Meeting Omaren
(Word Count: 3148)
POV: Melwyn
Date: Early August, 369 Ac
Location: The Guild of Fethir's Chapter hall in the City of Larasor.
It was just past mid-day when our leader, Captain Tirun, called us for a meeting outside. I felt my excitement rise as i followed Luka down the hall, towards the courtyard. Makhlem had told him earlier that the meeting was to be between the members of our guild chapter, and those of the guild's Moratt chapter. I didn't really know anything about them, the city they were from, or even what the meeting was specifically about, but i was curious and hopeful that it would be something i could potentially participate in, like a mission. Because while staying here for the past few months had honestly been very nice, it could also get a bit boring at times, especialy since i couldn't really get out into the city by my own yet. And so we both hurried towards the courtyard's double door. Unfortunatly, when we pushed them open, we realised that we were some of the last ones to arrive, so when we did, a crowd of at least 100 people, both from our own group and the one from Moratt, all turned towards us at the same time. We both froze in place for a brief moment. I didn't expect so many people to be here. I was about to step out and walk towards our own seating area on the right, but i was cut off by Luka, who proofed into a fox from beside me, and skedaddled across the yard to take a seat. Everyone turned to me as soon as Luka was seated and for a few seconds, i had to walk to my own seat next to Luka and Makhlem under their impatient gaze. Makhlem welcomed me with a quick hug. "Thanks for abandoning me, by the way" I whispered to Luka. "Sorry" He said with a apologetic smile. "I didn't really think about it" I nodded back at him, as i understood very well how he felt around strangers, especially when facing large groups. He had a hard time staying human around strangers, and would often instinctively transform into his fox form as a result. "What's important is that both of you made it before the Captain's speech began" Makhlem said. "Speaking of which" He added, turning to the stage on our left. "It's starting" Both Luka and i, as well as the rest of the crowd turned to the southern entrance, where the heavy double doors opened to reveal two men. Both had similar attires, but had different badges on their chests. Chapter crest, i remembered Makhlem telling me before. They stepped forward, our own captain in front, towards a podium that had been set up between the two seating areas. "Good day, warriors." Our captain started. "First, i must say to those from Moratt who travelled to our great city, i bid you all a warm welcome to our guild hall here in Larasor. I, and the rest of our members here, hope you enjoy your stay, and find great success during our upcoming mission." "Now, as you may know already, the purpose of this visit is that of a joint mission between our chapters. Over the past month, we have gathered numerous reports of a clandestine slaver ring in the city of Verlomin. Our job will be to dismantle it with minimal civilian disruptions and casualties." "Here is the main issue. They have embedded themselves in the city's population, and we have intel that suggests they are aware of our arrival. Therefore, it is safe to assume they will have prepared strong defenses, and taken hostages, either civilian or slaves." "We also know that they have bribed a number of the city's guardsmen into working for them. You must all know that these represent a great danger, thanks to their weaponry which may include batans." "To tackle these challenges, it was decided that both of our chapters would temporarily unite into one, and pick out the members best suited for this mission. For this, Captain Grio will list the qualities we are looking for." Our captain stepped down from his little podium, and Captain Grio, who had been patiently waiting behind him, walked up behind it, a sheet of paper in hand. He cleared his throat before beginning. "As captain Tirun said, this mission is critical, and potentially dangerous. This is why we will only be selecting members with specific abilities." After hearing this, many whispers rose from the crowd. Some sounded excited, others worried. "First of all, we believe a team of about 20 people will be sufficient to directly tackle their position, with an additional 10 in reserve in case things go badly. I will now list shifter types, and if you correspond, stand up so i can see you." A pit formed in my gut. Am i going to be named? "First. Bear shifters" Beside me, i saw Makhlem quickly get up, along with a few others across both of our groups. Captain Grio took some notes as he glanced across the crowd. "Alright, thank you." The captain said. "Next, Lynx shifters" Fewer people rose this time; only two across both of our group. Captain Grio nodded, noted them down, and continued "And finally for the shifter types: Wolves, please rise." My heart stopped and i froze for a moment, before Makhlem put a hand on my shoulder, and i realised i needed to stand up. Thankfully, i wasn't alone, as many others did as well. In total, around 10 of us were present. However, it quickly became obvious to me by looking around that i was the youngest. And after he noted his choices down, captain Grio noticed as well. "You there!" He said, looking straight at me. "How old are you?" "Uh, 13 sir." I said, trying to speak in a clear voice despite the lump in my throat. "I'm 13 years old" "13...eh." Grio scratched his chin idly. "That's a bit young to be going on such a mission, don't you think?" He said as he turned back to our captain who was standing behind him. "Indeed." My captain said. "He is skilled, but still far too inexperienced." His words cut like a knife in my heart. I knew he wasn't wrong when talking about my lack of experience, but hearing him say those things in front of everyone made it so much worse. Feeling a bit frustrated, i decided to stand up for myself. "Sir", i said, addressing my captain. "I believe i am ready for a official mission!" Saying this, i managed to get both of the captain's attention. "Oh? What makes you say that, boy" Grio said. "I have been training every single day for the past 7 months." I said, trying my best to assert myself while remaining polite to my superiors. "And i want to say that i already had a lot of experience in hand to hand combat before i even came here. So, in all honestly, i believe that i am ready for an official guild mission." "I really do admire your passion, and your dedication, Melwyn." My captain said after a moment. "But it's already been decided that you will sit this mission out. Now, please sit back down." My hope to finally participate in a mission were crushed, and i slumped back down on my seat, defeated. Makhlem leaned down to pat my shoulder. "It's alright." He whispered to me. "Maybe you'll be allowed next time, right?" I nodded back at him, not really believing it. "Alright, next up." Captain Grio Continued. "Firemages, please stand up." Unlike during the other role calls, only one person stood up this time. The man was tall, fit, and had dark bradded hair pulled back into a short pony tail. He wore basic short pants and a loose-fitting sleeveless vest, which exposed his dark skin. It was far darker than that of anyone else here, which made the intricate details of the large white ink tattoo along his right arm look better defined, even from me on the other side of the courtyard. He looked very confident, and almost arrogant as he stood up and looked at his captain, who looked a bit surprised that he was the only one standing. "Omaren!" Captain Grio nodded. "Looks like it's just you again for this mission. You don't mind?" "Nah. Sounds fun enough." He said with a shrug, before adding: "I do have a condition for my participation however." Hearing this, Captain Grio let out a little sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "A condition?" The captain repeated and Omaren nodded. "Alright." Grio said, clearly annoyed. "You can come to my office later, and we'll discuss it." "Actually..." Omaren said as he fully turned towards his Captain. "I'd like to tell you know, since the person it involves is already here with us." "What? Who are you-" "I will participate" He said, cutting off his captain in the process, which did not make him happy at all. "Only on the condition that wolf boy over there is also allowed in the mission" He said, pointing directly at me. Almost instantly, i felt everyone's gaze in the courtyard turn towards me. In a second, nearly fifthy pairs of eyes scrutinized me and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest and my palms got sweaty. Me? He's pointing at me! Why? My captain already said no! Why is he doing this? I don't even know him! He'll surely get us into trouble! "You're... talking about Melwyn?" My captain said, a little incredulous at the Omaren's request. "Yes" "The 13 years old boy?" "The one who's trained everyday for the past half-year." Omaren said, his tone sounding dead serious as he gazed at Grio, and at my own captain. Both of them looked at each other in confusion, and whispered something to each other. Finaly, captain Tirun turned to me. "Melwyn, stand up" He said with a gruff voice. I did as i was told. "Do you know Omaren?" "No, sir" "Are you sure?" "Yes, sir" "So then, why is he advocating for you so aggressively?" "I..." I hesitated as i looked at Omaren, who was still standing up, arms crossed, gazing at Captain Grio with a annoyed and impatient look. I shook my head. "I don't know, sir" My captain let out a sigh, as Grio then turned to Omaren. "What's your reason then?" He asked him. "Why do you want him in this mission so badly?" "I liked his pitch" "You... what?" Grio let out another sigh. "You do realise that this is a potentially dangerous mission, right?" He finally said. "That means we can't allow everyone to just walk in there and fight." "I know that, and I'm telling you he's convinced me he could handle it" Omaren said with a shrug, before looking at me with a smile. "You can handle it, right?" He asked, and for a moment, i froze. Why is he trying to help me so much? I don't even know that man... My head was far too scrambled by everything going on for me to try and answer any of those questions. "Well, can't you?" He insisted, and this time, i took a deep breathe to calm myself enough to respond. "Yes, i can." I said with a nod, and Omaren smiled as he turned to the captains. "See?" "And you're saying that you won't join this mission if Melwyn's not there as well?" "That's right" Omaren said without hesitation, and both captains looked at each other for a brief moment, and it seemed like a decision was made. "Fine" Captain Grio said. "If captain Tirun's ok with it, I'll allow him to join the reserves. Will that be alright?" To my surprise, Omaren didn't answer immediately, and instead turned to me, as if he was waiting for my answer. I gave him a small nod, and i couldn't help but smile as he nodded back to the captains. "That's fine, thank you" Omaren said before sitting down. I quickly did the same. "Well then." Captain Grio said with a sigh. "Role calls are now done, and this concludes our briefing. To everyone who was named today, meet me at the armoury after supper. To the rest, good day." * * * * * When supper time came, i decided to go eat my bowl of soup and loaf of bread alone, since i could still feel the people's eye on me, and i could hear them whisper to themselves, asking all kinds of questions. Even Luka and Makhlem kept asking me things i couldn't answer. It was rather uncomfortable, but i couldn't blame any of them for it. I had some of those same questions swirling around in my head, ever since this guy; Omaren his name was, spoke up for me during the briefing. I still don't get it, i thought to myself. Why did he help me? And why did both captains listen to him just like that? "Hey!" A cheery voice said. I looked up from my soup, and came face to face with the man himself. He looked down at me with a easy smile as he held his bowl of soup and bread dipped inside. "Can i sit here?" He asked, then proceeded to sit on the bench in front of me anyways, before i could even respond. Why did he even bother to ask then... "It was pretty hard to find you." He said, carefully putting his soup down. "You kind of ran off after the meeting, and this place is massive. Much bigger than our own chapter hall back in Moratt." I stayed silent as he talked, now even more suspicious of him and his intentions. I didn't look back up at him, instead choosing to focus on my meal. Why is he here? Does he want something from me? Is that why he spoke up for me earlier? "Are you ok?" He said, leaning slightly towards me. There was some genuine worry in his voice, which made me look up at him, and i saw the same worry in his eyes. "I can leave if you still want to be alone..." He said, starting to rise from the bench. "No, don't!" I said, extending a hand at him. I cringed internaly at myself for how i was acting. "You can stay. If you want." I said. He grinned and nodded at me, before sitting back down and taking a large bite of his saucy bread. I looked between him and my meal as he ate, unsure what to do now. This is weird... i should say something... "Why... why did you do it?" "hm?" He said, mouth still full of bread. I wanted to roll my eyes at him, but i was too impatient for an answer. "you spoke up for me." I said, taking a more serious tone. "And I'd like to know why?" I crossed my arms as i waited for him to finish his bite. When he did, he simply shrugged at me. "I already said why. I liked your attitude" "My attitude?" "Yeah. Reminded me of my little brother..." "Oh..." "He's actually the reason I'm doing any of this" He said, and his expression seemed to be less joyful now. "You mean... going on missions?" "It's not just that," He said, shaking his head. "There's also the fact that I'm here instead of back home." "Where's your home?" I asked, and he looked up at me, his smile back on his face. "You noticed i wasn't from here, eh? Was it the tattoo?" He asked with a chuckle. "Along with other things, yeah" "Mahador's my home." "Oh" i said. I've heard of that name before... "Where... is that? Sorry, i don't know..." "That's ok" He said, waving a hand at me as he laughed. "I don't blame you. It's pretty far from here, towards the south and across the ocean. "Woah, so you came here by ship?" "Yup, about a year ago now. It's kind of a long story though..." He said, before changing the subject. "And what about you?" He asked. "Where do you come from?" "Oh, uh..." I didn't really want to talk about that, but i realised that if i explained that to him after asking him in the first place, it would be pretty awkard. "I'm... from Kus'Qari." "Oh, that's the capital, right?" He said. "Must have been pretty nice living in such a big city. I heard they have a beautiful palace there... Is it as nice as they say?" "I'd... rather not talk about that place, if that's fine..." I said, looking away. "Oh, ok? Sorry." He said, and we stayed silent for a little bit after that. I finished eating my bread in the meantime to distract myself. So much for not making it awkard... i thought to myself. After a moment, Omaren spoke up again. "I also liked that you stood up for yourself." He explained. "I think you got a lot of guts going against your captain, you know?" I smiled at the compliment but then shook my head at him, quickly dismissing his praise. "I didn't go against him like that." I said. "I just wanted a chance to go on a mission." "Well, I'm glad i could help" He said. "Although, you'll only be in the reserves, so it's probably not going to be as exciting as you'd like, if i were to guess." "To be honest, I'm ok with it" I said with a shrug. "It's much, much better than staying here and training for basically nothing again. I don't know how you did it, but thank you" "It's no problem, friend." He said with a smile. "Just used some of the leverage that comes from being the only firemage on the team" "Leverage? "Yeah, well. We're pretty useful in missions like these" He explained. Not necessarily just for capturing and killing the bad guys, but also just to intimidate them into surrender. Nobody wants to get burned, you know?" "Yeah, i get it" "Oh, i forgot to introduce myself!" He said suddenly, extending his hand to me. As he did, i noticed a bronze coloured ring on his index finger. "I already know your name" I said, confused. "And you also know mine" "So? We'll be working together, so lets be professional about it" "Are you serious" I said, repressing a chuckle. "Yeah! Look, I'm Omaren. And you?" He said. "I'm Melwyn." "Nice to meet you, Melwyn." He said as we shook each other's hands.
Date: Early August, 369 Ac
Location: The Guild of Fethir's Chapter hall in the City of Larasor.
It was just past mid-day when our leader, Captain Tirun, called us for a meeting outside. I felt my excitement rise as i followed Luka down the hall, towards the courtyard. Makhlem had told him earlier that the meeting was to be between the members of our guild chapter, and those of the guild's Moratt chapter. I didn't really know anything about them, the city they were from, or even what the meeting was specifically about, but i was curious and hopeful that it would be something i could potentially participate in, like a mission. Because while staying here for the past few months had honestly been very nice, it could also get a bit boring at times, especialy since i couldn't really get out into the city by my own yet. And so we both hurried towards the courtyard's double door. Unfortunatly, when we pushed them open, we realised that we were some of the last ones to arrive, so when we did, a crowd of at least 100 people, both from our own group and the one from Moratt, all turned towards us at the same time. We both froze in place for a brief moment. I didn't expect so many people to be here. I was about to step out and walk towards our own seating area on the right, but i was cut off by Luka, who proofed into a fox from beside me, and skedaddled across the yard to take a seat. Everyone turned to me as soon as Luka was seated and for a few seconds, i had to walk to my own seat next to Luka and Makhlem under their impatient gaze. Makhlem welcomed me with a quick hug. "Thanks for abandoning me, by the way" I whispered to Luka. "Sorry" He said with a apologetic smile. "I didn't really think about it" I nodded back at him, as i understood very well how he felt around strangers, especially when facing large groups. He had a hard time staying human around strangers, and would often instinctively transform into his fox form as a result. "What's important is that both of you made it before the Captain's speech began" Makhlem said. "Speaking of which" He added, turning to the stage on our left. "It's starting" Both Luka and i, as well as the rest of the crowd turned to the southern entrance, where the heavy double doors opened to reveal two men. Both had similar attires, but had different badges on their chests. Chapter crest, i remembered Makhlem telling me before. They stepped forward, our own captain in front, towards a podium that had been set up between the two seating areas. "Good day, warriors." Our captain started. "First, i must say to those from Moratt who travelled to our great city, i bid you all a warm welcome to our guild hall here in Larasor. I, and the rest of our members here, hope you enjoy your stay, and find great success during our upcoming mission." "Now, as you may know already, the purpose of this visit is that of a joint mission between our chapters. Over the past month, we have gathered numerous reports of a clandestine slaver ring in the city of Verlomin. Our job will be to dismantle it with minimal civilian disruptions and casualties." "Here is the main issue. They have embedded themselves in the city's population, and we have intel that suggests they are aware of our arrival. Therefore, it is safe to assume they will have prepared strong defenses, and taken hostages, either civilian or slaves." "We also know that they have bribed a number of the city's guardsmen into working for them. You must all know that these represent a great danger, thanks to their weaponry which may include batans." "To tackle these challenges, it was decided that both of our chapters would temporarily unite into one, and pick out the members best suited for this mission. For this, Captain Grio will list the qualities we are looking for." Our captain stepped down from his little podium, and Captain Grio, who had been patiently waiting behind him, walked up behind it, a sheet of paper in hand. He cleared his throat before beginning. "As captain Tirun said, this mission is critical, and potentially dangerous. This is why we will only be selecting members with specific abilities." After hearing this, many whispers rose from the crowd. Some sounded excited, others worried. "First of all, we believe a team of about 20 people will be sufficient to directly tackle their position, with an additional 10 in reserve in case things go badly. I will now list shifter types, and if you correspond, stand up so i can see you." A pit formed in my gut. Am i going to be named? "First. Bear shifters" Beside me, i saw Makhlem quickly get up, along with a few others across both of our groups. Captain Grio took some notes as he glanced across the crowd. "Alright, thank you." The captain said. "Next, Lynx shifters" Fewer people rose this time; only two across both of our group. Captain Grio nodded, noted them down, and continued "And finally for the shifter types: Wolves, please rise." My heart stopped and i froze for a moment, before Makhlem put a hand on my shoulder, and i realised i needed to stand up. Thankfully, i wasn't alone, as many others did as well. In total, around 10 of us were present. However, it quickly became obvious to me by looking around that i was the youngest. And after he noted his choices down, captain Grio noticed as well. "You there!" He said, looking straight at me. "How old are you?" "Uh, 13 sir." I said, trying to speak in a clear voice despite the lump in my throat. "I'm 13 years old" "13...eh." Grio scratched his chin idly. "That's a bit young to be going on such a mission, don't you think?" He said as he turned back to our captain who was standing behind him. "Indeed." My captain said. "He is skilled, but still far too inexperienced." His words cut like a knife in my heart. I knew he wasn't wrong when talking about my lack of experience, but hearing him say those things in front of everyone made it so much worse. Feeling a bit frustrated, i decided to stand up for myself. "Sir", i said, addressing my captain. "I believe i am ready for a official mission!" Saying this, i managed to get both of the captain's attention. "Oh? What makes you say that, boy" Grio said. "I have been training every single day for the past 7 months." I said, trying my best to assert myself while remaining polite to my superiors. "And i want to say that i already had a lot of experience in hand to hand combat before i even came here. So, in all honestly, i believe that i am ready for an official guild mission." "I really do admire your passion, and your dedication, Melwyn." My captain said after a moment. "But it's already been decided that you will sit this mission out. Now, please sit back down." My hope to finally participate in a mission were crushed, and i slumped back down on my seat, defeated. Makhlem leaned down to pat my shoulder. "It's alright." He whispered to me. "Maybe you'll be allowed next time, right?" I nodded back at him, not really believing it. "Alright, next up." Captain Grio Continued. "Firemages, please stand up." Unlike during the other role calls, only one person stood up this time. The man was tall, fit, and had dark bradded hair pulled back into a short pony tail. He wore basic short pants and a loose-fitting sleeveless vest, which exposed his dark skin. It was far darker than that of anyone else here, which made the intricate details of the large white ink tattoo along his right arm look better defined, even from me on the other side of the courtyard. He looked very confident, and almost arrogant as he stood up and looked at his captain, who looked a bit surprised that he was the only one standing. "Omaren!" Captain Grio nodded. "Looks like it's just you again for this mission. You don't mind?" "Nah. Sounds fun enough." He said with a shrug, before adding: "I do have a condition for my participation however." Hearing this, Captain Grio let out a little sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "A condition?" The captain repeated and Omaren nodded. "Alright." Grio said, clearly annoyed. "You can come to my office later, and we'll discuss it." "Actually..." Omaren said as he fully turned towards his Captain. "I'd like to tell you know, since the person it involves is already here with us." "What? Who are you-" "I will participate" He said, cutting off his captain in the process, which did not make him happy at all. "Only on the condition that wolf boy over there is also allowed in the mission" He said, pointing directly at me. Almost instantly, i felt everyone's gaze in the courtyard turn towards me. In a second, nearly fifthy pairs of eyes scrutinized me and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest and my palms got sweaty. Me? He's pointing at me! Why? My captain already said no! Why is he doing this? I don't even know him! He'll surely get us into trouble! "You're... talking about Melwyn?" My captain said, a little incredulous at the Omaren's request. "Yes" "The 13 years old boy?" "The one who's trained everyday for the past half-year." Omaren said, his tone sounding dead serious as he gazed at Grio, and at my own captain. Both of them looked at each other in confusion, and whispered something to each other. Finaly, captain Tirun turned to me. "Melwyn, stand up" He said with a gruff voice. I did as i was told. "Do you know Omaren?" "No, sir" "Are you sure?" "Yes, sir" "So then, why is he advocating for you so aggressively?" "I..." I hesitated as i looked at Omaren, who was still standing up, arms crossed, gazing at Captain Grio with a annoyed and impatient look. I shook my head. "I don't know, sir" My captain let out a sigh, as Grio then turned to Omaren. "What's your reason then?" He asked him. "Why do you want him in this mission so badly?" "I liked his pitch" "You... what?" Grio let out another sigh. "You do realise that this is a potentially dangerous mission, right?" He finally said. "That means we can't allow everyone to just walk in there and fight." "I know that, and I'm telling you he's convinced me he could handle it" Omaren said with a shrug, before looking at me with a smile. "You can handle it, right?" He asked, and for a moment, i froze. Why is he trying to help me so much? I don't even know that man... My head was far too scrambled by everything going on for me to try and answer any of those questions. "Well, can't you?" He insisted, and this time, i took a deep breathe to calm myself enough to respond. "Yes, i can." I said with a nod, and Omaren smiled as he turned to the captains. "See?" "And you're saying that you won't join this mission if Melwyn's not there as well?" "That's right" Omaren said without hesitation, and both captains looked at each other for a brief moment, and it seemed like a decision was made. "Fine" Captain Grio said. "If captain Tirun's ok with it, I'll allow him to join the reserves. Will that be alright?" To my surprise, Omaren didn't answer immediately, and instead turned to me, as if he was waiting for my answer. I gave him a small nod, and i couldn't help but smile as he nodded back to the captains. "That's fine, thank you" Omaren said before sitting down. I quickly did the same. "Well then." Captain Grio said with a sigh. "Role calls are now done, and this concludes our briefing. To everyone who was named today, meet me at the armoury after supper. To the rest, good day." * * * * * When supper time came, i decided to go eat my bowl of soup and loaf of bread alone, since i could still feel the people's eye on me, and i could hear them whisper to themselves, asking all kinds of questions. Even Luka and Makhlem kept asking me things i couldn't answer. It was rather uncomfortable, but i couldn't blame any of them for it. I had some of those same questions swirling around in my head, ever since this guy; Omaren his name was, spoke up for me during the briefing. I still don't get it, i thought to myself. Why did he help me? And why did both captains listen to him just like that? "Hey!" A cheery voice said. I looked up from my soup, and came face to face with the man himself. He looked down at me with a easy smile as he held his bowl of soup and bread dipped inside. "Can i sit here?" He asked, then proceeded to sit on the bench in front of me anyways, before i could even respond. Why did he even bother to ask then... "It was pretty hard to find you." He said, carefully putting his soup down. "You kind of ran off after the meeting, and this place is massive. Much bigger than our own chapter hall back in Moratt." I stayed silent as he talked, now even more suspicious of him and his intentions. I didn't look back up at him, instead choosing to focus on my meal. Why is he here? Does he want something from me? Is that why he spoke up for me earlier? "Are you ok?" He said, leaning slightly towards me. There was some genuine worry in his voice, which made me look up at him, and i saw the same worry in his eyes. "I can leave if you still want to be alone..." He said, starting to rise from the bench. "No, don't!" I said, extending a hand at him. I cringed internaly at myself for how i was acting. "You can stay. If you want." I said. He grinned and nodded at me, before sitting back down and taking a large bite of his saucy bread. I looked between him and my meal as he ate, unsure what to do now. This is weird... i should say something... "Why... why did you do it?" "hm?" He said, mouth still full of bread. I wanted to roll my eyes at him, but i was too impatient for an answer. "you spoke up for me." I said, taking a more serious tone. "And I'd like to know why?" I crossed my arms as i waited for him to finish his bite. When he did, he simply shrugged at me. "I already said why. I liked your attitude" "My attitude?" "Yeah. Reminded me of my little brother..." "Oh..." "He's actually the reason I'm doing any of this" He said, and his expression seemed to be less joyful now. "You mean... going on missions?" "It's not just that," He said, shaking his head. "There's also the fact that I'm here instead of back home." "Where's your home?" I asked, and he looked up at me, his smile back on his face. "You noticed i wasn't from here, eh? Was it the tattoo?" He asked with a chuckle. "Along with other things, yeah" "Mahador's my home." "Oh" i said. I've heard of that name before... "Where... is that? Sorry, i don't know..." "That's ok" He said, waving a hand at me as he laughed. "I don't blame you. It's pretty far from here, towards the south and across the ocean. "Woah, so you came here by ship?" "Yup, about a year ago now. It's kind of a long story though..." He said, before changing the subject. "And what about you?" He asked. "Where do you come from?" "Oh, uh..." I didn't really want to talk about that, but i realised that if i explained that to him after asking him in the first place, it would be pretty awkard. "I'm... from Kus'Qari." "Oh, that's the capital, right?" He said. "Must have been pretty nice living in such a big city. I heard they have a beautiful palace there... Is it as nice as they say?" "I'd... rather not talk about that place, if that's fine..." I said, looking away. "Oh, ok? Sorry." He said, and we stayed silent for a little bit after that. I finished eating my bread in the meantime to distract myself. So much for not making it awkard... i thought to myself. After a moment, Omaren spoke up again. "I also liked that you stood up for yourself." He explained. "I think you got a lot of guts going against your captain, you know?" I smiled at the compliment but then shook my head at him, quickly dismissing his praise. "I didn't go against him like that." I said. "I just wanted a chance to go on a mission." "Well, I'm glad i could help" He said. "Although, you'll only be in the reserves, so it's probably not going to be as exciting as you'd like, if i were to guess." "To be honest, I'm ok with it" I said with a shrug. "It's much, much better than staying here and training for basically nothing again. I don't know how you did it, but thank you" "It's no problem, friend." He said with a smile. "Just used some of the leverage that comes from being the only firemage on the team" "Leverage? "Yeah, well. We're pretty useful in missions like these" He explained. Not necessarily just for capturing and killing the bad guys, but also just to intimidate them into surrender. Nobody wants to get burned, you know?" "Yeah, i get it" "Oh, i forgot to introduce myself!" He said suddenly, extending his hand to me. As he did, i noticed a bronze coloured ring on his index finger. "I already know your name" I said, confused. "And you also know mine" "So? We'll be working together, so lets be professional about it" "Are you serious" I said, repressing a chuckle. "Yeah! Look, I'm Omaren. And you?" He said. "I'm Melwyn." "Nice to meet you, Melwyn." He said as we shook each other's hands.
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Author's Notes
This prose article was written for this unofficial challenge:
Twice Told
A new challenge, a tale of past of present
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