'Awaken, child of mine,' calls a voice. It beckons him back from beyond the veil...from beyond the darkness and peace of the grave. His eyes slowly open, unfocused and unprepared for the pale glow of the crystal that surrounds him.
He feels...warmth. Warmth returning to every part of him as the cold hands of death release. 'Awaken, once more, Terin...'
"Unh...guuuhh," grunts Atlas, before drawing a breath. Atlas rolls onto his stomach, pain searing through every fiber of his being. His body protests every single movement, his chest aches with every breath he takes.
But his amber eyes find the tree in the distance. He must reach it...he must stand. With a loud cry he pushes himself to his knees and struggles to his feet.
The pain is nearly unbearable...but it serves to bring him back to reality. To clear and focus his mind. The thief stumbles towards the tree slowly, body demanding his immediate stop to end the pain. But he cannot.
He must push forward, must find the Dei Oculo...for Illia, for Nero and for everyone else. Seconds of this pain feel like centuries to his battered body...and yet he reaches the tree, only to collapse to his knees before it.
Atlas numbly places a hand upon the surface of the diamond. "I need...the Dei Oculo," Atlas mumbles softly. He slumps forward against the surface, forehead touching the cool surface. "I need it..." The thief looks down at the base, finding a small hole in the diamond. He reaches down, fumbling blindly for something, anything. "Ah?" He withdraws his hand and stares at the chunk of diamond. "Heh...I got it. I...got it...Illia..."
He slumps to his right and then strikes the cold ground, staring at the Dei Oculo he's tightly clutching in his right hand. Beyond it, he can see the approach of one of the creatures.
It's black eyes are focusing squarely on Atlas. A weak smirk appears on his young, bruised face. "Heh...I still...win..." His vision begins to darken and he simply can't keep his eyes open any longer.
'Death will not have you, child of mine. Not this day. This...I promise...'
- - -
"...as...las...Atlas...!" calls a voice, somewhere in the distance. It calls to him, beckons him out of the darkness once again. It's not the same as before.
It does not demand action from the thief. Warmth surrounds him, the warmth of life. Death...pain...it all feels so far away and he feels so tired. So very tired.
But he cannot let himself rest as the voice continues to call. His eyes slowly open to nothing more then slits.
A woman, the vision of an angel stares down at him. He manages a very weak smile for the woman. "Hey...Illia," mutters Atlas. "I got...the Dei Oculo." And with those words he once again loses consciousness again...
- - -
Gentle, soft humming is what brings him around from the world of dreams. Amber eyes open and scan the inside of the small room lit only by a few candles before coming to a stop on the woman sitting at his bed-side.
"Is this paradise?" asks Atlas, attracting her attention. Illia looks up sharply from her book and then smiles softly.
"You're awake, I see," replies Illia.
"I am." With a bit of a grunt he pushes himself up and looks around again. "Where are we?"
"Aer." Confusion washes over his features.
"I slept for a fortnight?"
"You don't remember?" Atlas responds with a shake of his head. "You woke several times during the trip and always in severe pain. The Seer told me to give you some kind of strange medicine whenever you woke. She said it would ease your pain and let you rest. Are you sure you don't remember?" Again he responds with a shake of his head. "Strange. Well, you don't seem to have trouble remembering anything else...you CAN remember everything else, right?"
"I can, Illia." He throws his feet over the edge of the bed and then rolls his shoulders slowly, enjoying the feeling of them slowly untightening as he does so. Illia glances down and then smiles. "Hm?" Atlas looks down, finding himself completely naked and smiling as well. "Enjoying the view?"
"Very much so, Atlas. Nizel, Nero and Kale went to get some supplies and they shouldn't be back for a while..."
"Mm, then, I guess I won't need to--" The door to the room is thrown open and Atlas pulls the blanket across his lap while Illia sighs heavily in irritation. "Well, speak of the devil. Welcome home, everyone."
"Atlas!" Nero drops what he's carrying and rushes over, nearly tackling him with a hug.
"Omph! Heh! Good to see you again, Nero. But..." He gently disengages from the boy. "...I don't suppose you'd all give me a moment to put my clothes on, would you? I can't exactly greet you naked, can I?" Illia ushers them all out of the room and then stops in the doorway.
"I'm glad that you're alright, Atlas," speaks Illia. "I thought...I might have lost you." A mischievous smile appears on his young face as a result.
"You won't be rid of me that easily, Illia. You have my word." With a chuckle she closes the door and Atlas stands, finding his clothes folded neatly across the room. He dresses quickly, enjoying the feeling of being able to move freely once again.
It takes him only a few minutes to finish and when he has he steps out of the room. Atlas descends the stone stairs before him and steps into a large room, the mark of the Guild is emblazoned proudly on the wall. "Well, I'll be..."
"Everyone, I give you...the Prince of Thieves!" announces the familiar voice of Fox from behind. Atlas turns to find the man standing at the head of the room, with several hooded individuals and Illia, Kale, Nizel, Nero and even Maua standing inbetween the two men. "Our Guild Master has come all this way to pay us a visit."
"A Guild safe-house...never thought I'd step foot inside one again, Fox."
"I'm glad you're finally up and about, Prince."
"Me, too." Atlas approaches Fox and greets him with a handshake. "I had no idea that you'd founded a chapter of the Guild here in Aer." Fox offers a shrug in response.
"It must have slipped my mind."
"Well...I'm glad. Means all of our hard work didn't go to waste."
"Even a thief needs somewhere to kick his boots up and hang his hat...or hood in this case." Fox pauses for a moment. "On that note, Nero has been awfully persistent in wanting to become a member of the Guild." Atlas glances across the room at the young man and then smiles. "I thought so. We can hold the lad's initiation tomorrow if you'd like to be present for it."
"I wouldn't miss it."
"Glad to hear it. Now...do you want to tell the lad or should I?" Atlas glances back at him again and then shakes his head.
"You tell him, Fox. I've been lying down for a while now so I'm going to stretch my legs..."
- - -
The young man moves fast across the roof-tops, as fast as his legs can carry him in fact. He leaps the gap between two buildings and then dashes up the wall to the next building.
He's moving without a direction in mind, as fast as he can for no other reason then he can. The freedom of being able to run and climb once again and the excitement of a new place to do so drives him forward.
Atlas comes to a slow stop at the edge of a building and gazes down at the crowded streets. The sun-drenched city of Aer...he had heard stories about it and so far they seemed to be true.
Stalls and shops of all kinds lined the streets, selling all manner of things and the people dressed in fine clothes dyed beautiful colors. Atlas has no doubt that it would be easy to make a living here, perhaps even restore the Guild to it's glory.
Regardless he turns away from the edge and then comes to a stop as he finds a man standing across from him. "Greetings, Atlas!" exclaims the man cheerfully.
"Doran," replies Atlas. "Just the elf I was looking for."
"Why, I'm flattered. Does this mean you've considered my proposal?"
"I have...take me to my father, Doran." The elf smiles broadly and then raises a single hand.
"As you wish..." He only snaps his fingers, though it echos loudly to Atlas' ears. A rush of wind assaults his ears, and it's accompanied by the feeling of weightlessness as though he's falling from a far height.
The light of the world disappears and the thief widens his stance in response, trying to keep his well-honed balance which seems to have deserted him in these moments. When the world comes back, it finds Atlas kneeling on rough stone.
He slowly scans his surroundings, finding himself in a rather large hall. Atlsa slowly stands and upon hearing someone approaching looks back at Doran. The elf holds a hand out towards the path in front of him, rather then the large doors behind. "After you, Doran."
"As you wish." He walks forward and Atlas follows. The room opens up into a larger hall, flooded with sunlight...and men with swords. "Pay them no mind, Atlas. Those men are acquainted with your father and mean you no harm." No sooner has Doran spoken then their path is blocked my a single soldier. "Ah! Good afternoon, William."
"No harm, hm?" echoes Atlas.
"What do you think you're doing, Doran?" asks William. "This man is obviously a member of the Thieves Guild. He has no business here." Doran spares a glance back at Atlas and then looks back to the young man.
"I don't believe that's for you to decide," replies Doran. "Please, wait here while I go fetch Jean. Play nicely while I'm gone, children." The elf walks past William and towards the other side of the room, eventually disappearing through a large set of doors.
Atlas takes in William's appearance. He wears a strange piece of chest armor. The chest and shoulders are encased in steel while stiff leather armor is left to cover his stomach, flanks and lower back. A pair of steel bracers cover his forearms and knee high leather greaves cover his legs.
"You're all mercenaries," observes Atlas. "I should have known. You don't dress like guards, after all."
"You have a problem with mercenaries, thief?" challenges William. This attracts the attention of several men in the room, who approach to hear them better. Atlas is silent for a moment as he stares at William. "What?"
"...Have we met before? You seem awfully familiar."
"I make a point to avoid members of the Thieves Guild."
"Do you also make a point to irritate every stranger you cross paths with?" asks Atlas irritably, finding himself in no mood to deal with the mercenary's insults. William growls a bit in response.
"Your mouth is going to get you in trouble, thief."
"I could say the same for you."
"Then why don't we settle this like men?"
"Enough, William," calls a voice from behind the young man. Atlas glances past him, finding a blond man in armor similar to William's approaching with Doran following a few steps behind him. "Attacking this man...don't you recognize your own blood?" William looks from Atlas to Jean and then back in complete confusion. "Come with me. Both of you."
The two young me follow him across the room and then through the same doors that he and Doran had come through.
Sunlight drenches the path before them and Atlas glances out across the city, finding the path leads to a stone platform outside of the city walls. "I'm sure you have a great many questions...and you as well, William."
