The Hermit and the Siren

Soft singing was heard on the air, an eerie sound that seemed to carry with the waves. The lyrics were indistinguishable in an elvaan tongue, and the mystery of the meaning being the words made it seem all the more haunting. A thick mist clung to the beach, making most anything hard to see for the dark, cloaked man who stood upon a small cliff overlooking the sea. He looked unarmed and unarmored as the sea winds tore at his cloak uselessly. His slightly pointed ears twitching as he heard the song. A sad smile cross his pale lips as memories from his past came unbidden to his thoughts.

It was almost as if the sound grew louder as he noticed it, rising like the ocean waves. After several long moments of the sad, yet uplifting song a figure came into sight through the mists. At first it was just a flash of red hair that hung down around the face and down the back of a small woman in wet waves. As she drew closer, eyes as green as the placid, tropical sea became visible, looking out towards the ocean with a gaze that seemed as if they were seeing another world. What clothing she wore barely covered her pale form in tatters, and no footwear was seen on her feet as she carefully picker her way along the coast.

Seeing her more fully, he tilted his head as his own dark eyes watched her in curiosity. The wind pulled the man's hood down allowing his black hair to wave in the wind along with his cloak. Oblivious to the eyes on her, she continued to walk, looking towards the sea, still singing as she moved closer to him. It was not until they were a few mere yards away that she seemed to notice him. Blinking with a flutter of thick lashes she tilted her head at him, brows furrowing upward in a confused expression as the song halted. Simply staring a moment she asked in a soft voice that almost seemed still part of the song,

"Are... you looking for me?
"Depends on what you're looking for." His voice was soft, with a slight edge of something not quite discernable. Turning to look back towards the sea, her mind seemed not there enough to grasp that parts of her skin were exposed as the wind caught her fiery red hair. Once she finally replied to the man standing before her, it was in a soft, timid voice that almost seemed otherworldly.

"Looking... I don't know what I am looking for..." Her voice drifted off as her lips parted, reaching a hand out as if grasping at what could be seen of the water from the coast. The man’s brow narrowed slightly as he saw how she stood on the very edge of the cliff without even noticing, her toes curled into the rich dirt and sharp stones.

"How can you look for it if you don't know what you're looking for?" As he spoke, her head lowered while she bit her lower lip thoughtfully. Obviously the question never occurred to her. In a soft whisper she spoke.

"I... do not know...." Listening to her words, he moved to take off his cloak and drape it over her shoulders.

"Come on. Let's get a warm meal in you." He offered his hand down to her with a soft but unreadable expression. For a moment she simply looked at the hand. Studying it before holding her own hand up to look at it as if for the first time. It took an awkward moment left in silence for the girl’s mind to come to the proper assumption and she slipped her hand in his.

"Warm.... meal? I... have I eaten?" Her voice drifted off again as her thoughts trailed inward again with wide eyes still looking out towards the sea. "I have been here... a few days..." Blinking, she finally glanced up at him, feeling the cloak around her. "Thank you.... do you know me?"
"I do not. My name is Anaris Ademus. Whats your's?" As he delivered the words in a low, friendly tone he smiled softly at the strange girl who followed him unquestioningly.

"My... name...." Looking down at the ground, her gaze drifted to a bracelet around her wrist with an inscription and a small ring looped along the length of it, secured tightly. Most of the letters were worn off except for four, "Tir.... Tryn... Is that a name?" She glanced back up at him questioningly.

"Tryn is a beautiful name."

Nodding slowly she smiled back at him with that distant looks still in her eyes, "Then I am Tryn... thank you Mr. Ademus. You may or may not be what I am looking for... but I am glad for your kindness." Her eyes brightened with a bit more clarity as she gave his hand the smallest of squeezes. One corner of her mouth began to twitch upward the slightest amount as if trying to remember how to smile, but the desired expression never fully makes it to her soft, rounded features.

"Let's get you warm, come on." Holding on to her hand to guide her, he began to lead her towards a small cottage made of river rocks with a thatched roof that stood high on one of the cliffs. Despite being constructed, the rustic look of the place made it look as if had always been there. Tall grasses and vines ran up the sides and smoke drifted lazily from a makeshift chimney.

Looking forward with warmth to her green eyes she whispered to him, "It's beautiful Mister..." As she walked beside him, she kept the cloak clutched around her, eyes darting slowly about to take in the scene. Her knuckles were white and skin tinged a light blue from the exposure of veins beneath her pale skin to the cold.

"Please, just Anaris." Shaking his head, he corrected her gently as he continued the tread up to the coz looking house ahead.

"As you wish… Anaris." As she spoke her eyes turned towards him with that same, warm look on her face. It was as if she trusted him unquestioningly as the first person she had ever seen.

Glancing down at her as they walked, he decided to try to get some idea of how gone the girl really was. "Can you tell me the date?” Looking to her with curiosity, he waited for her answer.

Her head drifted downward as she shook her head, shoulders hunching in an embarrassed fashion, "I know... it was two moons ago... that I stepped out of the sea..."

"Alright. Where're you from?" He continued to question, watching her expression s well as her answers.

She arched her neck back slightly as she shakes her head, blinking up at him with big eyes. "All I remember was the sea... do you think I came from there?"

"No, I don't." His lips turned up slightly with a wry expression as he replied.

"Oh..." Her shoulders slumped as she looked thoughtful again, following along with him still. "Then.... I do not really know... I woke up in the sea..."

"Don't worry. We'll find your home." He stated simply.

"Home...." She whispered the word with reverence, stopping to turn and look back where she came from. The word had special meaning to her, truly special. Her mind drifted again as she stood looking out into the fog again that somehow seemed clear as glass compared to her mind.
He opened the rickety door and held it for her as he saw her start to drift away again; softly he spoke, "After you, Tryn."

Snapping out of her revere, she turned to him blinking. First she glanced down at the door, then back at him as if it did not quite process, but after a moment she nodded, heading inside with a curious look as if seeing her first house. He followed her into the small cottage. The interior was sparse, not much to be seen; a small table in the center of the room with two chairs and some flower pots on the windowsills. Along the far wall was a doorway framed in a dark, old wood, with no door. Sun light came into the room through the clear glass windows which had leaded frames. The whole cottage had a rustic pleasing aesthetic, which made her lips twitch up again in a dreamy half-smile as she fearlessly strode in, inspecting everything with a childlike innocence. Moving to the window she poked it a few times, feeling the clear glass with a perplexed look. Tilting her head she took a step back, remarking offhandedly to herself, "I think I remember stuff like that.... but hundreds of colors... not.... clear...."

"Stained glass... A Cathedral, maybe? Does the name 'San d'Oria' ring any bells?"

Her brow narrowed as she shook her head, "No... nothing like that... I may have seen it in the water though... I felt Her call to me... saw the light, but for some reason I... I did not walk to her... I'm looking for something..." Slowly she wrapped her arms around herself. "Was I supposed to be in the light? Is this the wrong world....?"

"This is Vana'diel, Tryn." His brow narrowed as he saw the girl tense up. She seemed more distraught now and less at peace with being so lost within things as he pried further.

"This is....? What was that light I saw then..." Shaking her head she still held herself before sinking down to sit on the floor. "Are you certain... I am not dead?" Lower lip trembling a bit she looked out to nothing wide eyed as trying to delve deeper into finding actual memories was starting to cause her pain. A soft expression crossed his features as he walked up next to her and put his hand over her heart. Being so close together the gold flecks that she did not notice before in his green eyes became apparent to her. They were a curious color, more earthy while her own were a mix of green with blue and grey tints.

"You don't feel dead to me." Hand still over her heart which was beating steadily, he spoke the words in a soft tone.

For the first time since they had started talking she showed a briefest spark of true understanding as she nodded, looking up at him with large, mournful green eyes. "I'm missing something..." She whispered up to him.
His own green eyes looked into hers, with a curious tilt to his head. "What are you missing?"

"I don't know... I don't know anything..." Her voice was a whisper she rocked a bit, "All I have is a song... and the memory of the sea.... how it makes me so happy and so sad...." The tip of her tongue darted out in a feeble attempt to wet her dry, cracked lips.

He stepped away, his black boots hitting the ground silently, as his brows furrowed in concentration. "I think... I think I know some people who will help us find what you're missing. Besides, I grow weary of my quiet life. If you'll agree to it, we can travel together, to find what you're looking for, and perhaps find some adventure along the way."

Lips pursing thoughtfully as she looks out the door with the distant look. After several long moments she nods slowly, "I.... will miss the ocean... but... perhaps what I am looking for is elsewhere.... I will follow you..."

"Tryn..." Staring down at her, a look of complete seriousness was etched on his face as he spoke. "... Will you allow me to accompany you on a journey to get back what you seek?" He offers his hand. "We shall see the sea. I promise you that."
Unspeaking, she rose to her feet, taking a step closer to him as she moved to take his hand into hers as she nodded urgently. "Please... right now.... you are the only thing that makes me remember I am real..."

A smile crosses his lips, making him look all the predator. "You are real. Very real." His own glance drifted out towards the door, and what would await them. "I believe we shall contact the Sfant Umbra mercenary corp. It is with them I think our answers lie."

"I will follow where you lead..."