Even though his time in Oak was brief, Szeth found that he had very much come to like the town. It was far less busy and far more quiet than the other cities he had spent time in, and he found that the people tended to keep to themselves more. This meant far less interaction and small talk that neither part were particularly interested in, but felt compelled to partake so to adhere to the social norms. This new change of pace suited Szeth quite well, and he often found himself taking long walks at night to breathe some fresh air and take time to not only reflect on his past, but think deeply about his plans for the future. What even were these plans? Szeth knew that he had set out with a specific goal in his mind before he found himself in Magnolia with no recollection of a sizable chunk of his past. He couldn't even tell how much time he had lost. Months? Years? It was impossible to tell. All that he did know was that most of his previous magical talent was gone, and whatever goal he had set out to achieve was lost to the ages.

All of that being said, he was still Szeth. He remembered all of his childhood and early adulthood. All of his training. All of the values that he stood for. But where could he place them? What would he work towards? Was he set to eek out a meager living for the rest of his days and simply survive like everyone else? Szeth thought not. Still, there needed to be something. Some kind of purpose. Szeth ambled down a long and winding path, a thick treeline standing on either side. There was a gentle breeze blowing that brought a wave of relaxation every time the fresh air washed over him. The perfect setting for a little bit of soul searching. Szeth of course was wearing the usual get up. A long hooded, pristine white robe, the hood of course covered up and partially obscuring his face. Something about the past few weeks had him feeling vulnerable. The lack of magic, perhaps. Or maybe the fact that he had lost pretty much all meaning to his life and had no idea what to do next. The first step of course would be working towards regaining whatever magical talent he previously had, but then what to do with it?

After wandering aimlessly for an amount of time that seemed impossible to measure, Szeth came upon an empty bench on the side of the path. He hadn't noticed until now but his legs were beginning to ache from the long walk. The sun had already set and only the faint glow of the moon illuminated his surroundings. The breeze that had once brought relaxation now carried an eerie sense of existential dread. Szeth sat himself down on the empty bench and placed his forehead in his hands as he listened to the light rustling of the trees as the wind gently swayed their branches. Rubbing his temple, Szeth lifted his head and began to gaze at the night sky. He wasn't sure exactly what he was looking for up there, but for a brief moment he began to forget the existential crisis that had been plaguing him. Slowly he felt himself relax into the bench.

The city of Oak had long since etched its history into the annals of time. For Man, it had served many purposes. A home to dark guilds, a place of neutrality, an area in which those who wished to go against the grain would set up their camp and wage their silent war against decrepitude. Recently it had once again come to house a guild who upheld an all but neutral stance.

For the residence, though, Oak was home. It mattered not who came and fortified its walls. Why would they bother themselves with the individuals who saw their home as a place to conquer, rather than what it truly was? Even at its prime, home to Phantom Lord and one of the two most hostile towns to the crown of Fiore, the people who lived there cared little for the politics of the guilds. They wanted to live their lives, and if possible find a way to thrive regardless of who was in charge. Whether or not the people who ruled them were "Good" or "Evil", the citizens would classify them based on how their lives were improved or worsened and nothing else.

It was part of why Finn hoped to one day win the affection of those who resided within its walls. It was what made him patrol the city daily as his guild worked tirelessly to bring it under their flag. It was what made him demand that his guild treat these citizens with proper respect, so they understood that his wish was to provide for them. And it was what inspired him to approach the bench in which a bald, lost soul sat.

His footsteps would announce his arrival far before he needed to, the cobbled streets allowing the echoes of his soles to reach the man. If he would only turn his attention to the approaching sound, he'd see a tall man with tanned skin and golden hues. Regardless of if eye contact was made, a smile would etch onto his face. "Hello there." His voice was smooth, deep but not quite baritone. His gaze seemed to take in more than just what laid before him, and instead of taking a seat he would stop short of the bench.

"You look troubled. What seems to be on your mind?" It was certainly out of the blue, a stranger approaching someone and instantly trying to inquire about their life. Still, perhaps this man would feel something different about Finn. Something unique that would, hopefully, invite him to open up of only a little.

The crunch of leaf underneath feet announced the arrival of another party. Szeth was not particularly alarmed by this approach. The town of Oak was relatively safe, and he had not made any enemies that he knew of. Besides, it was a little silly to assume that he would be the only one out and taking a walk at this time. There were other people that needed to clear their heads as well. Szeth ignored the footsteps, despite the fact that they were distinctly making a beeline directly towards the bench where he sat. He once again placed his head in his hands and tried to ignore whoever it was that seemed to be so intent on walking towards him.

Abruptly, the footsteps stopped directly in front of the bench. Whoever it was, if they wanted to harm Szeth they would have done so already. However, they clearly had not stopped to sit down on the bench and Szeth knew that he was unfortunately going to have to interact with this person. He lifted his head lethargically and took a look at whoever had come to disturb him. A man much taller than Szeth stood in front of him, his blond hair gently being blown by the breeze.

"Hello there"

The words seemed to hang in the air for a second longer than they should have. There was something a little bit different about this man but Szeth couldn't quite figure out what it was. The man paused for just long enough to create a tinge of discomfort, before continuing.

"You look troubled. What seems to be on your mind?"

Another snake oil salesman. Here to tell Szeth about how amazing whatever product he was peddling is, or worse to tell him about how he should join their ancient and famous guild to spread the good word around the planet.

Unless.

Something seemed off, something seemed different than the other interactions Szeth had since his recent bout of amnesia. Still, the pessimism took it's grip and his response came out slightly more harshly that he would have liked.

"Listen pal, whatever it is that you're selling, I've hear it all before. There is no magical ointment that is gonna cure whatever I've got going on up here."

He pressed his thumb into his forehead, eyeing the man up and down with a hint of confrontation in his words.

"And if you're here to tell me about your guild, how amazing the leader is, how you guys are gonna save the world, I've heard that before too. You guys are all the same. You only care about how famous you are, and how strong you appear to everyone else. Nobody cares about what's actually important anymore, so no thank you. Again, if you're selling something, I aint buying it."

He felt a touch of regret for his words, the man had seemed genuine with his approach. But Szeth wasn't about to just pour his heart out to a stranger, and perhaps it would be easier to scare the man off with his antagonistic response. He eyed the man up and down once more before clasping his hands behind his head, closing his eyes, and leaning back into the bench.

The man looked up at Finn, though the look on his face remained indistinguishable. A tinge of annoyance, perhaps, as well as a bit of mysticism. He looked both confused and in disbelief, obviously skeptical of the man who approached him. There would be no way for the guild master to understand what drove his obvious distrust, but it wasn't for him to confront. He had made it his goal to bring the citizens of Oak over to his side, for them to fight with the ones who wished to represent them. Why would this angry bald man be any different? Whatever life had given him thus far had left him bitter, and Finn was not here to judge.

The man lashed out, his words like venom that was meant to still or eliminate the one standing before his bench. The pause in his speech was brief, just enough to size up the tan stranger before moving his hands to the back of his head and making himself comfortable on the bench. His eyes closed, body turning away, as if an attempt to physically shut Finn's existence out of his mind. A soft smile made its way to his face, observing the man on the bench who was so diligent in his distaste for him. Finn had no way of knowing if the man before him was a mage, a warrior, a citizen, or a normal man. But this, it felt like, was a true test of who he was as a leader.

He'd not pass it up.

"You're right," he began, his voice escaping from a sigh and sounding almost wistful. "Life is hard, and the problems it forces onto us stick with us long after we want them to. There is no magic, at least none that I've found, that can make that go away." The bench was long, but the mans position made it so that any attempt Finn made to join him at his seat would be much too close. So instead, he bent at his knees and squatted down where he was at. A silent way to show that he didn't intend to go anywhere, at least no time soon.

"And I'm not here to tell you about my guild, either. I'm not even sure I'm a great leader. I've never lead anything up until now. Hell, I don't even have any way of knowing if what I care about is what's important."

Perhaps the man expected a disagreement. Perhaps he threw his words out as bait, hoping to draw in the reaction of his choosing. Or maybe he was a cynical man, unable to refrain from lashing out even when he didn't wish to. One thing Finn learned in his life, though, was that there was a time any place for everything. There would be plenty of occasions in which he must sure up his heart and address the problems before him in a much more commanding way. This, however, hadn't yet reached that point. This man was not making himself a threat. He was simply speaking his mind. Finn wished to be a leader that would let those who spoke their mind, so long as it didn't risk harm to others, do so without fear. What better time to start?

"I didn't come to sell you anything. I didn't come to answer any questions that you haven't asked. I just saw someone who looked like they could use a person to talk to, and I thought I could be that person."

The stranger spoke once more. It seemed the Szeth's blunt, and mostly uncalled for, response had not scared the man away like it usually did. Most of the time if people didn't walk away from Szeth angrily muttering to themselves, the second most common response was a punch in the mouth. He waited but the punch never came. Strange. Perhaps this stranger was different, but also perhaps not. Szeth opened one eye to look at the stranger before the man spoke again. As the words fell out of his mouth, Szeth noticed something in the tone of his voice that sounded familiar. A kind of melancholic undertone that Szeth understood all too well.

Before he had only been half listening to the man, simply waiting for him to get tired of talking to the emotional equivalent of a brick wall and leave. But now the man had Szeth's attention. He'd always had trouble making social connections and most people just gave up and walked away to find someone that wasn't so psychologically distant. But this stranger didn't and he continued to speak.

Szeth sat up straight and moved his hands from behind his head into his lap. It was time to actually talk to someone instead of scare them away. The man didn't sit on the bench, which Szeth was quite relieved about. There was always quite a bit of discomfort whenever someone got too close to his personal space. Instead the stranger squatted down and continued to speak. Again, Szeth sensed the faintest hint of longing behind the man's words. One thing stuck out. "I don't even have any way of knowing if what I care about is what's important."

Did he know? Did he have some strange way of understanding the thoughts that constantly floated around in Szeth's head, repeating over and over like some kind of despondent mantra. Maybe he'd finally found someone that understood his emotional struggles, and perhaps even could help. He listened even more keenly as the man continued. Finally the man finished and gave Szeth the kind of look that suggested it was his turn to talk.

Szeth got up off of the bench and stood in front of the stranger. His posture was not aggressive, he intended it to radiate a certain level of respect he had gained for the man during his short monologue. He reached out his hand and held it there for the man to shake, should he choose to do so.

"I'm sorry. I'm used to people who's idea of a conversation is waiting for the other person to finish so that they can hear the sound of their own voice again. I misjudged"

A tinge of anxiety fluttered in Szeth's stomach. He wasn't used to opening up and the thought of it began to terrify him. Regardless, he continued.

"The truth of it is, I woke up a few weeks ago and I have absolutely no memory of the past couple of years. All I have left are my ideals, my honor, and my name. I set out from my home with a goal and now I have no idea what it even was. I'm lost."

A slight feeling of relief washed over Szeth, and with it more anxiety and a little bit of embarrassment. He diverted his gaze to the ground before continuing.

"You said you don't know if what you care about is important. But you missed the point. That IS whats important. That you care. I'll tell you what's important to me. Justice. We live in a world where it's all about 'me me me' and nobody seems to care about honor or loyalty anymore. I don't know why but everything seems a little more clear to me now. I remember an ideal that I swore before I lost my memory."

Szeth willed himself to look up to the ground and made eye contact with the stranger.

"Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.”

He smiled as the floodgates opened and the huge emotional burden which hung over him seemed to float away.

"I don't know who you are or even if you do truly care, but you've helped me, so thank you. I'm Szeth by the way"

As the man stood, Finn glanced up at him. He was looking down at the warrior, but there was no sense of demeaning or disdain. It was due only to the fact that Finn had chosen to squat down that the man now loomed over him, and rather than use that position to attempt intimidation, he instead reached an open hand out towards the young guild master. Smiling, he stood to his full height. Though his expression showed no signs of it, he was surprised. Something about the mans presence filled much more space than did his actual stature. Instead of the shock, a sense of appreciation coated his dark features. This man, whoever he was, had a strong essence about him.

Meeting the mans grip and matching his pressure, Finn ensured that their handshake was that of mutual respect. His eyes found that of the bald mans, reflective as his scalp, and awaited to hear what he had to say.

Luckily enough, there was plenty. He spoke, first to explain himself, and a mental note was taken. This man was willing to acknowledge fault, not just internally, but verbally express it to someone he just met. That sort of thing was not easy to do, and took tremendous courage. The man was not yet done, and continued on to explain quite a bit of himself and the circumstances surrounding his appearance here, and his reaction.

A man without memory. Someone who was lost at sea, no shore in sight and no idea of where to go. He was alone in the truest sense, for he didn't even understand who he was to return to. It was an admission that, in all honesty, saddened the Advent World master. He thought, for the briefest of moments, about the possibility of forgetting all he knew. Of his guild, and dreams. Of Jake, and Xandra. Of his past that made him who he was today, and helped decide who he wanted to be.

And with that, a realization dawned about what the man said.

"You know," he began, a soft smile on his face once more, "I don't know anything about what you'r going through. No matter how hard my life has gotten, I've always been able to at least have my memories to get through things. Without them, well..." He trailed off. Honestly, he didn't need to continue. It was a thought that finished itself, and words would only sully the meaning. Instead, he redirected.

"But you're still you. Without your memories, you think you've lost what you set out to do. But the truth is, it changes for people constantly. We all get lost, and you just so happen to be more lost than most right now. Still, you have goals. Dreams. A strong belief system that is with you, even now."

Finn looked past him, into the distance, in which a massive building could be seen overlooking the town. A laugh escaped his lips, the irony of what he was about to say certainly not lost on him. "I hope this doesn't confirm your suspicions, but I am the Guild Master of Advent World, located in that building overlooking the city. If you want a place to call home, even if it's only until you figure out what you have to do next, you're welcome to join. Besides, I think it'd be nice to have someone who can truly speak their mind in our ranks. If nothing else, you'll be there to tell me when I've betrayed my own values; And that's invaluable."

Szeth would respond. Yet when he responded, Finn's reaction would be independent. A smile, a nod, a word of understanding and appreciation, and then he'd lead the way back to his Guild Hall. Whether that trip was in tow with a new member of his growing family, or not, was in the other mans hands now.

[EXIT]

The man reciprocated Szeth's offer of a handshake. The grip was strong, confident, assured. As Szeth spoke there were no signs of judgement or ulterior motive on the stranger's face. It was a welcome change. Most conversations -in Szeth's view- tended to follow the same flow. One man pretends to listen whilst he is really just waiting for his turn to speak. This was not the case with this interaction. Szeth could see in the stranger's eyes, and by his reactions that the man was truly hearing him out. He didn't know until now that this was exactly what he had been in need of for the past week. There wasn't even any real need of a response, just the simple act of getting all of the troubles off of his chest felt like a giant weight being lifted off of Szeth's shoulders.

And then the man replied.

Again, there was not even a hint of any judgement in the man's tone. There was no sage advice to be given. In fact, the man was open in stating the fact that he did not understand what Szeth was going through. Most people would try to tell you that they know what you mean, that they understand and you need to do what they do in order to get out of this rut. This was not the case with the stranger. The words comforted Szeth and he suddenly felt the defensive barrier that he had put around himself dissolve. The stranger paused briefly and spoke once more. Instead of the usual empty words with a hidden intention behind them, gentle words of comfort that made Szeth feel as though he could trust this man whom he had just met, and tried to scare off.

And then surprisingly, the stranger made an offer. Under usual circumstances Szeth would not react well to someone bringing up their guild. Especially after just pouring his heart out. However this offer was far different than any he had received in a past. No foolish talk of ridding the world of evil, or dominating mankind. No talk of how powerful their guild was and all of the fame and fortune that would come along with joining up. A place to call home. That's all that it was.

A place to call home.

Something that Szeth had been missing since all of them years ago when he was cast out by his own family. Since that day there had never been anything that even remotely resembled this. It was a nomadic life of moving from one place to another, trying to eek out a living before relocating again. Perhaps this is why he had been feeling so empty? Szeth pondered on the offer. It would be a dramatic change from what he was used to, but maybe a welcome one. Somewhere he could identify with, somewhere he could call his home. Perhaps even people that one day he may think of as family. The stranger had even made clear that if Szeth wanted, this would only be a temporary arrangement until he figured out what he wanted to do next.

"I haven't had something I could call home in a long time. I don't know why but I trust you. I'd be happy to join. Let's achieve our goals together"

The man simply smiled in response, and led the way back to the guild hall.

Back to home.

[Exit]