A few days had passed since the unexpected arrival of new arrivals to the settlement, their arrival had caused quite the stir due to the way they appeared in front of the guards with most people staring at them with looks of both wonder and fear in their eyes, but mostly fear. It was the belief of most people that they were not the ones they claimed to be but instead were some type of twisted vestige left over, brought to life or simply impersonating their likeness in order to infiltrate and consume them all.
Jasper was practically oblivious to the strange looks people gave him as he wandered around the halls, he helped where he could but people payed him less mind than the other one… despite Damian's ability to stay unnoticed he knew that almost every eye was focused on him at all times, it was a strange feeling to be looked at after being practically invisible for so long. The people of the compound stared at him as often as they could, fearful that he would vanish at a moment's notice, he had told many strange tales from their time surviving in the wilderness, each one more fantastical than the last but always seemed to miss out a few details here and there, for what reason they didn't know.
The only people who showed no resilience towards the pair was Elizabeth and Marisol, Elizaabeth had been overtaken by her emotions the first time her supposed husband appeared in front of her and since then has rarely ever left his side, always staring at him with such deep emotions that it was almost embarrassing to those around them. She had told some of the others of her husband and whilst her descriptions never really did the man justice in terms of his appearance his attitude was a little strange to say the least, overly helpful in any way he could be, watching out for impending threats and spotting things with inhuman senses which put others on edge, it was more than a little creepy.
Marisol had also fallen for the guise of the man who claimed to be her father, when they first met after such a long absence from each other, it was quite emotional to say the least, her mother had never truly explained why they left him behind in the first place but she was old enough to come to her own conclusions by this point, and the harsh reality they had found themselves in had no place for innocence anymore. She had become enthralled by his fantastical tales even if he had left out the more horrific details of what had happened to him.
The world was seemingly changing in a way no one could foresee and it would be many years before they learnt a semblance of normalcy once again, but behind closed doors the brave and virtuous man held a secret, when it was only him and his love alone he could finally show weakness, he had to be strong for everyone else even if they feared him, as he was their sworn protector or at least that's what he told himself, his selfless desire to help those in need, to make sure as many of them lived as possible took a tool on him, during his brief moments of solitude he would sit on the roof and look over the city striking down threats with his rifle before anyone else even knew they were there and in the other direction the vast sea lay before him. The once beautiful oceans were muddled with any number of pollutants so close to the shore masking the blue waters with a musty brown and green hue, but in the distance, further than any creature could see the beautiful blues of the ocean came into view.
Drinking in the moment of tranquility on the roof Damian stared at his runes assessing how far he had come the past few months,
***
Name: Damian
True Name: -
Rank: Dreamer
Soul Core: Dormant
Soul Saturation: 102/1000
Memories: [Broken Chain], [Ariadne's Long Bow], [Coiled Nail]
Echoes: -
Attributes:[Deadeye] [Incessant] [Undisturbed] [Mark of Divinity]
Aspect: [Ceaseless Wanderer]
Aspect Rank: Sacred
Aspect Abilities: [Unremarcable]
***
Reading over the [Coiled Nail] sent painful reminders throughout his body which caused him to shudder, his scars from those days the the damp cellar scratching at his sanity ever so slowly every time he saw them, reading its description it said,
Memory Description:
[Coiled Nail:A long nail forged from the soul of a tyrant to suppress men and beasts alike, in the end it came to rest within its creator's own heart.]
Damian remembered this memory well, it was his "reward" for killing a fellow survivor, another who like him and Jasper had survived the horrors of the Nightmare and had returned alive, but upon his return had treated others like cattle forcing them at his service until they put a stop to it.
Both of them had learnt many painful lessons during their stay at the tyrants compound, his only regret however was that they didn't get there sooner, suddenly a pair of arms wrapped themselves around Damian from behind, he had heard her coming of course but he didn't turn to face her just yet, so instead she sat by his side and spoke,
"What on your mind love?"
He turned his head to stare at her beautiful face as he spoke in a soft tone,
"Im just….thinking about what happened at the previous compound we found. The man in charge was a survivor like me and Jasper,but he had returned from his nightmare changed…or maybe he was always like that but the power he now wielded pushed him over the edge. I'm not really sure but it doesn't matter anymore…."
The words left unspoken made Elizabeth feel tense, she didn't want her husband to become stuck in the past again, she knew he had a hard time letting go of his own actions no matter how justified they were in the moment, she took his hand into her own,
"It does matter, it matters to you which means it matters to me. You've avoided going into detail but please, I want to hear the whole story, tell me what happened to you, let me carry some of your burden so at least you're not alone in your thoughts anymore."
Damian couldn't help but smile as she spoke, her soft voice was always so caring even in the worst of moments, it was like a beacon of light in a starless night, he knew he couldn't keep it inside forever, Jasper may have been there but even he didn't know the full story, and he hoped he never did.
"Okay..I'll tell you, it all started about one month ago…