Of Good & Evil

Prologue II - The Disciple of Time

Lavernus was not one to volunteer for things. He was the sort who would rather sit somewhere and relax. He would put out the minimum effort to accomplish whatever was asked of him, but nothing more. This is why guilds weren't reaching out to him, despite his great power. He lacked any ambition and only ever did the bare minimum.

Over the past two years, he had fallen in and out of guilds, never staying with one for more than a few weeks. He would do the missions they commanded him to do, but no more than that. He didn't know what he was missing, but he knew there was something he needed that none of the groups he ran with could provide.

At least that's what he thought.

He grabbed his dark blue trench coat, pulling the hood over his head. He closed the door to his apartment and casually slipped down the stairs toward the entrance of his building. He marveled at the old building's unique features as he made his way toward the exit.

As he stepped out of the building and into the wind, he noticed the gruff, elderly man sitting on the sidewalk, as he did every day, his drab clothing and cardboard sign which asked others to do right by their fellow man.

"Hey, Frank," he said with a tone of boredom to his voice.

The old man looked up with a smile and said, "Hey, Time! You be careful out there now!"

Time waved and walked away from the elderly man, as he did every day.

This was the thing that made him lose any ambition he may have had. He knew that no matter what he did, nothing would change from day to day. Everything was the same. Day after day, year after year, nothing ever really changed. He had this conversation with Frank once. It's what earned him his nickname.

He strolled down the dimly lit street, surveying the passing citizens, most of them on their way home from work after doing the same thing they did yesterday and would probably do tomorrow. It was all so boring. Unlike the boring people of the world, he made it a mission to do something different and exciting every night. But tonight seemed different than most nights.

Something was telling him to do something more mundane tonight. It was extremely unusual for him, as he normally would go searching for something unique to do. He would search for something that might actually give him the fulfillment he was seeking, but nothing he found ever did.

Time reached his destination for the evening, a small pub in downtown. He didn't really understand why he felt compelled to come here, but whatever driving force had led him here, he had arrived nonetheless. It was black on the outside with the paint chipping in sections. There were black curtains drawn over the windows, but they were just thin enough for him to be able to see the dim lights inside. It wasn't the lively, populated place he would normally go to.

While he felt like he was being summoned to this place, he had a sense of warning buzzing in his head. He wasn't sure what was making him think this tiny bar would have anything threatening to him, but it was still there.

Taking a breath, he walked inside.

To his surprise, the inside was far more warm and inviting than the outside. A beautiful, dark stained, wooden bar with golden trim sat in front of a large liquor shelf, housing a huge collection of bottles. Drinks of every kind appeared to be present. The tables were of the same polished wood that made up the bar, and the dull sound of chatter could be heard throughout. Time took a seat at the bar.

"What can I get you?" the bar tender inquired.

"I'll have a scotch. Neat," Time replied.

"Any particular type, or should I just bring you the first thing I find?" the bartender said somewhat impatiently.