Matthew stood and spoke in a cheerful tone,

“I hope you don’t mind, but I decided to splurge a little tonight. With the Western Trade route open once more, I’ve pulled a little something special out of my collection. I hope that you enjoy!”

Mark raised an eyebrow as he looked at the small earthen jug in front of him. Watching the others gently pull off the wax seal on top, he followed after them. The room quickly filled with a cool refreshing aroma, like stepping into an old pine forest, mixed with the distinct smell of strong alcohol. Mark’s heart began to beat rapidly in his chest as his throat dried instantly like he’d swallowed a cotton-ball. He tried to swallow, but couldn’t seem to produce any saliva, as the sound of a roaring beast awoke in his mind.

Mark could feel cold sweat crawling down his back as he reached out with shaking hands and grabbed onto the jugs handle, pouring a small amount of the dark amber liquid into his cup. He raised it slowly, inhaling the strong woody aroma before tossing the contents into his mouth. Mark let out a low moan of pleasure as its icy chill and fiery intensity hit the back of his throat. He sat there for a moment, eyes closed as he enjoyed the complex flavor, before quickly filling his cup up again and downing it in one motion.

By the third, however, Mark felt a little strange. Or rather, it was what he wasn’t feeling. With a frown, he looked down at the small jug and moved to pour another cup, when a light small voice called out in warning,

“Mark…”

Mark moved as if he didn’t hear the voice of the small Guide across from him. He poured the fourth glass and threw it into his mouth, quickly followed by a fifth.

“Mark!”

Tsutsuji yelled out in a loud voice. By the sixth glass, Mark’s hand was visibly trembling; he slammed the glass on the table, his breathing heavy, heart still racing, sweat dripping from his forehead. He looked up to see Tsutsuji looking at him, a look of deep concern on her face. Looking around, he saw that the table had gone silent, the people around him giving him looks of pity or disgust. He looked over to the side to see Merry staring wide-eyed at him, fear shining in her eyes. As Mark looked into those eyes, he felt something snap in his mind, and he swiftly stood, speaking in a low flat voice,

“Excuse Me…”

“Mark! Wait!”

Mark turned and quickly made his way out of the Dining Hall, Tsutsuji rising and following behind. The remaining people at the table sat in silence for a moment, before Selah’s face went red in anger. She slammed her hands on the table and rose as if to follow,

“That Bastard, What is his deal!”

“Selah! Sit down.”

“But Father!”

“Sit!”

Selah gave a grumble but obeyed her Father. Matthew looked out the way Mark had left, a small light of understanding flashing in his eyes, as he spoke in a low, sad voice,

“It’s not something that you’re capable of helping with. Leave it to Lady Tsutsuji….”

---------------------

Mark rushed through the fort Hallway, the sound of a roaring beast chasing him as he tried to escape. His heart wouldn’t stop racing nor his body shaking. The servants he passed gave him a strange look as he made his way towards the Fort entrance, passing through and entering into the cold, dark night. He didn’t know where he was going, but he felt like he needed to run, to get away as quickly as possible. And so he ran. He ran and he ran through the cold night, the roaring of the beast chasing him always just a few steps behind.

An unknown time later he collapsed on the side of a road, gasping for breath. He didn’t know where he was anymore, but by the sounds coming from the few nearby buildings, he assumed he was in the entertainment district. Mark struggled to stand, his legs weak with fatigue as he looked towards the source of the sounds. In the distance, a large building was lit up bright, the sounds of laughter and rough singing pouring out. Every so often, one or two people would come stumbling out of the establishment. Mark looked on for a long while, the familiar thurst screaming at him. His throat felt dry as a desert as he watched the people move around in the light.

As he stepped forward, he felt the shifting of weight at his side. He reached down to pull out a small pouch, its contents clanking loudly in the silent night. He stared at the pouch in a daze, eyes drawn back and forth between it and the tavern. Mark pushed the annoying voice screaming at him, to the back of his mind, then with stiff footsteps, slowly walked towards the light.

---------------------------------

Tsutsuji flew through the dark night, high above the city, scanning for any sign of Mark. After some time, a response came through their Link. She followed the link for a while and entered a dark alleyway in the entertainment district. Though the nearby building was bustling with the late night city life, the alley was quiet and gloomy. Tsutsuji finally stopped in front of the figure of a sitting man. His head hung down against his chest, back up against the wall. Several bottles lay around him and a small leather pouch lay empty to one side. The man simply sat there unmoving, quiet as the dead.

Tsutsuji hovered in front of him for a long time, before speaking in a low, soft voice,

“Mark…”

The little guide had to swiftly dodge as a bottle was thrown in her direction, shattering up against the opposite wall. Mark spoke in a flat, emotionless voice,

“Go away.”

“Mark. It wasn’t your fault.”

“What do you know?!”

Mark screamed out in a fury, his teeth bared as he looked at the little Guide, his voice cracking and raw.

“I know everything Mark, that’s my Job”

“Shut up.”

“I know about what you did.”

“Shut up!”

“What you tried to do.”

“SHUT UP!”

“About the labs, and the…”

“SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!”

Mark reached out and grabbed the little Guide before she could move, squeezing her tight between his hands. He looked at her with crazed eyes,

“You know nothing! You have no idea what it’s like, every day, every waking moment, seeing those eyes, hearing those voices. Who do you think you are?”

Tsutsuji grimaced in pain as Mark’s grip tightened, His hands shaking and eyes glazing over. She spoke in a choked voice, struggling to breathe,

“You can’t go on like this Mark. You can’t just keep running away.”

Mark froze at her words. His hands slowly loosened and Tsutsuji fell to the ground, gasping for breath. He leaned up against the wall, his eyes dead and lightless as he gave a light chuckle and spoke in the same flat voice,

“No, I suppose I can’t, can I? You and your ‘master’ took that option away from me. Not like I have any other choice though.”

“You can fight it, Mark! You can face it head on.”

“And how am I supposed to do that!”

Mark’s voice flared once more, before dulling,

“I tried fighting back, I tried pushing on alone after everything else failed and everyone else gave up. And look where that got me.”

“You’re not alone, Mark…”

Tsutsuji stood after catching her breath, and slowly floated up to Mark’s eye level, speaking in a low, soft voice,

“… Not anymore. That’s what I’m here for. We’re Partners. We’re supposed to support each other, bare one another's burdens. So let me support you, Mark. When you can’t go any farther, when you’ve lost your way, I’ll be there right by your side. So just lean on me and keep walking.”

Tsutsuji drew closer as she spoke, and gently lay her forehead against his. Slowly, she opened their Link as far as it would go, and a wave of intense emotions flooded into her soul. Sadness, grief, guilt, desperation, anger, hatred; as the raging storm of Darkness pounded against her mind, tears began to well up in her eyes. Through the darkness, she slowly pushed forward a thin thread of light and wrapped it around Mark’s heart. Through the thread, she sent her own heart; she sent the memories of the short time they’d spent, both good and bad, of the faces of the people they’d met along the way, and bright smile of a little girl.

A single spark may not be able to light the entire night, but when it is the only light left, even an ember is as bright as the sun. That night, in the dark Alleyway, not a sound could be heard as two figures sat silently clinging to each other, to a thin thread of light, tears staining their face.

-----------------------------------

The first Skyshard was already starting to dip beneath the horizon when Mark finally made his way to the Fortress gates, the tiny figure of Tsutsuji sleeping soundly in his arms. The night Guards seemed to have been expecting him, as he was swiftly let through. His body ached slightly, but Mark felt lighter than he had in a while, as he made his way through the Fortress and to his room.

As he turned into the hallway, a thin figure was lit by the dim moonlight filtering in through the window at the end. The figure leaned up against the wall opposite his room, arms crossed as they stared at the open door. The figure turned to look at Mark and said in a familiar voice,

“Didn’t expect you to actually show your face again…”

Mark stopped for a moment, allowing his eyes to adjust to the low light, as Selah pushed herself away from the wall and gave him a dark glare. Marked walked forward, Selah stopped in front of him, looking into his eyes for a moment before swiftly raising her hand and slapping Mark hard. His head jerked to the side and small stars popped in his vision. When his sight cleared, Mark’s gaze landed past the open door of his room. On his bed, slept a small figure in a light dress, her short chestnut hair sticking to her tear-streaked face as she clung to a large book. Every so often, she would shake slightly in her sleep and another tear would fall from the corner of her eye.

“She’s been there all night. Waiting for you...”

Selah spoke in a soft, sad voice, her eyes following Mark’s line of sight. Mark walked in and slowly approached the sleeping girl. As he reached down and gently wiped the fresh tear from her eye, the girl stirred, gripping the large book in her arms tighter. Mark smiled and, careful not to wake her, lifted the small girl from the bed, before walking out the room, and began to head towards the girl's, Selah following closely behind.

Along the way, Tsutsuji awoke and seeing the little girl sleeping soundly beside her, she gave a soft smile, then flew out of Marks' arm, landing on his opposite shoulder. She reached down and began to slowly pet the girl as they walked. Shortly after, they arrived in front of the girl’s bedroom. They pushed open the Door and walked in. Mark then lay the small girl down on the bed before turning around and walking out. Selah watched Merry for a moment from the doorway, noticing a small smile had formed on the girl’s sleeping face. She gave a light sigh and pulled the door closed.

Selah quickened her pace and caught up to Mark, pulling on his shoulder to stop him. Mark turned around and looked at the young woman with a questioning glance. Selah simply stared at Mark for a long moment, as if not sure what she wanted to say. Her eyes fell on the large handprint on the side of his face, still slightly swollen and red. Tsutsuji seemed to see it as well, as she gave a cheeky grin and chuckled lightly. Mark glared at the small Guide before flicking her in the forehead, sending her tumbling off his shoulder with a squeal.

Watching the two, Selah sunk her shoulders, in resignation, then turned her eyes to Mark, a fire burning in them as she spoke in a serious voice,

“I’ll be honest. I don’t like you. You’re rude, gloomy and uncivilized.”

“…..”

“But for whatever reason, that girl has attached herself to you.”

“……..”

Selah took a step forward, grabbing onto his shirt and balling it as she pulled him in close. Mark’s eyes were drawn to her soft ruby lips, though he jumped slightly when ‘someone’ pinched the back of his neck, managing to meet her eyes,

“So I’ll give you this warning, only once. If you hurt her again, I’ll…”

“AHhAHHAHHhhAhAHAH!”

Selah’s cold, serious voice was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a loud scream from behind. The two turn around to see a young maid sitting on the floor, swiftly backing away from an open door. Merry’s Door. Selah and Mark’s eyes met for a split second before they rushed over as fast as they could. Mark’s heart stopped as he looked in the doorway.

Standing on the open windowsill, was a short figure, their face cloaked in the darkness of the night and a large hood. Under the figures arm, a young girl wiggled and struggled against the rope that bound her. Around the figure's neck, the girl's travel bag hung. The clouds rolled away suddenly, and a dim moonlight flooded the room. Mark could only stare in shock as he looked at an ugly, malformed face; large black eyes and long pointed ears, dark molted green skin appearing blue in the moonlight.

The wind blew the cloak open gently to reveal the figure's other arm, just a stub about the elbow. As its eyes met Mark, they lit up in delight, a wide, vile grin splitting it face from side to side. Mark’s eyes went wide, and he rushed into the room, but the instant before he grabbed the forest goblin, it took a step back and fell out of the window, giving a light mocking chuckle as it did.

Mark watched in horror as the thing fell over 6 stories and landed with a light thud, as though it had jump only a few feet. After landing, the Forest goblin looked up at Mark and gave another full-faced grin, before rushing off at high speeds, Merry still held tightly under his arm. Selah stood beside Mark in shock, unable to process what just happened. When she came too, she found Mark attempting to climb out of the window himself. In a Panic, she grabbed onto His jacket; what was he trying to do? Forest Goblins were designed for the treetops, they could fall from massive heights, but a Human would break every bone in their body at even half this.

She struggled with him for a moment, but he finally managed to slip out of the jacket and leaped from the window. Selah screamed as she watched the man plummet to the ground, but was unable to pull her eyes away.

Mark didn’t know why he leaped, but his instincts were screaming at him that if he didn’t, it would be far too late. As the ground neared, Mark felt something click in his head, and a burning warmth began to spread out from his chest. As if it was something he’d done all his life, Mark activated Survivor’s Will; in an instant, he could feel his body change. His legs grew 4 inches, the muscles becoming thicker and more elastic, the bones of his body took on a flexible, rubbery nature as his internal organs shifted in a certain pattern.

In the next moment, Mark touched down. He could feel the immense force of his impact surge through his body, and his legs compressed like a spring. Time seemed to stand still, as the force then rebounded, Mark angling himself forward as he sped away at an unimaginable speed, using each new step like a springboard to propel himself forward.

Selah could only stare from the far window in shock, mouth agape as she watched him race in the direction the Goblin had gone. She stood there motionless, till a hand on her shoulder roused her. She turned around to see her Father staring at her with serious eyes. Nearby, Alex was issuing orders to the guards while her Mother and Sister comforted the weeping maid who lay on the ground. Tsutsuji lay on the table, panting heavily as sweat ran down her face; the little Guide had apparently informed the others as soon as she realized what was happening. With one more look out the Window, Selah turned around and spoke to her Father.

----------------------------------------

Mark ran through the dark streets for the second time that night, though his heart was racing for a different reason. He was currently running faster than he’d ever had in his life, though he could feel the immense drain on his energy as he struggled to maintain Survivor’s Will. Still, he pressed on, every so often catching glimpse of a fleeing shadow as it ran along the rooftops.

After close to a 10-minute chase, the Goblin finally stopped atop a high wall surrounding a large estate. It looked back the way it came, a slight surprise crossing its eyes as it saw Mark not too far behind it. The surprise quickly turned to humor, however, as the Goblin grinned again and leaped beyond the wall.

Mark stopped at the side of the Wall, finding it far too high for him to jump over or climb by hand. His eyes landed on the area that the Goblin had stopped on. The goblin had leaped from a nearby building that protruded out slightly; while it was far too far for a normal person to make the jump, Mark figured with his sigil modified body, he might be able to just make it.

Mark made his way over to the building and swiftly began to scale it. However, before he could get very far, someone grabbed onto his leg and pulled him down. Mark twisted violently, striking out to land a vicious blow to his target’s face with his elbow. The blow was stopped midway, as a familiar voice called out,

“Easy there Mark. Take a deep breath.”

Mark calmed down slightly, turning around to see an unexpected face. Jonathan. The old Captain who they’d met the other day was now dressed in dark clothing, several other similarly dressed people standing behind him. Mark looked at the man and spoke in a flutter,

“We have to hurry and get over there, there are Forest Goblins in the city! They took…”

“I know, we saw. We’ve been watching this location for a while now, but we didn’t think they’d make a move so soon.”

“Then what are we doing standing here? We have to hurry and…”

“I’m afraid that it’s not that simple, Mark.”

“What are you talking about?”

Jonathan didn’t answer, he simply pointed towards a large sign that hung over a gate connected to the Estate wall. Mark’s heart sunk to the bottom of his chest; as the moonlight lit the sign, two words were visible, “Darksand Embassy”.