Path of an Exile (Private with Loque)

Tenebris's inner most musings plagued at his mind, from his more humble residence given his self imposed exile looking upon Shadow's Refuge it was a marvel, he could only assume he was experiencing the sight as if he himself was an aspiring scholar again delving into knowledge for the first time. The black Citadel loomed ominously above the cliffs out rock ridges of the island plateau, seeming to blend into the night itself almost in contrast to how it stood during the day. The Citadel which housed both the Magisterium and the Athenaeum of the Nightwing Empire gave Tenebris a indescribable sensation of forebodingness as he ever enclosed upon the location.

Only now as he neared the structure did a feeling of dread then fill Tenebris, his doubts only now occurred to him in his own anxiety. He had the utmost faith that Loque would of consolidated the keep and continued his legacy but the fear what struck him was if he once again personally underestimated the Emperor Oculus, it wouldn't of been the first the first time Oculus's militaristic drive would catch him off guard. The Emperor despite Loque's efforts might of removed the Scholars of Shadows Refuge and used the strategic location as a Garrison for his warmongering troops. The reality however, was a great relief to Tenebris as he closed in on the island, he could feel that his wards remained, and as such had been untampered. Even now Shadow's Refuge remained his home.

Even though Shadows Refuge had a contingent of Guards, they were not the major defence, the Refuge had always been primary under the watchful gaze of its Lord and custodian Tenebris, who's magical Arcane Wards acted as the true guardians of the Citadel. As such, the sentries on duty were always lax and using his own natural camouflage with the provided darkness of the night, Tenebris's initial arrival was nothing more than the arrival of a mere shadow. Once landed it was a simple manner to simply pass through his own wards as he traversed the ancient catacombs beneath the Citadel.

Tenebris knew his protegé well, the hard working Loque wouldn't simply rest in the late hours of the evening and thus he made his way to the Magistrates more humble private quarters, his manoeuvrings through the dimply lit corridors of his own keep were silent yet graceful as ever. It was a blessing of the gods that Tenebris's form apart from his eyes gave no sense of grandeur or uniqueness apart from when wearing his finery or other garb which right now he lacked all.

Loque was indeed still working at the Refuge, despite the late hour. It was one of these evenings where there was so much work to be done there was no way he could do everything on time. The black dragon dipped his claw once again in the ink, covering the already stained claw in black ink. Another document soon to be done. The young Magistrate searched through his papers, needing something before beginning his next document. But he let out a sigh as he realized he didn't have that particular document on him. He was about to leave his room when someone arrived. This was so sudden it took Loque quite a few seconds to understand what was going on. First of all who could be this late in the Magistrates sector of the Refuge? And secondly...
Loque's eyes widened as he finally recognized who was standing right in front of him. It had been such a long time it felt a bit surreal. Tenebris.
"T-Tenebris? Tenebris! You are back! I had almost assumed something had happened during that expedition of yours! It has been so long..." Loque exclaimed out of surprise.

Tenebris never saw himself as one for dramatic entrances even with his delight for flare and finesse but given the violent contrasts of light and dark from the dimly lit hallway to Loque's chamber, Tenebris had unknowingly become a dominating feature of the image before Loque. At first, Tenebris held his body as composed as very maintaining his signature stern apathetic emotionless visage, however, upon hearing Loque's words he could keep up the facade.

A warm smile spread across Tenebris's maw as he acknowledged Loque with with a solemn bow of his head. The smile radiating across his features was one of satisfaction and contentment, like one a proud father would give his offspring, or rather in this cast a mentor and Public (Despite Loque far surpassing such abilities to be known with such a trivial description).

Tenebris approached Loque closer, and only now could the full extent of his appearance could be recognised under examination. The sapphire orbs which were his eyes were sunken deep and seemed to be blood shot and weary due to lack of sleep, his maw seems bruised and split due to the fact he'd been biting them from time to time from anxiety.

Finally as he lowered his rear, taking a seating position in front of Loque folding his wings over himself as if in mockery of a cape he speaks with his ever calm calculating well cultured voice "Dear Loque, its grand to see you again my friend. You'll have to forgive my recent absence, however, my mere expedition has been something far much more, one of purpose and pilgrimage", releasing a faint sigh under his breath as if contemplating his own words he'd then continue "Do not think in my arrogance I have abandoned you and the rest of our kin, you know actions have always been for the betterment of all... But there is much we must speak of and the Gods know we have little time to do so".

Loque nodded as Tenebris told him his expedition had proven more than expected. The Lord was visibly tired and worried, and Loque had rarely seen him like that. It seemed like Tenebris had a long way to come back to the Refuge, and that he didn't manage his own health to do so.
"I can guess there is a lot you want to tell me, but first you do need some rest. It will not do the Empire any good if you were to collapse out of exhaustion or hunger. The cooks are probably already gone, but they usually leave some leftovers should any dragon be hungry. If you wish I can bring you some while you rest." Loque replied, slightly frowning.

Tenebris regarded Loques words with deep contemplation before he answered, despite his desire to explain and deliberate with his old friend, he wouldn't withstand the haul of his exhausted body. Even as his weary eyes threatened to close he knew it would be irrational for him to turn down Loques offer of food. Even as the aged Dragon preferred humble foods despite his desire of granduer in most thing. The appeal of mere scraps was still enough to cause an animistic primitive growl of an almost lustful nature at the mention of food as the sound escaped his Visage.
"Indeed then, lets speak over a meal there is no need for formalities in this occasion and I won't lie when I state I've longed to rejoin the food sensations of Shadows Refuge". As his words came to a close, it became all to apparent as he muses at the previous weeks in his efforts to catch prey just how much he enjoyed the thrill of the conventional Hunt despite his lack of quality on the matter.

Loque nodded as Tenebris accepted to eat something before starting to tale his expeditions. The guards were already complaining Loque was sometimes working too hard for his own good, but Tenebris was definitely worse. The only difference was probably that they dared commenting about it in front of him, though.
"Alright then, Tenebris. Feel free to use the pillows I have in the back to rest while I am gone to the kitchens. I don't really use them anyway, since I have my own cave on the cliff." he told Tenebris.
Before Tenebris could reply, the Magistrate went out of the room and trotted toward the kitchens. It didn't take him long to reach the empty room, as the cooks went away for the night. And there were some leftovers packed there to be taken. Loque took two of the rations and trotted back to the room, setting the rations on his desk. He had to move some papers for that, but he made the place needed to eat.
"There, Tenebris." he announced.

Tenebris could only release a soft warm cooing sound in reply to Loques kindness, it reminded Tenebris just how steadfast and trustworthy Loque really was and it made Tenebris staunchly be thankful for such a protegé, ally and friend. Allowing his visage of domineering pride to falter as Loque briefly left the room, he'd usually refuse such a trivial use of pillows out of self pride but his worn weary body ached and he ever felt the overwhelming urge to lay down and thus in his moment he allowed himself to show his own weakness on that front.

Dropping his facade and guise of regal grace he made himself comfortable, laid upon the Pillows which should of been reserved for Loque, he made a mental note that in the future he'd return such kindness tenfold when given the opportunity. Releasing a faint sigh under his breath in satisfaction and acknowledgement to his own musings he inclined his head thoughtfully as Loque returned into the Room before then fixating his eerie stare lustfully upon the rations placed upon the desk.

Before beginning he regarded Loque with a stern serious look of purpose "You have my thanks Loque, as always. The truth of my return then is this, with the Emperors aggressive expansion the Nightwing lands swell, the Empire gorges itself in its own hubris believing these new lands will bring wealth. All it is ensuring is that this war effort is consuming resources". Tenebris snarled animalistically as his stern apathetic visage faltered in his mild anger, before he took a mouthful of rations, then continuing "Oculus intends to unite all Dragons in Pyrria that we both know", again Tenebris broke his own statement with a scoff of scorn and disdain. "I will give him one thing, he's doing just that, but they'll be uniting against him, not under him as the threat of the NightWing expansion becomes a reality to all Tribes, allies and enemies alike".

Loque managed not to smile as he saw Tenebris had used the pillows. It was rare to see him slightly pushing his pride away to care about his own needs. That was a measure of how exhausted he was...
The black dragon opened the two packages, revealing what was inside. Today the menu was an assortment of beef pieces. It probably wouldn't be as good cold, but it would still be perfect for their needs. Himself was a bit hungry, and as such while Tenebris made his talk he chew on one of the meat pieces. That didn't prevent him from carefully listening though.
"This agressive expansion politic of his will indeed be a problem sooner or later. As for now he has set his views on neutral territories only, but... I fear he won't stop there."
The Magistrate let a pause, slightly dipping his head.
"And even then, he's pushing a lot in those territories. There are human kingdoms out there. Everyone seems to disregard them, but... I can't help but think. He's attacking those same humans that wiped down the whole Earthwing Tribe. They didn't killed all of them with simply swords and bows! They have something dangerous, I'm sure of it. And... My mate is there." he finished with a sigh.
Yes, Loque was anxious. It may be one of the first times Tenebris would see him in such a worried state, the last time being when he had come to Tenebris to talk about his apprehensions when Oculus got to the throne. However he seemed to snap out of it and blinked.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I interrupted you with my own worries. I just hope everything will go fine on that side." he apologized.

Tenebris would seem to nod in understand of Loque, taking in his words with interest, regarding him as an equal. There was denying that annexing the Neutral territories was perhaps an aggressive but smart move on the Emperors part to serve the Nightwings, even if it was to serve -only- the Nightwings. "Indeed, we both know his insatiable thirst for blood will see him plunge the world into chaos". Tenebris releases a faint sigh under his breath, the words he spoke had been daunting thoughts plaguing his mind from Oculus's very first ascension to the Throne, it was one thing to muse about, but now the harsh reality was becoming more and more apparent.

Intently listening Tenebris shared Loques beliefs regarding the Humans, in recent months they have shown their initiative to a fanatical level, succeeding in driving out the Earthwings was something almost inconceivable. "I have looked at many ecologies of Humans over the years, and their actions would seem-". Tenebris stopped himself, his smooth eerily well culture voice coming to an abrupt halt. His sapphire gaze narrowed until his eyes were but mere slits, the realisation struc.

Such an immense event for Loque had occurred during his expedition and he wasn't there or even thought to ask of recent events on a personal matter. His own ignorance and hubris disgusted Tenebris before he finally relaxed his features as a wry of amusement spread across his maw. "Your mate?", Tenebris said with a sense of playful enjoyment to his voice in satisfaction which was a rare occurrence. "Seems I have missed some essential events in my absence. Tell me, whats her name. Is she here within the Refuge?"

Loque continued to listen at Tenebris as he agreed with his views. It was almost strange that hip and Tenebris were sharing so many common thoughts, despite some of them not being really common. But suddenly Tenebris stopped talking, interrupting himself. Was it something Loque said?
Tenebris showed an expression Loque had almost never seen in his face. Was it amusement? No, not quite. But before he could quite figure it out Loque was assaulted with questions about his mate. Yes, of course, Tenebris couldn't know yet...
"Oh, erm, this... I... Yes, I met someone. Her name is Kaora. She's a Tracker, so no she's not here right now. I met her while on a hunt, and we got along quickly. She's a quick thinker, and she does have interesting thoughts. Before I could realize it I was in love with her. So yeah... I'm worried something could happen to her." the black dragon sighed.
While saying this, Loque had a really bright smile, something that he wasn't showing often.

Tenebris couldn't help but show his amusement to the situation as a hoarse snicker escaped his visage would appear almost uncharacteristic to his usual formal atmosphere. The smile upon his smirk ever growing to wolfish standards at the manner how he caught Loque off guard as the younger drake struggled for words to react, although as he spoke Tenebris was able to readjust his demeanour taking in Loques words with respect, the occasional nod throughout.
As Loque came to an end Tenebris would incline his head in humble acknowledgement to the words before releasing a faint sigh out of understanding to the situation. "So your mate is at the front... I think I'd like to meet this Kaora". Tenebris paused before flashing another toothy grin towards Loque "If you want, I will call for a recall of Kaora to be reposted to Shadow's Refuge. No doubt the burdens of administration may demand that she show herself for adjustments made to the archives now that she is your mate" Tenebris chose his words carefully, there was truth behind them, but the essential cause radiates through the desire to remove Kaora out of harms way.

Loque couldn't help but smile at Tenebris's words. He seemed sincere when saying he would want to meet her.
"Oh I'm sure you'd love to meet her. We really had interesting discussions, she's pretty clever for a Tracker. And I can't lie, she's gorgeous as well. I'm... glad she did accept me." he continued with a smile.
The Magistrate blinked as Tenebris suggested he could reassign her to the Refuge. The idea was really tempting. Taking her out of harm's way...
"I... am not sure. Sure, I would love to get her out of any harm, but... She's not the kind of dragoness that will let me be overprotective over her. I can tell she'd be mad if I did use my influence to call her back here. And besides, she's resourceful. I'm sure she'll handle herself just fine." Loque chuckled.

Tenebris couldn't help but feel rejuvenated from his weariness at Loques enthusiasm and demeanour. His positive attitude was almost contagious, which only ensured Tenebris maintained his signature smirk which others could only call snide unless part of his personal retinue. At the end of Loques first statement he replied warmly with a sagely nod "She sounds like she will make you a find mate my friend".

Raising his right forepaw Tenebris runs his talons across his own maw as he releases a thoughtful coo out of thought as Loque continues. "Then I can only say I admire her independence and stalwart purpose. Inform her though as a gesture she will always have a place here and again, that I anticipate meeting her myself. Tell me though, you said you met on a hunt. I do adore a story.", Tenebris gave a deep hoarse chuckle from his last few words, his wry amusement not failing to yet leave him in the slightest.

Loque almost blushed at Tenebris's comments. The young Magistrate was still destabilized by all what happened, still being in that roller-coaster of emotions that his love for Kaora was. It was quite obvious he couldn't keep as much composure as he used to, and Tenebris seemed to be playing with that. Loque had a small, almost silly looking smile as his mentor complimented Kaora for her qualities, and at his last question about how they met, he let out a nervous chuckle.
"Our meeting... was nothing but pure luck. I... Bumped into her. Quite litterally. I was doing some hunting to relieve my mind from my duties, and I didn't see her stalking the same prey than I did. We leapt at the same time... I let you imagine what happened. So, erm, after that, since she was a good huntress, we hunted for a bit, and we ate together the evening, at the Trackers' hall. We talked a lot, and she seemed to be interested in the Refuge, so... I offered her a visit. We had really interesting discussions, and spent a nice day here as I was making the visit. I guess... that's when I really fell in love with her. Ironically enough I... Bumped into her once again while hunting. That's when... Well, declared my love for her. I'm really a lucky drake, having bumped into her twice like that." he chuckled.

Tenebris radiated with his warm confident smile at Loque's flustered state, it was a surprising but certainly a welcomed change. Tenebris actually couldn't help but feel a sense of pride for Loque himself. As the younger Nightwing continued, Tenebris's eyes widened as he explained their initial bumping into one another, all the while an amused look across Tenebris's face as his right eye ridge arches.

It wasn't a conventional love story of two lovers meeting under moonlight but then again Tenebris was a romanticist which has delved into far to many fictional scriptures than the healthy mind should. In the end, Tenebris couldn't help but be warmed by the tale and Loque's declaration of love. "Fate works in mysterious ways it seems, even if it appears to have a sense of humour. None the less it is good to know that you now have someone to walk down the path of life with at your side. I'm happy for you, my friend", Tenebris then finished with another guttural snicker.

Loque couldn't help but keep a rather sheepish smile as Tenebris made his reply. Yes, fate sure had its sense of irony.
"Indeed, fate works in mysterious ways... And rather strange ones, if I may say. Hurting the paw of someone you want to declare your love to is a rather awkward experience... Needless to say we spent some cozy days while she couldn't move as she pleased." he replied with a smirk.
The smirk didn't last long though, soon turning again into a small smile. That encounter sure had been a bit awkward. The black dragon let out a sigh.
"You know, I never really realized how much I craved the company of someone. I never had someone to share my joys and pain with, I always had been alone since the day I hatched. I thought I wouldn't need it anymore after having forged myself a shell. I now realize how wrong I was. She reached my heart through that shell like it was nothing. It's maybe the first time I'm truly grateful to find out I was wrong." Loque declared.

Read it, I was dreaming :-)
Until today i know only one Path of Exile, that with Exalted Orbs - https://Odealo.com
Best guides and you can Buy Cheap PoE Orbs