Ruin: Paternity, Part Four

Aesa pulled her blow and stepped back as Akkora's gruff voice cut across their bout. "Hold arms!"

Looking puzzled, Tarric turned to face the Armsmistress. "Were we..." he trailed off as Akkora shook her head and turned to Aesa. "You have a visitor."

What? Who would be coming to visit her? And why would Akkora think that a visitor was important enough to interrupt their practice? She turned, looked, and nearly dropped her sword. Anica and Werendril were over on the far side of the yards...

With Ruin standing between them. 

Aesa started towards them. Tarric said, "Oh," and followed. 

Ruin stood waiting, wariness in every line of his face and body. She smiled, and his expression softened; after a moment he offered her a smile in return. The blunted steel practice sword was still in her hand; Aesa paused and handed it off to Akkora. Then she came forward, leaving Tarric and Akkora behind. 

"So Darvinin was right," she said. "You did make it back." She glanced at the pair of swords that crossed his back, then frowned slightly. "Is that...?"

Ruin turned his head to follow her eyes, then reached back and slipped the larger two-handed scimitar over his shoulder and held it out to her. "Yes," he said. 

"Merciful Amun," she breathed. "You found Tavros." 

"More accurate to say that they found us," Ruin said, aware that Anica, Werendril, and Tarric were all staring blankly at him now. "And Tavros found a new blade, so he gifted me with this one. I think it would please him if you were to have it."

Aesa frowned, suddenly worried. "Is he...?" She reached out and took the blade. It should have felt clumsy, unwieldy, but it didn't.

"They're alive," Ruin said. "Tavros, and the sorceress Leira, and the human snake-priest Marshall Mercy. Or at least they were a few days ago. They returned to the capital, near to where they were first sent to Fanaxia. I came back out with Martini and Geddy and Eva by way of Mar Dentro, where we made our own crossing to that world."

"The capital?" asked Tarric. "That's not good. It's overrun with demons, and Amun knows what else." 

Ruin shook his head. "They'll make it," he said. 

Aesa brushed away a tear; she wasn't at all sure where that had come from. Then she frowned again. "What about your other friend? The elf in the black robes?"

Ruin squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again. "Azrael. He died getting us free of the Abyss. And the last of Tavros' companions, Alexej, chose to remain behind in Fanaxia and help rebuild the Magiknights, a local order of elite protectors."

Werendril cleared his throat, then swallowed. "That sounds," he observed, "as if you've had a rough couple of years." 

"Months," Ruin corrected. "Time is different in Fanaxia." He looked at Aesa. "For me, it's been less than a season since I last saw you. But here... I've been gone for years. If I seem a bit shaken, it's only because I am."

Aesa studied him for a moment longer, then stepped forward and hugged him. "It's good to see you," she said, and then stepped back. "Are you ready to meet your children?"

Ruin shook his head. "Of course not," he said. "But... I want to, anyway."

Aesa smiled as a profound sense of relief flowed through her. "Then you'd better come with me."