Ulanbek felt like he was wrapped in a cloud.  Soft fabric caressed his skin.  He had spent many weeks sleeping outdoors in the cold with nothing more than a thin bedroll laid over damp dirt and twigs, so the cocoon of warmth was pleasant.  It reminded him of a certain someone.

There was a soft stirring and he opened his eyes.  A blurry silhouette with a familiar form sat nearby.  His heartbeat quickened.

“Luka,” he murmured.  He reached his hand out, desiring to caress the other one’s face.

“Well, well, I wasn’t wrong when I said you were more than just friends,” the silhouette remarked.  Ulanbek froze.  He blinked a few times and his vision cleared.  The Silver Sorcerer, who still had Luka’s face, sat there with a smirk.  “Pleasant dreams?”

Ulanbek frowned.  He turned to his side and saw Murat curled up in his silver blanket, eyes still closed and breathing softly.  He returned his gaze to The Silver Sorcerer.  “Who are you, really?”

“Who indeed.  I could say that I’m a forest spirit, but would that be a satisfactory answer for you?”

”Why does your appearance change depending on who is looking at you?”

The Silver Sorcerer smiled.  “Well, even I can’t answer that.  I simply exist.  How you see me is how you want to see me.”

“Can you change form?  Say, I wanted you to appear as someone else.  Would you immediately change?”

“Go ahead and try.”

Ulanbek stared at the Silver Sorcerer and tried to think of the other important people in his life.  The Silver Sorcerer’s image blurred and went through a montage of family members and fellow tribespeople from back home.  However, all of these images were unclear, as if he were looking through a dusty window with warped glass.  He frowned.  The Silver Sorcerer’s form reverted to Luka.

”Why…” Ulanbek murmured.  “Why can’t I remember them?”

“Remember who?”

”My family.  The people I grew up with.  I lived with them for eighteen years.”

”Well, you told Murat earlier that when you joined the Saradeyans, you were supposed to cut all ties with your home.  I suppose you truly did, not only in words but also in mind.”

Ulanbek felt a heaviness in his heart.

”But at least there’s someone out there you haven’t forgotten.  He would be flattered if he knew how much you still think about him.”

Ulanbek sighed bitterly.  “I doubt I’ll ever see the real Luka again.  The Saradeyan empire is vast.  I wouldn’t even know where to look.”

“Ah, humans and their attachments.  They can cause so much joy and so much sorrow.”

Ulanbek eyed him.  “What about you then?”

”What about me?”

”Why are you looking after Murat?  You seem to disdain both humans and attachments.”

”He chose to follow me after I saved him from the Vargoranth.”

”Why did you save him?”

”Because he did not wish to die.”

Ulanbek gave him a look.

”You’d rather I didn’t?  Just let misfortune take its course?”

Ulanbek furrowed his brow.  ”No, that’s not what I meant.  I’m glad you saved him.  I’m just curious why you’d do that if you dislike humans so much.”

The Silver Sorcerer took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.  “I don’t know.  Maybe I just wanted to.”

Ulanbek raised his eyebrow.  “You are very strange.”

”Am I?”

”You just saved him on a whim?  It could have been anyone then?”

The Silver Sorcerer frowned.  “Not entirely on a whim.”

”It doesn’t seem like you knew each other before.”

The Silver Sorcerer stared at the dragon bones.  Ulanbek crossed his arms and waited for a reply.  An awkward silence loomed in the air between them.

“If you ask Murat,” the Silver Sorcerer finally said, “he’ll tell you that he first met me about a week ago on the eve of midsummer.  That is traditionally the time I reveal myself to the hapless humans that have the fortune, or misfortune, of encountering the so-called Silver Sorcerer.”

Ulanbek uncrossed his arms and raised his eyebrow, waiting for more.

”However,” the Silver Sorcerer continued.  “If you ask me, I met Murat much earlier.”

***

One year ago…

There was something about the forest that Murat found very calming.  He got along with most people in the village, but out here, amongst the towering trees and bubbling brooks, he could finally be himself.  He inhaled the crisp air and walked along the fallen logs.

He always told the other villagers that he was out gathering edible plants, which was true since he generally came home with a satchel full of forest greens.  They could not object much since he was not shirking his other duties.  Some of them even remarked that he should just train to be a healer so that there would be something he was good at.  He sighed.  Being a healer wasn’t a bad option, but since other people’s lives would be at stake, he did not want that kind of responsibility.

He found a clearing and lay down on the scattered pine needles.  A squirrel scurried toward him and stopped at a safe distance.  Murat picked up an acorn and gently tossed it in its direction.  It landed in front of the squirrel, who snatched it up and began gnawing away.  Murat smiled.

“You’re lucky,” Murat said to the squirrel.  “Your life is pretty simple and straightforward.”  The squirrel continued working on the acorn.  “My brother’s getting married in a year.  There’s going to be a huge celebration in our village.  We’re going to be so busy in the final weeks leading up to it.  He’s going to be the next chieftain someday, so it’s a big deal.”  The squirrel regarded all of this with indifference.  Murat laughed.  “Yeah, you don’t have to worry about any of this.  You just need to eat and sleep.”

Murat sat up.  He brushed the pine needles out of his hair.  “After Temur gets married, then it’ll be my turn.  I guess that’ll be exciting…” He glanced at the squirrel, who was waving its bushy tail and staring back at him.  Murat tossed another acorn, which landed before the squirrel’s feet.  The squirrel grabbed it and ate with gusto.

“To be honest, I’m a little nervous,” Murat said.  “Once I get married, I’m going to have to take on more responsibilities.  I need to be useful.  Can’t be wandering out here all the time.  Nadya wouldn’t like that.  I just wish…time could stand still and I could stay here.  I don’t want to move forward yet.”

An invisible orb moved through the trees, distorting the air in its wake.  Murat felt a breeze and shivered.  He looked around but saw nothing.  He turned back to the squirrel and tossed it another acorn.

***

”So you’ve actually known Murat for a whole year?” Ulanbek asked.

”More or less.  I don’t know if you could consider it knowing him.  I was merely aware of his presence since he came to visit the forest very often.  He was probably visiting the forest even earlier than that, but I didn’t start noticing until that point.”

”And he wasn’t aware of your existence?”

”No, he wouldn’t have.  I had no corporeal form at the time.  I was truly a forest spirit in every sense.”

”So you were just watching him the whole time?  And listening to everything he was saying?”

“You make it sound so negative.  The forest is my home and he was walking into it almost every day.  It’s more akin to…well, since you’re a human, suppose you had a dwelling and a bird flew into it daily.  Rather than shoo it away, you just observe and see what it does.  Sometimes you enjoy the birdsong.”

Ulanbek furrowed his eyebrows and gritted his teeth.

“What?  Did I say something wrong?” the Silver Sorcerer asked.

“You just compared him to a bird.”

“Is that bad?  Would you prefer I pick a different creature?”

“He’s human…”

The Silver Sorcerer smirked.  “And you know how I feel about those.  Actually, isn’t it quite arrogant of you to think of yourselves as being above the other animals?”

Ulanbek frowned.  He was silent for a moment, then let out a sigh.  “Fine, you’re not human anyway, so you wouldn’t necessarily think the same way we do.  So you observed him for a year, then what?  Why did you finally decide to reveal yourself?”

“I wasn’t originally planning to.  I was content to remain a silent observer.  It’s interesting what people say out loud when they think no one is listening, or at least, no one who can understand them.  He thought he was just talking to squirrels or rabbits or whatever woodland creature happened to cross his path.  I daresay he was more comfortable revealing his innermost thoughts to these critters than to any actual humans he interacted with back at home.”

“And why were you so interested in his thoughts?”

“Well…let’s just say, everything I disdain about humans - their pettiness, treachery, one-upmanship, destructiveness - he dislikes as well.  In a way, I pitied him.  He considered himself worthless because he didn’t meet the arbitrary values of the society that he grew up in.”

Ulanbek looked over at the sleeping Murat and recalled how he had called himself a coward and weak.  He thought of Luka and his delicate features.  He finally turned back to the Silver Sorcerer.  “So, you finally decided to reveal yourself to him because…?”

“Oh, that.  Yes, you did ask earlier.  Well, several weeks ago, he stopped coming to the forest.  I was a little concerned that something had happened to him, but he had also been talking nonstop about his brother’s wedding up until then, so I figured he was busy.  Then on the eve of midsummer, I saw him wandering through the forest in the middle of the night with a group of his fellow villagers.  I’ve been known to reveal myself to humans around that time of the year, so I thought, why not?”

“Why the eve of midsummer though?”

“No reason.  I must have done it one time centuries ago and decided to keep up the pattern.  Humans love patterns, don’t they?  It must have worked because I’ve heard that they created legends about me in the mountain communities.  Anyway, back to that particular night, they were taking turns standing guard while the others slept, so when it was Murat’s turn to stay up, I summoned him and made my appearance.”

“Summoned him?”

“Yes, with the sound of what you humans call a bell.  Very effective, I must say.  He found me in a forest clearing.  With his dagger drawn.  He didn’t attack me though.”

“Murat says you look like him.  Is there a reason?”

“Ah, well, it’s partially because he’s always lost in his own mind.  I heard one of his travel companions joke that he was self-absorbed.  It’s probably true, but not in a bad way.  He has a kind heart, from what I’ve seen.  The other reason I look like him was because I felt like I should pick a face that he was familiar with, so it wouldn’t scare him away.”

“Hm, I don’t know.  If I saw a stranger who looked just like me, I’m not sure how I’d react.”

“Yes, so I look like your dear friend instead.  It serves the same purpose.  I take on the appearance of the person that makes you feel the most comfortable.”

Ulanbek blinked.  “So, what are you planning to do now?  Just watch over him for the rest of his life?”

“Perhaps.  I have all the time in the world.”

“You’re practically immortal, from what it seems.  He’ll grow old one day, while you remain the same.”

The Silver Sorcerer frowned.

“Or were you planning to use your magic so he doesn’t age?  Are you going to turn him into a forest spirit like you?  Were you human once?”

The Silver Sorcerer smirked.  “I should hope not, given how I feel about them.  Wouldn’t it be ironic if all my disdain was merely a thinly veiled form of self-loathing?  I am curious though, why are you so interested in his well-being?  You only met him this morning.”  He narrowed his eyes.  “Does he remind you of a certain someone?”

Ulanbek’s eyes flew open.  “No, it’s not like that at all!”

“You sure about that?  Earlier I overheard you offering him your protection.  Is this something you offer to everyone or only certain people?”

“I just felt sorry for him.  He just lost everyone he knows.”

“Says the man who willingly cut ties with everyone he knew.”

Ulanbek clenched his fists.

“But seriously, you have been a soldier for nearly a decade.  Surely you’ve come across people in the same situation as him.  Did you also offer your protection to them?”

“I…no, not really.  I was more diligent about following orders when I was a new soldier, so even if I wanted to help out the strangers we encountered, I couldn’t.  Lately, I’ve been getting more disillusioned with everything.  I thought I would just serve out my years until I retire and get the land I was promised, but what Murat said earlier has made me doubt whether that’s even worth it.”

“I see.  Well, live a few more centuries and you might become even more cynical than me.”

“Heh.  I wish you wouldn’t joke like that, Luka.  I might not even last another decade.”

“Haha, I look like your precious Luka but don’t act like him at all.  Meanwhile, despite your insistence otherwise, Murat here probably reminds you of how Luka was, but doesn’t look like him at all.  My my, what a dilemma you have!”