Leaving Tianyou with the recruits – it was a good joke, a great joke, at first. Now they had two more in tow, plus a lot of dead, as was to be expected. Their numbers were getting bigger, yet it was only out of necessity or death. Few were able to take the Joining, even fewer survived. They had a veteran and a young soul, both who would serve on both sides of what they desperately needed.
The mark on his hand burned at times, though it was a ghost memory, Riandur was certain of it. The ring refused to leave, and it had become less noticeable as the group traveled on. The Keep itself was just how they'd left it, not far from where Riandur had grown up. Still, it was more of a relief to see than his small village had been. The entire place had been just a blatant reminder of those who had been disappointed in him. Barely recognized – must've been the beard. Still, he'd left his plane for a time being, and while he was still alive, he was certain that the amount of different stress that had hit Riandur's body had been easily ascertained across a bond. When the doors were pushed open, he was first to enter, meeting the High Elvhen's gaze from across the yard. "You survived with a few recruits – how does it feel?"
