(collab post by Viridity and jason)<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Merin and Kwatoko</span></span><br/><br/>Merin noticed that Kwatoko had caught up with him, and then she had started speaking to him. Unlike previous times he had heard her voice in his head, which was something that still unnerved him, he felt something more tangible about her voice this time. He got an idea, and figured it would be one of the best ways to demonstrate how the sort of magic he uses would generally work. He reached into his bag, and pulled out a small, flat light gray stone about the size of one's thumbnail with a mark in the middle, a mind rune. He placed it in the palm of his left hand, and murmured a brief spell. The mind rune started to put out a dim, heatless orange glow. He focused on what he had felt when she had spoken to him, as if he would not be able to find the mind he aimed to create the link with, it would be a waste of at least part of the rune's power. Then, he felt feedback from the spell. A link had been made, and so, he tested it.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">This is Merin, can you hear me?</span><br/><br/>The voice Kwatoko would hear from the link would sound nothing like Merin's voice. It was a harsh thing, more like the sound of rocks grinding together than any sort of human voice.  Kwatoko flinched when she heard it, the mere sound of it taking away from her ability to even process the words themselves.  Momentarily, she suspected the demon had infiltrated her mind, glancing toward it.  But of course, Merin's words caught up with her.  The voice claimed that it was indeed the man in front of her.  Kwatoko found herself leaning inward, inspecting him as if trying to decide if he really was as human as she initially thought.  This must have been exactly how Bodzil felt when he first saw her in this form, she thought.  Now she understood.<br/><br/>She backed off, not wanting to arouse anyone's curiosity.  Cautiously, she responded.<span style="font-style: italic"><span style="color: #FFFF80">What manner of sorcery is this?</span></span>She could feel the link Merin had made, although it was vastly different than her bond with Bodzil, whereas she couldn't feel it anywhere but in her mind.<span style="font-style: italic"><span style="color: #FFFF80">Do your looks deceive me, Merin?  That voice did not feel human, as you appear to be.</span></span>She eyed the glowing stone in his hand and wondered if it was the source of his power.  Magic in Evolin was generally associated with an object such as this one, rather than simply being unbridled and wild energy, so Kwatoko would find it comforting to know her guess was correct.<br/><br/>Merin expected a response like this, but her question caught him off guard. He was worried about this, but he had not used a spell like this ever since...<br/>A painful memory surfaced, and his focus wavered as he frantically beat it back down. Now was not the time to be remembering. For a brief instant, the mind rune glowed significantly brighter, and a surge of unfiltered emotion, consisting of regret, loss, and a terribly profound sadness made its way through the link. Then, he managed to compose himself again, and the mind rune dimmed. The voice of stone still remained, but it was shakier than his initial contact.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">I...I apologize for anything you may have just felt, and if I disturbed you with my contact. I would prefer it if you do not inquire about my form, as it is something that I prefer not to discuss. Rest assured, I am not a shapeshifter or anything, just a...human.</span><br/><br/>Merin could not tell her, or anyone the whole truth, he doubted if he could trust anyone with a piece of information so fundamental to his identity. He noticed her looking at the mind rune in his hand, and he jumped at the opportunity to take his mind off the past.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">If you think this is the source of my magical power, you are correct. It is an object called a mind rune, a small stone token imbued with magical energy meant to be utilized for magic related to its element. With some exceptions, spells consume the energy inside them, and they crumble into dust after their energy is drained. The spell I used earlier to make my hands glow was one such exception. The energy for the light was coming from my body instead of a rune, but a rune was still needed to make the energy convert itself. But, as soon as I run out of runes, I am little more than an ordinary human, unless I choose to open myself up to The Source, which would almost certainly destroy me. I can only guess at what you desire from my magic, but you must keep this in mind.</span><br/><br/>She would not inquire of Merin's origins, although she suspected there was something rather big he was hiding.  Everyone had their secrets, she could understand that.  It was unclear if Merin intended for his emotions to make their way into Kwatoko's mind, but she decided it was best not to mention them.  He seemed troubled by the very idea of it.  She didn't quite fully understand the way his runes worked, and she was utterly puzzled by his mention of 'The Source'.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FFFF80"><span style="font-style: italic">Will your... 'mind rune' become dust?  Why do you choose to speak to me with it?</span></span>Her question would trail off into the wind however, as the sounds of Morgan and Damian cutting down the creatures around them filled their ears.  Kwatoko turned wildly toward the source of the carnage, and immediately she felt like vomiting.  If it weren't for Lilly breaking into a panic herself, she might have done just that.  The undead were easily slaughtered by Morgan and Damian, whom took the front of the skirmish, but their horrible wounds were not lost on the lady dragon.  Their burnt flesh seemed to catch fire all over again, their dying eyes boring into her with loathing as she tore them apart with her claws.<br/><br/>She had been in so many battles, and yet she felt guilt?  They were not innocent; at least, that's what she wanted to think.<span style="font-style: italic">They are mere worms to us,</span>Bodzil would say.  There was no time for her to consider the honorless crime she committed.  She quickly found a rock near her feet and chucked it at the nearest cadaver, hitting it in the neck with a sickening crack.  It did not fall.  She backed up two paces and raised her arms, holding her fingers out as if they were claws.<span style="font-style: italic">Not claws,</span>she thought,<span style="font-style: italic">What would Bodzil do?</span><br/><br/>Merin paused. Perhaps his explanation was a bit too much for somebody not quite as familiar with the use of this sort of magic. He had meant for this to be a demonstration of his magic, but he felt that its purpose was lost on her. Before he could respond, he saw her throw a rock at a nearby...zombie. He had been too engrossed in holding together both his composure and the spell he cast to notice much in the outside world to notice that a relatively small horde of undead had surrounded the group. He looked around, and saw that the young girl was clearly rather distressed, presumably from something she had done herself, as well as an expression on the face of Kwatoko that suggested she was rather unnerved, although he could only guess at whether it was the zombies or something else. Merin felt his resolve harden. He could not fail to protect those that had not him any wrong again.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">We will continue this conversation another time. It seems we have a bit of a zombie problem that I must attend to.</span><br/><br/>He broke the link to Kwatoko, and half the mind rune crumbled into dust. He thought for a moment how he would disable the undead, and then started to cast a spell.<br/><br/>In front of him, the various major joints that the zombies still possessed exploded with a loud<span style="font-style: italic">crack</span>, hopefully immobilizing or perhaps killing them. However, due to the way Merin had cast the spell, he immediately felt incredibly hungry, then he swayed slightly where he stood, and fell to the ground, unconscious from fatigue as the spell took its toll on him. Instead of using more of his precious runes, he had decided to drain his own energy in order to power the spell.<br/><br/>Confused by the sudden burst of energy, Kwatoko couldn't stop the man's fall in time, and he lay motionless in the dirt.  More abominations closed in.<span style="font-style: italic"><span style="color: #FFFF80">Merin!</span></span>Her unheard voice rang out.  There was little time to try and rouse him.  He was thankfully much smaller than Bodzil, so moving him was not overly difficult, given she minded her still-wounded shoulder.  It had healed enough that she could move it without very much pain, thanks to Lilly's presence, but not for long.  She hoisted Merin's torso from under his arms and pulled him as far as she dared, wincing as sand and rocks grated the cuts on the bottom of her feet.  The zombies were slow-moving, and were quickly distracted by the fighting among the rest of their party.  Dirt was kicked ruthlessly into the air, forming a rather thick dustcloud of which Kwatoko could not see through.  She finally settled down, pulling Merin into a sitting position along a decimated stone wall.<br/><br/>The sounds of the fighting faded and finally died down, and the night was again quiet.  Catching her breath, she seated herself nearby Merin and inspected him for injuries.  Then she attempted to jostle him awake.  When shaking didn't work, she would lick his face- it often worked with young dragons, so Kwatoko was not above trying it with this magical being.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="color: #FFFF80">Bodzil?  Are you unharmed?</span></span>she reached out.  Even if she was vastly far from him, she found their voices could still reach each other across great lengths.<span style="font-style: italic"><span style="color: #FFFF80">I am safe.  Merin is with me as well.</span></span>She reported.  When the dust settled, she couldn't recognise her position.<span style="font-style: italic">No, not again...</span>Kwatoko thought, taking a look around. They would have to rejoin with the others to provide Merin with the proper recovery he needed.