The Blade Witch: Songs of Eldrin, Book 0.5

Chapter One - Golden Flames

The sun smiled down upon the world of Eldrin, flaunting its luminous brilliance across the seven continents below for all to see. Its rays blazed a path through the soft clouds that rolled along lazily throughout the day, streaming down to find their way to the lands of Kanden, and surging across the rocky badlands until they came upon the swathe of green that surrounded the sprawling port city of Wulfdonria. As they came to their destination, they sang a ballad of glee to all those who would look upon their brilliance. These were the cascades of spring that heralded the coming of new life. Under these beams of sunlight, a story began to unfold.

The people of the city were ignorant of the daylight's blessing. They hid beneath the brims of hats and the cowls of cloaks, shielding themselves from the sweltering heat in any way they could. Some chose to conduct their business in dark alleyways, but most entangled themselves within the larger crowd out in the open, flocking towards the ships swaying in the turquoise waters as each person went about their day mechanically.

Amidst the buzzing throng of bodies, a woman moved through with a slight limp to her gait. A tall figure, she walked with her hood clutched tightly over a head bearing coarse tangles of unkempt hair, making sure to hide her scar lined face from any who would happen to look in her direction.

Underneath her cloak, she hid the garbs of an ashah. The twelve-pillar pendant of the Faith swung beneath her shirt, tapping against her chest in tune with her long strides. Though she hid her true nature well, anyone who got close enough could see her mixed heritage. The Ridonian blood of her mother's side did little to mask the strong Asruelian features she'd inherited from the father she'd never met.

That was just one of the ashah's many unique qualities. The amber skin of her left hand was marked with yellowed tattoos shaped into strange symbols, worn rough by her years of training and the many adventures she'd endured. She was still a younger woman, but she moved with the heaviness of a person whose bones were weighted by the burdens of a hard life.

Then there were her eyes. Even beneath the shadows of her hood, unnaturally serpentine eyes gleamed with an unnatural luster of gold that could only be accomplished by arcane means. The woman's pupils traced their way through the flowing stream of bodies, following a path that only one such as her could see. She picked her way through the mob, reflecting on how long it had been since she'd last walked these streets. To her, it almost seemed a lifetime ago.

Wulfdonria was a rapidly changing place, even for somewhere like the continent of Kanden. In times long gone, the city had been an establishment of the Faith, existing under holy law and operating accordingly. Of course, in those times the Faith of the Twelve-Enlightened had been more of a glorified inquisition than a religious institution.

The towering shadow of Ironhold prison loomed in the distance as a reminder of that era, its crumbling spires still rising higher than any structure around it. Once it stood as an emblem of the Faith's unquestionable rule, but that too had decayed when the people made their declaration of independence, bringing an end to the religious oppression and kicking the Faith from their doorstep. Still, even two hundred years later, servants of the Faith weren't usually welcomed, so the servant of the twelve found herself alone on her journey.

Nearing her destination, the ashah veered away from the noise filled cluster of the trade square. She made her way down a dark alley towards a rickety sign marking an indiscriminate doorway as the entrance to a tavern. She stopped with her hand on the door, taking a moment to release the clasp that secured the double-edged sword at her hip in place.

She opened the door slowly, rusted hinges squealing out a long announcement as she made her entry. The conversation of the few huddled patrons died immediately as her footfalls echoed throughout the room. She took a momentary glance at the tavern's only inhabitants; Five haunted looking men circled around a table.