"The darkness shall awaken and stretch out its hand, and those whose souls avoid the Light shall flock to it." - The Prophecies of Light

Seungcheol rode easily, watching the party in front of him with too many thoughts whirling around in his head. Over the course of the past few days, Hyesung had held to his word and allowed them to travel on Seungcheol's terms, but the Mage had drawn into himself and refused to speak with the guardsman for very long at all. It was frustrating, especially when the conversation that he had shared with Wonwoo had pulled so many questions to the forefront of his mind.

If only he had ever been inclined to study the prophecies himself. He knew that there were copies of the books in the Redien Tower library for anyone to read, and yet in the five years that he had lived there, he had never even thought to pick them up. He'd never before had interest in the cryptic writings of long-dead strangers, instead focusing on learning more practical things such as soldiering, and yet now, he felt that lack of knowledge eating at him. 

Dongwan had spoke a lot of the prophecies, and Seungcheol had often been the High Mage's personal guard. He had never known exactly why the man had chosen him, except maybe that it had to do with his own father, and he had never gotten up the courage to ask, but Dongwan had always treated him nicely, even if the other guards did give him hell about being a favorite. Now, he was wishing that he had paid more attention to what Dongwan had to say about the prophecies themselves.

If what Hyesung said was correct, then the Seals were people. Was that the reason that he had allowed Seungcheol to come along with his quest? There were four people in their small party, and there were supposed to be four Seals. But thinking of it that way would make Seungcheol himself a Seal, and from what few prophecies he knew, he couldn't remember any about a guardsman or an heir. Then again, given the cryptic wording of them, he could have been mentioned a hundred times over and never know of it.

That thought made him even more uncomfortable, and he shifted his shoulders to alleviate the sudden tension there. His horse didn't even bother to try and buck him off, testament that the journey was finally taking its toll on the indomitable sorrel, and Seungcheol had to give a small smile at that. Maybe this would be at least good for him and his horse.

Looking ahead, he once again saw Mingyu and Wonwoo riding side by side, the pack horse following along behind them easily. They were in a comfortable silence for the moment, the long days of riding taking a toll on the people as well, but the two dark haired young men spoke often to one another. Or at least, much more often than they spoke with Seungcheol. He couldn't blame them, though. They certainly had more in common with one another than they did with him, and he hadn't exactly been trying to cultivate a friendship with either one. He was pretty sure that they did not trust him, either, given from the looks that he received when he would try and converse with Hyesung.

His eyes moved forward then, to search out the High Mage. The man was wrapped tightly in his cloak, shielding himself against the wind, and yet he steadily led them North-West toward what Seungcheol was beginning to think was the Reaches. He couldn't remember anything about the Reaches ever being spoken of in prophecy, but once again, he was no scholar.

After a moment of hesitation, he nudged his horse into a trot and moved up around the other two young men. They looked up at him as he passed, a flicker of annoyance going across Wonwoo's face, but they said nothing. He pulled his horse off of the rocky hill around them and back onto the worn trail beside Hyesung.

"High Mage," he greeted, to which the older man gave him a frustrated look. He had to be getting sick of Seungcheol's questions and attempts at conversation, but the blond man had hope that he would break through.

"I know that you don't want to talk to me, but I have something to say," he started, trying to keep his tone casual, but Hyesung's expression soured anyway. He opened his mouth as if he was about to tell Seungcheol to go away, but the guardsman beat him to it and continued on. "Dongwan used to speak about the prophecies, a lot. I have to admit that I didn't listen well enough to retain what he said, but if I can be of any use to you in what few memories I do have, I am happy to do so."

Hyesung turned in