A young man, apparently aged 26, with Elvish ancestry, as well as distinct NYMPH ancestry, as evidenced by his long hair, which was distinguishable from the crowd by the fact it actually looked like bronze metal, complete with sheen, approached the entrance to the city of the elves. Excellent-looking as he was, he was one who had been born with an evil soul, and he would set off warning bells in the heads of anyone with proper senses.

Ian sighed and rubbed his very slightly pointed ears. THEY HURT. He was highly sensitive to sound, and a few hours ago, a loud scream from a woman, not caused by him, had almost ruptured his poor eardrums. PAIN. PURE PAIN. Ian was going to find an Elvish spring, bottle the water, and use it as ear drops on occasion, to help soothe the pain.

Ecthel walked around the area, having a not so great day. His new clothes bought with the money Meglumar had given him had fit perfectly and were great to move around in, however, as he was about to walk into a different town, a arrow zoomed by, going through his clothing, and his cloak since his wings were being covered by the cloak. This of course, startled Ecthel and immediately caused him to fly upwards which caused the arrows to stop. Apparently the elves didn't mind Angels as much as they did humans.

"These were new clothes....Such a dreadful experience being shot at..." Ecthel said as he walked along, the Einherjar strapped onto his back behind his cloak. Suddenly in his head, he felt something, well more like he heard something. He could normally sense evil with a bit of noise, but this time it was more like a air horn sounding off in his head. "What the?! This massive amount of evil....In a Elven City?" Ecthel said as he looked around alarmingly. He couldn't SEE anyone who looked distinctly evil, so he began walking around investigating, making sure that nothing was going on.

Ian was rather perplexed when he saw the elves shoot at the man with wings. Or Boy, maybe, he looked rather young. They stopped shooting once the wings were revealed. Ian wondered if it involved an "Angel Statuette", or if he was looking at a bona-fide angel. He couldn't resist slipping closer to Ecthel to get a better look.

Which was about when Ecthel blurted out the "massive amount of evil" comment. Ian was caught off guard by that. Someone able to sense him? He didn't think he was evil THAT much, so the "Massive Amount" surprised him. He hadn't ACTUALLY done anything significant....yet, so Ian either figured he had an evil soul of biblical proportions, or there were other's around with ill intent.

"Hmmmm..."

Ian muttered aloud, wondering which it was. He obviously couldn't go up to an angel and ASK how evil he was. That was asking for trouble. Or divine wrath, depending on the power level of the Angel. Still, Large concentrations of holy might, such as a powerful angel, usually made those of an evil alignment feel nasty, and Ian didn't recieve any particularly bad feeling from the Angel. Well, the Angel seemed to be on the hunt. For him? He could try to avoid it...or he could make a confrontation. Ian decided to wait to see what the Angel did.

Ecthel continued to walk around until the sound in his head grew louder, signaling that he was nearing the location of the source. "Should be around here..." Ecthel said as he walked to right around where Ian was. He even looked at Ian and immediately, he identified him as the source. Ecthel looked Ian over a bit. The man in front of him seemed older than Ecthel, and looked...Almost like a woman. Ecthel pondered what to do in his mind since he knew that Ian was a rather large source of evil and yet...He wasn't doing anything wrong.

"Hmmm....Now I know you're the source...But you're not really doing anything wrong....But this noise in my head is annoying and I don't remember how to stop it." Ecthel said to Ian. Why not try directly talking to him? As long as he wasn't hostile, Ecthel wouldn't mind too much.

"Source? Source of what now? I don't EXHUDE anything, do I? If you refer to my evil soul, I have no comment. I was born with it, I have yet to break a law, or even so much as another man's arm. Though I am curious, are you an angel, or are you a wanderer who got his hands on an Angel Statuette or something? Or perhaps Polymorph Self? "

Ian was rather surprised to see someone who was roughly aware of his alignment suddenly start talking to him. If it WAS an angel before him, This wasn't behaviour he attributed to them. An investigation was in order...Ecthel intrigued Ian greatly.

"Could be the soul of evil part because it sounds like someone is currently sounding off a rather loud horn in my head. Well, at least it stopped for now." Ecthel said. "Anyways, if you've not committed any crimes, fine with me. If you have...Well, lets say I wouldn't be able to stop you. Don't remember how to fight anymore." Ecthel said as he rolled his eyes a bit. Amnesia could go to hell and be smitten by God's hand for all he cared.

"Anyways, yes, from what a man named Meglumar said, I am a Angel, though personally, I've no idea." Ecthel said as he scratched his head a bit. "Though these make it a tad obvious don't they? Ecthel said as he stretched out his wings. A small girl walked by, looking with huge eyes at Ecthel's wings. She then plucked out a feather, causing Ecthel to yelp in surprise/pain.

Ian was amused on 3 fronts. 1, a Little girl had just caused irritation to the Evident Angel. 2, If Ecthel meant what Ian thought he meant, Meglumar was involved. 3, Amnesia? In a divine being? That was new altogether.

Ian proceeded to snicker at the Feather yank. "Can you get me one too, Little girl? I've heard Angel Feathers are a good luck talisman!." Truth be told, he was just yanking Ecthel's chain. Though, he HAD heard that somewhere, and let's face it, an Angel feather would make a nice keepsake. The fact the big-eyed little girl was too innocent and cute to be reprimanded made it even funnier. Ian wouldn't attack, not with a horde of elven archers on the watch. So he'd get a bit of physical humor in.

"Anyway...by Meglumar, do you mean a paladin, one with a phobia about showing his face, freaking out if his mask comes off? I know him. He's not too fond of me, but we respect each other's abilities. And Amnesia? That's interesting. Forgot how to fight? Perhaps I can teach you a bit...They say, after all, that teaching a subject makes one master it, so it would be beneficial to myself as well..."

An odd offer, but Ian was rather playful. And he had a strategy when dealing with the forces of good, seem like an okay person. That way, they were any degree less likely to be able to bring themselves to kill him, should that situation EVER arose, which he hoped it wouldn't..

"Okay!" The little girl said happily as she reached to pluck another one from Ecthel's wings.

"Eh?" Ecthel said recovering from the shock. It felt like hair was being ripped off him. Before he could say anything else however, the girl plucked another feather, causing him to yelp again. "DOW!" Was all he could manage when the girl pulled it out. The little girl handed the feather over to Ian.

"Ah! I need to get one for mommy as well!" The girl said as she reached for another.

"Ah! No that won't be necessary!" Ecthel said quickly as he stopped the little girl. "How about I fly you over to your mom instead?" Ecthel offered quickly instead. The little girl cheered then pointed at the direction of her mother. Ecthel then picked up he gently. "I'll back shortly." Ecthel said with a smile to Ian as he flew upwards. He flew a short distance over to the girl's rather surprised mother. He then set the giggling girl on the ground gently beside her mother who reprimanded the girl, but the girl didn't listen. Ecthel laughed a bit to himself. The girl then handed Ecthel his own feather and then Ecthel flew back.

"I KNEW you were some form of evil." Ecthel grumbled as he handed Ian his feather. "Anyways, I don't know about the phobia, but I think thats him He had a mask on. And...I guess relearning to fight would be kinda necissary, otherwise I wouldn't be carrying a sword on my back." Ecthel said, pointing over shoulder with his thumb.

Ian was practically in hysterics. He kept a straight face. Not. Ecthel would be able to tell Ian was practically rupturing an organ, he was repressing his laughter so hard.

"HMFNKNT! PFFT! KNNSTKNST! CKHTNKCT! KHCNT! HTCMKTHMTC!"

Actually, Halfway through the apparent laugh attack, Ian used this as an excuse to clear his throat. Hence the much throatier nature of the later snickers. Once THAT passed, Ian took the feather and wove it in between the fibers of his cloak as a way of keeping it until it could be stored in a container, or a locket or something.

Moving on...Ian wasn't too apologetic about his little prank.

"Oh please, A harmless...okay, HARMFUL jest isn't grounds for declaring me such. Very well though, let us take this away from the archers, who might mistake us for actually fighting and....well...shoot one or both of us. There's a grove over there, that would do nicely."

Ecthel glared at Ian for a second before speaking again. "Fine by me. I'd prefer not to get another arrow shot through my clothing." Ecthel said, looking at the hole through his sleeve. "Anyways, I suppose I'll meet you at the grove in a little bit." Ecthel said as flew over to said grove over the Elven Archer's heads, making sure to watch them if they shot at him again.

Once Ecthel reached the grove, he checked to make sure no one was around, then drew the Einherjar. The blade felt as if it had been through many battles and repairs with Ecthel before he had lost his memory. Not just Ecthel, but other angels as well. "This is...My blade." Ecthel said as he swung the blade a bit. It was fairly light weight, and made so Ecthel could swing it around with one hand, however the hilt was large enough to use two hands if needed. Needless to say, it was comfortable to have it with him. Ecthel began practicing swinging, and waiting for Ian.

Ian arrived. He had his sword drawn, and it was apparently rather dull. Well then.

"I can see you have at least a knowledge of how to grasp the blade. Alright...."

Ian decided to go over the basics first. He gathered a few logs of varying thicknesses.

"Lesson one: The Basics. Alright. Swinging a blade is something any idiot can do, So let us emphasize accuracy first. I'm going to toss these logs forward in varying distances. Your task is to cut them with your sword. The thicker ones will be thrown shorter so you have more time to build up power to strike them. Don't worry about it if you can't cut through some, some will be too thick for that. This is focus on speed and accuracy, the most critical parts of a sword fight. Just hitting the logs should be your focus. Are you ready?

Ian was rather amused. Here he was, teaching an angel how to use his sword. This would probably bite him in the ass later, but he was having quite a bit of fun. And like he said, this was good for both of them.

Ecthel looked at the logs. They looked fairly easy to hit, and they would make perfect practice targets for him, so long as they didn't fly into his face anyways. "Alright then, I suppose I'm ready." Ecthel said as he stopped swinging the sword around. Something in his mind clicked, and he took a proper sword stance as if he hadn't forgotten at all how to fight. Perhaps it just that his body remembered and this would trigger his memories.

"Alright then, toss away." Ecthel said, waiting for Ian to begin.

Ian threw the logs with timed gaps. First was one thin log, 10 feet to Ecthel's Left. 5 seconds later, he threw a thick log straight up into the air, which would require the use of either precise timing or Ecthel's wings. 20 seconds later, he threw two mid-thickness logs into opposite directions. One had been engraved with "Target this log!" by Ian's sword. This was a way to test Ecthel's pattern recognition. That was all for the first volley of logs.

Ian watched with interest as Ecthel assumed a stance. It was a reflex, then. The body remembered what the mind had forgotten, and that amused Ian.

Ecthel was surprised a bit when Ian threw the logs at him. He thought they would be coming at him...A lost faster. They looked almost in slow motion in Ecthel's eyes. With Lightning Reflexes and a great amount of agility, Ecthel zoomed to the left, slicing the thin log straight down the middle. He then jumped and took off flying, cutting the thicker log quickly in half. After letting himself fall downward and land properly, Ecthel saw Ian toss two logs in opposite directions, but saw that one of them had something carved onto it. It looked like a indication to get that one, so Ecthel quickly dashed towards that log, slicing it in half and sheathing his sword in a fluid motion, as if all he did was pull out a wallet or something. "....Okay, I guess I'm better at this than I thought I was." Ecthel said looking at what his work. It seemed almost easy compared to what he had done in the past, although his mind couldn't remember, his muscles and his body did the work for him.

Ian grinned widely. "Well then...Let's skip ahead! HAHAHA! This shall be more fun then I thought! Try this one on for size! Lesson 6: Timing!" And with that, Ian let off his restraint, and started flinging the logs as fast as he could. Five directly at Ecthel, but thrown in different curves, which would require either a stab attack at the precise moment, before the curve threw their trejectories off, or a difficult circular, slows slash, which would be even harder to time. Almost immediately afterwards, Ian threw the remaining logs, the thickest of the bunch, made of tough Oak wood, in absolutely random directions at varying angles and distences.

It was actually rather mean of Ian, who had apparently, whether he realized it or not, taken offence to the ease with which Ecthel chewed through the logs. The Oak Logs were actually something he KNEW Ecthel would be unable to cut through, being of thick oak, it'd be simply impossible for a blade to cut through the oak logs in one strike. This was to teach a valuble lesson, though.

Ecthel's eyes widened as suddenly a flurry of logs came flying at him. "Whoa! Getting serious are we?" Ecthel exclaimed as he sliced two logs. Another one came from above, which he stabbed and brought down to the ground, cleaving the wood in half. Ecthel then quickly brought his sword up then slashed in a circle, cutting the last two in half. Ecthel then saw that Ian began continuing to throw more much thicker logs which he proceeded to attempt to cut through. As Ecthel hit the first one, he felt a HUGE amount of resistance from it and failed to cut it in half and instead, continued his sword swing it flung the log away. Figuring out the rest of the logs were like this, he smashed several aside as he did before and also bashed some downwards with the hilt of his blade. He even managed to turn around and kick one aside.

"Gah! Are we done yet?! Ecthel said as he finished the kick which nearly threw him off balance.

Ian tutted. He had anticipated this. "You did well with the first 5 directed at you, but you fail this round. Swinging the sword around is as meaningless in the hands of an expert fighter as it is in the hands of a drunken brawler. You did not grasp the MEANING behind the blade's every strike. Each swing of your blade is not only a testament to your physical prowess, but a sign of how much of your will, how much of your SOUL you devote to your cause! To mindlessly attack the targets because they were there, despite the fact they were undefeatable to you, makes you no more then a bloodthirsty monster!"

Ian drew his longsword out into a fighting position. It was dulled, but still capable of cutting flesh. It also seemed to be a bit brittle.

"I give you one final test. Your lack of memories means nothing in battle. You are fighting for a cause! Show me your power! Show me the power of your soul! Once you can do that, I have nothing left to teach you! Break my blade with yours, Ecthel! Overcome my purpose, which is, right now, to STRIKE YOU DOWN! Break my blade, break my purpose, and grasp your own power! HYAAA!"

And with that, Ian threw off his cloak, revealing that he wore no form of armor underneath. This gave him amazing speed, as he DID weight-train occasionally. He used that Speed in what would become his signature opening move, a rush forward, followed by a slant to the left, then a hook around the opponent to the right for a quick stab at the elbow.

It was, In Ian's mind, the perfect attack. He decided to name it, and so, he dubbed it "Vollkommene Öffnung"

To defend against it, Ecthel would have to move his arm back to block with his sword, Twist his body for the same purpose, or spread his wings and fly up, which would leave him momentarily open to an attack. All 3 options made him vulnerable as heck. And if Ecthel picked the 1st or second option, the sword swings would have little force behind them, allowing Ian to knock the Einherjar out of Ecthel's hand, potentially. If Ecthel tried to move back, that would put him on the defensive, and Ian would gain a fast advantage.

Ian's words seemed to have shaken Ecthel a bit, as did Ian's sudden attack on him. Ecthel went into a defensive stance as he began to think to himself. What WAS his sword meant to do? Defend? Attack? A sword was meant to be a extension of it's user...So what did he want to do? He didn't want to kill others, he didn't want to defend himself, so what was the Angel to do? "Einherjar....Isn't just my blade!" Ecthel exclaimed as he something rather different. He fell to the side of where the stab was aimed, then quickly turned around and swung, putting momentum on the blade to make up for power he was losing falling. "Kaitengiri!" Ecthel exclaimed. He didn't know where the name came from, but he felt that that was what the move was MEANT to be called.

Ian smiled as his blade blocked the "Kaitengiri". It sounded Japanese. Ian didn't have an extensive knowledge of the language, but he DID know what the language sounded like. His blade would hold as long as his purpose did, or at least, that was what Ecthel would believe. And such, Ecthel would subconsciously hold off on his attacks until he had his motivation decided, Ian was fairly sure human nature would apply to Angels as well. But he decided to speed the process up as he locked sword with Ecthel.

"Ecthel...What will you be? A warrior with no purpose is a weak warrior. Will you use your sword to protect? Or will you let your sword be your compass, letting it steer you to your fate? I will not choose for you, Ecthel, choose, and break my blade! Your name, even, Ecthel! It is meaningless! You have nothing to give it substance with! When you have your purpose, your name will have meaning! Your sword will have power! You will have conquered your amnesia, Ecthel, just by realizing your purpose!" And with that, Ian began to press against the Einherjar with his sword, fully intending to kill Ecthel if Ecthel didn't come up with a purpose to himself soon.

It surprised Ian, though. He didn't sound evil...not at all. He was mentoring an angel, for Lothlomendil's sake!

Ecthel struggled with his blade as Ian pushed it towards him, but his will was his sword's will, and his will was holding stronger than he could ever remember. Ecthel pushed back with equal if not surpassing force. "Did you know? Einherjar is meant to stand as fallen souls. For hundreds of years, it was taken care of by warriors who protected others, and even if it's not my will, Gods help me, I WISH TO CARRY IT OUT!" Ecthel yelled as he pushed Ian aside. He then....Sheathed his blade and put it at his side? No, that wasn't all, Ecthel took up a new stance. "Subashidouten." Ecthel said quietly as he focused strength into his arm and then waited.

Ian immediately felt a wave of sweet irony. Here he was, aiding an angel, who was apparently getting his memory back bit by bit, and the angel had come to the conclusion he would do the exact thing that would Impede Ian's future plans the most. What a bother. Well, This intensified Ian's purpose to Kill Ecthel, and Ian felt like he should remind Ecthel just who he was fighting.

"Ecthel...That saddens me, Ecthel. Your purpose is to obey the gods? I am sad, Ecthel...Very sad...My Purpose is to defy them, after all. I will put that aside though, Ecthel. Give me your all!" Ian then crouched into a stance that would emphasize speed and power, and began rushing at Ecthel, sword drawn back, puttign his running momentum into his arms as he twisted his torso, and put every shred of bodily power he felt compelled to muster into his sword. It was cracking. Strain? Ian's power? Hard to tell.

"HYAAAAAUGH!" And with that, Ian swung his nameless Longsword at Ecthel's Einherjar, ready to clash for what would be the Sword's final time.

"Not the God's will. The Gods don't interfere with the Winters clan's wishes. They only provided help, in the form of my Angelic mother, who passed these wings onto me. The souls of the fallen are my will, as is my blade, and if I need to break yours with my will, so be it!" Ecthel said as he completed his stance. Virtually all power was focused into his right arm, and he unsheathed and swung in a instant. All resistance from the sheath immediately disappeared, and all his gathered strength unleashed in one raw powered swing at Ian's blade in a attempt to shatter it. "The final swing. Iyokutoppa." Ecthel said quietly.

Ian's blade snapped off an inch above the hilt. The blade cracked even more when it was struck, and it shattered once it hit a stone jutting from the ground.

Ian drew back from Ecthel, placing the hilt of his sword into it's sheath. Ian actually intended to collect sword hilts that had snapped off in battle, either from opponents or his own blades. Odd, but certainly nothing to crazy.

"Good, Ecthel. Ecthel Winter. You remembered your purpose, your name, and at least some of your past. Half-Angel, not a full-blood. I am happy for you, Ecthel...What will you do now?"

Ian tossed his hair back over his shoulders and picked up his cloak, re-donning it.

"I suppose it's Ironic I of all people helped you regain all this, isn't it?"

Ecthel sheathed his blade, feeling a bit of regret the Ian's sword had been destroyed to reawaken his own. "I suppose it is a bit ironic, after what I detected on you before. But...It seems my heads a bit more quiet now." Ecthel said as he faced Ian.

Ecthel put it's sheath back over his shoulders and under his cloak. "Ian DeSarva Vaner, I think you for reawakening my blade and my memories, and I apologize for allowing you to do it at the cost of your blade." Ecthel said with a slight bow. His personality seemed...Different, a lot more cold. "Ordinarily, the law of my clan would be for me to execute the evil one....But as of now, Ecthel Winters is officially dead. Father and mother, forgive me for shaming you, but it seems that losing my memories was a bit of a eye opening experience for me. Before, I was a mindless killer who followed orders of retribution without question because I regarded the whole world as evil...But as you can see, you just proved me wrong. From now on, I shall now be known as Ein Winters, so please address me as so." Ecthel, no, Ein said with a smile at Ian. He was back to his personality when his memory was lost.

Ian wondered..."It seems we've rubbed off on each other. Don't worry about the sword, Ein. That thing was pretty cheap anyway, it wasn't a special sword, like yours. I was intending to buy an Elven Saber, really, that suits my style more, that's why I was around here anyway in the first place!" Ian was a bit quiet after that. He was thinking. Perhaps this "Eye opening" with Ein would be an experience worth remembering. To be honest, Ian's purpose of defying the gods no longer seemed worthwhile to him. He decided what his goal would be, and that would be to defy fate. To be himself. Identify what he, Ian was, not what it, the evil soul, was. It would be hard. If someone made him angry, it would be very bad...But for now, Ian's alignment could best be described as "Chaotic Neutral".

"....Regardless, I thank you. Anyways, I suppose I should take my leave now, and I hope my feather really does grant you luck!" Ein said with a smile. He spread his wings out and hopped upwards hovering a bit over the ground. "Ah, and before I forget. Ian, the God's aren't don't will people to their bidding, they bless those who have worthy causes and strong wills. You don't have to love the Gods, but try not to openly oppose them, okay? Lets meet again sometime!" Ein said as he flew off. He waved goodbye and the flew along side several birds. He laughed happily, spinning circles around in the air, much more carefree than before.

Ian was slightly chagrined. "He's only half-angel...Bah, next time I see him, I'll pluck out another!" And with that, Ian headed into the Elven City.