. I, too, find his lack of action disturbing. It is for exactly that reason that I am here, away from the protection of our arts, fighting this plague of darkness that seeks to claim this land. And I will never give up. Not ever.”

Arius simply nodded, waving his hand and allowing his darklight sphere to dissipate. “Go now, Prince, and continue resisting the demon horde in your own way. I trust that we shall cross paths again, before this war is through, for good or ill…”

“I trust we shall, brother. Fare you well, wherever your journey may take you.” There was a momentary build up of arcane power, then suddenly Prince Aearion was gone, leaving only the slightest gust of wind to mark his exit.

“Shall I resume my watch, Arius?” Saege inquired when several silent moments had passed.

“No,” Arius answered aloud, as was his habit when he was nervous or deep in thought. “I won’t be finding any solace in sleep tonight, my friend. Just stay with me.”

“Yes, Bonded. I will stay with you…”

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AMdG