Shadows of the Past

Chapter 1: You know I speak in riddles

' So many years have we prepared for this...' Tygren hissed from behind. Thalleous lay still, hoping maybe Tygren was getting too proud for his own good and would perhaps reveal their plans thinking Thalleous was as good as dead, but all Tygren said was, ' ... and you are not about to interfere.' At the corner of his eye, Thalleous saw the glint of Tygren's sword. The Voltaris was definitely done with his speech then, it was time for him to bail.

Thalleous barely managed to reach for his fallen sword when he heard the tune of a Mobilium Song followed by yells from the other Voltaris. Tygren stopped, whipping around to see what was going on. Thalleous, against his better judgement, looked as well, catching a glimpse of golden light from atop the snowy hill before a Voltaris was thrown down to their level.

Tygren growled, posing himself for a fight when something zoomed past him. He turned around to face Thalleous again, only to realise the Sendaris was gone, leaving nothing but a trail of Mobilium energy. Mobilisprint.

...

Thalleous blinked, and suddenly gold consumed his vision. The champion panicked, not knowing whether the third party was on his side, yet there wasn't much he could do. He blinked again, and found himself in another part of the mountains he didn't recognise. It was a clearing surrounded by spruce trees, with nothing but a log and snuffed out campfire.

But more importantly, he felt something holding his arm and heard heavy breaths right beside him. Thalleous spun around, stepping away from the other. He reached for his sword, only to realise it was gone. He must have lost it somehow. That wasn't good. Thalleous scanned his surroundings, maybe if he could use his Mobilium Song and escape, he could lose his opponent in the trees-

' What on earth were you thinking?! You could've gotten yourself killed!' the other person hissed, startling Thalleous at how familiar the voice sounded. It was slightly deeper than what he remembered, but Thalleous couldn't be mistaken. The Sendaris finally got a good look at him. It was a clanless Ardoni, and his markings were one Thalleous had been in search of for eight years.

' Senn?' He was noticeably taller and bigger, and his once short hair had grown and was tied up in a messy bun. There was a sheathed sword hanging on his waist, and he was holding Thalleous' greatsword with his left hand.

Senn froze, staring at Thalleous as if he just realised who he'd just rescued. He then cursed something under his breath, throwing Thalleous' sword back to him before walking up to the log without a word. Senn sat down on it, burying his face in his hands, ' End, I thought you were Kiran-' Thalleous frowned, wondering who in Ardonia Kiran was, yet he figured this other Sendaris accompanying Senn was probably as good as dead.

Well, this certainly wasn't how he thought he'd meet the half-blood again.

' Okay...' Senn muttered, turning to look in his direction, ' Look, I know what you're probably going to say... but hear me out, alright?' Thalleous was at a loss of words anyway, so he nodded, ' So... we were a group of scouts, someone sent us here to investigate the rumours regarding some Voltaris around here... but we got caught, and only me and Kiran made it out alive, then I passed out and woke up and he was gone, so I went back there to look for him and well...'

There was a moment of silence as Thalleous let the information sink in. ' So... you're one of the scouts Hawken sent...?'

' You know Hawken? Did he send you here?'

Thalleous frowned. ' Tygren killed him. Just before you saved me.'

' ... Oh,' Senn's face fell, ' I guess I should've arrived sooner...'

' What's done is done, Senn,' Thalleous told him. There was a pause, ' How have you been these eight years?' he questioned hesitantly.

' Umm, being on my own was tougher than I thought... I've learned a few things along the way, but I mostly left because... I know I'm Voltaris, but I want to help the other clans. I've been chasing after their tracks-' Thalleous' eyes widened. Senn must have noticed, ' I guess Osivian never told you that he told me?'

' No... he did not...' Thalleous stiffened, his guard back up. If Senn knew, then what if he was working with the Voltaris and this was all nothing but a trap? ' So have you learnt anything about them...?'

' I didn't manage to gather too much,' Senn admitted, ' They seem to be planning something, but I'm not sure what.' Thalleous studied his eyes and voice, searching for any hint of deceit, yet found none. ' It has something to do with the Prime Songs though. And I gathered a couple names. What's concerning is that not all of them are Voltaris. Maybe there are traitors among the other clans.'

' You remember those names?'

' Let's see...' Senn rummaged through his inventory and pulled out a book and quill. Thalleous figured it was where Senn kept all his information, making a mental note to ask the younger to hand it over later, ' Lucius Nestoris... Cressida Mendoris and Alyan Kaltaris.' Thalleous' heart stopped. Those weren't just any Ardoni. ' You know any of them?' Senn asked as soon as he saw Thalleous' face grow pale.

The champion opened his mouth to say something, but the words were caught in his throat. Could he share the information with Senn? A part of him didn't fully trust the half-blood. Senn had disappeared without a trace for eight years, and suddenly showed up right when Thalleous found a hidden group of Voltaris. So instead, Thalleous stated, ' Yeah, I do. I'll go question them. If they really are assisting the Voltaris behind our backs... we may have a big problem...'

' Alright, you can do that,' Senn agreed, not seeming to catch onto his lie, ' But first,' he stood up and walked over to a tree before digging into the snow. He unearthed a chest, going through the items inside before taking out a long, white cloth, ' That's a nasty wound across your chest,' he remarked, holding it out to Thalleous, ' It's not much, but it's all we have.'

' You guys never bothered to pack medical supplies?' Thalleous raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

' Not really... Kiran's Proteheal was all we thought we needed,' Senn explained, his voice wavering a little.

' Were you guys close?'

' Well... we weren't that close but... we relied on each other to have our backs...' Senn let out a dry laugh, ' A fat lot of good that did when Tygren killed them all mercilessly...'

Thalleous couldn't relate, having mostly been on his own during his adventures, but the grief sounded real enough to him. Maybe he could let his walls down a little bit. ' I'm sorry...' he said as he accepted the cloth.

' You don't have to be,' Senn told him bitterly, ' Want me to help?'

' It's alright,' Thalleous assured him, wrapping the cloth around his body and covering the injury. It didn't take long for it to soak up all his blood, turning from white to red. He would definitely need to treat it properly soon. ' I need to go.'

' When you're injured as badly as that?' Senn glanced at him with worry.

' Timber's somewhere down the mountain. I will be fine,' Thalleous waved it off, turning around to leave, only to hiss in pain and stumble at the first step, leaning on a tree for support.

' Yeah, I don't think you're going anywhere like that,' Senn commented from behind.

' I've been through worse,' Thalleous insisted.

Senn shook his head, ' I'll go with you-'

The offer sent alarm bells ringing in Thalleous' mind, ' No!' he snapped, startling Senn with his hostility, ' I'll go on my own...'

Senn looked at him blankly for a moment, as if hurt, ' It's because I'm Voltaris, isn't it?' Thalleous tore his gaze away from him, ' Well, fine. I'll leave you alone then. Don't want me stabbing you from the back, yeah? Good luck defending yourself if Tygren finds you like that.' With that, Senn cleared whatever was in the chest and left in a flash of golden light.

Thalleous grimaced. Holding a hand to his chest, the champion walked away before realising he didn't know which way to go. He was probably still at Mount Velgrin, considering Senn brought up the possibility of running into Tygren again, yet it was a large mountain. Thalleous groaned, glancing back at the clearing. ' Senn?' No response. Guess he really was gone. Well, he had a lot to tell Osivian the next time he saw him.

/A/N/ Like I said, no idea if I'll continue this.