She could hear the Falls now, the roar growing louder as she neared them. The air grew damper from the rising spray, wane sunlight sparkling through the tiny droplets making the devastated lands around her seem a bit more hospitable, but not much. Purposely, she avoided the alter set near the cliff’s edge, needing to deal with something else first.

Standing on the edge of the cliff, the Falls roaring below her, she opened that part of her mind she normally kept under strict control. Closing her eyes, she went seeking.

I must speak with you, My Mother.

Her plea was silent to any watching, but she knew it would be heard. She sat then, knowing the wait might be a long one. Removing her hat, she shook stray tendrils of blonde from her lashes, letting the spray from the Falls dampen her hair and moisten her face as the sun made a valiant effort to warm her. Calming her thoughts, she fell motionless, a damp statue in the slowly failing sunlight. As in the past, she didn’t bother to track the passage of time. An hour could as well have been a week, or vice versa.

You are sad, My Daughter.

A slow, wry smile drifted across the woman’s face as she simply nodded to the comment washing through her mind. No answer was really necessary, they both knew it was true. It was then the woman stirred a bit, opening her eyes to see that darkness had fallen. To another, there was nothing to see. To the woman, perhaps just a vision in her mind, perhaps something more.

And you have come to say Good-bye, My Daughter.

Again, the woman just nodded, fanning her fingers out as she turned her palms up before her in a beseeching manner. She knew her reasons, she knew this was the only decision left to her. But the losses would be many, the price would be high.

My Path is finally leading me away from you, My Mother. I... please, I .. I know you cannot leave. But I also know that I cannot stay.

The gentle brush of laughter, like a caress over her mind, soothed the woman as it always did. It was then she knew her decision was the right one. Acceptance of what lay in store had been the most difficult test thus far, and it had taken many attempts, and many failures, for the woman to pass it, but pass it she had. The finality was chilling, leaving her slender form shaking in the dimly lit night. And as the vision began to fade, she bowed her head.

Remember to not watch the Path you walk, My Daughter. Those who keep their heads down, walk into low-lying branches.

She laughed then, a soft sound lost in the roar of the Falls. But she also lifted her head, brushing damp strands from her face as she rose from the ground. Always a gem of wisdom.. she would miss that. Turning from the Falls, she let her eyes rest on the alter. It felt like another lifetime when she had stood there with Ethan, their friends gathered around to celebrate with them. Walking over to the marble table, she idly flipped through the book placed there, calling to mind Friar Tuck, horns and all, intoning vows she thought could bind a wandering heart to a simple life. Another mistake, another failure. But one learned from.. she hoped.

Moving around the alter, she caught a glimpse of red in the growing light. Morning was fast approaching, and a few tenacious flowers, remnants of her wedding, poked their heads above the brambles to greet it. Slipping to a knee, she very gently plucked a few of the delicate stems, tucking them into her pack in the hopes of giving them life in a new land. In doing so, her fingers brushed over the cold smoothness of her wedding band. She had almost forgotten.. on purpose? Taking the ring from her pack, she turned it in her fingers as she walked back toward the Falls.

.. never to forsake thee.

How hollow that inscription seemed to her now. She could not lay all the blame on Ethan. He had tried his best, she had just expected too much. She had wanted him to be the man she needed, who could accept the demands Fate would place on her, who would stand by her and be her equal. But he was only human, a failing she had herself. And now... it was time to say good-bye.

A sparkle of gold in the warming sunlight marked her wedding ring’s journey into the spray splashing below the Falls. The dull plunk, as it dropped into the spray, lost in the din of water cascading down. Lost also was the woman’s soft voice, sad but accepting, as she watched the last piece of her past disappear...

Amin mela lle, ten’oio.

She knew it was true. Turning from the Falls, she began walking back the way she came. Though her head was held up, she saw nothing around her. Near the Falls anyone watching might confuse the wetness on her cheeks as the damp in the air. But try as she might, the tears welling in her eyes could not be contained, and accepting the truth allowed her reason enough to let them fall.

The spirit watched as the female approached the falls. He recalled coming to this place only once before, and his tainted vision made the location seem unimpressive. Was the devastation before him an illusion of this twisted realm in which he now resided? He could no longer tell. And though he tried to remember the former beauty of the place, it eluded him. This thought concerned him for a moment. More things were eluding his memory in this hazy place. He felt for certain that he had met this woman before, but any name, any details were lost to him.

Before him, the female had found her way to a spot just at the cliff's edge and now peered over, looking down at the falls. Her eyes closed thoughtfully, and she wore a sad, troubled look on her delicate features. The spirit watched her as she sat down on the damp cliffside, removed her hat and let her hair float on the gentle mists sent upward from the falls below. Then... nothing. She remained utterly motionless. She would have seemed a statue if not for the wisps of hair that were carried effortlessly on the wind.

The strange thing about this state that he found himself in was that time had ceased to matter on any appreciable level. Certainly he still sensed its passing, but the gaps in between his observations seemed inconsequential. And so he found himself surprised to be so acutely aware of each moment while he observed this woman before him. With every passing moment, his attention was drawn in even more, trying to discern some movement, some sense that this woman was awake and aware. But still, nothing changed... save for those flowing waves of hair.

At some point, he watched the globe that he knew was the sun fade beneath the horizon. But in his state, he was unable to appreciate the majestic colors that it rained down on what remained of the forest. And when the sun had disappeared, he still saw the world in the hazy, shadowed perception that he always held. But even in that shadow, he watched intently.

Yet another eternity passed by, and still he waited for something. Then, some indeterminate time later, he watched as a subtle smile emerged, forming so slowly that the spirit wondered if the woman was learning to move again. Then an equally slow nod of her head caught his eye. He had no comprehension of what transpired, but he watched nonetheless, keeping his pointless vigil over this woman.

Then her eyes opened. For a moment, this displaced spirit wondered if she could see him. But as he drifted before her, her eyes did not follow. She raised her arms, palms reaching outward as if pleading with... something.

She stayed in that pose, at first troubled, and then calmed by whatever presence she communed with. When it was over, the spirit watched as her arms fell to her side and her head bowing, while her delicate form shuddered in the chill of the night.

The spirit looked on, trying to understand what had happened, and why this woman looked so defeated, when her demeanor changed for just a moment. Her head turned up again and he saw the traces of a weary laugh on her lips. She picked herself up off of the ground and turned away from the falls, taking a moment to stare at the altar placed there and turn through the pages of the book.

She walked around the altar, and knelt down to gather some flowers hidden in a patch of briars. The placed them delicately in her pack, and then walked over to the falls one last time. The spirit saw her holding something, but he could not identify it at first. He watched as she neared the cliff, and then stood thoughtful. Then, with a sigh of resolve, she raised her arm and tossed the object — a piece of jewelry perhaps? — over the edge and falling into the roaring falls below.

The spirit watched the object's descent until it vanished in the foam and haze below. Turning back toward the woman, he saw her lips whisper something, but the words were foreign to him. Then, she turned around and began walking away. It was then, in that instant, that some level of recognition came to him.

"Joylah?"

She vanished into the woods, but the spirit did not follow. He had spied on her long enough. Instead, he remained at the falls, staring down into the mists, wondering what had been thrown.

The spectral form glided towards the door, seeking the source of the sound. He hoped to find someone waiting there... something to distract him from the long periods of emptiness, or the phantasms that had begun to appear to him. Instead, he saw only the briefest blur of motion, and then the doorway to the Arrow was empty.

He stared at the door as it swayed with a gust of wind, as if deciding whether to remain open or closed. The moments turned into infinite pauses again, and this spirit that was once Khalin felt more of his life, more of his past, slowly slip from his tenuous grip. Tir had helped him remember some pieces long ago... or was that the other night? Whenever it was, it was fading quickly again.

The ghost passed effortlessly through the doors of the Silver Arrow, and made his way north and east around the bay towards that place of evil. Something in his mind seemed to whisper that it had not always been this way -- but what it might have been was lost from memory. He did not particularly care for what stood there now, but neither did it disturb him as much as it once did. But that place of power etched from stone was not his destination, only a landmark.

From there he went north, momentarily forgetting why he had passed this way. But as he approached the soothing roar, he remembered the falls and a night almost forgotten. He remained at the cliffside for a few moments -- or perhaps it was days -- remembering what he had witnessed here. Then, without hesitation, his ghostly form threw itself into the thunderous, crashing might of the falls. To him, it felt little more than a breath against skin.

The spirit settled down on the rocks beneath the falls; submerged, yet untouched. His awareness increased, and he felt time nearly stop for him as every minute detail came into focus yet again. And he searched. For how long, he did not know. For how long, he did not care. As far as he was concerned, he had all the time in this world or the next to search for the trinket that had made the journey into the falls oh so long ago...

Or was it merely days?

Khalin's ethereal form wandered through the doors of the Arrow and began to search for familiar faces. But all he found were orcs and trolls and things that would rather him stay dead. And so he continued to drift, thinking on those things that he could still remember. He remembered that trinket in the falls. A ring. He had read the inscription countless times, until he could no longer remember why he had come there in the first place. "In my heart I hold thee, never to forsake thee" were the words. He found it odd that someone -- who was it? -- had discarded such an ornament.

How he hated this forgetfulness. Someone had taught him a way to remember recently... A faerie, was it? But he could not remember what it was now. Things were fading much quicker now, and he wondered what would happen if he lost everything.

Losing everything... the thought terrified him. Suddenly his mind raced. What is my name? Thoughts darted back and forth searching for some clue. Then, after a moment, his mind settled. He still remembered who he was. He still knew his name. And he took reassurance in that, repeating it over and over again.

But the words "Khalin Wael" were not in his thoughts.