Yes; an old friend

He had gotten to the upper levels of the castle and getting close to the offices of the Inquisitor’s representatives. The individuals who lived in the castle with the Rune Blades to oversee them and ensured that the High Inquisitor’s standards were met. It was a very important job, or so Marius heard.

However, before he was in close proximity to the main lobby of the glorified bureaucrats, Marius heard another familiar voice. This one more feminine.

“So you have finally returned to us. Not the longest time you’ve been away...but it was getting close.”

Looking to where the voice came from he saw her, Selenae Vaetolus. A woman that hailed from the same frozen isle that he had come from before being out to service as a Rune Blade. However there was something that made her different from other Rune Blades.

Her hair, instead of becoming the dark, pitch blackness that others had developed, turned a ghostly white...devoid of all pigmentation. It is unknown as to why this happened. And she too was among the handful like Marius that was personally taught by Edwin.

She went a step further from being the typical Rune Blade during her career. After a job she had performed, she had stopped taking jobs entirely...sort of giving herself a self-inflicted retirement. She now spends her time caring for all the children that comes to the castle and helps give them all essential survival and combat lessons.

Her one good eye just stared at Marius, waiting for a response. Her other eye was covered by an eye-patch with a rune on it. She used that rune to give her even greater and more detailed magical sight that a regular Rune Blade could not have due to such vision obscuring the physical world as it would clash too much with essential vision. But since that eye was gone anyways, such a limitation was not a thing to worry about.

Marius just shrugged, “I do what I have to do, no matter how long it takes.”

Selenae doesn’t make a comment on that as she got closer to Marius. Surprising him, she reached a hand up and started to stroke his face with it. He noticed a pattern to it though, the thump was the only thing moving and it appeared to be tracing something down his left eye.

“New scars...ones that you never had before...”

Looking away from her he simply said, “That tends to happen when you fight a griffin and a Vampire in less than a week’s time.”

The stroking of his face stopped as the usually stoic and inexpressive face of Selenae seemed somehow even sterner. Granted, Marius and Edwin were probably the only people that could detect changes in her expression after being with her for so long.

“That is just like you,” she stated, “taking on challenges beyond your physical capabilities simply to accomplish the job given to you.”

In response to that, Marius offered a rather melancholy grin, “I’m still alive, aren’t I?”

That sterner look stayed on Selenae’s face as she retreated from Marius’s body. She said nothing as, after a moment’s pause, she walked around Marius and walked away.

Blinking at this, Marius watched her walk, not really anticipating her to just up and walk away without saying anything. He spoke up:

“Wait, Selenae...how are the children?”

Selenae stopped in her tracks and didn’t do anything for a moment. Then she simply turned her head to the side, not looking at him, before saying, “Their training is coming along well. Though, we have lost three more.”

And with that, she looked back forward and continued walking.