TRA: A God's Sorrow

Chapter 12: The Reaper

Jaxale

Jaxale sat in silence as the others talked. He had listened to what Imp said and found himself confused on more then one occasion.

Jaxale glanced around the room, looking at each person until his eyes landed on Imp. Imp had finished reading the journal out loud and was peering intently at one of the pages, his lips moving with, what jaxale could only guess was the words Talengar had written so long ago. With a small sigh, having came to the conclusion they all assumed he would just know what they spoke of, Jaxale stood up and left the room.

He wondered the strange tower for a while, lost in thought and pondering the information he had been given. He wasn't the brightest out of his companions but he wasn't stupid either. He had listen with great care and gradually started to piece things over in his mind.

Jaxale hadn't been in this world for long, only been present for a few months at most, but during his time here he had learned a lot about those who claimed to be the heros. Grodak was a foolish king who sought-after peace in the world yet he wouldn't interfere with others as long as they didn't involve him or his kingdom. Imp was smart, a methodical genius who had learned most of the world's secrets but never spoke of them.

From what Jaxale had gathered, Adrian was just a foolish human, but a brave one who fought for his beliefs and those he cared about. Tyril was more of an ancient king, one who took great care in his actions. Cassandra, the very thought of her chilled Jaxale to his core and he pushed it away.

There was one enigma out of the group, however and that was Grall. Jaxale had first assumed he was nothing more then a pompous God who looked down on others, that was until he found out that he was once mortal. To further Jaxales confusion, he had heard that Grall seeks out death on the daily basis, wanting nothing more then to be with.... his wife? Mother?.... A woman. He wants to die to be with a woman.

Jaxale had heard so many tales of each of them and their heroic acts, but the only person who's stories never stayed straight was Gralls. He knew Grall is Grodaks brother, Grall being the younger of the two, and that he was for sure a God. Beyond that, he could only surmise that he lost a loved one, was banished for some reason, cursed by the Gods, and has tried to die more times then there are grains of sand in the desert.

Comparing all of that to what Imp had said, it wouldn't be surprising, at least to Jaxale, if Grall turned out to be this Reaper Imp spoke of. "Then again," Jaxale said stopping at a window, staring down at the ground, "I do not know who this Marek is."

Grall

Grall walked out of the cave, having just returned to the present, thinking about what Talengar had told him. He had been adopted by Talengar, he and his brother, and the grief of losing his wife, or maybe it was the grief of killing his brother for even Talengar was not sure which was which, drove him to madness. This madness caused him to be killed either by his brother or children, possibly nieces and nephews.

Grall had tried to understand the conversation to the best of his knowledge but found himself lacking. It was like a riddle that had multiple answers, none of them being the right answer. If he had been the one to go mad after losing his wife, then why is it he has yet to lose his mind? Even the Source had said he would go into madness and seek out death at the loss of his wife in previous lives.

What made this life so much different? Was it the Shadow World? The banishment that was inflicted upon him that led to him meeting his wife?

Grall sighed, he could not discern any answers from these questions right now, but he made a mental note to come back to them. As he did so, he noticed he had walked into a peculiar area. Fog surrounded him, thick enough that even with true sight, he was rendered blind.