The Dreamer and the Marked

Chapter Two - Part One

Draqa brought his arm back, hurling a knife at the human-like target set up in front of the pond in the courtyard. It skimmed the shoulder and splashed into the water. He cursed. He'd become increasingly distracted since last night. He couldn't stop thinking about the ginger-haired woman with her stories. Krystal. She wouldn't have been of any particular interest to Draqa if it weren't for her unique tale of how she ended up in Arai. From what Draqa knew, to soul-travel across the realms was nearly an impossible feat, even for the most gifted of mages.

There had been something about Krystal, too, that had been familiar to Draqa, but he couldn't quite place why. He had wanted to learn more. He would have asked more, too, but he had been so caught up in Krystal's storytelling that he lost track of time. If only he'd noticed she was waking sooner, then he might not have lost his chance to learn where to find her.

He missed the target again and growled in frustration. He took his last projectile in hand and sent it carelessly forward. He missed. Only then did he see Governor Sius Mavell Evi walking down the hallway across from him. His heart froze. Sius Mavell Evi stepped back, the knife narrowly missing him. He scowled.

"I see your aim is getting worse," he said, stooping to pick up the knife with one of his four arms. His words ended on a sour note.

Draqa dropped to a knee and bowed. "Sir! My apologies!"

Sius Mavell Evi approached him, and Draqa tensed in preparation to face the Governor's backlash. Sius Mavell Evi simply dropped the knife at his feet. Draqa looked up at him.

Sius Mavell Evi put weight on his upper-right arm as he leaned on his staff, crossing his lower two arms. He scratched his white-flecked red beard. "What has your mind so preoccupied?" he asked.

Draqa carefully stood. He formulated an answer, unsure the Governor would want to know that someone had effectively been sneaking into his home for the past two months.

"An encounter I had in the Vyn the other day," he replied.

"An encounter with whom?"

Draqa thought of how concerned for him Krystal had been. A complete stranger, worried about him. "Some woman. She was oddly kind."

"She must have wanted something from you," Sius Mavell Evi said. "No one in Talnoq-Vyn does anything out of kindness."

"Right," Draqa said, holding back the words he wanted to say.

Perhaps the people in the Vyn would have been more willing to be kind if Sius Mavell Evi hadn't allowed parts of the city to fall into the hands of pirates and poverty during his governance of Erothel's Western province.

It was almost a wonder why anyone still supported the man. There were plenty of rumors about him, from whispers pinning him as a traitor to the country, to word that he had been trying to become Minister of Erothel ever since Minister Monarain's assassination. Draqa didn't think either was true, but Sius Mavell Evi was a highly secretive man. Even after so many years working for him, he rarely confided in Draqa.

Draqa was frankly unable to describe the pure enmity he held for the Governor. Yet despite his efforts, he could not leave his service. He came at a time in Draqa's life when he was almost beyond hope. He had saved Draqa's life. Sius Mavell Evi took him in, giving him what felt like at the time to be a sanctuary.

One thing Draqa learned then was that nothing kind was done without an ulterior motive. This was no different with Sius Mavell Evi; Draqa had never been the same after what Sius Mavell Evi did and had owed service to him ever since. He was forced to do any job the old governor required of him, no questions asked.