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Exalted: Shards of Hope - [Callum] What We Leave Behind


Dave ST

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The powerfully built Exalt carefully folded and inventoried his belongings. He had no idea where Rysha and Mei had slipped off too but had a feeling they were close to one another and thus, were safe. The Ledaal siblings sat over by the shore of the large lagoon holding their own conversation away from where he could hear.

Of all the assembled Chosen of the Sun perhaps it was Callum who was the eldest, the wisest, and had lost the most since his exaltation. His losses were visible, as much as he tried to hide them, both on on the inside and outside. The scarfs and turban head dresses did well at covering up his scars on the outside the deep wounds of his past seemed to fester and ache far below the surface of his calm exterior.

Eilien playfully rolled about in the healthy emerald green grass that grew in abundance all around. He poked her head up and stiffened her ears, howling slightly when she saw him noticing her playing and went right back to enjoying her cozy and warm afternoon.

"The weight of the world seems to rest upon your shoulders Great Woodsman." The earth near Calum took shape and rose upward. Within moments the spirit who called this glade home, Father Oak, stood close by. "As lovely as my glade is, you seem to be in places far more distant. I wonder if you might share those places with me?"

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Callum looked up into eyes of amber sap and glowing essence. Eilein had stopped rolling in the grass and was instead staring with what could only be reverence at Father Oak. "Your glade is indeed beautiful and peaceful. In times past my heart would have wept to have seen such vibrant nature and been allowed to rest within it." Callum finished tying the knot he had been working on and then sat down on the grass. "No longer though. My heart is bound in chains of duty and my mind is tied to memories of darkness and fire."

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Sorrow spread itself thick across he ancient spirits visage. He sat down upon a wide stump of a tree that was felled by loggers centuries ago. His flesh creaked like a bough in the breeze.

"Chosen of the Sun," He started. "I know it's not my place to say but I implore you to consider that which is all around you. I know what was taken from you Great Woodsman, my roots travel far."

He sighed and rested his hands on his knees. "Your heart is bound in chains of love and vengeance. Duty is merely the means of justification to bring your retribution upon people like the ones who took your family from you. Your wife and child gave you so much during their lifetime. Memories filled with joy, laughter, and love."

"Listen to an old spirit Exalt." Father Oak smiled slightly, like a weathered old grand parent trying to pass something on to a younger generation. "Our memories are the only paradise from which we may never be expelled, and while we may never be able to change our memories, we can change their meaning and the power they have over us."

He looked off towards the direction of the sibling Exalts, and then in the direction where Rysha and Mei Ying had wandered off not long ago. "You will only live today once Callum. I'm curious. What memories will you take with you into the morrow?"

As the great spirit sat he gazed calmly at the waters of the pond where the sibling Exalts quietly spoke amongst themselves.

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Callum scowled, "I can no sooner deny my pain than I could deny my essence. It defines me, drives me to do the work of the Unconquered Sun. Without my pain I could not be what this world needs, I could not stand to continue the fight against the wicked. We of the Sun's chosen are warriors against the darkness, and without duty, and vengeance, I would not be the warrior I am needed to be."

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The great spirit lowered his head. The Chosen heard the word of the spirit no more than he could hear the beating of Father Oak's heart. He resigned that the Exalt was lost to his vengeance, and what was worse is that he'd decided that all of Creation would be the target that vengeance in a neat little package he called 'duty'. Although Callum was a good man and always did his best to protect the innocent, the seed of darkness had been planted in his heart the day he lost his family and now his 'duty' was the only nourishment and sunlight it needed to blossom.

"I am sure you're family is proud of all the vengeance you have wrought in their name Exalt." Father Oak sighed.

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Callum shook his head, "That I doubt. Were vengeance something for them to be proud of I would not feel their loss any more, instead I would be filled with the satisfaction of righteous fury for having avenged their senseless deaths and making them proud of me for doing so." He frowned, "I feel no pride, no happiness about the deeds I have done. I am satisfied that I was able to help destroy the creature that blighted your forest. Should I feel proud to have slain that abomination? I do not. My deed does nothing to salve my pain. Even vengeance does nothing to cure my hurt. I fulfill my duty because I must and because someday the Sun will be satisfied with what I have done and allow me to complete my journey and be reunited with my family."

He looks at the spirit being, "The vengeance is not mine, it is the vengeance of the Unconquered Sun. I merely mete it out to those he sees worthy for me to cross paths with."

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