The Summoner's Mark (First Draft) (Book One)

The Calm before the Storm

The moment that Sin had entered the shop he had been confronted by the two beings that he assumed to be Mita's parents. Though the last time that he was here, the two dwarves were beyond friendly with him; the unpleasantness of his day had caused his mood to sour which made him feel as if everyone within this world was against him.

Sin had originally planned to peruse the shop at a whim though upon sighting him; Mita's parents recognized his outfit though it was also possible that his face was one that was hardly easy to forget.

Before Sin was able to make the retreat that their looks were causing him to wish for, both dwarves grasped ahold of him and brought him to a table in the back of the shop. Once there, Sin was forced down upon one of the chairs and once they were sure Sin would immediately stand back up and flee from them; the male dwarf took a seat across from him while the female disappeared though she was only gone but a moment.

After placing a trey upon the table, she handed both males a cup before taking one for herself. Wanting something to distract himself from whatever hellish encounter he was about to endure, Sin started to sip upon the cup that was placed before him and the moment he did; he was met with a bitter taste that almost took his breath away.

Now knowing that sipping from the cup wouldn't be the correct way to distract himself unless he wished to suffocate on the bitterness that the liquid brought, Sin placed the cup back where he had taken it from. As he was doing this, a deep but calming voice flitted throughout the room.

"My name is Boeric Tedash, and this is my wife Dagna. Our daughter has told us quite a lot about you which makes it seem as if we have known you for the entirety of our lives..." Boeric called out and though at the start of their interaction, Sin had felt as if he was about to walk through the fires of hell; Boeric's voice was able to lull Sin's ravaged emotions into a calm. "...though both myself and my wife remember you from when you purchased Kanerra's uniform it seems since then that you have become something more than just another customer of our shop..."

Sin was shocked to learn that Mita has spent as much time as she has speaking about him to her family especially considering that they were new friends who were still learning about each other. While Boeric was nearing the end of his words, his wife Dagna interrupted him and eventually; Sin's attention was directed towards her.

"We would like to thank you for the friendship that you have developed with our beloved Mita." Dagna spoke out in the same tone that elicited the calming sensation through Sin's body.

While Sin was certainly pleased that Mita valued their friendship enough to speak to her family about him, he should be the thankful one considering that Mita had chosen to become his friend even with the burden that it would bring her as well as the others that have chosen to be around him.

Upon these thoughts forming in his mind, Sin had decided that he should be the one thanking them considering that they raised a daughter who could look past his heritage and become someone like him. Without his knowing an expression formed upon his face which prompted one of the dwarves to speak once more.

"Mita had written too us a couple days ago telling us how you and the rest of her friends were going to spend your time within the city...is there a reason that you are all alone and not with the others?" Dagna inquired of the boy who sat before her.

This wasn't something that Sin was expecting considering that he had just met these two beings and didn't expect them to care about why he had chosen to be on his own though since they have been one of the few beings within his life that had been kind too him; Sin felt that they deserved some sort of answer.

"Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Tedash for the kind words that you have said; but to answer your question, I haven't been alone this entire time and had just recently separated myself from the others after I was confronted with the reality that my presence is a burden even to those that care for me..." Sin explained and though he hadn't planned on expressing every thought and feeling that rolled through his body, his mouth seemed to have a mind of its own. "...after Mita asked me why I haven't hidden the lower portion of my face considering all the stares and horrendous comments that get thrown at me; my body brought me here without much thought to it."

Neither Boeric or Dagna must have been expecting the words that Sin had just spoken from the saddened expressions that flickered across their faces and while Dagna had chosen to stay at the table with Sin; Boeric left the table for a moment and when he returned, he placed an item in the palm of Sin's hand. "This is on the house and while I hope that you don't find a reason to wear it, at least you will have it if the need arises." Boeric explained as he took his seat once more.

Gazing upon the item that Boeric had just given him, Sin could see that a mask was placed within his hand and considering that Boeric might have thought that Sin would wish to wear it along with his Academy uniform; the mask was a black as the mana that flows through him.

*

Darkness had fallen across the city of Athesa and as Sin made his way through the darkened streets, he continued to clutch the mask that Boeric had given him in his hand. Knowing that any more exploration of the city would cause him to be late for his class the next morning, Sin felt that it would be best for him to return to the Academy which is how he found himself on the street that would allow him to do so.

While Sin was wide awake from the many thoughts and emotions that his body contained, Inari on the other hand had fallen into a slumber and ended up wrapping his body around his Summoner's neck, which thankfully didn't cause any restriction in Sin's airway.

With each step that Sin took, he got closer to his goal of reaching Kanerra and while he hadn't originally planned on taking any detours; fate had different plans for him. A scream filled with unchecked pain and rage echoed throughout the area which immediately caused Sin to turn his gaze in the direction that it sounded like it originated from. This scream didn't only affect Sin though considering that Inari had begun to stir and eventually woke up from the sleep he was partaking in.

Immediately, Inari jumped from his Summoner's neck to land upon the ground and before Sin knew it; the Kitsune was sprinting in the direction that he believed the noise was coming from. Refusing to allow his Familiar to be harmed or lost because of this unwelcoming scream; Sin quickly sprinted after the fleeing creature in hopes that he would be able to catch up to him before anything horrendous happened.

Due to the darkness that was surrounding him, Sin was finding it slightly difficult to keep his eyes on the fast-moving Fae though thankfully he was able to continuously hear Inari from the small yips that the creature was allowing to fall from himself.

Eventually, Sin was able to spot a small shadowy entity in the shards of light the fell from a nearby torch. Assuming that it must be Inari, Sin sprinted forward to go and claim his Familiar once more. Snatching ahold of the entity, Sin was thankful that it was in fact Inari and as he held the creature within his arms; a rush of relief flooded through him. "You can't just run off like that...you had me worried sick." Sin muttered out as he brought the Kitsune closer to his chest.

Now that Sin had secured his Familiar once more, he turned away from the side road that Inari had been crouched by and started to make his way back to the main road so he could return to the Academy; though before he was able to take a step, a voice called out through the darkness.

"Leave me alone..." the voice cried out and upon hearing the voice, a few things were made clear to Sin. One, the owner of this voice must have been in quite a lot of pain and two, the owner of this voice was male. While Sin didn't particularly wish to involve himself in what was transpiring, this was quickly changed when he heard how downtrodden the male sounded with the next words that he had spoken. "...I haven't done anything to you."

With his decision to intervene, now firmly placed within his mind; Sin turned back towards the noise the voice was coming from and prepared himself for whatever might happen.