Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Varris long stood as a primary trading hub near the Aedridan border with Paede. Because of the constant flow of trade and ease of passage between the borders, it had also become home to many mixed races. Most people of mixed blood were half-elves, though there were a fair number of those with beast blood as well.

When Ayalla's forces joined with the known elf-purist city lord, the citizens knew that their futures would be up in the air. Those who desired to close the borders were in the minority of the populace within Varris, but they still existed. Known allies of the city's lord, Sir Indarel din Varris, quickly rose to power and cleared the guard of any with non-elven blood before instituting martial law.

The people of Varris resisted the rapid changes, and the removal of mixed-blood politicians was slow at first. When Ayalla's forces began to reinforce the city, thus adding extra support to the new guard force, those who resisted were quickly removed from power.

So far, no one had been carted away from the city; however, many people were forced from their homes in wealthier parts of the city. Merchants and minor nobles were stripped of their rights and property, forced to work in menial labor, and their possessions given to the 'more deserving' pure-elves.

The face of the Varris Resistance was none other than Indarel's younger brother, Kestis din Varris. As a half-elf himself, he was a favorite of the people who ascended to power. Unfortunately, as the younger brother, Indarel was first in line to inherit the family's holdings.

Kestis himself sat in a dingy basement below a bar in the slum district of the city. Under Indarel's leadership, even before Ayalla made things worse, the slums had expanded in size. No longer was it only a home for criminals and rogues, but it now took up a sizeable portion of the city. Disproportionately, the population consisted of mixed-bloods.

The Resistance found most of its forces among the people of the slums. When Kestis sat at the head of his family, he would be the one to lift the citizens back to their former glory. For a city with such fantastic wealth, there was no reason for so many of its people to suffer in such a way.

"Lord Kestis!" a young woman with bright blue hair down to her shoulders and half her head shaved burst into the room.

What she saw was a disheveled man wearing tattered and dirty versions of fine noble clothing. The formerly beautiful blues and purples of his clothes had darkened a few shades. The woman quickly pinched her nose before asking, "How long has it been since you bathed, my lord?"

Kestis rolled his eyes before looking at his second-in-command, a woman by the name of Sheza, who was half-elf and beast. He looked her over once with his eyes drawn to her striking yellow eyes with almost draconic slits for pupils. "How long have I been down here?" He asked with slurred speech.

It was hard to tell time from within a sealed basement. There had been so much information to sift through and many different plans to account for. Time had a way of getting away from Kestis under the best of circumstances.

He lightly rubbed the corners of his eyes, "Sheza, I thought I told you to stop calling me 'Lord'? I don't like it."

"Kestis," the woman sighed before jabbing her finger angrily into his chest, "The whole point of this is to make you the Lord of Varris. Get used to it, dumbass."

Satisfied that her point had gotten through, she informed him they had guests and that he should be somewhat presentable before meeting with them. The aspect of having guests was strange enough already, but Kestis was too exhausted to really process Sheza's words. All he could do was follow her up the stairs to a bath prepared for him.

The steam cleared his sinuses enough to realize that he did, in fact, stink. Days of sweat and grime clung to his skin and clothes, making for a highly unpleasant mixture of smells. For a moment he contemplated simply throwing his clothes away, but he placed them in a collection basket.

The building they occupied was the only one in the surrounding area with such luxuries still functioning. The Resistance made sure to keep Kestis comfortable and provide him with many extra resources. He tried to defy these gifts and luxuries since his people were going without them, but he lost the argument and relented to their demands.

Times like this made him realize how thankful he was that his subordinates pushed for such things for him. Being able to rest his sore muscles was a wonderful boon. Kestis examined a number of fading bruises all over his body. Most of them were caused by Sheza.

Kestis grew up as the second son of the Varris family and was instructed in the ways of domain management and actuarial studies. His older brother was the one who studied martial arts and became a knight. Because of this discrepancy in their skills, Sheza, a long-time childhood friend, took it upon herself to beat her own knowledge into him.

After the bath was finished, Kestis donned his new clothes and joined Sheza once again outside the bath. Her face was slightly flush at the sight of him, which confused him for a moment. He thought he heard her mumble the word 'idiot' under her breath as she went to fix some buttons that were misaligned.

Kestis laughed, "Sorry about that. Thanks Sheza, I wouldn't be able to do anything without you."

The only response he got to his thanks was a rolling of the eyes, but that only made Kestis smile wider. She had been like this for their entire lives and to have her continue this behavior still was a comfort to him. The world had changed rapidly in the last few months, so any familiarity at all was precious to him.

Sheza led him back downstairs and into the main room of the formerly abandoned inn. Sitting at a rundown bar that was long past its prime, ocvered completely in cracks, were two individuals. Drinks sat in front of them, but when Kestis moved to greet them, he saw they were still full.

Such small details usually did not matter, but if this were to be a negotiation, it did not bode well that they were willing to share in drinks beforehand. It meant one of two things; either they were about to engage in very complex discussions, or they were highly distrustful people. Either option exhausted Kestis at just the thought, but there was not much he could do.

When he finally got a good look at his guests, he noticed one was an elf with white hair. Her face was mostly covered by a mask, but her blue eyes peered out over the top of it, analyzing both him and the surroundings.

The second guest was more interesting. He was average height and clearly human… or maybe he wasn't? Every time Kestis tried to focus on the man in front of him, he felt a major headache begin to overtake him and his vision would blur. A moment later, any features he thought he made out had vanished from his mind.

The only thing he could truly make out was that he was wearing black armor, a slightly tattered cloak, and a featureless black mask.

Even the man's eye color was unknown, as the only thing that could be made out through the mask's eyeholes were black pupils whose shape appeared just as ambiguous as the rest of him.

"Nice to meet you; my name is Kestis din Varris." The half-elf said warmly while sticking a hand out for a polite shake, "I am the leader of the Varris Resistance. To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with?"

For a moment, only silence permeated the air. Sheza coughed awkwardly from behind him but said nothing. Because he was in front, he had no idea what look was on her face. Had he upset his unknown guests with his gestures? Kestis was extremely sure that his actions were universally accepted on the continent.

"My name doesn't matter." The man finally said. Kestis had only assumed the person was a man before he spoke because of the strange blurring of his features, "What does matter is that we are here to help. Surely you have heard about what is happening outside the city at the moment?"

"Yes, I do." Kestis sighed, "Queen Lethaya's forces are stationed outside the city walls. Ayalla's armies have retreated inside its protection. From what I know, General Faylin has initiated a request to parlay and discuss a possible surrender."

"Do you think Indarel will concede defeat?"

Sheza snorted, "Not in a thousand years. He'd rather wait them out till everyone fell to the Deep Sleep. So, what? You two pissants serve Faylin or the monster he's been working with?"

"Sheza!"

"What? Everyone knows what that man working with Faylin has done. We've all heard the rumors. Honestly, I give it a handful of days, maybe even hours, before half the city is turned to dust, just like Alvora. Or maybe he will figure out a way to turn us into a crater in the ground like Seteste."
Experience tales at empire

Kestis's jaw dropped open. Sheza was a hothead, but normally, she had more decorum than this. He started to turn around and apologize to their guests. Before he could say anything, the masked man started to laugh.