Avenger's Pathe

Prologue 400 years past- The century of Sorrowful Tears- Feelina Year

The moon was high and played peek-a-boo between the tall Feyan trees. Their gold leaves fluttered softly as the opaque fog swirled about; caressing every object with its milky hue. It choked all sound and made it nearly impossible to see past the nose. Thick clouds swirled about, twirling, twining with the lowest grass to the tallest trees eddying about with no other thought but the one, how to conceal its master.

The entire forest radiated one marque; the runes Xu and Lai, runes for illusion and silence. It was what made the smoke so thick, made the forest so silent. One sole rider cloaked in black, rode his horse between these trees, hidden among the wide trunks. For all the milky hue, the rider guided the horse between the trees as though there was no fog. Nothing resounded louder than the softest clopping of hooves, so soft that one would have to strain the ears in order to hear the cadence. The horse, a brown gelding, nickered softly sensing something in the air and it shied away from the path attempting to turn back around. Forelegs, lashed out, like an angry lover, dancing upon hindquarters.

The figure atop pulled tighter on the reigns controlling the horse with more than just physical power; he also projected images and thoughts to the horse reassuring it that it wanted to proceed.

Horses, unlike most creatures, were not susceptible to psychic bonds. Mentally, one could ask the horse to do something but they were either too smart or stupid to actually follow the directions. Therefore, they had to be constantly reminded what they were doing and where they were going and most of the time it was just easier to control the animal physically.

The cloaked one shivered despite himself; the horse had good reason to be wary of the forest, especially the shadow of the trees. The dark, cold, blue light of Rhinnlas was strong tonight and the shadows it cast were gateways to the spirit world. He felt the soft call of the Lost Spirits pull upon the hairs along his arms, making the hair atop his head stand on end. In response to this call, he shook his head every ten flickers or so, attempting to disperse the uncanny feeling.

The wind blew in from the north, sending ice-cold gusts to temporarily disperse the impossible fog. He shivered, though this particular shiver was not caused by the cold. There was something unnatural about the wind, what was it?

As the wind blew hard enough to rattle the branches of these particular majestic trees; he noticed that the wind had no effects on its surroundings.

But they affected him.

Only magic held his cloak in its place. The voluminous folds flapped about him wildly as if caught in a maelstrom. The leaves on the ground should rustle in the wake of the wind and the trees should sway but there was none of that. The surroundings were as still as the tomb of Neherete, the goddess of unspoken secrets.

Only one thing could cause the unnatural wind and taking a deep breath, the figure was soon to find out if his assumptions were true.

Dropping his jaw, he lets the air settle to the back of his throat, letting the taste settle to the back of his tongue.

Copper and iron, it was the taste of Freewill, the taste of blood.

Freewill could only mean one thing; he had at last encountered what had taken the better part of a fortnight to find. A fortnight of running, a fortnight of hiding, a fortnight of fearing he had at last been caught; Lady Luck was surely smiling upon this body.

"Nuriken!" he yelled, voice reverberating through the austere forest.

It could have only been magic.

"Nuriken!" The cloaked one shouted again, "I know you're there. Show yourself, I seek your council."

Echo, echo, "I know you're there. Show yourself, I seek your counsel, I know you're there. Show yourself, I seek your council."

"Nagi," A voice whispered on the wind that blew in from the trees. It was as smooth as silk, yet as harsh as a hurricane wind. "It is you who should show yourself. I have been here all along; were you looking hard enough you'd have been able to see me. Now remove your hood so I may look upon the face who dared to betray their king."