Welcome to Gaia! ::

For the most part, Tabarias ignored what the girl had said. His reason was simple – she had started off by demanding to be put down, and with the wounds covering her and the blood dribbling out of her mouth, there was absolutely no way on Saegaerath he was going to comply with that. Then he found it incredibly easy to tune most of what she was saying out, as her accent was thick and one that he could barely understand. However, despite his lack of comprehension, he did enjoy listening to her voice.

Then he stuttered in his walk – her words had finally filtered through his hearing and his brain so that he could understand what had been said. She was trying to gain an audience with the King, and in her condition? That was dedication right there, or determination…what had she apparently found out that was so important as to come at the cost of her own life? He growled under his breath when he realized that she didn’t think of herself as important. Either this message was something that could spark a war, or she had a completely ruined sense of self-worth.

He glanced down at her and realized that she had stopped speaking a while ago, and was becoming incredibly pale. He cursed under his breath in frustration and began focusing on his core of energy, trying to exude some of the heat of the light that comprised his attire. They were nearing the hospital now, and she would get the help she desperately needed. If it wasn’t in time, then he’d likely start something their nation wasn’t ready for just yet.

“Calm down young miss. The audience with the King can wait, I assure you you’ll get one once you are healed. But if you do not get medical immediately you would likely not survive long enough to talk to him in an official audience.” He was avoiding revealing a certain fact for the time being. He realized that his rough gait, though hurried by necessity, had jarred a wound and caused a fresh surge of blood. He concentrated on the road in front of them, picking out his steps now with a greater level of attention, smoothing out the roll of his strides. It was the best he could do for her right now – he could not afford to slow down, not with the hospital in sight.

Then the pair reached the medical facility, but he was sincerely worried if they would make it in time to save this girl’s life. He ignored the babbling of the receptionist at the main desk, instead shoving straight through the emergency doors by pushing a part of his armor out and forward and using it like a battering ram to shove the doors open. Tabarias hurried through the doors before they had a chance to close, and began searching for an empty surgery chamber. When he spotted one that had the door partially ajar he headed towards it, this time using one immense foot to bash it open. Then he got a ringing knock to the head when he forgot to duck in time to clear the doorway, but he quickly shook it off and focused on helping Sairaith.

The Lightmaster laid the red-headed girl on the bed and quickly stripped her weapons off of her, laying them at her side and shifting her hands so they laid on top of the guns. He knew that as a Gunslinger if she was out of contact with her weapons for too long she would start to suffer in other ways, and right now she did not need that complication on top of her wounds. As he was doing this the doctors finally caught up to him, some babbling about how he couldn’t just barge in here like he had.

One cold blue-eyed glare silenced all of them, the intensity in his gaze making one of the nurses shiver and nearly faint. For a moment he speared them with that direct stare, as if daring them to continue harping out like they had been. When they all clammed up, he nodded decisively.

”Good. Heal her immediately, as best and fast as you can. She needs medical attention for broken bones, multiple lacerations, and the slice wound on her stomach. Don’t let me stop you, get to work! GO!” Tabarias barks this bit out, pulling his helmet back and away from his face so that they can see just who they are talking to. The doctors shoot to attention and rush past him, sending nurses to prepare sterilized sutures and needles as they began checking her.

A male Sylph rushed into the room, shooing Tabarias out as he began inspecting the girl. The doctors had a feeling that there wasn’t much internal damage and that the blood in her lungs was coming from the stomach wound and was actually from her stomach. However, the blood turned out to come from a punctured lung, though when it had happened they weren’t quite sure.

By now Tabarias had exited the surgery chamber and was leaning against the wall outside, waiting for the surgery to finish and hoping it had been in time to save Sairaith’s life. He watched impassively from beneath his helmet as a nurse ran into the room frantically, carrying a series of parchments held together with a piece of twine. There was a cry of triumph from inside the room and Tabarias vaguely wondered what the Sylph doctor had succeeded at.

Within the room the doctors were working frenetically, not wanting to upset the Lightmaster. The first thing that they had done was to administer a very powerful anesthetic and sedative, to keep Sairaith still and out of pain while they worked. Then they began using the freshly sterilized needles and sutures to sew up the various wounds across her body. However, there was something else they needed to do – take care of the pierced lung. If they left it she might very well die from that. So instead of closing the slice across her stomach, they instead widened and deepened it slightly, so that their tools could fit inside of the opening. Sylph doctor's have an uncanny ability to sense and understand the internal workings of various mortals bodies, this particular doctor used a set of tongs to pull the piece of bone out of her lung and then set the broken edge back in pace against the rest of the rib.

Once they were sure that the piece was in the right place they used some unusual looking paste to seal the break an promote healing.In time the break would fully heal, but until nature took care of the problem this paste would keep the rib whole. That done, they pulled the tongs out, and replaced them with a set of suturing needles. This next part was very tricky, and possibly dangerous.

They had to suture the tear in her lung without doing any more damage to her already strained system. That was why they hadn’t simply opened a new cut to work with when fixing the lung – her body simply couldn’t handle any more wounds. So they were forced to use slightly inaccurate suturing tools instead of hands on methods, which heightened the risk of something going wrong. The doctor who was using the tools took a deep breath, said a silent prayer, and got to work.

Back and forth the suturing needles went, pulling the torn pieces of her flesh back together. The procedure was not a quick one, nor was it painless – halfway through, the doctor cursed and had a nurse readminister the anesthetic, then a second topical one to keep the pain down – the first one had apparently not been enough to keep her from writhing in pain, and they were incredibly lucky that she hadn’t started screaming. Once she had calmed down again and was still, the doctor resumed his precarious task.

Outside, Tabarias was beginning to grow concerned. This girl had apparently come from the heart of Saieth, that is, she had if the Unholy nation set the city around the Portal like Sol Solis had. But in any case, she had apparently come across sensitive data that needed to be passed on to the King as soon as possible – and she had been chased through the gate by a powerful Shadowmaster, with signs showing that she had already been in a fight with him before she came through the portal. Whatever had happened to cause a Shadowmaster to chase someone through the portal instead of just leaving off once she was through was something that definitely bore considering.

But the question was, what was it? What could make someone consider their own life worthless in order to pass it on? It certainly wasn’t rumors of war – there was no indication at all of Saieth gearing up for a war, after all they were in as bad a condition as Sol Solis was, if not worse since more vicious creatures roamed those dark lands than did the peaceful realms of the Holy Nations. He brought one hand up and rubbed his eyes wearily. Tabarias had thought that by working today as a portal guard he would evade any complications, and instead an even larger one had thrown itself into his lap!

Then there was also the question of what to do about the girl herself. She had been ready and willing to die in order to get the message to her intended recipient – and had stated that her own life was worthless. He simply could not let her think like that. She was still alive, could still do things and advance, grow. He would have to figure out some way to help her recover from whatever was done to her, help her regain a healthy sense of self-esteem. But knowing what he knew, she was not very likely to do that as it was. He had to find some way to open a crack in the armor she had built around herself before he could help her seal the wounds themselves.

Tabarias sighed wearily , feeling like another heavy weight had settled on his shoulders. He wondered if he was strong enough to handle this as well, or if he should consider passing the mantle on to someone else and returning to the field where he was most at home, and hunting for that man’s body in order to destroy it. Then his eyes glinted as he looked up from the floor, where his eyes had drifted as he considered the situation of Sairaith. He wasn’t the kind to back down until long after the odds against him had been settled, and he wasn’t going to change now. His determination had seen him through excruciating pain the likes of which no mortal should ever have to endure, and he would be damned to the depths of the Abyss with Rafale as his boon companion before he would surrender.

Back in the surgery chamber, things were beginning to look up. The suturing of the lung had gone off without any complications, and now they were wrapping up sealing her wounds. Her arms were wrapped in bandages to help cut down the blood flowing out from the sutured cuts, as was her stomach. Her chest was wrapped tightly in a brace to keep her rib from putting too much stress on in the near future. Sairaith’s flesh had been cleaned of the dried blood and the bits that weren’t quite dry yet, allowing her natural appearance to shine through. The sedatives would have worn off though the second round of anesthetics had not.Their task completed, and - from the looks of it - just barely, the doctor and nurses exited the chamber, with the head doctor pausing by Tabarias to inform him that everything was finished.

The Lightmaster nodded his head, then reformed his helmet around his head, leaving only his piercing blue eyes visible. He stepped back into the surgery and leaned against the wall, studying the sleeping form of the girl. She would probably try leaving as soon as she had woken up if her determination from earlier was any indication, and he wanted to be able to stop her until her treatment had been thoroughly explained. He tilted his head to one side as he watched her, wondering why he felt that he was the one who had to help her heal from the damages that her past had wrought upon her.

Tabarias watched as the girl tossed back and forth, trapped in some dream. Sweat was pouring off of her body as if she was going through intense exertion. Every so often her mouth would open as if she was crying out, but no sound came from between her lips. Behind the helmet his eyes fluttered closed as he pondered what on earth she was dreaming of. Though the way she was acting, it was more like a nightmare. Was she remembering her past, the trauma that had made her hate men? If she was then things would become even more difficult for him than they were right now as she would have trouble talking to him point blank.

But then there was also the chance that she was dreaming of something else. Was she having a nightmare about whatever information she had picked up, that had caused a powerful Shadowmaster to chase her straight into enemy territory? If so then the information she had was as of dark a nature as he was afraid of. But if she was dreaming of something else, something not the information or her traumatic past? Then this girl had more problems on her plate than he had anticipated.

The Lightmaster’s attention was brought from his musings when he heard her scramble up from the bed.. He waited a few minutes for her as she began speaking, ignoring her wild accusations until he heard her final words. Despite his decision to juts ignore her assault, when she said that final thing he had to reply to her to start chipping away at that bogus belief she held dear.

“As beautiful as you are Miss, I’m not staring at you. And I do not believe that saving you entitles me to anything about you except perhaps for some answers.” If he had any kind of belief like that, then he would by chain of thoughts believe that every woman in this city was his property, which was simply an absurd thought. As he had waited for her to wake up Tabarias’ eyes had closed, leaving only his sense of sound on her. When she scrambled up his eyes were still closed, though unless she was looking up she wasn’t likely to see that fact. He wondered why she felt he was like every other man without finding out more information about him, but knew that it was probably just because of her past.

Bright blue showed again for a moment as the Lightmaster’s eyes opened up and he turned to the side. On the chair next to him was a bundle that the doctors had left for her. On top of the pile was a large cloak that he picked up and tossed sideways to her without looking. He closed his eyes as he turned back and moved in front of the door so that she would have to get through him to get out. He was trying to make sure that she didn’t try sneaking out of the chamber without talking to him, as he could tell that she was still weak from the injuries.

“And despite what you think, not every man is the same. Shadowmasters rarely let their emotions control their actions after al…unless you count rage into the equation. Now then, when you are ready to talk about why one of that particular bloodline was chasing you through the portal?” His voice was cold and hard, showing that he wasn’t lost to her physical charms. One hand began drumming on the hilt of Masamune as he waited for her answer, wondering what it could be. Or, if she would once again begin demanding to see the King.

Idly Tabarias wondered if, or when, she would realize who she was talking to. Of course, he was slightly curious to see what her reaction would be, if it would be the typical reaction of shock, or if it would be the reaction that was more likely from her, a burst of anger at him for deceiving her. He sighed slightly at this thought – he was hoping to avoid any conflict with her after all.

Tabarias chuckled lightly at her words, and at what had probably crossed her mind when she sized him up. He had seen the calculating gaze that she had used on him, and knew that whatever she thought about being able to move him would have been utterly futile. While he was slim, he was incredibly heavy, so whatever she was expecting to lift when trying to grab him would have been utterly and completely short of his actual weight.

Then he looked down at her, schooling his expression into nothingness though there was no way she could see it through the armor. For a moment he stood there completely quiet as he watched her, as if testing her patience. Then one arm came up and the gauntleted hand rubbed at one of the sides of the helmet, approximating rubbing the cheek in thought. His tone was thoughtful as he spoke, as if he was thinking something through despite the fact that he had actually already reached his decision.

"And if I was to tell you that I could get you into an audience with the King directly? Because as it is right now, if you tried going through normal channels you would have to wait for several weeks before eventually talking to the Chancellor, who would then decide if it was actually important enough to talk to the King about. If he did, then you would have to wait another few days as the Chancellor tried to track down the King, who is notorious for just wandering off after saddling him with everything." Halfway through his reply, the Lightmaster's tone had shifted from a thoughtful one to an amused tone, as if the King's actions were a personal source of entertainment to him.

In a way they were, as were the Chancellor's reactions to repeatedly being stuck doing all of the tedious day to day work. Maybe that was a reason why it happened so often, simply to create that reaction in the stuffy and overbearing man? He brought his thoughts away from the random tangent they had wandered down as he turned his gaze back on the girl, wondering if she would ask him what he meant.

He caught the signs of anger easily - he was definitely beginning to get on her nerves. Beneath the armor her smirked - this was something he enjoyed doing, riling people up until they couldn't think straight, then shutting them down with a simple act. Of course, in this situation the act he was about to use might just piss her off more, but he knew that even a single swing would activate the runes all over the place and send her to the dungeons...where he could talk to her at his leisure. He liked the idea of having her trussed up in chains for some reason.

Shaking off that particular line of thought before it could devolve any further, Tabarias schooled his features back into a blank mask and nodded to her. "Oh no Miss, you misunderstood me. I don't 'think' I can get you into an audience with the king. I know I can, and the reason for that is incredibly simple, quite possibly as simple as anything could ever be." He crossed his arms over his chest and began reforming his armor, starting from the feet and working up.

Boots shifted into geta, underleggings became simple trousers, a hakama and gi replaced his full battle armor, Masamune slid up to hang from his right shoulder while Lux Ferrum shifted to a spot directly behind his head, hanging down parallel with his spine. The final piece of armor to change was his helmet, which simply slid down and faded away, as if it was melting off of his head.

"And there you go Miss." The King of Sol Solis said calmly.

"Oh cease that, I'm not that pathetic excuse for a Prince who thinks only with muscles. You had no way of knowing it was me, I'm not angry at you Miss. Come on, back on your feet." Ok, that reaction wasn't quite what he had been expecting from the fiesty redhead who had been gearing up to attack him only moments before. Then again, considering the bits of her history that he had been able to collect, maybe he should have. But having her begging for forgiveness when she had done nothing wrong just rankled the Lightmaster, who had had no intention of her reacting like this.

Seriously, he would have to do some serious work to get this girl not to flinch whenever he spoke to her if this was the way she reacted. Tabarias blinked twice as he thought of something - maybe if he armored back up, she would calm down again. With that thought weighing on his decisions, he quickly reformed his hardlight back into the more normal armor. When she still seemed to be hyperventilating and looking like a skittish horse that had been whipped one too many times, he sighed in irritation.

"You truly did nothing wrong Miss! I do not like being treated like some kind of glass figure - it is the whole reason behind me wearing my armor normally and hiding who I am, I do not wish to be treated any differently than normal. Please, I forgive you if that is what you need, come, back on your feet! Did you not have something that you wished to impart to me?" Tabarias hoped that by reminding her of what it was that had driven her to the point of nearly killing herself would serve to refocus her thoughts and get her to calm down.

And this truly was exactly why he hated his new title - he did not want people to feel like they had to act differently around him, he enjoyed simply being another soldier in the forces. Now if he could convince her of that...

"People gossip." He said this just after she asked how he knew where she was from. If there was any one advantage to being forced to sit through court functions, it was the fact that everyone talked about everybody else, spreading any tidbit that they might possibly know about each other. And with his memory, that meant he knew pretty much everything the nobles of Sol Solis knew about each other, a fact that had come in handy a time or two when trying to negotiate deals or treaties between the various factions.

He listened without displaying any emotions as she reported why she had gone back to Merseyr, and what she had learned while she was there. On the surface he was still as calm as he had been not even moments ago. On the inside though, shock and anger mixed together.

This was exactly what he had been fearing since he listened to the Ancient Seeress over a decade and a half ago. Somehow, someone had gotten a hold of a clue as to the location of that monstrous entity who had nearly brought the world into ruin so long ago, had sparked a war that had drastically reduced the number of living people on the planet. This was why he had put himself through incredible pain and torture, to make sure that if, when, this day came, and the days after it, and Rafale was revived, he would be able to defeat the monster before the world was annihilated. He brought one hand up, morphing his helmet and glove out of the way to rub at the bridge of his nose as he processed this information.

Tabarias' attention was snapped up and away when he saw the girl walking towards him, holding something out. He wondered how on Saegaerath she had managed to hold onto the scroll despite the surgery, when he realized she must have pulled it form her cloak when he wasn't paying attention to her. He took the scroll and started to unfurl it when he saw the girl sway on her feet. With a snort of irritation he put the paper down and picked her up off of her feet, morphing his armor off and back into the robes so he didn't hurt her any more than she already was, a flash of irritation crossing through his eyes as he looked down at her.

"Good. You've passed on your information, and I have an idea of how to start handling this situation. The Chancellor and the nobles will need to know and i will call a council to inform them and begin talking over ideas. You however, need to rest and recover."

"Miss, I am not implying that you are weak or a lily. I am saying you need to rest and recover, and you faltering like that just emphasizes my point. You need to lay down and rest until you are in better straits. I am not going off on an adventure at the moment, I'm going to talk with the nobles about what is you found and get them to begin their political moves to get more information about it, and we'll have to discuss ramping up wartime productions, begin figuring out strategies for supplying armed forces on the rise..." The tall man trailed off and shook his head as he began balancing the various alliances inside of Sol Solis, figuring out what he would have to sacrifice in order to get certain nobles to concede to begin increasing the spendings and begin getting people ready to go to war. Because that was what it would eventually come down to - if this rumor had come out in Merseyr, then the Unholy Nations would begin searching for the monster in order to bring him back. And they would have to stop it, Rafale had been the one who nearly destroyed the world, and that could never be allowed to happen again.

Tabarias realized belatedly that he was still holding her, and moved over to the bed she had been resting on and set her back down on it, then laid her down. "Now then, lay back and rest, I'll go get someone to bring food to you." He nodded to her then stood back, then frowned. With the way she had been acting she would probably try to get up and leave. He placed a hand on either side of her and created hardlight pins that pierced through the edges of her duster and pinned her down to the bed.
"Stay." He completely ignored that she had growled at him angrily. "After I update the council and you've rested, I'll come back here and pick you up, and we'll start off."