Chapter 1 - A Glimpse of the Past

Raen Fall

Damn I hear the distinct sound of many Drozg wings flapping in the warm night, tracking my scent as I run from the grand capital of the Urzig Empire, Gamnor and I wonder how they found out who I really am. It must have been Nees, I knew something was wrong when he offered me some tea.
No time to think about that now though, I need to get away from these Drozg, maybe Ill actually get away this time. Yeah right, maybe if I had some rotting meat but no luck tonight. Guess I will just have to outrun them.
Its gonna be a long night.
Im trying to keep a pace but I can feel myself slowing down. There must have been poison in that tea, it would make sense and explain why Im slowing down. Im gonna get you for this Ness! There is no way I can outrun them in this condition, but its my only option right now.
I come upon a marsh where it will be hard for the Drozg to follow because of the potent smells and sounds from the creatures inhabiting the area. The big problem is that it will be near impossible to get through without a guide or even a map. As I try to decide if its worth the risk I can feel my heart rate slowing little by little but its too late. The poison&is clouding&my mind&
Everything is dark I can hear people talking near by but I can barely understand what theyre saying. To top it off I feel like Im paralyzed, unable to move or even speak.
So, uh&, where we taking this guy gain
My Rorim Stump, you have to be the stupidest&anything! I mean come on Ive already told you four times that this isnt any ordinary guy, this is Nyte and we are taking him first to Finra for his trial and after being found guilty, which he will, well take him to wherever his sentence is to be executed. I just wish they game us a little more poison to keep him knocked out because I would hate for him to wake up.
Well thats why they gave us twenty soldiers.
You think thats enough to hold him back! Id feel allot better if we had at least one Zura with us. This guy killed Drel. You know about him at least, right?
This guy really knows his stuff.
What, it dat Nyte! Why didnt you tell me it was him?
No stump! No more! Im not doing this again. Wow, I cant take this much longer I need to get out of here before I am made any stupider. I will start with my fingers that should be a good place to start. Yes, got the fingers moving now for the whole hand. Damn, no more than a few twitches. Well looks like the only way to escape this madness is to sleep.
Ow, Im awoken by my head crashing against the side of my prison, my head!
Oh no, hes awake!
Who?
Relax Im not going to kill you.
Bet thats what you told Drel right before you killed him.
Well, if youre right you would be dead in seconds, but if youre not dead you could hand me some water. It tastes like I had a wad of dirt in my mouth.
Stump get him some water!
K
Thanks Stump. I give it an odd look wondering if it is poisoned and decide even if it is it has to taste better then this Ah, thats much better. So Stump, how did you get a name like that?
I dunno.
Hes as dumb as a stump.
Where are we headed to?
Well, we are to take you to Finra so that you can be tried then after being found guilty and your sentence is set we will take you to wherever the sentence is to be executed.
Oh boy that sounds fun. How long do you think it will take for the sentence to be set?
It depends on who is in the committee to set the sentence. If Zuka or Larteze is on the committee it might be awhile, most likely they will both be on the committee so it will be even longer, and you got to look out though because they like to think of a punishment that fits the crime. Cant wait to see what they come up with though, it should have great detail.
There is no way it could be the Larteze I know. Oh no, maybe they found out that he helped me. Wait, think logically now. If he is on the committee to set my sentence there is little to no chance he was found out.
Whats this Zuka guy like?
Man, you sure ask allot of questions.
I like to know what Im getting into.
I guess thats a somewhat new habit.
Ha, yea. Somewhat new.
Anyway, Zuka is the Head Master at the Institute of Magicks and personally teaches the Shadow Magicks and Summoning and Bindings classes. In your case though Id be more worried about Larteze.
Why?
Hes a priest that recently moved here from, where was it?
Lycia?
Yea, thats it. Wait howd you know?
Damn, need to be more careful, I dont want to blow Lartezes cover I could never live with myself.
When I was doing research on the gods a few of the priests mentioned his name so I wanted to see what the big deal was about him. I went to his serman one day and was moved by his words. Lucky for him I went too otherwise I would have killed Serech but he seemed like a good man so I then went with Drel.
The prisoner is awake! All guards surround the wagon! Driver, stop!
There goes our conversation.
Good talking with you, we will continue our talk another time.
I let out a deep sigh and braced myself for whatever was going to happen and all I can hear is the sound of their armor clanging from outside the wagon.
The entire back wall cracked open flooding the room with light then came crashing to the ground revealing the twenty soldiers.
You, step off the wagon!
Why do you want me off the wagon?
So we can search you for any weapons.
Why not search me while I was sleeping? I ask and begin to walk down the ramp and once my foot hit the ground I could see all but one, in the middle of the crowd, flinch.
We didnt want you to wake up while we were searching you.
So you are going to search me while Im awake? Ha, that makes allot of sense. And I stop right in front of him.
Thats enough! barked the man who didnt flinch No more talking!
You are the boss.
Hmph, Hand over all your weapons!
I dont have any weapons.
Were supposed to believe that the infamous Nyte is unarmed?
Well yeah. First off where would I hide it on me and secondly why would I even have a weapon its not like I go around picking fights with people.
But you can fight cant you?
Well yea, I was in the Army before there was a bounty on my head.
Ill make you a deal then if you can beat me in a duel Ill let you just walk away, but if I win you must comply with my orders.
Youve got a deal, and we shook on it.
Soldier gives him your spear.
Yes sir.
The spear feels unbalanced in my hand. The spear head is heavy and the shaft is light, as if it were hollow.
We begin by circling each other and he starts showing off his finger dexterity by spinning the spear in his hands and I just have a smug look on my face. We begin to close into striking range. He swings his spear from left to right and in an instant I bring my spear up right so he strikes against my spear and I hear it crack as it hits. We continue circling but take a few paces farther apart. Seems like I only have one shot with this thing so I better do it quick, we stop circling each other and I say that was a cheap trick. It makes me wonder if I can believe in our deal.
Ha, I dont know what your talking about but I swear to Drel, oh wait didnt you kill him?
Yea you wanna see what power I gained from it?
I hurl my spear as fast and with all the power I could muster. He didnt even have time to realize what was happening before the spear hit him but to my dismay it barely pierced his armor on the left shoulder but the shaft splintered into millions of pieces and there was enough force to knock him on his @$$. Then to finish this fight I begin to mutter the magic words of the Uma Goty Pertoc yme solan kest semn!
The earth began to rumble and rose in what looked like flower petals around me and I can only guess the second part of the spell worked because as my senses began to dwindle I can hear the captain let out a shrill cry. All I can do is snicker to myself and say
I won.
I feel sick to my stomach so I quickly crack through the slabs of rock surrounding me. As soon as I break through the last wall I fall to the ground and start coughing up blood and I remember how much I hate using Drels power. I roll onto my back to catch my breath. I really need to learn how to use these powers without the after affects.
As I lay here recovering from all that coughing I try to make a plan about where to go. Well, I need to get out of Finra. I cant go to Lycia, thats where this whole thing started. Dont want to go back to the Urzig Empire, its really depressing there. So that takes out the Zuran Estates. That just leaves me with Myres, and if I really dont want to get caught I could go to The Dragons Jaw. That might be a little extreme though, and might attract some attention seeing how nobody goes there.
That settles it. Ill make my way to Myres, and if gets bad along the way I can book passage to The Dragons Jaw from there.
Now which way is East?
I look around for any indications but find none. I try to peer through the canopy but the trees have too many leaves on them to see the sun from down here. Guess I need to climb up and see what I can see.
As I climb higher in the tree I get a sinking feeling in my gut as I realize its high noon so the sun is right above me.
Great, I just climbed this tree for nothing now I have to wait an hour or two just to tell which way is east.
What to do now? and at that my stomach replied.
Ha, guess that settles that. So I start climbing down trying not to fall and I try to think of the local wildlife in the area, it would help if I knew where I was, but I dont know any. I also realize that I dont have anything to hunt with.
By the time I get to the ground I decide that it would be a waste of time for me to try and hunt and that the most effective, however risky, thing to do is find a town. It shouldnt be to far though; the road is very wide and packed down. The only thing I have to avoid is going to Finra.
So I start my trek with nothing but the body of my fallen opponent and a plan to get into any village.
I am happy to find a village not far down the road and as they notice me I quicken my pace and begin to yell with panic in my voice.
This man is dead!
Whats the big deal about that?
I think it was Nyte!
What!? Why do you think that?
This man was lying on the on the ground with a huge spike of earth through the middle of his chest and there where giant walls of earth surrounding a single spot making it inaccessible but for where it was cracked through!
Damn, that sounds like Nytes doing, what does he mean by that Open the gate!
I am in. Crap who am I? I need to think of a new name quickly!
Zyx. That is my name now.
What should I do with this guy?
Take him down the road this road; take the first right, keep going down that road till you find the house with a stone cross in the yard. Thats it.
Thank you
As I walk down the road people stop what they are doing and stare at me. I wonder if they are staring at the dead man in my arms or if they are recognizing me. At first I try not to show my nervousness but the increasing number of people and the eerily quietness of the village is making it harder.
As soon as I spot the looming cross in the distance I quicken my pace to escape the piercing gaze of the villagers.
As I walk into the house a bell rings above my head and Im flooded with sweet scent of pies I look around and notice a fair number of odd trinkets about the room as well.
A second later a bald man of giant proportions, dark skin and a black moustache that curled up at the ends walks in from a back room, and as soon as he notices the dead captain in my hands the joy leaves his face in an instant.
Did you know him well?
No, I found him on the road like this. I think it was Nyte, too
Why would you think that?
Im thrown off by his calmness after saying that He had an earth spike through his chest and there were giant slabs of earth jutting out of the ground not far from the body.
I see& well it was kind of you to bring him here, every man deserves a proper burial. You can hand him to me now. I can set him in the back and Ill get to his burial shortly.
Thanks this armor makes him really heavy.
I hand him the body and he takes him back through the door he came through.
Are you planning on staying in town?
Actually, I need to&
The bell rings unexpectedly so I glance towards the door to see who it is. I cant believe my eyes! I do a double take out of disbelief, for good reason too. Its not her, but still&
Good morning Malch and& who is this?
We have not had the chance to exchange names yet he had some business that needed attention. he extends his arm with his palm waiting to meet my own.
My name is Zyx; its nice to meet you.
My name is Malch, and the feeling is mutual. And this lovely lady here is Serine.
I bow my head The pleasure is mine, milady.
There seems to be bitterness in her voice as she replies Its nice to meet you Zyx. She turns back towards Malch And your pie as requested fro your payment and I would like to thank you again for repairing the roof for us.
Its no problem at all, especially if one of your pies is payment, he lets out a joyous laugh at his comment but if there is anything else you need you just let me know.
I will, now I must be going Kai will be getting home soon and I to start supper.
How is Kai doing?
He is talking more and eating right again. I think him working now is helping take his mind off of it.
Tell him I said hello and I think I might have something for him if I can find.
She seems skeptical at what he might have for him I will ogd-ye Malch, Zyx.
Before either of us could mutter a word she was out the door. I stand there staring where she had been standing with so many questions running through my head; where did she learn Uma Goty, why does she seem bitter and distant, and most of all, why does she look like Fayte?
Before I can think of an answer to any of these questions I hear Malch give off a sigh so I turn towards him, hes staring out the window as if into the past almost.
Its a shame what happened to that family.
What do you mean?
One day when Kollk, her husband, and Kai, their son, went out to hunt and they were attacked by what Kai told me what looked like a wolf but on two legs and bigger than any man he had ever seen. Kai didnt talk for a awhile after he got back but after the first couple of days people started to assume the worst and wild stories started to spread.
All I can do is stand and stare in disbelief.
Once we heard some of the stories, I was sent here to investigate.
Sent by whom?
G.I., Greymeire Investigators. As in, the demon world, investigators.

Never heard of them.
Not a big surprise, they only investigate that could possibly be related to Greymeire.
Like what?
Hes gives a hearty laugh few things you would have heard about and even fewer you would believe. However, one thing you know about is Nyte.
I quickly ask Do you have any leads? and as soon as I do I realize I shouldnt be so jumpy when talking about Nyte.
Well the last I heard from them was that he was somewhere in the Urzig Empire, but if Nyte killed this soldier they are misinformed. However, they mostly just want to know how he did it.
What!?
He finally turns back from the window to me with a small smile on his face. Yes thats exactly what I thought when they told me too. They say they want to prevent it from happening again rather than track him down, they say the rest of the worlds already doing that why do they need to also.
I dont know what to say to all this.
Say what you like I dont work for them anymore. This was my last investigation. But that was my decision. I liked it here so I decided to stay. And help wherever I can. But thats enough about me for now you must be tired and hungry.
I remember in an instant the pain in my stomach and the smell of pies once again floods my senses. Yes, mostly the hungry part though.
Help your self to some pie if youd like. Then after that well go down to the inn and see if we cant get you a room and some food other than pie.
You have no idea how good that sounds right now but& you see& I dont have any money at the moment.
Hmm, Ill have to talk to Serine and see if she can help us with getting you a room and Ill take care of the food as payment for helping bury that poor soul.
I dont think I can take such a generous offer without paying you back.
Ha ha, I never said it was free. Youre going to work for me and you can help Serine with something Im sure.
I consider it for a few seconds Sounds good to me, and I pick up a shovel leaned on the wall nearby just point me in the right direction.

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