Author's Note: Hey everyone, sorry for the tiny delay! This chapter will be a brief skip back in time, letting you learn a bit more about the main character.
As always, please comment and favorite if you enjoyed the chapter (or didnt? hopefully thats not the case)! Thanks as always!
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Chapter 3:
Three Days Prior:
Greymen have difficult jobs. Most of them are just humans. Fragile. Brave. They fight against forces that haunt people's dreams and kill the innocent out of instinct and pleasure.
Yes. Greymen have difficult fuckin' jobs indeed.
I tapped my finger on the notice hanging from the board, feeling the rain splash gently against my hair and coat. Mark had been supposed to handle this, but it seemed likely that Marcus Hemingway wouldn't be handling anything anymore. He had only been a novice, but he'd been trained by Madame Elvera, just like I had. I had foolishly hoped that would be enough.
I guess that's why they were sending me, as they always did in the end. It seemed the Head Shmucks in Damoria weren't taking any more chances. You see, when it comes to Greymen, I'm something of a 'final solution'. I'm not speaking arrogantly I promise. There was a time when I had felt that it was something to be proud. A time when I was young and doe-eyed.
These days it felt more like a heavy weight more than anything else.
I'm what's called an innate caster, something that's essentially unheard of in humans. That's thanks to my mother. She's one of the Azzerai, which technically means she's partially to blame for the fact we deal with Dreads in the first place, but that's neither here nor there. She wasn't even alive when the Ba'rau breach was first created, so she can't be held accountable for such things. Plus, the Azzerai have been working tirelessly for over a millennia to fix that mistake.
I digress.
The Azzerai possess a powerful ability called Twill (well technically Tu'Wil but it sounds the same). Us earthlings, or reorans as they call us, have taken to calling that power Witchcraft. Having mother's genetics has allowed me to tap into that supernatural well of abilities.
Tethering, Temporal Bonds, Illusions and Lashing. I had access to all of them. I was exceptionally talented, even by Azzerai standards. That was ONE of the reasons why I was valued as I was by my cohorts.
You can't be weak to make it as a Greymen. Not in any sense of the word.
All who wish to earn the title undergo rigorous training to prepare for facing Dreads. Some even die during the tenuous tutelage, though it is rare. They do this for many reasons, but most of the time it's because they've lost someone, or they've experienced something they can't explain. Some, like me, are born into it.
Eventually, if a novice Greymen survives, they're given the right to undertake hunts. To track down and kill Dreads. But, even with all their hard effort, most of them still die. As I said before, humans are fragile. It doesn't matter if you're six-foot-five and two hundred and fifty pounds of muscle, if you take a cinder-block to the head, you're likely a dead man.
And that's only the physical strain.
Greymen fight horrors. True horrors. Twisted, perverted Beings, that lust after the thought of causing pain. Even the most resilient of humans can only endure so much of that abject sadism before their minds collapse on themselves.
It's so easy for them to die.
I ran my hand through my soaked hair and turned away from the traffic board, beginning to walk down the sidewalk towards Cally Avenue. A car sped past me, sending a splatter of dirty water across my thick brown coat. I casually raised my middle finger towards the disappearing lights of the vehicle, but I didn't really mind.
I minded losing friends.
I reached in my pocket and pulled out my phone, covering the screen with my other hand to shield it from rain. I swiped as I walked, checking for messages from Elvera, Kino or even Altis.
Nothing.
I slid the phone back in my pocket.
"I'm sorry Mark. I hope you're still alive you dumb fuck. If you are, I'll be there soon." I was talking to myself, but it made me feel better to make the promise out loud.
I turned at the corner of Cally and Bronix, continuing right, and slowly making for the entrance to the old casino Hemingway had last contacted us from. I could see the corner of its massive sign a couple blocks down. Mark had done as instructed, leaving his sign on the 'dog training available' notice back at that bus stop. It verified that he had actually made it here, and that we hadn't just gotten a text from someone attempting to bait us in.
Whatever had happened, Mark had been alive last night. Unfortunately, he hadn't checked in this morning, and he hadn't returned to his post by evening. Maybe in the regular world, one waits for further confirmation that someone is actually missing before taking to action. In the Grey world, we like to get moving before the bodies are cold.
"Hey sweehawt, you looking for some company?"
"No."
I didn't turn, walking past the scandalously clad woman. Somewhere in the back of my mind I was impressed though. It took guts to do work like that during a downpour.
"Eh, fuck you! Pretty boy..."
I smiled, waving my hand over my shoulder as I continued towards the ever-growing Casino.
350 feet...
300...
250...
I stopped, gauging the distance between me and the entryway to be nearly 200 feet. I held up my hand and traced a square in the air.
"Skais."
That would do for now. Nothing fancy, just a classic radar block in case any of the fuckers escaped.
Content, I continued walking.
Twill. Magic. Witchcraft. Whatever you wanted to call it, it was extremely useful. I was privileged to have it at my disposal, and I was well aware. I'd have to thank Father again for pulling such an incredible woman, and I'd have to thank Mother for settling for him.
I flexed my right hand. To be fair, I wasn't exactly hindered by the lineage on Father's side either. I don't know if blessed is the word I'd use to describe myself, though others certainly find it an apt description. I would say burdened was a better word. I had born with a weight of responsibility on my shoulders, and it only seemed to grow in size as I aged.
Pausing briefly, I let my eyelids close. In the darkness, I envisioned the 'Key' that was etched across my entire back. It was time to prepare for what lay ahead.
sssssssss.
The sound of the water droplets on my skin burning away told me that I'd opened my Tasori Gateway as far as I needed. The other-dimensional coat was in full effect, bathing my mind and body in a gentle heat.
