The Lore of Syliris @theloreofsyliris - Tumblr Blog

Tome I: Rynist - Chapter 9

The liquor sellers were a busy tavern from morning to night. It was filled to the top with drunkards, bums, nobles, and travelers. A surge of new customers flooded in several times within the day. During a very early surge, Syliris was swept into the tavern. Inside people conversed, brawled, laughed, and most of all, they drank as much liquor as possible. They filled their stomachs with barrels of alcohol.

The mere scent of all the alcohol disgusted Syliris. He had only seen alcoholic beverages since he left his hometown. He involuntarily scratched at the large tattoo covering his left shoulder in memory. His stomach churns when he personally witnesses an oversized man chug down an entire cup. Syliris made his way to the back wall of the tavern. He passed unconscious men, impatient sellers, and a group of citizens tossing a small stone into cup filled with drink.

Along the wood lined walls, was a single square off set from the rest of the planks. A single finger sized hole was the perfect indicator that Syliris found what he’s be directed to. He cautiously stuck his finger in the hole and pulled. The planks came down vertically and a hidden corridor revealed itself. Flashing lights could be seen at the end and a thick mist hovered above the ground. Syliris sighed in relief, and was thankful for the lack of a ladder.

He slipped through the hole and closed the panel behind him. He stood again and walked inside the mist. Syliris arrived to the stone steps and descended into Madam Lock’s secret apothecary. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he could hear the scrapping of feet. He poked his around the doorway into the room. A timeworn woman was standing in front of the carcass of a dead animal. Its empty eye sockets and open mouth leaked the mist onto the floor, filling the room and creeping up the stairs.

“Syliris, you can come in if you so desire dear. I won’t bite as often as I used too,” Madam Lock said without making eye contact of any visual confirmation.

“How did you know it was me Madam?”

“I could sense you the moment you stepped foot into that wretched liquor filled lobby upstairs. As you can see I prefer the smoke’s smell contrary to the smell of alcohol. Actually, I sensed the very moment you walked through those massive marble gates a few days ago. You’re very distinct among everyone in town. Tell me, how did you find me?” Madam Lock asked.

“I was able to sense you as well, and I followed the trail,” Syliris answered.

Madam Lock flicked her head to Syliris. “That’s the most shit I’ve heard in a while. You are far from mastering such an ability boy. Do you know how difficult it was being exiled with you? I still bear the mark in shame, but it seems like you wear it as an accomplishment, boy.”

“That’s not true, and you know it. I never wanted any of to ever happen.”

“Silence boy, this conversation is over. Now how did you like meeting my students?”

“Do you mean the princess and her faithful accomplice?”

“Of course. Can you name any other luminancers you’ve encountered since you’ve arrived?”

“I’m not particular fond of how they treated me. All I did was steal some money and they were on me like hounds. They released their auras and assaulted me head on. Both of them at that too, they should learn the proper etiquette to a fight.” Syliris complained.

“Should I assume you’ve killed them?”

“No, I’m not a murderer. Through I was able to fully suppress them both in a matter of seconds after releasing some essence.”

“Well, do explain to me why you decided to hunt me down in the first place. I don’t have all day you know. I have important things to manipulate and destroy.”

“You’re hilarious, did you know that? And I’m here to finish learning from you. After traveling for over four years, I’ve learn the equivalent to nothing, besides the fact of using this power to terrorize people.”

“Boy, there isn’t anything left to teach you. I finished teaching you long before you even gained your abilities. I pushed your body to its limits and it resulted in a catastrophic mess. I can’t teach you anything else now,” Madam Lock ended forlornly. She looked away from Syliris and continued to fiddle with the animal carcass. Syliris patrolled the room silently as he waited. He observed contents of the room. Piles of jars, barrels, and boxed filled with failures. Pieces of paper scattered about the room. Each one filled completely. Small candles placed everywhere. Most of them were lit stems of wax standing up on the floor.

“Madam, I can see that you’ve been kicked out of your prime. So I’ll ask you once more, is there any more bits of advice or snippets of wisdom you can pass on?”

“Syliris, all I can say is to make as many friends as you can in this world. You are a hunted species, there is no home for you now,” Madam Lock said this as her eyes watered up. Tears rolled down her wrinkled cheeks. “Unless you create that home with your own strength. I want you to find someone special to you and create that home one day. Promise me you’ll do that for me one day.”

Syliris went beside Madam Lock and embraced her tightly. “I promise,” he whispered.

“Thank you boy and it’s great to see you again,” Madam Lock exclaimed with a big smile on her face. Now, as for my current students, I do believe that you could learn a thing or two from them. They first developed their abilities close to the same time. It was like a chain reaction, everything that happened to the girl happened to the boy. It was only a mere half a year since being in the Voralye Empire when I was called to the capital to assist a very sick boy and girl. Seeing those two in that pain made me think about you. I took them under my wing and raised them as luminancers. I taught them about us Syliris. Those two…” Madam Lock cut her sentence off short.

The obnoxious argument of a blotto could be heard all the way down in the apothecary. She looked up at the ceiling and her eyes glowed with a deep gray. Her head followed the steady movements of someone inside of the tavern. The quarrel ended abruptly with shattering wood.

“There is another luminancer upstairs Syliris. It’s not anyone I know either. Plus whoever it is, they’re expelling a large amount of essence.” Madam Lock’s gaze cut down to Syliris. “I think you need to get out of here immediately.”

Another large crash echoed down the staircase. Shouts of angry drunkards followed behind. It didn’t last long, one at a time the voices from men slowly became silenced. Madam Lock had moved swiftly across the floor of her apothecary. The bony hands of the ancient woman removed the lock to another hidden door. The bolts and cogs clashed and rolled to open an escape route.

“Come here boy, we must get you out of here,” Madam Lock insisted.

Syliris was halfway up the steps. “You go; I don’t want you to get involved in this. He’s clearly after me. After the mess I caused yesterday I was sure to have someone breathing down my neck. Of course, I didn’t expect them to send someone this quickly.”

Just as Syliris had reached the top of the staircase, a massive blast of air blew away the false wall in an instant. The impact pushed Syliris down the stairs onto a debris pile. A man whose body shined brightly with a burnt orange stepped through the wreckage. He held a tattered piece of paper and examined the face, he than compared it to Syliris. With a grin revealing his rotten teeth, he tossed the paper to the side and jumped down to meet Syliris.

The man cocked his arm back midair and smashed it into the wall where Syliris’s head had previously been. The man was ignored his missed shot and whipped his arm around and caught the back of Syliris’s head. The man followed Syliris’s body and went in for another kill shot with his fists. As he moved in a bright blue glow flashed and filled the room.

Plant roots ripped through the concrete walls like is was nothing. They shot at the man, but he quickly countered it with a blade of wind cutting the roots in halves and quarters. A string of fire ran across a pair of roots. The man was pushed a wall of air forward extinguishing the flames and continued his work. The barrage of plants had settled down and Syliris was no longer where the man had let him. On the opposite side of the room, Syliris was guiding Madam Lock out of the apothecary and up through the escape route.

The man took only a few moments to spot the two. Syliris set his hand on the walls and more roots rose from the ground and blocked the escape route. Then a small spark ignited a fire that engulfed the roots. The fire bounced around the room rapidly. Roots had been strategically grown in a grid like network interweaving with the walls. The ceiling came down in a blazing fury upon the man.

A cloud of dust rushed through the escape tunnel and swallowed up Madam Lock and Syliris. The two made their way up and out of the tunnel into fresh air. The fire Syliris ignited crawled up to the first floor of the liquor sellers’s place. The building was pushing out a mass of men and women confused and scared.

The large amount of dust inhaled into Syliris’s lungs caused him to cough violently. Madam Lock was in even worse shape. Shouts and cries of terror bounced around on the walls of the buildings. City guards rushed to the scene stocked with long spears and heavy armor. The support for the roof eventually gave in and the building walls caved in. The entire building was destroyed with everything and everyone inside it.

Then a large area of debris suddenly shot into the air. The chunks of charred wood and bits of concrete scattered to reveal a soft orange glow. Syliris eyesight was slowly adjusting as he saw a dead man rise from the ashes with blood running down his body mixed in with dirt and sweat.

“Excuse me sir, mam, I am going to ask you to evacuate this area immediately,” a guard warned.

“Take her,” Syliris managed to get out. He pushed a dazed and beaten madam Lock into the arms of the guard. Syliris brushed his black hair off to the side of his face. He then charged after the undying man trying for his life. With some quick hand movement, three knives were launched at the man. They were easily deflected, but there was more. Syliris delivered a hard uppercut from below. The man countered this, but Syliris too had countered that.

A furious exchange of blows took I’s toll on the two of them. It was comprised of dodges, contact, and essence leaked out of the two of them like crazy. Their colored aura shined brightly as the guards continued to evacuate citizens to safer areas. From one blow to another, Syliris remained consistent and powerful while the man’s jabs became dulled over a short period of time. His blades of wind degenerated from blades to the equivalent of a leaf scratching skin; it became more of a nuisance than dangerous.

Out of anger and frustration, more strength and precision was implemented into Syliris’s attacks. The man was getting beaten down and suppressed by a simple series of punches. The tempo switched from a brawl to a beat down. The man’s aura died down and with a clean connection from the bottom of the jaw, Syliris managed to knock the man to the ground. He landed upon broken bits of wood and steel.

The city guards stood still in awe. Syliris turned to them with his eyes glowing blue with blood dripping down his face. Syliris grabbed to man’s limp body and tossed it out through the wreckage in the direction of the guards. He still kept his blue glow even while dashing away through the streets of the capital city riddled with violence.

Upon arriving in Nigel’s house, the blood had dried black and Syliris’s endurance had taken a hit. He took some old and torn fabric and by soaking it in water he washed his face off. He sat still on a stool and gathered up as much essence as he could back into his body. He drank as much of the water as he could and munched on a granishfruit he grabbed on his way in. His hands shook as he tore it apart. Out of anger and frustration, he threw in onto the ground breaking it open and splattering the already stained floor.

“Nigel?” Syliris called out. “Where are you? I haven’t seen you since the other night?”

The house remained silent for a response.

“Nigel?” Syliris called out again a bit louder.

The house still had no reply.

“Nigel!”

#the lore of syliris #tome i chapter 9

Tome I: Rynist - Chapter 8

The sky fell dark and the city resurrected itself once more. Dim lights flashed about from lowly lit flames, the constant low murmuring could only be heard from the streets, and inside bars and a select amount of homes parties lead on.

Standing still in the shadows was Nigel; he waited for Syliris to arrive with the ebony assassin. The trap was readied and Nigel silently pumped himself up. He mentally ran through the plan inside his head. His eyes darted from side to side in search for that iconic purple glow. Sweat collected at his forehead and ran down his cheek. While trying to steady his breathing, he only made it worse.

The sound of metal slapping against concrete dragged Nigel attention away. He stared into a pitch black alley directly behind him hoping to find something. A white dashing light far away vanished as soon as Nigel caught sight of it. He assumed it to be a hallucination. Nothing else moved or shifted. It had been the third time after an hour wait that something had spooked him. After each time he disciplined himself to be more aware and less reactive. The cawing of birds above mixed in with the clicking of insect wings added on to the loneliness of the area.

For the fourth time he heard a sound not too far in the distance. It was as if someone had taken a piece of parchment and ripped it in half violently. It was then followed by concrete colliding with itself and crumbling down. Nigel tensed up and waited. Once again some dirt had been kicked up behind Nigel, but this time he was motionless. A faint purple glow began to rise over the flat tops of the concrete homes. Nigel’s eyes widened and focused on that one spot. Something behind him was interested in something else entirely.

Hands shot out from the darkness and clasped one around Nigel’s mouth while the other was secured around his waist restricting movement. Nigel attempted to scream, but a muffled plea came out. He pugnaciously shook his head back and forth and flailed his arms about. Without noticing, a black figure surrounded by a purple glow was perched atop the nearby roof directly across from the two of them.

Nigel craned his neck around to see his captor. His face was heavily wrapped in cloth with a scarf flapping in the breeze. His hands were gloved and his grip was non escapable. The purple glow engulfing the black figure died down. The figure leapt from the rooftop onto the ground without any problems. Nigel was now filled with raging fear. There was a modicum of hope as Nigel still waited for Syliris’s arrival.

The black figure took small steps towards Nigel and his captor. The grip on Nigel tightened and Nigel let out slight twitches and winces. The black figure ignored Nigel and dashed right at his captor. The black figure’s movements were unreal for Nigel. His mind couldn’t contemplate that a human could move quick and agile to the point of a blurred image. A stray fist rushed past Nigel’s face and was dodged by the clothed captor whom also had rapid reflexes beyond normal human bounds. By using and utilizing accurate foot movements, the captor was able to combat the black figure even while maintaining complete control of Nigel.

As the movements became more aggressive and swift, the purple glow around the black figure deepened and brightened. Nigel’s captor began to glow blue as well. This frightened Nigel to a whole new level. His hope for living through this was now gone. Not only was there a Cloak in front of him, but there was another murderous beast clutching on to his body.

The clothed captor paid little attention to his opponent, and more to his surroundings. He dashed about the small open space checking each alleyway and glancing over the rooftops. The black figure became enraged and his movements became sloppy and debauched. The captor came across an open window with no lights emitting from the inside. He tossed Nigel through the window and dropped to his knees.

The captor managed to trip the black figure while pushing is hands on the concrete ground. A light blue glow as vibrant as a clear sky bled through cloth. Then in a matter of seconds tree roots broke through the concrete floor. They rapidly crosshatched themselves formed a covering in front of the once open window, no longer allowing anything to get in or out.

Nigel was dazed with his head spinning after colliding with the concrete interior. He urged his body over to the window just noticing he couldn’t escape. So he found himself once again in a situation where he was a bystander witnessing an epic fight.

The clothes captor of Nigel was now bare of his shawl that covered his face. Underneath was a painting Syliris whose eyes were returning to normal. The black figure took hold of Syliris’s neck by his forearm rendering Syliris immobile. In return, Syliris bashed the back of his head into the black figure’s face. Blood collected and spilled out of the black mask covering the figure’s mouth. He removed and coughed out the blood.

Syliris regained his composure and snatched the black figure’s chin, pulling it up to his own face. The black figure wasn’t a gruff older man like Syliris had imagined. Instead it was a girl who was only a few years older than Syliris by appearance. She spat in Syliris’s face as he fell into a trance. Syliris calmly shook off the insult and turned halfway towards the building Nigel was in. Before Syliris could finish rotating his head, a white flash of light sped towards him. He kicked on the chest of the ebony assassin kneeling in front of him and dodged a non-visible weapon.

Behind the white light was a much younger teen with closely cropped hair and a curved dagger in his right hand. His body glowed white just as the ebony assassin’s body glowed purple. He quickly got to her side and helped her up. Syliris now found himself in a two verse one situation. Nigel called from behind Syliris acknowledging his plight.

“Hey Syl! Now you have two murderous Cloaks to bag up for us. If we’re lucky we could earn twice the cash than normal!” Nigel called out. He then closely examined the wooden structure right before his eyes. “How did this happen?” He asked himself softly.

Even though he wasn’t too fond of the new found nickname, Syliris readied himself for the fight at hand. There was no emotion shown on his face, just the gaze of a coldblooded killer surfaced. The two parties charged the other as two armies would crash into each other during a battle. The two opponents to Syliris took on the offensive and hacked and slashed violently like wild animals attempting to catch their slippery prey.

A few cuts and nicks released small amounts of blood covering Syliris’s body. The two bodies of lights bounced with crossing streams of purple and white blurs assaulting a black spot in the middle. The lines of light became more precise and coordinated over time. Eventually the lights pulled off feigns and redirections causing them to shine brighter. Then a searing pain shot through Syliris’s body. A curved blade embedded itself into his side. Blood sprayed everywhere as an artery had been severed.

Syliris was now out of options. As the curved blade came down to finish the job at his neck, Syliris’s body burst out into a blue light. No another, and more pulsating and energetic, color joined the other two replacing the black spot. The blue glow captured the white and purple colors and submitted them.

The two accelerating lights squirmed underneath the much faster blue light. After trying harder and harder they surrendered to exhaustion. The pale boy and dark girl panted heavily. Syliris tossed them to their backs and got up close and personal. Before Syliris could speak, the girl heaved out a question while being short on breath.

“Why the hell are you attacking your own kind? There are only a few luminancers left in this world. We should be working together and making a positive statement. Not tarnishing our existence by robbing a home,” the girl said.

Syliris released his hold on their heads. He stumbled back in disbelief. He hadn’t heard that term in a long time. “How do you know the word luminancer?” Syliris said passively aggressively.

The girl raised her head along with the boy. “Why the hell should I tell you? You damn near killed the both of us. If anything I should try to capture you and kill you right now!” The girl yelled out to him. Syliris stared the boy in the eyes first. They were emotionless and filled with emptiness. He then looked into the eyes of the girl. They were deep with purple and flooded with compassion.

“Because I thought I was the only one,” Syliris said to the girl. His eyes lost their blue glow and returned to their azure subtlety while still staring her down.

Silence enveloped the air. The girl calculated the situation. She lost all motivation to fight; rather she questioned the very nature of the man in front of her. She nudged the boy sitting down next to her and the duo rose to their feet. The boy took a belligerent step towards Syliris, but was stopped short by the arm of the girl. She stood face to face with Syliris making solid eye contact. “Do you know who I am?” the girl asked bluntly.

“No,” Syliris replied sturdily. “Who are you?”

“I’m the heir to the throne in this empire. My mother and father rule this land with power and influence beyond your imagination. Do you understand who I am now? I could have an entire nation hunting you down with their weapons thirsting for blood. Do you understand who I am now!” she stated while raised her voice.

Syliris took a single step forward. “That’s not what I ask you. Here, I’ll make it simpler for you, tell me your name. And then I want you to tell me who your teacher is,” Syliris pressed. The boy braced himself by latching on to the hilt of a small sword attached to his waist.

“I’m Senka. This here is my best friend Drahn. My father is Gengorin and my mother is Tal,” Syliris deepened his stared and his eyes flickered with blue light again. Senka stiffened up. “Fine, my teacher is Madam Lock.”

“You mean Jacqueslyn Lock correct?”

Senka nodded her head.

“Where does she currently live?”

“I’m not going to give you that kind of information! I’d rather die than revealing to you where…”

“She lives in the inner district,” Drahn said while cutting Senka. “It’s inside the basement of the liquor sellers. Go to the back wall of the premise. Along the wall you’ll find a latch on the wall, it’s completely misplaced so you’ll find it rather easily. Pull and a small door will be pulled from the wall. Nobody will question you as long as you give off the impression you belong there.” Odds are she’s in the basement working on some crazy theory or contraption.”

“Thank you,” Syliris told Drahn.

Drahn stepped in front of Senka and looked up into Syliris’s eyes. Drahn purposefully made his empty irises sparkle white flashes. “Now that you have the information you want, we’ll be on our way. I know that in my current state I can’t beat you and neither can Senka. Even if we team up we’ll be tossed around again. So let me make myself clear when I say that you better not cause any more ruckuses. We have connections to extremely powerful people around here. They remain at our beck and call.”

“What are you trying to get at? Syliris asked.

“I’m telling you to watch your back. From this point onwards you’re marked as a criminal of high value. So you better finish up with your business here at Rynist and book it out of here. We’ll be going now,” Drahn said. He led Senka over to the side of a building. The two scaled it in a matter of seconds. Drahn turned back to Syliris who watched silently. “Also, nameless sir, hopefully after this encounter, our paths will never cross again.”

The sounds of their feet leaping from building to building faded away until the sounds of the night replaced them. Syliris approached the window where Nigel was. The crosshatched root shield remained, but Nigel was nowhere to be found. Even after a quick search of the house and the area, Syliris couldn’t find him.

The dining hall within the protection and confinements of the city’s palace became a relaxed meeting. Several nobles were present along with the empire’s official advisor to the Scion and Scioness. His name was Cillian. He was leading the meeting while discussing various topics involving foreign affairs, security, and poverty within the city. He was tall and in his early twenties with choppy hair. He sported a pair of glasses, an invention created by him to improve his eye sight tenfold. They were makeshift steel frames off center and tilted on his face with thick warped glass placed into the frame.

Large quantities of food were being shoved into the aristocrats’ mouths. There imbibed the finest and most expensive of wine to simply wash down the meat. They talked amongst themselves about recent events and worries only the wealthy would hold. Cillian kept them on track for a majority of the time. The one and only of the nobles not feasting kept fiddling with his blue cape containing only two visible gold bars. The third had been burned off the bottom. He was a high ranking military official by the name of Lexu, one of the few military survivors recovered from the rubble of Edgemoro. He had been kept inside the palace being questioned about the incident throughout the day since his return.

While in the midst of discussing a new topic, a small commotion could be heard behind the main doors to the hall. Then the doors flew open and Drahn with Senka behind him walked into the room. The palace guards made an effortless attempt to stop them. Everyone within the palace knew who they were. Obviously annoyed, Cillian stopped the meeting and turned to his brother.

“Can you explain to me why you interrupted us with the princess, Drahn?” Cillian asked.

“We’ve encountered a Cloak today,” Drahn replied.

“And did you handle the situation?”

“Not exactly. He was too strong for our guards to handle tonight.”

“And I assume he also escaped from the guards.”

“Yes, but I do know where he’s going to be next.”

Cillian absorbed some of the information he’d just received. He looked around the table at the disturbed expressions of the aristocrats. “Can you give me a quick description of the man? Just enough to identify him on the spot.”

“Well, he had long black hair that ran down to his shoulders. He doesn’t have any facial hair and is around your own age Cillian. Oh, he also has very distinct blue eyes.” Cillian observed the faces and dialogues of the aristocrats to make sure he didn’t have mass panic amongst them.

“Gentlemen, I declare this meeting to be over. You all now have the information of the man’s characteristics. If you see him you are to send a messenger over to the palace to notify me. This man is of no threat I can assure you. I’ll handle this matter personally and as swiftly as possible. I’ll see each of you later in the week and we’ll pick up from there. I’ll be sure to relay everything we went over tonight to the Scion. Sleep well,” Cillian dismissed everyone who abandoned their food uneasily.

The group of nobles left the room and the only ones who remained were Cillian, Senka, Drahn, and Lexu.

“I apologize sir; the room you’ll be staying in tonight is located on the other side of the palace. If you would like I could have a guard bring you there,” Cillian addressed Lexu.

“I know the man,” Lexu whispered.

“Excuse me?”

“The Cloak your guards encountered today. I know him. He was the one who initiated the Trugg’s riot in Edgemoro. He arrived mysteriously after slaying a later found ingri. The beast had the roots of trees speared through several points on its body. That man is dangerous,” Lexu plead.

“Do you know his name? You did claim to have known him.”

“Yes, his name was Syliris. I talked with him on several occasions. That man cannot be reasoned with. You have to kill him as soon as you can.” Cillian was almost stunned silent simply by hearing the name.

“Brother, you don’t think it could be that Syliris, could it?” Drahn asked.

“You said he had blue eyes right?” Drahn nodded his head. Cillian licked his lips and ran his hand through his hair.

“What is he talking about? Who is Syliris?”

“Syliris the Savage. It was nothing more than a myth that expanded from the west to the east. It was proof that Cloaks aren’t just victims of some plaque. Rather, it was told that they were chosen by a god to become the destroyers of this world. Several years ago, a young boy by the name of Syliris acquired the power as a gift. He then used this gift to decimate an entire empire. He was an uncontrollable beast. So he was given the nickname of a savage. It was passed off as a myth because the empire claimed that there was never a man by the name of Syliris who lived there. Also, they claim that the empire is perfectly fine,” Cillian explained.

“And why do you think that the character of a children’s bedtime story be true?”

“Because from the Vorayle Empire to where the tale originated from, there have be a series of incidenses that would pop up every now and then. Of course the incident would always include the name of Syliris rapped around it. Oddly enough, the range of the stories was incredible. It went from the murdering of an important official to the liberation of an enslaved tribe. The man was also not only labeled as Syliris the Savage, but having glowing blue eyes of death and a unique tattoo on his right shoulder,” Cillian explained further. Lexu leapt out of his chair and pointed at Cillian.

“That’s him! The man back at Edgemoro had a tattoo on his right shoulder as well!” Then Lexu slumped back into his chair. “And now that man is inside this very city.”

Drahn made eye contact with Cillian and flicked his head at Lexu.

“Sir, I apologize again, but in order to continue this conversation I need you to leave. As I said before, your room is on the opposite side of the palace. Thank you for all of the information you’ve provided for us this evening.” Two palace guards walked in on cue and guided Lexu out of the dining hall. The doors were shut tightly behind them as they left. Cillian gestured for both Drahn and Senka to sit down.

“Senka, was Syliris really that powerful that he defeated you?”

She nodded her head. “It’s not only that I’m afraid. He managed to take on both Drahn and I at the same time. And even worse he did it with almost no effort the moment his aura began to show.”

“How did the two of you get out alive?”

“He let us go. Remember how I said we knew where he was going to be next?” Drahn popped in. “Syliris only requested to know the location of Madam Lock. I told him where to go so we can intercept him. Considering the strength of Syliris, I believe we could use Madam’s assistance.”

“No, we can’t do that. I don’t want to make a big show for him. I want to keep his presence hidden as we handle him in complete silence. If word gets out, I’m afraid that the entire city will be lost in absolute pandemonium.”

“So what will you do brother?”

“I know some people that can take a man of his caliber. For now you two should continue doing what you’re doing. Thank you for informing me. I just still can’t believe that such an incredible luminancer finally arrived at my front steps.”

#the lore of syliris #tome i chapter 8

Tome I: Rynist - Chapter 7

A water faucet came to life within Nigel’s house. A rusty bucket was put under the rushing water to collect the droplets. A short time after, the faucet was shut off and the bucket moved across the house in a steady pair of hands. The figure slowly approached the occupied bed and readied the bucket. In a swift and fluid motion the water drifted over Nigel’s head for a few seconds until it came crashing down upon him.

Nigel exploded out of his bed half naked. Syliris dropped the bucket on the floor and hunched over laughing hysterically. Nigel walked by him and hit him upside his head. Syliris’s black hair flicked out to reveal his face completely unfazed by the hit. A large grin was accompanied by heavy breathing while he tried to stop.

“That wasn’t funny. It’ll take all day to get those sheets dry. Not to mention the water was contaminated. I could die for all we know,” Nigel pressured Syliris.

“For all we know, you could just be an idiot!”

Nigel shook his head in disapproval. “Who are you again? What happened to the guy who wanted to not only kill me, but also seemed like he wanted to kill everyone here. And don’t deny it; you had this dark and scary aura about you ever since I made contact with you.”

Syliris calmed himself down. He straightened himself up. “Maybe you just remind me someone from back home,” Syliris said.

“And might that be?”

“I don’t remember. Maybe he was as big of an idiot like you so I could let my guard down. Don’t expect any more incidences like this.”

“Good, I wouldn’t want water poured all over me again anyway,” Nigel finished. He dried his hair out as best he could by shaking it violently. His slipped on his vest and pants. He snatched a canvas bag piled in a corner in the room. He walked up to the doorway and took a long glance at Syliris, watching him as he gathered the rest of things. “Come one then, I have to get you your supplies so we can catch a Cloak tonight.

The central market place closer to the cities castle was flooded with people. It wasn’t just one type of person either, it spanned from mothers, fathers, children, thugs, guards, the elite, and the deprived. The sun ran its course across the sky parallel to the alleyway the market resided in resulting in constant light from sunrise to sunset. The scents from various food stalls tickled the air attracting customers. Loud merchants chanting out their unrivaled, unique, and absolutely necessary items drew in everyone else. Shops with their doors wide open had lines that leaked out into the streets.

Nigel didn’t go anywhere near the stalls or the stores. Rather, he guided Syliris over to a dark and empty stall that a few people were lined up at. The sign hung tall and proud with indescribable characters etched into the wood. Nigel blew past the people and ducked past the high counter. Underneath the stall was a hole covered by a false rug. Nigel began to descend down into its depth.

Syliris took a deep breath and let out an elongated sigh. A secretly followed him and recovered the hole with the rug. He could hear the sound of confused citizens stepping over the rug and questioning where the two men disappeared to. The further Syliris went down, the louder new voices rang out. A dim light illuminated the rest of the path downwards. Syliris had just about had it with small hidden ladders.

The new market Syliris emerged into also boomed with business, except there were drastic differences. The air with clogged with smoke while hoarse and raspy voices tempted buyers. There were no more mothers, fathers, or children. All that remained were shady and covered individuals everywhere. Sprinkled among them were high standing officers within the king’s army. Even though they didn’t dare reveal who they were, they still showed their power over others.

Nigel scampered off to a store literally built into the ground. Inside were weapons galore. Even the most bizarre weapons from other parts of the world were piled into barrels like it was nothing special. Behind the counter was a normal man compared to the rest of the people. He was extremely muscular and surpassed over everything and everyone. Oddly enough, with his scar clear body he was missing his entire left arm.

The walls were littered with long spears, hand-crafted bombs, and knives that caught Syliris’s attention. He walked over to the set and examined them to the best of his ability. The engraving created background information for the previous wielder. Then a specific symbol confirmed it. The knives had been from Syliris’s home.

His finger ran across the impressions and a tear rolled down his cheek unknowingly. Syliris wiped it away before anyone could notice. His mark of exile placed on his right shoulder ached. He banged his head hard against the wall. He needed to keep his emotions in check. He’d let himself go twice already in one day.

“Nigel!” Syliris announced.

Nigel’s head poked out from a barrel filled with curved blades. He quickly grabbed hold of four of the deadliest weapons his eyes came across. He ran beside Syliris and peered over his shoulder. “Don’t tell me, you want more knives?”

“That’s exactly it actually. I want both of these,” Syliris said.

“Okay,” Nigel said uneasily. “But would you also want to use these? I picked them out just for you?” Nigel dangled the blades in front of Syliris’s face. He brushed them aside and went up to the man behind the counter.

“Will that be all for you sir?” he asked.

“Yes, that’ll be all I need,” Syliris replied.

As the knives were exchanged, Nigel went beside Syliris and dropped the appropriate amount of money into the man’s hand. Syliris left the store with the two knives as quickly as possible. As he wandered away, Nigel purchased the four blades anyway, just in case.

The distance between Syliris and Nigel was quickly lengthened and shortened as Nigel ran across the black market. He bumped and crashed into several other heavily clothes individuals as he passed. Syliris did his best to stay walking straight, but his eyes darted from one stand to another. He took long glances in each shop and stall, hard stares and every person who looked at him, and even kicked up his pace. By the time Nigel caught up, the two had covered quite a bit of ground.

“Where are you going? Down here is where all the weird and the crazy live. If you’re looking for more supplies or weapons they’re back that way,” Nigel said as he pointed behind him with his open hand’s thumb.

“I don’t need any more weapons. This is all I need to complete your request. I’m also in search for someone I know,” Syliris said.

“Is this the same person I’m supposed to help you find after you help me?”

“Yes,” Syliris simply stated.

“Whoa whoa,” Nigel chuckled as he stepped out in front of Syliris. “You are helping me now. I said I’d help you out later, but focus on this right here and now. Don’t worry, your friend isn’t going to disappear in a day. Look, we’re drawing a lot of attention to ourselves. Let’s go somewhere else and talk in private. We can come up with a strategy for tonight.”

Syliris agreed and the two walked off to a bar in the market. As soon as they walked through the front doors, the atmosphere hit dead on. The heavy smell of alcohol and body odor stung Syliris’s nose. They commandeered a table for themselves and continued to discuss. Nigel started out.

“So, why only those two knives?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why did you only pick those items as your weapons of choice? There were so many other better weapons to be used and purchased. I mean look at these bad boys. I bet we could maim her instantly with at least one of them. So what makes those two particular knives important? Do is have anything to do with their fancy engravings?”

“I never needed any weapons or supplies in the first place. I simply wanted to know where I could by them in case I needed some later. And there knives are from my home out in the east. As for tonight, I have a brilliant plan that’ll definitely work. Here’s how it works. You’ll set up a trap where ever you see best fits. Then I’m going to become the bait to draw her in. I’ll go out and try to draw her in. I think some public destruction and disturbance might work. Then I’ll wear her out as I bring her back to you. You’ll be hiding in wait as I bring her down to you. Then all we have to do is take her down. With the two of us it shouldn’t be that hard,” Syliris said reassuringly.

“Excellent. That is an amazing plan. I’ll go pick a place as soon as we are done here. But first, I want to know more about you. I don’t completely like working with people I know nothing about.”

“Then why are you doing it in the first place. You don’t know me in the slightest.”

“Exactly, that is why I’m going to interrogate you right now. First question of many. Why did you leave home?” Nigel asked.

“I’m not doing this.”

“Yes you are dammit. Like I said before, I don’t feel comfortable being around others that I know nothing about. So just answer the question.”

Syliris twisted his body to the side and rolled up his sleeve. Beneath it was a large tattoo. It was a three pointed star with small circles between each point etched into his skin with a permanent ink. He repositioned his arm onto the table to give Nigel a better look at it. “This is the mark of exile for my home. I didn’t leave, I was kicked out. Before you ask, I wasn’t a criminal there. We execute those who do wrong. Rather, I had the potential and power to create disastrous events. So I was exiled for ten years. Currently I’m working on year eight. Of course, once I have my time over with, I won’t be rushing home and leaping in to my parents’ arms. Does that satisfy your question enough?”

“I see,” Nigel said.

“Okay, my turn to ask. What are you doing way out here? Your tan skin isn’t nearly dark enough. I mean, I stick out like a light in a dark room, but you’re like a light too, just a dim one,” Syliris asked.

“Well, since you must know. I was in a situation close to like you were in. My best friend was exiled and I came to chase her down. Her name was Kallistrate. I was never told why she was exiled, but I heard rumors that she was being hunted down by Cloaks. So my village decided that instead of being targeted. Well, they basically sacrificed one for the many. So from that day onwards I decided that I would find her and hunt down every Cloak I could find. Not only does is satisfy my taste for vengeance, it also pays well.”

“Have you ever actually killed a Cloak?”

Nigel laughed uneasily. “Yeah, that would be a no. I have come close though. People say that this is a dangerous job, but I haven’t seen any difficulty in it. I mean I find them like that. In fact, I can tell if someone is a Cloak, especially if they’re right in front of me. They don’t even have to be using their powers, I can just sense them!”

“Well that’s an interesting power. Let me tell you now, Cloaks are extremely dangerous if you have to fight them one on one. You could very easily die.”

“What, are you implying that I’m weak?”

“No, I’m simply saying that after this job, I suggest you never hunt for Cloaks ever again.”

“Have you ever encountered a Cloak before?”

Syliris was silent at first. He decided to phrase his answer carefully. “You could say that. I’ve never encountered one directly before, but I have seen the massive destruction that they can cause. Not just the aftermath. I’ve seen an entire empire’s capital before, living in absolute prosperity. Then I saw the Cloak raze buildings, slay armies, and create discord. Then I saw the remains, families torn by grief, the smoldering ashes of palaces, and a nation never to be the same again.”

Now there was silence between both of them. The area around them seemed to drone out as the conversation turned darker than Nigel expected it too. His usual smile faded away and a solemn expression replaced it. He tapped the recently acquired blades slowly while thinking of something to respond with.

“These two knives, they’re from that empire I just spoke of. As I said before, I’ll help you out with this Cloak for now. Than you take the money, and return home a hero,” Syliris said.

“I can’t just return home. I have to find Kallistrate.”

“Right, maybe I can travel with you after I finish dealing with everything here. We can find Kallistrate together. Odds are she wasn’t killed. People who are exiled survive most of the time, I’m a prime example. People around these parts of the world are a lot nicer and accepting than the people where I’m from.”

“Thank you. It was nice hearing that. I can’t tell you the amount of people who constantly mock me for going after her. They have the fun of calling it a fool’s errand. I’ve been here for only a few months looking for her. I’ve asked around and no one has ever heard of her. I honestly wouldn’t think it would be so difficult to find another one like me. I mean, I’m only one of a handful of Lyerisbanians out in the world. No one can survive the massive desert that surrounds Lyerisban.”

“As unfortunate as that is, we are going Cloak hunting tonight right?” Syliris asked enthusiastically. “I have everything I need, so let’s go eat. We still have a long time before the night crowd comes out to play.”

#tome i chapter 7 #the lore of syliris

Tome I: Rynist - Chapter 6

The heavy wooden door creaked open slowly. The inmates currently taking refuge within the large cell looked up. A boy with a dirtied toga and torn red cape was tossed onto the floor. His long black hair covered his face as he lay there. The door slammed shut and chatter sparked outside. The other inmates carefully surrounded him and stared.

Then a familiar young man’s face appeared past all the other inmates who were dressed in little to no clothing with defined muscles ripping through the rest of the clothes. The young man nudged at the boy and talked to him. “Hey, wake up will you,” the young man said as he shook him softly. The boy cracked his eyes open and recognized the face of the young man immediately.

“Nigel?” The boy asked weakly.

Nigel smiled and pointed at himself. “That’s right; it’s your average con artist Nigel at your service. You see, I told you that we’d meet up right aft-” Nigel’s speech was cut short when the boy extended his arms and latched his fingers around Nigel’s neck. The black hair parted and Syliris had a look of absolute animosity towards Nigel. His eyes burned with hatred and killing intent.

“You son of a bitch. You kicked me out of that two story building without a second’s thought. I swear that when I get out of here I’m going hunt you down and throw you off an extremely high building inside this city,” Syliris’s grip tightened. “Then you can see how much fun it is!”

“Hey pal, ease up on the guy will you!” One of the other inmates shouted behind him. Syliris turned his head around and glared at the man. Syliris’s eyes glowed blue and Nigel was clawing at the arms that were killing him. Then a sharp pain ripped across Syliris’s arms. He pulled his hands away from instinct and saw Nigel gasping for air with two playing cards in each of his hands.

“You nearly choked me to death you crazy bastard,” Nigel said as he massaged his neck. He rose to his bare feet and pulled out the rest of his playing cards from within his vest. He held the deck in one and hand quickly shot the cards one by one rapidly to his other hand. Then he shot them back again while keeping eye contact with Syliris as he got to his feet as well. Syliris smeared the blood on his arms purposefully and felt it by rubbing his index and thumb together. The other inmates of the moderately sized cell for multiple people stepped back to form an oval surrounding the two other inmates about to fight. “You don’t want to do this mate. I’ll tear you to shreds, and I mean that literally too. So let’s just forgive each other, sit down, and talk about our feelings?”

“You’re funny, you really are. For now though, I’m going to enjoy pummeling you into the ground. Besides, I’m a little bit curious on how you got caught and dragged here before me,” Syliris said as he readied himself.

“How about this, I’ll tell you what happened if you win. If I win on the other hand, than you’re going to have to serve me for the rest of your life! Don’t disappoint me like you did with the simple card trick earlier,” Nigel taunted as he snickered.

As Nigel laughed, his eyes closed for a fraction of a second and Syliris used this moment to attack. His feet moved so fast it was as if they didn’t move at all and Syliris teleported in front of Nigel. Syliris shoved his knee into Nigel’s chest causing him to lurch over. Syliris threw his elbow back connecting to the back of Nigel’s neck hitting him face first to the ground.

Without notice, Syliris was swept off his feet. He recovered quickly by rolling backwards and jumping back to his feet. Nigel was looking up at Syliris with a large grin on his face still. He had three fingers keeping him up off the ground and his right leg was returning back to its original position. Nigel scampered up and held a single card in one hand while the deck rested in his other.

“Well that was rude, I wasn’t done talking. Let me teach you a thing or two about surprise attacks shall I?” Nigel twirled the card and as is spun around it changed from an emperor card to a death card. Then it disappeared from sight. Nigel flicked the card at Syliris with amazing accuracy and precision as he threw two more in continuation.

Syliris dodged the first card, but the next two grazed his leg and chest cutting deep incision to his flesh. Nigel continued his assault and threw one after another slicing Syliris’s body apart. When ran out of cards in his hand he had hit Syliris a measly eleven times all over his body. Syliris used this opportunity to strike.

The crowd was going wild. They chanted Nigel’s name over and over again attracting the guards to watch to match. As Syliris charged, Nigel drew a concealed dagger. Syliris had been ripped of all of his knives and daggers, so how did Nigel have one? Before Syliris could think of an explanation, he just barely avoided Nigel’s strike.

It cut off some of his long hair near his face. Nigel redirected his blade and pierced Syliris in the thigh. Nigel let go and the other prisoners went crazy. The guards saw the chaos and tried to open up the door. The inmates near the door prevented them to get in. Syliris drew the blade out of his leg with little to no effort not showing any pain or distress on his face.

Nigel went on the offensive and had another deck of cards in his hands. Just as Nigel let his cards fly, Syliris unemotionally moved his body around every card as he approached Nigel. The cards went faster as Nigel dished them out in panic. Then Nigel drew another dagger and thrust it at Syliris’s gut. Nigel stabbed at an afterimage as Syliris appeared standing back to back with Nigel.

“You’re pretty good, even though I’m not going full out, you can keep up with my speed. So what’s the plan?”

“Well we managed to accomplish the first part. Next would be getting past those two guards and cause a prison riot. You down for that?” Nigel asked calmly while everyone else stared quietly. They were too stunned for words.

“Sure, and when we find a nice little place to cozy up after this I would very much like to know where you got that awesome tattoo,” Syliris replied as he tapped the left side of Nigel. “So what’s your grand scheme in getting those two guards attention?”

“Well, I just figured we should grab the biggest guy here and throw him at the sealed door. If we’re lucky we can knock it down, if not, then we’ll improvise from there. Now, all we have to do is find someone large enough to fit our needs,” Nigel mumbled and scanned the room analyzing each prisoner. His finger shot right at an obese gentleman near the door and Nigel charged. Syliris fell in behind him and the two of them slid in front of him cocking their arms back. They both landed a powerful punch against his thick skin sending him towards the door.

The impact was strong enough that the wooden door splintered open and scattered everywhere. A big enough hole for a grown man was created and the guards were flabbergasted as they bent down next to the unconscious fat man. The inmates chuckled and hollered as they approached the door. Syliris followed the crowd at first thirsty with revenge for getting stuck in there.

Then Nigel yanked his shoulder back and he fell on top of him as the collapsed backwards. “Don’t go with them, I need you to come with me. I have a secret entrance and exit to this particular cell. Come with me, I hate getting involved in fist fights and brawls. I’d prefer to keep my perfect complexion,” Nigel said as he smiled with his pearly white teeth against his tanned skin.

Syliris elbowed Nigel across the side of his face. Nigel winced and cried out in terror. “Shut up pretty boy and let’s go already. Look, everyone is almost out of the room anyway,” Syliris said with no mercy. Nigel’s eyes swelled up with tears as he held his bleeding nose.

“Fine, but you didn’t have to be so aggressive. Do you know how long it’s going to take for this to heal? I won’t be able to be seen in public like this,” Nigel rejoined Syliris as his eye twitched at the insult, but he didn’t have time to deal him. Nigel felt around a cluster of stones on the floor in the corner of the cell. He pushed away sand and gravel to reveal a defined edge. Nigel removed one of his playing cards and pried open the stones.

A dark tunnel that led straight down by a long ladder stared back at Syliris. He cringed at the fact of having to venture down another one. Nigel stood back up and stood over the hole, clutching onto the group of stones. “You first. I’ll be right down,” Nigel said while being muffled by his own blood.

Syliris glared down the hole a little longer. “Sorry about the nose,” Syliris murmured back. Nigel ignored his hidden plea and gave him a little nudge. Syliris fell forward and slid down the hole until rapidly vanishing into darkness. He fell without a single sound on his way down. This made Nigel rethink his thoughts on Syliris’s hidden plea.

Nigel crawled back around and into the hole while slowly and quietly closing the hatch. He watched the massacre of the criminals by the guards as he descended. Nigel hopped off the ladder and slid down behind Syliris. The tunnel only went down about twenty meters. At the bottom was a three meter deep pool of water. It led into a glowing tunnel lined with fluorescent minerals in the rock. Syliris was sitting outside of the pool of water soaking wet staring at the multiple tunnel entrances all throughout the cave. Nigel slithered his way out of the pool and next to Syliris. The blood for the most part had subsided so he could speak normally.

“There are over forty tunnels running through the network underground. Most of them were not created by me; in fact a lot of these are ancient smuggler tunnels. I’m still discovering more and more every month too. I’m the only one who knows about these tunnels and I’m definitely the only one who knows how to navigate this system completely. So before you get lost,” Nigel spoke high and mighty to Syliris. He even went so far as to put his arm around Syliris’s shoulder. “Allow me to show you where someone like me lives.”

After nearly twenty minute of traveling through dark and wet caves blanketed in darkness, Nigel finally led the two of them to his home. He pushed open a metal door and revealed the light to Syliris once again. Inside wasn’t at all what Syliris was expecting. Instead of a rundown hole in the wall, Nigel lived in comfort.

The door first opened up to a well-kept kitchen complete with wooden plates and bowls with polished silverware crafted by a talented silversmith. The tables we intricately carved and the chairs were anything but extraordinary with their own unique but uniting carvings. From there he could see into the living room with a fancily woven carpet and cushions spread across the floor. A fire place that had been often used during the past winter was now sealed up.

Syliris made his way past Nigel and stared at the out of place concrete walls stained with unknown green and white smears. Nigel lit a nearby candle wick and shed some more light on the place. Syliris made it to the living room where he stared out of some empty windows. He walked over to the windowsill and observed the magnificent view. The sights were breath taking. Nigel didn’t live in a house, but an abandoned villa high above and away from the city, but somehow remaining inside the walls.

Nigel ignored Syliris’s amazement and continued his normal routine. He brush right past him and went straight into his room. He tossed himself down upon his bed. It was a large mattress with one set of blankets on the floor. There were also clothes hanging from a wire spanning from wall to wall. Other than that, there was nothing else inside of the room.

“Nigel, it is Nigel right?” Syliris asked wearily.

“Yes, go on random stranger whose name sounds a lot like a disease,” Nigel responded while being muffled by his mattress.

“Why did you bring me here?”

Nigel grew stiff on his bed, he flip his body over and looked Syliris in the eyes. He was calm, collected, and terrifying. “Well, um, you were new to town, obviously. You were interesting and I thought we could be friends. I mean, I’m an outsider too from a city far west of here. And, you, um…” Nigel could tell Syliris wasn’t buying it.

“Come on, you drag me along into your scheme, you break me out of prison, and you allow me into your home. So what is your ulterior motive here?” The two had a brief staring match, Nigel cracked within a few moments.

“Okay, you go me, you’re strong and skilled. I’ve been looking for someone like you for a while now, ever since I saw her. You not only were able to match my fighting ability, you said yourself that you weren’t even trying. And I believed you,” Nigel pleaded. “So I need your help.”

“Help with what, and who is this ‘her’ you referred to?”

“Over two years ago when I first moved here, I ran into a girl late at night. She had skin darker than ebony. Even though she wore a black mask, the exposed skin around her eyes was still visible. She appeared out of nowhere and saved me from some nasty brutes who were attempting to rob me. They were no match for her. She took them out like it was nothing. Then she became instantly surrounded by at least twenty of their gang members. At this time, Rynist was a horrible place to live. It was the crime capital of all of the Voralye Empire.

“So I was hiding behind the corner of a building waiting for everything to unfold. No, more like I was hiding, but frozen there with absolute fear. Then the most amazing thing happened, her body glowed a deep purple. She controlled the area around her with the will of her mind. She cleared the entire alleyway out. Every single one of them was knocked unconscious. She didn’t notice that I was still there, but she looked over the bodies to make sure I didn’t become collateral damage. Then she just disappeared into the night. I’ve heard stories about her, but I haven’t seen her since.”

“Okay, cool story, but where do I come in?”

“Oh, right, so the purple glow indicated that she was definitely a Cloak. So on the black market here she has a very high bounty on her head. We’re talking millions for a live body and a couple hundred-thousand for her dead. So, I’m a Cloaker, it’s what I do for a living. It’s short for Cloak Hunter. Your job would be to help me capture her and sell her on the black market for some nice money. We’d split the profit fifty-fifty,” Nigel stated with big eyes.

Syliris took the information in and sat down on the windowsill. He peered out at the quiet city going to sleep for the evening. He spoke without taking a single look at Nigel. “Fine, I’ll do this job with you. Of course, you’re going to have to set me up with some equipment and I want a bigger cut of the payout. After I do this job, you have to help me look for someone.”

“Deal!” Nigel shouted before he was even certain Syliris was done talking. “We can head out tomorrow morning to get your supplies, and then at night we can set up our trap. Oh, if you want I have some meat and fruit in the barrels in the kitchen and outside growing.”

“That’s weird; I don’t see any meat growing out there?” Syliris said deprecatingly. Nigel smiled and shook his head.

“Just go take some damn food already. I’m going to sleep now; I’m too excited to wait any longer. The faster tomorrow comes the better!” Nigel threw the blankets over top of him and closed his eyes shut. Syliris climbed out of the window and admired the moon rising into the sky. He gladly took a couple of pieces of granishfruit. It was a bright yellow and a perfect sphere. Syliris took a bite into it and the juices flowed down his chin. The bright blue segments tickled his taste buds with sweet delight. His black hair flowed behind him as a gust of wind gave him a chill. He scanned the city once more, but this time he noticed it becoming revived for its rowdy night crowd.

Syliris whispered to himself, “Where the hell are you, you crazy old woman?”

#tome I chapter 6 #the lore of syliris #it's back #i'm sorry it took so long #but it's back

New Update, New Magical Date, May 28

Okay, so when calculating when I should have Chapter 6 out for TLOS I seemed to have neglected the fact that I have Finals to study for this week and then finals next week. So May 28, I am definitely releasing Chapter 6 on that date and I'll be releasing a Chapter every Wednesday after that for a while. Once again, sorry to anyone reading this series. Look forward to it.

#the lore of syliris #syliris #may 28 2014

New Chapters Returning May 14th

Hey guys. I don't normally post anything but the story here. But, I will be continuing the series beginning Wednesday, May 14th. Hopefully, that is my planned date to hit. I've been on leave for school and a majority of my clubs will end around the end of April so I'll be able to start writing again. Look forward to it, bye!

#the lore of sylirs #tlos returns

Tome I: Rynist - Chapter 5

“May I see your letter of recommendation?” The guard asked. He wore the same armor as the late guards in Edgemoro, but his cape had half a bar on it. Four more guards with various ranks stood at attention by the massive gate. It was a pure white that seemed regularly cleaned made of polished stone. The walls rose far above ten meters. More guards with bows and arrows watched over the hill side and incoming travelers. A line of approximately twenty people extended beyond the checkpoint and mixed in were carriages, creatures, and shady characters.

“Certainly!” Syliris said ardently as he fished out the tattered letter from his inner pocket. He smiled excitedly putting on a good show for the guard. Syliris stood at the head of the line about to be granted access to the city of Rynist. It had been over three days since his unfortunate visit to Edgemoro, but he was ready to finally find the person he’s been searching for. The checkpoint had a separate side entrance for single or small groups of people to enter in. It was nothing more than a long tunnel bypassing the huge gate. Syliris could see fragments of the inside of the city from where he was standing.

The guard read the letter carefully and examined the signature. He then held it up it his right eye and inspected the seal. He rubbed his finger over the indentions the seal made and even sniffed it too. He folded the letter back up and handed it to another man waiting inside a tiny room off to the side of the checkpoint. The guard turned back to Syliris and moved to let him through the tunnel into the city.

“You’re clear to go sir, enjoy your day,” the guard kindly said past his think gray beard that hung down past his chin. As Syliris strolled in happily, he ran his fingers across the smooth stone taking in the texture. He had never felt anything so soft or clean. “Hey, wait!” The guard yelled back to Syliris before he even made it half way. His body froze and he kept looking straight. “You almost forgot your weapons.”

Syliris began laughing and went to go retrieve them from another guard from inside the tiny room. Syliris thanked the guards and jogged away to get inside the walls as fast as possible. As he emerged into the clearing of the main city street the powerful ray from the sun greeted him. The chatter of people passing by filled his ears. Everyone was dressed in clean clothes varying in color and style. A majority of them had on sandals or went around barefoot. The streets were spotless and everyone was working hard.

In the middle of the main plaza was a step up to a fountain no longer functioning. Inside it were men working on it attempting to figure out what was wrong. Past it was a wide street with vendors, restaurants, and open shops. Syliris took a look in several of the shops and talked to every vendor he passed by. He didn’t get anything from the lack of funds in his empty pockets. He did have some food rations left, but his first goal was to hunt down a job. He didn’t want to resort to stealing anything.

As kept going down the street he was called out for as he passed a specific shop. A woman’s voice broadcasted directly at him from within. “Hey stranger! Come take a step inside and I’ll fix you up with the latest Rynist styles. You’re too cute to be wearing that rugged atrocity claiming to be clothes!” The woman was a slender dark skinned beauty. She wore a white dress to contrast her skin complexion and she wore tons of silver jewelry around her neck and wrists. Her hair was solid black just like Syliris’s, but was curly and tied back in a ponytail and only fell down right above the back of her neck.

Syliris waved her off and said, “I’m sorry miss, but I’m afraid I’m all out of money at the moment.” Before Syliris could go anywhere she yelled back.

“Stranger, get in my store now and I’ll cut you a deal,”

“What kind of deal?”

“Come step inside and see, it’ll be worth your while I’m sure,” she replied with a smile. Her teeth sparkled pearly white and were perfectly aligned. Syliris went inside and out from under the sun. Birds flew down and landed onto the ground in front of Syliris pecking at a fallen crumb. He approached the lady and leaned on top of her counter.

“Go on than, I want to hear this deal of yours. Make it worth my while,” Syliris challenged.

“Anything that goes on your body from here is free,” the woman stated.

“I’m hooked; now tell me what the catch is.”

“You have to let me and my employees dress you up in whatever we feel suits you. And you can’t have any input what so ever,” the woman said laughing softly. “Also, you have to recommend this place to a few of your closest friends. These are my conditions, do you except, or do you want to continue walking around here being chuckled at as you walk down the street?”

“I accept. Where do you want me?” The woman smiled once more and flicked her head to her left at a set of closed doors. Syliris went to the doors and pushed them open. He walked inside and went face to face with three other women. The other woman entered in behind him and put her hands on his shoulders.

“Okay ladies, we have a special assignment today. I want you to fix him up so he can not only look like he lives here, but that he also knows how to be stylish! I want you to dress him for spring and summer weather only. Have at it!” She shoved Syliris at the other women and left the room. The other women picked up various tools sitting around them and instantly began to assault Syliris.

They measured every nook and cranny on his body after they stripped him of all of his clothes. They took shifts between sizing him up and running off to get clothes, fabric, and even chunks of armor. At one point in time, two of them were simply admiring his features. They felt his long hair, rubbed their hands up and down his chiseled chest and pack of abs. They even stared at the mark residing on his right forearm and attempted to scrub it off.

They tossed on various assortments of styles on him as if he were some sort of dress up doll. Syliris sighed for he had been changing clothes way too often as of recent. The women ran everywhere and didn’t decide on what he should wear until about an hour later.

The final outfit consisted of a light and tight base fabric that cut off the sleeves was coiled around the upper half of his body. It was followed by a leather harness wrapped around his abdomen to carry his weapons. Then thin pieces of silver metal were fastened to his shins and forearms. He was given a pair of underwear that satisfied his needs for comfort. Then he was slipped into a pair of thin soled sandals with light brown leather straps.

Finally placed on top of all of that was a thin and long piece of clothes that was a combination of a toga and poncho, but had the qualities of a stark white cloak. It was held together at the top of his left shoulder by a golden pin and draped down to his ankles. It was followed by another piece like it that wrapped round his right should and fell even with the other piece. Lastly, a maroon cape held together around his collar by a golden chain as the cape fell down even with everything else. Syliris had easy access to his weapons and the entire outfit itself was gauzy.

The three women slowly brought Syliris out to show the owner their masterpiece. When she saw him she squealed and ran over to hug him. “You look amazing! Wonderful job girls,” she gestured at the other women. “Now listen, if anyone asks you where got this from, just tell them you got it from here, got it?”

“Yeah, and thanks, this outfit is actually really easy to move around in,” Syliris explained.

“Excellent, great to hear you’re pleased with how it turned out. Now go out stranger! Show this entire city what you’re made of,” she said while pushing him out of the shop. Syliris stumbled out and the sun blinded him for a little bit. His outfit quickly drew the eyes of many people, but they looked at him with recognition, not scrutiny.

Syliris continued down the market street and took in all the sights and scents of the city. Everything was tall and big being supported by marble pillars. A gentle breeze of wind blew across the street cooling everything down. Everywhere he went the citizens were either conversing with one another or were working their jobs. Some places he saw laborers building new structures and operated like machines. Sweat poured off of their fore heads and down their muscular arms.

The women of the city were even more impressive, their bodies were sleek and taken care of. Their togas ran down to their knees their hair was usually kept in one of two ways. Either it was held up in a complex knot or ball with golden broaches, or it was all let down to as far as it would go with a golden hair piece just cause. They had flashy jewelry with beautiful ear rings, long and complex necklaces, and sparkling bracelets. Then for some of the women, they showed a little too much skin as their togas opened a little bit too much.

As Syliris wandered deeper into the city he eventually found himself lost where little to no people belong to. He navigated his way around corners, down alleyways, and even in and out of edifices that could be found everywhere. As he ran about he seemed to only go even further back into the large capital. Then he ran through a corridor and popped back out to a main street.

As the scanned the area, he located another gate, but this one wasn’t like the one that allowed entrance into the city. Instead it guarded the entrance to a large palace. It was beyond enormous, its sheer size was close to they size of some villages. Elite guards stood at attention with heavy armor and deadly weapons. Syliris stood there mesmerized by the sight. It had towers that branched off from the main tower that peaked over the entire city. Smaller blocks of places surround the main tower in a circular shape. Syliris tilted his head trying to get a full idea and understanding to the marvelous abode.

From behind him, a crowd of people gathered around a single man flipping through cards and amazing people. Shouts of admiration were mixed in with shouts of frustration. Syliris turned to the crowd and went to go see what was going on. He seemed like and aristocrat compared to some of the people with ragged sheets just tossed over their bodies.

Syliris pushed by some people and peered over the crowd to see a shrouded face hidden by a miniature fedora. The person shuffled and filtered a deck of cards in his hands. He tossed them from on hand to the other with extreme precision. Then he threw them onto the small table he was operating at and flipped them all over with a single sweeping motion. Then he asked a bulky man standing before him to follow a set of instructions.

“Now sir, I want you to look at this card carefully. It’s a single card and it has a very specific name. I call him the emperor, now your only job is to follow the emperor around like you do now a days already,” Everyone around him laughed. The card had the royal family crest of the Voralye family. He placed the card face down onto the table. He then revealed two more cards from the deck; each one had an identical skull on it. “These are the other two cards to distract you from your goal of finding the emperor. Most of the people I know call them the death card, I like to also call it the women of my past,” more rounds of laugher bounced around the group. Syliris smiled as well. The person flipped the two cards down; each one was on one of the sides of the emperor card.

The person looked up to reveal the face of a middle aged man. He had a thick beard and mustache with an eye patch. His hair leaked out the back of his hat and fell on top of his shoulders and extended even further. He had sideburns that went all the way down his face. He sported a little bit of weight underneath dirty and stained toga. His skin was tanned like he wasn’t from around these parts.

“Now sir,” he spoke with a rough voice, but it didn’t seem like he was that old by the lighter pitch. “I’m going to flip through these cards very slowly and you’re going to tell me which card is the emperor after I stop shuffling.”

The man made a gruff sound as a response. The older man moved the far left car over to the far right and then moved the middle car to the far left. He straightened out the cards and asked the man to pick. The burly man chose the card on the far left and the older man flipped it over and it was the emperor. Everyone cheered and patted the burly man on the back. The older man shuffled them again, and just as simplistic. The burly guessed right again and everyone seemed like they were going nuts. The older man did it once more and Syliris was able to follow the emperor card with ease. This time though, the burly man guessed wrong and the crowd went silent. Syliris’s face filled with disbelief at the fact that the large man could follow a card with such simple card movement.

The older man noticed Syliris’s face and called him out on it. “Excuse me sir, do you think you can follow the card better than this man here?”

“Of course I can,” Syliris responded. “When I followed the card right now I could easily tell that it was this card,” Syliris pointed to the card he had followed and the older man flipped it over to reveal the emperor card. Syliris smiled almost smugly and the crowd around him patted his back.

“Oh, so I guess you are our new challenger. Come here and let us make a bet. If you’re able to find the emperor card once out of the three times I shuffle, I’ll do anything you want. On the other hand, if you can’t find the card all three times, than you have to do anything I ask you to do, got it?”

Syliris took in the options and figured, what’s the worst that could go wrong? “I got it, so hurry up and shuffle, I have a pretty good idea already for what I want you to do,” The older man smiled and set the three cards out onto the table all facing up with the emperor card in the middle.

He flipped them all face down one at a time. He then switched the middle and right card. Then he switched the middle and left card. Then he switched the right and left car. He then removed his hands and asked for Syliris to pick. Naturally, Syliris picked the left card and the older man flipped it over.

It was the death card.

The crowd laughed and someone pointed that the middle card and the older man picked it up to reveal the emperor card. The older man set them down again all face up with the emperor card facing up in the middle. He flipped them all face down one at a time. The older man didn’t even touch the cards, but simply stood back and allowed Syliris to pick. “Here, I won’t even shuffle this time since you could follow the car the first time.” Syliris shook his head and selected the middle card. The older man flipped it over.

It was the death card again.

Syliris stood there shocked. Another man from the crown chose the left and the older man revealed it to be the emperor card. Every laughed again and Syliris was becoming angry. As the older man reset the cards he mocked Syliris. “Wow sir, I could have sworn you were going to get that one. Here, let me try one more handicap for you since you seem like such a nice person,” the older man flipped the face up cards over one at a time again. Then he turned two cards up, the left and middle card. Both of them were the death card. The older man then stood back once more and allowed Syliris to pick. Syliris picked the right card and the older man flipped it over.

It was the death card for the third time.

The crowd began laughing hysterically as the old man flipped the cards down one more time. He then flipped them all back over and they were all emperor cards. Some of the members of the group fell to the ground with tears flowing out of their eyes. As this was happening, a party of elite guards approached the table.

“Now for my reward, what can I make you do?” The older man laughed. As he was thinking he caught a glimpse of the squad of heavily armed soldiers rapidly madding their way towards him. His eye opened wide and he pack away all of his cards and shoved them into his toga. He then put some loose cash into a leather carrier and shoved it into Syliris’s arms. “I know what you can do. Follow me and help me escape from those guys!”

The older man sprung up on top of the table and leapt over everyone’s heads. The crowd shoved Syliris after him and created a wall between them and the guards. The guard began running themselves and the captain of the squad directed them different ways to follow them.

Syliris followed the older man as he ran into a random alley and up a wooden ladder into a window. Syliris followed and as he was halfway up the ladder two guards ran into the alley. Syliris hurried and crawled into the room where the older man had suddenly shed his beard and everything else about him too that made him old. The stained toga rested on the floor next to a pair of sideburns and a wig of long hair. Instead a young man with tanned skin and a winning complexion greeted Syliris. The young man wore a thick black vest with pocket hidden inside opened up to show off his impressive build. He had on light brown canvas pants that ended before his ankle and no shoes. He was putting on his weaved mini fedora over his short light brown hair that was spiked up in the middle.

“Oh, didn’t think you would actually keep up with me,” the young man said.

“What do you mean? I thought you said to follow you with this,” Syliris presented the bag in front of the young man. His eyes filled with delight and sparkled. Syliris was finally managed to get his full body into the room and flexed his fingers. “Who are you anyway?”

The man went right in front of Syliris and looked him in the eye with a smile. “I’m Nigel and I’m pretty sure you can take those down there. I’ll meet up with you later,” Nigel said just as he ripped the bag filled with cash from Syliris’s hands and kicked him back out through the window. At this time Syliris had no time to react and more guards had arrived. He fell down taking out the two guards who were almost up the ladder.

He hit the ground hard and hit his head on the stone brick road. Lying beneath him awkwardly were two guards. The rest of the guards that had gathered had their spears pointed at Syliris’s neck. Syliris’s orientation of gravity had faltered as everything was spinning and falling. “Don’t move and come with us quietly or I’ll skewer your neck,” one of guards barked at him.

“A Cloak! You’ve got to be kidding me!” A man said in shock. The announcement echoed off the walls of the large hallway within the inner walls of the palace.

“That’s right, I’ve heard that he used arcana forces and conjured up a fire that couldn’t be extinguished and burned everything in sight. It was insane and no body made it out alive except for that one messenger who had left a day earlier,” another man responded back to him.

“I still can’t believe that we lost Edgemoro like that. I think we should put a warning out to everyone in the city to watch out for any Cloaks because he might come here next and take us out,” the man said in worry.

“Hey, you don’t think it’s Him do you?”

“Of course it’s not Him, He’s been held captive in the Belusk Empire for the past two decades. Security on Him is so tight that He doesn’t even get a chance to breath without permission. It has to be someone else taking revenge on the world for whatever reason,” the man stated.

“Well, all I know is that every single one of those bastard freaks of nature is pure evil. We should just kill each and every one of them. They plague our society when we just want to live in peace and harmony. I’m going to approach the Emperor about this issue. Will you come along with me?”

“Of course I will. We also had to notify him of some of our latest captures. I’m sure he’ll be impressed by our collection of criminals and maybe even give us a pay raise,” he said while laughing. They then began laughing together as they sauntered to the main chambers where the Emperor sat for most of his days answering to his people.

#tome I chapter 5 #the lore of sylirs

Tome I: Rynist - Chapter 4

A tear of thick crimson blood dropped into a small pool. The blood rolled down through the cracks of the stone brick mixing with the dirt and fungi that grew there. Only a small candle was lit in the corner of the cage casting a deep yellow light. The wax dripped down onto the wooden table it rested on. A man set down a plank of wood discolored with red splatters. He sat down in a chair and tapped another man on the back.

“Your turn,” the man said.

The other man got up and picked up something the resembled a spade. He went in front of a boy who had his face mangled and his body beaten. Blood flowed of his chest and arms. He was on his knees naked against the rough floor. His wrists were chained to the wall behind him while his ankles were bolted to the ground. The man swung the object backwards and swung with full force catching the boy on his jaw.

His head violently whipped back while his long hair following. The boy’s head fell in front of him again. The man whacked him again and again repeatedly. The he would switch out so the two men could share the pleasure and take a break while watching. The men had a plethora of instruments to choose from, but the tended to stick to large and frank pieces of metal of wood.

As the first man went back to work, he snickered and went right up to the boy’s face. He yanked his head back and made his message clear. “I’m going to start breaking you from the inside out now,” he laughed maniacally. “Just relax and maybe you’ll pass out from the pain!”

The man went around to the section where the chain was attached to the wall. He unhooked it and hooked it back to a rope and pulley system. Then he unlatched the ankle braces that left severe bruises. The first man gave the signal and the second man hoisted the boy up. The boy slowly went up and his armed contorted awkwardly.

Then the second man pulled hard and in one fluid motion the rope pulled the chain to its maximum height and the boy’s arms became dislocated. The boy’s hair fell back revealing his face. Syliris cringed and breathed heavily as water built up around his eyes. His cheeks were rosy whereas the rest of his face was drained of color factoring out the dirt smeared everywhere.

Syliris opened his mouth wide and screamed. His body squirmed around in midair as his legs kicked around searching for something to stand on. Syliris bit his lips holding in the pain and anguish. Then footsteps running across the stone brick floor echoed through the darkness. A guard arrived with his eyes filled with terror.

“We’re being attacked! We need every man right now! Grab whatever weapons you can and follow me,” the guard said as his voice shivered. The two men peered back at Syliris whose body quivered with every single movement. They each ignored him and picked up a large object each, one’s they didn’t use earlier on Syliris so they weren’t tainted with scarlet. They swung open the door to the cage and ran out after the frail guard.

They had left the candle burning and the door wide open, but it didn’t make any difference. Syliris was still down there all alone as gravity took its turn to torture him. His shoulders felt as if they were about to be ripped apart as the joint popped out and only muscle and tendons remained, slowly being stretched and torn in the process. He still persevered through this and attempted to get some footing on the slick walls covered in algae and mold from water over the years.

The candle wick had gone down about a quarter and the flame was slowly dying. Syliris hung there semiconscious as the let his feet remain limp. A majority of the blood flow had been redirected and Syliris was slowly dying. He decided he would try one more thing since no one was present. He opened up his hands which caused a lot of pain and absorbed extract from the environment around him. Then he used all of his strength to create an intense fire to melt away the links of the chain.

He used drove himself to exhaustion when the final bit of the chain link broke. Syliris fell to the ground scrapping his shins and the tops of his feet. He collapsed forward and stood still for he could calculate how bad the damage was done to his body. He rolled onto his while moaning and managed to pop in his right arm back into its socket.

He reached over and forced his other shoulder back into its socket and the worst of the pain subsided. His shoulders throbbed and Syliris didn’t have any energy to stand. Instead he lay still taking in the relief. Then there was the sharp sound of someone walking down the stairs, but it was more so that sound of an animal with hooves walking down. It was trailed by rapid and chopped up sniffing.

Then the person or creature trotted its way over to Syliris. As Syliris closed his eyes, the creature came over him and sniffed his face. Syliris opened his eyes and staring him in the face was the very trugg he had saved earlier. Syliris isn’t even sure if the sun or moon is out at the current moment. The trugg tossed a pile of random clothes on top of Syliris’s chest.

“Hurry up and change, we must leave immediately or else we’ll die,” the trugg said. Syliris wasn’t aware that truggs spoke, but his tone and speech were chopped up. Syliris sat up and promptly a shooting pain rippled through Syliris’s back and legs. The trugg helped Syliris out some of the time until he was able to finish getting dress in nothing more than a shirt, pants, and a tattered up black cloak.

The trugg helped Syliris to his feet and supported him up the dark staircase at the end of the hall directly across from the cell they were just in. They dragged their feet as they reached the final door to leave the cellar. The trugg kicked it down with its feet and a searing heat, light, and flecks of flame nipping at him. Half the building had been burned down and the roof had already caved in showing that it is indeed night time.

There were cries of others getting killed and being burned by the fire. Ordinary citizens were involved as well, almost all of them. Syliris’s eyes were still adjusting when the trugg abandoned him in search for medicine. Syliris stumbled out the bar and watched a horrific battle scene.

There were regular citizens being skewered by long staffs and slain with stolen swords and maces. On the other hand, the military presence there was currently fighting off the mass hoard of the truggian people. Ash snowed down upon the roads and atop the houses and building that had yet to burn.

The trugg help Syliris get a move on navigating their way through back alley ways and dirt paths avoid the conflict as much as possible. As they were moving, Syliris was gathering extract from the grass and soil. He was slowly starting to regain some strength and was beginning to walk normally. Syliris didn’t recognize the direction they were going in, but it didn’t bother him since he didn’t live here anyway.

Smoke rose high above the top of the mountains creating an illusion that the mountains were active volcanoes about to burst. As Syliris took occasional glances back there were more and more buildings and plains igniting. Even though Syliris wanted to escape and have some sort of revenge on the people of Edgemoro, this seemed a little extreme.

Syliris put his hand on his shoulder and healed it, and then he switched shoulders and healed the other one. As the two of them dashed past burning buildings, the fire consumed most of the oxygen so t made it difficult to breathe. Also, the taller structures were being taken out from the bottom first by the fire and crumpled down crashing into other buildings spewing individual stone bricks everywhere.

Then the two ran out into an untouched open field where at the very end of it near the wall were two more truggs riding upon the backs of mysterious creatures. Syliris couldn’t tell what they were until he got closer, but even then he had never seen such a strange animal in his life. It had two legs with a long tail extruding from its behind. It had long slim arms and a long neck. Its head had a harness attached to its face jutting out. Their ears were tucked back and its eyes were just little slits. Finally it had a long fur coat of silver and gray.

The trugg that had been running with him hopped aboard the closest one to him. Syliris examined most of them mentally. He too picked the nearest to him since they all looked the same. Just back the group of creatures and truggs was another opening that led to nothing but black. Cries and shouts of terror and suffering roared from behind them even louder. The smoke mixed with the air to create suffocating smog that fell down to the surface.

Little black silhouettes ran amuck in the distance right before they either fell or flat out disappeared. A few more truggs arrived and mounted the backs of the strange animal. Syliris was getting better at handling the creature and drove it to the only trugg he knew. After one more trugg showed up, the trugg riding the largest creature while looking ancient raised his arms.

“On wards, we shall leave this place to burn until it reaches the inner levels of hell!” The was an enormous applause and cheers. Then he went first into the hole in the wall followed by everyone else by groups of two and sometimes three. He entered with the trugg who saved him, but the trugg was remaining silent after not saying a word earlier.

As Syliris entered the tunnel, a cool blast of fresh air greeted him from somewhere further on. He took in a much air he could and released it with a huge grin remaining on his face. The group walked along the grassy and solid dirt path that they walked along.

Then the group turned collectively at one part and when Syliris turned with them there was a light beam of moonlight being shined in at the end of the straight. Then the group turned again in the opposite direction and it lead out into the forest where trugg guards stood by ready to attack. The trugg next to Syliris nudged him. “We will take care of you for now. Come with us for the night and we can get you to your home soon,” the trugg said.

Back at the massive system of hollowed trees and wooden pavilions, Syliris was talking with the trugg whom had saved him and whom Syliris saved. They stood over a railing overlooking the damage and destruction of Edgemoro. The smoke billowed out at a rapid rate polluting the sky and almost blocking out the moon.

“Why did you come for me?” Syliris said as he stretched at his new set of clothes that rested under his black cloak. His face was cleaned for the most part and he healed most of his wounds. Syliris tilted his head to face the trugg who stood with his head held high looking at the carnage in depth.

“It was repayment for saving my son,” the trugg said. He looked back into his home where his wife played with his son who was recovering after the traumatic experience. “You also saved me and even defended that glizzer while fighting your own people.”

“They weren’t my people, and I’m still not sure why you sent in an entire army for a single man,” Syliris commented.

“We could tell you weren’t one of them by the way they treated you. How beaten and mutilated you were when I found you. You, though, were simply the kick we’ve needed for a while. You see, the people of that valley took part of our land and slaughtered thousands of us. We wanted to attack back, but at the time we were too scared and shaken to do anything. I was younger than you when it happened,” the trugg man explained. “With the incident that took place yesterday, I was able to inspire the rest of my people to finally end living in fear of them.”

Syliris simply nodded his head. He watched as cluster after cluster the truggs returning home. They trotted in covered in soot and dried blood. Their weapons chipped and stained and their clothes dirtied as well. A shout from down below announced the most recent news.

“Attention all! Attention! It has been confirmed that the enemy has been demolished completely along with their town. It’s all burned to the ground and no survivors have been confirmed. Unfortunately, we also lost fifty-three brave soldiers. That is all, the celebration feast will commence in a few hours!” Everyone else leaning over his or her balcony cheered at the hearing of the good news.

“I though your kind was passive,” Syliris commented.

The trugg stiffened up and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Well, in the past when we were left alone and nobody came near here, we were probably a peaceful kind. Of course times change and we adapted to survive any new threats to our home. I have friends, family, a beautiful wife, and a wonderful son to protect. When you reach a situation like the one I was in, you too will most likely be willing to sacrifice even yourself for them,” the trugg said.

“Wise words of advice. I’ll be sure to take them seriously.”

“Good, a friend of mine will be able to give you a ride tomorrow morning about halfway between here and Rynist for you. I’m afraid that’s the best we can offer. We have also found a letter that will grant you access into the city,” the trugg turned back to Syliris and offered his hairy hand. “I’m Issril. It’s a pleasure to meet the savior of my son, maybe one day we may meet again.”

Syliris took his hand firmly. “I’m Syliris, and I’d love to take you up on that offer. Also, maybe you can show me around when I come back to visit,” the two dropped their hands.

“I do have one more question. Are you perhaps a Cloak?” Syliris’s face drained as Issril said that term and his expression grew solemn. “I don’t have anything against your people. You used your powers to save, not harm. So I’ll be supporting you and spread the word that a Cloak saved my son,” Issril said enthusiastically.

Syliris relaxed. “Thank you,” he replied with as he grinned. He had never been told his power was good before. The warm air blew in from the mountain and the scent of burned wood and smoldering carcasses defiled the clean air surrounding the forest. The small hidden city known as Edgemoro was now nothing but a large pile cinders and charcoal in a matter of less than a day.

#tome I chapter 4 #the lore of sylirs

Tome I: Rynist - Chapter 3

One of the Edgemoro guards nudged his staff against the ingris. Another one was inspecting the roots as they pierced right through both hearts of the monstrous creature. The third and final guard kicked at the broken and collapsed tree, and looked down the path of mass destruction. He sniffed the air and the scent of death filled his nose.

“It’s been dead for less than a day,” the guard with the staff spoke up. He wiped up some of the moist blood with his bare fingers. He licked it and smacked his lips together attempting to get a good read from it. He twisted his body and spit it onto the blades of grass. “It seems like these stab wounds are the only thing that caused its death.”

“Whatever it was chasing certainly knew how to run away. Ingri are a fast species, but aren’t they supposed to be hibernating around this time?” The guard walking down the newly beaten path shouted. “I mean, why did whatever the ingris was chasing bother to wake it up. Everyone around here knows that the ingri are a peaceful species unless you wake them up.”

The other guard lifted up one of the ingris’s paws and noticed part of the hair was scorched off. His eyes widened and he backed away drawing his knife he kept on his belt. “I think I know what killed the ingris,” the guard said. He was an older gentleman compared to the two other guards who didn’t even exceed the age of thirty.

“Just tell us will you!” The guard demanded as he walked around the rear of the ingris and towards the small group of trees also knocked down.

“Look, there’s no way that an animal like this would just happen to run into roots that perfectly go through both of its hearts. Also, I found a burn wound on its right hand. This is the obvious work of arcana forces,” The old man explained.

“Wait, you’re not seriously suggesting that there’s a Cloak somewhere out here, right?”

“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting. We must return to Lexu at once and inform him of our findings. Quickly, who knows where that Cloak is now; he might have even infiltrated Edgemoro by now!”

Syliris checked out of the inn as early as possible. He didn’t feel like dealing with Lexu this morning and wanted to get out of there and on his way to Rynist. He made his way down the pasture to the stone brick building where he was the previous day ordering a glizzer. Waddling outside was the young man who he had met briefly. The young man was moving bales of hay into a complex attached to the side of the building.

Syliris made his way around the corner and saw a large glizzer nipping at the hay. It was longer than two meters and at least a meter and a half tall. Its mouth had filed down teeth and five massive horns jutted out from its skull. All four of its feet were strapped with leather and iron protectors and a saddle with several sacks hanging from it rested on the glizzer’s back. Finally its tail whipped around in happiness for the food. Its scales shimmered dark green in the cover of the wooden roof of the stables.

The young man popped up from behind the glizzer and stumbled back in surprise. He was about to yell, but Syliris played it cool. “Easy, I’m just here for the glizzer Lexu was kind enough to let me borrow. He wasn’t in the mood to get up after a long night and my family is waiting for me back in Rynist. I decided to get a move on now so I can see them again,” Syliris lied as he smiled innocently.

“Oh, that’s right; you were the one who was with Mr. Lexu yesterday. My apologies, I thought you were here to kidnap a glizzer since you were dressed in your armor and all. I’m Johnny by the way, it’s nice to meet you,” Johnny said as he carefully walked behind the glizzer. He approached Syliris and shook his hand firmly. Syliris kept up his act.

“Is your grandfather around?”

“No, he’s still sleeping inside.”

“I see, do you think I can just take the glizzer now? I need to leave as soon as possible. I want to see if I can get as far as possible while there’s still light out and set up camp. Do you see where I’m coming from?”

“Yeah, totally. I’ve only been to Rynist and back once so I know that feeling of wanting to hurry up and get there. Actually, I was told to give you a map with directions to there, but the one that my grandfather made seemed a little long. So, I made another one that will take only two days instead of the usual four day trip. This route does cut through some trugg territory though. I’ve had friends go this way all the time and as long as you just go straight through, they won’t bother you,” Johnny said as he opened on of the sacks revealing the map.

“That’s great, thanks. So what do I need to do to get out of here now?” Syliris asked starting to get paranoid.

“Well, normally my grandfather would take care of the transaction with Mr. Lexu in this case, but if you’re willing to just sign a few things for me I think I can get you out of here in a few moments.”

“That’s wonderful; can you do that for me?”

“Of course, you seem like a nice enough guy. I’ll go get the paperwork inside real quick for you. I’ll be right back, and that there is Jorge, he’s the second oldest glizzer we have, but he’s really efficient and easy to handle,” Johnny said as he hopped the fence of the stables and jogged around the corner out of sight. Syliris climbed of the fence himself and went up to Jorge who was happily eating his hay. Syliris ran his finger down the side of his face and scratched his scales. Jorge’s tail quivered in satisfaction.

Syliris searched the bags and reviewed the various items packed inside. He sniffed the food and tested out some of the tools. He then swung his leg on Jorge’s back and got on top of the saddle. Jorge bustled around and stretched out his back adjusting for Syliris’s added weight. Jorge backed away from his hay and did a semicircle as Syliris tugged on the harness directing him. A gate with a small latch for security stood out in front of the two.

Syliris got off of the saddle and unlatched the gate and pushed it out. He boarded back on Jorge and the two wondered out onto the field. Syliris got a feel for riding a glizzer of this magnitude. Back home he had only ridden glizzers half this one’s size. Their main use was for lugging items around and pulling carts, never for long expeditions.

As the two of them ran around in figure eights through the grass, Johnny emerged with a wad of parchment in one hand. In the other he held on to a bottle of ink and a pen. He jogged up to Syliris and Jorge. “Hey, I see you two are getting along pretty well. Here, I got the paperwork for taking the glizzer. I just need you to sign here, and here,” Johnny explained as he flipped through the pieces of parchment. “Then after that you can be on your way. In fact, here’s one more favor I’m going to do for you. Do you see that area over there by the edge of the valley?”

“Yeah,” Johnny was pointing to a dark spot on the rock wall in the opposite direction of the entrance to Edgemoro.

“It’s a tunnel a couple of my friends found when we were little. It’ll give you a direct route out of Edgemoro and on your way to Rynist. If you were to go through any of the main entrances, than you would have had to back track around the whole mountain. This will prevent that and shave another couple of hours off your travel time,” Johnny said assisting Syliris.

The pen scribbled down words rapidly as Syliris filled out the paperwork. He nodded and hummed in acknowledgement to Johnny as he talked. He finished and shoved the parchment, pen, and ink into Johnny’s arms. Syliris stretched out his legs and rolled his head around his neck. Johnny sorted the items in his hands so he could hold them properly.

“Thanks a bunch Johnny. I can’t wait to get to Rynist and see my family again. I’ll be sure to come back soon and pay you a visit,” Syliris said as he parted ways with Johnny. He rode Jorge off toward the tunnel Johnny had described.

The figure of a boy riding on top of a glizzer faded out to a small dot until it eventually disappeared. Johnny made his way back to the stable and cleaned up a bit. He closed the gate and moved the bale of hay back to the storage room. He scooped up any excrement made by Jorge and shoved it into a hole and covered it.

About fifteen minutes had passed and Johnny was inside his house making himself some breakfast. A series of hard knocks pounded on the door. A voice shouted inside for Johnny’s grandfather. Johnny yelled back and went to the door. He opened it and standing there were Lexu and the three guards that had discovered the body of the ingris earlier that morning.

“Is there anything I can do for you Mr. Lexu?”

“Yes, have you seen the boy who was with me yesterday? I requested that a glizzer be made ready for him,”

“Yeah actually, he was here not too long ago and took Jorge. He said that you had a rough night and that you needed to sleep in. I wouldn’t have expected to see you this early to be honest,” Johnny said. A look of disbelief covered Lexu’s face. “He even signed the paperwork and everything, let me get it for you.”

Johnny reached over and grabbed the pieces of parchment and placed them in Lexu’s hands. Lexu looked down and read them as the other three guards read them with him. Lexu clenched his fist and threw the parchment onto the ground in fury. “Shit!” He hollered. “That son of a bitch!”

“What is it?”

“That boy was a Cloak and now he’s escaping. Do you know how he got out? All of the entrances and trading areas are being watched over right now and there hasn’t been a single sighting of him.”

Johnny was shocked to hear that the boy was a Cloak. He seemed so nice and didn’t do anything to him. His body shivered in fear for he had been foolish enough to shake the hand of death himself. “Ye.. yeah. I showed him a tunnel that leads out of the valley and through the mountain to get him to Rynist as fast as possible. I… I had no idea he was a Cloak,”

“Don’t worry about that now, tell us where the tunnel is so we can catch up to him and capture him,” Lexu said reassuringly.

“It’s on the far side of town past the main filtration system. It’s pretty hard to miss.”

“Thank you,” Lexu turned to the three guards. “Go and tell the messengers and elite soldiers to meet me at the entrance of the tunnel. And tell them to come armed and with their personal glizzers. Hurry up and go now!”

The three guards scrambled and ran off to inform the others. Lexu was turned around watching them stumble away. He turned back to Johnny and leaned in. “I need you to get me your fastest glizzer right now. I’ll return it back to you by tonight or tomorrow hopefully.”

“Okay, I’ll go get her right now. And one more thing, I gave him an alternate route that leads through trugg territory, so he’ll most likely be going that way. I just don’t understand, he was so nice to me,” Johnny said confused.

“They’ll do that to get what they want. Cloaks will seem nice at first and the next thing you know they have you by your neck in some sort of conjured up contraption as he or she slowly kills you. You’re fine now though, come on, let’s go!”

Lexu and Johnny rushed out the door leaving it wide open. The sun light poured in and shined onto the crumpled up parchment on the ground. On it Syliris had clearly written “Thank you for the stay in the fancy inn Lexu. Next time we meet I’ll be sure to repay you. Also, I stole the two letters from you right after you had written them and went off to bed. Your friend, kiss my ass!”

Syliris rode upon the back of Jorge through an open forest with trees towering above them. The sun was settled in the middle of the sky with its rays barely reaching the ground through the thick canopy. Birds whistled and insects buzzed around them. The grass wilted over beneath Jorge’s massive feet. Syliris shoved handfuls of hay and scanned the trees for any movement.

The two had just entered trugg territory recently and hastily moved along. Each time the wind blew and a couple of leaves casted odd shadows that made Syliris jump. He wasn’t sure who or what the truggs were, but he certainly wasn’t going to take any risks at this point in time. He stayed cautious and had his hand pressed against his knives at all times.

After traveling for several minutes, a soft vibration shook the ground. Jorge was the first to react to this and moaned as he adjusted his body. The vibrations soon made it to Syliris and he slowly turned around to the source.

In the distance a cloud of dust was forming behind a large group of people mounted on the backs of glizzers. Syliris snagged the reigns and whipped them. He squealed and began to move. Syliris guided him into the nearby foliage and went deeper into Trugg territory instead of going right through.

As he went deeper, the darker it got, and the more muffled the stampeding battalion sounded, but it was still there. He searched for a place to hide, but everything was in the open and he no longer had any idea where he was going. He marched onwards on board Jorge consistently feeding him to give him enough energy to get away. Then, while feeding Jorge and not paying attention to what’s ahead, Jorge rammed his head into a large tree trunk.

It was hollowed out and Jorge had his leg stuck inside a hole, large enough for a person to fit inside. Syliris got off and ran his hand down Jorge’s leg and couldn’t find the bottom of the hole. Syliris back off and reached out with one hand. He manipulated the roots to push Jorge’s leg out of the hole. Jorge opened his jaw wide and flailed his tongue in fear.

As Jorge’s foot became freed, the sound of voices could now be heard. It was only a couple of people, so that meant that the large force split up in search for him. Syliris cursed silently under his breath thinking of what he could do. He went over to one of the sacks on Jorge and took out some food rations for himself.

He went up to Jorge’s face and took hold of his horns. “It was nice knowing you and riding you was a blast. For now, I must part ways,” Syliris told Jorge, and he released his grip and hopped down into the hole. At first, Jorge clawed at the small opening, but Syliris sealed it to prevent being found. The hole went down only about three meters at a steep incline.

The darkness of the tightly packed burrow kept Syliris from seeing much of anything. So he held out his index finger and a small spark ignited the air right above the nail. The dim flame revealed a small wooden ladder leading up to where the hole was and another one even longer that extended up the center of the tree.

Jorge still stomped at the patch of displaced dirt covering the entrance and bits of dust fell upon Syliris’s head and down his cloak. Syliris tested the sturdiness of the rungs by putting some pressure on it until it supported his weight. He climbed one rung at a time slowly making progress up the tree. Images ran though his mind of weird creatures creating holes in trees and setting up homes on the branches.

As he got higher and higher a faint light grew further above him He blew out the flame on his finger and climbed faster and faster. When the light got within arm’s reach Syliris’s foot snapped a rung and he slipped down the hole a couple of meters.

The passage was narrow enough so he could catch himself and get back onto the ladder. He went back to the top towards the light. He stepped over the broken rung and proceeded carefully. His head was the first to pop out onto a massive tree limb. He wiggled his way out the passage and crawled along the bark of the branch. He slowly stood up and looked around.

On the large branches of all the other trees were complex structures even more extensive than he had originally imagined. There was practically an entire castle on one tree a little further down. Something was wrong though; there wasn’t a single trugg in sight. Then Syliris heard some screaming below him and he glanced down. A small furry creature with pants and a shirt was being lugged away by an Edgemoro guard. The guard yelled in its face while shaking it back and forth. The Syliris noticed three other guards being thrown around by Jorge.

Syliris was suspended about twenty-five meters in the air, but he was able to see everything pretty clearly. The small creature didn’t seem to have a tail, but its legs were that of a fawn. It had hairy, but human arms and hands and a human like head with a few variation. Syliris watched and waited for the guard to put it down, rather, he simply ran his sword through its chest.

Another creature of the same species ran out from a hiding in the bushes and attacked the guard. The smaller creature fell to the ground and the guard slashed the larger one across the chest. Blood splattered everywhere and the three guards handling Jorge drew their swords as well. Syliris lost it; he leapt off the branch and right down to Jorge. One of the guards looked up and saw him coming, but couldn’t form words in time.

Steams of fire spread out and burned the three guards blistering their faces. Jorge wailed in delight. The final guard drew his sword and charged at Syliris. While the other guards were screaming and holding their faces, Jorge swept them to the ground with his tail by taking them out by their feet. Syliris jumped over the final guard and pressed his hand on the ground. As the guard turned, roots propelled out the earth and went through the same spot he stabbed the small creature.

The guard dropped his sword and clutched onto the root. He let out a deep cry and tried to slip off it while only making it worse. Syliris ignored the four guards howling out in pain and knelt down besides the small creature. The stab wound was clean and didn’t seem to have hit anything vital. The small creature’s eyelids fluttered trying to take a look at Syliris. On closer inspection, the creature had an extended snout from its face and flaps covered in hair for ears. It’s small and flat black nose pulsed open and close at the end of its snout.

Syliris pressed his hands onto the wound and concentrated. The wound closed up and the bleeding stopped on one side. Syliris kept focus and closed the wound entirely. The creature’s eyes widened and reached up and hugged Syliris. Then the creature’s eyes darted to Syliris’s left and ran off. The small creature jumped into the arms of a larger version of it.

It didn’t speak; it just stared at Syliris for a few moments. Then its ears pointed up and it ran off with the similar creature. Syliris looked back to the guards only to find himself surrounded. The four injured guards were being taken care of by other members of their group. Then, riding on the back of a slender glizzer was Lexu himself. He was clapping slowly with no emotion shown on his face. He looked at the guards and then back to Syliris who was still kneeling.

“Who would have known that a Cloak’s power was this great? I’ve only heard rumors about a Cloak who was traveling about with a large bounty over his head. And then there was another more specific order to capture you on sight and ship you off to Rynist, but no information other than that was given. Then you show up, only to turn up as what was originally thought as two people and instead was only one,” Lexu said as he dismounted his glizzer. He enunciated each point with a rising tone.

“Crazy world right? Who would have guessed I was this famous. Even I didn’t know I was this popular,” Syliris said with a smile. Lexu went up to him and kicked to onto his rear. He then stepped onto his chest trapping him.

“These hands of yours are becoming an annoyance you know. I wonder what would happen if I did this?” Lexu stuck his sword into his right hand and attached it to the ground. Syliris winced, but pretended that it didn’t hurt.

“Really, that’s what you were leading up to? Come on Lexu, surely you can do better than this,” Syliris laughed hysterically.

“You’re right, this is all I’m going to do, but that’s just because I don’t like getting my hands dirty. Rather, I’m going to drag your ass back to Edgemoro and see how much you’re laughing then. I’ll make sure my best men are assigned to you. Then after I finish with you, I’ll ship you off to Rynist where who knows what’ll happen to you,” Lexu said. He withdrew his sword and walked away. He instructed his final commands before mounting the glizzer. “Tie him up and make sure he doesn’t have access to his hands.”

The final thing Syliris saw was some of the guards leaving when everything went black after a large blunt object struck him on the back of his head.

#tome I chapter 3 #the lore of sylirs

Tome I: Rynist - Chapter 2

Fire crackled and snapped as it raged inside the small space provided. The flame lit up the room with a flickering illumination as Syliris and Lexu sat in chairs facing each other only being separated by a wooden desk. Both remained silent as Syliris glared at Lexu with a sour expression. Lexu organized his desk and sorted some papers. His cape striped with its three golden bars hung from a pole behind him.

“What is your business here in Edgemoro?” Lexu said breaking the intense atmosphere.

“I don’t have any particular business here. Frankly, I didn’t even know this place existed in the first place. It’s not on any maps that I was carrying with me,” Syliris responded casually.

“Where are the items you were carrying with you?”

“I don’t really know, I woke up one day strip of nearly everything I had on me. I don’t even have so much as proper clothes as you can see. You don’t know any good shops around here that I can get some clothes and maybe some armor from?”

“I might know a place or two that can give you a pretty good bargain. That is if you don’t knock them out,” Lexu jabbed dryly while flipping through more stacks of paper and not even making eye contact with Syliris. “And you said that we weren’t anywhere on the maps you did have with you correct?”

“Yeah, and I’ve never heard of Edgemoro before either,” Syliris sneered.

“Good, our little town isn’t supposed to be known by the outside world. There is one thing bugging me though, you said you stumbled across here on your travels. May you tell me where exactly you are heading that caused you to find us?”

“Why should I tell you that?” Syliris retorted.

Lexu stopped what he was doing and pulled his head up from his desk. His line of sight intersected with Syliris. “Well, for one, I’m the advisor of Edgemoro along with the judge, jury, and executioner. So anything I say goes as long as it’s for the good of the town. So I declare you an unknown entity and an enemy of Edgemoro than the people here will treat you as such. Now I suggest you tell me simply where you plan to go after this before I make any unnecessary decisions.”

Syliris stiffened up as the cold glower from Lexu sent painful shivers down his spine. Syliris shifted his body so he faced the painting covering every inch of the wall. He let his hair fall behind his ears and hang over the back of the chair. “I’m heading to Rynist. I have confidential issues I’m dealing with there. So if you wouldn’t mind not interrogating me about that, I would very much appreciate it.”

“Understood, in fact, Edgemoro has very close ties with Rynist. So close that you might even be shocked that you haven’t heard of this place yet. Would you like a small tour of the town? If you would like I could supply you with a place to sleep, clothes, armor, weapons, and anything else you need for your trip there,” Lexu said as he rose from his chair. He grabbed on to his cape and clipped it onto a shoulder plate. “There is of course a catch.”

“Of course there is. You wouldn’t be so kind to a helpless wanderer unless there was something you could squeeze out of him or her,” Syliris said with disgust as he crossed his arm across his chest.

“It’s a simple task really. I just need you to bring a private message to the Emperor of Rynist. I figured since you’re heading over there any way you can at least do something useful. Come on now, get up, we’re going to see the town and all of its glory now,” Lexu said as he approached the door. Syliris followed right behind. Before Lexu twisted the door knob he turned back to Syliris. “Before we go, I would also like to know what that strange mark is under that piece of armor protecting your forearm. I couldn’t help notice it for it has such distinct red lines.”

Syliris looked down and back up at Lexu. “That’s the wonderful spellbound tattoo given to me right before I was exiled from my kingdom to the east of here. Any more questions you’d like to ask? Maybe you’d like to know about my shitty love life and my daddy issues?”

“No thanks, I’ll give you a tour and show you where you’ll be staying, after that I’m hoping to never see you again in my life.”

The water rushed by underneath the two of them as the crossed a stone bridge that arched over a small canal. People still covered the streets even though the time was so late. Small candles within glass lanterns shined brightly on every street corner and building Syliris passed. White canvas was stretched as walls and the wood used was the same dark shade of brown. Each building looked the same in color, but completely different to size and structure.

“Look up there boy, do you see those?” Lexu said as his pointed to the sky. High above the town were large arches made of stone stretching in a continuous line with an open tube on top. “That right there is why Rynist keeps this town a secret. We are the main source for its water.”

“Cool,” Syliris said unenthusiastically.

“It’s really quite a feat for the Voralye Empire. It allows the people here to just purify water and pump it up to those tubes where it will be dealt with in Rynist. The people here really have it nice don’t they. This of course makes them an easy target, so I was sent down here to establish a military presence that didn’t startle the denizens of this valley,” Lexu explained.

The two of them strolled along shops, pubs, and even the occasional inn. After walking into an isolated area of the town they ended up in front of a single two story building. A sign hung loosely by one nail and it read Clothes from the Empire sold here. Syliris marched up the small set of brick stairs and entered in front of Lexu. The door was opened and a small bell rung softly.

A bulky man sporting four arms stood behind a low counter. He wore a long blue cape with no golden bars. “Welcome, how may I help you?” Syliris was shoved aside by Lexu and the man behind the counter straightened up. “Good evening sir! What business do you have here with someone as lowly as me?”

“Relax; I just want you to issue this man some clothes and supplies. He is allowed anything he wants,” Lexu said. The man behind the counter nodded vigorously and skipped over to Syliris who was already searching the store. The man stood awkwardly behind him as Syliris inspected an expensive set of arm and chest armor. Syliris took down the brass chest piece and strapped it to his bare skin. He turned to the man.

“Do you have any shirts I can wear under this?” Syliris asked calmly. The man interpreted it differently and rushed around his shop frantically searching for anything that might meet Syliris’s demands. Out the corner of his eye he managed to spot a dark blue shirt made of a moderately price fabric. He proudly walked over to it and gave it to Syliris. Syliris unlatched his gear and slipped off his gloves. He wriggled his way into the loose fitting shirt. He shoved his arm into the long sleeves and stretched so it would fit.

The shirt hung low around the waist and the bottom draped down further that preferred. The store owner could see the discontent in Syliris’s eyes. He quickly went and grabbed a pair of scissors, a new invention that allows one to easily cut through fabric. He got back to Syliris and grabbed hold of the shirt. “Don’t worry sir; with these I can adjust the size of the shirt just for you. Just stand still as I work please.”

The store owner cut away at the bottom of the shirt and the sleeves so it fit perfectly. Syliris put on his own armor along with the pieces he’s picked out so far. As Syliris walked around the shop, the store owner constantly assisted him in his every need. In the end, Syliris was equipped with a set of six daggers hidden in a set of leather pockets wrapped around his abdomen, a curved short sword strapped to his back, a bag stuffed with food rations hanging from his left shoulder, and even a new pair of cargo pants.

Syliris straddled inside the shop a little longer staring at a black cloak. It was a long cape the fell to his ankles with a hood. Syliris stood and pondered the idea of taking this too. He turned to Lexu who’s just about had it with Syliris. “Do you think that this will make me look like a Cloak?”

Lexu rolled his eyes and looked over it himself. Syliris even threw it over his shoulders and wore it. “Yeah, anymore question?”

“Nope, I’ll take this then. Let’s go, I’m starving and I want to get some sleep as soon as possible,” Syliris complained as he walked out of the shop. Then only the store owner and Lexu remained. Lexu cleared his throat to address the store owner.

“You have my thanks and will be rewarded greatly for this. In case you’re wondering that guy is someone the high ranking officers, even higher than me, are interested in. I need to get him to Rynist as soon as possible,” Lexu explained. He left the shop and the store owner relaxed. He wiped the drops of sweat rolling down his forehead with his upper right arm. He then quickly returned to his normal duties.

Outside the shop, Syliris was waiting patiently while messing with his newly acquired cloak. Lexu passed by him and continued forward back into the main part of town. People were still as busy as usual. Syliris followed behind Lexu obediently and watched him carefully. As they walked along the dirt path, Lexu didn’t once face Syliris.

Before they entered into the shopping district of Edgemoro, Lexu veered from the path and towards a building near the small pond where all of the streams lead. A large wooden wheel with extended planks churned in the pond. It was attached to the building on one side. Smoke flowed out of a tall chimney on the roof of the house and cries of people could be heard at Syliris’s distance.

When they arrived, Lexu simply knocked on the door and yelling could be heard. Then a young man opened the door. As soon as he saw Lexu, he backed away and cried out to another person in the room. An ancient man walked over to the door with his wooden cane. His eyes visibly lit up when he saw Lexu. The ancient man extended his hand and took hold of Lexu’s. He shook his hand sluggishly and smiled revealing an incomplete set of teeth.

“Good evening Mr. Lexu, it’s a surprise seeing you here at this hour. Is there anything I can do for you or the boy right behind you?” The ancient man asked politely.

“Yes there is actually. I would like you to prepare a glizzer for travel tomorrow morning. I’ll be sure to repay you for the glizzer tomorrow as well. I’m afraid it’s going to be a one way trip so feel free to let me use one of your lesser valued ones. I’ll be back in the morning so be sure to have them prepared for me. I’m going to give you a list of the items for them right now so you might want to jot these down.”

The younger man quickly turned away and retuned with a pen, ink, and parchment. He dipped it into the ink and readied himself to write. “I want you to provide one glizzer complete with two bags. One with food for the glizzer itself and the other filled with the following materials: rope, rations, silverware and plates, cups, and two letters I’ll provide you with in the morning will also be kept in the that bag,” Lexu said rapidly.

The young man somehow managed to keep up. The ancient man glanced over the parchment and smacked the younger man on the back of the head. “You idiot, you’ve learned nothing from when I’ve taught you how to write. I can barely tell what that says!” He turned back to Lexu and smiled. “I guess I’ll be seeing you in the morning Mr. Lexu, take care.”

The door closed and the yelling continued even worse than before. Lexu headed back to the main district of the town again. This time he struck up a conversation with Syliris on the way. “You know, he was one of the first people to actually treat me nice here. You see, when I first arrived with the army the people were terrified and even tried to rebel. Luckily, before many people were killed, I managed to sign a treaty with the mayor of this settlement. We talked it out and found out that the only thing these people really wanted was to be left alone, but the catch was that they were suffering for resources as well. I struck a deal with him that he couldn’t refuse. I was beneficial for both sides.”

“You would provide the people of this town protection, food, resources, and even the fact that this town doesn’t exist right? And all these people had to do was provide some pure water that just so happened to be everywhere”

“Exactly, and after a few rocky months, the people began to accept the change and then things turned out like this. I’m respected as their new leader and I get things done.”

“What happened to the mayor?”

“He’s retired now and lives in a normal house just like everyone else. How about we go get a quick bite to eat and I’ll let you stay for free in the most luxurious inn here. Then when morning comes, I’ll come get you personally. I’ll see you off shortly afterwards,” Lexu suggested.

“Fine, as long as everything is free,” Syliris said.

The two arrived at a fine restaurant with a large open dinner hall, and in the middle of the ceiling hung a crystal chandelier with small candles lighting up the entire room. Lexu and Syliris were seated instantly and were tended to with the greatest of service. Syliris ordered as much food as possible while Lexu stuck to a simple glass of rum.

People seated at other tables constantly stared at them as the two talked cheerfully. They discussed mainly what the capital of Rynist was like. Even though Lexu was from there, he claimed to have only stayed there for a year or so anyway and that he can barely remember what exactly it looked like. He did say that it was filled with some of the largest buildings known to man with thousands upon thousands of people there every day.

Rynist was also a port city and dealt with the importing and exporting of hundreds of ships and people there daily as well. Lexu described the infamous Emperor himself along with his equally infamous family. It consisted of his wife, the Empresses, and their four children. The eldest was a boy and is expected to gain the thrown after his father. The other three are all girls who do a lot of work around the city on some days, and others they stay within the confined spaces of their family palace.

The palace is said to have a magnificent ballroom where amazing parties are held and a beautiful garden filled with species from the very corners of the globe. And finally the throne room itself was also open to those who get summoned or granted his or her request to see the emperor. Lexu went off about the city of Rynist and the glory of the Voralye Empire.

The two got up and left after a good two hours of consistent chatter. Lexu was slightly drunk from the several glasses and one bottle of rum. He led Syliris to a mansion like building while wavering on the streets. The place was pure white with a flat roof. A set of ten stairs stacked up to the raised porch. Lexu staggered as he attempted to climb each step and refused any help from the people around him. Syliris simply stood back and watched.

A women dressed in maid’s attire opened the door for Lexu and Syliris. They sauntered inside the cool first room. Inside was a marble floor and white concrete walls. A man dressed nicely went up to the two of them. “A room for two people, gentlemen?”

“Oh no, just for one person. This kid in particular. I’ll be the one that pays for his stay though, and I’ll be back for him in the morning.” Lexu said as the scent of alcohol leaked out of his mouth when he spoke. The man simple smiled and went to a wall of keys. He handed one key to Syliris.

“Here is your key, your room is on the second floor. Just take the right set of stairs,” the man pointed to the flight of flawlessly polished marble stairs. “And your room is the second one to the left. I hope you enjoy your stay here sir.” Then man walked away and Lexu, in his drunken state, snagged the key and ran up the stairs.

Syliris walked over to the man and whispered to him, “Hey, I suggest you get one of his army goons to come here and pick him up before he does anything stupid.” The man nodded his head and went into another room. Syliris jogged up the stairs after Lexu. When he reached the top he spotted what was to be room with an open door.

Syliris walked to the door and found Lexu in a somewhat sober state. He scanned the room and touched nearly everything. The hallway remained silent as the only sound was the shifting and shuffling of objects. Syliris stepped into the room and grabbed hold of Lexu’s cape. He slapped him across the face and shook him violently.

Lexu snapped to his senses and blinked rapidly. “Thank you, I needed that. Where am I?”

“You’re in my room, and if you wouldn’t mind leaving so I could get to bed.”

“Of course, how rude of me. I’ll be out of your hair from now on. I’ll come get you in the morning than. Also, forget everything you just saw me do, seeing as I still have all my clothes on, it couldn’t have been that bad.” Lexu walked out the room, but was stopped when he was just beyond the door. “Is there anything else you want?”

Syliris was standing right behind him, neither bothering to move to see the others face. “I just thought I would let you be notified that I know what you’re planning. I would also like to let you know that I realized we were being followed the entire time and that if you are planning to kill me, it’s not going to work. I know your superiors want me, and I also know that you have no idea why they want me so badly. The bounty over my head it dead or alive, that’s pretty understandable. Now, I want to be able to sleep peacefully tonight before I go to Rynist and deal with your superiors so I would appreciate it if you call your men hiding in the other rooms and leave,” Syliris demanded.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about here,” Lexu stated.

“I’m only going to ask one more time, call them off or else I kill you and everyone else in here,” Syliris threated as he pressed one of the daggers against Lexu’s back. “I’m getting impatient. I haven’t killed anyone in a while too. I do hate people seeing this side of me, but when in a hostile environment I have to do what I can to survive.”

Lexu took a deep breath and sighed. “Everyone, come out,” he said. Nearly all the doors on that floor opened and men with weapons stepped out. They all walked up to Lexu. “Leave now, the mission is now cancelled. Return to your homes and I’ll see you all in the morning.” The men filed down the stairs and Lexu made his parting statement. “There you go, happy now Syliris? You were deemed as extremely dangerous and not to be messed with. I can see why now.”

“That hurts me to hear those kinds of harsh words from you, Lexu,” Syliris said as he went back into the room. Right before he closed the door when there was a little crack in it Syliris said, “I hope this little conflict doesn’t mean we can’t be friends anymore,”

#the lore of sylirs #tome i chapter 2 #syliris

Tome I: Rynist - Chapter 1

The seasons were transitioning from one to another. From a frosty winter to a cool spring where the trees begin to develop and regain all of their lost leaves. In the massive Kaylar forest filled with gnarled trees and a whistling gust of icy wind swept through. Leaves were kicked up and scattered neatly across the dark floor speckled with light from the setting sun.

The thicket of woods was quiet as only nature being played with by the elements could be heard. Then, a low rumble sounded off in the distance. As the sound increased so did the impact to the ground disturbing nature’s peace creating a booming tremor. A sudden crash and the snapping and crackling of a nearby tree caused several birds hidden within the trees to fly off.

A loud angered cry bounced off the trees and shot out into the sky. It was the cry of a large beast, not so much for battle, but for frustration. A smaller creature dashed through the trees and even up in them avoiding the large creature. It got closer and closer until a solid black boot secured with a large silver buckle shattered the once still leaves. The boot belonged to a boy close to the age of nineteen who had hair even darker than his shoes that cascaded down onto his shoulders. He wore long brown cargo pants with no shirt on. The only bit of armor he had were a pair of steel clad gloves and a single steel forearm protector resting on his left arm.

Following right on his tail was an adult ingris who had recently begun hibernation only to be bothered by a human searching for food. The ingris stood close to three meters tall with its unusual brown fur coat. The ingris reveled its well kempt teeth that closely resembled a human’s. Its two pairs of eyes switched back and forth as they adjusted for the sunlight. Its long arms dangled around its stubby legs down to its feet. Despite having a disadvantage in terrain, the ingris still pursued the boy.

The boy breathed heavily as his person supply of stamina was running dry. His aim with his feet became more sloppy and sluggish. He consistently glanced back as he attempted the escaped the bulking creature with the intent to kill.

During his careless incompetence, the boy stepped into a concealed hole and violently twisted his ankle. He collapsed upon the ground and slid forward. He let out yelps of pain as he turned to face the ingris. The boy’s right ankle started to swell as he tried to slide back further. Then the ingris slipped through a pair of trees and smiled. It leaned in close to the boy and reached out for his head. Its massive fingers got a hair length away from the boy when his fur burst into flames.

The ingris fell back and frantically knocked off braches from and tree within his general radius. The boy laughed it off as extinguished the ball of fire floating above his palm. The boy then pressed both of his palms onto the soil of the Earth and took several deep gulps of air. The swelling around his ankle heated up and quickly healed itself. The ingris, still ablaze, rose back to his feet and went at the boy once again. The boy rolled out of the way and jumped back up. He reached back at an empty space behind his shoulder and clawed at nothing.

The boy looked back and sighed. “Shit, that’s right.” The ingris whipped its long arms at the boy. It connected with the side of his body and flung him against the trunk of a tree. Blood dripped from the boys back as he removed it from the rough exterior of the tree. The boy fell to his hands and knees and his long hair hung over the top part of his face.

The ingris stood tall grabbed onto a pointy piece of a branch. Learning from its last encounter with the boy, the ingris charged forward with the stick pointing out. Right as the tip of the stick came within a meter of the boy’s face it stopped. The ingris stopped entirely and the branch fell to the ground with a soft thud. The boy let on a small grin and looked up. The ingris was now impaled by four tree roots jutting from the ground.

Its blood dripped to the ground and rolled down the roots staining everything in red. A brilliant blue glow from the boy’s eyes dimmed down back to the normal azure color. The boy stood up and the walked forward. He inspected the dead ingris’s body and stroked its fur.

“Man, and here I am thinking that your kind wasn’t hostile at all,” the boy whispered to himself. The boy continued forward through the woods as the sun was now almost complete over the horizon. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and shook his head with his wet hair flicking droplets everywhere. He squinted as his saw a yellow and red light in the distance. The boy tried to run and stumbled over himself at first. The light didn’t move from its position so it must be a marker and boundary to the city of Rynist he’s been searching for.

He maneuvered his body through the trees and he could now clearly see that the light was being emitted from a torch resting upon a pole. The roar of crashing water echoed past the trees coming from multiple directions. Then the boy finally made it to the torch only to see another torch further down into the forest.

The chased after that one too and could then see a third torch. About halfway to the third torch he exited the forest and into a hilly meadow with two tall mountains of either side of him. The moon illuminated the beautiful scenery of with flowers tilted from the oncoming wind. Then as he reached the third torch there was yet another on visible.

This time though, the torch was much larger, and there were two of them that lay at the end of a tunnel that ran through one of the mountain. The boy stepped inside and strolled along carefully trying not to step in anything. The ground changed from dirt to a cold damn stone floor a few steps in and an over humming could be heard directly above him. Barely seeable cracks in the walls and ceiling leaked with water and spread all of the ground creating small puddles. Then as the boy got closer to the two torches and figure blocked view of the one on the right, then shortly afterwards blocked the one on the left. Then they were both unblocked as a person clearly was there.

The boy got a little skip in his step and full out sprinted for the bowls of fire wavering back and forth. He neared them and the sounds of voices, yells, and laughter rung in his ears. Another figure walked along by the fire, but the boy wasn’t able to stop himself at this point. He collided with the figure and talked it to the ground as his emerged into a bustling city in a small oven valley between two mountains.

“Oi, what’s your damage mate. Ain’t anybody tells you not to run into people,” a man with a blue cape and a blue trifold hats bellowed. He was heavy set with a thick moustache and pointy beard. He had on shiny metal armor that the boy could almost see his reflection in. The boy got off him and stared in awe at the scenery.

Large waterfalls flowed from beyond the mountains down into the valley. Wooden pathways led everywhere as people walked all over chatting away. The water was clear as it ran down specified handmade rivers. As the water scaled down the rock it splashed with a pure white color until calmed back down and returned to its clear state.

Houses lined the walls of the valley as well as filling the inner portion of the city. The city itself was actually divided into layers with stairs leading up and down. A single tall building in the center stood out from the rest of the building because of its tall spire sitting on top of the roof. Another building that peaked the boy’s interest was a stone brick store with a large water wheel connecting on the side. Even though this amazed the boy, he wasn’t sure if this was what he was looking for. He went back to the man he bumped into and grabbed onto his clothes.

“Is this supposed to be the infamous empire capital of Rynist?”

“No, this is the waterfall city of Edgemoro. Rynist is still at least another two days by foot from here. Now will you please let go of me or else I’m going to report you to the chief,” the man sneered at the boy. The boy let go and took a few steps back. “Actually, you’re a foreigner aren’t ya? Where is your letter?”

The boy looked confused. “What letter?”

“You know the letter of recommendation to allow you into the city. Surely you must have been given one when you were told the location of this place,” the man demanded.

“I wasn’t given any letter of recommendation, and I was never told of the location of this city, in fact it’s not even on the map I have of this region,” the boy responded.

The man grabbed onto the boy’s arm and yanked him forward. The man tugged on the boy’s arm as the man walked down a flight of wooden stairs. “Okay boy, I’m taking you to see the chief after all; he’ll know what to do with ya. Before I let him deal with you though, I want to know exactly how you found this place,” the man asked aggressively.

“I would appreciate it if you let go of me first off, and I simply followed the torches you dumbasses have lit that lead right to the entrance!” The boy retorted. This drew some stares of passersby and a low murmur spread quickly amongst them. The grip on the boy’s arm wasn’t loosened so he asked again. “I said I would appreciate it if you let go of me!”

The boy kicked the man’s leg in and reversed the grab and pulled the man’s arm tightly behind him. He winced as the boy held it there fully ready to break his arm. The man then cried out for help, but anyone that was there stood motionless. “Hey, help me out here. This crazy bastard is gonna kill me!”

“Shut up with you,” the boy said. He placed his hand onto a pressure point near the neck and pressed in. The man was out within seconds and he dropped to the ground. People from the crowd gasp for they thought they had just witnessed a murder. “You should really learn some manner towards your guest, sir,” the boy said to the man’s sleeping body.

“Then you should also attempt to treat your host with good manners as well,” a voice from behind him said. The boy turned around and saw a tall pale man in a blue cape, but not the same at the man lying unconscious on the ground; instead there were three golden stripes across the bottom. The tall man’s hair was gray, and parted to one side. He was clean shaven with his arms held behind his back. “It’s always nice to see a new guest in our small city isolated from the rest of the world. My name is Lexu, and what is your name traveler.

The boy looked Lexu in the eye for a few moments until he determined his strength. “Why should I tell you my name?”

Lexu smiled, “Because I want to be able to get to know you better and hopefully we can become friends,” Lexu paused between become and friends just enough to reveal a sword concealed beneath his cape.

“Fine,” the boy said. “I’m Syliris, and it’s not great to meet you.”

#the lore of sylirs #syliris #tome i chapter 1

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