Ravenna is a apprentice of Vesuvia's local magician. For the most part her life seemed pretty normal. She'd wake up to her teacher leaving for a few days at a time, then it was off to run errands around the city, come home to practice her magic, and...
I was getting settled for the night when I hear a muffled voice. "Strange hours for a shop to keep." The unknown voice says. Who said that? I think to myself. I frantically look around the shop, chasing shadows in the dark. "..Behind you." The voice whispers. And much to my surprise, when I turn, I see a figure looming against the door. I was hoping I was just hearing things due to exhaustion from today's work. But unfortunately that wasn't the case. "So this is the witch's lair." The unknown person says. "Then... who might you be?" They ask me. My heart begins to race as the masked intruder advances. Without thinking, I summon magic to my fingertips, energy surging toward the masked stranger. "Ah ha! En garde, then!" They shout. The intruder ducks, swirling the cape with an outrageous flourish. While the stranger is distracted, I look around quickly for something else to defend myself. Trying not to take my eyes of the masked intruder, I reach blindly and frantically behind the counter. My fingers finally close around an empty bottle. "Has the witch been teaching you his tricks? I've seen them all bef-" Before they can finish speaking, I launch the bottle at the intruder's head. "Ack!" The intruder cries out. Dislodged by the blow, the stranger's mask falls to the floor. "...you do have guts, I'll give you that." The masked man says. For some reason, my racing heart stops when he lifts his gaze to mine. I get the strange sense that I know him from somewhere. Then it hits me, I do know his face. I've seen it on wanted posters all over the city... But for some reason I can't place his name. "Quickly now. Where is the shop owner?" He whisper shouts. I glare up at him through my lashes. "Master Asra isn't here. I don't know where he is." I reply through gritted teeth. The intruder wipes the blood from his brow. "I see... well, I see no sense in wasting the visit." The mysterious man responds. I look at him in confusion. "You are a fortune teller, are you not?" He asks, seeing the confused look on my face. "Well, technically yes, but-" I begin but he quickly cuts me off. "That is what the back room is for, right it?" I nod and he speaks again. "Tell my fortune, and I promise I will leave you in peace." I can sense what he says is genuine. I let out a sigh. "After you, then." He says with a arm gestured for me to lead the way. He drops himself into the reading chair, looming over the table. "Go on. No need to be shy now." He says with a smirk that causes me to blush a little. "I.... I don't know your name." I reply. "My name?" He says with a shocked expression on his face. "I need to know your name in order to do the reading." I reply. "Oh! Ahem. Right. Yes, of course." He responds, flustered. "You can call me Julian." He says with a devilish grin. Hesitantly, I take my seat at the table, his eyes tracking my every move. I shuffle the deck. The first card to be pulled is...
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"...Death." I say. The card whispers to me, but before I can comprehend it, Julian interrupts. "Death?" He asks, unsure if he heard me correctly. "Death?" He says again. Suddenly, he begins barking with uncontrollable laughter. He turns away from me and the cards, raising his eyes to the heavens. "Death cast her gaze on this wretch of a man and turned away." He says to no one in particular. "She has no interest in an abomination like me." He says.
Suddenly, he strides out of the backroom without a backward glance. I follow at his heels. His response to the reading has me completely confused. "Wait! That's not what Death means. It's—" I begin but am once again cut off. Julian lets out a heartfelt sigh, shaking his frantically head. "No, no. My fate is sealed." He says. "But you've been extremely hospitable, so I'll let you in on a secret." He says. "Your 'master' will be back for you. He has taught you his tricks... You might even say that he cares for you." Julian says.
Before I can even say anything Julian reaches to the floor. He picks up his mask, staring into its red glassy eyes. "But when he returns..." Julian says with a pause before speaking again. "Please, for your own sake, seek me out. Don't let him fool you, shopkeep." He says. After giving me a long, hard look, Julian adjusts his mask back in place. "Well then. The hour is late, and I'm out of time." He says. With a swirl of his great black cape, he throws the door open. It slams shut behind him as he disappears into the early morning fog. I blink quickly, too stunned to speak.
