Avatars are not the only ones that live for a multitude of centuries. Many of the universe's races are bound to time's current far looser than others, giving them lifespans far beyond that of most common races. Elves are among these races, and are certainly one of the more plentiful of the universe's aged races. Tabatha Reinhart is middle aged as far as elven go. She betrays her nature though, for she has spent hundreds of years as little more than a mercenary-- hiring herself out one day to protect a king only to be hired to slay said king the next. For the most part the job is just that... but something else lies within this elf's heart. What that "something" is... not even Tabatha is sure about, for she has never bothered to look past the simple exterior of herself-- not even she sees her true nature. But soon... soon... she will be exposed to her true nature. Will she like what she sees, or will the truth shatter everything that thousands of years has taught her...

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"Are you ok, Seryph?" Yushiro asks as he watches his friend down a shot of bourbon.

Seryph just laughs. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just got roughed up a bit, although my morale is hurt more than my body, taking my immortality into consideration. At least Devyn is in at least as much pain as I am... more physical pain at least." He downs another shot of bourbon and stretches.

The two of them are taking it easy at The Santa Fe Bar and Grill a few blocks from the Khazan Playhouse. Yushiro was supposed to meet Seryph here 3 hours ago, when the play ended. Unfortunately, the fight between Seryph and Devyn delayed that meeting, and Yushiro had been forced to wait for his mentor for a good hour.

This was their regular handout. Good food, a few drinks, and a friendly atmosphere. Places like this were few and far between in Khazan proper, but Seryph had a knack for finding these kinds of places.

"Why did Devyn do that?" Seryph asks Yushiro. "The past few months, his behavior has gone farther down this dark path. He tried to kidnap Dawn last summer when I was visiting my family, and now he attacks me directly. This isn't because of the schism between he and you, Yushiro, because I was on speaking terms with him even when he was a member of the Fallen. It just doesn't make sense. There's an inner turmoil within him. I could tell when he hit me. His strikes aren't the same way they used to be. During our sparring matches at Inusaka High, he would attack with passion and determination. His fighting style was full of life. Few people had the passion for the fight like he did. But now... he fights with none of that passion. When he struck out at me, I felt nothing-- no fighting spirit-- no chi. It was as if it wasn't HIM attacking."

"You boys doing ok?" a voice from the bar asks. It’s Susan. She's been working here since before Seryph discovered it. It wouldn't be surprising if she's been working here all of her adult life. The passion with which she works... its a quiet one, but anyone with eyes and any sense of the human nature could tell that she enjoyed her job and her life. She says that she's in her 50's, but she looks more like she's in her late 30's or early 40's. Love for life makes one's spirit and body youthful, to a degree. She's part of the reason why Seryph and Yushiro have been coming here for so long. She works the bar and cash register and chats with those that sit at the bar. Seryph and Yushiro always sit on the left end, Seryph taking the end seat and Yushiro taking the one right next to that. Not that they always sit there. They aren't everyday regulars. They tend to drop by once or twice a week, mainly after one of the other of the pair has had a particularly rough day on the job.

"You two. It seems every time you come in here one of you has gotten the crud knocked out of you. I've asked it a million times, and I'll ask it a million more, but... can't you two find something else to do rather than beat up other people?"

"We're MEN!" Yushiro laughs, hamming it up, "It's in our blood to beat people over the head with heavy objects. That, and it seems despite our charming dispositions, some people out there just absolutely hate us. We rarely start the fights, the fights come to us."

"Today's wasn't a normal fight though." Seryph adds. "Rarely is the person in question that wants our heads on a platter an old school friend."

"Old school rivalry? Or are we talking something more?" Susan asks.

"Both." Yushiro responds. "Four people that at one time were like family now find themselves on totally opposing sides of life. Why? That's the "something more" you just mentioned. And that's why we're here, to think about that ‘something more.’ And to help that, I'll take another sake. My usual, you know the brand."

"Rarely do you ever drink more than one, Yushiro, this must really hit home. I'd hate to see what would happen if you ordered a third."

"The night is young, Susan, there's still time for a third."

Susan gets a slight knot in her stomach with Yushiro‘s comment. It may sound silly to judge a person's situation by how many drinks they have, but this was her craft-- her art. She can read a person's personality by what food they ordered and what drinks they had and how many they drank at a time. The first time Yushiro ordered two rounds of sake in one night was shortly after the Quietus incident some time ago. No one in their party spoke. They simply ate, drank, and left after giving a hefty tip. Tonight was the second time Yushiro had ordered a second round, and now he even hints at a third. By her standards, that was truly frightening... up until the point that Yushiro starts to laugh.

"No... no... my limit is two. I know myself well enough to know my limitations. At least when it comes to alcohol. By the way, how's the order coming?"

Susan breaths a sigh of relief. "Should be up pretty soon. One chicken fried steak and one burger with everything, right?"

"Yep!" Seryph responds. "And drench that steak in gravy. I feel like drowning my sorrows in cream gravy tonight." He laughs, but everyone else just rolls their eyes. Typical corny Seryph joke, but he just wouldn't be himself without them.

A few minutes later Susan hands them their food. They eat in relative silence for awhile. Then, after half finishing his steak, Seryph sets down his knife and fork and looks at Yushiro.

"You've asked me quite a few questions about... things... in the past, Yushiro. I think its time I come clear, on something."

Yushiro stops in mid-bite. Whenever Seryph mentions "things," he knows he means THE thing-- the Apathy War. He quickly finishes taking his bite and turns his attention to Seryph.

"I haven't always been the bachelor sort. Oh no. Nearly settled down back then. Well.. nearly popped the question at least, which is a revolutionary move for me as you would know."

Yushiro's eyes grow wide. He wants to laugh, but the shock is keeping him back.

"You, talking about settling down?" Susan interjects. "But you're so young. You have your whole life ahead of you."

Seryph just smiles. "You'd be surprised Susan. You claim to be in your fifties, yet you don't look a day older than 39."

"Sure, kiddo, sure. Don't think that comment's going to keep you from tipping me tonight."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Seryph says as he mock bows to her.

"You... and a... woman?" Kei stutters.

"Ah! He's come back to reality! Yes, I, at one time, was in love."

"What has the world come to? Was the world that close to the brink of destruction when..."

"Hush... hush... no need to go into it." Seryph says, knowing Yushiro is close to just blurting something out about the Apathy Wars. "We'll talk later tonight once we meet up with Tanin. He's supposed to meet up with us soon."

"Sure, later... you... and a... woman." Kei continues to mumble as he does his best to finish his burger.

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Kyoko sets the kettle down beside herself before lifting it again to pour two cups of tea. She hands one to Devyn and places one in front of her knees which are tucked under her. Devyn picked his cup up, smiles, and takes a sip. “Why do I feel the need to please him?” Kyoko thinks to herself. She looks into Devyn’s eyes and answeres her own question. He is a handsome man, simple enough, yet despite his now vacant heart, having him at her side reminds her of the old times at Inusaka High...

"Seryph was as worthy an opponent as the old days." Devyn remarks calmly. His eyes remain as cold as ever as he takes another sip of the warm green tea.

"Yes." Kyoko rubs her arm which she strained while lifting Devyn.

"This was just the beginning," Devyn looks into Kyoko’s eyes. "We will attack again, the fight to destroy Seryph is far from over."

Kyoko sighs. She wishes that once in a while they wouldn’t talk about this so-called “Crusade” against Seryph. She takes a sip of her tea and closes her eyes. In her mind she reviews the fight and looks to see what she did right and what she did wrong. The setting of the battle was little more than dried paint to her-- very little to work with.

"I am sorry Kyoko," Devyn gently touches Kyoko’s shoulder "Shall we talk of other things rather than fighting? So... have you been painting any canvas paintings lately?"

"Just this one." She motions her hand towards a large canvas on the far wall.

It’s a painting of a dark clearing, half the canvas is taken up by a cherry blossom branch but through it you can see a woman kneeling. She’s wearing a white kimono and her face is obscured by long black hair. She’s hunched over, a short sword driven into her belly. Her organs and blood spilled all over the ground. Devyn turns away and shudders to himself.

"It is... lovely." he says as he takes one last sip of tea before finishing the cup.

"Would you like some more?"

"No thank you, I believe I will go sleep, goodnight my lovely accomplice." He kisses her on the hand. Kyoko almost blushes but contains herself.

"Goodnight Devyn." She whispers lightly as he rounds up the stairs. Then she turns to the canvas. She places her paints in front of it and then closes her eyes. The paint rises from the cans and splashes on the last blotch of blood spilling from the woman’s stomach. Then she walked over and signs her name in the bottom right corner.

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"Ah... so I'm going to get to meet your friends?" Tabatha says as she and Tanin walk down the street. "I'll be able to see if your taste in friends has improved in the past few millennium. Anyway, where exactly are we meeting him and this other fella at?"

"Some bar that they like to hang out at. To be honest, I never really go there. My main hangout when I'm not mooching is outside of the main city. Anyway... East Street and Southwest street..."

Tanin opens the door for Tabatha. "After you..."

"Suuuuuure... now you treat me like a lady. At least you aren't behaving like you were earlier today. You had been sitting on that couch all day, hadn't you?"

"I'm under no obligation to answer that! Oh... there they are."

Tanin motions for Tabatha to walk towards the end of the bar where Seryph and Yushiro are sitting.

"Tabatha, this is Seryph, my main source of mooching, and his... err... student Yushiro. Yushiro, Seryph, this is Tabatha, an old friend of mine."

"Now Tanin has a chick too!" Yushiro yelps surprisingly. "Man... this has been a weird day.

Seryph politely smacks Yushiro upside of the head. "Take it easy. Hey... you're early. We weren't expecting you for another thirty minutes. Ah well, sit down, order something, its on me."

Tanin takes the stool next to Seryph and orders his usual drink: a Root Beer. Taking a closer look at Seryph, he notices something is amiss and is taken aback. "Ye Blazes Seryph... what happened to you! That look in your eyes..."

Seryph and Yushiro sit quietly for a few moments before Yushiro speaks up. "We'll talk about it later, alright? So.... Tabatha? How did you meet Mr. Slacker over here anyway?"

She puts her arm around him. "He's my boyfriend!" she says as she bursts out into laughter. "Nah, he's just some old lug that I know from years ago. I decided to drop in on him today to see what's up."

"It's okay guys... you can trust her. Tell me what’s going on... this must be serious if you two are drinking..." noting the sake and bourbon glasses on the table.

"You know the stuff has no effect on me." Seryph notes. "I just drink it hoping one day it WILL. Not that that'll ever happen. Yushiro's only had two himself. And like I said, we'll talk later, I'm just not in the mood. Lets just say the play had a rewrite at the end."

Tanin nods, accepting his friend's answer. "The river of destiny is swelling... soon the tide of Fate will rise and bring with it a new age..."

Tabatha gives Tanin a dirty look. "Stop it with that stuff... bad mojo. Remember what happened the last time I heard you say that. Every time you say that something really nasty happens."

"I guess it's true then. Tabatha...you should be able to feel it too. Can't you FEEL Destiny tugging at you? Don't you feel the bindings of Fate?"

"I choose not to tempt fate. I've seen what that does when you screw around with it. Ever tell your buddies about that one time... you know..."

"You SURE you want me to tell about that? It IS kinda embarrassing.."

"Hey... if anything, its a little piece of history. Go on... go on... or I'LL tell them about the incident at Render's Peak."

"Okay... Okay. Anyway... It had all started normally... for our adventuring group anyway. We had been without a job for several weeks... that is, until our leader, Rahvin, managed to get us a job guarding some merchant. Not very glorious, but by this time the six or so of us were starting to gnaw on our boots for lack of something to eat. So there we are... Rahvin, Eva, Me, and Tabatha here, on frontal guard, with Aleias and Celdin taking up rear guard... then, while we're camping Eva... revealed something, citing it was 'The Destiny Written in the stars.' I was always the type to sit in the background, more or less just there for the ride so to speak, so I replied off handedly 'The tide of Fate has not risen... Destiny plays not a role yet...' At which point Eva got REALLY Pissed... And then she said more... Personal things. To which I told her about HER." Tanin looks over at Seryph to accentuate this remark "Which seemed to tick her off even MORE!"

"This wasn't the first time this had come up." Tabatha interjects. "Nor would it be the last. The first time she and I met Tanin, there was a certain twinkle in her eye. That twinkle grew and grew with every day we were with him. But that night, it dimmed."

"And... well, it led to some more... current events." Tanin drains the rest of his Root Beer. "I fear that this time the Tide of Destiny may recede back, tainted with the Red of Blood..."

"Ok Tanin..." Seryph says with a smile, "Now YOU'RE hiding something."

"Okay… I guess I owe it to you to tell you. I'm facing Total Erasure here. Eva... she was in love with me... But... you know… Anyway... when she realized she'd never have me after that night, she cast a time-delayed curse of great power. I dismissed it then, thinking it was nothing, but now, as the time of the spells completion draws closer... I can feel the threads that bind me undoing. Unless I can find a way to dispel the curse... then I will cease to exist."

Seryph takes another bite from his steak. "How long do you have. 'So long as their is time, there is hope.' Old saying of a friend of mine, albeit I doubt she was the first to say it."

"A week... that'll mark the 1400 year of the curse."

"And the only way to save Tanin over here is to find Eva and get the cure from her." Tabatha adds.

"Yeah. Anyway... now you know what’s going on with me... what is the secret you two are hiding?"

"Devyn's back." Yushiro mumbles as he finishes the last of his burger.

"Oh God... Is it just me or does this seem a little TOO pre-planned?"

"Don't joke like that Tanin." Seryph snaps. "He said some things that make such a joke seem possible."

"I wasn't joking. Eva's curse, Devyn's arrival... It all seems too laid out to me. I've learned, through my travels, that although Destiny is not absolute... it still exists."

Something seems to spark in Seryph's eyes. Something dark and repressed. "I'm sick of the hero biz. I just wanna sit back, relax, and be normal. Devyn pulling this on me. You and some psycho bitch with an eternal grudge against you. Attack after attack on the very existence of reality.... I can safely say I'm fed up with it all."

"As the only one in this room certified to agree with you... I agree with you. But... It isn't exactly up to us what happens. As long as we possess our... Talents... we'll always need to use them." Tanin pulls out his blade, Chrysilium, from the sheath on his back and starts to stare at the blade thoughtfully. "I've carried my burden a long time... sometimes I too wonder when it'll all end..."

"Screw that. I didn't choose to do what I do. I literally had people descend from the sky and tell me I had to run off and save the universe from destruction. I was told that I was the so-called 'chosen one.' I was never given any proof of this fact. No prophecy, no legend. Absolutely nothing. As far as I know my destiny is nothing but a cruel coincidence. A big cosmic joke. It could have been anyone that was chosen, and simply through chance it was me that was taken into that horrible war.“ Seryph paused for a brief moment, tears almost welling up in his eyes. “I'd give almost anything to have died with my friends..."

Seryph stares at the wall before him for a few minutes, as his friends stand in nigh-awe of his outburst.

"I'm... I'm sorry..."