DEADFALL
Once, long before our time, the world was a place of bright colors. Everything was bright and shone in the sun, like the dancing flames. It was a place of creation and light, happiness and eternity. In this place lived many people, but not as we know them today. These people lived as a part of nature, within it. They had no houses, no buildings, only the trees around and the sky above. They had no need for anything else.
In this group of humans were born two twin sisters as different as night and day. One had hair that shown like bright red rays as the sun appears above the horizon and eyes that shone as the ocean. Her twin sister had hair as deep black as the ashes in a fire pit and eyes green as the plants around them. They lived as perfect sisters, truly one soul in twin bodies. Nothing seemed to be wrong, until they met him.
He was a young boy of blond hair and silver eyes, very rare among the humans of those long ago days. The twins immediately took a liking to him and the days were spent as a threesome doing everything together. Yet three beings can not be shared indefinitely and in the end there will always be one out. As it was with the black twin. She soon discovered that her twin sister received her own love back from the boy. She became jealous.
It wasn't long before the red twin and the blond boy decided they wished to spend the rest of their lives together, without the black twin. The black twin was furious, and sad. Yet instead of complaining she decided to have her revenge and keep the blond boy for herself, for if she couldn't have him then neither could her sister. They had arranged to meet above the valley upon the cliff and the black twin hurried there after stalling her sister.
She met him there and they spoke. Their words evolved into a fight and he became angry with her. He said he loved the red twin and not her, not ever her. The black twin cried and became enraged. In her anger she hit him and they both lost their balance. The black twin and the blond boy fell over the edge of the cliff as the red twin raced toward them. The red twin screamed as their bodies landed among the rocks below. Then she fell to her knees and prayed...
Chapter 1
The room was silent, gentle moonlight shining in through the small slit windows. Not a single movement entered the room save for a small dragonfly, which zipped through the window to land on the edge of an ornately carved oak bed. Beneath the sheets lay a young sleeping figure, deep within what most likely was a good dream. As the young man slept the world outside carried on without him. Most in the realm slept as well. Save for a few. Yet those few didn't concern him. Least not usually.
The soft click of a sword and whisper of fabric and his dream was interrupted. His dark black eyes snapped open to see only the shadows of his weakly lit room. He heard the dragonfly's wings buzz for a second, interrupting the silence, then nothing. Another whisper of fabric and the dragonfly was in flight, straight out the window. The young man remained still and struggled to keep his breathing soft. He locked his eyes upon the wooden wall before him, he couldn't reveal he was awake, he needed all the time he could get.
The fabric whispered constantly now as completely silent feet approached. Silently the young man cursed himself for having his men replace the old wooden floor. Just a few days ago it had been noisy and impossible for someone to sneak around in the room. What was once an annoyance would have now been a blessing, if only he had left it alone. Behind him the whisper of fabric stopped near the edge of the bed and there was a thick click of a latch being undone. A sword. He swallowed softly as he heard the smooth blade slide from its home. The sound of air splitting...
The young man threw himself out of the bed and landed with a thud of fabric upon the wooden floor. The shadowy figure didn't even emit a gasp of surprise, merely pounced with the quickness of a cat onto the bed and swung at him again. The young man quickly untangled himself from the sheets, only to see them sliced in half by a blade of intense sharpness. This shadowy figure meant business! The door was too far away and a cry for help would take time and courage, neither of which he had. The young man merely raced to his vanity and grabbed the first object: an intricate ivory inset mirror. He flung the heavy object with all his might at the shadow.
The mirror shattered against the wooden floor as the shadow dodged out of the way, several pieces of glass dancing across the ground. The next object that flew was a glass vial of liquid; this too shattered without much effort on the shadow's part. Then something thunked into the wall next to the young man's head. He gasped and jerked away, only to find a small twisted dagger had scraped the side of his face, warm blood dripping down his neck and on to his shoulder.
Quickly the young man scrambled for the door, his last chance. On his way there he grasped at the table for another object, this time coming up with a thick unlit candle. The shadow paused for a second as if daring him to throw such a useless object. Yet that wasn't his plan. The young man turned and threw the candle with all his might against the door. There was a loud crack as the candle halfway snapped and splattered. Yet it had had the desired effect, for from outside the room came voices. The door was thrown open to reveal two guards dressed in leather armor. The shadow glanced quickly at the young man then raced out into the hallway, knocking the guards to the ground. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, allowing none to see who it was and leaving only one thing behind...
A shining red pebble.
"My Lord, are you all right?"
The young man didn't answer for a moment, his entire being concentrating on the red pebble. Slowly he pulled his eyes away long enough to nod at the guards. One raced over and offered him a hand, helping him to his feet. The young man wiped the blood from his face, causing a few drops to splatter to the floor.
"How did he get in?" The young man demanded, anger slipping slowly into his voice. Better to show anger then fear, better to appear strong even if one wasn't.
"We don't know, Lord. We guarded the door the entire time, he could only have been in the room from before."
The young man struck a match and lit the large candelabra used as a light source for the entire room. He stood there, his face hard and expressionless as stone. Whoever that shadow had been he'd been patient and knew how to wait for the right moment. Which meant this wasn't the last time they'd meet. It also meant...
"Arrange the men, I wish a council in the morning with the Kinship."
One of the guards opened his mouth to protest but decided against it quickly. From behind them a thin man dressed in long dark robes rushed into the room, a hand above his head attempting to keep his hat from falling off.
"Dear Spirits, what happened? My Lord are you well? You're bleeding! Let me call the healer-"
The young man simply raised a hand and the thin man went silent. "Please, Speaker, calm yourself."
"But my Lord! Your life was threatened!"
The young man nodded and knelt down to pick up the shining red pebble, definitely a calling card of some sort. He spoke without looking from the object in his hands. "My life is in safe hands at the moment, you needn't worry. However," He straightened up and curled his fingers around the pebble. "Have the men arrange a carriage, we will leave as soon as the sun appears in the sky. And I want another room made up for my rest." The young man pushed past the guards and thin man into the hallway. As he walked his arranged his disheveled black hair and smoothed out his long sleeping gown. The thin man scrambled after him.
"Where, my Lord, are we going? If one may ask."
"To the Kinship."
The thin man coughed and tripped over his own feet in surprise, yet regained his footing and caught up with the young man as if tripping over his own feet were common. "The Kinship? My Lord, they are-"
"The only assassins who would leave such a calling card as this stone. And the only ones I can trust my life to now."
"But my Lord, if it was truly an assassin he had to be a member of the Kinship. How can you trust them? They've broken the agreement."
The young man frowned deeply but shook his head. "Perhaps. However, charging in against them would be like calling for an act of war on a very powerful group of people with which we've had peaceful relations until now. I owe it to them to speak with them about this matter, the agreement says at least that much. And I will not stoop to their level and break the agreement." The young man shut the door behind him silencing the protesting thin man and keeping him from following. With a small sigh he leaned back against the door and opened his fist to stare down at the pebble. Yes, it was possible the Kinship had broken their agreement, but nothing was proven yet. The only proven fact was that his life was in danger. If one of the Kinship truly held a contract on his life then he would need more then a few guards in leather and a palace of mazes to protect him.
He'd need an act of the Spirits.
Once, long before our time, the world was a place of bright colors. Everything was bright and shone in the sun, like the dancing flames. It was a place of creation and light, happiness and eternity. In this place lived many people, but not as we know them today. These people lived as a part of nature, within it. They had no houses, no buildings, only the trees around and the sky above. They had no need for anything else.
In this group of humans were born two twin sisters as different as night and day. One had hair that shown like bright red rays as the sun appears above the horizon and eyes that shone as the ocean. Her twin sister had hair as deep black as the ashes in a fire pit and eyes green as the plants around them. They lived as perfect sisters, truly one soul in twin bodies. Nothing seemed to be wrong, until they met him.
He was a young boy of blond hair and silver eyes, very rare among the humans of those long ago days. The twins immediately took a liking to him and the days were spent as a threesome doing everything together. Yet three beings can not be shared indefinitely and in the end there will always be one out. As it was with the black twin. She soon discovered that her twin sister received her own love back from the boy. She became jealous.
It wasn't long before the red twin and the blond boy decided they wished to spend the rest of their lives together, without the black twin. The black twin was furious, and sad. Yet instead of complaining she decided to have her revenge and keep the blond boy for herself, for if she couldn't have him then neither could her sister. They had arranged to meet above the valley upon the cliff and the black twin hurried there after stalling her sister.
She met him there and they spoke. Their words evolved into a fight and he became angry with her. He said he loved the red twin and not her, not ever her. The black twin cried and became enraged. In her anger she hit him and they both lost their balance. The black twin and the blond boy fell over the edge of the cliff as the red twin raced toward them. The red twin screamed as their bodies landed among the rocks below. Then she fell to her knees and prayed...
Chapter 1
The room was silent, gentle moonlight shining in through the small slit windows. Not a single movement entered the room save for a small dragonfly, which zipped through the window to land on the edge of an ornately carved oak bed. Beneath the sheets lay a young sleeping figure, deep within what most likely was a good dream. As the young man slept the world outside carried on without him. Most in the realm slept as well. Save for a few. Yet those few didn't concern him. Least not usually.
The soft click of a sword and whisper of fabric and his dream was interrupted. His dark black eyes snapped open to see only the shadows of his weakly lit room. He heard the dragonfly's wings buzz for a second, interrupting the silence, then nothing. Another whisper of fabric and the dragonfly was in flight, straight out the window. The young man remained still and struggled to keep his breathing soft. He locked his eyes upon the wooden wall before him, he couldn't reveal he was awake, he needed all the time he could get.
The fabric whispered constantly now as completely silent feet approached. Silently the young man cursed himself for having his men replace the old wooden floor. Just a few days ago it had been noisy and impossible for someone to sneak around in the room. What was once an annoyance would have now been a blessing, if only he had left it alone. Behind him the whisper of fabric stopped near the edge of the bed and there was a thick click of a latch being undone. A sword. He swallowed softly as he heard the smooth blade slide from its home. The sound of air splitting...
The young man threw himself out of the bed and landed with a thud of fabric upon the wooden floor. The shadowy figure didn't even emit a gasp of surprise, merely pounced with the quickness of a cat onto the bed and swung at him again. The young man quickly untangled himself from the sheets, only to see them sliced in half by a blade of intense sharpness. This shadowy figure meant business! The door was too far away and a cry for help would take time and courage, neither of which he had. The young man merely raced to his vanity and grabbed the first object: an intricate ivory inset mirror. He flung the heavy object with all his might at the shadow.
The mirror shattered against the wooden floor as the shadow dodged out of the way, several pieces of glass dancing across the ground. The next object that flew was a glass vial of liquid; this too shattered without much effort on the shadow's part. Then something thunked into the wall next to the young man's head. He gasped and jerked away, only to find a small twisted dagger had scraped the side of his face, warm blood dripping down his neck and on to his shoulder.
Quickly the young man scrambled for the door, his last chance. On his way there he grasped at the table for another object, this time coming up with a thick unlit candle. The shadow paused for a second as if daring him to throw such a useless object. Yet that wasn't his plan. The young man turned and threw the candle with all his might against the door. There was a loud crack as the candle halfway snapped and splattered. Yet it had had the desired effect, for from outside the room came voices. The door was thrown open to reveal two guards dressed in leather armor. The shadow glanced quickly at the young man then raced out into the hallway, knocking the guards to the ground. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, allowing none to see who it was and leaving only one thing behind...
A shining red pebble.
"My Lord, are you all right?"
The young man didn't answer for a moment, his entire being concentrating on the red pebble. Slowly he pulled his eyes away long enough to nod at the guards. One raced over and offered him a hand, helping him to his feet. The young man wiped the blood from his face, causing a few drops to splatter to the floor.
"How did he get in?" The young man demanded, anger slipping slowly into his voice. Better to show anger then fear, better to appear strong even if one wasn't.
"We don't know, Lord. We guarded the door the entire time, he could only have been in the room from before."
The young man struck a match and lit the large candelabra used as a light source for the entire room. He stood there, his face hard and expressionless as stone. Whoever that shadow had been he'd been patient and knew how to wait for the right moment. Which meant this wasn't the last time they'd meet. It also meant...
"Arrange the men, I wish a council in the morning with the Kinship."
One of the guards opened his mouth to protest but decided against it quickly. From behind them a thin man dressed in long dark robes rushed into the room, a hand above his head attempting to keep his hat from falling off.
"Dear Spirits, what happened? My Lord are you well? You're bleeding! Let me call the healer-"
The young man simply raised a hand and the thin man went silent. "Please, Speaker, calm yourself."
"But my Lord! Your life was threatened!"
The young man nodded and knelt down to pick up the shining red pebble, definitely a calling card of some sort. He spoke without looking from the object in his hands. "My life is in safe hands at the moment, you needn't worry. However," He straightened up and curled his fingers around the pebble. "Have the men arrange a carriage, we will leave as soon as the sun appears in the sky. And I want another room made up for my rest." The young man pushed past the guards and thin man into the hallway. As he walked his arranged his disheveled black hair and smoothed out his long sleeping gown. The thin man scrambled after him.
"Where, my Lord, are we going? If one may ask."
"To the Kinship."
The thin man coughed and tripped over his own feet in surprise, yet regained his footing and caught up with the young man as if tripping over his own feet were common. "The Kinship? My Lord, they are-"
"The only assassins who would leave such a calling card as this stone. And the only ones I can trust my life to now."
"But my Lord, if it was truly an assassin he had to be a member of the Kinship. How can you trust them? They've broken the agreement."
The young man frowned deeply but shook his head. "Perhaps. However, charging in against them would be like calling for an act of war on a very powerful group of people with which we've had peaceful relations until now. I owe it to them to speak with them about this matter, the agreement says at least that much. And I will not stoop to their level and break the agreement." The young man shut the door behind him silencing the protesting thin man and keeping him from following. With a small sigh he leaned back against the door and opened his fist to stare down at the pebble. Yes, it was possible the Kinship had broken their agreement, but nothing was proven yet. The only proven fact was that his life was in danger. If one of the Kinship truly held a contract on his life then he would need more then a few guards in leather and a palace of mazes to protect him.
He'd need an act of the Spirits.