ANATHEMA - Inferno's Vow

Chapter VIII - The Spring Apprentice

CHAPTER EIGHT

The Spring Apprentice

The waning days of winter were quick to pass, bringing the promise of spring and renewal to the nation of Sylvee. Being of the middle-north portion of the Pact of Aeon, Sylvee, and its respective settlements, were host to the extremes of all seasons. Heated summers and frigid winters were what befell the land, with Autumn and Spring being the only seasons a reasonable man would find kind to the body. Days, once short and shallow, stretched longer with each passing week, dethawing the frost and snow covering the ground to truly herald the end of the tundra season. The trees, still dark and dormant, would take quick to the change in temperature, and bud with life anew. All in time, however. For now, the cold was still present in the land.

Ander, with a pelt strung about his back, and a cup of tea nestled in his hands, sat on a large rocky outcrop looking over Thrassing's Valley. The stone belonged to the cliff his new home was dug into, and it provided him with an excellent view of the rising sun in the east. Echelons of clouds loomed above the young man, with the yellow gleam of the distant sun painting over them a varied mirage of colors, both warm, and some cold. As always, he had his coveted choir of risen birds to serenade the moment as he sipped his tea in solitude. It was his morning ritual to escape the stronghold and watch the dawn of every new day. With a month separating the present and his first appearance at the stronghold's door, a great deal had changed. His form, once tattered and stripped of weight, had filled out some under the guise of the gang, bringing him renewed strength. His time beneath his coats and old blue nightwear were gone as a great deal of clothes had been afforded to him, thanks in large part to the generosity of his new brother-in-arms, Damien.

A particular group, they are, and drew from his tea, enjoying the warmth gifted to him by the bear pelt on his back. While they could be harsh and unforgiving, and downright cruel, the thieves weren't evil at heart. Did they lack honor and constitution? No doubt. But it never came from malice, or hatred. Their view of life was 'in order to survive', and thus sprung their twisted choices. It was a relief to learn that, in all their years, they had only ever made four witnesses, with two of them being Nallia, the Nyx woman, and Damien. The fate of the fourth was unknown, but as the man had never begged to join, he carried with him no knowledge of the group, and such was little threat to their secrecy.

In no way were they righteous people, at most they were neutral. At most. They stole from others to aid themselves, and thought nothing of what their larceny might bring about. While they did only steal from the wealthy, they were also absolute in their secrecy. None would ever learn of who they were, nor what they looked like. They were so hidden and veiled in shadows, in fact, that they went by no name. There was not a man who knew of the thieving clan, which was the result of the tireless effort of their leader, Sylas. Above all, that man devoted himself to keeping his siblings alive. There was no shared blood between any of the members, but it mattered not. Family is what they were, and with every step they took, they had their kin to cover their trails.

Family...

With each passing day, that one word bore ever more pain for the young Idris. To live amongst such comradery was misery, in truth. All of the members had endured suffering, as he had, but in no same magnitude to his. The core four: Sylas, Bella, Leon and Thaddeus, were the closest. He wasn't sure, but from what he had picked up on, he assumed they were all from the northern orphanage, the same one Nina had come from. Like the silver-haired maiden, they were kicked out onto the street, and with time they grew to become thieves. There they came across a wandering Nyx, far from her home in the mountains and isles of Arbora. Born of the Shadowfang lineage, it was a mystery as to why Nallia had come to the land of Elyon when so much was promised to her at home. Nonetheless, she was a valued member of the group, and her venomous affection for the younger archer only served to make her stranger. The sixth member was the homeless Damien, who had only been with the gang for a few seasons prior to Ander's arrival, having taken up apprenticeship under Thaddeus in archery.