Spring 3rd 518
Merchant’s Ring
Sunset
A hot, dry wind floated up from the canal, scorching the roof of Rook’s mouth with the taste of dust and heat. This day was not so different from the one those many days ago, where Rook’s world had broken.
Rook stood in the shadows of the buildings, watching the red light of the fading sun play against the water of the canal. The kelvic had not been here since he had been abandoned by his former master. Days had stretched to tendays as he was bound to his new master’s side. She demanded obedience and had spent many days confirming Rook’s loyalty. The memories of those first days with her were hazy, pain and fear blending into a maelstrom of compliance. He was a slave. That was all he would ever be. His purpose was to serve. He knew this beyond a fragment of a doubt.
And yet, sometimes, late in the night as the darkness around him lulled his exhausted body and mind towards sleep, Rook found his mind repeating the words the lady slave had spoken to him as his world shattered around him.
“No soul, whether it be Kelvic, human, or Akalak, should ever be owned, or enslaved by another.”
It was a contradiction to everything Rook knew, and yet somehow he couldn’t quite discard it as a lie. The Lady Lazarin’s demands spoke to one part of his heart. But the slave woman’s words spoke to another. Something in Rook craved change. He wanted to see everything, to walk the breadth of the world and know it all. A desperate part of Rook screamed to go out and find...something. What it was he didn’t know. Surely if he wasn’t a slave, that would make his cravings easier to satisfy? Those two parts of Rook quarreled. It gave him no rest.
Rook’s new home offered him no comfort, so now, when he was finally considered loyal enough to run errands without an escort, Rook had found himself returning to the only place he had known peace.
The smell of spices drifted in the air. Nostalgia gnawed at him, but it hurt more than it granted peace. Cloaked and hooded, Rook crouched near the ground, several doors down from the first place he had known as home. He’d been in the area for a bell or so, watching the comings and goings of The Spicy Lass. Each time she bid farewell to a customer, Ruby would come to the door to the store and each time Rook’s heart would raise up then plummet into his stomach.
He didn’t know what he wanted from her, but whatever it was he couldn’t find it. Nothing in her had changed. She was the same as ever. He sensed no sadness, no hesitation, nor melancholy. Rook had spent a year learning the woman’s mannerisms and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that she did not miss him. Had he sensed even a fraction of hesitation he might have approached her. But she was unchanged. And he couldn’t risk her calling the guard. He had only just gained a fraction of freedom, and he couldn’t risk it, not even for her.
It was over. There was nothing left of them to mourn.
Rook turned away from the Spicy Lass and towards the canal, positive that he would never return here. In a way, he felt relieved. With his nagging question answered Rook could finally set Ruby aside and move forward. But there was still a second question that he needed answered. Without it, he could not settle into his new life without peace.
He had to find the slave who had told him he could be free. Her answers would help him to understand.
Merchant’s Ring
Sunset
A hot, dry wind floated up from the canal, scorching the roof of Rook’s mouth with the taste of dust and heat. This day was not so different from the one those many days ago, where Rook’s world had broken.
Rook stood in the shadows of the buildings, watching the red light of the fading sun play against the water of the canal. The kelvic had not been here since he had been abandoned by his former master. Days had stretched to tendays as he was bound to his new master’s side. She demanded obedience and had spent many days confirming Rook’s loyalty. The memories of those first days with her were hazy, pain and fear blending into a maelstrom of compliance. He was a slave. That was all he would ever be. His purpose was to serve. He knew this beyond a fragment of a doubt.
And yet, sometimes, late in the night as the darkness around him lulled his exhausted body and mind towards sleep, Rook found his mind repeating the words the lady slave had spoken to him as his world shattered around him.
“No soul, whether it be Kelvic, human, or Akalak, should ever be owned, or enslaved by another.”
It was a contradiction to everything Rook knew, and yet somehow he couldn’t quite discard it as a lie. The Lady Lazarin’s demands spoke to one part of his heart. But the slave woman’s words spoke to another. Something in Rook craved change. He wanted to see everything, to walk the breadth of the world and know it all. A desperate part of Rook screamed to go out and find...something. What it was he didn’t know. Surely if he wasn’t a slave, that would make his cravings easier to satisfy? Those two parts of Rook quarreled. It gave him no rest.
Rook’s new home offered him no comfort, so now, when he was finally considered loyal enough to run errands without an escort, Rook had found himself returning to the only place he had known peace.
The smell of spices drifted in the air. Nostalgia gnawed at him, but it hurt more than it granted peace. Cloaked and hooded, Rook crouched near the ground, several doors down from the first place he had known as home. He’d been in the area for a bell or so, watching the comings and goings of The Spicy Lass. Each time she bid farewell to a customer, Ruby would come to the door to the store and each time Rook’s heart would raise up then plummet into his stomach.
He didn’t know what he wanted from her, but whatever it was he couldn’t find it. Nothing in her had changed. She was the same as ever. He sensed no sadness, no hesitation, nor melancholy. Rook had spent a year learning the woman’s mannerisms and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that she did not miss him. Had he sensed even a fraction of hesitation he might have approached her. But she was unchanged. And he couldn’t risk her calling the guard. He had only just gained a fraction of freedom, and he couldn’t risk it, not even for her.
It was over. There was nothing left of them to mourn.
Rook turned away from the Spicy Lass and towards the canal, positive that he would never return here. In a way, he felt relieved. With his nagging question answered Rook could finally set Ruby aside and move forward. But there was still a second question that he needed answered. Without it, he could not settle into his new life without peace.
He had to find the slave who had told him he could be free. Her answers would help him to understand.
Rook
