[SRP] Sanctuary (Ram, Deimos, Phobos)

[Epine de Rose]

 

[Epine de Rose]

His existence had been a blur from the moment he'd fallen from the cliffs and taken the dark entity with him. All he could be certain of, was that the lions had retreated just as he and their leader had been swept away. What happened after that remained a mystery to him, all he had known was that he was alive and that he was in pain. Whoever had found him had purposefully covered his eyes and spent much of their time administering to his wounds in silence. He'd soon come to realise that they had ensured he couldn't see not for their own safety, but simply because his wounds had required it.

...The longer he spent in recovery, the more he realised he was lucky to be alive. Whoever or whatever had saved him was owed a debt of gratitude that he couldn't possibly begin to repay in this life time. Nevertheless he had proven to be an obedient patient and had done what he was instructed to do until such times as the wraps and poultice around his head was removed and he was finally able to look his healers in the eye. Much to his surprise he wasn't greeted with delicate healers so much as burly and battle hardened beasts and reality began to set in, at some point he had washed up in a warzone.

Or so he had thought.

It wasn't long before he was finally granted an audience with his benefactor and this afternoon was the time in which he was scheduled to meet with the Justicar of this region. It had been that title alone that seemed to indicate that he was in the lands that Destati had hailed from. What a small world they lived him that would cause him to land here, or perhaps he Al Siq had been so much closer than they had originally seemed. Regardless, it didn't seem as though it would be the Blue Justicar that would meet him today, it would be someone quite different.

As he crossed through the threshold into the cave the blue lion limped towards where he had been directed and took a seat. It wouldn't be long they'd said, the justicar didn't like to be late, to be delayed would cause a domino effect on the rest of the day. That and it would reflect poorly upon him, or so they said.

Sure enough, at precisely the time they had indicated, the hulking lion arrived. At first Ram struggled to see him, and then slowly but surely the speckled lion came into full view. With a black coat and wite speckles, he did rather well to hide in the shadows to say the least, but his expression seemed reasonably pleasant. Well, it was as pleasant as a neutral set of features could get. Ram took solace in the fact that his features hadn't set to granite on arrival and merely held themselves in an unreadable fashion.

"Good afternoon," he said after a moment and bowed his head.

"You have questions," It was a statement, and an accurate one at that. "Do not seem so surprised, we would have questions as well if we had washed up so far from our homeland," the black lion continued.

"It would be a start, yes..." Ram replied slowly, his jaw still stiff and battered. "If I could start by requesting who I should thank for my care, then that would be preferable," he added. It was a query that caused the black lion's eyebrow to rise in surprise. Perhaps Deimos had been expecting him to launch in to a tirade of questions regarding where they were, how he'd been found and so forth, but Ram's priorities had always been to provide credit where it was due and then move on to the other matters at hand.

Yes, Ram was curious about all of those things, but those who had saved his life deserved his thanks first.

"Your care was performed by the majority of our medics," Deimos replied. "We do not have dedicated medics who tend to one specific individual. We have too many injured, it is too busy to expend resources on one being. We will extend your gratitude to the batallion but they are simply doing their duty," he added with a bow of his head.

A Batallion?

"I am not in a safe place, am I...?" Ram said at last. "Not if I'm surrounded by a batallion."

"Several batallions, you are surrounded by a brigade," a rare smile reached the lion's lips. "But you are in our stronghold and thus, you are safe," he paused briefly. "Your existence here is an unusual one. We do not expect to find living, foreign entities within this region," he continued.

"And yet I'm here."

"You were left here under amnesty," The black lion tilted his head to the side. "We found you as it were, a messenger reached us and indicated that it would be unwise to let you succumb to your wounds."

Ram raised a brow.

"Indeed, you are a curiosity to us," Deimos confirmed.

Ram refrained from making reference to Deimos's frequent use of the royal 'we' for now, or he wouldn't have if his gaze hadn't caught sight of a flicker of movement behind him. Ah, so they weren't alone in the room, even if the other individual had chosen to remain unseen for now.

"Nevertheless it is apparent that they wanted you to live. You must understand how rare this is," Deimos continued. "The scourge rarely save anyone, mercy is not something they are keen to promote and yet, here you stand."

"And the other?"

"The other?" Deimos paused. "There was another? We did not find one in our search and only one individual was mentioned."

"Their leader, he fell with me, did he live?"

"They are quick to tend to their own, if he still lives and breathes -"

"Did he live?" Ram pressed. Deimos knew more than he was letting on and the King wasn't born yesterday, he knew better than to let the black lion feign ignorance... not whenever it involved something that had orchestrated an attack on his home.

"He lives, but he is silent."

"I don't follow."

"The Scourge are complex, they have withdrawn to their warrens and we are not confident they will return. Their society is still a mystery to many of us and while this battle should have lasted significantly longer it seems to have stalled."

"They gave up?"

"We do not know. Not yet."

There was a pause.

"Nevertheless this has bought us valuable time to ensure that those who are injured recover and we have the opportunity to gather intelligence that would not have been within reach while these entities were active." Another pause followed and the lion raised his paw briefly as he stepped into the shadows. "We also have something of yours, though it is a touch worse for wear," he added as he disappeared.

It wasn't long before he returned again. In his mouth the black lion brought the furs that Ram often wore to keep himself warm. It had several tears in it and had definitely seen better days, but it had been cleaned and didn't smell of death, so they had tended to it. It was only after he'd accepted the returned furs that it dawned on him.

"I see," he mused with a chuckle. The differences were tiny and very subtle, but they were there. The liong who stood before him now wasn't the first, it was clearly his brother... It seemed Deimos had a twin.

Convenient, particularly if you needed to be in two places at one time.

Did this also mean the pair held the same rank, did others know?

It was better not to make a big deal out of it lest he sour the good will and instead he accepted his furs from the host and carefully slung them over his shoulders. He had to wonder who they were, and if they were one 'being', then which of their names would they use in public. More importantly, how would it feel to be the being in the shadows without his own name?

Alas, there was every possibility that they were know as twins and they were simply close, much like his own sons. Huo and Shui had always been joined at the hip, they'd just been significantly easier to tell apart!

"Then I suppose I should ask how soon I can move from these parts, it seems unwise to utilise already tight resources," he pointed out.

"When we have ascertained that the route is safe, we will transport you to a safer region to continue your treatment," Phobos confirmed. His voice was disturbingly similar to Deimos's, even if they did have minute differences. If the two had chosen to be one individual then they could certainly pull it off. "We have identified that the most viable region is the Red Province, it is a distance away but remains heavily fortified -" He paused. "And it is closest to the gates, so you will find it easier to leave when you are released from our ministrations," he confirmed.

"I see..." Ram clucked his tongue softly. "Then please accept my gratitude for your hospitality, both personally and on behalf of those who have taken care of me in the last week."

"Several weeks."

"Pardon."

"You have been in our care for quite some time, but we will pass this message along. When it is safe to move you will be escorted." Phobos motioned towards the archway. "For now though we are confident you are well enough to explore the inner sanctum, if you have questions, you will find the majority of your answers can be found there. Those who found you are outside," he finished.

"I do have one request though, and I'm not sure that those outside can grant it."

"We are listening."

"I need to let my home know I lived, is there a messenger that I can borrow to send this communique?"

"We will see that this is arrange for you," Phobos gave a curt nod. It was a reasonable request, but it was one that would take time to set up given that they would need to pass this along, then arrange to have a messenger in a more peaceful province deliver it. Suffice it to say that when it came to this region, they didn't expend their manpower on trivial requests...every living being counted here.

"You have my thanks," Ram replied as he rose to his paws and slowly moved away. The rest of his questions could wait until he met his rescuers, and some of his healers. Perhaps as he spok to them he might be able to unravel who and what this Justicar was. None of them had said there were two, they hadn't indicated he would meet more than one and yet he had.

...Most curious.

What an unusual sanctruary to find himself in, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

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