From Disappearance to Return: Rememberance

She watched the rain fall, as she had for the long months that stretched on into years.. Ages set cast with a silver mist, nearly as thick as the fog she watched roll in off the waters. The ship swayed, and Fallashay leaned her sodden wealth of dark locks to a curving beam..

The sounds of the oarsmen could be heard beneath the thunderous roll of the timesman's beat.. the drum setting the pace for the slaves shackled to their worn benches. How did she come to be here?.. The question left nothing more than time.. Time to reflect on the ashes of the recent past and the long endless journey that had brought her to such misery.

In the end it was the past; one she had strove to ignore, one she fought to hide, which had caught up with her. The heavy weight of cold iron rest against her, and she weakly lifted her hands to see the fetters more clearly in the coming gloom. Salt air stung the raw flesh of her wrists, and Shadoweave was oblivious to it all. The sharp cold of the wind off the ocean, the ache in her limbs, and the sounds of the vessel as it cut through the dark waters.. All of it fell away to a dim hum as she slumped into the dark depths of a restless slumber. Visions came to her in that eerie silence.

**Remeberance**

She remembered a distant place, Time- borrowed at the expense of a fairly well off merchant's family home. The scent of the stew was still fresh in her mind, as was the quiet moment she had spent there tending to Livewire's affliction.

The kitchen, held a warm light from the hearth.. pale hands set to the task of cleaning up after herself, not entirely certain when the "Owners" of the place would return. They never did come home that night, at least not until long after Shadoweave had vacated the place. Everything was returned to it's proper place, exactly the way she had found it;.. Unless one counted the wood used to stoke the cooking fires, and she closed the door behind her, tripping the tumblers in place with a soft click.

The night was cold, her silent footfalls meeting a morning's frost, and her breath misted in the still of what remained of the evening's darkness. She could still see the towering wall of ice that rose above the rooftops marking the glacier that had formed along the southern sections of Moorgate as she turned into the relative safety of the alley ways.

The streets had become familiar, perhaps too familiar as she crossed through the rat ridden corridors that wound their way through the silent shadows of tall buildings.. The shops, and taverns always seemed to be open, and Shadow paused watching the warmth from within the establishments that still housed patrons.

"Fallashay Windwhisper?," The voice had caught her off guard in a way that the subtle motion couldn't. Rogues had long used the dark stretch of empty alley as far back as she could remember, even long before she had come to know the lands. There was nothing out of place about the darkly clad figure that then crossed her path, at least not until his rough words broke the still.

Her mind raced, fist came the notion to deny knowledge of the name, but she had unwittingly turned at the utterance, could this person know?.. Shadoweave's body tensed, a thin blade slipping into her hand as she watched the figure approach.. She had no way of knowing if the stranger had caught the subtle motion, but didn't have much choice if he did.

"Who are you?.." She asked, shifting her weight, one hand brushing raven locks from her gaze.

His reply did not come fast enough for her tastes, the silence grew thick as the distance shortened between them. She watched him intently as he crossed into the faint light from the streets outside. Nothing about the tightly drawn features and cold dark eyes brought any recognition, but she knew the sort..

"Don't make me ask again.." She whispered, as his gaze locked on hers, a cool glint reflecting off the dim glow beyond.. She thought that maybe he recognized her, and that realization set her blood to running cold.

"You are her.. aren't you.." He said, obviously ignoring her askings, his own words more a statement of fact than a question.

She wasn't completely sure what was going on, but Shadoweave had had enough. A flash of motion sped her into a back step as she sent the throwing blade spinning toward him, another fell into her hand, carrying her momentum leftward toward the wall..

The cloaked form twisted free of the first blade with a growl, the second dagger hissing past his temple. She watched him draw steel, suddenly aware that they were not alone.. He lunged for her spinning the weapon over in his hand as he lashed out with the shortsword, pommel leading the way.

Shadoweave dropped to one knee, diving right into a roll as the strike missed it's mark. Rising quickly she lashed out with her poisoned dagger, ripping through his left thigh. A slow smile spread over her pale lips as the warmth of the man's blood trickled over her hand, but the victory was short lived..

He staggered back, as she wove in for another strike. A shadow suddenly fell over her path. She turned sharply, in a clumsy change of direction, only to feel the coarse tightness of rope?.. No.. it covered too completely, and was heavy against her struggling limbs..

The net tightened as her frantic clawing served only to entangle her further,.. and then it came.. Several voices cut through the night, She couldn't be certain how many, but shortly following came a rain of stunning blows. Heavy clubs battered her to the ground, strike after strike threatening to steal the light of consciousness, until a lasting darkness replaced her broken view of the starry sky..