An exile from an ancient race, a rouge with a forgotten past, and the force that binds them together. The two must learn to work as one before the world becomes undone.

The Wyrd

01 Exile

The whistling of the wind blowing through the mountains of the pass, an occasional call of a night hunting bird, and the soft crunch of the earth beneath his feet were the only sounds that surrounded Cyrus that night. The man’s mind contained a whirlpool full of bitterness and anger. He was an exile now, as the white waning crescent brand under his left eye indicated, forced from his tribe by his own family for things beyond his control. They had exiled him for being “unclean.” Cyrus gritted his teeth in rage. As if it was his fault that he was attracted to other men. An icy wind blasted though the pass. Cyrus pulled his cloak tighter around him and cursed his misfortune. Of all the times to be cast out it had to be on the eve of what would probably be the coldest winter on record.

Another gust of icy air blasted past. Cyrus’ dark garnet eyes began to sting and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep it up much longer. He was faced with two choices, either find shelter or freeze to death. Squinting, the man scanned the rocky terrain. The fat land between the mighty mountain peeks extended to either side and far out in front of him. No shelter could be found. Cyrus grumbled in frustration and trudged onward. To his amazement a light flickered off to his right. ‘Who would be out here?’ He thought to himself. Shrugging, he angled himself toward the light.

The light, as it turned out, was a small campfire. Before it sat the strangest tent Cyrus had ever seen. It was small and seemed to be made out of some sort of membrane. Intrigued Cyrus stepped closer. A man looked up at his approach. Or at least, it looked like a man. The creature had the body of a man and the ears of a cat. He looked wild and fierce but Cyrus felt no danger from him. He had heard stories of the beast folk but never thought he would meet one. The beast man’s lips curled into a smile around the pipe he held between his teeth. He removed the pipe and exhaled a small plume of smoke. “ Well there,” he said,” What do we have here?” He motioned for Cyrus to sit beside him. “Now don’t be shy, come here and let me get a look at you.” Hesitantly, Cyrus sat beside the man. The beast’s eyes roamed over him, taking in the detail of his caramel skin. His probing gaze stopped on the white crescent beneath his eye. His eyebrows rose. “An exile.” he breathed. Looking up at Cyrus questioningly he asked, “Come now boy, what’s your name?”

Cyrus frowned. “It’s polite to give your own name first.” he snapped instantly on guard.

“Now now, don’t be hasty. I’m not your enemy. The name’s Kalm.” he extended a hand. Cyrus shook it gently surprised to feel rough pads on the man’s fingers.

“Cyrus.” he grunted in reply.

“My aren’t we a talkative one?” Kalm smiled, reveling small pointed teeth. “ Well, I guess I can’t blame you. You don’t know me and I don’t know you. But tell me, why is it that an exile of the Imishi people is in these mountains?”

“I’m leaving.” Cyrus said softly, turning his eyes to the dancing flames of the fire. “As you have so kindly pointed out I am an exile. I have no place in Imishi land any longer.”

“Sorry to bring up a tender subject. Would you mind me asking though? Why? Why were you cast out?”

“For being something my people can not accept.” Cyrus raised his head and looked up at Kalm. “I think, perhaps you can figure out my meaning.”

Kalm nodded slowly. “I think I have a grasp of it. You where sent away by something over which you had no control. No man can truly control who he loves.”

“You sound like you have some experience in the matter.”

“Aye, that I do.” His gaze grew distant. “It’s not easy you know, being someone like us. No matter where you go you face criticism and disgust.” Kalm shook his head. “Ah but what can you do? Just live for the sake of living and damn what people think.” He turned his tawny eyes back to Cyrus. “That is the way I’ve learned to see it.” Cyrus replied with a small smile. Kalm broke out in a grin. “At last! Some sign of emotion.” He rose and patted Cyrus on the shoulder. “Come on inside. You look like you could use the rest.” He ushered the younger man inside.

Cyrus glanced around in surprise. From the outside he had expected the tent to be small and cramped. However, the tent was quite large and divided into three sections. A small bathroom sat of to the far side. In the center of the tent was a decent sized sitting room. A curtain in the back separated the bedroom from the rest. Kalm read the look o Cyrus’ face and smiled. “Nice isn’t it?” He sat down on a couch and extended his long legs before him. “It took me a month to build it. It’s not an easy enchantment, I’ll tell you that. Come on; sit down before you fall down.”

Cyrus managed to collapse into an armchair. “You’re a mage.” He said in disbelief.

“Aye that I am, though not the best liked one.” He smiled up at Cyrus. “You’re people frown upon magic, don’t they?”

The man nodded. “Yes. Only the priests have any magical ability and they believe that it was given to them by their god Rahnu.” He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “A load of bullshit if you ask me.”

“It does sure sound like a tall tale, but you never know. They could be right.”

Cyrus snorted in disbelief. “The priests only say that to keep there hold on the people. That is their only true power, fear.” The man bit back a yawn.

“Oh there I go again, keeping you awake. Come on. Let’s get some sleep and continue this in the morning.

)0(

Cyrus curled up in a ball. Even in the tent, it was still freezing cold. There was a warmth at his back and someone pulled him close. The man tensed. “Easy,” Kalm muttered in his ear. “I’m not going to do anything inappropriate. I just don’t want to see you freeze. Relax…” Slowly, Cyrus relaxed into Kalm’s embrace. It felt good to have someone care about his well being.

That morning the two men sat before the fire, eating from bowls of mixed grain. Cyrus had never had anything like the thick porridge like substance and found it a rather pleasant change to the dried fruit that had been his breakfast the day before. “So,” Kalm said, sitting his empty bowl on his lap. “Where will you go from here?” Cyrus shrugged. “Well if that’s the case why not come with me?”

“Come with you? Where?”

“The city of Delengrad. A haven for rouges and wanderers. I think you’d do well there.”

Cyrus nodded. “Alright. I’ll come with you to this Delengrad. Any place is better than where I’ve been.”

Hi all! Here's a new story and this one I WILL finish. I just need positive feed back. So leave a review at the door and help me finish this bugger!