In the Year 1823 of the Fourth Ghrana.
Somar Township, The Far flung reaches of the Mollard Colonies, The Empire of Alista.
The one-eyed man ran through the forest. As fast as he could, without looking back, without caring about the pain shooting through his ribs. 'That damned dagger...' was the only thing he could think about. It had merely grazed him and yet he felt pain that almost made him loose consciousness. But what frightened him even more than the wound was the fact that he had not sensed any ripples in the Flow caused by the man's attack, it had come out of nowhere, like an unseen whisper of death. He tripped on the roots of an ancient tree; it was as if the forest itself was conspiring to slow him down.
He put aside all of these errant thoughts as he focused on his escape. He knew his pursuer was close. He stilled his mind as much as he could and then he reached out with his soul to touch the Flow, to find the ripple he was looking for and he did find it. The ripple felt like a breeze flowing through his soul and as he resonated with it, his body became lighter.
'Yes, with this I have a chance.'
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, his instincts flared, warning him to move. He jumped to his left without thinking as the sound of a revolver going off rang through the forest, echoing off of the thick and old trunks of the trees, the bullet struck the spot where he had just been. As he smelled the fresh soil of the forest, teeming with life, he realized his was about to end. As he made to sprint off using the power of the ripple, his body suddenly became heavier, he heard a whisper, a suggestion, as if the world itself was speaking a truth he did not want to hear.
'You are too heavy to be like the wind.'
He felt the suggestion take hold and soon, the Flow made it reality. Only when he felt his body becoming heavy did he realize who was pursuing him. That man was heretic who walked the Fourth Path, an abomination that should not exist. The Flow had been turned against him, tricked by this heretic's lies.
He heard footsteps approaching, but he dared not look at the man walking up to him. He knew that he could only hear the man's footsteps because the man had allowed it to be so, his pursuer could move in absolute silence after all, and this scared him even more. The footsteps eventually stopped and his pursuer spoke in an odd tone, as if admonishing a child, "You should not have taken from that family. They had less than you did and yet you took from them, Jonakh."
Jonahk's voice trembled as he replied, "I am sorry, I did not mean to hurt the child, I just... I lost control."
"Yes, you did. You lost control because you abused the Flow every chance you got, you used your ripple to commit acts that were never meant to take place and you are surprised the Flow retaliated? You only sought to use it, never truly understanding it, never truly resonating with what that ripple meant and now, that has become your undoing."
As Jonakh heard these words, he realized who his pursuer was and he accepted his fate immediately. If his pursuer was who he thought it was, he was not going to be spared. But he had to know if it truly was who he thought it was. With a voice that quivered like a baby lamb, he asked, "You are him, aren't you? The one they call "The Unheard Whisper"? That heretic named Sareth?"
"Maybe. Maybe not." His pursuer replied, unsheathing a dagger from his waist.
Jonakh scoffed at those words. "You dare pass judgement on me when the Flow does not even bestow you with a True Name? You wield power without needing to bear the responsibility and yet you judge me?' His final words carried the venom of a man who knew he had no way out.
His fury was met only with silence. Then without ceremony, Sareth plunged the dagger into Jonakh's chest, through his heart.
"Though you do not deserve such an easy death, I do not want to waste more time on you," Sareth softly whispered into Jonakh's ear as he pulled the dagger out. As the life drained out of Jonakh's eyes, Sareth looked up at the sky and took a deep breath, his nostrils were filled with the smell of blood and regret, He realized that he could not see the sky as there was a canopy of trees in his way and he realized how deep Jonakh had actually run into the forest. Sareth sighed and started making his way back to Mollard.
'I just hope I do not have to deal with any other problems tonight,' he thought as he saw the lights of the township come into his view.
******
Sareth walked into Giorri's, one of only two taverns in the entire town and the only one that was frequented by the less savoury types. Sareth felt at home among these people. As he entered, he noticed the hushed conversations and the smell of cheap tobacco mixed with desperation, with a pinch of distrust mixed in. Old Man Giorri was in his usual spot, wiping mugs behind the wooden counter. The place was filled with hushed conversations, the lighting was as abysmal as usual, providing the darkness required for some of the deals that were struck regularly in this place.
"Hey Old Man, a mug of your finest Imperial Beer," greeted Sareth.
Giorri looked up from the mug he was wiping, a mug that seemed to retain all its spots no matter how many times Giorri tried to clean them off, and said, "Treating ourselves today, are we Sareth? Another job well done?" Giorri asked as he began pouring Sareth's beer.
"Something like that." Sareth replied, grabbed his mug and walked to an unoccupied table in the corner. At least one he thought was unoccupied.
As Sareth sat down and started to drink, his mind began wandering, thinking about the day's events but before he could fully come to a conclusion, he heard a low chuckle followed by a voice emerging from the supposedly unoccupied seat opposite him, a voice he would never fail to recognize.
"You've grown careless Sare. You did not even notice that I was already sitting here." The voice carried a sense of light reproach, making fun of him and expressing concern at the same time.
Sareth looked up at the source of the voice, saw the familiar pale face and grimaced, "Why are you here, Cassian?"
"Oh, using my full name now? What happened to 'Cass'? Is this how you treat your best friend?" Cassian laughed but Sareth noticed the hint of tension in his eyes and the sadness hidden underneath that charming smile. As these details registered, Sareth realized what had happened. Only one thing could make Cassian seek him out despite his express wishes of not to be looked for.