7th of Ash, 4621
Eira. One of the first other slaves he'd encountered when he arrived at the fortress. She was there when his face binding came undone, and she showed him the ropes on his first day in captivity. It was curious that he'd wrapped her up in his schemes; he hadn't really considered her to be anyone worth noting, other than an aggressive supervisor. Regardless, she'd made herself the only person in Daravin to know anything about his true nature, even if it was just the slightest of glimpses.
He'd made a mistake earlier in the day. He'd ventured to Raphael's Laboratory in search of the mage's necromancy tools. He wished to learn necromancy by himself, but the noble had returned just as the rath discovered his safe. He escaped by the skin of his teeth, and Raphael gave chase, but he'd seen the rath's true form. he hadn't seen Derek Egon transform into the lizard, hadn't seen Derek Egon at all, he thought. He wound up with Eira, and she found him to be suspicious with a wound on his arm from his escape. When Raphael found them and asked where the lizard might have been, Arkash was surprised to find that she vouched for him, and gave him a solid alibi; at her side cleaning the entire time.
He owed her big time, there was no doubt. But the thing she asked in return for her support was the truth; a truth that could destroy him in the wrong hands. he'd tried to think of a lie that coincided with the presence of a lizard, the cause of his wound, his quickened breathing, and the damp patches on his clothes, but came up short. Nothing he could reasonably think of tied in with all those things, other than some crazy story where he slipped on a puddle just as a Halamire extended their sword to a fleeing lizard, cut his arm and safely fell down three flights of stairs and had to climb them all to get back to his floor-scrubbing duties, but who would believe that?
The more he tried to convince himself that such a lie was believable, the more holes he found. Did he really have it in him to reveal the truth? Could she handle the truth of what he was? He didn't really want to have to kill her if she couldn't... But what other choice did he have? Sharing this secret would compromise Derek Egon's identity; it would make his unsuspecting, good-hearted young human persona out to be the villain he really was. For the revolution, he needed Derek's record to be spotless, clean. The truth would ruin that... if she told anyone.
He was damned either way, he supposed. If he told her a lie that she didn't believe, and he couldn't prove it, then she could just go to Raphael and rat him out. A trial by fire was the only way through. At least if he told her the truth, he would be able to gauge if he could trust her or not and decide her fate right there and then. What was more? Her trust was more valuable to him than her scorn. If he came clean, she'd surely be more willing to trust him, right? Maybe not. He didn't know.
Arkash held his head in his hands and covered his eyes with his palms. Maybe Fayeth was right; he shouldn't have left Lorien. Everything was at risk, and it didn't have to be.
The approach of a beating heart caught his attention, and Arkash looked up from his palms. Whoever it was, their heart was racing despite the steady pace at which they moved. Arkash had chosen the location; one of the basement halls. They were tight, soundproof to the overworld, and rarely traveled. toward the end of the workday, he didn't think they'd be disturbed.
From the spiraling staircase, Eira poked her head out from around the corner, peered into the dark, and squinted. He couldn't tell from where he sat, but she seemed to shake. "Hell-o?" She called into the void.
Arkash saw her fine with his night eye. He heard her thudding heart in her chest. "I'm here," Arkash called back, and the woman jumped. He couldn't imagine why, but her apparent fear fed into his hunger; as though she'd designated herself Prey with her fear.
"I can't see," she explained with a call.
"Give it a minute, your eyes will adjust."
In truth, Arkash couldn't really tell how strong a human's natural night vision was; he'd been a dranoch since he unlocked his alternate forms; he'd always had Nightvision as Derek Egon, and he scarcely remembered how good his night vision was as a Rath. Even so, he seemed to be right, as the woman stepped headlong into the darkness after a minute or so. Her gaze focused on him, his shape, intently as she approached. Arkash bowed his head and shut his eyes; her heart had assumed some sort of normalcy in its rhythm; she'd found a backbone. "Why here?" She asked as she stepped before him.
"...I don't want anyone else to see. Honestly, I'm not sure I even want you to see." Arkash paused. He really didn't want her to see. She was a liability; a loose end. "...But I do appreciate you covering my tail, so I owe you this much. Just... Brace yourself?"
As those words left his lips, her heart began to pick up in speed again. She drew a shaky breath; it was obvious that she did not trust him. He imagined it was for good reason; some instinct in the back of her mind likely told her to run from the natural predator before her, but she didn't seem to listen to that reason. "For what?" She quizzed, then pressed her back to the wall ahead of him.
With a deep exhale, Arkash began to assume his true form. His skin adjusted as his bones grew and reformed their shape. His eyes remained closed as his face elongated, and his teeth split in two, becoming serrated on both his upper and lower rows. His fingernails rounded out and formed sharp points at the tip at about the same time s his tail began to form, poking out from over the lip of his pants as it grew to drape behind him. And finally, his scales began to form in the ripple of tiny panels that flipped to reveal the basalt natural armor that coated him in his old life.
When the transformation was done, he opened his misty yellow eyes, and settled on hers. She was wide-eyed; confused. Was it a trick of the light? Had Derek Egon really just changed shape before her? How was that possible? "I am Rathor," Arkash began to explain. "We're a people that normally take on the visage of beasts, and some of us are able to assume the guise of humans as a birthright."
"...That Lizard the Lord was looking for... It was you?"
Arkash nodded, then wrapped his claws around one of his wrists.
The woman shook as she exhaled, then straightened her back. "Okay... Why do you hide that you're a lizard?" She asked as though being a lizard was ordinary. "We've all seen at least one rathor before, though I didn't know that some of you can turn into humans."
"That's the thing, isn't it?" he asked with something of a smile. "Before I tell you, you must understand that I'm not going to hurt you. Okay?" he assured, a potential lie. He'd absolutely hurt her if he had to.
He began to divulge his story, growing up in Lower Nivenhain, powerless. Losing everything all at once, finding a purpose in the blood he left behind. He described the society of Lorien, his views of the nobility and the rulers of his nation... And what he believed to be justification for the beheading of a noble from house Florent, a great house that sat over a dutchy in Lorien. he admit that he was a criminal, a thief, a killer, but claimed that he carried purpose. Then, he went on to explain that Derek Egon was a shape he'd discovered after the fact, that the form was just a cover for his true identity so that he could travel inconspicuously.
"...So that's why I hide my true form," he finished. "I need to maintain Derek Egon's innocence for the sake of my revolution. You're the only human in Daravin that knows this, so..."
"...You're going to kill me?" She jumped to conclusions.
"No," he potentially lied. "I won't, but... I'd really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about this."
The woman took a deep breath, then covered her face and exhaled shakily. "This is insanity. You're... Oh, Gods preserve us." She lowered her hands. Was she crying? he saw the telltale moisture on her cheeks, he could smell the salt in her tears. "You're a noble-killer," she spoke at last. "...Are you going to kill Raphael?"
"Not yet," he began. "I need him alive."
"Why?"
"I need to learn necromancy from his study down the hall there, as his slave, I'm in a good position to do that on the down-low. It would be difficult to break in and out of the fortress every time I wanted to study or experiment. Not to mention, I have access to his research material here." Even if he couldn't read, he could see the pictures.
"...Why must you learn necromancy?"
Arkash paused, those images came back to the surface. The breathing, the grotesque stitches, exposed muscle and bone. Trembling, he shook his head. "...I need to fix something," he explained simply. "I don't know if I can but I need to try, and I can't do it without Necromancy. That's the whole reason I'm in Daravin in the first place."
"I see... And you won't tell me what it is you need to fix?"
More imagery, the pulsing of a dozen hearts, quills, feathers, scales... "No..." he shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it, I can't," he finished.
"Very well... I think you've been honest with me so far, so I'll trust you." She declared. Arkash noticed that her heartbeat had slowed, she was much calmer now than she had been. Did she really trust him? "...If I could ask a favor?" She asked. Arkash merely lifted his head with a slight tilt, as if to ask 'What is it?' "I'd like to see your true form, in the light. I can only see the shape as you are, and your eyes." She declared, and after a pause, added "if that's okay, that is."
Arkash watched her eyes for a moment, then looked to the light that bled from the staircase to his right. A deep exhale preceded his nod, and he rose to his feet. "Alright, but I won't step too far in case someone else sees me," he agreed conditionally.
With that, she took his claw and felt over the keratin and his scales with her thumb. "...Incredible," the girl spoke as she guided him to the stairs. Arkash stopped at the first step, then carefully allowed himself into the light, where he squinted as it met his eyes. She took the lead, and after a few steps, stopped to look down at him. Arkash's claws remained in her hand while she examined him. her eyes were lined with awe, disbelief. She could hardly believe that Derek was a lizard, for real.
As he began to grow self-conscious, he withdrew his claws, then began to assume his true form. She watched as his bones shifted, and his tail disappeared into his burlap pants, which he pulled up and adjusted appropriately. "So that's the truth. Raphael caught me in his lab and I fled, cutting myself in the process."
"Okay... Yeah, that makes sense." The woman nodded, then let go of his freshly-formed human hand. "...I won't tell anyone, but I'd like you to let me know before you assert your justice over the lord, just so that I can prepare my escape."
Arkash grinned a little. Eira wanted to escape? perhaps she wasn't as weak as he thought. A nod proceeded her ask, "I will," he agreed.
On their way back to their pens, where they would retire for the day, she seemed to wait for a space in which they were alone, free from Halamire eyes, then asked "...Is Derek your real name?" To which, he shook his head. it was not. At the same time, he failed to provide his real name, so she added "will you tell me?" as a follow-up question.
"Maybe someday," he agreed, then went the rest of the way to the pens without another word on the topic of his first name. She did a good job of pretending not to pay him any extra mind than when they'd started the day in the morning; she behaved naturally. A natural liar, he observed. It was no wonder Raphael trusted her so, she seemed able to fake any story, it was unlikely she'd ever been caught in her deceptions.
Arkash then wondered if he'd trusted the wrong person; it wouldn't be the first time. Did he have to kill her after all?
Eira. One of the first other slaves he'd encountered when he arrived at the fortress. She was there when his face binding came undone, and she showed him the ropes on his first day in captivity. It was curious that he'd wrapped her up in his schemes; he hadn't really considered her to be anyone worth noting, other than an aggressive supervisor. Regardless, she'd made herself the only person in Daravin to know anything about his true nature, even if it was just the slightest of glimpses.
He'd made a mistake earlier in the day. He'd ventured to Raphael's Laboratory in search of the mage's necromancy tools. He wished to learn necromancy by himself, but the noble had returned just as the rath discovered his safe. He escaped by the skin of his teeth, and Raphael gave chase, but he'd seen the rath's true form. he hadn't seen Derek Egon transform into the lizard, hadn't seen Derek Egon at all, he thought. He wound up with Eira, and she found him to be suspicious with a wound on his arm from his escape. When Raphael found them and asked where the lizard might have been, Arkash was surprised to find that she vouched for him, and gave him a solid alibi; at her side cleaning the entire time.
He owed her big time, there was no doubt. But the thing she asked in return for her support was the truth; a truth that could destroy him in the wrong hands. he'd tried to think of a lie that coincided with the presence of a lizard, the cause of his wound, his quickened breathing, and the damp patches on his clothes, but came up short. Nothing he could reasonably think of tied in with all those things, other than some crazy story where he slipped on a puddle just as a Halamire extended their sword to a fleeing lizard, cut his arm and safely fell down three flights of stairs and had to climb them all to get back to his floor-scrubbing duties, but who would believe that?
The more he tried to convince himself that such a lie was believable, the more holes he found. Did he really have it in him to reveal the truth? Could she handle the truth of what he was? He didn't really want to have to kill her if she couldn't... But what other choice did he have? Sharing this secret would compromise Derek Egon's identity; it would make his unsuspecting, good-hearted young human persona out to be the villain he really was. For the revolution, he needed Derek's record to be spotless, clean. The truth would ruin that... if she told anyone.
He was damned either way, he supposed. If he told her a lie that she didn't believe, and he couldn't prove it, then she could just go to Raphael and rat him out. A trial by fire was the only way through. At least if he told her the truth, he would be able to gauge if he could trust her or not and decide her fate right there and then. What was more? Her trust was more valuable to him than her scorn. If he came clean, she'd surely be more willing to trust him, right? Maybe not. He didn't know.
Arkash held his head in his hands and covered his eyes with his palms. Maybe Fayeth was right; he shouldn't have left Lorien. Everything was at risk, and it didn't have to be.
The approach of a beating heart caught his attention, and Arkash looked up from his palms. Whoever it was, their heart was racing despite the steady pace at which they moved. Arkash had chosen the location; one of the basement halls. They were tight, soundproof to the overworld, and rarely traveled. toward the end of the workday, he didn't think they'd be disturbed.
From the spiraling staircase, Eira poked her head out from around the corner, peered into the dark, and squinted. He couldn't tell from where he sat, but she seemed to shake. "Hell-o?" She called into the void.
Arkash saw her fine with his night eye. He heard her thudding heart in her chest. "I'm here," Arkash called back, and the woman jumped. He couldn't imagine why, but her apparent fear fed into his hunger; as though she'd designated herself Prey with her fear.
"I can't see," she explained with a call.
"Give it a minute, your eyes will adjust."
In truth, Arkash couldn't really tell how strong a human's natural night vision was; he'd been a dranoch since he unlocked his alternate forms; he'd always had Nightvision as Derek Egon, and he scarcely remembered how good his night vision was as a Rath. Even so, he seemed to be right, as the woman stepped headlong into the darkness after a minute or so. Her gaze focused on him, his shape, intently as she approached. Arkash bowed his head and shut his eyes; her heart had assumed some sort of normalcy in its rhythm; she'd found a backbone. "Why here?" She asked as she stepped before him.
"...I don't want anyone else to see. Honestly, I'm not sure I even want you to see." Arkash paused. He really didn't want her to see. She was a liability; a loose end. "...But I do appreciate you covering my tail, so I owe you this much. Just... Brace yourself?"
As those words left his lips, her heart began to pick up in speed again. She drew a shaky breath; it was obvious that she did not trust him. He imagined it was for good reason; some instinct in the back of her mind likely told her to run from the natural predator before her, but she didn't seem to listen to that reason. "For what?" She quizzed, then pressed her back to the wall ahead of him.
With a deep exhale, Arkash began to assume his true form. His skin adjusted as his bones grew and reformed their shape. His eyes remained closed as his face elongated, and his teeth split in two, becoming serrated on both his upper and lower rows. His fingernails rounded out and formed sharp points at the tip at about the same time s his tail began to form, poking out from over the lip of his pants as it grew to drape behind him. And finally, his scales began to form in the ripple of tiny panels that flipped to reveal the basalt natural armor that coated him in his old life.
When the transformation was done, he opened his misty yellow eyes, and settled on hers. She was wide-eyed; confused. Was it a trick of the light? Had Derek Egon really just changed shape before her? How was that possible? "I am Rathor," Arkash began to explain. "We're a people that normally take on the visage of beasts, and some of us are able to assume the guise of humans as a birthright."
"...That Lizard the Lord was looking for... It was you?"
Arkash nodded, then wrapped his claws around one of his wrists.
The woman shook as she exhaled, then straightened her back. "Okay... Why do you hide that you're a lizard?" She asked as though being a lizard was ordinary. "We've all seen at least one rathor before, though I didn't know that some of you can turn into humans."
"That's the thing, isn't it?" he asked with something of a smile. "Before I tell you, you must understand that I'm not going to hurt you. Okay?" he assured, a potential lie. He'd absolutely hurt her if he had to.
He began to divulge his story, growing up in Lower Nivenhain, powerless. Losing everything all at once, finding a purpose in the blood he left behind. He described the society of Lorien, his views of the nobility and the rulers of his nation... And what he believed to be justification for the beheading of a noble from house Florent, a great house that sat over a dutchy in Lorien. he admit that he was a criminal, a thief, a killer, but claimed that he carried purpose. Then, he went on to explain that Derek Egon was a shape he'd discovered after the fact, that the form was just a cover for his true identity so that he could travel inconspicuously.
"...So that's why I hide my true form," he finished. "I need to maintain Derek Egon's innocence for the sake of my revolution. You're the only human in Daravin that knows this, so..."
"...You're going to kill me?" She jumped to conclusions.
"No," he potentially lied. "I won't, but... I'd really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about this."
The woman took a deep breath, then covered her face and exhaled shakily. "This is insanity. You're... Oh, Gods preserve us." She lowered her hands. Was she crying? he saw the telltale moisture on her cheeks, he could smell the salt in her tears. "You're a noble-killer," she spoke at last. "...Are you going to kill Raphael?"
"Not yet," he began. "I need him alive."
"Why?"
"I need to learn necromancy from his study down the hall there, as his slave, I'm in a good position to do that on the down-low. It would be difficult to break in and out of the fortress every time I wanted to study or experiment. Not to mention, I have access to his research material here." Even if he couldn't read, he could see the pictures.
"...Why must you learn necromancy?"
Arkash paused, those images came back to the surface. The breathing, the grotesque stitches, exposed muscle and bone. Trembling, he shook his head. "...I need to fix something," he explained simply. "I don't know if I can but I need to try, and I can't do it without Necromancy. That's the whole reason I'm in Daravin in the first place."
"I see... And you won't tell me what it is you need to fix?"
More imagery, the pulsing of a dozen hearts, quills, feathers, scales... "No..." he shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it, I can't," he finished.
"Very well... I think you've been honest with me so far, so I'll trust you." She declared. Arkash noticed that her heartbeat had slowed, she was much calmer now than she had been. Did she really trust him? "...If I could ask a favor?" She asked. Arkash merely lifted his head with a slight tilt, as if to ask 'What is it?' "I'd like to see your true form, in the light. I can only see the shape as you are, and your eyes." She declared, and after a pause, added "if that's okay, that is."
Arkash watched her eyes for a moment, then looked to the light that bled from the staircase to his right. A deep exhale preceded his nod, and he rose to his feet. "Alright, but I won't step too far in case someone else sees me," he agreed conditionally.
With that, she took his claw and felt over the keratin and his scales with her thumb. "...Incredible," the girl spoke as she guided him to the stairs. Arkash stopped at the first step, then carefully allowed himself into the light, where he squinted as it met his eyes. She took the lead, and after a few steps, stopped to look down at him. Arkash's claws remained in her hand while she examined him. her eyes were lined with awe, disbelief. She could hardly believe that Derek was a lizard, for real.
As he began to grow self-conscious, he withdrew his claws, then began to assume his true form. She watched as his bones shifted, and his tail disappeared into his burlap pants, which he pulled up and adjusted appropriately. "So that's the truth. Raphael caught me in his lab and I fled, cutting myself in the process."
"Okay... Yeah, that makes sense." The woman nodded, then let go of his freshly-formed human hand. "...I won't tell anyone, but I'd like you to let me know before you assert your justice over the lord, just so that I can prepare my escape."
Arkash grinned a little. Eira wanted to escape? perhaps she wasn't as weak as he thought. A nod proceeded her ask, "I will," he agreed.
On their way back to their pens, where they would retire for the day, she seemed to wait for a space in which they were alone, free from Halamire eyes, then asked "...Is Derek your real name?" To which, he shook his head. it was not. At the same time, he failed to provide his real name, so she added "will you tell me?" as a follow-up question.
"Maybe someday," he agreed, then went the rest of the way to the pens without another word on the topic of his first name. She did a good job of pretending not to pay him any extra mind than when they'd started the day in the morning; she behaved naturally. A natural liar, he observed. It was no wonder Raphael trusted her so, she seemed able to fake any story, it was unlikely she'd ever been caught in her deceptions.
Arkash then wondered if he'd trusted the wrong person; it wouldn't be the first time. Did he have to kill her after all?
