The Solis Oath

Chapter I

Man, I was sore. I didn't want to open my eyes, but something in me said that I'd need to soon, or someone would yell at me.

I opened my eyes, squinting at the sunlight in the window. I was in a comfortable bed with no one present, but somehow the coziness of the house only made me uneasy. Something felt off about the décor of the room. Sitting up, I took in my surroundings. The walls seemed to indicate I was in a log house, and gentle sunlight filtered through a single window. There were banners on the wall, fashioned with a blue and green coat of arms.

That can't be right, I thought, my mind still fuzzy. My home's banners were... They were...

The door opened, startling me out of my thoughts. A man and a woman walked in, both roughly my age.

The man was very tall, and his hair was streaked with gray, in spite of him otherwise looking to be in his early twenties. I would have questioned it, but I was distracted by the look on his face. His solid jaw was clenched, and I felt a subtle sense of hatred behind his otherwise calm green eyes. His ocean blue shirt was loose, but one look at his arms gave me a pretty good idea of his body type.

I turned my gaze to the woman. Her hair was ginger, let down slightly past the base of her neck. Her eyes were green, just like those of the man next to her. She didn't show any signs of animosity like the man, but her expression held no warmth, either. She wore a blue sleeveless shirt that, unlike the man's, gave me a decent idea of her slender build. Her shirt was tucked into a green skirt that went almost to her ankles, resting in a loose manner that still allowed her free movement.

I probably would have been able to tell how they spent most of their time by their builds alone, but the man interrupted my analysis, rushing forward and lifting me off of the bed by the front of my shirt.

"Why are you here?" he hissed, pressing me against the wooden wall. The burns on my back seared painfully from the pressure.

Wait, how had I gotten burned?

"Xander, let go of him," the woman told him. "We don't even know who he is yet."

Xander scoffed. "Look at his eyes, Cynthia. He's obviously Dakenian. That's enough of a verdict for me."

"He could be a defector, or a spy," Cynthia tried, though she didn't seem to believe her own words.

"Okay," Xander muttered, dropping me. Yeesh, he was tall. "I'll hear his story. After that, I won't make any promises."

They watched me expectantly. I just stared back, feeling stupid.

Xander seemed to be getting increasingly angry. I saw his hand slowly making its way towards the sword at his left.

"Could I ask a couple of questions before I talk?" I asked, keeping a careful eye on the blade.

"Sure," Cynthia said.

"Depends on the questions," Xander muttered.

"Where am I?"

They glanced at each other. Then Xander sighed, seemingly letting a sliver of his hatred go for the moment. "You're in Fulmine, Dakenian. It's a border town, in Ioka." He put particular emphasis on the last word, like it was something I was supposed to recognize.

"Okay, alright," I nodded. "Next question: What do 'Ioka' and 'Dakenian' mean, exactly?"

Both of their expressions immediately hardened, like I was wasting their time on purpose. I got a feeling that I'd be in serious danger if I kept asking questions they thought were obvious.