Radiance

Seeking

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The night lay in silence as I stared out my window. How long had it been since I had lost my family...?

I glance down at the photo frame in my aging hands and sigh, tracing my finger over my Son's image. Smiling with his brilliant eyes standing out from his darker appearance. I had tried my hardest to protect him when he was younger, though at times I wonder if I could have done more to ensure he was safe...

I hated feeling helpless.

Sometimes it meant the difference between victory and the loss of young men's lives.

I hear a creek on the floor behind me and whip around with my hands ready to draw out my sword.

"Corin Favre. No need to raise your sword against me." The cloaked feminine figure raises her hands, her face hidden by the shadows.

"Why should I?" I growl, anger starting to fill my body.

"I have news you will want to hear. I'm a Reaper, and my leader requests to see you regarding information about your son and his friends." The cloaked woman kneels and I hesitate a moment. But after I see the emblem on the back of her cloak, I sheathe my sword and look over at the photo frame I had set down in my haste. 

My son smiled out at me with his mother at my side holding him.

"How do I know the words you say are true?" I turn back to the figure who stands back upright and stares at me from underneath her hood.

"My name is Josi Havelock. You've worked with my father, Rain Havelock, in the investigation of Eric Nebula's death." The woman says as she keeps staring at me. Havelock... I was familiar with that name. If I was right, the Havelocks' birthright was one that was skilled in observation and I had asked Rain to assist me in my task.

Josi... She was a lot younger when I had first seen her at her father's side. But even now, I could picture her brilliant blue eyes staring at me from underneath her hood.

"I remember Rain. I also remember you... You say you know of information about my son?" I ask cautiously, still a bit dubious about this situation. I had locked my windows in my house, as well as the front door. There was no way I wouldn't have heard the cloaked woman standing in front of me enter...

Speaking of which... Josi Havelock had been into trouble recently with the King's son, Kyle, and had been thrown into the prisons.

I cautiously reach for my sword, now fully weary of this stranger.

"I do not myself, but my leader does. If you follow me, he will give you the answers you seek." I see the woman tense up, then hear a footstep right behind me. That's when I knew, these weren't Reapers.

I had been approached by them before, and they never were upfront and personal if they wanted to give me information. If I had been bumped into while walking through a crowd, I'd usually get a small note with a symbol of an arrow upward in my pocket or sachel.

"Apologies, but I don't trust your words, or your companions who are trying to sneak up on me." I say loudly, then draw my sword and elbow the man behind me in the chest. He grunts, and as I do so, the woman draws a dagger and leaps towards me like a cat.  I catch her midair with my arm as I sidestep, then slam her to the floor, loud enough to wake up any of my neighbors who I know were not Sa'aal or Reaper.

The woman gasps in shock as the man I had elbowed rushed me and kicked me in the back. I grunt as I hit the wooden flooring, then quickly roll to the side as a sword pierces where I had just been.

I hear pounding at my front door as one of my friends, Elliad, shouts through the door.

"Corin?!"

I dodge a swipe from the man then quickly leap to my feet and clash my sword against his. The man growls as I shove him back and off balance, then slash towards him several times.

"Drac! He's not as out of shape as we were told! We are outmatched here!" The woman says breathlessly as she gets to her side and tries to get up. I hear my front door slam open, then footsteps thud up the wooden stairs. I clash swords with the man again and grit my teeth.

"One doesn't forget the training of the sword, Sa'aal! Especially if the one who uses it, teaches others!" I yell as I de-arm the man of his sword, then ready to hold my sword against his throat. I hear the door open behind me and Elliad draw his sword.

The woman growls as he approaches her and I force the man in front of me against the pole of my bed.

"You alright Corin?!" Elliad says as he makes his large presence known to the woman and that he wasn't one to be triffled with. I half laugh and grit my teeth.

"I can hold my own Elliad. They were trying to take me someplace other than my home."

"That attatched to here, old man?" Elliad jokes and I scoff.

"Keep on calling me 'old man' and I'll make you feel old with my blade." I chuckle a bit as I hear another set of footsteps come upstairs and a familiar voice sound.

"You alright Corin?" Vel draws her knife and walks into the room.

"Yeah, he's alright. Just has unwanted guests from the Sa'aal." Elliad says as I look the man I was pinning, straight in the eyes.

"To which they have a sack they left in the King's dungeons," I say coldly as I feel the man tense. The coolness of the room chilled my skin as I hear clanking from the street and running men.

That's the thing when trying to do anything to me... I had a system set in place where my friends and neighbors were close enough to hear me shout and my house was built long ago enough to be creaky and loud when somebody was walking in a room. It also helped me tell when my son had trouble sleeping as well.

"Well, let's get these two tied up while we wait for the guards," I mumble as I  shift my stance and move the man over closer to his female companion.

~~~

"Captain of the Royal Guard, Corin, I heard of the incident that had occurred at your residence. I sent for you immediately in concern for your health." The king's voice carries through the throne hall as I bow before him. I chuckle lightly. "I wouldn't be the Captain of the Royal Guard if I couldn't fend for myself, your Majesty."

The king chuckles as well, then stands up from his golden lined, quartz throne, and walks over to me. He extends a hand to help me stand, to which I take it firmly. The king... I've served him ever since I was 18. First as a guard, then as a knight, then I was promoted to the position of Captain of the Royal Guard, as well as being his majesty's General of his army. The title of Captain of the Royal Guard was of higher value though.

"Still have the same humor, Favre. Glad to see the years haven't been holding you down." The king gives me a soft smile as his fading brown hair and eyes held the same compassion I've seen from him for years. A small pain strikes my heart as I think about the years without my son, but I don't outwardly show it.

"Feel free to spend a night here in the castle Corin. I'll have servants sent to your room to help you get settled down." With a gentle pat on my shoulder, the King motions to one of his attendants who scurries off down a hall to the left of the throne. Another walks forward and with a swift bow to the King, I let the attendant walk me to my quarters.

Silently, I was questioning this entire situation. Why would Sa'aal, or whatever group those two worked for, want to gain from me? Despite me being the Captain of the Guard, I had no specific specialty to my name. Only my son... They had mentioned my son however...

"Here, Captain Favre, this is where you will be staying," The small, golden-haired attendant says as she opens the door. I nod my head to her. "Thank you. Your service and guidance is welcomed and appreciated. Safe moonlit nights, my friend." She lets a small smile creep to her face as she curtsies and then goes back down the hall to the throne room.

I walk in, the moonlight shimmering through the window above the bed. I close the door behind me, then glance around the room. It was larger than my room back home, but not as majestic as one of the royal suite's would be.

"Corin Favre, greetings from the Leader of the Reapers. I hope you are faring well after the incident from the Sa'aal."

I whip around to the dark corner of the room, my hand going to my sword. However, I immediately stop when the figure steps out.

Calon Havonvale. My old partner when I was first a knight.