He scanned the battlefield, the remnants of the fallen warforged littering the scarred rock and grass of the mountaintop. All about he saw the carnage that had been wrought from their clash with the Lord of Blades, and as he surveyed the ruined landscape, there was a familiar sensation of regret at the part he had played in the devastation. The marks on his armor from the warforged demigod and his formidable weapons only confirmed the enormous effort required to achieve victory. But there was a cost. Always.   Thank Torm the land would heal. The rains would wash away the blood and ash. Buildings could be repaired. And, at the very least, the fallen would be honored.   He strode through the battlefield, reliving each moment as he took his every step, reflecting on every swing of his sword and the might he and his companions had brought to bear. As was his way. As had always been his way, his mind drifting back to the vantage point from which he'd surveyed his old arena. He turned, casting his gaze over Waterdeep, realizing now he'd found a new one.   The reflection was momentary, for already hovering before him was the radiant image of his commander, the leader of the Solar gracing him with his presence yet again. Callum knelt in fealty, as he thought any mortal pledged to Emperious' service should do. Especially for the service the angelic commander had provided in protecting the city.   Emperious huffed in amusement beneath the visage of his helmet. "Only kneel to Torm, Callum. You may bow before me." The fallen angel was quick to oblige, keeping his gaze lowered along with his head until Emperious bid him to raise both. Emperious turned to survey the view Callum was pondering. "You favor summits in this life as you did in your former existence. Gweihera told me I would find you here."   The former angel grinned at that. "She is the Aspect of Wisdom. I'm not surprised."   Emperous chuckled himself. "Several of them were when I told them you had pleaded for our aid. Some of them wish to speak with you as well."   "I would welcome that, if it is sanctioned."   "In time," Emperious was quick to reply, heading off any further hope Callum had in seeing or conversing with his former brothers and sisters for the time being. "There is still much anguish there, Callum. All of us felt the pain of your absence. Even more so the news of your fall. Along with Zariel's. And the circumstances of Tyreal's death was perhaps the most difficult for all of them."   Callum could only offer a solemn and silent nod as he remembered every detail of which Emperious spoke. Each painful facet of his past life, as well as the one that came after. He understood why his commander didn't wish for him to address the others so quickly. There was no telling what might happen or what old wrongs might still need to be rectified in the eyes of the mighty solar.   "Uriel's desertion has only made things worse, hasn't it?" he ventured, knowing the subject weighed on Emperious as it did himself.   Emperious waited before responding, his visage unreadable as he stared over the city below them. "It has. There aren't as many of us left now. And the forces of evil rally. Atropos draws near. Nicol Bolas draws powerful forces to his cause with his deceptions. And our old enemy grows in strength."   "Where do the solar go next?"   Emperious turned back to Callum. "Back to Celestia to plan for the battles to come. We will determine where we are most needed, and I will lead them to battle once we know." He withdrew his helmet, revealing the full majesty of his form, though the regret in his eyes was still easy to discern even through the heavenly radiance. "With some exceptions."   "I understand," Callum answered, knowing full well there were some realms into which no angel should dare venture ever again. He considered the mark on his arm, wondering what that meant for him in a moment of silent contemplation. "I would not suffer any of the others to endure Hell's torments. Or be made into what I was....what I am."   "Hmm, perhaps. As I told you, your road is dangerous, Callum. Are you certain you walk the right one?"   Callum pushed the old memories out of his mind. "I'm certain my sister still suffers in Hell. Uriel has been mislead. Tyreal is dead because of me. I wish to do what good I can after the harm my actions caused. I would follow the path that sets that right, if Torm will guide me to it."   Emperious' golden eyes flashed with divine magic, the solar looking to Callum's arm and seeing the truth of the mark beneath his armor. The mark of the Slayer. "Hellwalker...a dangerous prospect, Callum. I'm not certain you've learned from the past as you wish to think you have."   The warrior couldn't deny it. All he could do was turn to his commander and nod in solemn agreement.   Golden light faded as Emperious considered his former colleague and the situation he'd found himself in. "What do you make of the mark, Callum? Do you know what it means? What it truly means?"   Callum's mind returned to his meeting with the Raven Queen and the goddess of Death's words regarding the prophecy that might bring about the ruin of Asmoedeus himself...or might mean nothing at all. "It can only be what I make of it. Until my destiny is revealed. I wish I could offer you more than that, Emperious. I truly do. But all I know for now is...I will be what Heaven needs me to be. To save Celestia, my family, and my home. I will never justify the darkness within me, but I won't hide from where I am called to go, or what bearing this mark means I must do."   Emperious narrowed his gaze. "Explain yourself more fully, Callum."   "No angel should ever return to Hell, Emperious," he answered, almost expecting the inquiry. "No angel should ever bear this mark. But I am no angel. Not anymore. And I will do what I have to, to save my fallen sisters and our world. Be it as a savior, or a destroyer. And if it is a destroyer, let it be a destroyer of evil. Let it be the Hellwalker, and to our enemies, the one who brings fear where there is no hope."   It was a bold proclamation, and one that he knew he was risking in even stating aloud for Emperious to hear, but one he knew he had no choice but to express. If there was anything he hoped he understood from the darkness that encroached upon his being, within and without, it was the truth that he wouldn't hide from his role in fate, and that evil would never control his heart again. Even if it meant Heaven would never embrace him again for it.   Emperious sighed, but he didn't disagree. Instead, he placed his helmet back upon his head, summoned his spear to his hand, and bid Callum draw his weapon. "If such is the path you would choose to walk, there are secrets from Heaven that might bring you back to yourself should the darkness threaten to consume you once again, Callum. I have training for you, and knowledge of armaments lost to time, but not to our war. Take both for your quest, but know I will be watching, and vigilant from now until your final day. I too will do what I must."   Callum bowed, understanding completely and expecting no less. He then drew his weapon as Emperious had bid him to do. "Yes, Commander."