"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
There the word was again - a harsh word that made him feel like the weak young spirit he had been when Ra had first summoned him. Ra hadn't known, of course, the full extent of what he was, but the word had served as enough. "What are your demons like?" he finally asked. It took of his effort not to look away as he spoke.
"Cold, infernal, cruel, savage, but mostly dark. Still, those monsters are nothing compared to mankind."s
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
"Different, all of them. Fire demons, ice demons, imps, devils, Arcdemons, hell, even fallen angels."
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
He wasn't sure if he should feel more relieved or disappointed by her answer. Her demons were nothing like his. While he had read of Elementals and had seen his first summoners summon imps as well, the other words she used were only from human stories on Earth. His shoulders slumped. He wished he could meet another one of his kind; then he could know if he had been doing the right thing. But, at the very least, the demons she seemed to hate didn't include him.
"Why, were you looking for another kind?" His slumped shoulders didn't pass that hawk-like gaze.
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
He took a shaky deep breath that he didn't need. "...I know of demons, too," he quietly admitted. That wasn't a lie - it just wasn't the complete truth. "They're just not like that."
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
He turned his back to her. Something about his response had clued her into the reason for his inquiry, and he was certain that it had been the expression on his face. "We should try figuring out how we both ended up here." He slipped his hands into his pockets. "Or, at least, if there's anyone near here that can give us an explanation. Maybe Shyriik can survey the area to see if there's any sign of civilization near here."
She glances over at the bird, who takes off. "She won't find anything. Not anything with people in it, anyways."
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
He walked over to one of the nearby pillars and stared at the writing inscribed into it. Or, rather, past the writing. The words registered, but his mind was elsewhere. Talking with her would never get him anywhere. Even thought he desperately wanted to open up to someone, he never could. His life had never allowed for it. He needed to be the way he was with the people he encountered on the other worlds. Polite and kind, but only giving information about himself if he absolutely needed to. He had to stop asking questions he already knew the answers to. He was the only one of his kind to wander this universe. It was foolish to think otherwise.
She's silent, running a finger over the ancient runes.
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
He took a deep breath. He needed to focus on these strange ruins; then he could find a way back to his ship. It would only be a matter of time before he could continue his quest for vengeance.
Despite having encountered many languages over the duration of his very long life, this shared few similarities with any of them. It was interesting to note this and the lack of language barrier between him and his current companion. Then again, he could easily communicate with the majority of the races he encountered in his travels. It was just one of the unsolvable mysteries about the universe.
"I'm guessing you're not good at translating this language," he said. He continued to study the runes. Maybe a connection to another language would show itself if he kept searching for one.
She shakes her head. "No, I can barely speak Common and Elven."
"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
