Unto the Shadow (Completed)

(Ch.3) Notes Burn

Graynin paced back and forth in front of the locked mahogany door. He was beyond annoyed with the Head Healer, Athos Stegma. He had to make a conscious effort to keep his rage-fueled power in check, as to not set one of the decorative trees at either end of the hall on fire.

He had been trying to see Athos for days now. Only to receive several polite messages stating Athos' shallow apologies. The best had been,

'I am dreadfully sorry Graynin,  but I am too busy to schedule a private audience at the moment. I will contact you when I have the time.

Sincerely,

-Athos Stegma.'

He hadn't even bothered to make up a proper excuse.

Each delivery was made by one of Athos' many apprentices. All struggled to hide their joy at being asked to perform a task for their master, while at the same time trying to show confidence in the chilling presence of Graynin.

He had accepted the first few rejections fairly well, at least fairly well for a Souladeux male, notorious for their hot temper. But the last messenger had not been so lucky, he had been seen running out of Graynin's quarters as if his life depended on it. Which it may have.

Graynin had tired of following formality. He now waited for Athos outside of his study, ready to pounce on the old man when he emerged.

Graynin had been stunned by how little of an investigation had taken place following Chauncer's murder. They had barely even taken Graynin's statement, despite the fact that he had been the only witness. Murmurs around the Capital were that Chauncer had committed suicide, and with no official statement to say otherwise, the public was beginning to see this ghastly rumor as fact. Other whispered rumors had even grown so ugly as to suggest it was Graynin who had murdered Chauncer, and that was why the Council wasn't making an official statement. They weren't willing to put such a powerful young Souladeux on trial.

Everyone had always been wary of Graynin, starting when he was a child. Even at a young age the enormity of his power was evident. As he grew, his powers kept in stride. Now, there was no doubt that he was one the most powerful Souladeux to be born in twenty millennia.

His parents hadn't even been soulmate Souladeux. They had both lost their mates in combat. It was rare for split Souladeux to find themselves in the bed of another split Souladeux, considering they both had known the depth, and overwhelming magnitude of being a half of a soulmate pair. But obviously his parents had managed it.

Neither had been very interested in raising the mistake that was Graynin Slate Rathem. His mother, Magda Navien, was one of the best combat instructors the Souladeux Academy had ever seen. She also held the coveted postion of Head Mistress, a job Souladeux fought for, and sometimes even die for. Graynin's father, Hunter Rathem, had left his station at the Academy as weapons specialist the day after Graynin was born. Hunter stopped by the Academy every few years to see how Graynin had grown, but the most communication they ever had was when Hunter was correcting Graynin's weapon drills.

Graynin had found a great deal of contempt for his parent's lack of interest in him. He saw their self-wallowing for the death of their mates to be pathetic and selfish. Their poor example had caused him to swear to never split his own soul. Not wanting to lose himself and be at the mercy of another, the way his parents had been.

Graynin turned from the locked door, seeing as it showed no signs of moving, and looked to the ancient tapestries that lined the grand hallway. Six beautifully woven panels hung high, all depicting the different lives of each bloodline of people in the Realm of Esera. The three largest panels belonging to the long-lived races.