Respite Long Awaited

[Prologue] Awakened

GASP

A young man awakens in a sea of grass. Quickly he jumped up and prepared himself for combat. Blackened ash coalesced in his hand as a simple cane made manifest. He analyzed his surroundings, making sure to visualize every tree beyond the small field. After a moment he let out a small sigh as the cane fizzled out and fell into his shadow. That's when he noticed that he was stark naked. With an unamused gaze he snapped his fingers. Once more the ash coalesced, this time around his body, as it altered and formed a garb reminiscent of a Victorian hunter. In his hand a hat formed, one he placed atop his head. This hid his wolf ears.

A small dagger then formed in his other hand as he used it to get a good look at his reflection. His white hair, silver eyes, and rather immature face was mirrored. A small puff of air escaped his nose as the dagger dissipated and he brought a scarf up to his nose to hide all but his eyes and hair. With a brief close of his eyes he points in a random direction and starts walking. A small trail of embers falling off from the ends of his coat and hat. The embers danced behind him as he walked through the forest. In spite of his tensed shoulders and constant scan of his surroundings the man felt at ease until he saw it.

Not too far from him was a beast as black as night with bones protruding from it like an external ribcage. A boney white head at the end of the beast, with red markings, and sickly orange/yellow eyes. It had spotted him soon after and growled. The man was amused by this act as he folded his arms and watched the beast as it approached. He watched as it smelt the air, as it growled, and as it rushed towards him with a snarl. As soon as it reached within range of him it found itself half buried in the ground with a pained yelp.

"Ignorant beast," He spoke, his voice dulled and yet filled with disgust. He had his leg upon the beast's neck and was grinding at it. The beast whimpered as a small deranged smile formed across his face. "Know your place." With a satisfying crunch, the beast burst into ash and quickly funneled into the man's shadow. "Strange," he mumbled as he watched the ash. "That beast had no soul," he pondered aloud before he shrugged and snapped his fingers again. From his shadow, the beast crawled forth before turning to him and sitting in a submissive position. Its eyes where as red as blood and in the center of its skull laid a combination of symbols that he knew well.

He stared at the beast for a moment before it returned to his shadow. "Nothing," He mumbled once more as he continued his stroll through the forest. He would eventually, after an unknown amount of time passed, make his way towards a massive walled off city. His eyes widened for the first time as he saw architecture he never saw before towering over the walls. He continued to walk till he was out of the tree line and neared where a gate was located. He was incapable of spotting anyone atop the gates, windows for anyone to spot him, or even sense magic so it came as a surprise to him as the gate opened for him to enter. 

He paid it no mind as he walked through. No one came to fleece him as he waited near the now closed gate so he simply left to explore the city. He marveled at the machinery and how advanced everything was. Yet he felt no magic of any variety from anyone or anything. That was the hardest thing for him to wrap his head around as he watched the metallic horseless carriages move around. As he walked, for the first time in years, he didn't pay attention to his surroundings and ended up turning a corner and bumping into someone. They let out a small gasp as a small thud is heard as the person's book falls to the floor.

The man quickly squatted down to grab the book as he spoke. "Sorry about that. I've never been to a city like this and have been a little awe struck..." He mumbled loud enough for the person to hear, his voice less dulled but still lacking emotion. "Here you a--" He falls silent as he stands up and holds out the book to the black haired woman who had been quiet the whole time. She looked at him with confusion as she took the book from him and continued on her way after a small thanks.

He quickly found the nearest secluded alleyway and hid in it as his emotions began to seep out. Fear, Relief, Rage, Bloodlust, Joy, and so many more crossed his face and leaked out from his body as he clutched at his head. The embers that danced between sickly yellow, harsh blue, tar black, and then back to red as he slowly began to regain control of himself. His psyche slowly patched together as he stabbed a knife in his leg to focus on that. He yanked the knife out and took a sip from a flask filled with an orange fluid. The wound in his leg stitched itself back together as if it never happened. He began to slowly chuckle as tears weld up in his eyes. "I'm home..."