On top of one of the towers, a sigh sounded. Simaen tapped the stone railing in front of him and then glanced past the edge of his hood up at the sky. Those flowers might have shaken a little and maybe there had been a faint breeze but he really didn’t think that this message would reach a couple miles south like that Velheyn thought.

This was the problem with his people: Even if they could get over their fear of the Aldhar’s gift, they weren’t able to understand. And thus, they seriously believed they could mumble a few words and have them reach another person wherever they might be.

He sighed again when he saw the Velheyn down there get up and awkwardly stand there for a minute before he returned inside where he would surely wait for his lover to join him. His lover who undoubtedly had no idea he was still alive and would soon start to mourn him.

Simaen sighed for the third time and then turned away from the courtyard and instead looked in the southern direction. He didn’t know why he was continuously getting involved. When he saw the fog creep up in the morning, awkwardly covering a specific stretch of land between their castle and Elhan in an attempt to mimic the natural occurrence they saw often enough in the early morning hours in autumn, he had been intrigued.

But he had thought it an ill-thought-out attack. And originally, he had set out to kill whoever dared to try this on them. As long as he was here, he would not let anyone use those gifts bestowed to try and harm his brother. He had lost too many people already and Arias was the only one still left to him. He knew he shouldn’t cling to him as there was only death where his brother was headed but he couldn’t change it.

To his surprise, he had found out that this was by far not an attack. Instead, it was an error-prone, mistake-riddled attempt of a Tarlheyn to protect his lover. Well, in a sense, his amateurish attempts had indeed achieved their goal. They had made Simaen stop long enough to listen to the truth beneath what he saw. And maybe … maybe they had woken something in him that he had believed to have buried.

He closed his eyes and then raised a hand, the breeze brushing past his skin like a lover’s caress. He didn’t know who that Thaim was but it shouldn’t be difficult to find him. The wind swirled around him and then brushed past, down the mountain, through the plains between their refuge and Elhan, and finally to the Soaran court somewhere at the border. Since this man had come from there, his lover shouldn’t be far.

The wind brushed through the spaces between the buildings, slipped in through an open door or open window but finally returned. There was no Tarlheyn in there.

Simaen furrowed his brows but then again, he wasn’t too surprised either. Why would a Tarlheyn stay directly at a Velheyn’s court? Most likely, he was living close by and had somehow gotten acquainted with this Dova.

He waved his hand and the breeze changed directions, rushing out to the east first and then further to the south. Finally, it slowed down near a pond that was glistening in the morning sun, a couple of water plants swaying below the surface.

Well, it figured. Conjuring up that kind of fog should be difficult for a Tarlheyn. If he was able to do it, he had to take some support from somewhere. Choosing a nearby pond made sense.

Simaen let the breeze pass by. This kind of thing … he didn’t want to leave it to a message from afar. He opened his eyes and stepped back from the wall, his body melting into the shadow. After just a heartbeat, he reappeared in the inky darkness at the roots of an old pine tree next to the pond.

He looked at the man that was still kneeling at the edge of the water, his shoulders scrunched up slightly against the cold while his hands rested on the muddy ground. He hadn’t noticed him and he likely wouldn’t have noticed anyone else either. He was completely focused on his task to keep his lover safe out there as much as he could.

Simaen stepped out of the shadow, his body seeming to gain more depth as it was touched by the light. "You can stop now. He has already arrived."

The Tarlheyn in front froze and then slowly turned around, his eyes wide.

Simaen kept quiet, giving him a moment to understand.

Finally, Thaim took back his hands and got to his feet. "Dova arrived?" He tilted his head, trying to see just who the person in front of him was but the wide hood covered his whole face, not letting the slightest hint slip.

Simaen nodded. "He did. His message …" He sighed. "I was afraid it would be lost halfway so I came to tell you instead."

Thaim wasn’t sure what to make of this. To be honest, he had worried whether it would work. Dova had known about this ability of his and had suggested for him to wait here while he went to scout the situation in the north. Then, when he was sure that it would be safe he would call him so he could follow.

Thaim had known that there was a chance it would fail but he hadn’t had the heart to tell Dova. If he did, he knew his lover never would have gone ahead with this plan. He would have asked that they stay here where they could not be together but at least survive. Just … what kind of survival was that?

To see the one your heart longed for every day but to be unable to be with each other, every meeting under scrutiny, every touch a threat to your freedom, your heart tortured until it would pass in pain …

He did not want that. He would rather take a chance, a leap of faith. If Dova’s message had not arrived until the end of the day, he still would have followed him. Maybe they could have reunited as lovers in the north, maybe he would have followed him into death. He would not have cared. Anything was better than the torture they had to suffer here.

Well, it seemed like he had worried for nothing. Dova had really made it. He gave a faint smile and nodded at the other man. "Thank you for your effort. Then I will follow him."

Simaen nodded but didn’t say a word. Neither did he move. He felt like he should say something but he didn’t know what. This kind of situation … maybe it was worthy of congratulations? But then again, he knew neither of these men. He had gotten involved much more than he probably should. It would be best to just leave.

He turned his head, looking back in the northern direction. "You know the way?"

Thaim nodded in return. "There is not much to know, is there? The most difficult is to evade the patrols." He wasn’t part of a court like Dova had been but nonetheless, he might get into trouble if the people loyal to the Cejta caught him. After all, past the border, he would be seen as an enemy and an enemy should be killed. Who would stop to ask questions?

Simaen gave a faint hum. The castle was in a direct line to the north from here and you could see it from afar if the weather allowed for it. Especially for a Tarlheyn that could communicate with nature, it shouldn’t be a problem to find. As for evading the patrols, he wasn’t too sure about that.

Looking at Thaim and then thinking back to the thick fog with patches missing here and there, he figured there might be some reason to worry. "When you go, don’t make the fog as thick. A faint layer will be enough to obscure you in the distance. Everything else will just make them overly suspicious and quick to attack when in doubt."

Thaim hurriedly nodded, his expression turning embarrassed. It seemed he hadn’t helped his lover much if this was how it would seem to others. "Thank you." This time, the words sounded a little choked.

Simaen nodded and then turned away. He really couldn’t think of anything else to say. He stepped into the shadow of the tree and then vanished back to where he had come from.

Thaim stared at the spot where he had just stood, not sure what to make of this. He had never seen something like this. He wouldn’t have thought that it was possible either. Even though they had magic at their disposal, from his understanding all of it was borrowed.

Then again, he had never been close to the Aldhar. His magic paled in comparison to theirs and so did his knowledge. Who was to say that this wasn’t a specific ability that some of them had?

He sighed and turned away from that spot below the pine tree’s branches, looking toward the north instead. He did not mind going there. He wasn’t attached to this place in Elhan as Dova was.

He had stayed because he was born here or at least he believed himself to be. He didn’t know. He had never known his parents, neither his father nor his mother. He might as well have been carried here all the way from Idalphia in the far south and he would never know about it.

Even though he had managed to live, it had been barely so after the local Velheyns’ compassion ran out. When you were but a newborn, there would always be a Velheyna crying into her husband’s ear how unfortunate you were and how there would be enough place at home to raise you tall. But a few years in when you were old enough to discover your magic, old enough for them to see that you would never be the same, things would change abruptly.

He had been an unlucky one in that regard. He had been old enough to survive on his own but his magical abilities were not enough to sustain himself. He had to make do with the little skills he could learn apart from his magic, doing some work for a bit of food and maybe a warm place in the winter.

Still, he had been disdained. And he would continue to be regarded as lesser until the day he died when everyone here would just forget about him.

Thaim sighed when he thought of that. Really, nothing was keeping him here. If he left, he wouldn’t be missed either. For him, he just needed to take the first step, and then the second, and by the time he arrived up in the north, it would be as if he had never existed at this place.

He looked at the ground to his feet and smiled faintly, finally taking that first step. Who knew how long it would take him to reach that place? Contrary to Dova, he did not have a horse. He could only walk and walk further until the mountains appeared before him. But to be with the only person who thought differently of him … no distance was too far and no time too long. Thus, he started on his own journey.