Chapter One: That Winter Night
It was a cold, early winter night in the town of Auru. As always, Jedoi found herself in the Wolf’s Den, tending to her pack. She enjoyed the warmth of the hundreds of pups that surrounded her, but it didn’t stop the eerie chill that ran down her spine. Even her wolves had sensed it: she turned to her two favorite wolves, Apricity and Entelechy, to see them hunched over and their hair raised. She turned to see the two figures that were causing all the commotion.
“Xov! Crypt!” Xovious was the ruler of Auru; he often turned to the Wolf Mother for guidance on how to control the town. He respected Jedoi as his equal, never his subsequent, mostly because she and her wolf pack scared the hell out of him. Cryptite, on the other hand, was seen as the might protector among the Lokans, the people inhabiting the fifth world. After his fight with Preksak on the Abandoned World, an event that came to be known as the Battle of the Spire, the people of Loka had nearly worshipped him like a god. Yet, the two strongest and most influential people Jedoi knew were standing before her, in her mere Wolf Den. It wasn’t exactly the place to have a formal meeting, or so she thought, so what was really going on here?
Xovious spoke first. “Jed, we need to talk.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “Obviously, you dolt, but about what?”
Xovious scoffed, but Cryptite cut him off before he made a sarcastic remark. “We should talk in a more private place. One that he can’t get to.”
Jedoi looked back and forth between her two superiors. “He? Who’s He?”
“The young Wizard,” Cryptite responded curtly.
“Oh no, is something wrong?” Jedoi asked in her caring, motherly voice. In the past week she had known Tee, she had come to take a liking to him. He had learned the ropes of Auru fast, and was on his way up the ranks in the town. He showed the most dedication of any newcomer she had seen before, but she was a little biased about him; after all, he showed interest in joining her most beloved guild: The Historians.
“Nothing is wrong with him, but we need to talk about him,” Xovious finally let on. “Let’s go to the top of the Spire. I’m sure Ajaxan wouldn’t mind if we borrowed his room for a little while.”
The three of them took off, joined with two canine figures that would never leave Jedoi’s side. Xovious tried to object about bringing Entelechy and Apricity, but the wolves merely growled at him and he turned a ghostly pale, instantly redacting his complaints. Jedoi nearly giggled, but tried to keep as stern a face as possible and continued on.
First, the group walked just South of the Questing Guild, traveling past the site of construction of Tee’s new house in Auru. Even now, he was working to construct his abode, and searching through chests he set up around the perimeter to find the necessary materials to do so. Jedoi noticed the small pup that was excitedly chasing him around. Tee smiled at the wolf, scratched between its ears, then reached into one of the nearby chests and grabbed out a stick. He waved it in front of the pup’s face, seeing it excitedly bounce from left to right, it’s tongue hanging out of it’s mouth and going crazy with every jump. He tossed it towards where the group was walking and watched, joyfully, as his pup chased after it. He saw Jedoi, leaning up against one of the spruce wood pillars that lined the snow-covered, cobblestone walkway. His smile became even wider as he began to walk over towards her. Jedoi was the first to say something.
“So you finally got one of your own?”
Tee simply laughed as his wolf came running back. He stopped before Jedoi and looked at her confused. “Yeah, I guess I did. He reminds me of someone from back home.”
“Well, I’m happy for you.” She patted the wolf’s head and looked at it’s name tag. “Tenebris? What a name for you, pup, isn’t it?”
Tee laughed again. “It means ‘darkness’ in a language back from home.”
Jedoi flinched: she already had enough problems with Darkness to not like the word. She’d give the pup a fair chance, however, if only to please Tee.
She tugged the stick from the pup’s jaws and tossed it down the way.
Tee looked back up and saw Xovious and Cryptite waiting nearby. He instantly tensed up. Jedoi, noticing the change in mood in the air, became very worried. She knew that Tee admired Xovious, and would do anything the man asked him to do; Cryptite, however, still scared him. He was innately afraid of the man the Lokans claimed as their protector, and maybe that was a good thing. Despite being a very fatherly figure, even Jedoi had her fears of Cryptite half the time.
Jedoi, trying to make things as easy as possible for Tee, broke the awkward silence. “Look, I need to get going. It was nice to see you though! I assume you’ll be taking your Historian’s Examination soon enough?”
“Yeah, that’s right! I still want to study a bit more, but I plan to take it within the next few days.”
“Terrific, take your time. I can’t wait to watch you pass it. Who knows, I might even proctor your exam,” she promised, hoping she’d actually remain true to that statement. She walked away, giving him a small wave, and taking joy in seeing the wolf that was near his side, the tail going a mile a minute.
Tee waved back, pet the dog’s head, and went back to work.
The small party continued on, but with noticeably less wolves. It appears that they went to stay with Tenebris. Hmm, I should take them to see him more often, Jedoi thought.
The group continued on in silence: they each produced small, round, green and black pearls and teleported to the top of The Spire, the heart of Auru that protected the townspeople and housed the most important rooms to the city. As the group had teleported, Jedoi reminiscenced on how, yet again, she was slightly weirded out about how the particles of her body were ripped apart, transferred elsewhere, and rearranged.
They settled down in a small office with a spruce wood table and chairs, facing a window that overlooked the town and the nearby lake.
Cryptite and Xovious settled down into seats, but Jedoi nervously paced. When Cryptite pointed to a chair, she promptly refused and kept pacing. Xovious cleared his throat, and Jedoi was the first one, once again, to speak and break the silence.
“So what’s this about? What’s wrong with Tee?”
“Nothing is specifically wrong with him,” Xovious started. There was a short pause and Jedoi just glared at the two others in the room, questioning what could possibly warrant a meeting about someone without their knowledge.
“He’s intrigued me, though.” Cryptite finally said.
“A human has gotten a god’s attention? That, in itself, is quite intriguing.” Jedoi grabbed a chair and sat down. Well, now she knew something was wrong. “So, what about him grabbed your interest?”
“Honestly, his potential to Auru. I know he’s really wanted to be part of the Historian’s Guild. Now, I’m not telling you to go easy on him: in fact, I believe in the young man. Push him to his limits. Don’t give him the questions you and Falksi normally give new recruits. Ask him questions that no newbie would know.”
“That’s what this is about? Him joining my guild?”
“Partially,” Xovious started again. “What Crypt is trying to say is that the Wizard might be better at keeping track of history than we imagined.”
“That’s great, he’ll be a great addition to the Historian’s Guild then. It’s quite hard to keep track of our history when you nutjobs keeps wrecking shit around here.” She turned back to Cryptite, immediately remembering he was the one who caused The Blight that killed many on the Abandoned World. Not wanting to be smited on the spot, she quickly added, “no offense.”
Cryptite brushed off the remark without a second thought. “His skill to study and keep track of history isn’t the only reason we called you here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Crypt is impressed with his ability to write history, as well.”
“Aye, and not just any history. His own history.”
“I’m sorry, his own history?”
Xovious nodded, then got up and walked to one of the small bookcases that had been tucked into the corner of the office. He pulled out a book, with freshly made bindings and paper that was still crisp. After years in the Historian’s Guild, Jedoi had been able to detect the state of ink just based off the smell: although subtle to most, she could tell that the ink was still slightly wet, another sign that the book was new. Xovious passed Jedoi the book.
Enjoy Your Stay
By: Wizard Teepot
She mindlessly thumbed through the pages, but stopped when she noticed the use of her name. She started over and actually read through the book. “This is me? This is us! This is Tee’s history on his first day in Aladra!”By: Wizard Teepot
“Mmm, it seems like he’s quite the writer too.” Cryptite agreed. “Just think what he could do if he channelled that skill to something other than books.”
Jedoi shook her head as she didn’t understand what Cryptite was saying. After all these years, Cryptite could still be extremely cryptic. [A/N: I will not apologize for that pun.]
“He’d be able to write the most profound contracts and claims in the world. He’d be quite the politician for Auru."
Jedoi stood up briskly. She shook her head and glared at the two of them. “You will not touch my newest member, do you understand? I’m taking him under my wing, and I will not allow you to meddle in his destiny!”
Cryptite laughed. “Exactly, that’s why we’re calling upon you to do so.”
Jedoi stepped back in shock at his suggestion. “I thought you were a neutral god? Why would you want to use him to expand Auru? Wouldn’t you be choosing sides in the territorial war then?”
“I have rights to keep my own intentions secret.”
Jedoi scoffed and turned to Xovious. “Xov! You approve of this?”
Xovious shrugged. “I think he’s going to be a great addition to the town. If we can use him to our advantage against Hilo and Eldritch, why wouldn’t we?”
Jedoi almost walked out of the office, until Cryptite cut her off. “Jed!”
“Look, I know you’re not happy about this, but we won’t let any harm come to the boy. For now, I only have one assignment for you.”
Jedoi turned back to Xovious, staring daggers at him. “And what would that be?” she spit.
“Gain his trust.”
Day 1: I haven't proof read this yet, and hopefully Chapter 2 will come out soon enough!
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