⚔️

› DEATH, BUT NOT FOR YOU.

[gryffn]

GRYFFN, an independent witcher oc, lazare of kovir, of the witcher world. mixed game and book influence, draws inspiration from various fantasy sources. mutuals only.

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carrd. prompts.

[dr5amatic]

IN THE ASHES ,

a sentence starter prompts list comprised of quotes from the novel an ember in the ashes by sabaa tahir. please be advised that this list may involve topics including, but not limited to, murder, death, and violence. change verbiage as needed.

why do keep disappearing when i need you?

i wasn't spying.

what you saw is dangerous. you can't tell anyone about it. not ever.

keep your secrets close, love.

i'm not working for them.

don't be afraid [name], i won't let anything happen to you.

what are you doing down here?

much as i hate to admit it, you're not usually wrong.

the field of battle is my temple.

the dance of death is my prayer.

the killing blow is my release.

aren't you a pretty one.

who trained you?

keep it safe for me just until i come back.

unless you're stupider than you look, even you can see how this appears.

you worked hard. you did everything right.

go, [name]. go get some air. i'll handle this.

the ghosts of our misdeeds seek vengeance, but the cost will be high.

you are an ember in the ashes, [name]. you will spark and burn, ravage and destroy. you cannot change it. you cannot stop it.

we don't abandon our own!

who do you want me to spy on?

shadows will bloom in your heart and you will become everything you hate.

so my choices are either to stay and be evil or run and be evil. wonderful.

they always underestimate me.

this isn't a mission for the fainthearted.

go away. you're not real.

you're distracted when you can ill afford to be.

if you want to win this, you need to wake up.

i've already wasted too much time cleaning up your messes.

lay low. don't risk spying until you're certain you won't get caught.

fail me again, and we're done.

these are my friends, my family. people i know. i wouldn't hurt them.

how do i make it stop? i have to make it stop.

until you conquer your fear, the dead will remain with you.

i won't kill you. i swear it. by blood and bone, i swear it.

you're going to be fine. i'm going to fix you right up.

fight, [name]. you have to fight. you have to win.

death before tyranny.

if what you say is true, then the balance is upset, and we must restore it.

you look terrible. come into the shade.

you really should run. you’re just going to die.

wait, you idiot! it might be a trap!

i won’t let you fall, i promise.

i want you to know that i think what you’re doing is brave. really brave.

it’s not a stupid idea, just dangerous. i don’t want you getting hurt.

you’re trying to sneak out.

i wouldn’t have traded this for anything.

i live with my sins everyday. i live with the guilt.

i’ve never asked you for anything. i’m asking you now.

you think i can’t defend myself? you think i need bodyguards?

i’ve been distracted worrying about you.

i’ll kill him for this.

don’t talk. just keep quiet and… let me think.

you’re in love with me! but i'm not in love with you, and you hate me for it. you’ve let that ruin our friendship.

i could never be in love with you.

you have no idea what I’ve given up for you, the deal i made. 

who did this?

look at you–look what they’ve done to you.

you don’t have to be brave.

do you have what i want?

i have something, but i need more time.

if you have nothing, then this mission is a failure.

don’t have time for that. I’ve got other things on my mind.

if i wanted to hurt you, i’d already have done it.

as long as there is life, there is hope.

either way, you’d have blamed yourself.

either way, people you cared about would have suffered.

i should have stayed, even if it meant dying.

they won’t let you have compassion or kindness. they won’t let you have a soul.

my soul’s gone. I killed it dead on that battlefield.

there are two kinds of guilt. the kind that’s a burden and the kind that gives you purpose. 

you have a soul. it’s damaged, but it’s there. don’t let them take it from you.

you don’t need to be so cat-footed. i’m not armed.

you’re surprised? you’re naïve, is what you are. you’re a fool.

you’re sick. don’t you have any regret? any remorse?

i’ll celebrate them. i’ll mourn them. but i won’t regret what i did. i did it for the empire. i did it for my people.

don’t make vows when you can’t know their cost.

i crossed a line, and i won’t cross it again.

do you know what i do to spies?

be strong. if you don’t win this, everything is lost.

i will be your blood shrike, your second-in-command, the sword that executes at your will, until death. i swear it.

in the night, your loneliness crushes you, as if the sky itself has swooped down to smother you in its cold arms.

there is nothing of me that is worth anything.

tell me, or i slit your throat here and now.

you’ll pay for this. i swear it to the skies, to the stars. you’ll pay.

just because he’s a good leader doesn’t mean he’s a good person. he lied to you.

for the first time since i can remember, i don’t feel alone. because of you.

i can’t–i can’t stop thinking about you. i’ve tried not to. i tried to push you out.

i’ll take care of everything. i promise.

the moment i knew you existed, i hated you.

if i feel regret, it’s that i wasn’t willing to die sooner.

i’d rather die than live with no mercy, no honor, no soul.

fear is only your enemy if you allow it to be.

too much fear an you’re paralyzed. too little fear and you’re arrogant.

i’ll watch your back if you watch mine. we can make it if we stick together.

[gryffn]

reminder that your wandering witcher is queer 😌 homoromantic + homoflexible!! his First legitimate fallen hard for em crush was a merchant in the town closest to kaer seren. and his dad could tell he was SMITTEN.

[gryffn]

are you lazare's type?

three bingos...... four if you count the free space. wrow.

[gryffn]

from ren as a aen seidhe witcher. ❤️ or just an aen seidhe.

are you lazare's type?

bingo sweep.....

[gryffn]

LETS FUCKING GOOOOO NEW WITCHER STUFF IN 2027!!!!!!

[gryffn]

still been riding the high of this all day btw i’m so excited to hear more about it!!

[greelin]

[EXTREMELY HAUNTED & HOLLOW-EYED LOOK] yeah man i’m doing. Really good

[spellheld]

dradeel frowns with a downcast gaze, staring at lazare's side as though willing his eyes to see through the fabric to inspect the bandage and the wound beneath. it's no use, of course. all of his farsight looks only into the treacherous future, not something as solid as a present companion.

his fist tightens on the rein. if lazare wants to focus on settling his stomach before his wounds, they would just have to make sure to get the witcher to an inn as soon as possible. "let's go then. that looks like an inn, no?"

urging his horse forward onto the village road, dradeel pulls up his hood to cover his ears and face. the scarification on his face, drawn by a witch in the forest that many years ago to temper the ferocity of his visions, crawling across his forehead and down his cheeks, is light enough that it is nearly invisible under dim light, but his elven ears are harder to miss. he doesn't anticipate hostility, but neither does he wish to provoke it if anyone happens to hold unfavorable opinion of his kind. traveling with a witcher already comes with its share of difficulty, dradeel learns, and feels an anxiety grow in the pit of his stomach. they can't afford to be refused service now, with lazare's condition.

"i will go see if they have a room." he fidgets by lazare's horse, eyeing for any sign that lazare might need assistance dismounting.

[gryffn]

as the village—a town for its size, truly—looms closer, lazare steals a furtive and brief glance towards dradeel. though his hood is up it is only a makeshift measure, for the griffin's own elven ears and witcher's nature visit upon them attention and scorn all the same. the promise or possibility of it is perhaps softened by the mage's effort, all the same.

lazare guides zephyr to a slow stop beside dradeel's mount. the inn is adorned with crawling swaths of ivy and the multi-colored windows are lit with an invitingly warm glow of lantern light. though muffled by the walls and windows, the din of lively conversation abounds within. for another small moment, the witcher casts his assessment across the inn's well-maintained face before he looks to dradeel, the mage's face shadowed by his deep hood. he can feel the way the bandage dradeel had dressed him with clings wetly to his skin, tacky with fresh blood. he can smell it.

he doesn't dismount from zephyr, who seems to stare at dradeel herself in turn. he will wait until dradeel is inside for that. "preferably one with a bath," lazare requests, "but i can make do without."

[gryffn]

@melniibone: ❛ where hides evil, then, in my kingdom? ❜

beyond the castle walls the misty light of dawn has faded into a cheerless gray. through the night the witcher had scoured the land under the cover of dark, covering on foot what he could not upon his mount. elric had set him on his way, but it had been lazare's own efforts that had drawn him to what he had sought—an abandoned church crumbled to partial ruin, consumed by brambles and withered underbrush. the dark, yawning mouth of a cellar flanked by overturned pews stood in invitation, and within its depths, the stench of rot and blood abound.

lazare had ventured below. he had seen what he needed to see, and collected proof of his effort. it sits shrouded in a sack set upon a table not far beyond, though its shape speaks clearly enough for itself—a small skull, small enough to be a child's.

"ask you to know truly, or have you an idea already?" the witcher asks, though he feels he knows the answer already.

[gryffn]

THERE WILL ALWAYS BE DARKNESS [...] EVIL WILL ALWAYS BE WAITING IN THE DARKNESS, WITH ITS CLAWS, FANGS, AND BLOOD. AND... / an independent original character set within the world of the witcher. written by r.

[sentinelprompts]

━━ ⟢ SENTENCE STARTERS : EXCALIBUR ( 1981 ). all of these were pulled from the final draft of the script as it is available online. perfect but not limited to fantasy / historical muses and verses ! feel free to edit as needed.

❛ i spit on your truce, [name]. ❜

❛ [name], what is this wagging of tongues? ❜

❛ you will be mine. wife and queen, bed and crown. ❜

❛ i want no other crown and no other bed than those i have. ❜

❛ sometimes i give, sometimes i take. it is mine to know which, and when. ❜

❛ i know the storm inside you, and what it has wrought. ❜

❛ you will swear by your true kingship to grant me what i wish. ❜

❛ this is magic - making solid what is in the mind, and unsolid, that which is already solid. ❜

❛ it is done. the future has found root in the present. ❜

❛ but what shall become of me, and the child i bear? ❜

❛ three horses died under me, so hard did i spur them here. ❜

❛ the child is mine, [name]. i have come for [him/her/them]. ❜

❛ it’s not for you, [name], heath and home, wife and child. ❜

❛ to kill and be king, is that all? ❜

❛ you strike me with words as hard as steel. ❜

❛ [name]... i loved you, mighty child. ❜

❛ it is a dark hour… everywhere lawlessness and destruction, and no one to lead us out of it. ❜

❛ you wrong me, for i have never stolen from others, or destroyed the fruit of the land. ❜

❛ a good squire doesn’t forget his knight’s sword. ❜

❛ i was your son before i became your king…if i am king. ❜

❛ [name], we haven’t forgotten you. this is more of your trickery. ❜

❛ ‘help me, help me’. help me get up. ❜

❛ i was hoping i could ask you for a little magic help, but if it makes you so tired… ❜

❛ it will be a good lesson. the best, if it’s not the last. ❜

❛ let’s finish this with a show of force. we have no more tricks and no more advantages. ❜

❛ you are in my hands, to slay or to spare. ❜

❛ swear faith to me and you shall have mercy. ❜

❛ you, [name], will knight me. ❜

❛ well, then, i shall tell you which knights have maiden daughters, so you can avoid their castles. ❜

❛ quiet, or i’ll sew up your mouth too. ❜

❛ i love her. if she would be my queen, my dreams would be answered. ❜   

❛ there are maidens as fair, and fairer than [name]. ❜

❛ you’re not listening. your heart is not. love is deaf as well as blind. ❜

❛ i should have left you to fend for yourself. ❜

❛ that is a wild boast. you lack a knight’s humility. ❜

❛ never have i met my match in joust or duel. ❜

❛ yield. i have the advantage. ❜

❛ fight me from your horse or on foot, but fight me. your avoidance mocks me. ❜

❛ i sought only not to harm you. ❜

❛ thanks to god, you are alive. ❜

❛ i love you, my king. ❜  

❛ it is i who must love you, for through your courage and patience you taught me a bitter lesson. ❜

❛ make me your champion, and i will always fight in your place. ❜

❛ i would pledge to you all that i still own : muscle, bone, blood and the heart that pumps it. ❜

❛ the war is over. one land, one king. peace. ❜

❛ i swear never to rest twice on the same pillow till all men live at peace. ❜

❛ i hear the stifled cry for help, i smell the reek of fear… ❜

❛ for your gift, ask a gift of me. ❜

❛ don’t start a war on my wedding day! ❜

❛ look, [name]. the maids and ladies whisper about you. they all dream of winning you, young and old, fair and ugly. ❜

❛ you're the bravest and strongest knight they’ve ever seen, and beauty has kissed your brow. ❜  

❛ and is there no maiden in the whole world who inspires you? ❜

❛ i would swear my love to you. ❜   

❛ i will see you in all women, and i will defend them as i would defend you. ❜ 

❛ [name], don’t you join the celebration? ❜

❛ you’re an angel! not a devil… ❜

❛ who will give me my sword? ❜

❛ i want to write poems about you with moonbeams, make the sea sing your name… ❜

❛ what good are songs and poems to me? they are the barter of ordinary love. ❜

❛ tell me, [name] : have we defeated evil, as it seems? ❜

❛ where hides evil, then, in my kingdom? ❜

❛ i will champion you, my lady. ❜

❛ when i act as your king, i cannot be your husband. ❜

❛ the laws, my laws, must bind everyone, or they are not laws at all. ❜

❛ [name], i fight against myself… ❜

❛ i demand justice, as is my right. ❜

❛ i yield to your mercy, [name]. ❜

❛ flesh on flesh. i will heal you. ❜

❛ they miss the battlefield. i think we do too. ❜

❛ you will be sorely missed. heal yourself and come back. ❜

❛ you think yourself a kingmaker. ha! a meddler, more likely. ❜

❛ the gods of once are gone forever, it is time for men. ❜

❛ [name], make a man out of me. kiss me. ❜

❛ do you think i am ignorant of your stupid little games? preying on the weakness of others. that’s your power, a petty evil. ❜

❛ i will ride forth in the name of that quest, and commit my strength and my soul to it. ❜

❛ [name], a dreadful fear is upon me, that we may never meet again, that the fellowship will be no more… ❜

❛ [name], i know your heart yearns to go, but i am prisoner to my duties, and you must be to yours, at my side. ❜

❛ [name], forgive me. i die without the secret. i have failed. ❜

❛ where are you going, [name], in your iron tomb? still trying to save the world? ❜

❛ i have come to claim what is mine. ❜

❛ i recognize you only as my son, no more. ❜

❛ i cannot offer you the land, only my love. ❜

❛ we will embrace only in battle, and i will touch you only with the blade of my spear. ❜ 

❛ i will muster a great force of knights, and i will return to fight for what is mine. ❜

❛ i have waited long for you. ❜

❛ i am wasting away and i cannot die. and i cannot live. ❜

❛ i didn’t know how empty was my soul until it was filled. ❜

❛ [name], accept my forgiveness, and put your heart to rest. we have suffered too long. ❜

❛ i have always loved you, and i still love you. ❜

❛ i loved you much, as king, and sometimes as husband, but one cannot gaze too long at the sun in the sky. ❜

❛ i was not born to live a man’s life, but to be the stuff of future memory. ❜

❛ now once more i must ride with my knights to defend what was, and the dream of what could be. ❜

❛ i never dared to hope all these years that it was in your keeping. ❜

❛ i have often thought that in the hereafter of our lives, when i owe no more to the future and can be just a man, that we may meet, and you will come to me and claim me as yours, and know that i am your husband. it is a dream i have… ❜

❛ [name], i need you at my side as you were once, my friend, to give me courage. ❜

❛ quiet. you’ll wake the men, and they must fight tomorrow for their lives. ❜

❛ you brought me back. your love brought me back. ❜

❛ what’s behind that beauty? a wizened, cold-hearted snake. ❜

❛ you are mine at last. i am the sea and you will never escape me. ❜

❛ in this battle there is one thing i must do, that no one else can. ❜

❛ [name], i will save you…don’t die. ❜

❛ let my heart do its job, [name], and pump me empty… ❜

❛ the fog is lifting. only we remain alive. ❜

❛ [name], prepare to meet your death. ❜

❛ obey me, [name]. you must act for me. it is my last order as your king. ❜

❛ [name]! will you return? ❜

[stay-close]

..and still they will not have understood you and never will understand you.

— Franz Kafka

[spellheld]

dradeel smiles. it's becoming a more frequent occurrence now he feels safe to do so when lazare ventures to speak more than a few words in conversation. he's coming to learn that while the witcher is stoic and blunt, he is rarely if ever cruel or unkind. dradeel secretly makes it a personal mission to fish more information about lazare out of him. the taste for stewed apples and roast chicken goes on the pool of knowledge he keeps to himself about the man. those are not terribly difficult ingredients to come by, dradeel thinks to himself, and considers ways he might be able to cook such a meal on the road.

"chicken it is then." he concurs, not particularly loudly but with a lightness in his tone. "so... how does it work when you were in training? did you have cooks that prepared meals for everyone, or did you take turns..."

he makes small talks for the rest of the journey, trying to pull as much as he could out of lazare without annoying the man terrible. when there is a lull in conversation, he takes stock of their surroundings and occasionally hums to himself folk songs he learned from his days at sea. it's almost nightfall when they reach a main road. "i see lights!" dradeel sits up on his horseback and points to the village down the hill. smoke rising out of chimneys from households preparing suppers for the day. "how are you? are the wounds bothering you?"

[gryffn]

dradeel's small talk is akin to a quiet droning of white noise. lazare responds when appropriate—he shares of kaer seren's food preparation, parcels morsels of musings and knowledge out like they are alms—but retains little of what is said. zephyr leads the mage and his mount with slim need for guidance from her rider, influenced only by the occasional soft tap of a rein or the quiet vocalization of a cluck.

the dull, radiating hurting from his side overshadows whatever interest he may attempt to feign towards conversation. though pain is an inescapable part of the life of a witcher, irritation and weariness that it is there at all runs deep.

it is only at the looming potential of the possibility of agreeable shelter that lazare stirs from the inattentiveness he has slid headlong into. he scans the near distance, estimating the size and activity of the village below. smoke rises from chimneys while carts and villagers and workers hauling goods bustle through the streets. the village is of middling size but seems active and prosperous from a distance.

"no," lazare lies as urges zephyr onward down the road. "let us focus on finding food and a room, not my wounds."

[deathandsensuality-archive-deac]

maybe if i was covered in blood i would calm down.

[lary5trong]

With Lazare's requests made,   the boy mumbles a soft,   ‘at once,   ser’,   before dipping with a practiced bow and quickly vanishing from the room.   The outside air of the hallway only beginning to creep in before the door was shut again,   Larys steps towards the glowing hearth at the end of the room,   not that the chill perturbs him,   instead finding his nerves gathering uneasily while he stands still in place.   The prey instinct within him was nipping hard at his ankles this night,   cannot stay in one spot too long unless one wants to be caught between the jaws of a predator.   Whether the feelings were inspired by the witcher's intense stare or for the killer outside,   Larys preferred to blame the latter.

“You've faced many creatures,”   he speaks with a question in his voice,   “do you ever lose them?   Do you give chase if they flee?”   He turns his back to Lazare then,   thumb rubbing his opposing knuckles,   the heat of the pad of his thumb comforting the tight ache in his joints.   It seems he had been gripping his cane too hard and holding himself so stiffly for long.   Being in a place of weakness was not where Larys liked to be,   at the mercy of those more powerful than he,   not being equipped to defend himself or his House was a frustrating reminder of his birth.   “Do you always kill your mark?”   He asked,   curiosity getting to him as he focused on what he could control.   Witchers got to see more of the world that Larys ever could,   even being a man of high status and with vast wealth,   and he wanted to see the world through the eyes of those better travelled.

“Tell me.   Is there peace for some of them?   Besides death?”

[gryffn]

lazare does not watch the boy as he departs, but he hears every footstep in the high pile carpet and marks the fading scent of fear that follows him all the same. is the fear because of him, or because of the unknown danger that lurks beyond the walls? perhaps to a servant boy, witchers and beasts are one in the same. perhaps they are to larys, too.

the witcher tracks larys as he moves towards the hearth and then turns back towards him, uneasy in his movement and bearing. his posture is stiff, the twitch of his fingers betraying his anxiety further. for house strong, this is a blight, a hardship, each loss a black as fear and uncertainty drifts through the halls. for lazare, this is but yet another contract and an opportunity for respite for however long it can be had, until the arrival of night once again. the stakes differ.

lazare he crosses over to a low, waist-height bookshelf and leans casually back against it, arms crossed over his chest loosely. he wonders if larys's questions are just the small talk efforts of a nervous man or genuine curiosity, but figures it matters little. let the noble chatter. "i have, and i do," he answers simply as he regards larys with a subtle tilt of his head, "but i do not always kill my mark. there are times staying my blade is the best course of action. i cannot speak to their peace."

[gryffn]

CHARACTER STUDY CHART.

SPEECH

NUMBER OF SPOKEN LANGUAGES. 1 / 2 / 3 +

TONE OF VOICE. high / average / deep

ACCENT. yes / no

DEMEANOR. confident / shy / approachable / hostile / other

POSTURE. slumped / straight / stiff / relaxed

HABITS. head tilting / swaying / fidgeting / stuttering / gesturing / arm crossing / strokes chin / er, um, or other interjections / plays with hair / clothing / hands at hips / inconsistent eye contact / maintains eye contact / frequent pausing / stands close / stands at distance

COMPLEXITY

VOCABULARY. ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ☐

EMOTION. ◼ ◼ ☐ ☐ ☐

SENTENCE STRUCTURE. ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼

PROFANITY

FREQUENCY. ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◻

CREATIVITY. ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◻

bold all that apply. arse. ass. asshole. bastard. bitch. bloody. bugger. bollocks. chicken shit. crap. cunt. dick. dickhead. frick. fuck. horseshit. motherfucker. piss. prick. screw. shit. shitass. son of a bitch. twat. wanker. pussy. dipshit.

given proper religious context. christ on a bike. christ on a cracker. damn. goddamn. godsdamn. hell. holy shit. jesus. jesus christ. jesus h christ. jesus h. roosevelt christ. lord have mercy. jesus, mary and joseph. sweet jesus. seven hells.

CHOICES.

this or that? contractions or enunciation ? straightforward or cryptic ? jargon or toned ? complexity or simplicity ? finding the right word or using the first word that comes to mind ? masculinity, neutrality, or femininity ? formalities or abrasiveness ? praise or equivocation ? frankness or lies ? excessive or minimal hand gestures ? name-calling or magnanimity ? friendly or blunt nicknames ?

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

DO PEOPLE HAVE A HARD TIME UNDERSTANDING OR HEARING YOUR CHARACTER? almost always / frequently / sometimes / rarely / never

DOES YOUR CHARACTER’S POINT COME ACROSS EASILY WHEN THEY SPEAK? almost always / frequently / sometimes / rarely / never

WOULD YOUR CHARACTER INITIATE CONVERSATIONS? almost always / frequently / sometimes / rarely / never

WOULD YOUR CHARACTER BE THE ONE TO END CONVERSATIONS? almost always /frequently /sometimes / rarely / never

WOULD YOUR CHARACTER USE ‘WHOM’ IN A SENTENCE? yes / no / only ironically

YOUR CHARACTER WANTS TO MAKE A COUNTERPOINT. WHAT WORD DO THEY USE? but / though / although / however / perhaps / mayhaps

HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER END CONVERSATIONS? walk away / ask if that’s everything / say that that’s everything / give a proper goodbye / tell their company they’re done here / remain quiet / they don’t

HOW DOES YOUR CHARACTER ADDRESS OTHERS? titles / first names / surnames / full names / nicknames

WHAT SOCIAL CLASS WOULD OTHERS ASSUME YOUR CHARACTER BELONGS TO, HEARING THEM SPEAK? upper / middle / working / lower

IN WHAT WAYS DOES THE WAY YOUR CHARACTER SPEAK STAND OUT TO OTHERS? accent / vocabulary / tone / level / politeness / brusqueness / it doesn’t

[gryffn]

@heroeslot: ❝ why would the stars want to look down on one such as me? ❞

under the great boughs of a weathered oak tree, travelers gather in small clusters and gaze out under the shelter of its leaves at a thin drizzle of cool rain while a wizened old woman stirs a cauldron of simple stew nearest the oak's wide trunk. the tree stands at a crossroads, and though several small, simple stands are nestled among its roots, no travelers or sellers present feel apt to hawk or peruse what goods may be on offer. the atmosphere is quiet, highlighted by the soft babble of conversation, the movements of tethered horses, and a handful of livestock. this group has traveled together for some miles, and will continue for more still.

lazare has accompanied them for no reason other than convenience. a few of their number have deigned to turn socially towards him for whatever reason they may choose, ardbert included.

the witcher knows not why but hasn't questioned it aloud either. this will pass. he need not spend the energy on it.

sat at a small but lively fire built for one but occupied presently by two, lazare refreshes the flames with a minuscule gesture of his hand. ardbert had invited himself to the fire, anchored his presence with musings, and gotten little back from lazare, though he glances towards the other when he finally quiets. it drags on before he answers, "a question best raised to a priest, not a witcher."