Chapter Text
Chapter .01
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Cloaks and Masks
Loud music and dancing erupted from The Branch. Couples happily danced with one another to fast-paced music, the candles copied their movements. A bartender stood behind a counter, with light-toned skin and gray stubble. He wore a light brown apron, which matched the color of his eyes. Pointed ears protruded from his medium-long curly brown hair, which swayed slightly as he dried off some wooden cups in preparation for more ale. He looked around and saw a variety of species. Humans danced with winged beings, and mages conversed with elves. It was beautiful to see all races mingle with one another without any conflict.
“Hey there Rai…”
Rai looked back to his bar counter hearing the slurred voice call out. Seeing his oldest friend–face red, dressed in loose clothing with the lingering smell of alcohol– made him let out a scoff. His reddish hair disheveled, exposing his round ears indicating his human identity, as he swayed over to the bar. The elf rolled his eyes while throwing the rag over his shoulder and faced the man.
“What is it you want, Cark?” Rai teasingly asked.
“Another beer. What else?” The man drunkenly replied as he slammed his forehead down onto the wooden counter, his accent thick with lousiness. Rai sighed heavily at his friend before turning his back and filling up a freshly cleaned mug. Clark happily hummed at the sound of the liquid pouring before lifting his head to lean against the counter on his elbows—his chin thrown up into the air. The man sighed in drunken content as he threw his head back before Rai turned around to give Clark his drink, placing it down by his upside-down head.
“Hmm…perfection,” Clark mumbled, turning around and grabbing his drink before he slumped down. His chin slammed onto the countertop while his hand held the filled jug–his heels balanced his legs across the timbered floor. Rai shook his head with a small smile. He looked up and scanned through the dancing crowd near the front of the bar. His gaze caught a tall, slim cloaked figure walking through his wooden saloon doors—flashes of moonlight peeked through as the doors swung back and forth. The person stood still for a few moments before they walked, their silhouette crept across the wooden floorboards.
Couples abruptly stopped dancing as they made a path for the intruding person, giving them judgmental gazes before they resumed. The newcomer’s body smoothly slithered without falter through the path that was forcefully made. Rai raised a bushy eyebrow in curiosity at the sight of the guest. They were quiet as they continued to make their way toward the bar. A long, flowing black cloak adorned behind them as it skimmed just above the floor. It curled around their coal lace-up boots, making a crescent shape as they briskly passed tables.
“Cark, get up.” Rai hastily said, backhanding his drunk companion's forehead. Cark groaned as he lifted his body to face Rai.
“Now what?” He loudly exclaimed as he shot up from the counter, jesting his beer around as he swung his arms out. “Can’t I enjoy my last beer of the night before you pester me—?” Rai’s gaze snapped up and behind his friend’s back. Cark’s eyebrows narrowed slightly, his stare focused downward where he saw his own shadow across the counter being consumed by another. The presence of someone standing behind becomes noticeable. He whipped around rapidly, his drink dribbling out in the process as his vision was met by darkness.
“Huh?” Cark tilted his head in curiosity before he reached out to feel the obscurity, noisily whining as a black gloved hand swiftly twists his, dropping his drink in the process. He extended his other hand toward his bent fingers in hopes of getting out of the tight grasp. The live music continued being robust, muting the commotion that took place in front of Rai’s bar. Customers seated nearby saw the hostile interaction but ignored it. Knowing that bars always held drunken pandemonium—they modestly returned to drinking.
“Cark! You idiot,” Rai scolded from behind his counter, smacking its surface in frustration. “Don’t go reaching out and touching strangers like that!” Cark groaned again as tears began to form in his pinched eyes. His head tilted back up at the towering veiled figure, ignoring the fiery pain in his fingers. His eyes widened drastically, making it seem as though all the drunken flavor from his face drained away as he finally tore his hand out of its trap.
“Sorry, uh, sorry,” he murmured in pain as he massaged his hand before quickly reaching down, he scrambled to grab his dropped jug. He picked it up, and placed it back on Rai’s bar.
“I, um. Yeah, I gotta, I gotta go.” Cark stuttered before backing up, tripping on his own feet. “Yeah, yeah–” He hurried away creating a wide berth avoiding them as if they had a deadly disease before beelining through the crowd of dancers.
“Cark?” Rai called out in curiosity while his friend pushed and shoved through the crowd before swinging the saloon doors open, falling through and onto the ground outside. People who were seated at their tables stole a few glances at the cloaked person as they silently sipped from their cups or mindlessly continued their conversations. Rai’s eyes snapped away from his friend as he looked in front of him, seeing that the eerie individual silently stood before him—his bar counter was the only obstacle that separated them. Still shook from what happened with Cark, Rai wiped his hands anxiously on his apron and took in the tall appearance of the person standing across from him. Rai swallowed, building up the courage to speak.
“Sorry ‘bout that. My buddy doesn't know how to act while, uh, intoxicated.” He softly joked. Met by silence, Rai changed the subject. “Um, well, what brings you here to The Branch? Looking for a bounty?" Rai questions curiously. “We don’t tend to get many of those here.” He quickly finished, leaning onto the ledge of the bar with his hairy arm. “I grew up here in Capila, so I have a pretty decent idea about how many bounty hunters come through searching for their targets.” He softly laughed while trying to catch a glimpse of the person's face. They didn’t respond. Instead, they moved their head down, concealing their face more as they hovered over Rai greatly in height, roughly a head taller; his sweat dropped.
“Um…” He started before his head rose—clearing his throat he said, “Anyways, care for a glass of my infamous Apple ale?” He filled a clean jug with some of the liquid. “I've gotten the best reviews on it! Some say it's the best in the country—” His enthusiasm was cut off when the person smacked down an item on top of the counter. Rai flinched at the volume as he halted from filling the jug to glance down at the item. He tensed up. On his counter laid a small, round, black insignia made of some kind of metal—carved into it were a pair of wings which enclosed a downturned sword in the middle. Suddenly the sword twisted around as if it was an illusion and pointed towards Rai.
His eyes widened.
Rai looked back up and saw that the person's head was raised. Their hood was pushed back which exposed their feminine features. She wore a scuffed-up black metal mask with a handful of white, scratched tally marks decorated the right section of it. The mask covered the lower area of her face; it connected over her nose which concealed her jaw. Her appearance was not entirely uncovered—the only skin that showed was a sliver of her neck and the upper section of her face, followed by round human ears. All had a light brown color to them. Her hair was thick and tinted a dark brown with a short length as it only reached her shoulders and was tied in a messy half up half down bun. Some strands made their escape, taking refuge against her forehead.
Her eyes, blazing above her mask, caught Rai’s attention first. They were oval, heavy-lidded with the right was dark brown, the other was covered in fog;
Blind.
Her left eye had one long scar that cut through her eyebrow, and down to the middle of her cheek before it suddenly curved across her nose, where it disappeared under her mask. The armor she equipped was black with a noticeable dull, amber streak going down her chest before it ended at a point on her abdomen—the color ran across the tops of her shoulders as well. Her protective gear was sleek, which matched with her slim and lightweight characteristics. The right eye wasn't completely normal either. Its iris had a soft glow of amber, similar to the armor's features. Rai observed with tense awe before he snapped his gaze back to her face to not seem like a creep.
“Rai Argolor,” she slowly said. The bartender swallowed in nervousness.
“You are wanted to stand trial by the Council of Order.” Rai's breath caught in his throat at the sound of his name as it exited the woman's mouth, her words muffled yet melatonin beneath her mask.
How the hell—
“For fleeing from the Nadian Kingdom under the cover of the Divide and disrespecting the old tradition, I have been sent to apprehend you to stand trial,” she paused.
“Your son will pay tribute if you are found guilty.” Rai's hands, which held onto the wooden cup, began to shake as his pointed ears pinned back subtly—his eyebrows furrowed in fear.
No.
The thought shook in his mind with unbelief, as he lowered the cup. Rai turned back to look at her.
“Uh, I um…there must be a mistake. I’ve never been affiliated with the Kingdom.” He unconvincingly replied, trying to pass the time with the intimidating woman.
“My family left long before the Divide…” He finished as he looked down at the cup in his hands before he got an idea.
“I’ll toss in some exclusive boar meat as we chat over our ale? Huh? How does that sound, friend?” Rai humorously asked before he quickly scoffed,
“And, um, how rude of me, I didn't even bother to catch your name. Mind tellin' me?" He asked in hopes of changing her mind in some way as he paused to take another quick look down at the black symbol on his counter. He looked back up to see oval eyes narrowed in suspicion. Her eyes looked deep into his before they dipped down to the right side of her shoulder, her body still facing him.
A few moments passed before her gaze suddenly snapped back to Rai's, her iris flared brightly with its amber color before it returned to its original brown tone. The bartender flinched at her speed as his now empty hands raised up in defense, the mug fell to the floor with a thud.
“Woah, woah! Uh, just out of pure curiosity, ya know? So that I know you ain't one of those bluffers on the street trying to scare me.” Rai nervously joked as sweat collected on his forehead. The woman stood in silence as she stared down at the humble bartender, not providing him with an answer for a few moments before Rai decided to break the tense stillness in the air.
“You wouldn't, of course, be her, would you?” He dismissed the question as if it meant nothing, but underneath it was fear. “That woman has, uh, been on a questionable rampage throughout Sakann, am I right?” Rai finishes with a chuckle to further relieve the scenario but is still met with silence. The woman’s gaze looked over at a random booth that seated three customers, her eye pierced into a hooded male's form which was settled in between two others.
She turned back and faced Rai.
“Why would that concern you?” She asked faintly with a cold tone. Rai's eyes widened at her question as he stumbled to construct a response.
“Purely, uh, purely curious that's all.” He smiled nervously before he looked over at the booth that held her attention previously—he was terrified.
“Rai Aragolor, do you wish to give a final statement before entering the trial?” She restated with a more powerful tone as her right hand reached to the opposite side of her rib cage under her cloak. The trio at the booth noticeably tensed up which caught the woman’s focus. Her attention fell from the bartender's eyes and onto the countertop where her insignia is laid, then back up to Rai as she locked eyes with him. Rai's hand finally grabbed onto a large wooden club—that was hidden underneath the bar—and pulled it quickly to his chest with a tight grip around it with anxiety induced fear before he backed away from the bar.
It was generally used to knock drunk and misbehaving customers out, but for this circumstance it would be used to aid with the apprehension of an Order member.