Valen moved silently alongside his comrades, not speaking much save for his expression earlier. The male walked straight, though his eyes were cast at the ground, his memory replaying the events in his head, the Queen's death, the king's victory, he wished, truly wished that he had been expecting Gandrian to turn on them, but instead he allowed the traitor to stab him in the back and then kill the queen. What he wished more was that Gandrian would have killed him instead of the queen, he would have been promptly defeated and the queen would have survived. Valen cought up with Brand as he stopped to wait for him, and patted the male on the head<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff">"Yes, we will Avenge the queen and return peace to our lands once again, I have no doubt about this, we will be victorious. "</span>Valen allowed his hand to rest on the youngest's head for a moment, a brotherly glint in his eyes as he smiled, the first since the queen had died, nodding in reply to the Elf's statement<span class="fixed-color" style="color:white">"Yes it is... Thank you for your kindness, you have my gratitude for accompanying us. " </span>Valen had protected the elven people for some time, holding the northwest as his territory.<br/><br/>Valen took a couple steps away before a violent feeling in his chest caught his attention. Valen paused, covering his mouth as a small fit overtook him, starting with a simple ragged cough that grew worse over the couple seconds it lasted. Valen quickly turned around, turning away from his fellows. The coughing fit only lasted for a couple violent ones, and as Valen took his hand from his lips he noticed specks of blood on his hands, it was black.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:white">"I am Fine"</span>Valen spoke before anybody could ask, speaking to nobody in particular and wiping his hand covertly on his red scarf.<br/><br/>The pain that had been growing in Valen's chest since the disaster worried him, he could feel something gnawing away at his soul. Valen subconsciously took a hand from his spear, feeling the throb from under his ribs right next to his heart, which beat a tad faster. The male swallowed loudly, looking down and taking his hand from his chest, rummaging through the sack he had on his shoulder and drawing out his pipe and a flint. Valen coughed once before bringing the pipe to his lips and inhaling the smoke from the smoldering tobacco, letting the smoke fill his lungs, easing that burning pain as he walked, the rush of sensation adding some lightness to his step as he closed his eyes. Valen exhaled the smoke forming a stream of dark smoke from his lips.