"Shards, man! Startled me half to death! Wait, you're just a lad. Did you just crawl from the corpse pyre? Explains the lack of clothes, your armour and colours must have been good salvage. By the looks of the rest of the bodies piled up, you're likely from the losing side. If my son was still around, he'd be just about your age. Why don't you quickly throw these clothes on? Grave rats are essentially invisible to both sides of the war. If anybody asks, you ain't no deserter. You're my son, at least until we get back to civilisation. People call me Crow, what's your name, lad?" Crow said. He pulled a worn pack from his back to sift through the pots, weapons, and other assorted items strapped to it, pulling out a tunic and pair of trousers, tossing them to the young man standing around with a vacant look of his face. "Not much of a talker, huh? Or you took a nasty hit to wake up on the bottom of that flesh mound. I'll tell you what, I'm just going to call you Talus for now. It was the name of my boy. Quick put on the clothes before the Magi take notice!"
The fragment of the Figure in White, now titled Talus, rapidly processed a multitude of different information from the world around them. He didn't ignore the looter Crow, merely taking a moment to translate his words, gleaning their meaning from the heightened senses of his new body. He easily eavesdropped on the hushed conversations of camp followers sifting among the battlefield along with the whispered prayers and curses of the dying.
Such primitive language, relying solely on vocal air vibrations and partial visual cues to indicate emotion. This is my first time replicating a Human body, I have yet to master the operating mechanics. I remember now, a smile represents sincerity.
Talus unevenly smiled, stretching his cheeks unnaturally wide to put his pristine teeth on full display. His pale arms moved awkwardly at first but betrayed an underlying fluid grace hinting at the potential speed and strength. Which was enough to give Crow pause as Talus plucked the clothes draping his shoulder.
Crow's frowned as he watched Talus balance perfectly on one foot without any sign of swaying to haul on the trousers. The frown only deepened and the hair on the nape of the man's neck prickled as the tunic fell into place without a crease. The scavenger shook away the uncanny feeling, suppressing the primal warnings blaring in the back of his mind. His attention was drawn towards something beside Talus's feet.
Crouching down, Crow plucked something from the muck and reverently lifted it in front of him. A satisfied smile spread across his face before glancing up at Talus with visible excitement etched into his features.
"Do you know what this is, lad? It's our ticket to the swag life. You're still young enough that I can call in favours with a Magi I know and have you tested for aptitude. But what this flower means is they'll take you, no questions asked, and I can tag along for the ride. No more sifting through blood and shit for the both of us! It's called a Radiant Blood Flower, rare as unicorn piss and they've been extinct for centuries," Crow exclaimed in a sharp whisper. He looked around furtively before tucking it inside his coat above his heart, patting it to assure himself it was secure. "Now, before you get any sinister ideas. The flowers are worthless on the open market, only the Magi want them and they're not saying why. Rumour is that they're staging these wars between us common folk as an experiment to cultivate them. Shards knows what makes them so valuable but the Magi are offering free admittance for those still young enough of any background plus food, lodging and a salary for one serving man. That's me. So, don't be spreading it around that we found one or I just might end up on the wrong side of a pointy object before we get it to the right people. Are we in agreement?"
Talus stared down at the filthy hand being presented to him, immediately understanding the purpose of the Human custom. Without a word, he reached out to mirror the gesture and clasped hands with Crow. Crow gave a tight squeeze and a rigorous shake before releasing his grip. He then spat on the ground and revealed a gap-toothed grin.
"Then we have an accord. If the shards favour us, lad, you'll become a Magi and I'll have your back. I feel like I've done enough talking for the both of us and we're done with the introductions. How about we get a move on? We don't want to be here when the funeral pyre goes up. The smell of cooking man flesh stirs up an uncomfortable appetite I'd rather not undergo," Crow said, turning to leave. He glanced back to usher Talus to stay close and began carefully navigating the grassy marshland.
The distance between them slowly grew and Talus quickly interpreted the reason for Crow initially helping him. The scavenger always hoped to find a Radiant Blood Flower and intended to piggyback off of Talus meeting the magi's criteria. Before following, Talus turned to survey the area. The landscape was bleak in the overcast light, bodies were scattered in the area around them with many stacked into piles similar to the one Talus had emerged from.
Talus's attention focused on a nearby grave rat hunched over a wounded soldier. The dying man held up a hand to weakly fend away the rapid pat down searching for any valuables. The grave rat's oversized pack rattled with movement, ignoring the soldier's protests. Small trinkets were stacked to the side with proficient ease, followed by a small coin pouch. The shrouded figure paused to open the purse and glanced inside. Sighing with disappointment, he plucked the single copper square coin from inside and casually discarded the empty pouch to the side.
The pouch landed in an ankle-deep puddle, the ripple distorted as it reflected the grave rat mercifully plunging a long dagger under the soldier's armpit sideways into his ribcage. His struggles were short-lived before becoming still. The grave rat stowed away his loot and grabbed the corpse by the feet, dragging it towards the nearest pile of bodies.
The air suddenly trembled, causing the battlefield to shift its collective attention towards a distinct direction with Magi levitating high in the sky. Nine Magi hovered above a collapsed tower that was being rebuilt in reverse from the top down, debris lifted into the air and formed intact bricks before settling into place. Talus's focus moved over the arcane sigils floating in the air behind each of the magi, unable to discern their meaning with his current understanding.