Though he was well outside the confines of Adeluna’s bustling metropolis, the muffled sounds of the activity taking place within its walls still drifted to his ears on the breeze.  He did not mind the crowded streets of people, or the loud sounds of commerce… but every so often he felt the need to get away from it all and clear his mind.  He was still trying to figure out how exactly he came to be there.  It seemed as though something had plucked all memories offering any sort of clue to his arrival.  He had simply awoke one morning in a room above the Winking Mermaid.  He inquired with the barkeep as to who had rented the room, and he had given him quite the strange look.  The barkeep informed him that he had rented the room himself, shook his head disdainfully, and went back to what he had been doing.

That had been frustrating for Valkoinen.  He simply had no recollection of the transaction, or of his arrival in the first place.  The last thing he could remember before the morning he awoke in Adeluna was hunting in the forest with Tumoas, his father - but that was wrong, because Tuomas had been dead for some time - long before Valkoinen took up his armor.  In fact, his decision to become a Paladin had sprung completely from the death of his father.

Valkoinen had lived in a small shack on the edge of a forest in the outskirts of a city - a city he could no longer remember the name of.  He shared the shack with his father, Tumoas; his mother, Sarjeta; and his brother, Haijetan.  His brother and he would switch off on weekly trips into the city for provisions.  It had been his turn, but when he arrived home, he found the bodies of his mother and father, slain upon the floor.  There hadn’t been much blood - whoever had attacked them had been clean and precise… but his brother was nowhere to be found.  

Valkoinen shook his head roughly, chasing that memory from his mind.  He wanted to remember how he had come to be in Adeluna, not how his family had been torn away from him.  He found himself briefly wishing that he knew of Haijetan’s whereabouts, but soon that thought faded as well, and he was in the peaceful semi-quiet outside of the city.  

This day, he had not worn his armor out of the inn.  He had dressed simply in a tunic and leather pants, the clothing he usually wore beneath his armor.  He had no need for protection, as he simply lay on his back in the grass, staring at the sky.  Today, there seemed to be no clouds, and the sky had taken on a beautiful shade of blue.  He found it peaceful, and for a few moments no longer cared about the mystery of his arrival.  He wasn’t entirely sure how long he had actually been there (time seemed to pass in a strange way in this place), but his life had started to fall into a routine.  He hadn’t much use for his armor as of late, anyway, as he had mostly been spending his time wandering the city and watching people - the people here were so diverse and different.  He didn’t need to work, as coin was not a problem - somehow, in his room at the tavern, there had been a bag filled with silver coins (Crescents, he found they were called) - and quite a lot of them.

After a moment’s contemplation, he closed his eyes, elbows bent and hands back behind his head.  It seemed as good a time as any for a bit of sleep, and the warm sun shining down on him only furthered that feeling.  He began to drift off, slowly, the muffled sounds of the city mingling with the sounds of the waves from the not-so-distant sea, and as he slept he no longer felt confusion or frustration with not knowing… only peace.

It was all a mistake.  But it was very difficult to explain such a thing to witch hunters.  Especially overly ambitious ones that were eager for their first kill.  she had been quietly minding her own business, making inquiries about star maps.  And something had caught the attention of someone that Ynnarah did not want after her.  Perhaps it was her smell… one of them looked to be not quite human.  Another shifter of some kind, perhaps?  Ynnarah didn't stick around to ask questions, especially once the crossbow bolts started flying in her direction. 

And she couldn't shift, not here.  It would take more moments than she could spare, plus Ynnarah knew that it would draw more attention to her.  And the City guards would be even worse than witch hunters.  So she kept running, hoping to lose them around a corner.  Dressed in a clean green blouse (that just so happened to match her eyes), clean trousers and boots, she could have blended into the crowd.  There were so many different people here, but Ynnarah wanted to be out of the city.  Once she was outside again, she felt she could escape.  Here, there were far too many people. 

Finally, she spotted a break in the city wall.  It was close to the harbor, leading Ynnarah to figure the wall couldn't circle the entire city.  Diving through it, she could still hear them coming.  But she was away from people now, and her strides lengthened.  That was at least until her foot struck something very solid in the grass.  Ynnarah went tumbling through the grass, and she could hear the witch hunters still coming.  But she couldn't help to yell at the lump in the grass.  "You klutz!  How could you be napping out here in the middle of nowhere!?" she yelled as she picked herself back up.  The young wolf was getting read to run again, but maybe the stranger could help her.

Valkoinen had been enjoying quite a peaceful and restful nap outside of the walls of Adeluna.  The droning sounds had been just enough white noise to put him into a deep enough slumber where he did not hear the sounds of the tussle that was happening.  Within moments, however, he was wrenched out of his slumber by the pain of a foot connecting with his ribcage.  Had he been wearing his armor, he most likely would not have been awoken by it - but dressed as simply and plainly as he was the action jarred him from sleep.  His eyes snapped open only to see a young woman falling into the grass, to which he immediately bolted into a sitting position.

The young girl began to yell at him, chastising him for being in such a location while he had been napping.  He looked at her in silence for a moment, nearly pointing out the fact that it was she who was indeed the ‘klutz’ in the situation.  He was well over six feet tall and fairly muscular - not exactly a small person to be shielded by the short green grass of the area he lay in.  He opened his mouth, but shut it again as he could see that the girl was running from something - people were becoming visible in the distance.

He could tell that the woman was about to take off once more, but he reached out and grasped her forearm quite gently, his voice serious and low.  ”Are you in trouble?” he asked, eyes trying to make out more details of the people who seemed to be chasing after her.  ”I can help,” he said, with no further question.  It would be unlike him to abandon a young girl, and once he had her safe he would be able to find out more information about why she was being chased.

”Tell me one thing - is there a safe place I can bring you to, or am I going to need a blade?” he asked, concern apparent in his voice.  He hadn’t brought any of his weaponry or armor with him save a small shortsword sheathed at his hip.  He looked at her with caring eyes, such was his nature, and hoped that she would inform him of what he could do to assist her.  He was a firm believer of the good in everyone, and for some reason he got a feeling that this girl was not in the wrong for whatever reason she was being sought after, and he had now internally made it his goal to assist her.

Almost immediately, Ynnarah felt bad for yelling at this stranger.  It wasn't his fault, and she really should have been watching her feet.  But when fleeing in a blind panic, it was a bit difficult to see every bit of the situation.  "Um, yes.  And if you can that would be wonderful.  I'm sorry for yelling at you," she said, a blush coming to her cheeks.  An apology seemed in order, and Ynnarah could suffer a small blow to her pride in order to save her hide.

The hunters were still a distance away, enough to fill him in.  "Well, they're witch hunters.  And they think I'm a witch… not entirely untrue.  Only good thing is they're apprentices.  I just don't want to hurt anyone," she said.  Ynnarah was more likely to run away than hurt someone.  Especially in the case of the people.  They weren't really evil, just misguided.  When an arrow landed with a thuck at her feet however, Ynnarah let out a yelp, and hid behind the man who had offer her help.  If there was any time, this was a perfect one to show his intention. 

The leader of group, a few inches shorter than her new friend, halted a a few yards from him.  "You are standing in our way, stranger.  The girl behind you in a danger to society!  She threw a fireball at Adrian here!" he said, glaring at Ynnarah when she peeked around the tall man.  "He shot at me first!  And I wasn't even doing anything, I was just leaving a shop," she snapped back.  That it had been a shop of magickal apparatus shouldn't have matter, Ynnarah still wasn't just sure as to what had set them off in the first place.

Another of the hunters stepped forward, brandishing an amulet.  "This tells me you are a wolf-blood, tainted!  So you will hurt people, sooner or later!  It always happens," she said, venom in her voice.  Ynnarah could only guess that the woman had been harmed by a shifter at some point before.  "We're not all the same thou-" she said, not able to finish before she ducked behind the stranger again.  it was clear the hunters weren't interested in talking to her. 

He nodded, briefly offering the girl a smile.  “Apologies can wait.  We’ve other things to deal with at present,” he said, his voice deep with concern.  He could see that she was blushing, noting the beauty that the color brought to her cheeks, but immediately he brushed it off - he needed to focus on other things than her.  He needed to focus on getting her somewhere safe.  

He listened intently as Ynnarah filled him in on the situation.  He had not personally had much experience with witch hunters, as they were wont to leave paladins to their own devices.  He found them to be an unsavory lot and gave no care as to whether or not she was actually a witch.  “You’ve done nothing to wrong me, therefore you’ve got no reason to be hunted.  I can’t stand their lot,” he said, watching as the hunters moved ever closer to the pair.  “You aren’t going to have to hurt anyone,” he promised, moving to protective attention the moment the arrow landed close to her, shielding her as she jumped behind him. 

The group was very near now, and Valkoinen drew his shortsword, brandishing it defensively out in front of him.  The leader, seemingly smaller in stature than he was, called out to him, accusing the girl of attacking them.  “I’ve seen nothing and I do not unjustly attack others,” he said, though the girl confirmed that the man hadn’t been entirely untruthful as she laid defense to his claims.  

He turned his head back slightly to look at her, without taking his eyes off of the witch hunters.  One of them held an amulet out before her, claiming that the girl was ‘tainted.’  Thoughts raced through his mind - so what if the girl was a lycan?  He had made a vow to protect anyone he came across unless they gave him reason not to.  “Lycan or not, she is innocent in my eyes,” he said, his eyes darkening.  The girl had popped back out, but only for a minute to speak shortly before hiding behind him once more.  

“Leave us,” he called to the group.  “I will deal with her in the way I see fit,” he said - though the way he ‘saw fit’ would be to merely get her to a safe place and ask for her side of the story.  He hadn’t any experience with lycans, but he had no reason not to trust her - and she seemed awfully harmless, at least for the time being.

The group discussed amongst themselves, seemingly unable to come to an agreement.  The one with the amulet stepped forward, bow drawn.  “Leave,” Valkoinen repeated, a soft aura beginning to glow around him.  Training to be a paladin had blessed him with adept skills in holy magic, and he hated to use it - but now seemed a good time for a show of power.  The woman lowered her bow, and the group retreated.

When he was sure that they were a safe distance away, he turned to the girl.  “Where can I take you?” he asked, referencing a safe place.  “And what may I call you?” he added, stooping down a bit so as not to tower over her over much.

Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that she had tripped over this stranger, he seemed more than willing to jump to her aid.  And Ynnarah was more that willing to find a means of thanking him, once she was safe.  But the hunters were quite persistent, and not even willing to listen to her words.  It was clear that they had already made of their minds about her, and that she would need to die.  When he spoke that she was not tainted simply because of her blood, Ynnarah could have hugged him.  So many people saw one thing, and made an assumption as to how she was. 

Once the group finally left, only after her rescuer showed off just a bit, Ynnarah's shoulders slumped a little from the tension.  "My name is Ynnarah.  And thank you.  I travel all around, so I have more than a few safe places," she said, the plopped down on the grass.  There was exhaustion in her voice, and it was clear she needed a rest.  Pulling the pack from her shoulders, she rummaged around for a moment, then pulled out a small wrapped package.  Setting it on the grass, she revealed a pair of apples, a sliced loaf of bread, and a small pot of honey.  Gesturing to her new friend to sit down, Ynnarah spread some of the honey on the bread before speaking again.

"I am a wolf-blood, as they put it.  But my father's kind prefer to blend in with people, rather than terrorizing it like some.  Not everyone cares about that difference though," she said, a bit of sadness in her voice.  Quickly devouring the bread, the honey helped to restore some of her energy.  Picking up one of the apples, there was something else on her mind.  "Is there something I can do to thank you?  I'm not sure they would have left me alone had it not been for your help," Ynnarah asked.  And it was likely she would have had to hurt them, if they had kept up their pursuit.

The paladin could see the girl’s shoulders lose their tension once she knew she was out of immediate danger, and he felt a sense of accomplishment wash over him.  He had been able to save her, at least for the time being, and for that he was quite proud of himself.  He could tell, if only a bit, that she was glad he had chosen not to judge her for what her attackers had said of her.  Valkoinen had never been one quick to judge.  He believed in the utter good in people until they showed him otherwise, and this girl had given him no reason to think anything but well of her.  

He nodded to her, a warm smile on his face.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ynarrah,” he said, making a mental note of the uniqueness of her name.  It was beautiful, but it was not the time nor the place to tell her of such.  “You are more than welcome.  As I earlier stated, I cannot stand idly by and let someone be attacked for reasons unbeknownst to me,” he added.  She mentioned having more than one safe place to go, and that made him glad - if she had an idea of where he could take her, it would make things so much easier for the both of them.  He could hear the exhaustion in her voice as she sat down on the ground, and he stood stoic and watched her with curiosity.

She seemed to be setting up a small picnic, which made perfect sense to him.  Who wouldn’t be hungry after an ordeal like that?  After a moment, she gestured for him to join her, and he gladly obliged.  He watched her with interest as she spread honey on some bread.  He spent a moment studying the girl as she was silent, finding that he wanted to know more about her.

She began to speak to him again, and he listened quite carefully.  He frowned at the mention of others not caring about differences in the wolf-bloods.  It upset him a bit - he had always been cautious not to judge people off of the actions of others, so it bothered him when other people chose to do so.  “Most people are too ignorant to see that they need to make their own judge of someone’s character.”  He furrowed his brow for a second, before looking back at her with a smile on his face. “For instance, I’ve never had a bad experience with any of your… well, your kind, I guess, is the only way to put it,” he said.  “But then again, I don’t know that I’ve ever actually had any kind of experience with a wolf-blood, so perhaps my point is invalid,” he added with a bit of a chuckle.

He shook his head at her question of what she could do to thank him.  “You needn’t do anything to show me your gratitude,” he said.  “In fact, you already are thanking me by inviting me to sit here with you,” he added, with another smile.  “I couldn’t not help you - how could anyone with a conscious just let someone be attacked like that, especially with no backstory?”  He sat down  not far from her, still alert in case the others had decided to come back.  

He gestured towards one of the apples.  “May I be so impolite as to ask if I can have one of those?” he asked, warmth cascading over the tone of his voice.  There was something about this girl that made him want to protect her, and he couldn’t quite place it.  “When you are ready to travel, we will head to a safe place for you,” he said, nodding to himself.  “I’ll see to it personally that they leave you alone,” he added, and there was a promise to his voice that indicated he meant what he said.

There were far too many people who made assumptions about her simply because of her blood, and not before they got to know her.  And Ynnarah was very glad to have run across someone who did just the opposite.  "Truth be told, the world needs more people like.  Might I have your name?  It's sure to be one I would like to remember," she said, favoring him with a sunny smile as he joined her for the food she always travelled with.  Carefully cutting an apple into wedges while Valkoinen spoke, she found herself quite glad she had literally tripped over him.

She couldn't help but chuckle with him when he mentioned he had never really encountered any of her kind before.  Though Ynnarah did find it necessary to add a few words to his thoughts.  "Not all of us are as… calm as I am.  you're fortunate you encountered me first, I'm more in control of the lupine side of myself than many others are.  My whole family is like that, come to think of it.  just don't make us angry," she said, her grin turning predatory for just a moment.  Her father and uncle weren't exactly known for their stable tempers… and it had definitely been passed along to their children. 

Handing him an apple, Ynnarah found herself wondering about him as well.  Especially since he seemed to have an almost naive view on the world.  Or at least an overly optimistic one.  "Well, that shop I was in, they have arcane and occult goods.  The shopkeeper warned me to be careful, he's had a few customers attacked after they left his shop.  I've always been comfortable with magic, but I guess not everyone is," she said with a shrug.  It was a strange thing to her, the assumption that some people thought all magic was evil in some way.  It was simply a part of her being, and Ynnarah couldn't imagine her life without it. 

She shook her head when he mentioned going to one of her safe places.  "My business in Moon-…  Adeluna isn't quite finished yet.  There's a bookseller I would very much like to speak with first.  If you would like to travel with me for a bit, that would be very much appreciated.  Just having a friend makes things much easier sometimes," Ynnarah said.  For a moment, the name of this city from her old home had slipped out, and she half wondered if this stranger was from there too.  But it was something she seriously doubted.  That would just be too big of a coincidence.

He glanced up at the Ynnarah, and flashed her a quick smile.  “Valkoinen,” he said, the word flowing effortlessly off his tongue.  “Of the Ilmari clan,” he added.  “Or, at least, I was of the Ilmari clan,” he said, the smile on his face quickly turning to a frown as he realized, once more, that he was the only one left of the Ilmari family.  

“I assumed that some of your kind are more… temperamental, considering the reaction that your attackers had,” he said, smiling as she chuckled at him.  He was glad to see that she had relaxed more, as it informed him that she felt a bit safer with him there.  “Lucky for me that you are more in control, then,” he continued.  “Otherwise I would not be able to sit here and enjoy your company as I am at present.”  

He accepted the apple that she handed to him.  “Thank you very much,” he said, and proceeded to take a big bite out of it, opting not to take the time to section it out as she had with her own.  Chewing the bite slowly, he listened to her explanation.  He nodded with understanding.  “I used to find magic kind of unnerving until I schooled myself in it,” he said.  He was quite adept at holy and divine magic, though elemental and dark magic were not exactly something he found pride in. 

His eyes narrowed when she began to speak the name of a city - something about the beginning of the name sounded oddly familiar to him.  He returned his gaze to its former state, merely interested in what she was saying.  Whether or not she had seen the recognition in his eyes did not matter.  He would approach the familiarity with her at another time, when they had more time to discuss it.  Something about her made him want to help her, and that was what he was going to do.  “Then, to the bookseller we shall go,” he said, and took another bite from his apple.

The name of the city he had lived outside of bounced around his mind.  Mooncrest.  He was certain that was what Ynarrah had been about to say, but as he had decided against discussing it at this moment in time, he pushed it to the back of his mind.  He quickly finished up his apple, and looked over to Ynarrah, reclining back on his hands.  “Ready when you are, though take all the time you need,” he said.  He was in no rush, for since he had arrived in this place he hadn’t any real purpose.  Helping Ynarrah would give him one, and that in itself was as big a blessing as he could ask for.

The 'was' in his voice seemed sad somehow, but Ynnarah promised herself that she would not pry.  It was Valkoinen's secret to hold, and already trusted him enough to decided when, or if, there was a time she could know.  But Ynnarah had already decided that she liked this man, and she hoped they would be friends for quite awhile.  She nodded as his assumption, that was a good one to have.  "I think it comes from being born into a family and not into the wilds.  My siblings and I were raised by our parents, and not abandoned to the wilds.  So we're very lucky in that manner," she explained.  It was something she had thought about more than once, and Ynnarah was very glad for that. 

She was glad to know that Valkoinen was willing to learn, and willing to change his views on the world.  It told her that he was quite willing and able to learn, so something the young lycan could appreciate.  "My magic is a bit different… I can read the stars.  It's interesting, they tell me a lot of interesting stories," she said, a flush at her cheeks.  Most people didn't believe her when Ynnarah told them of her talents, but she had always been able to prove them wrong.  The now fallen goddess Rhylana was one of those people.  He didn't bring up her slip of the tongue, but she had noticed the narrowing of the eyes.  Time would tell.  Her eyes brightened when he agreed to go with her to the bookseller, and Ynnarah quickly finished her apple.  "I just hope that they are not stupid enough to try and attack again…  But I have a friend now, and I'm sure your presence is enough of a deterrent," she said, sure of her words.

Once her things were packed up again, the pair headed back towards the city.  It was midafternoon now, and Ynnarah noticed the streets were a bit busier.  Taking a moment to regain her bearings, she pointed towards the east.  "It's there, near one of the temples.  They have all kinds of occult books, including starmaps," she explained.  Now that Valkoinen knew of her magic, she wanted him to understand what she was after.  It was crowded, but there was still quite a bit of room for people to move.  And just enough for Ynnarah to glance around every now and again.  she didn't see anyone following them, but she wasn't entirely sure that the hunters would have so easily given up.

Once they reached the shop, Ynnarah quickly ducked in and explained what she was looking for.  The shopkeep, an Elvish woman with a shock of short white hair, nodded in understanding and asked her to wait.  In the meantime, the young woman perused the shelves.  "So what are you doing around Adeluna?  Just visiting, or is there a reason?" Ynnarah asked, curious about his intentions within the city.