Darin stretched his arms over his head as he rose from his cot in the cozy cottage he'd erected for himself near the edge of the stedding. He'd begun work on it shortly after being accepted, gladly accepting the help the other Brothers and Sisters had been more than willing to provide, Darin never claimed to be a house builder. Nevertheless, he thought he'd done a rather good job. It kept a good part of the Light blinded heat out during the day, but managed to keep a portion of it inside during the night. It was simply furnished, with a small round table unadorned with two equally bare chairs on the side with the small window that let in the dawn light. The fireplace was simple stone-and-mortar, with a thin chimney to let the smoke out. It was cold now, the ashes banked, it was nearly Winter and still he felt most days he could go bare-chested and still be uncomfortable. Of course, comfort had no bearing on a soldier's life.

Darin rose an stepped over to the wash basin, still filled with cold water he'd gathered yesterday from the nearby brook. He washed his face hurriedly, rubbing his hands over the skin kept smooth by the razor he'd kept in his belt pouch from the Children. He may have changed in other ways, but he was still too much a soldier at heart to go around looking like a flaming vagabond fresh out of the woods. He had been at the stedding for all of two weeks now, and while he was by no means the life of any party, he was no longer an outcast either. Speaking of others, Darin abruptly remembered he had a training session scheduled for today. Dressing hurriedly into a plain white linen shirt which he left unlaced, he pulled on and laced his plain wool stockings, pulling over them stout brown woolen breeches before shoving his feet into the same hard leather boots he'd arrived in. Unconsciously his hand reached for the swordbelt he knew wasn't there and he let out a sigh. Too much a soldier. That was what his training session today was for. He was going to learn a weapon beyond the sword. He would still be a swordsman, there was too much battle in him for him to forget that, but the more separation he could put between who he was now, and who he had been, the better off he would be.

Shoving open the wood-plank door, Darin stepped out into a refreshing breeze, a cool, if temporary, respite from the crushing heat, which was made only slightly less by the elevation. As he walked down the lanes that passed for streets, even where the houses were most dense they were several tens of paces apart, Darin headed to the other side of the stedding village, nodding to the others he saw along the way, giving almost no thought to the fact that every one had golden eyes. Almost none. As he walked his right hand kept sliding to the swordhilt he had thrown away the day he'd entered the stedding. It was the sword he'd thrown away, not the swordsman; he'd have a new one crafted when he could find the gold to pay a good smith for it. As he passed through the outer edge of the village and into the more wild elements of the forest, he began to follow his nose more than his eyes, few Brothers or Sisters were out here at this time of day, and only one would be in so secluded a spot. Within minutes Darin was in a clearing, with another Brother leaning against a tree, and if the man was not surprised at Darin's appearance, well that should be no wonder giving the Kin's hearing.

Darin managed a grin as he stifled a yawn before greeting the Brother. "Good morning to you Brother Erik, long days and good hunting. How may I be of service this morning?"

Sounds like fun, I can imagine my ex-Whitecloak going all paranoid and such :P

-breaks out the tequila-

And a big *hic* hearty welcome fro- fr- *hic* from the Whitecloak Wanderer!

Darin smiled at the short sage, but blinked at her last statement. Then he caught the meaning. Putting together the multiple grimaces and general unease she had directed towards his weapon, and the vast relief he could smell rolling off of her when he threw it away, he deduced that she was likely Tuatha'an, sworn to do no violence, even in defense of their lives. Darin, as a soldier, had to fight back a sneer at this realization, but he managed to turn it into a smile. One did not advance in the Children without some knowledge of Daes Dae'mar.

"I thank you, Mistress Aleeza, but I think you misunderstand. I threw that sword away because it was a piece of my past; it was a link to someone I no longer am. However, the sword, or rather, the art of swordsmanship, is part of me, regardless of my walk of life. The ways of the soldier are too deep in my system to ever be given up. I will take up other weapons, but the sword will always be foremost in my hands. I hope you forgive my transgression on your Way."

He nodded, a rather lengthy speech for him, but it mattered not. Silently he reflected, and nearly laughed with a mad glee. Only weeks ago, hours though it seemed, he had been marching with a hundred Children under him, to investigate rumors of a possible Darkfriend, though there had been rumors of Shadowspawn as well, and now here he was, among a people he had believed only rumor, and had dubbed based on hearsay as Darkfriends. He could not suppress a chuckle at the irony. Smiling a smile that barely touched his eyes, he nodded again. "If I have passed your test, please, show me the way; it grows cold out here, and I have not slept in a proper bed in years." He smiled wryly before adding, "Cots in a field tent hardly count."

*Grabs Estel and TaeaDawn by their ears* Post please *innocent smile*

Darin saw the small woman approaching a good bit before she reached them. He was not a tall man by any means, but he towered head and shoulders above the little woman, with only the golden eyes to hint at anything even slightly fierce about her. But it was more than that. She smelled...odd, as if she was nervous about something. He shook his head, still uncomfortable doing that, finding things out about people by their smell. He shifted uncomfortably as he noticed her gaze looking him over like cattle. He struggled not to grow defensive under that probing gaze, as a Child of the Light, he was not used to receiving such looks, and it unnerved him in no small way to receive his first from a woman nearly half his size.

He listened quietly as she gave him her name. Both of them. He smiled and shook his head, he didn't have a second name yet, but he supposed it wasn't that far off. Who would have thought wolves gave names to each other, much less people? He smiled as the two women conversed, it seemed only yesterday he had thought wolves, and all who associated with them to be creatures of the Dark One. And look at where he was now, a stedding filled with men and women who could communicate with wolves.

He was a moment in realizing he had been spoken to, and shook himself out of his reverie. "I think I've asked most of my questions of you, Timewalker. There is only one thing I need to do before I am ready." He unbuckled his sword belt, and held it out before him. This was the last thing linking him to the Children of the Light. The last thing linking him to who he had been. "I was a Child of the Light once." His voice was soft, reverent as he spoke. Looking back over his shoulder at the forested mountains they'd been travelling through for days. Wrapping the belt around the sheath and hilt to make sure they would not separate, he took the sword and threw it into the forest, where he would hopefully never find it again.

He turned back to the two women. "I was once First Lieutenant Darin Saine in the army of the Anointed of the Light. Now, I'm just a Wanderer seeking his place in the world. And my place is here, if you will have me."

It had been a long, hard journey, over hard ground. But Darin was a soldier, a Child of the Light; he was used to such conditions. He had questioned his companion, Timewalker she called herself, the length of the trip, and had learned to at least grow to tolerate talking with the wolves. Even though the terrain hadn't been hostile, that hadn't kept his golden eyes from constantly searching the countryside for a threat. Or at least, that's what he told Timewalker he was watching for when she asked. In truth, he was watching for a flash of white among the endless green, the clatter of horse's hooves as a column of the Anointed rode down on them both.

The dreams he'd started having about halfway through their journey hadn't helped either. They were always different, or at least, he thought they were. In them he was clad in the steel armor and white cloak of the Children, though the steel gleamed brighter than he could ever have polished it, and the cloak seemed whiter than snow. Then the wolves would come, even in the one time he was in the heart of the Fortress of the Light, the wolves came, and suddenly his clothes would become exactly what he wore now, a travel-stained shirt and trousers, with a knee-length coat embroidered in green. All that remained constant was his sword. He would run with the wolves, and always it scared him to the point of death to think he was losing himself to the wolf.

He shook his head, his long hair barely moving. Now was not the time to think of the dreams. He was about to face the largest test of his faith since joining the Children. He snapped back to focus as Timewalker spoke to him again. "I understand, it is a matter of security, yes? Well if that is the case, then I think we should get going, I want to meet my new...brothers and sisters I suppose the word is, as soon as possible, or I think I may go insane." He flashed a wolfish grin, his golden eyes gleaming in the sunlight filtering through the trees. "Shall we be going?"

Alrighti lol, I'll make sure to do that. Anyway, Darin's in the stedding now (or as soon as Crista puts the thread up lol), so anyone up for RPing with him after the Sages get done with him? For that matter, any Sages around to poke at him?

Darin nodded as she gathered her belongings, and they set off. The Mountains of Mist.... Depending on where in the mountain range they were going, that could be anywhere from where they were now to Saldaea, and since she had said it was a long way off, he assumed it was probably closer to the latter, a long journey indeed. A month at least on horseback to Saldaea from their present location, on foot it would be even longer, unless.... "This...gift, we have. Are we able to move faster or go for longer than other humans? Because depending on how far we're going, that would come in handy indeed." He blushed slightly at thinking only of what could get him there faster, rather than what might actually be useful in the long term, when a sudden though struck him.

His eyes suddenly blazed with such a hatred that his voice strained to conceal it. "This place we are going, there will not be any channelers there yes? Or is that particular breed of Shadowspawn included in the recipients of this gift? Having it in the first place is bad enough, but sharing it with Aes Sedai, I would sooner die." He nearly spat the title and all the words after it, but then his voice became immediately apologetic. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't vent my anger out on you. You are not a Tar Valon witch, and as such not a subject of my hatred. How far exactly are we going into the mountains? A man could get lost easily in that range without proper directions, not that I doubt your abilities at all, you managed to find me easily enough, though granted with some help from our friends." The last part of his sentence came with a wry smile, his voice as close to touched with happiness as it had ever been since he joined the Children of the Light. Light! He felt like a newborn babe, completely ignorant of the world around him. In retrospect, perhaps it was better he had been an Anointed when this gift came upon him, few others that he knew of would have had the faith to cope with it. As he saw it, unless they were convinced, as he had been, that it was not a thing of the Shadow, those who truly walked in the Light would take their own lives without the proper discipline and faith instilled by the Children of the Light.

That's fine, like I said I've never done this sort of system before, if need be, I was thinking of having him take up a completely new weapon once he got to the stedding anyway, but keep up his proficiency with the sword.

Alright so this is kind of unrelated to my finding thread, but for training purposes, I guess I need to know my starting Weapon Score. I've never done anything like this before, so I kinda need some help on how it works. I've read the article on the DRPSW site, and I figured since he led his section of Children into battle he should have a score of at least eleven, but I'm not sure if this was decided by the AGL's or what, so....help please?

Darin listened with awe as she explained to him that there were not only others like them, but that they even had a gathering place where they would be safe. It was everything he could have wished for and more at this moment. "Very well. This place, how far away is it? How many others like us are there?" He wanted to know, he would never be able to return to the Children, not with golden eyes such as his, he would be named a Darkfriend and handed to the Questioners before he could give his name, if he was not killed on sight by whoever found him. But maybe, if there truly was a place where others like him lived and could be safe, then perhaps he could forge a new life and learn to live with this curse that was a gift. He rose, feeling much better, though still not exactly comfortable with what he could do, and nodded. He looked to the sky, the sun had just passed its noonday peak. Light, he had been here for hours, it had just been dawn when he left his camp this morning. "Wherever we are going, we could get several miles in before dark takes us, and with our...abilities I suppose we'll be able to travel a bit even in the dark. We are wasting daylight standing here." No matter how much he may have opened up to her only moments before, he was still a soldier, and his first and foremost priority now was getting to this place they were headed as soon as possible, with as little interference as he could.

Darin, for the first time in his life, felt his ties to the reality he knew weaken. While he didn't want to believe it, he knew  she spoke truth. Maybe it was the wolves staring somberly at him, or perhaps it was the pure emotion in her voice when she spoke of being tortured, but something told him she wasn't lying. Maybe he had it all wrong, he certainly was no Darkfriend, and yet he was still one of these, wolfkin. His mind was reeling with shock. Everything he had held firm to in his mind was rocking back and forth as if on a giant pendulum. His sword was his only tie to reality, and he gripped it desperately as he tried to sort things out with his mind, though nothing else physically changed about him.

If she was right, and he believed she was, then that meant the Children had been wrong, at least on the point of wolves and those who consorted with them. And if the Children had been wrong on that point, Light, where else could they have erred? The One Power was evil of course, it went without saying that any man or woman with the power to break the world anew could not be trusted to not use it, oaths or no. But Darin thought of all those people he had been convinced were Darkfriends and handed over to the Questioners. What if he had been wrong? For as he had held so firmly to the Children's teachings, as those teachings were flawed, then so must he be. How many innocent people had he given over to torture? How many true followers of the Light had he sentenced to a fate nearly worse than death? It was more than he could handle, his brain felt as though it would explode.

And then, just as he was on the brink of passing out, black fading in to the edges of his vision, they were there in his mind. The wolves, comforting him as though they would comfort a cub. They knew, somehow they knew what he was feeling, part of it anyway. He shook his head before turning his golden eyes up to Timewalker's. "I- I don't think I'll ever be able to like this...gift you call it." A faint smile touched his lips, "But maybe, maybe there is a chance I could learn to live with it, tolerate it." He shook his head again, looking at the ground in regret, "But my life is a soldier, an Anointed of the Light. I can never go back to them, not like this. And what army would take a soldier with golden eyes? There is nowhere for me to go, how can I live like that? Alone except for wolves, who do not even truly speak? I'm sure they're good enough company, but nothing to match that of other human beings yes?" He hoped she had answers for him, for the first time in his life, he was completely unsure of what to do, where to go. Light if ever there was a time he needed help, this was most certainly it.

Darin tensed slightly as the woman stepped forward, then relaxed completely as she spoke. She was obviously no threat, and any thing he could learn about this curse that had been placed upon him would be helpful. He may even be able to puzzle out a way to cure it, the Light willing. He listened to her words with rapt attention, his eyes flicking every now and then to the woods, widening as he saw more and more wolves gathering around. Against his will he felt a spark of interest in them. He wished he could feel nothing from them at all, they were creatures of the Dark One, the Father of Lies, and the enemy of the Creator, who Darin was pledged to serve until death. And this woman, she accepted it so easily, talking of speaking with wolves as though it were an every day thing. Well, maybe it was for her, but anyone who could talk so freely of such matters was surely a Darkfriend. Darin would have to be on his guard, he didn't know if she was able to set these beasts on him, but he didn't want to take that chance.

"So the wolves are the ones I've felt watching me this whole time. And all this time I thought it was my own company hunting me. Yes, let us sit, and I will explain why I've been so...restless, as our mutual friends put it." He was all compliance and cooperation now, no need to anger a woman who could set wolves on her, what need of anyone of weapons when one commanded beasts? He waited for her to sit first, keeping out of arms reach, but close enough that his blade would strike home in an instant should he need to do so. When she was seated, Darin lowered himself to the ground, in a cross-legged position that was easy to stand up from quickly, making sure his sword was easily accessible. Low Wind Rising would quickly neutralize any threat she might pose, and could be used from most any position, even sitting down.

"Timewalker? That is not the name you were born with I'll wager. Do all of those...like us...take new names when they are taken by this curse?" He sighed, "I'm sorry, let me explain. My name is Darin Morviro Saine, and I am, or perhaps 'was' is a better word, a First Lieutenant of the Children of the Light, what the ignorant and Darkfriends call Whitecloaks," his voice held a certain amount of contempt for that particular word, almost as much as for the word 'Darkfriends.'

"I was out on a simple patrol when this...this curse took me. I began seeing things much sooner than even the sharpest of my sentries could, and I from the middle of camp while they were at the outside. I could hear things no normal man could hear, conversations between men in their tents, five tents over from mine. I began smelling things, I think they might have been emotions perhaps, on all the men, all the time. It was constant, and slowly it began driving me mad, and my men sensed it. I began hearing talk of my being a Darkfriend raging through the camp," he muttered a few curses vile enough to make a sailor gasp before continuing, "and about two weeks past, I took it upon myself to leave.

"I left my armor and cloak with the Children, but kept this sword, as a reminder of what I am. Now I don't know what to do. Touched by the Dark One, and an oathbreaker besides, I can never go back to the Children, but how can I possibly live connected to the Father of Lies through his creatures? Do you walk in the Light? How can you stand it?" His voice was fervent and desperate, and he knew it and hated it, but he needed answers. Light help him he needed answers.

Darin grew more and more wary the further into the forest he got. The wolves continued sending him images, and he couldn't figure out how to wall them off this time, they were far too persistent. And vaguely he sensed another. A human like him, but that wasn't the exact image the wolves sent him. As always it was a variety of sights and scents, leaves on a tree changing rapidly from green to gold to brown, then falling off. A two-leg, a human the Light blind me a bloody flaming human walking untouched through countless seasons. Timewalker. He didn't know what it meant, but it felt like a name. Abruptly the forest in front of him opened up into a long corridor lined with trees. Immediately his right hand went to the hilt of his blade, slightly caressing the golden sun pommel as it passed to grip the rawhide wrapped hilt.

He immediately became more cautious, crouching low, his eyes flashing around to the trees. Once, he thought he saw a gangly red wolf that could have almost passed as a very large fox dart from view, deeper into the forest. Abruptly he heard a twig crack, something he couldn't have done before whatever change he was going through had start, and his head snapped back ahead of him. A woman stood there in the middle, wearing no weapon that he could see, though there was a rough rock tied to her belt. While he was certainly wary of any woman who could apparently show up out of nowhere before he heard or saw her, he had no doubt that she had let that twig snap to get his attention, how dangerous could a woman, an unarmed woman at that, possibly be?

Darin straightened as he neared her, though his right hand never left the hilt of his blade. The woman smiled and spoke. ["Hello friend.  I think you have been expecting me?"]

Darin gave a start at the word "friend," his entire manner suddenly becoming defensive. "I stand firm in the Light, and take shelter in the palm of the Creator's hand. I am an anointed Child of the Light, and fight the Dark One until the last breath is gone from my  body." The oaths came automatically, instinctively at the perceived accusation. Then his sharpened eyes focused on something on her face he hadn't noticed before. Her eyes. They were a burnished gold, like he knew his would be if he ever brought himself to look in a mirror, or even a calm pool of water again. His voice grew soft, almost awe struck. "You...you are like me. How did you find me?"

Darin woke from his slumber with dew still clinging to his coat, which he had used as a blanket for the night. The spring was generally warm in Amadicia, but the mornings and nights were always cold this far to the north of his home country. As he stood he cast his eyes about his makeshift camp. He had made a small cook fire last night to roast a rabbit he’d caught in his traps. It was the best thing he’d eaten in weeks. He had never gone hungry as a Child of the Light. Darin shuddered at thinking of his career as an Anointed of the Light as a thing of the past, the Children swore their oaths for life, but Light, how could he remain without being handed over to the Questioners considering what he had become?

As if on cue, They came. He wasn’t sure who or what They were, but they seemed to be able to speak to his mind, though it wasn’t with words the way he was used to speaking. They communicated with sight and scent. Some times he could make sense of what they were telling him, names here and there, or information on where there was good hunting, when he was nearing the edge of the forest, but just as often they were a jumbled mess. Some foul scent that made his nose wrinkle at just the thought, visions of twisted things Darin recognized vaguely as Trollocs. He had fought the beasts of the Dark One on several occasions as an officer in the Anointed, but he had never thought to smell them.

But now was no time to dwell on such things. He could swear he was being followed, even though he was deep in the forest, weeks now after fleeing into the thick trees from the villager proclaiming him a Friend of the Dark. Darin half drew his sword in the motion of buckling it onto his belt at the anger that memory brought up. That he, a Child of the Light, would be a Darkfriend! The notion was inconceivable. But then, he was not necessarily a Child anymore was he? Light what was he?

“I am a solder,” Darin said to himself as he looked around his camp one more time, kicking over the ashes in an attempt to cover his tracks, the sword at his left hip providing a familiar, comfortable weight. A counterbalance to the civilian clothes so unfamiliar after years of wearing the polished silver armor and snow white cloak of the Children. “The Light burn me I am a soldier !” That last was a shout, for none in particular to hear, but it felt good to raise his voice, where he had been too afraid for days to utter much more than a murmur of his own thoughts. Others come to you, brother.

Darin nearly jumped out of his skin when the thought came. Not a thought really, just an image of another two-leg, a person the Light burn him a person, and the scent of wolf. Darin was beginning to think that it was actually wolves speaking to him, which would be all the worse. Any voices in his head were bad enough, but all within the Children knew wolves were as much agents of the Dark One as carrion eaters and rats! Sighing, Darin walled that part of his mind off and began walking to no place in particular, stopping abruptly every now and then as a prickle on the back of his neck told him he was being watched. And followed.

Not a problem, I get real impatient myself, especially around the holidays, since I'm still a minor and thus, live with my family, ^_^

EDIT: Srry Andrea, you must've posted right as I clicked the reply button, Darin's wandering around in the northern forests of Amadicia if you wanna stop by after I open the thread up, though I wonder how the Tracker will react to finding a non-Tracker hanging out with a Wanderer lol.

Absolutely! Um...who is I'm waiting for to start the thread again??

Sounds good to me, some points I'd like to put forward:

-Trollocs and Fades, any Shadowspawn for that matter, would have a different smell, and so it's likely that, rather than a mark placed on them that the wolves can smell.

-Darkfriends are humans, and from what I've read, Darkfriends just swear oaths, they are not marked by the DO himself. I'm pretty sure words don't have smells.

Not a problem at all ^^

Alrighti, so my bio just got approved and CC'd, so I guess the next step is to have someone pick Darin up out of Amaadicia and bring him to the stedding. From what I saw of the site RP's, the WK are practically at war with Amadicia, so that oughta prove interesting. Any volunteers?

I realize it's been a LONG time since this topic had a reply, but it's really been bothering me. In the Great Hunt when Perrin's traveling with Ingtar, he says several times that wolves can't smell Darkfriends, just Shadowspawn. They make no distinction between humans at all, the pack he senses near Falme has no interest at all in humans, and takes a good amount of persuading to go and investigate the CoL legion nearby.