Togar watched Elwyn work. He couldn't help but think about how much the boy had changed in the years since he had come. Boy? No, he was now a man. But despite being 20, Togar could not help but think of him as a boy still. Perhaps this was how parents felt when it was time to let their children go. And is was time. Elwyn had been an excellent apprentice. He learned quickly and worked hard. He had mastered everything that Togar had to teach and was now struggling to teach himself. He had set up a small place within the trees behind the hut that he called his lab. He would work there for hours at a time. This pleased Togar.Well, all except the part were Elwyn would hurt himself in order to test a new treatment. But this method had proved effective. And it had revealed that Elwyn also had healing magic with in him. In town, he had studied with his mother once a week. But this had been short lived. After only a year, he had also mastered everything his mother could teach.

Even now, Elwyn wore a leather outfit that had been modified from the first one. To the gloves he had added little devices to help him pour, mix and measure. To the sleeves he had added bands that helped him track numbers while calculating doses and mixing medicines. Now, he also observed traditional Elven attire. It seem strange to Togar that he would bother when he was the only elf here, with the nearest being his mother who would not have cared. Perhaps that was why this had been so important. He had cut his hair short in the back while leaving it long in the front. A thin shimmering veil covered his neck and was kept in place by a intricately designed metal band. This new style of dress had done nothing to make him look more masculine. Togar shrugged and chuckled to himself. What could be expected from an elf? For there seemed to be very little of his father there.

Laughing at himself and feeling every bit like an old man, he got up and shuffled towards the tree line. Elwyn gave him a puzzled glance. Togar just gave him a dismissing wave and snorted. What did the boy think of his aging companion?

Watching Togar go, Elwyn wondered what had his master in such a reflective mood. He seemed to fall into those more often and they always concluded with that wry chuckle. Returning to his work, he tried to dismiss the thought that Togar was worried about him. Not everything was about him, but when it came to Togar, it felt like that was the case. The soft chimes of the small bells that were connected to the magical perimeter alerted Elwyn that someone was coming up the pathway from town. With a shake of his head, he realized that he had just fallen into the same far away thinking that Togar had.

Mother stumbled around the hut, not waiting for Elwyn to emerge.

"What's wrong?" He went to her.

"Your father!" Shook took hold of his elbow and tugged at him. "Hurry."

"Let me get my things," Elwyn said.

Coldness settled over him. The time had come. He had always known that it would. With this being the first of his visions, he had known that it would be the first to come to pass. How far away did that make the others? He hurried behind his mother, knowing the way well enough that he did not need to pay attention to where his feet fell. Instead, he poured over his memories of the visions. He should have written them down.

Mother burst into the house and without pause went to her husband's side. Elwyn stopped at the door a moment. The scene was all too familar. His father's skin was pale and cold. Breathing heavily in wet coughing bursts and then a long pause before the next breath came. Elwyn knelt next to him and began to work. He would do his best. Perhaps his visions could be changed.

But no. Just as he had always seen, his father died while he sat next to him. He had held his hand, but that had seemed little in the face of that final breath. All his learning had meant nothing. What had it been for if it could not save this man? He reached up to his father's face and pressed the eyes closed. The final slumber. His mother was stiff and silent. He knew that she would not mourn until she was alone. As he rose, his mother grasped his hand.

"You did what you could," she whispered.

He nodded. He knew that to be true. But a strange feeling was seeping into him. After a moment, he realized that it was hate. This was something he had never known. It was uncomfortable, but was preferable to the grief that it masked over. As he walked, he felt it blossoming. A fire rising up from his gut and into his chest. The burning consumed everything else.

He stormed into the hut and hurled his travel bag in the general direction of Togar. It had been easily dodged, but crashed through the haphazard piles. Bottles and pots broke, their pieces scattering across the floor. Togar paid no attention to the cascade of toppling items this caused. He gaped at the boy. Never had he known the boy to rage. Yet, Elwyn was sweeping things to the ground and shoving items out of his path. He charged up to Togar and pointed a long thin finger into his face.

"What is it for?" he yelled, scooping up a bottle and waving. "What good is all this shit?" He threw the bottle against the wall and it exploded, raining onto Togar's head. He was still too stunned to respond.

"Fuck this!" Elwyn screamed, bulldozing out the way that he came.

Only then did Togar move. He followed the boy out. Elwyn stripped off his gloves and flung them. He ripped off his veil. Tearing open the front of his jacket, he began to swear. Togar caught up with him then. Grabbing one shoulder, he spun the boy around.

"What is wrong with you?"

"Father-" a sob hitched in his chest and he was unable to finish.

Togar knew what this meant. Not only had some ill befallen his friend, it had taken him from this world. He wrapped the boy into a tight embrace. Every bit like a child, he clung to Togar and finally gave into to the sorrow.