Rook Academy: The Chronicles of a Hunter

Chapter 1

I run as hard as I can, clutching to my friends hand as I practically drag her along behind me. Her breaths are as heavy as mine as we flee through the cities dark, uneven, cobblestone streets, past the ornate fountain in the city center. There is a heavy charging of footsteps, so I quickly tug on her hand and pull her with me down an alleyway just off the main street before the approaching members of the city guard can see us.

We duck into a doorway, both of us pressing our backs against the door as the heavy clanking of armored men and women can be heard clattering down the main path beside us. My friend looks at me with fear and anxiety in her eyes; I try to alleviate her fear with a smile but my own heart is beating out of my chest, a deafening thumping resounding in my ears. I can feel my hands are shaking from the adrenaline coursing through me and I can feel my breathing shudder as I try to stay silent, or at the very least quiet.

The loud and restless city guards rush by without so much as throwing a single glance our way. We stand together in complete silence until they pass, and once they have my friend collapses to her knees in this filthy alleyway. The Moon is lighting up the cloudless night sky but the obscurity provided by darkness brings a sense of security to us both as it hides us away from the law enforcement's watchful eyes.

My name is Taliesin Demont. I am nineteen years old, somewhat athletic and of an average height, with medium length brown hair kept in an unkempt mess. I have a small scar just over my right eye but luckily I have kept my sight in that eye, and my face is sometimes hidden partially by my cross patterned grey and white scarf. I wear a plain short sleeved white shirt and loose grey trousers, I also wear a black strap on my right thigh which houses three throwing knives on the front of my thigh and three throwing knives on the back of my thigh, all of which are of easy access to me. I wear tight leather greaves over my loose trousers and leather straps are loosely bound across my torso and around my waist, mostly just there for appearance but with some practicality as I can attach pouches if deemed necessary.

My friend who is currently shaking on her knees on the floor beside me is the lovely Astrid Remoire whom is a little younger than myself, being eighteen. She is skinny and short with short spiked down hair that is coloured a light turquoise, her short hair helps complement the soft features of her face which she sometimes attempts to obscure with the grey bandanna she wears around her head. Her eyes are a nice, electric yellow, and her irises are sharp, one of the signs of an arcane user. She wears a light green, short-sleeved shirt which covered past her chest but leaves her midriff exposed, a pair of light brown shorts which stop just above her knees and a large but thin grey overcoat which just skims the floor when she walks. On her waist, she wears a belt containing multiple pockets with multiple various resources and components used in her arcane spell casting.

Astrid looks up at me from where she is kneeling, a hand pressed against her chest as she takes deep breaths to try and calm herself down. She return my smile but still I notice her speaking with fear still instilled her voice.

"Tali, we... We really need to get out of here."

I nod, still catching my breath after we have been fleeing for so long. I reach into my backpack on my back and pull a flask full of water from it, I take a long swig from it before passing it to Astrid who quickly does the same.

"I know we do. I know."

I take a deep breath, rubbing my eyes while I think in our brief moment of repose.

"We can leave Dorminth by train and get to a stop just outside of the Rendori border, from there we can get another train and be at Rook in a few days time. The last train of the night leaves in..."

I peak my head around the corner, gaining full view of the tall clock tower illuminated by moonlight. It show the time eleven thirtyfive, meaning...