Edmund entered the park, eyeing the swing set and slide. They weren't amusements that he was used to seeing from where he came from, but their function seemed simple enough. Innocent enjoyment of physical motion. He sat down on a nearby bench to think, allowing a bit of fire to dance across his fingertips. "I wonder where Sandman is? I didn't see him this morning." 'That child is unimportant.' "I don't think you understand the value of life, Dolor." 'Neither do you, Evoker.'

Today was a breezy day, and the best thing to do on a breezy day of course was to fly a kite! Freshly awake after sleeping for most of the day, Kimen entered the park with a bright yellow one tucked under her arm, its orange tail dragging across the ground. Hopefully she wouldn't have too much trouble flying it with one arm as the cast on her right arm was already proving to be more difficult to deal with than she imagined. And in this heat it itched!

'There is the child.' Edmund looked up to notice the kid walk in, the fire in his hand disappearing. The noble stood up and walked next Kimen, looking at the sky and feeling the breeze in his hair. "I've always found that weather like this made practicing magic difficult." He spoke calmly, not directly focused on the child, but more of starting a pleasant conversation.

Kimen had taken a seat on the grass and was busy double checking the edges of his kite and making sure everything was tied correctly when the man wandered over. "Good day for a kite though, right?" The child looked up at the man with a wide smile.

Edmund shrugged. "I never flew kites as a child," he responded, less of asking for sympathy and more of just continuing a conversation. "When I was your age I don't think I was allowed to go out much. I was mostly raised by my mother, who was ashamed to have me. But, you learn to make the best of it, don't you?"

Kimen's smile faded as she listened to the man's story. Meeting all these adults who didn't seem to have happy lives as children themselves seemed rather sad to her. Much of Kimen's life so far had been happy. "I'm sorry to hear that, mister." The child said, offering the string attached to the kite to the man, "Do you want to fly one now?"

Edmund shook his head. "No, no, child, you have your fun. I have other ways to bide my time." Edmund waved his fingers and the breeze quickly picked up just enough to help the kite get off the ground, should Kimen wish to fly it. "I tend to have fun practicing practical things, like evocation or swordplay. Though, I'm not quite sure how useful that will be here. I've only come to Truce recently."

The kite got caught in the breeze, pulling itself from Kimen's arms and into the air. "Oh!" The child was taken by surprise and nearly lost their grip on the string. There was a brief moment of panic as Kimen tried to regain control of the kite. "A lot of people around her know how to fight and use magic since there seem to be dangerous things roaming around outside the city sometimes. I usually just sneak past them." Kimen said once the kite was under control again and drifting lazily in the air, "But I asked Mr. Kent if he could teach me swordplay... just in case. He isn't much of a fan of magic though."

Edmund was caught by surprise with the mention of Kent again. It would appear he was quite famous around this town. The child was the third person to mention him to him. He tried not to show his shock, and instead continued the conversation casually. "I could teach you a bit of magic or swordplay if you'd like. Though, my style usually involves a bit less strength and a bit more finesse. Oh, but I'm getting ahead of myself. My name is Edmund of Gloucester."

Both swordplay AND magic? Kimen's expression brightened considerably at the mention of this as this meant she could get the swordplay lessons Doran wanted her to have as well as continue her magic studies. "My name is Kimen!" She looked down at her hands, one wrapped up in a purple cast while the other was holding tightly to the stick with the string wrapped around it. She decided to offer the casted one to him, "Nice to meet you Mr. Gloucester!"

Edmund chuckled. He lightly shook Kimen's hand making sure not to use any strong motions that would hurt the child's arm. "No need for such formalities. If you so wish to be formal, simply 'Gloucester' is fine. It's less of a name and more of a title." Edmund laughed a bit. "Not that titles will do me much here." He looked at the sky, making sure the kite wouldn't fly off on its own, away from them too far. That would leave their meeting on a sour note.


It was true, titles from home didn't mean anything at all here which is why Kimen never mentioned his. It would be a moot point. Anyone who was trying to throw around their title in order to command respect was either didn't realize they were not in their world anymore or under some delusion that it held any weight or significance. "So what kind of magic are you familiar with?"

"Evocation, mostly. I can summon the elements to my will, make fire dance or waves crash. I'm not really specialized in any one specific form, but if I had to choose one, that would be it." Edmund sat down, and drew his sword carefully, pointing it away from the child. "When it's needed I'm also a fairly good enchanter." The neglected sword began to give off a red glow and a faint humm, before Edmund ceased his magic and it fell silent again.

Kimen watched the man pull the sword out from its sheath, and she couldn't help but stare at it trying to determine why it looked so familiar to her. "Do you know anything about teleportation spells?" Kimen asked, raising an eyebrow. There was a possibility the man could at least look over the spell she was working on last night and maybe give her some advice, "I have been trying to set one up in my house so I can locate Mr. Kent but---aah!" It suddenly hit the child where she had seen the sword before. She had seen one similar plenty of times now being used by the former knight! "I just realized! You have a sword like Mr. Kent!"

Edmund shot a glance to Kimen. "Wait, what Mr. Kent. He wouldn't happen to have been Sir Kent of the Legio Aurea would he? My father was the Centurio." He chuckled only slightly. "Well, that's just a fancier term they use for their leader there. But... This Kent... he wouldn't happen to have been a knight would he have?" He sighed. "If so, I understand what you mean by him not being a fan of magic. I think I know him."

It had been a while since Kimen had heard Kent use a full title, so long in fact that he wasn't sure if that is what it was. It seemed familiar though if just vaguely. "I do remember him asking not to be called 'Sir'" Kimen admitted, unraveling a bit more string so the kite could go higher into the air, "But yeah, I think he used to be a knight where he came from! Were you two friends?"

Edmund "We knew each other," Edmund replied. "My father said that he was one of their best knights, if not a bit ambitious." Kent sheathed his sword and observed the kite flying higher. "Last time I saw him he was in a bad mood, having been exiled for doing without permission. The next few weeks I was there when my father and brother had the same happen to them, and so their power was left on me. I suppose I didn't give it as much thought as I should have."

"Well, even if you weren't his friend back home as much, maybe you can be so now! I bet Mr. Kent could use more friends. And someone from his home that understands where his coming from would probably be a bit comforting, you know?" Kimen carefully took a seat in the grass and stared up smiling at the kite.

Edmund laughed a bit at the irony. "I suppose. Though, I'd have to leave out a few details." He held a bit of fire in his hands almost as a demonstration of why it might be a bad idea. "I never really understood much of where he was coming from myself, either. Purging heretics and slaying magic users. It seemed a bit... extreme. I personally think that we all could learn from each other rather than making war."

"Magic is just like any tool. It can be used for both good and evil means, and I really want to prove that to Mr. Kent!" Kimen’s voice seemed a little sad as she pulled on the string, causing the kite to make a small dip in the air. "Maybe he has only seen the evils it can do."

"It wasn't so open where I came from, but there were schools for it so people who went into areas with a high concentration of natural magic could understand it and be prepared to deal with it. I got lucky I guess and ended up in one of those schools for a while." Kimen explained, reeling in some of the string and leaning back to stare up at the sky, "Its amazing how much of a common occurrence it is here. The whole world like this? It surprised even me. Still, I haven't been able to study it as much lately as I have wanted to." Kimen grew silent for a long moment, mulling over the man's words. When it cam to the subject of good an evil the child still felt somewhat conflicted. There were beings that were in fact, purely good and purely evil and he had to believe that both had a right to exist in his world in order to maintain balance. Some actions were good and done without any gain, and some actions were evil no matter how much you looked at it. But then... "Depending on the situa situation I guess even good is in the eye of the beholder. I still think there is extremes of both. What I think you are talking about though... what do they call it? Grey areas?"

Edmund chuckled. "I suppose. You're very wise for a child your age. Has anybody told you that?" Edmund stood up and brushed some of the dirt off of his clothing. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Kimen. I look forward to seeing you again. Perhaps then, you could show me some of the magic you know. If you can do so with your arm in its... condition." He shook his head at himself. That probably could have been worded better. "Regardless, I hope one day you can introduce me to Kent again. I think we have some catching up to do.'