Shadow's end

Chapter 1: A grave infraction

Rasocren put the book down in disgust. He had already read it many times and knew the history of his people better than anyone (besides Drash'aa and the council) and was tired of the righteous propaganda that the Council of Elders loved to spread so. He got up and put the book back where he found it in the library and strolled down another aisle to look for something else to read but he could not find a single thing. Out of all the millions of books he had access to in the library, he had read them all, eager to soak up as much knowledge as he could. At the young age of 16 years old, he could recite all of them by heart and was well versed in many things such as poisons, combat techniques, healing, animal life, alchemy and much much more. But now, at 346 years old, he grew bored of reading the same things over and over. What he truly yearned for was the knowledge that was kept within the council's restricted zone of the library. While looking through the books, he kept glancing back at the grand doors that lead to the restricted area of the library. Eventually, he could not resist it any longer and looked to see if there was anyone else in the library with him. When he saw no one, he walked up to the doors and stood in front of them for a moment to revel in what he was about to do. He was going to defile the Council of Elders and read the secret knowledge that they kept for themselves. He trembled with excitement as he carefully used a specialized rune to open the door, which was magically sealed, and stepped inside. It was dark and cold within, and Rasocren felt his heart beating fast within his chest. No one had been in here for centuries. He took one step forward and the doors closed behind him. He ignored them, knowing that structures built by the Council did as such in a foolish attempt to instill awe with the commoners (Rasocren had always thought of such as being a little pathetic. Theatrics were a fools way to get your people to respect you as a leader). He walked down many of the aisles, looking at the books and not knowing what to pick first. The history of the Dark Shad'raa? Combat techniques of the Dark ones? Complete guide to the Dark ones? Grabbing as many books as he could, Rasocren went to a similar table like the one he had been sitting at in the previous room and started to read. He sat there, reading for days, absorbing all the knowledge he could, practicing many of the new techniques and recipes he found within these treasures of knowledge. On the fifth day, however, he came across a very interesting book. It was a plain book made of a strange purple leather and had black writing on it. The book simply read "R'odash the Betrayer" on the cover. But before Rasocren could open it, he heard voices outside the great door and swore. It was members of the Council. With supernatural speed, he ran to replace all the books exactly where he had found them and hid in the back of the library where it was darkest. As soon as he hid, the doors burst open and the voices became clearer as Rasocren heard one of them say "-reconsider about Rasocren! I am aware that you are fond of him and his potential but he is young and shows frightening unstableness!". That was Sh'aard, the Councilman of War, Rasocren noticed. "You need not worry about him, Sh'aard. What you call unstableness is, in reality, a thirst for knowledge and expansion of an intellect that, quite frankly, is vastly superior to your own" At once, Rasocren stiffened as he recognized his mother's voice. Blast it to Darklius! thought Rasocren to himself. I will not leave here easily. He started to stealthily move along the side of the room to manoeuvre around both Council members and exit the room when the doors started to close. Seeing his chances of escaping slip out of his grasp, Rasocren decided to take a risk and sped towards the door in his mist form. Just before the doors slammed shut, he managed to seep through the thin crack in between both doors and reformed his body back to its solid form on the other side. Seeing that he was not spotted by anyone in the oddly empty library, he wasted no time whatsoever and quickly strode towards the exit to leave the library.

Drash'aa looked back at the great doors and frowned. She quickly shushed Sh'aard, who was in the middle of a rant about her son. "Cease your stupidity for a moment, Sh'aard, I believe someone was in here with us not so long ago". Insulted but knowing better than to argue with the Supreme Elder, Sh'aard did as he was told. "Someone just used their mist form to seep through the great doors," said Drash'aa "Quickly, look to see if any books were stolen". Without hesitating, Sh'aard flashed through every aisle and reappeared beside Drash'aa. "Nothing has been stolen," he told her, his breathing slightly faster. "Should we be concerned?" He asked her. She answered "Yes, we should. We have no idea who the intruder was or what they saw". Sh'aard nodded and asked, "Should we assemble the others?". Drash'aa looked at him with an expression that told him he had asked an obvious question. She walked out of the restricted area and said "lock down the library and do not waste any time gathering the others in the chamber. I expect you all within five minutes!"

"This is indeed troubling news, Great ones," said Rasocren after being briefed about the infraction of the restricted area "What are your instructions?". T'aarsh, Councilman of Justice  and the one with ultimate power in this matter, responded with great authority "It would be imperative that you investigate in this matter and find whoever is responsible. You have my leave to use whatever means necessary to catch the perpetrator". Rasocren, not being able to hold in his amusement to the council's oblivion, smiled widely and replied: "I will not fail". He bowed and left the Council chambers with his pride more inflated than it ever had been. I have defied the Council and they do not even know! Soon, however, he realized that he had just thrown an obstacle in his own path. His own carelessness had made it so that he had to find a fake culprit to take before the Council, which could have been entirely avoided had he been more careful. It will not happen again. That, I will make sure of. He thought to himself, determined. After several minutes of walking, he arrived at his quarters and wasted no time to equip himself for a formal criminal investigation. Once he was dressed he took a moment to observe himself in the grand mirror perched on his wall. Tall for a Shad'raa, he measured six feet and two inches and had the characteristic purple skin of the Shad'raa as well as their jet black hair. It was quite long for that of a male as it descended to his shoulders. Despite not being large and actually quite thin, he made up for it in the leanness of his developed muscles. However, his most striking features were in his face; they made him seem eternally old yet fiercely young and eyes that contained endless sage-like wisdom as well as savage cunning. He wore robes that, despite being quite simple in their design, gave off a look of complexity and dignity and on them, he wore the symbol of the Shad'raa proudly; a circle with a vertical line cutting through its centre. He inhaled deeply and prepared himself for the oncoming events that he had quickly, yet carefully planned. "Let us find a criminal worthy of my crime, shall we?"