Ghost of the Past

The sunsets of Aether were the most beautiful sights I've ever seen. The fields surrounding town were bathed in a pink light, that shone in through the large bay windows. The breeze gently blew the flowers in the garden about, birds flitted about in the skies. The large almost full moon was also present in the sky, I'd never seen both the sun and moon together and so large.

After dinner, we gathered around the roaring fireplace in the living room, I sat on the plush armchair, entranced by the crackling flames. Vane threw a few more logs on to the fire. Aine curled up at the end of

the long couch, and Vane sat a few spaces down from her, giving her lots of room for her legs to stretch. A pile of maps of this area and the boss dungeon lie on the coffee table between us. A large red X was marked on the map where the boss lies in wait.

"So," Vane began, his hands resting on his legs. "His name is Raezar. He is a chimera between a lizard and an ogre, a purely grotesque creature. He uses what is called the "Golem Axe", a large axe, but the blade goes all the way down the length of the pole. He is strength and agility type; his attack patterns are directly aggressive." Vane reached for the table and picked up an artist drawing of Raezar. He was large, over fifteen feet tall, wide as a house, thick muscles and an ogre face, with sharp fangs that protruded from his mouth. He had a long lizard's tail with spikes. In his hand he held a giant bladed axe. My eyes widened. That was way beyond anything we'd slain in the woods around town.

"How much health does he have?" I asked. Vane looked at me.

"Four full bars of health, 1200 HP. His attacks hit hard, but he doesn't have any Area of Effect abilities, so as long Fayre is able to both tank and DPS, Aine should be safe to heal." Vane finished.

"What will you do?" I asked, he had set up the plan for Aine and I but had not included himself in the battle plans. His face was set in a grim line.

"Unfortunately, I am unable to help you with this battle. I can enter the dungeon with you, but I will be locked out of the boss battle as I am too high of a level." He sounded almost sad. I nodded but bit my lip. I needed to be able to do this on my own. Having a healer was already more than I was expecting. We needed to move forward.

"I understand. We can do this, if we grind Aine up to level 15, we should stand a chance." I tried to look brave and keep my face stoic. The reality of the situation is that we were putting our lives on the line. There would be no respawning, there would be no second chances. Aine looked pale but nodded her ascent.

"We'll need to get her better gear, too." Vane nodded at her clothes in disdain. I waved in front of my face and opened up my menu. Pulling up my inventory, I pulled out a pair of PJ's I had to spare. I transferred them over to her.

"Here, these will suit you for the night. We'll go out to the shops tomorrow." I smiled at her. She smiled and took them.

��Thank you, it would be nice to get out of these ratty clothes. Also, a shower would be nice." She mused. I laughed and clapped.

"Thank goodness Vane has running water!" I sent her off to have her bath and returned to the living room to face Vane. He was seated on the couch where I'd left him, he was leaning his head on his hand.

"You know its not going to be easy, keeping someone else alive." He said. I sighed and placed my hands in my lap, I stared at him earnestly. His tanned skin was glowing in the firelight, his silver hair naturally tousled. His silver eyes shone in the light.

"If you had said that about me, I wouldn't be here." I pointed out. He nodded.

"Yes, but my life wasn't on the line." He argued. I had to concede his point. At the end of the day, he would log out and go home. Or respawn in town if he was killed. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I know it's not the smartest decision, but I just don't have it in me to condemn someone to die." I muttered.

"But they're already dead!" He exclaimed. I gasped. I squared my shoulders; my eyes became lidded and guarded. Immediately he looked reticent.

"Fayre, I didn't –"

"No, you're right. We're already dead." I cut him off, my voice sharp. "But I will be damned if I am going to give up my humanity." I finished. My fists were clenched, I stood now, pacing the room. He nodded slowly.

"You're right." He conceded. I stared out the large bay window at the luminescent moon. Having him remind me that I was dead stung more than it should have. Something about him seeing me that way, as a lost cause, hurt deeply. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my emotions, keeping my face neutral.

"It's getting late. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, I think I might get some sleep." I said in a calm voice. Taking some time to cool down seemed like the best idea. He looked at the clock on his menu and nodded.

"Yeah, I'd better get going." He mumbled. Then abruptly he stood and placed a hand on my arm.

"Fayre," he started. "I really am sorry." He whispered. I nodded that I had heard him.

"Sleep well." I said softly and turned to go up the staircase. I heard the sounds of him logging out behind me.

When Aine was ready, I showed her to one of the several bedrooms in the large house. She smiled at the sight of the bed and ran and jumped on to it squealing. I laughed and bid her goodnight. As I turned to leave, she stopped me.

"Fayre?" She called. I turned and smiled at her.

"Yes?"

"Vane… he looks like him." She said 'him' low and ominously. I frowned.

"Like who?" I asked.

"The guy who came to my school." She said. I froze. "It could be a mistake, the guy who came to my school had black hair, but he just reminds me of him." She clarified. I nodded.

"That's weird. Vane has done nothing but help me, but we'll keep our eyes open." I assured her. She smiled and nodded. I turned from the room and walked down the hall into the bedroom I was occupying.

I sat on the large four-poster king-sized bed and stared at the warm tapestries that surrounded me. The crackling fireplace roared across the room, and the moon shone through the large window on the East side of the room. As I stared out the window 'you're already dead' kept repeating over and over in my head.