About three months ago..



?Is it finally that time??

?Aye, lad.. Finally tis that time. We send the man home t?his kin. I cannae believe it?s been such a length of time, y?know??

?Months, yes. But it was needed.. Even I could not handle the damage that had been done to his body in the wake of what had transpired. Honestly, we were rather lucky on many fronts.?

?Aye, and now we send em home. Tell ya, I dun envy the lad at all.. There?s gonna be hell, when he returns. Even with her knowin, and what not.. And comin? up here, there?s gonna be hell. T?wasna like we told everyone what had happened, and what we did.?

?That?s an astute point.. It wasn?t like we very well told all of his people, that he lost nearly a quarter of his mortal form. Mind you, it was a fairly well beaten form to begin with, it?s a wonder he managed to do so well with it. However, it wasn?t like we told them, we decided to assist in his healing, and rehabilitation.?

?Ha! More like, we didna tell em, we ganked him to save his ass, cause he saved ours once! Still, it?s been ne-- Oh, look he?s wakin? up!?

The pair turned to regard the bedridden man, once more. The dwarf taking a lean to the elf, as he nodded rather affirmatively towards the taller, of the two.

?He?ll be a bit long in the tooth, you know. I hope all of them magin? tricks of yers, did the trick and let em know what we?ve been up to, since his ?accident?. Otherwise, it?s gonna be a damned long afternoon, and I ain?t even et yet!?

?I believe all will be well, and whatever he does not recall, we will share with him, as long as it takes.?

?Aye, well.. I?m sendin? for some grub.. Cannae verra well, tell a man six months worth of news, on a damned empty belly, an what.?

?You do that, old friend. I?ll see about getting our friend here, reacquainted a tad.?

A nod offered, as the dwarf turned from the elf. Soon, it was just the pair, as the elf offered a faint smile to the waking man.

?Good morning, and welcome back. My name is Sormick Wintersworn and you are in the Sylvaan Hamlet, under our care. Try not to move too much, as the sedatives are still effecting you, a tad. We will answer any questions you have, but first I need to ask you a question. Just to make sure you are coming back to us, so to speak.?

The stirring man nodded softly, ?Alright..?

Sormick smiled, which was a good sign.. ?Very well then. Please tell me, what your name is.?

The elf?s emerald eyes watched the man intently, awaiting the answer.. It had been months since the man had even spoken, and despite the efforts involved to assure he was mentally coherent during his sedation, there were always concerns over complications. It had been somewhat rare to have someone in their care for such a length of time, as well.. Then again, this was a rather interesting case, and the work involved would ensure if anything similar to this ever came across this facility, it could be handled, to a better degree.

Slowly did eyes of blue open.. And nearly, just as quickly they closed again as a hand slowly lifted to shield them, from the first light they had seen in a very long time. A slight growl escaped his lips, as Sormick reacted quickly, pulling shades down on each of the windows.

?I?m sorry about that, this should be much better.?

Nodding once more, the man lowered his hand. His eyes slowly opened once more, coupled with a right squinting, in turn. After a series of blinks, the eyes settled a bit remaining open more so. However, occasionally lids would lower, as they were still adjusting, and more so, so was he.

?How long?? he asked softly..

?Your name, what is it?? replied, Sormick.

?How long?? the man repeated.

?Your na---?

?Brian.. Brian is my name..?

?Yes, yes it is!? exclaimed Sormick, as he moved closer towards the bed. ?Can you recall your full name??

A bit of a pause, as eyes of blue once more opened. Landing directly on the elf, they remained so, as he replied in kind.

?Brian Alexander McDineen?Ravenlock.. That is my name.?

?Very good, Brian.. That is very good. Now do you reca---?

Then man was cut off, as Brian softly replied.

?Darkin.. Darkin, also.. Wasn?t it??

A rather grim expression, took form as the elf remained silent.. That name was not one he had expected to hear from the lips of this man. There had been assurances that this had been dealt with, on a permanent basis. However, given the circumstances, it seemed there were issues that still needed to be dealt with.

?A long time ago you were one of legion, yes..? said Sormick.

?Alright.. Then.. I know I am me, I guess. Where am I??

?Brian you are in the Sylvaan Hamlet. We are a care facility nestled within the Sylvaan Valley, and are??

?Sylvaan? As in the healers? They haven?t been seen since Gano?Since Ganon sacked Tantagel, and Tyrsis. I was a child back then, and I rec??

?Lad, that?s true. But right as day, I can assure ya, we?re standing in what was Tantagel, and is now called Sylvaan.?

His eyes widened, as Brian looked towards the door. There was a dwarf indeed, yet with his vision, the dwarf was rather blurred, as all get out. A frown formed upon his face, as a hand lifted again to rub his temple.

?Wait.. Tanta?Sylvaan? How??

?Well lad, after the split of the Kingdoms, yer people decided to keep to the highlands, and left a council in Tantagel. The council in turn saw fit to reach out to the Sylvaan, who had finally returned and settled here. There is a lot more, but why bore you with elven history, yeah? Sides, I got food and drink!?

Sormick facepalmed properly, ?gods, Svelt.. Wondrous entrance. Brian, this is Svelt Stonemelter, my associate.?

?Nice to meetcha, lad.. And um, I admit ye looked bigger before, ha! But no worries, we?ll have ya right as rain, or this bastard?s ears ain?t pointy!?

Svelt grinned broadly, as he poured a cup of water and made his way towards Brian. A nod given in thanks, as Brian lifted his left hand to accept said cup.. Just as soon as he had done so, he paused.. Eyes widened as they settled upon his left hand.

Well what he assumed was his left hand.

?What the hell happened!??

The hand was tightly wrapped in a heavy grade bandage, with various spots of crimson adorning it. Finger tips peeked out, as did his thumb, and that was about it. Well that, and the various screws that literally potruded from the bandaged covering.

Svelt paused, setting the cup down. ?Brian, lad.. Ya were in some bad shape. And given.. Well, you had heavy resistance to healins, and what not. So we had to go in the old fashioned way. I promise tho, we got it off and despite how it may look. We?ll get it right as it was.?

?Agreed, your hand will be just fine, Brian. In fact we you rehabilitate, we will continue to work on it. So worry not, you are whole and sound. I promise.?

?Take what off me? What are talking about, what happened to me??

?Lad.. T?was Darkin?s Gauntlet, we pulled from you..?