#masterseal open

It was an especially cold night, with fierce winds whipping through Ephraim's clothes, cutting down to the skin. He shivered, thankful he was alone, and tried to keep walking.

He had no idea where he was, no conception of how far he'd gone at this point, and his sense of direction from the stars was failing him. And on top of that, the old wound winding up his leg was always aggravated by the cold, and by travel. As far as he could see, there was no one in sight, but still, out of pride, he tried not to limp.

His efforts failed as he hit a stray tree root, hard, and collapsed to the ground.

Humiliating, he thought, remembering how strong his strides used to be. He scrambled at the bark of the tree that had caused the fall and jerked himself back up, trying to ignore the tenderness in his leg, but found he couldn't quite hold himself up without letting go.

It was still strange for Ephraim, being this alone after everything. Even when he'd left Renais, he'd had his knights at his side and knew he'd reunite someday with his sister.

Now, deep in an unfamiliar forest with only the night chirping of crickets and the glimmer of stars barely visible overhead as company, there was no such comfort. It was better for everyone that he go alone, he knew, but the chill seemed to cut through him now that he had nothing to distract from it.

He drew his tattered cloak tighter around his shoulders and pressed his back up against the gnarled trunk of the tree behind him. He tried, even alone, to conceal his shivers. He had to maintain at least a front of strength, even if just for himself. The countless revenants and remaining Gradan soldiers hadn't taken him down. There had to still be some way out of this. He still had his holy spear and his resolve -- that, at least, would be enough.

Walks like this, alone, away from responsibility, were a rare treat. Ephraim found himself feeling guilty as he haggled with the shopkeeper as everyone else in the marketplace did, but at the same time, it was thrilling. No one here knew he was a king, or anything important at all. As far as anyone in this foreign city knew, he was just another traveler, clad in plain clothes and boots with a simple spear at his back.

He smiled as the shopkeeper accepted his offer and took his prize in his hand, a simple necklace he thought Eirika might like.

As he tucked the bauble into his sack and turned away, he brushed shoulders with another traveler, hard enough to accidentally knock them down. He gasped and quickly bent to extend a hand.

How long had it been? He had been through so many lands and slept in so many odd places that he wasn't really certain of how much time he'd spent alive any more. Running away from Caer Pelyn had been his own fault, he would admit that, but now he was tortured with the prospect that he could somehow find his way home, but he had no idea which direction to follow.

Lucina squinted as rain poured from the sky, the wind whipping the droplets of water into her face. Gods... This weather was making it almost impossible to see. With a sigh, she retreated into the shelter of some nearby trees, hoping to find a place that would keep her safer from the rain.

Of course, the closest thing she could find was a large tree, with thick leaves. It didn't block the rain completely, but it at least made her able to see. Shivering thanks to the cold and the rain, she sat down, her back resting against the heavy trunk as she closed her eyes, hoping to get some rest. Perhaps she could rest until the storm had passed... Then she could find a way to get home.

She did managed to doze off for a little while, but was quickly awakened once again when the wind suddenly picked up. The sound of creaking reached her ears as she managed to wake up, but it wasn't enough warning for her to get out of the way. Before the princess could fully process what was happening, another tree fell, falling in her direction.

Lucina barely had time to react, only just starting to move as the tree hit the ground. The princess blacked out, though she wasn't sure how long she was unconscious. All she knew was that, when she came to, she was completely drenched, and one of her legs was trapped beneath the tree. Eyes widening, the girl tried to pull herself free, yelping in pain as she did so. Great... So she was stuck, and no one knew where she was.

Lyon had come upon a quandary. He was on the open road, there didn't seem to be anyone about to judge him, however he was still questioning the correct path to take.  Something terrible had clearly happened here. There was a destroyed wagon, many smashed barrels and boxes, some had rolled off intact and, despite what was clearly attempts to open them, had resisted such an attack. There were also bodies, six in total, and if the wagon had once had horses they had evidentially been stolen too.

However whatever group of bandits had assaulted this wagon at first, they clearly hadn't been thorough about the business. Whilst passing by the morbid wreckage he had caught side of a small chest, held tightly by a dead body wearing the robes of an anima mage.In there were two small rolls of parchment, which turned out to be love letters, and a number of small gemstones and a few gold pieces.  So here came the dilemma.

The path down the center of the forest was deep enough beneath foliage that Alvis could barely see, even with the help of the fire at his hands. Damp with old rain and older trees, the fog rolled in at eye level. His boots slid in the mud.

At least here was solitary, though he knew the palace forest was nothing if not unpredictable. Despite its proximity to the castle, it still had not been tamed, much like the forests he half remembered from childhood.

Even with the light drizzle of rain pattering the leaves around him, Alvis could make out the sound of another pair of feet squelching in the thick mud and dead leaves. That was wrong. No one else would come this deep, unless they were hopelessly lost.

He whirled around, fire bright in his hand, to face whoever was following him.

Edward had always wondered what it was like to be a mage. He was mesmerized by the various abilities of what they could do; with just a few simple incantations, you could unleash the power of darkness, light, wind, fire, and electricity on your opponents! Edward always wondered what would happen if he tried to read from a tome. 

Curiosity always got the best of him, however, and, despite him internally screaming at himself that it was definitely a bad idea, he took one of Micaiah's Light tomes with him to try and see if he could do something. 

"Now, let's see here..." Edward opened up the book of incantations, and quickly skimmed through the pages. It wasn't long before he looked up from the book, and realized that he didn't understand a word of what was written on the tome. He had never felt the need to learn the ancient language. However, being the curious person that he was, Edward decided to read from the book anyway.

He opened up the book, and began to read some of the lines by looking at the letters. Fortunately, there were some phonetic sounds underneath each letter, so Edward read quickly enough as if he was an actual mage. He looked up after finishing the line, but nothing was there. Edward sighed; he just wasn't gifted with the art of magic.