honest is easy
fiction’s where genius lies
The trek back to the Aurora Basin went slowly in the dark. Roland felt awkward stumbling around with little light to ease their passage, watching the ground with an almost obsessive intent lest he trip or fall. It was exhausting, attempting to find his way around in the inky darkness, his eyes aching from the strain of trying to see, and so the journey was meticulous.
Finally they entered the familiar territory of the Aurora Basin, walled up with towering drifts of snow and jagged cliffs that reached their stony fingers towards the sky. Roland inhaled the fresh scent of ice and frigid air as they walked, basking in the glow cast from the illuminated trees- which were beginning to thin out as they entered the tundra- and wishing the sun’s warmth was in their place.
How long had it been since he had first set foot upon the Basin’s soil? A few seasons at the least; it felt so long ago, as if he had lived there his whole life, and yet the memory was so fresh in his mind that it might as well have been the day before. And what was it that had lured him there in the first place? Promises of power and supremacy over the other races? Surely not, for there wasn’t a racist bone to be found in his body. Perhaps he just missed the feelings of camaraderie and comfort he had grown so accustomed to during the war. It didn’t exactly feel like home to him still, and yet he endured it in order to remain with those he considered his family.
In the end, his decision to join their ranks had been rewarding. When he came to Helovia he had been looking for work of a sort, something to occupy himself. He had left Anorien with insults still ringing in his ears and had made a promise to himself; he would stop lying, for it did more harm than good. But it isn’t easy for an addict to abstain, and the strongest of habits aren’t abandoned without hassle. After a painfully short amount of time, and with little remorse, he had abandoned his vow and returned to swindling. It seemed to be his calling, what he resorted to every chance he got, so the sooner he accepted it the better.
Pulling himself from his reverie, he turned to Sia with a bright smile as they stood before the lake, unfrozen even in the winter. Light beamed from the Haruspex’s cave, bouncing off the snow and reflecting against the water’s surface, bright enough to allow them to see but offering no warmth. “Welcome home. I hope you don’t mind the cold,” he flashed her a small smile that in itself told that he was none too fond of it. “You’ll get used to it in time.”
@[Sia]
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