Resurrected

[Darken Rahl]

(I imagine I'll mostly be posting by myself for a while until I get some Mord-Sith)

"You have served me well, making deals and bringing me more souls. But the Seeker is proving more difficult to stop than orginally expected. Richard is getting closer to the Stone of Tears. And only you can stop him. You will go back to the world of the living, just as you were, and find a way to defeat the Seeker."

Darken Rahl's eyebrow twitched. The Keeper's frustration was evident, but how was he supposed to defeat his brother? Richard had killed him once... Darken was not interested in letting him do it again.

Still... the chance to live again...

"What good can I do as another baneling?"

"You won't be a baneling. You will be yourself, as if you never died. You will have all of your powers. All you have to do is defeat the Seeker."

Well, Rahl would have been an idiot to turn down such an offer. A chance to live; not to be a baneling, but to have all of his powers again... of course he wanted that.

"I will do as you ask, Keeper."

A flash of light, and suddenly Rahl felt everything sort of shimmer before him. Then, searing pain shot through him as his muscles re-awakened, his organs. Air flushed into his lungs and he coughed to clear them.

At first, all he could see was light. His eyes took a few minutes to adjust to the light. When he did, he blinked a few times to clear his eyes.

All around him was ashy grey. Where was he? It smelled of death, which wouldn't have been all that diffferent from where he had come, except that there he couldn't smell anything or breathe.

He shifted in position and found that he was lying on his side. It took a few minutes to convince his muscles to work again. He pulled himself to a sitting position and looked around.

Caska. He was in Caska, not far from the People's Palace. It seemed somehow fitting that he would be sent back to this place; just a burned-out shell of a city. It would be easier to transition after coming out of the Underworld. Still,

"You couldn't have brought me back to the People's Palace?"

It was probably just as well. He was supposed to be dead. He couldn't just walk into the palace and reclaim his throne... which currently belonged to his brother. Richard, the Seeker.

Oh, he would pay dearly. As soon as Rahl could raise another army. He'd start with the Mord-Sith....

[Rose]

((OOC: You don't mind if I join this thread, do you?))

Rose kicked a rock in front of her, a thrill of satisfaction running through her as it hit a tree with a loud ‘thud’. Why was it always her? Why, Creator? Why, why, WHY? Why was she the one who had to do all the stupid chores? Why was she the one who was spotted by her mistress that one day? Why couldn’t it have been someone else? Why did she have to try and keep her mind sane through the torture? Why didn’t she just succumb and submit? Rose generally wasn’t an angry person, but sometimes, people needed to vent. She was sick of following orders. She was sick of doing all the menial chores while the other, less-experienced, younger Mord-Sith got to relax. With her, it was always “Rose, go clean the fireplace out!” or “Rose, go check on my bath water, make sure it’s hot!” or “Rose, I want fresh venison and berries for dinner, go hunt!” When her mistress sent her out to go and check to see if Caska had been occupied by the Seeker’s followers, it was the final straw for her temper.

Letting her angry emotions show freely, she walked through the woods, leading her horse by the reins. There was nobody out here to see her, anyway. She wasn’t far from Caska, she could see the burnt-out city through the trees. She reached the edge of the woods, and began tying her horse's reins to a branch. Suddenly, a flash of light from the city caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She whipped her head around to see what it was, her Mord-Sith braid swinging behind her. Her hand automatically flew to the agiel at her waist. She bit her tongue against the pain that shot through her as she held it. She strode down the hill, holding her head high. If it was a Wizard practicing his magic, he would soon be stopped.

When she reached the city, she began looking around where the flash seemed to originate from. She didn't have too look for long. As soon as she was out in the town square, she found what she was looking for. Her eyes widened in shock as she reflexively fell to one knee. It was Darken Rahl, Lord of D'Hara. Her mind swam with confusing thoughts. What was he doing in the land of the living? Was he still dead? Was he a spirit? Or was he never dead at all? "Lord Rahl," she said, quickly hiding her confusion with a mask of indifference and bowing her head in submission, unsure if she was allowed to voice her questions aloud.

[Darken Rahl]

Rahl had just barely pulled himself to his feet and was in the process of stretching his limbs. He felt stiff and sluggish, as though he had just awakened from a long nap. In a way, he supposed he had. He wasn't sure what to do with himself. His first goal was to find Richard and kill him, but of course, he couldn't just do that without proper preparations. He needed a plan, he needed an army, and he needed... a good hot meal. And maybe a little romp with a servant girl or two. After all, he was alive again, and he wanted to enjoy the benefits that entailed.

He was still thinking on these things when he heard footsteps approaching. He had no weapons of any kind, which was terribly inconvenient. He supposed he could blast away the intruding party...

But as the person rounded the corner, he saw the red uniform of a Mord-Sith. He relaxed then, and watched as she dropped to her knees.

Rose had never been his favorite of the Mord-Sith. She didn't seem to have quite the same amount of cruelty of Denna or Cara. But she was a Mord-Sith, just the same, and he needed to get her on his side.

"Ah, Rose," he said, smiling. "Good to see you again."

[Rose]

"Thank you my Lord. It’s an honor to see you again." Rose said, keeping her eyes trained firmly on the ground in front of her. Out of her peripheral vision, she noticed the smile on his face. It seemed slightly odd and out-of-place. He had never smiled at her. She had never been a favorite of Lord Rahl's; it was probably why she was still so far down in the ranks. But the smile and supposed friendliness he was greeting her with was disconcerting. She wasn’t used to it. And there was still a small part of her that told her to run away as fast as she could when Lord Rahl came into the room.

Rose felt slightly tongue-tied and edgy. She didn’t know what was expected of her when speaking to Lord Rahl directly. He never seemed to want to address her directly; he always spoke to her mistress and she ordered her to do whatever it is he wanted. What was she supposed to say? ‘It’s great to see that you’re actually alive and not dead. How did you do it?’ was probably the wrong answer. But she had to say something! The silence was becoming unbearably tense. Choosing her words carefully, she slowly spoke. “I’m surprised to see you back in the land of the living. I was under the impression that you were in the Underworld, serving the Keeper.” She waited, holding her breath, hoping she didn’t overstep her bounds.

[Darken Rahl]

Of course, he was only smiling because he believed she could do something for him. He needed to rebuild his army again, and the Mord-Sith were only the first step to doing just that. He needed them, and all it would take was one to raise the call and bring in the rest. Maybe he'd even be able to get Cara back into his service.

But first things first. Being returned to the land of the living meant that he once again felt all the basic needs of a human being. And Rose could help him with that, too.

"Yes, well... we can discuss those petty details later," Rahl said, waving dismissively. "But I am thirsty and hungry. Being in the Underworld can do that to a person, I suppose. Perhaps you could hunt the nearby woods and catch something for me to eat?"

[Rose]

”At once, Lord Rahl,” Rose said, standing, ”I will be back within the hour.” Rose walked back to where her horse was tethered, silently thanking the Creator that she had thought to bring her bow with her, just in case. She would rather not have to go hunting with only her Ageil. Her instinct told her to comply with Lord Rahl’s wishes, and she answered without thinking. Reflex, instinct, whatever you wanted to call it kept her from arguing initially. It was only a matter of her realizing what she had promised to do that ever made her think twice.

Rose untied her half-empty canteen from the saddle and slung it across her shoulder. She could re-fill it at the creek. She moved to go and untie her bow from the saddle, but stopped. Now she faced a dilemma. What to hunt? She rolled an arrow between her fingers, thinking. Her initial thought was to try and find a deer, but there was no way that Lord Rahl alone could eat an entire buck, even a small one, by himself. Even if she were to eat with him, there would still be leftovers. They could take the rest of it back to the People’s Palace, but it would be too much of a hassle. Was there something else? Her second thought was some sort of bird; Pheasant, perhaps, or maybe Quail, cooked with some herbs that she saw on the path a ways back. It sounded good, but where to find the birds?

Rose looked around. She could hear birds chirping occasionally. One of the coo’s sounded like a Quail’s. No, more than one Quail, she decided on hearing it again. There were at least two, maybe three. She headed towards the sound, looking high up in the trees to try and find the nests. She headed back towards the river, knowing the nests would be somewhere close by. Twenty minutes later, she had caught and killed two of the larger birds. She re-filled her canteen like she had originally planned, and took a long drink herself from the stream. She returned to the empty city, stopping only to collect the herbs that she wanted to prepare the birds with and some wood for a small fire.

Rose dumped the wood into a pile, placed the dead birds off to the side, and began building a fire to cook the birds with. When the fire was started, she took the canteen off of her shoulder and held it out to Lord Rahl. “I just re-filled this at the stream. It should still be cold,” she said simply, before returing to her work to prepare the birds for eating.

[Darken Rahl]

While she was gone, Rahl attempted to clean himself up as best as he could. The Keeper might have brought him back to life, but he had made no concessions to such things as grooming and cleanliness. He was dressed in his royal robes, but they were dirty and torn, the vivid red fabric now muted and dull, as though worn down with time.

At the moment, he could not do much about that, but he could at least do something about the matted state of his hair. Really, it was quite humiliating to appear before one of his subjects--even if it was only Rose-- in such a manner. He had found one of the few windows that was still intact and was able to use it as a mirror as he ran his fingers through the tangled strands of his hair. The effect was far from perfect, but at least he no longer looked as though he had been dragged through the dirt and brush by wild dogs.

He found one of his old scarves in a cloak pocket, and he took it out, then used it to dab at some dirty smudges on his skin. He'd need water to do a proper job, of course, and he was not about to clean himself with his own saliva, so this would have to do for now; at least until Rose returned with food and water.

It should have felt good to be alive again, and it did. But Rahl had not expected it to be so much work to regain his former glory.

He had just finished his attempts at cleaning up when he heard Rose's footsteps approaching. He watched her for a few moments as she began to start a fire. He had never noticed Rose much before, never thought much of her. He never thought her as loyal as she should have been. But then, people did sometimes surprise him. He never would have thought Cara would willingly work with Richard, either.

"Very good, Rose," Darken said. His arrogance and position prevented him from saying "thank you," of course, but this was as close as it would get. He took the canteen from her and began to drink; the cool water of the stream cooled and caressed his parched throat. If it hadn't been so good, he might have poured some of the water on himself, to wet his still-dirty hair and face.

[Rose]

Rose took the half-compliment silently. She didn't expect anything in return from him. She didn't mean anything to Lord Rahl, she was positive. She was just another Mord-Sith, and not a very good one at that. She continued her work silently, beginning to strip the bird of their feathers with her knife from her boot. She seperated the feathers that would make good quills from the others and set them to the side with the herbs. There was no need to be wasteful in any way. When the birds were stripped of their feathers, she gutted the birds and finished getting the rest of the bird ready so only the meat and bones were left. She then took off her gloves and began tearing up the herbs into little pieces to season the birds with. "I apologize in advance, My Lord," she said, stuffing the small pieces of the herbs in the birds, "I'm afraid these might be a little dry. I don't have any butter to help with the seasonings." She wasn't honestly positive why she was apologizing. Probably just to hear something other than the akward silence between them as she worked.

[Darken Rahl]

Having spent months in the Underworld, Rahl didn't think he was going to be all that picky. After all, he had tasted nothing but ash for so long that he forgot the taste of food. But he was back now, and he was not about to lower himself to one of his own servants by admitting that he didn't care what the food tasted like. He still had his pride.

He did not respond to her comments, and instead put on an expression of bored indifference. But other, more devious thoughts were running through his mind. He needed to re-assemble his forces... his soldiers, and his Mord-Sith. How many were still loyal? He was still vexed that Cara had betrayed him so completely and was working with the Seeker. Had others followed her? Had they scattered?

"How many Mord-Sith still remain at the People's Palace?" he asked Rose, hoping that she could give him some information. "And how many still remain loyal?"

[Rose]

Rose finished her preparations, finally putting the birds on a spit over the fire. Lord Rahl didn't answer to her apology for the quality of the food. Either he was too hungry he didn't care, or he didn't find the comment worth answering. Rose didn't care, though it would be nice to have at least some sort of comment in reply. She sat down near the fire, as Lord Rahl asked about the Mord-Sith. "There are twenty-eight Mord-Sith currently at the palace, counting myself. There are many more at the other Mord-Sith temples, but I am uncertian about how many are there. We are in the process of finding more girls to become Mord-Sith. We have eighteen girls in the process of being broken. The first one has almost earned her Ageil and Leathers. She should be completely broken before the week is out." She felt awful about talking about girls being broken. She didn't want any more girls to have to go through the same pain that she did. Her acting skills stepped in magnificently though, and her voice was calm and steady. Lord Rahl shouldn't have noticed a thing.

"Loyalty, however, is questionable, My Lord. I have no doubt that they are still loyal to you, but there has been a debate amongst the Mord-Sith as to who is our leader now that Cara has betrayed us." She silently wished that she could join Cara in helping the Seeker, not that she would openly admit that to anybody. "Mistress Denna and Mistress Dahlia have been fighting over the power. They each have their own arguemnents. Many of the other Mord-Sith have taken sides, but some prefer to remain neutral. We are more or less waiting for an open fight to break out between the two groups. Now that you have returned, I believe that they will leave the decision into your capable hands, My Lord." She would let Lord Rahl make his own decisions. She wasn't going to try and persuade him either way. It didn't matter to her. She sat down near the fire, watching the sun dip below the horizon and paint the sky in pinks and oranges and reds.

[Darken Rahl]

Rahl's eyes narrowed at the mention of Cara. Her betrayal infuriated him, and he silently vowed that he would find a special punishment just for her. Not only had she assisted Richard in killing him, but now she had joined up with the Seeker as some sort of sidekick. It was really quite disgraceful to see how far the once-proud Mord-Sith had fallen. Cara had been one of his best, and now... she was a traitor. Oh, yes, she would pay. Dearly.

He snorted his disgust at the mention of which Mord-Sith thought they had the right to be in charge. Dahlia... well, he had uses for her, but she was not strong enough to be in charge of the Mord-Sith. And Denna had proven herself weak where Richard was concerned. She was not worthy, either. But it wasn't like there was anyone better. Cara would have been his first choice, if she hadn't turned out to be such a traitor. Who could he trust if not his Mord-Sith?

"When I return to the palace, I will need to send for both Dahlia and Denna," he said "I think I may need to retrain them both if they are to be fit to lead the Mord-Sith."

[Rose]

Rose nodded mutely, bile rising in her throat at the thought of a stronger Dahlia or Denna. If they aren't strong enough as Mord-Sith, then I'm definantly not. Will they try and re-break me as well? The thought turned the bile into nausia and she had to fight to not vomit from worry and keep a straight face. The last thing she needed was to make a fool of herself in front of her newly-resurrected master.  "As you wish, My Lord," she answered when she was in control again.

Rose looked at the dinner in the light of the fire. The sun had finally set, and the only light came from the cooking fire. The birds were done on the underside, and she turned them to cook on the other side, before grabbing a long stick and stoaking the flames. She stared at the fire, a hurricane of thoughts and worrys crashing into each other like a wave on a beach. "What would you like me to do, My Lord?" she asked after a few minutes. "Would you like me to ride ahead and announce your arrival or would you rather take my horse and go yourself or-" she stopped suddenly, feeling a blush color her cheeks when she realized her mistake. It wasn't her place to ask Lord Rahl what his plans were or what his actions were. It wasn't even her Mistress' place to do so. If Lord Rahl wanted his plans known, he would tell the leader of the Mord-Sith and she would pass the message along to her subordinates and so on, until everyone who needed to know knew. Rose bit her lip and looked down at her knees. "I'm sorry, My Lord. I overstepped my bounds," she murmured as an apology. Hopefully he would take the slip-up as an overeager attempt to do her master's bidding and not as an attempt to undermine his authority. "I will accept whatever punishment you see fit," she added, hoping that it may state his anger slightly, though she highly doubted it would.

[Darken Rahl]

Rahl was actually thinking that all of his Mord-Sith needed to a little re-training, just to make sure they were truly loyal to him. After all, he'd been gone a while, and he would need to re-assert himself as their master. He couldn't very well have any more of his Mord-Sith following Cara's example. And come to that, he really needed to get Cara back. It was an insult to him to have even one of his Mord-Sith traipsing about with the Seeker, treating him as if he were the rightful Lord Rahl. Yes, he would have to make a plan to get Cara back, and re-train her stronger than ever.

He looked up at Rose, a light of suspicion in his eyes. She was not one whose training he had overseen. She'd once been a servant girl and had been taken to be trained as a Mord-Sith at an older age than most other girls. He wondered just how successful her training had been, and resolved to make sure he trained her personally this time.

For now, though, he didn't have what was needed to train her or punish her for overstepping. For now, he could settle with a simpler "punishment."

"I will take your horse," he said. "You may walk back to the People's Palace. I don't want it spread about that I'm alive yet... I must begin to round up my troops once more, and I need the element of surprise to catch the Seeker unaware. And I will take both birds," he added, nodding to the food she was cooking. "It's been too long since I've eaten anything but ash."

[Rose]

Rose knew she got off easy. It was almost too easy. Had the underworld softened him? She doubted it. She wished that he had just taken her ageil and beaten her with it until she was nothing but a bloody mess. The pain would have been a welcome distraction from the mental stress. She didn't like talking to Rahl; she felt too uneasy, like he could see through all of her lies and mask of deception.

"As you wish, my Lord," she responded, bowing her head in humility. She went over the list that was her punishment. Walk back to the People's Palace: that was nothing. The problem would arise when she would have to lie to her mistress about where her horse was. No food: that was no big deal, either. She could get food from the kitchen whenever she felt like it. She could eat when she got back. The only problem that she could forsee would be not telling anybody about Lord Rahl being back. It wasn't as though she was talkative, but she would have a hard time lying about where she had been and what had taken her so long to get back.

Rose looked at the birds. They were finally done. She took them off the fire, pulled a hankerchief out of her sleeve (a habit she had picked up from her mentor in the kitchen: you would never know when one would be needed), and placed the birds on it, handing it silently to Lord Rahl.

[Darken Rahl]

Rahl accepted the food without comment. After all, Lord Rahl did not say "thank you," especially not to one of his Mord-Sith, whose duty it was to serve him.

His muscles were still sore from disuse and his bones ached; what he wouldn't have given for a curative soak in the hot springs back at the People's Palace. Soon, he told himself, he would be able to indulge again, but he had a lot of work to do to reclaim his throne.

He began to eat, not caring about being formal or dignified. There were no knives or forks here, so he would have to make do with what he had. The birds were dry and not overly meaty, but it mattered not. For months he had ingested nothing but ash, and the taste of real food and water was, in a word, heavenly. Not that he would ever admit this to Rose.

"This is tolerable, I suppose," he commented, more to fill the silence than anything. "Tell me more of the state of things in the kingdom. Do you know if any of my generals are still loyal? Or have the troops all dispersed?"

His kingdom hadn't been built in a day, and he suspected that the same would be true now. He had a lot of work to do. He just wished it didn't sound so exhausting.