dawn of ancient fire

chapter 1

                                                                                   one year earlier

Marlowe casually walked through the alley ways of Kavan. Her pace is intentionally slow and rolling. She didn't have a plan, but she knew that her prey would surface; they always did when she hunted. Kavan was the city of dragons, built upon the bones of a once mighty ruler. The nobles who ruled the city and the royal family had a body that contained two souls—a human and a dragon. The architecture of the city ranged from tall, sweeping stone castles to thatch-roofed huts. The town itself was harsh and crude, much like its history. A large wall separates the outer city, its Tangled alleyways and streets littered with dirt and trash, and the inner city. The Inner city held the homes of the nobles and the castle, as if architects couldn't decide on one design direction, choosing instead to create two rings one inside the other. The outer city of Kavan had become a hub for the unsavory. Drug lords, whores, black markets, assassins. A vast network of ancient sewers served as a hub for those selling and buying. It was Marlow's job to know who was who, and where to find them. Having been forced into these streets at a young age she learned quickly who to keep close and who to stay away from. In the end relying on yourself was always the best bet and the choice she frequently chose.

So once again, Marlowe found herself hunting, and waiting for her target to make himself known. Tonight, she hunted for a newer face. A man named Cadoc lev. from her understanding, Cadoc started as a small-time thief. Traveling up the ranks to lord after a messy encounter with Roker Flynn. Roker was known to mastermind the pleasure trade in Kavan. The two having started a messy gang war after several attempts to encroach in each others territory, roker saught to expand his business to the weapons that Cadoc oversaw, and cadoc had started to build his arsenal of elite assassins. Needless to say Roker didn't walk away from their last encounter unscathed, and Cadocs tiny empire grew two thousand men and women bigger. sex and death werent the only unsavory trades in Kavan however, Many fell prey to the drugs offered by the lords who peddled magic turned sour. Pushing crates of Tiny vials that had once been used to heal and help. The former king had granted gold to a small group of mages and witches from the compounds in Morein forest to research ways to stabilize their healing magic outside of themselves. As a way to fast track the needs of thousands of wounded and dying after a brutal ten year war. They succeeded, saving thousands of lives. But where progress is made, there's always someone waiting in the shadows to ruin it. A man named Jaromir from the northern continent realized that adding dark magic to the stabilized healing magic created a drug unparalleled to anything on the market. Giving the user a euphoric high. Unfortunately the longer a person took the drug, the worse the effects. A wave of unsolved murders plagued Kavan until a body was found still partially intact. Blood from the body identified the drug and research was able to be done on its effect. After several trials it was found that the drug ate the victims from the inside out until the body could no longer hold itself together. Collapsing the user into a pile of, well, meat.

Marlowe reached into her boot and pulled a clove cigarette from a gold case. Double-checking her surroundings, she lit one and placed it between her lips. there was only a moment to inhale before she felt a blade press to her throat.

" Hello, little dove." a warm voice purred in her ear, "you're quite far from your nest."

Marlowe remained relaxed. He had been trailing her for the last hour, unaware that she had been leading to this spot.

" Been looking for you," she replied calmly. He pulled the cigarette from her lips and dragged, breathing the smoke into her face.

"Is that so? well, dove, I'm all yours,'' he said, taking another drag from the cigarette and removing the blade from her throat. A soft scratch marred her skin, but he was otherwise steady in his grip.