#locus walker

“You think you are its master, but you are no more the Void’s creature than Xal’atath.” Windrunner stared hard at the Locus-Walker, and he could sense the quiet fury rolling off of her in waves. He knew her well. She could be stubborn, and he was familiar with the way her eyes would narrow, the way her jaw clenched when she felt slighted, but he had never caught her ire like this. Despite how strong he could tell her anger was, she seemed too put together. It made him uncomfortable. He knew how she panicked, the way her hands flew all over the place as she desperately tried to get her point across, how she could completely unravel from stress, how she became wild. He had coached her through her episodes many times. This was different. Calm. Honest. Certain. It felt final.

Locus-Walker stayed silent. Not a movement, not a sound. Before they had returned to K’aresh, he was always prepared. Always had some witty or snarky or constructive thing to say. Something. Lately, the guilt at every corner of this mission had been too much. He knew he could not argue with her. Not about this. Not when the ghosts of his actions followed him constantly now.

Alleria gripped her bow tighter, continuing. “Then we are done. You are no longer my teacher, no longer my compatriot… no longer my friend.” She said venomously, looking at him straight on, unwavering. She had come a long way, if only she would understand his perspective. But he knew  it was more than just what happened in K’aresh an eon ago. It was his actions in the present. The half-truths, built up to try to save his home. He thought them necessary, but maybe they would be his doom, as the Ravel’s half-truths became K’aresh’s.

“Alleria…” He pleaded, almost pathetically. Certainly pathetically, but she did not reply. Windrunner merely turned to face the threat ahead, the Manaforge where Dimensius was being revived as they wasted precious time on these personal matters.

Locus-Walker felt wounded. This was a strange sensation for the ethereal. Thousands of years since he lost his loved ones, and he had not had a single student remain in tact. Not a single friend made. No companionship nourished since K’aresh fell, not until the Ranger wormed her way into his withered heart. He had truly cherished her friendship, but he understood. He had failed so many innocents, sacrificed so much that was not his to give, kept so many secrets. Locus-Walker could not fault her for wanting to pierce him back.

Xal’atath stayed oddly silent, and her gaze flicked over to Locus-Walker, sizing him up, though he could not discern if she was looking at him like how a predator evaluates its prey, or if she was concerned about the immensely important fight with the Devourer that lied ahead.  He did not like the way the corners of her lips perked up before she turned to look ahead, Reshii ribbons turning over in her hands.

Mentally, he shook himself off. There was no time to waste on hurt or uncertainty. All he could do now is move forward. For K’aresh, for all worlds. For all innocents. And wordlessly, on the trio went, into the unknown. ///

Alleria was constantly moody with Locus Walker throughout the story and in the end severed her ties with him, denouncing him as an ally, teacher and friend. Now one thing that struck me was when she said he's not longer her friend, Locus Walker tries reaching out and very mournfully calls out her. The reason I found this moment meaningful is cause he's a Void Etherial, essentially a being infused and made up of Void, and one known characteristic of the Void is that it doesn't understand the bonds between mortals, and it will do everything in its power to make the user cut and sever their ties with their loved ones.

If my memory serves correct, Locus Walker himself even used to tell Alleria how her connection to her family holds her from unlocking her true potential and how she needs to let go of them back when he was still her fresh teacher. So to now hear him sound rather heartbroken and mournful over her ending their bond really shows how fond he had grown of her and that even an individual so connected to the Void, isn't immune to the emotions that can blossom between people.