<span style="font-style: italic">Clouds swirled overhead, spiraling around in a black and grey vortex that still allowed the occasional glimmer of sunlight to break through. The entire time the rain poured, casting down an endless discourse of moisture that added a sense of irony to the bright yellow light sporadically hitting Barth in the eyes. <br/><br/>He stood silently, the rain soaking his clothes, drenching his skin, dripping down his face and down his collar, though the travels of the damp became of no consequence as his form began to resemble that of a man who'd been entirely submerged in deep water. <br/><br/>It felt better to be out in the storm, not running for shelter or seeking out warmth and comfort, but just standing in it, accepting it without question. It gave him a sense of release, as if subjecting himself to nature's whim would ease the pain behind the face that was nothing more than a stoney mask of silent anguish. <br/><br/><br/>How long he stood there he couldn't say, but eventually he felt a hand on his shoulder. Even through the gauntlet, he knew the touch. It was about as familiar as one of his own hands, even if Ausan wasn't known to him for longer than just a few years. <br/><br/>"Barth. You should get inside."<br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">"No." </span><br/><br/>There was no sigh of weariness, or groan of frustration in reply; only a silence that was quickly swallowed up in the sounds of rumbling thunder and the gusts of powerful wind that accompanied the ceaseless pattering of the rain. <br/><br/>"If you will not come, then I will stay out here with you," she said loudly enough to be heard over the gale, once some more time had passed. He shook his head slowly, the first movements from him since he'd found himself out in the courtyard adjacent to the castle. <br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">"There is no need." </span><br/><br/>Lightning struck the ground less than a mile distant; they watched the fork come down to Soluunar and vanish in an instant, though the afterimage was burned into the young prince's vision for some time afterward. The thunder that followed was deafening. <br/><br/>"Barth, please." <br/><br/>He jerked his head, neither a nod or a shake, and walked with her into the place that was his home, though he knew for a certainty that it would never feel like home again. <br/><br/>He sat down in front of a fireplace; the room was empty aside from the two of them, and several involuntary shivers escaped him as the amount of wetness finally became apparent. It truly felt as if he'd been swimming in his clothes, yet oddly enough it had been much easier to ignore while out in the storm. <br/><br/>"You should change into something dry." <br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">"No,"</span> he replied without looking away from the fire. <br/><br/>"Getting yourself sick won't bring her back, Barth." <br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">"Name it." </span><br/><br/>"What?"<br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">"Tell me what would bring her back, Ausan, and I will do it. Tell me I have to kill a thousand men. Tell me I have to cleave the whole world into two halves. Tell me I have to reach the realm of the Gods, and duel Rune himself to the death… if it will bring her back, I will do it." <br/></span><br/>"Barth…" <br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">"She was the only one. The only one who listened, the only one who understood. She could have led us out of this funk, this mess. She could have made my father finally see reason. And now she is gone." <br/></span><br/>"Your mother was a good woman. She will be missed." <br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">"Aye. Too good by far, for this Gods-forsaken rock." </span><br/><br/>"Barth, I know you're hurting. I understand how you feel. But you need to-"<br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">"Understand?" </span><br/><br/>He finally rose from his seat, trousers still saturated with rainwater parting reluctantly with the support.  <br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">"Do you understand?" </span><br/><br/>With a roar of fury he kicked the chair forward and watched it crash against the wall. One of the legs broke right off upon impact, but before he could properly assess the damage he'd already turned to the only other person in the room with him. <br/><br/>He strode forward and seized her shoulders, hands closing forcefully down on her as he stared into her eyes, his own shining with unshed tears. <br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">"You understand what it feels like to be born into a title and power that none believe you deserve? To be the only heir of a man destined to lead our people to ruin? To have countless eyes fall upon your face, and to know that all they see is the son of a failed king who cannot lead, the successor to a reign built upon lies and greed?" </span><br/><br/>His grip softened and tears finally trickled down from the corners of his eyes, forging a glistening path down his cheeks as he stared at the last remaining person in the world he could still truly confide in. "And now the person who made it all bearable is gone."<br/><br/>The hands slid down from her arms and hung loosely at his sides.  <br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">"If you understand, if you truly understand, Ausan… then you are the first." </span><br/></span><br/><br/>It was difficult to define the din he was being subjected to, but if pressed he could've drawn up several comparisons. A hammer banging against a chest plate seemed suitable, or perhaps a stack of pots and pans being thrown from side to side in a room with metal walls and floors. Or maybe the screeching of every loud bird in the sky at once.<br/><br/>Barth groaned, covering his eyes so as to shut out the glow of the morning light shining through his lids; his head felt like it had just spent the greater part of an hour being shield bashed, and his mouth was as dry as the Scorched Plains. He shifted on the bed, turning over and squashed his face against the sheets, seeking any kind of respite, but finding none in the change of position.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">"My… ableugh.." </span><br/><br/>He wasn't sure what he'd meant to say, but the strange word that came out seemed oddly appropriate. He winced, hearing more of the same racket as before, only now it was interspersed with a piercing ringing sound that threatened to rip away the very last iota of his sanity.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">"Will someone stop that infernal ringing?"</span>he asked, his voice muffled as it projected directly into the bed; he wasn't even sure who he was talking to, truth be told, as there was the distinct possibility that he was alone.<br/><br/>It was another moment before he realized the ringing was coming from his own head.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF00">"Water," </span>he rasped, making an urgent demand of the invisible demons that taunted him as he rolled over onto his back, gulping the air hungrily as he'd begun to feel somewhat stifled.<br/><br/>What an excellent morning it was shaping up to be.