The first thing Marlin noticed was that EVERYONE was healthy, also no one was begging. Laziness was a foreign word in this culture. And then there was their godforsaken beauty not just the women but the men too.
Some dude that was apparently a bard, had not a line out of place, perfect skin and Fabulous hair that would make unicorns tremble with envy. He had at least 20 women around him, whom he only gave the slightest bit of attention to, making him only more desirable to the women around him.
Betty rolled her eyes at the man and send a barrage of love struck gazes at Bradford, who returned them in equal measure.
“He seems like an absolute douchebag”, Marlin droned walking past, pointedly ignoring the inferiority complex flaring up.
He felt small seeing all these people, insignificant and inadequate. Every guy looks good! Like wtf?
and then there were the women, gorgeous creatures and kind to boot. different sizes and shapes of course, but it was always levels of attraction never: ow she looks, bad or plain.
“Must be the food”, Marlin muttered, he always suspected the chemical junkfood of his old world was bad for your health. And here it was clear as day, health and virility, definitely had its charm.
Coming into town, he had been aware that his hearing was really good, he was picking up hushed conversations, and sounds that he wouldn’t have picked up in his old life. And as vibrant and chaotic as it was he didn’t find it overwhelming. His mind seemed to automatically organize everything for him to peruse.
and he had been picking up the sounds of several couples who thought they were quiet and discreet all over.
people were happy in general and flirting seemed everyone’s favorite past time. He had resigned himself to that and it wasn’t as bothersome as he initially thought it would be. including women actually coming on to him, which was both surprising and good to hammer down his inferiority complex that had made his ugly reappearance after so many years.
He was enjoying himself, even if quite a few people seemed to dislike his eyes, strangely enough not the priests and priestesses walking around who seemed more curious from an academic point of view in his birth. Astrology a big part of most religions, of which there were a dazzling amount. The priestesses looked very cute in their robes and didn’t mind stepping into his personal space, at least half, invited him for a “prayer”, which Betty teased him endlessly with, she thought it cute as hell how Marlin turned out to be just as shy as Bradford in his younger years.
The ones who didn’t like his eyes, had been the rich and official types that seemed to scoff and look at him with contempt.
His libertarian self was perfectly fine with that, enjoyed it even. After all Ron Swanson was one of the greats.
Everything was going fine, a stupidly cute T’jut girl was hitting on him, steam coming out of Marlin’s ears, until Marlin heard a particular set of words that send his good mood tumbling down the cliff.
“Ow Daron~ you are so much better than…”
He didn’t hear the last part, it had been enough, he was back in Sadanis’s iron grip. Sadanis cackling gleefully as he shoved Marlin’s face in the image of his wife’s betrayal.
He barely contained his rage and quickly rushed into an alley. He knew that his eyes must have glared red. People visibly reacted and got out of his way, wary of him all the smiles were gone.
Bradford made Betty stay at a distance, who frantically wanted to see what was wrong and walked towards his son.
“what happened”? His voice was stern, unreadable.
“i heard something very unpleasant”. Marlin responded.
“What sort of unpleasant”?
”It… seemed like the cheating kind”, Marlin repeated what he had heard. Bradford had fury in his eyes. “Son if you are wrong… that sort of accusation can destroy someone”. His voice calm, but it held the same underlying fury it had when those bandits had showed up, Marlin couldn’t tell if it was directed at him or the situation
Marlin simply pointed at a building, “the two i heard are in that building… second floor, the sounds are coming from that window. Id love for it to be wrong but the guy just admitted he liked the woman better then someone else”.
It was easier to hear now, that the people around him had started speaking in whispers looking at him.
“Im sorry father”, he felt guilt, shame for putting his parents into this shit, “im not saying what im hearing is them actually cheating, it”, he trembles, hating how weak its making him feel, “it triggered the memories, Im sorry”. Marlin felt like shit, and he hated the attention he was getting.
Bradford nodded. “Alright i will investigate”, he nodded at Betty, who walked to Marlin.
Bradford talked to a guard and motioned for the building. Him and the guard went into the building.
Marlin observed two people coming out and some commotion ensued, turned out the woman had properly broken off a previous engagement with another man and observed the proper separation period of a week, the man however was still engaged. His fiancé, who had been somewhere else, had rushed over not believing a word of what the guard said, until she saw the man’s face.
She flew off the handle and nearly killed him, before the guard stopped her from stabbing the man in the throat.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Marlin saw the looks of contempt. The crowd could barely look at the man who walked of, beaten and bloodied. He looked strong, but he hadn’t fought back. The woman he had cheated with, who had been from another town, was pale shaking and crying, and couldn’t stop apologizing to the woman who was betrayed.
Although she hadn’t done anything wrong technically, people still didn’t look as friendly to her as they might have.
“Trust is taken rather serious”. Marlin said.
“Trust is all we have son”, betty spoke, “without it, we would have no community”.
“what will happen to him”? Marlin looked at the man slumped and walking away.
“He will try to mend burned bridges but will eventually become an outcast and live among his own kind. There is an outcast community about 3 days travel from here. Men and women like him are not needed or wanted”.
Betty, who’s voice was always so full of love had been ice. She talked of the man as if he was no longer kin.
Marlin hugged his mother. “W-what? You haven’t hugged me for almost a year! What’s going on”?
Marlin chuckled, “you keeping count”? “Maybe”? She said softly returning the hug, “sorry mother but could you not speak with such coldness? It feels like a tragedy”.
“I could say the same thing mister Felltongue”.
“what”?
”the way you spoke to those ruffians, ive heard devils more civil then that”.
“you heard devil’s speak”?
“yes marlin, i wasn’t always a complete recluse yknow”?
”huh”, he said in wonder, “the more you know”.
Bradford came back, “well seems like everything is cleared up”, he said visibly relieved but definitely more tired looking. “People already know you reacted that way because of what you heard and it seems to have smoothed things over”.
“Still gotta keep those meditation practices up marlin, you gave that really cute lass, quite the scare”.
”i know~ and she was totally my type too. Fuck”.
”So”, Marlin spoke strong so both could hear him, “before i accidentally become an outcast.
People sleep around all the time, 4 couples close by, proving my point”, Bradford looked at Marlin very concerned,
“But once they meet someone special and get engaged and/or married? From that point on you are socially glued to that person”?
“pretty much”, Betty nodded. “me and your father were a bit different then most. we are both eachother’s first but it clicked so well we couldn’t stop seeing eachother”.
“yea of course you to love birds had eyes for no one else. you two are practically one soul”. Mark sighed in exasperation.
“awwww marlin you really think so”?
“I know so”.
“You sure you don’t have, diplomacy or bantering as a skill”? Bradford asked with a raised eyebrow.
”i don’t need a skill to state the truth Father”, Marlin deadpanned. “Not even the gods would dare split you two apart”.
His father coughed. “Alright we got everything we needed so far the only thing now is the blacksmith, the stables and then the guild”.
“Hi, are you ok”? The really cute, totally his type, girl approached. “I heard from that old lady over there, why you lost your temper”.
Marlin looked and saw an old seamstress wink at him. Betty and Bradford were gone and so was Billy. Leaving Marlin with all his hormones turned up to 11, alone.
“yes sorry it was very sudden and yeah it got to me. It triggered some very bad memories, btw my name is Marlin i never got to introduce myself”.
He spotted his parents giggling 100 feet ahead, seeing his dad giggle was VERY weird.
“I hope i didn’t scare you too much”? He offered her an arm and she took it gladly.
“No you didn’t, well it was super scary”, she smiled sheepishly, “but you didn’t hurt anyone, my name is Milly”.
“That’s a very cute name. How old are you”?
And can you please stop with that siren’s tone in your voice? It’s making it hard to think, Marlin thought to himself.
her light green skin turned a bit darker green, 25. “Sorry did you say bad memories”? You look like you only just became an adult.
Bradford had told him prior that being a traveler was considered novel and nothing to be scared of. People would mostly be concerned with his eyes and his tyrant shenanigans.
“well actually im a traveler all things considered, i have the memories of about 50 years. My body has grown faster, trying to catch up apparently, at least that’s what father said. Im roughly 18 looking”? Milly nodded.
“As far as memories”, Marlin didn’t want to spill his entire trauma but decided at least to hint with the proverbial cat out of the bag.
“i experienced similar betrayal. My wife was unfaithful in my old life”.
Milly sighed. “No wonder you got so angry. You could hear them while we were talking”?
”Do you really want to know”? Marlin asked. “Yes i want to know more about you. Your eyes are super sexy btw. Right now they have this azure glow that makes me feel, Giddy”?
Marlin blushed. In this culture it was the women that traditionally proposed and tried to whoo the men. Milly was apparently an expert at pushing all his buttons.
”Yea i can’t control it, im apparently a big scary overlord in the making but im not so sure. All i got is a goat that sees me as his lord”.
Milly giggled, Marlins heart skipped a couple of beats seeing her do that.
T’jut overall, were chubbier than High kin. but similar im length and build, similar in appearance except pointy ears. Their skin was light green, light blue or light orange depending on the region. The women had hair on their heads, the men were all bald and grew beards.
Milly was no exception to her race, but she hit that balance of full bodied good looking just right for Marlin.
Who was sort of surprised with himself how he enjoyed looking at a woman who had not a single straight line on her body except her ears, shins and fingers perhaps. She had a belly, but in a sexy way.
To top it all off; she wasn’t just cute and clearly interested but also fun to talk to. She didn’t overdo the sultry seduction stick like the other women had.
Marlin barraged her with questions, she was apparently a Sorcerer’s in training which revolved around 3 skill sets Potentation: the authority to rule from the elder Titan. Primordial: the fury of the Prime dragon. And Invocation: grasping the tremors of the Leviathan of the deep.
Many T’jut were born with an innate connection to the leviathan. This was one of her racial traits a skillset.
She explained to Marlin how magic worked or at least ancient magic, the first to be discovered.
She spoke a few words in the ancient tongue and created electrical sparks and fire. Marlin was born with tyrant speech to dominate and rule. Milly was born with Ancient speech allowing her to cast magic.
Was Marlin jealous? Totally not, maybe a little. He was too occupied paying attention to the girl.
“So why would you be scared of me when you can fry me to a crisp”? Marlin asked a bit confused. His observations of Milly started painting her as an absolute bad ass.
Milly looked at him and for a moment and she softly spoke a few ancient words.
Marlin almost lost control, she looked so vulnerable so ready for the taking so…. He shook his head. “because…of what you JUST did”, she spoke in a whisper.
“what do you mean?” Marlin was still shaking a bit, freaking out a bit about what he almost did internally.
“right now i cast a command spell, I commanded you to take me and you brushed it off”.
Marlin stopped and looked at her a bout of melancholy hit him, “don’t do that again. It’s incredibly hard to ignore something like that if im already inclined to do so”.
Milly leaned in and kissed him, hunger took them both. She broke the kiss, “i won’t test you again, i promise and i do apologize”. She looked at him eyes sparkling.
“People born under the shadowed star, we have great and terrible stories of such people. And it’s still scary to be with you but…”
She leaned in again and kissed him, much deeper this time. “After you are done with your parents will you share my bed tonight”?
Marlin nodded.