The Paths We Take

Darius

(image drawn by me)

Mia's POV

"Okay, come on!" I call, as I help a mother and her child across the river. "Only a few more to go!"

We're very close to our destination, and everyone is in high spirits.

There's a run down temple close to here where we can rest for a bit, before continuing our journey.

They say that the elves before us left supplies, such as food and drink over there, and just the thought is making elves keel over in relief.

I'm just going back for the last few elves, when I hear some rustling, and some murmurs coming from my left.

There's the sound of boots splatting against mud, and I quickly signal for all of my friends to hide in the bushes.

Just in time, too!

A patrol of mercenaries make their way through the trees, and stand beside the river.

"You see anything,Chris?" A female mercenary asks, while looking around.

"Not a single thing, Eve." Chris replied. "Those refugees are nowhere to be found."

"Remember, it's not only the refugees we're looking for." The female turned around to face Chris. "We're also looking for him."

"Yes, I know Eve. You just can't stop talking about him, can you?" Chris glanced at her, a bored look on his face.

"It's not only for my interests! It's in the best interests of the Empire!" Eve looked red.

"Yeah, sure." Chris smirked at her.

Suddenly, another mercenary dashed into the clearing, panting.

"They..." He stopped to catch his breath, hands on his knees. "They found him!"

"Found who?" Chris immediately snapped around.

"They found him! The thief and his friend!"

My heart suddenly stopped, as I realized who they must be talking about.

Narrator's POV

The enderman hybrid poked his head up, and glanced around him.

What... Where am I? What is this place?

Drake attempted to move forwards, only to realize he was being held up by chains.

His eyes adjusted to the darkness around him, and he saw the room was a cell.

He soon realized he was pretty much completely immobilized, his hands chained to the wall, along with his feet. The chains were almost completely solid, not moving a bit when he struggled.

They were no regular chains though.

Drake immediately identified them as canceller chains, the bane of all mages.

If a mage came in contact with a canceller chain, any magic used while caught by these magical objects, will diminish and be collected. And a mage will suffer great pain whenever spell are extracted from them.

That's what they caught me with yesterday...

Then it clicked.

Yesterday... the Empire... GRAYSON!

He noticed his wounds from earlier, and as soon as he started to pay attention to that, the throbbing in his head returned, and suddenly, all of his sensed exploded.

What had seemed like a quiet area before now made way to several muffled screams coming from a few rooms down.

"Grayson!!" He yelled without thinking, and in that one moment of mismanagement, his magic slipped out, and he screamed out in pain.

Tears sprung in his eyes, as he felt the spell he had used slip away from him, and fade into the bonds of his prison.

The cries from the cell near him faded, as Drake heard footsteps approach his cell.

When the effects of the chains faded, Drake hung limply in their metal embrace, all energy sucked out of him, as a cloaked figure unlocked the door, and came in.

"So... you're awake." The man said, and with one swift movement, took his hood off. "I was wondering when you would. Although, you did exert yourself pretty badly yesterday. I wouldn't be surprised."

Drake winced as he pulled his head up, and looked the figure all over.

He had hair black as coal, and piercing amber eyes. A brown cloak wrapped around most of him, with a golden choker. He had the body of a dancer, quick, nimble and thin. His feet were covered with dark brown boots. A shadow of a beard was creeping around his temples.

"What do you want?" Drake croaked, his vocal chords stinging.

"Nothing, I simply wanted to meet you." The man smiled slightly. "Once I realized you had been captured, I just had to see you. You're quite well known amongst us, Drake."

"What do you mean? Among whom?" Drake asked, gritting his teeth as one of the chains dug into his shoulder.

"Among the Mages, of course." The cloaked figure responded casually.

"There are Mages?! Here? In the Empire?!" Drake gasped in shock.

"Of course there are, where else would they be?" The man asked. "Other than you, of course."

I don't know..." Drake said, almost sarcastically. "Spending their lives away from captivity? Maybe, God forbid! Being free to make their own choices?"

"Oh, I assure you, we are allowed to make our own decisions." The mage smirked slightly at him. "I think you've been influenced too much by your little friend over there, Drake. He certainly didn't act very politely when I visited him."

"Let him go you son of a blaze!" Drake yelled, struggling against his bonds, but once more, his magic went haywire, and he screeched in agony.

"Are you okay?" The mage rushed towards him, suddenly looking concerned.

"Get... away from me." Drake whispered fiercely.

But the man didn't listen.

He ran a gloved hand along the cut on Drake's cheek, which was very deep, and made Drake wince.

He quickly retaliated, shaking his head back and forth, and then attempting to bite the man's finger when that didn't work.

The mage lifted his hand swiftly away before Drake teeth clamped shut, but instead of looking angry, he looked almost sympathetic.

"So it hurts that much." He stated, Drake glaring back at him. "I'll have to get the medics to fix you up. And maybe put you somewhere more comfortable."

"I don't need any of your medics, you filthy-"

"Please don't finish that sentence." The man sighed at him. "You're lucky the guards didn't kill you on sight when you first entered the gate, you being a hybrid and all, especially considering you're the outlaw. You should just be grateful they were new on the job."

"I don't need to be grateful for anything!" Drake yelled, his eyes flaring. "You locked me up and tortured my friend!"

"I can see you're not in a reasonable temperament right now." The man said respectfully. "I'll be back when you're in a better mood, and, for future reference, you don't need to call me a son of a blaze, or refer to me as filth. It's Darius."

And with a flick of his hand, Drake started to get woozy, and soon fell into a deep slumber.