Year 128 of the Fifth Era

"Aldrin!"

A feminine scream cut through the cold, stale air. Under the light of the tall moon ran a small boy through the dark, snowy forest, panting and whining in fear. He stumbled through the thick layers of white and looked behind him as if something chased him. A flock of crows followed him above the canopies, cawing loudly, almost mimicking the voice screaming his name. The boy heard a menacing snarl behind him, motivating him to run faster, but with the deep snow, one could only run so quick. The crows dove beneath the leaves and flew next to the boy, flapping their wings in the same panic the boy was in. He whimpered

He saw no way out but to hide and ran to a fallen tree trunk ahead, diving behind it. Out of breath and shaking with pure adrenaline, he covered his mouth and tried hiding his breath from whatever chased him.

Multiple footsteps approached fast until he heard the deep snarls right behind him. He held his breath. Their aggressive, inhumane snarls turned into soft bellows as they searched. The boy's heart pounded in his throat to the point where he was afraid they would hear it. One of them sauntered immensely close, stepping on the trunk Aldrin hid behind. He slowly raised his head, looking at the throat of a dark creature, emitting a purple glow from its eyes. Drool leaked from its mouth onto the boy's shoulder, triggering his flinching response, cracking some of the snow around him. Immediately, the creature looked down and let out an ear-deafening roar. It jumped off and pounced towards the child, who closed his eyes, but it stopped right in front of his face, being pulled back by an unknown force. A strange, almost pulsating sound emitted from the creature's wolf-like body as it whined in pain. And then, its bones snapped, and it fell lifeless into the snow. Believing he was about to die, the boy was confused why it didn't happen yet. More snarls turned into whines and yelps from the other monsters. Something was killing them. Then, there was a silence. Aldrin carefully opened his eyes, only to see a person standing before him. Purple smoke oozed from their glowing eyes, but a hood shrouded the rest of their face. He approached the boy, who looked up at him with a shaky breath and tearing eyes.

The mysterious figure loomed above him and raised his finger to his mouth, gesturing him to be quiet. It was then that the boy heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Si'itlik vro'maem vaarni'lki."

"I found them like this. Someone helped him." the hooded person replied. Both of them had a hissing effect on their voice.

"You spent so much time with humans you forgot our tongue, Nameless?"

"No, Master." the hooded figure said.

"Find the boy. I sensed a strong mind residing within. We need his kind. Don't fail me again, Nameless. You rarely make mistakes."

"Of course, Master." Aldrin's saviour replied, and their Master disappeared into the woods. The figure crouched in front of the boy when he was truly gone.

"Where is mama?" he asked with shaking lips.

"I'm afraid she is gone. I am sorry."

The boy started crying. "What?"

"What is your name, boy?" the Nameless asked.

"Aldrin." the boy responded meekly.

The mysterious person removed his hood, revealing a horned head and a scaled, lizard-like face. The slit pupils of his flame-coloured eyes gazed upon the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Aldrin. As you can see, I am not like you. My people want to hurt yours, but I am not like them, either. I could protect you, but you will have to trust me. I won't let the bad men and monsters hurt you."

He reached out his hand. "Come with me, and you will be safe."

Aldrin sniffled. His tears nearly froze on his cheeks. He accepted his hand and immediately felt a wave of warmth spread through his body. "Does that feel better?"

Aldrin nodded, barely feeling the cold at all anymore. He noticed the man's eyes glowed brighter when he did that. He pulled him up, and when he turned around, Aldrin saw a huge battle axe fixed on his back.

"Stay close to me."

Right when the Nameless said that, an abnormal amount of crows flew overhead, cawing and croaking, all headed in one direction. Struck with curiosity, he followed the crows with Aldrin, threading through the dark forest. The closer they got, the more they noticed this stench hanging in the air. More crows joined the fray, and the stench got so bad he had to cover his nose. "Cover your nose, Aldrin."

He carefully stepped further until the neverending stream of crows flew down ahead. Hesitant to go forward, he let go of Aldrin's hand. "Okay, stay here. I will only see what is down there. I will still be close."

"Okay." Aldrin nodded and leaned against a tree as the Nameless went onwards. When he reached the forest edge, he couldn't believe his eyes. It must have been a giant crater filled with a pool of dead human bodies. Thousands of crows picked away at them. He stepped back in visible disgust as he covered his nose.

"Hahvulon...what in Lundir's name are you doing?"

Eight years later

Winter

Upbeat music lifted the mood of a crowded inn, paired with laughter and singing of drunk people. A band of bards danced around while playing the lute, tambourine, and flute, riling up the customers. Some raised their mugs in cheer, spilling ale everywhere. Amid all this chaos, someone squeezed through the crowd, walking towards a table. He had short, black hair, pale skin, and dark blue eyes. He looked around with shifty eyes before sitting down, directing the sheath of his sword around the chair.

"Fuck sake, where are you?" he muttered to himself. He flinched when a voice emerged next to him. It was a woman in a maiden outfit.

"Would you like anything, young traveller?" she asked.

The man smiled politely and shook his head. "No, thank you."

The woman nodded and moved on. When the man saw who he was supposed to meet, he released a sigh of relief. It was a big, burly man with a full beard, cackling while holding a mug of ale. He approached the man and gave him a big nudge on his shoulder before sitting down. "Hahahahaha! Aldrin! My boy! How are ye'?"

Aldrin rolled his eyes and remained secretive. "Could you please tone it down? And stop mentioning my name, this is serious. Why did we even choose this place out of all places?"

"Everyone knows the best place to hide is out in the open." the burly man said, taking a few big swigs from his ale, exhaling loudly after. "Come on, brighten up. Nobody here cares anyway, and they're too drunk."

Aldrin smirked faintly and shook his head. "You sure are something, Bran. Fine, well, let's talk. Have you figured out where this man we're looking for is? He was supposed to be here in Huywick."

"He's not here anymore." Brandon said.

"What do you mean he's not here anymore?" Aldrin leaned forward frustrated but still kept his voice down.

"Ease up, Aldrin. You should try some of this, it could do you good. Always so serious, it's bad for your health lemme tell ya."

Aldrin sighed and closed his eyes, but Brandon continued. "One of my men found a clue to where he went. But you won't like it."

"At this I'll take anything." Aldrin said.

"He joined a group of traders heading east. Across the Silk Sea."

Aldrin sighed. "Fuck. Erye?"

"Worse. Even further east. Volaria." Brandon said, hiding behind his mug as he took another swig. "He didn't specify which city, but if I had to guess, my bet is on Jiron. It's the beacon of trade over there, the perfect destination for a caravan of traders."

Aldrin nodded, tapping the table with his finger in fingerless gloves. "Right. Then that's where I'm going. Thank you, Bran. I owe you one."

"Sure you do." he was then surprised to see Aldrin stand up, "Hey, you're leaving already? Come sit and drink something, I haven't seen you for months."

"I'm sorry, I can't. Next time though, when this is all over, we'll have a drink, aye? I promise." Aldrin said.

Bran rolled his eyes and forced a smile. "Fine, get out of here. Now you owe me two."

Aldrin chuckled and smacked his friend's shoulder. "Stay safe, my friend."

"You too," Bran replied. Aldrin squeezed his way through the crowd again and left the inn, greeted by snow gently whirling down in the town of Huywick. He raised his fur hood to shield himself from the chilly wind and approached someone leaning against a pillar supporting the inn's balcony, in the shadows, wearing a hood as well.

"And?" the man asked. The dim daylight of winter revealed a small part of his face. It was scaled. It was the Nameless.

"He already left. We were too late. He's headed to the capital of Volaria." Aldrin sighed.

The Nameless groaned in frustration. "Tak'khin sek'ril." he muttered to himself. "Fine. Pack your things, we leave now so we can beat him to it."

"Right. Off to the desert we go..."

"Quit whining. It's better than this cold."

"Come on, Blood. Knowing me, I'll be complaining about the heat instead." Aldrin smiled, walking away.

"Not wrong about that." the Nameless muttered to himself, following him.

As the two left, an unknown figure watched them from a distance, taking notes. His whole face was covered with cloth, except his brown, sharp eyes, honing in on Blood and Aldrin.