Role

Chapter 12

Dohri woke from a restless sleep in a start. She had been dreaming
that she had been running to meet Ithy, Shakiniel and Atrissa at
the Inn, but she could not get to them. The door the Inn had been
barred but she could hear them inside..the voices of the people that
she had lost. She had been crying so much lately that her throat
hurt and she could feel a pain in her chest. She did not want to be
around anyone since she found out about Atrissa. She knew that it
only make her feel worse to do such. "The worst I have ever felt is
when I isolated myself", she had told Atrissa. There was no one that
she could speak to now though about her pain. Everyone that she
would have gone to was dead.

With a weary sigh she stood and lightly straightened her robes and
began to walk. The morning air in Hamsah was already warm and full
of smells from the market. Dohri closed her eyes and concentrated
a moment, willing herself to walk. The Caravan road south of the
city was empty and Dohri was thankful for that. She wanted to be
alone today. She trudged up the mountains and through the windy pass
to the cliffs overlooking the Aryth Ocean. She looked out at the
blue ocean. Somewhere in her thoughts she knew why she had come.
It was such a beautiful place. A wonderful view with a promise of
sweet mercy. She peered over the side briefly before closing her
eyes. She stood there for a time, trying to see if she was brave
accept the solution that she had given herself. "Just two steps
forward, silly, and then you can fly and hurt no more. Simple.
Just..step forward." Dohri breathed in deeply and leaned forward.

She was startled out of her trance however with the sound of child's
terrified wail on the wind just behind her. She stepped back from
the cliff's edge turned to where she thought she heard the scream.
Nothing.. turning back to the cliff edge, her eye caught her wrist.
She looked at the aureole, then lightly ran her fingertips over it.
She blushed and then sighed deeply. Shame and then anger overcame
her. "What would they think..horrid. People need you. You are a
priestess of Azorinne. You do not give up. If not you then who?"
"No more tears."

Dohri turned and walked, making her way back down the mountain.