7th of Searing, 4623
Feeling his heart pounding against his chest as the Draedan of Saren sprinted through the narrow alleyways of the upper district of the merchant quarters. The sound of the guards' heavy footsteps and the barking of the hounds echoed through the streets, indicating their relentless pursuit of me. Every breath felt like it could be his last, and the Alistian thief’s mind raced as his attempts to figure out his escape routes were starting to draw thin.
Having been caught red-handed, scouting in a restricted area and the assumption of stealing from one of the wealthy merchants in the district. The Alistian-born thief knew that the punishment for theft was severe, and he couldn't afford to get caught. Escape was the only opinion he had in his hand of cards, or risk facing the full wrath of the law.
As the raven-haired man darted down a side street, hoping to lose the guards and their hounds. Jared’s heart sank as his gaze briefly looked back, only to see them turn the corner and continue their relentless pursuit. His options were running thin, and the walls of the alleys felt like they were closing in, stifling his thoughts and growing into a panic as it was evident that the Draedan may have bitten off more than he could chew.
Desperate and determined, The amber-eyed Dradean spotted a nearby rooftop and quickly scaled the wall, using my skills as a thief to climb to safety. The guards and hounds were just a little behind, but this split-moment decision had a momentary advantage. Seeing the hounds and guards shouting and cursing in frustration but still determined to reach him, they started to split into separate groups, with some beginning to scale the building, albeit with some difficulty due to the weight of their heavy metal armour hindering their movements. The audible sounds made it clear that any attempts to catch the thief off-guard through stealth were almost impossible.
As the amber-eyed thief ran across the rooftops, leaping from one to the other, his ears could hear the guards shouting below him and from behind. Pushing himself harder, knowing that my freedom was at stake. The rooftops were slick with light rain, and having to be careful not to slip and fall to his death. Quickly turning and whirling around, his transparent cloak arching as if a curtain was drifting into the wind, the amber-eyed thief fires off another round of Beacon, infusing the glowing ball of light with some kinetic force from his movement to send the divine-infused light with enough force to stagger and possibly knock someone out.
Seeing the conjured light arcing towards them, some guards would attempt to brace themselves before a loud thud echoed onto their armour, causing them to drag back slightly as the light would explode, searing the bare flesh in a light burn. At the same time, their vision was covered in a veil of alabaster white.
It would soon be apparent that the thief was running out of space to escape as the rooftops that he had been skipping over to became sparse. It would be too long until the thief was cornered, with his only escape being to either dive and fight his way back through the small group of guards still chasing from above rather than below.
Despite being a skilled thief, Jared’s raw battle experience was mostly a defensive style, focusing on disarming his opponents and creating windows of opportunities to leave the scene without ending up wounded or, worse, maimed or dead—the remaining determined group of guards. The thief was employing his new abilities from his mark of Lucence; the Light-touched Draedan took a moment to clasp his hands, channelling his divinity into his hands before a glowing light spread from his hands to his arms and legs.
The effects were temporary, but the Alistian thief could feel that his body was significantly more capable of applying heavier blows or possibly resisting some damage if he was to take a direct hit. At the same time, Vigil was present to assist the Draedan doesn’t receive the backlash from using his Lucence abilities. Withdrawing his blackjack, the thief simply started to zone out, focusing most of his efforts on controlling his breathing and maintaining Acclimate on his cloak, readying the need to change the properties of his gear at a moment’s notice.
The clash between the remaining guards and the thief begins as the Draedan starts to charge forward with exceptional speed, using his fleeted footwork as he dodged and evaded the guards' attacks while simultaneously striking at his opponents with his blackjack. Despite being outnumbered and outmatched, the thief refused to give up and continued to fight back, quickly turning to defend himself at a moment's notice as, for a brief moment, his cloak would be hardened to mimic the properties of a steel plate which would surprise his opponents as their bladed weapons would simply clash into what appears to be a soft material.
As the brief skirmish raged on, it was evident that the thief was starting to tire out from fending off multiple opponents; the thief would blast one guard off the roof with another charged Beacon before knocking another out with excessive force through his blackjack which made a slightly sickening cracking sound before a loud thud echoes. Despite all this, the thief was reaching closer to empty his divinity; the amber glow radiating from his body would dim, but only a couple of seconds had passed, possibly a minute. Either way, the thief had cleared out a route but felt his body quickly fatiguing.
Briefly stumbling for a moment, the Draedan of Saren took a moment to don his tattered cloak once more and attempt to vanish as the Alistian thief unleashed one last burst of light magic, blinding the guards and making their escape from the rooftop. The thief landed safely on the ground below, leaving the guards in shock and disorientation. This was his only chance to lose them and cover his tracks.
Quickly disappearing from the scene, Jared would disappear into the night; With Tenebrax’s veil cloaking the world in her glooming shroud; the display present today would raise a lot of suspicions as Lucence was a Lost Raw Magic to the world, and the appearance would raise many questions by the guards and possibly of agents from the Entente investigating such matters was high from what he could assume.
Nevertheless, Jared quickly made his way over towards the district’s edge, scaling over the wall before vaulting to the other side, cushioning his landing as he infused his divinity into the sole of his black leather boots to absorb some of the shocks upon landing into the darkened streets. His safety net as he returned to the lower districts of Genteven, where resources for the guards and overall military presence were inadequate.
Feeling his heart racing and his muscles beginning to ache, the Alistian chef couldn’t help but shake as the adrenaline coursed through his veins. Was this excitement or shock? Jared couldn’t process what he was thinking as it was too soon to process what had happened on his end. Yet, one thing remains out of the entire experience; a tale of exhilarating thrills and danger was something that he could at least talk about in the future with friends or associates.
“Well… that… Was much…. Let's head home and rest…. Lay low for a couple of days before trying again…. I might need to start packing up and get all of that sort, just in case, and I don’t know if the guards or Entente would be interested in what just happened…. But, first…. Let's find something to eat….”
With that decision made, the thief would slowly hobble into the winding streets of the lower city of monuments; quickly withdrawing his divinity from his cloak, which the transparent hue shifted back to its original tattered charcoal black hue. Only then did the thief realise that his muscles were quite sore from pushing his body towards its upper limit.
That being said, it was time for the Draedan to return to his shabby dwelling, waiting for some time until the heat of the situation would die down, even if it were only a moment. As the thief wanders through the darkened streets, illuminated only by the faintest moonlight that enshrouds his figure, a subtle fracture within the streets coated in silvery light. Here, the Draedan felt more of himself than at any other time or place in his fleeting life. Yet, in this moment of respite, clarity would come forth from the depths, realisations of what needs to be done, the need to experience something more and expanding one’s horizons. Whether this would lead to enlightenment or despair, that the thief would not know for the future is unwritten…. Unseen… As fate intended to be.
