468 P.C. Maltecha (Capital City of the Mourn Kingdom)
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Captain Rodrigo Dawns sat fixedly on a wooden chair, his piercing golden eyes stared at a map of the capital city and its surroundings. He donned the ceremonial armor of an officer of the kingdoms knight corps and had the interwoven dragon badge of the civil police pinned on his left breast. He had long brown hair which he tied behind his head along with some morning shadow he’d forgotten to shave off in his vexation.
“It doesn’t make sense. We can’t find out where they are getting their supply of Elixir and anyone we capture either offs themselves or can’t speak.” He mumbled to himself, while a head sergeant stood awkwardly behind.
The sergeant coughed lightly and gently placed a wooden crate full of green luminous tinctures in front of the captain.
“This was all my squad could find in that old warehouse you managed to sniff out. The ones on guard fought us to the death, and the ones we captured haven’t said a word or even made a sound for that matter.”
The captain reached into the crate and carefully withdrew one of the vials. The liquid shimmered an enamoring verdant green. Who could imagine that this little vial of undiluted drug was enough to kill everyone in a small city if handled improperly?
“This shite is the last thing the Kingdom needs. How these criminals managed to concoct this piss green pandemic is beyond me. I got enough problems dealing with the Corrupted Beast waves and now the king has ordered me to spend my little remaining free time trying to find out how to stop this drug from rotting the kingdom from the inside out.”
The captain carefully placed the vial back into the crate and grabbed his pipe from a corner of the wooden table. “Ignite” He murmured, and the contents of the pipe were set aflame. He took a deep drag and sighed a puff of smoke. He then returned his gaze back to the map which was slowly turning more and more colorful. On the bottom left-hand corner of the map the lower district where the raid took place was circled in bright red ink. There were several other red circles seemingly placed random points throughout the lower district. However, there was one outlier. There was a large red circle in the middle of the map that represented the noble’s district.
The reason why the king had gotten on his case recently was because there was a group of nobles who decided that they wanted a taste of the euphoria known as Elixir. That wouldn’t have been as big a problem but one of the nobles was the third the son of Duke Alfred Mourning. The pleasure house they were found in was completely purged and after coming off their high all the nobles involved have been suffering life-threatening withdraws since. Part of the reason the sergeant delivered the crate of pure Elixir to the captain was because he needed to transport a portion to the duke’s estate to help treat the noble's son.
“Given our current information the Elixir is most likely being produced outside the city and brought in through the lower district where inspection is less rigorous. The only direct lead we have on the outside production is that carriage driver we picked up who was transporting a few cases of the stuff from Landen.”
The captain took one more deep drag as he stared ponderingly at the map for a few moments.
“Sergeant, tell the troop that we are going on excursion. I’ll go make my delivery to the duke’s estate now.” He exclaimed slowly with an accompanying billow of smoke.
“Where to sir?”
“The City of Misfortunates, Landen.”
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Landen (Landen Compound):
Charles slowly awoke and found himself shirtless laying on a soft cotton bedspread in a well-lit wooden room. For a moment he had no idea where he was, then the memories from the ritual and the pain came rushing back in like water through a broken damn.
For a moment, Charles felt like he was going to have a panic attack. However, a strong sensation of calmness arose from the depths of his chest and mind and pacified his emotions. With his newfound clarity, Charles took a moment to look around the room he was in, it was barely furnished with a single bed and a mirror on the far side wall. Charles observation was cut short as he felt soft breaths hit the side of his neck.
Looking to his left, Charles was surprised to see Riley snuggled comfortably around his left arm. Her hair was frazzled, and she wore a pair of grey pajamas. He couldn’t help thinking she looked extremely comfortable and beautiful at the same time as she continued to take slow even breaths.
“You’re awake initiate. I would like to formally welcome you as a new member of the Landen chapter.” The deep and unmistakable voice of Thomas quickly woke Charles from his revelry and his eyes quickly moved to take in a rather handsome young man standing at the doorway.
Thomas’s long black hair was now a platinum blonde and instead of the dark grey eyes that left an impression on Charles at the ceremony, this version of Thomas had golden irises as bright as the sun. He was well built and wore a loose-fitting set of grey training clothes.
“What happened to me?” Charles was surprised when he could finally voice his thoughts again. It seemed the medicine they’d made him take had worn off.
Thomas stared into his eyes for a moment as if thinking about the best response.
“Allow me to answer your question with my own. Can’t you feel it?” Thomas’s aura changed, his eyes and hair shifted colors and two inky black horns rose from his forehead. The Thomas from the ceremony was standing in front of Charles again.
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Only this time, Charles didn’t feel any fear from the man. Instead, he had a strange feeling of kinship. He also noticed that the change in Thomas had woken Riley who was also staring at him waiting for a reaction.
Charles felt a calming chill rise in his chest as he suddenly remembered the floating eldritch angel in the vast world of darkness.
Snapping out of his recollection he found that Thomas was back to normal, and Riley was smiling at him contently. Feeling slightly confused, Charles caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He looked very similar to Thomas except he had three white notches that formed a strange birthmark going across his forehead.
“Wha-a” Charles reached up and felt his face in the mirror. Unbelieving that he was the same being reflected in the mirror.
“It’s called shifting silly. All the high tier chapter members can do it. Just focus on the chill your currently feeling, close your eyes, and imagine it being pulled into your chest to shift back.” Riley chirped from the side.
Charles immediately attempted to change back, he silenced his random thoughts and envisioned the cold sensation filling his body slowly receding into the center of his chest. When he opened his eyes again, his body was normal once again. However, he could now feel a strange pressure from his chest; like a lid holding back liquid. Charles realized that shifting between the two forms may be more natural than he initially thought.
“Your thoughts are written on your face.” Thomas mused. “Yes, it is exceptionally easy to change between the two forms. However, shifting is very different from the training you will have to undergo to utilize your magical abilities. One is a natural ability like breathing, while the other is like learning how to run.”
Charles was slowly coming to terms with the fact that he was now some sort of corrupted shapeshifter when Thomas’s words really sunk in.
I can use magic?!
It would be a dream come true. Magicians were respected everywhere, money would never be hard to get, food would always be plentiful, and he would never have to fearful of a normal city guard again. However, despite his newfound fondness for the companion’s life decided to drop in his lap, Charles was still wary of his new kin’s intentions.
However, if they can teach me how to be a magician it would be worth it to stick around. I would be much more at ease if I knew if Billy made it out safe from the sewers.
“Why are you frowning?” Riley poked the side of his cheek disrupting his train of thought.
“Oh, nothing. It’s just a lot to take in.”
Charles glanced towards Thomas who had an unreadable expression while silently observing him from the doorway. The man met his gaze before briefly checking a silver timepiece.
“That’s quite alright. Surviving the ritual without becoming a Mindless is no simple feat and you may still be confused about the changes you have experienced. Don’t worry, it will all make sense in due time. While you are still getting accommodated, Riley will show you around the compound.”
Just like that, Thomas turned around and left, leaving Charles alone in the room with Riley. Charles shifted awkwardly on the bed. Although he still thought Riley was beautiful, it didn’t change that fact that she’d hunted him for weeks, forcefully abducted him and then made him an unwilling participant in a ritual that had almost killed him.
“Well sleepyhead congratulations on becoming a member of our chapter! I will do my best to be a good huntress and guide you properly around the compound. OH! And before I forget, what was your name again?” She spun around. The gray pajamas fluttered as she twirled in a circle and faced him with a wide smile.
She’s completely insane, so why do I find her so attractive? He thought absentmindedly.
“Anyone in there?” Riley waved her hand in front of his eyes.
“My name is Charles.” He replied.
“Charles… Charlie? Chara, Cara, Char-char… hmm. Nope! I still like sleepyhead the best. Anyways, there is a change of clothes in the nightstand by the bed. I’ll meet you outside the room in a couple of minutes.” She pointed to his bared chest and gave him a wink before walking out the entryway and shutting the door behind her.
Charles was slightly embarrassed he’d forgotten his lack of shirt but was also relieved to finally get some alone time not locked in a cell or in an alleyway.
He sat back down onto the bed, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath trying to make sense of everything that had happened so far and what his short-term goals would be. First, he wanted to find out exactly what happened to his body and to learn more about magic; he also wanted to explore the compound and see if he could find some potential places to escape from while he was figuring everything out.
Let’s get dressed first.
Charles pulled out nightstand drawer and withdrew a set of grey training clothes that look the exact same as the ones Thomas was wearing earlier. He quickly slid into the clothes, surprised at how well they fit and at how comfortable and light they felt. Charles sighed softly. What did it say about the life he lived so far for this to be the nicest pair of clothing he’d ever worn?
Charles finished putting on the training clothes and took one quick glance in the mirror. He looked less like a street urchin and more like a monk in training now. Whatever the rebirth had been had added some much-needed weight back onto his bones, but years of malnourishment would require him to eat a bit more to fill out.
He took one last look in the mirror before opening the door and walking out into the hallway. Riley was there waiting. She’d changed out of her pajamas into a slightly more form fitting training outfit.
“You look a lot better than when I first metcha’ sleepyhead.” Riley gave him quick once over and nodded approvingly before starting to walk towards a wooden stairway nearby. “Well let’s get this show on the road, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover. The first place we’re headed is my favorite place in the entire compound. The training arena!”
Charles just nodded silently and followed behind. He wondered what kinds of people he would meet along the way and if they would fall higher or lower on the Riley insanity scale.
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Thomas's Office (Landen Compound):
In a dimly lit room adorned with heavy velvet curtains that blocked out the sunlight. Thomas was conversing with a Silent Watcher while seated at an oaken desk covered in piles of paperwork.
“Something went wrong, his reaction to us after the rebirth is completely outside standard parameters. Normally, after a newly converted does their first shift and senses our similar source of power they should feel an inherent trust and faith in us. However, he still seemed to harbor suspicions about his situation and somehow managed to retain most of his ego.” Thomas mused aloud.
A masculine yet quiet whisper came from under the dark hood of the Watcher. “Clearly, he has the favor of Silence. His inheritance may be of a higher quality than even your own. We should leave him with his hunter and observe him a while before taking any drastic measures. We must keep the Silence.” The Watcher raised a gloved hand to his mouth in a hushing motion.
Thomas shifted into his Reaper form, slowly nodded, and responded in a soft low tone.
“If it pleases the Silence. I will continue to observe the boy before reaching out to headquarters about this situation. However, if too many irregularities appear I will take matters into my own hands. Nothing can be allowed interrupt the plan.”