Rewriting His Past

Getting Started

Dusk went stumbling out of the beam of light. The first thing he did was check his surroundings. His eyes darted from one woman to another. Panic, reading and dismissing them until he assured himself none were the Duchess. He spun around, took a breath, and took a calm look around. Was he inside a building? The sun warming his skin said otherwise. Looking up showed him the cloud-free teal sky. The sun hit the walls, making them glitter and shimmer like diamonds. All sorts of beings walked around, some of which he couldn't even name. Walked around the large room he found himself in.

Everything looked bright and colorful. The complete opposite of Feverfew was that it was all browns and whites. It was a blinding wonder. Even the people themselves were a more colorful lot. He didn't see a strip of black cloth on anyone walking by; he stood out in that way. Tugging his white robes around himself, he itched to join in on the color. At least getting out of all this black would be a nice start.

"Thank the laylines." Dusk placed a hand on his racing heart. Trying to calm himself and assure himself that he was not only safe but well and truly free, this was an overwhelming moment that was a crazy ride for his emotions. It was nothing that he could pinpoint or define. Dusk could only listen to his blood race and ask his heart to calm itself.

"Mr. Wooddancer, Dusk Wooddancer?" Turning to his new name. He saw a short woman who, if she was lucky, stood to his chest, and he stood at almost six feet. Dusk observed with interest that beast folk were uncommon in Redneval. Before him, was a mouse folk? She had large round ears on her head, and the fur matched the light brown of her hair. A thin, pale pink tail lay draped over her bent arm. In her hand were a white clipboard and quill. She wore a bright pink sundress and had a silver name tag pinned to her left shoulder. A thin silver chain hung around her neck and vanished into her dress. The name tag was reflecting the sun, making it hard for him to read.

"I am Dusk Wooddancer." Dusk stood forward, hand raised. "You are from the school?" She fumbled with a chain, and out came a small card. Reading the card, Dusk found it to be more like a badge, declaring she was a representative of the school. A silver outline of a diamond stamped the corner, much like the letter he had received.

"I'm Ms. Limestone," her pale peach nose twitched much like a mouse. "I'm here to give you your identification card." She tapped a quill on her clipboard. "I see you completed..." She frowned and looked up, her nose twitching. "Your name changed?" Dusk was happy with her sensitivity. He didn't fancy the entire crowd hearing about his disavowal.

"Yes, Ms. Limestone," Dusk said, offering no more. Though he did give her a small nod, placing his hand on his chest in silent greeting, she seemed to want to move things along, and he was fine with that. School was starting in a month; he had a lot to do, and he was positive she was the same.

"Okay," she said, frowning until her nose was a fast-moving wiggle. She did some furious scribbling. "Please follow me, mm. Can you follow me to a free terminal?"

"Of course," Dusk said with a short bow, and she followed after her short but quick legs. "Ms. Limestone, can I inquire about purchasing a title?" She stopped, turned, and tipped her head to squint at him.

"Mm, you have money?" Ms. Limestone asked more than he thought a school official would. Dusk nodded, and she mirrored him and continued to walk. He didn't spare more than a glance at his surroundings, though he was curious. Fearing, he would lose Ms. Limestone to the crowds. He did notice plenty of white robes among the crowd. Baron's are the cheapest, cheaper if you're paying in universal coin again, mm?" Dusk knew he could buy a title up to viscount, and after that, it needed a royal decree. Viscount would be out of his budget; he knew that without asking.

"I will be paying for it in universal coin," Dusk confirmed. Watching her place a hand on a wall. He witnessed a transparent square pull out from the wall to rest in front of her. Dusk couldn't see a thing on it after pressing a few buttons. She fed the whole clipboard she was holding into the transparent box.