Chapter 8.

*The sound of a haunting flute wafted throughout the village. It would have sounded pretty or sullen to most, but to Gavin the sound was chilling, as it could only mean one thing.

A Devoln was about to die.

A woman a few paths away from his own house had given birth to a beautiful baby girl, with shining, auburn locks, bright blue eyes, and gills running along her short neck. Gavin wasn't sure what Demon the black, wave-shaped mark belonged to, but whoever it was, he felt awful for. For both of them.

A hand then landed on his shoulder, causing him to look up at his tall brother. His ears were pressed down, and his face was crestfallen. As was custom, the village had gathered around to watch the heathen die in the village temple. She had been prepared a small basket that had a blanket hanging over the side, and was now being held up in the air for the whole village to see.

His brother only leaned over to whisper in his ear, "Be glad it was never you up there. Her mother chose this for her child, believing that her baby had been possessed, and that this was the best option. It's tradition. Be grateful our mother thought otherwise." But he found it hard to be grateful as he watched his own father take the sacred knife and plunge it through the defenseless infant's chest. He was, after all, the only Inquisitor in the village.

The child was then laid down in the wicker basket, with the blanket pulled on top. The infant's father then led the solemn procession outside, walking further along until they reached the cliff side, the black, Endless Sea dancing with impatience below. This time, it was Gavin's mother who slipped a hand over his eyes as the basket was tossed over the edge, but nothing could stop him from hearing the crash of the wood hitting the sharp rocks or the splash of the water swallowing the gift.

Gavin then curled up in a ball crying right there, while the other villagers went over to thank the childless mother, then go on to the celebration festival immediately after. He didn't stop, even as his mother scooped him up and held him tightly. He could hear other people nearby wondering aloud what his problem was, but he tried to ignore them.

As his mother put his shaking body in his bed, and his brother pulled the sheets over him, Gavin whispered, "Why did Daddy have to do that?"

His family members could only manage to look at each other uneasily. "I-It's his job. That's what he has to do to be paid, so you can live here and have dinner every night. When your brother's older, that's what he will have to do, and many, many years from now, it will be your job too."

"I don't want to be an Inquisitor! I don't ever want to kill a Devoln, and I don't want to watch another one die ever again!"

Little did my childish self know that I would watch seven more before I would never be allowed in my home village again.*

⛥

The room was warm, and the sun was just cracking through the thin blue curtains when Gavin awoke. Sitting up, he saw Aeiln still sleeping on the other bed and he got dressed for the day. He doubted that they would be serving breakfast at this hour, so instead he sat down on the floor and pulled his quiver out from under the bed. Taking out an arrow, he placed the tip against his left canine tooth and began to rub his temple, milking the venom out of his fang. Due to having done this many times, it had become routine, and he had finished all twelve arrows and two knives in just thirty minutes, each of them now thrice as deadly with their bite. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he saw the trail of violet poison and left the room to go wash it off, closing the door quietly behind him. Not that he needed to get it off his skin, for it had no effect on him, but he was afraid of wiping it off on something and possibly hurting someone later.

With his hands cleansed of all poison, Gavin headed back to the room to find Aeiln already awake. "Are you ready? They have to have food by now. I don't know about you, but we're starving."

Aeiln smiled in spite of herself as she grabbed her things. Sometimes she forgot that Gavin had two souls, so when he referred to himself as plural, it had confused her for a moment.

*Just like Runia… *

"I'm going to eat up here." she told him. She seemed reluctant to move at all, although Gavin had no clue as to why.

"No, you'll come downstairs with me. How else are you going to get food? Plus, who am I supposed to talk to?"

*{Excuse me?}* Eldrazi piped up, sassy as ever.

*I talk to you all the time. You don't count,* Gavin replied.

Lightly bouncing down the stairs, they headed down to the common room. With most of the people still sleeping and the bard gone, it was fairly quiet, which was the best thing in the morning. The bartender behind the counter caught sight of them and sauntered toward the table they sat down at.

"Anythin' I can get the two o' ye this fine mornin'?"

"Yes. Can I have a salad with fruit, please?" Aeiln ordered. She then glanced over at Gavin. The bartender also looked at him, no doubt remembering his previous order.

"Umm, boiled eggs, if you have them." He made a promise to himself to never ask for anything else uncooked in a tavern again, much to Eldrazi's dismay. However, the man just smiled at him.

"Alrighty then! Be right back."

After a minute of silence, Aeiln blurted out, "I am so sorry for yesterday, Gavin. With the cloak I mean. I shouldn't have just assumed..." She trailed off, rubbing her hand against her face.

"I-it's fine. Just don't do it again," he told her, grabbing an egg as it was placed in front of him, swallowing it whole only once he was sure the man was back behind the counter. He looked over at her food. "Ew. Is that even edible? It looks like a leaf," he commented, gesturing to the pile of vegetables in her bowl.

"That's because it is," she laughed. "Here, eat one." She stabbed a bright red bit of tomato and placed it in his mouth, waiting to see his reaction.

Never in his life, even when he was young, did he ever have to eat vegetables. His family was at the very least accepting when it came to his strange diet and eating habits. Now, not only did he have a disgusting, slimy slice of tomato being shoved in his mouth, it had this awful, white sauce on it that made him choke. He bent over, coughing again and again. All he wanted to do was spit it out, but both Aeiln and the bartender were watching, and he didn't want to do anything else suspicious. Reluctantly swallowing it, he glared at her. "Ugh, vegetables are disgusting. This is why I'm a carnivore," he proclaimed, folding his arms across his chest.

*{But you eat bread?}*

*Well then, what do you want to call it?*

But, he had never seen Aeiln laugh so hard. "It's not even a vegetable... It's a fruit," she snorted out. She looked so much less intimidating as she covered her mouth with her hand, as if her own laugh was too boisterous for her.

"Yes, I know. Choking is hilarious."

"Sorry, but your face looked ridiculous," she apologized.

*{Aeiln, it always does. Have you looked at him lately?}* Eldrazi added, causing Aeiln to laugh even harder.

*Aren't you supposed to be on my side?* Gavin yelled at him. *I swear, if I could, I would kill you.* But instead, he just rolled his eyes and found himself becoming swept up in the joy of the moment, a thin, airy laugh seeping out of his chest. Times like these were rare, and as Gavin closed his eyes, he just wished he could make it feel more real. Even now, his soul felt hollow, the happiness in him only laying a minor coating over the nothingness. What he felt wasn't even close to the level of Aeiln's emotions. If he thought about it too hard, he wasn't truly happy, not like he used to be; he was just broken. Trying to avoid that line of thought was the best he could manage.

There were more people in the room now, and with it came a decent rumble of small talk around them. "So, do you want to start planning how we're getting the Relic?" Gavin asked, trying to bring both of their focuses back to the matter at hand.

"Yes, but not here," Aeiln told him, and he couldn't blame her. There were too many ears, and they were suspicious-looking enough already. "Why don't we go for a short walk? Are you ready to head out?"

"Always am," he answered, grabbing his quiver from the chair. "So, where are we headed?"

"Closer to the capitol building," she said walking out the door.

"You know where it is?" He did. This was the place he grew up, although he wasn't completely sure he could call it his home anymore. If anyone knew their way around here, it was him, but then again, that was also what made it so dangerous. This was where people might recognize him, even after so many years... He shook his head. No, they were nowhere near his hometown, and the Inquisitors were discreet. No one was going to get him. Still, looking at all of the wrecked buildings, some still ravaged after all these years, made him feel just as guilty as the day it had happened. He pulled his green hood over his head, just in case. "I know my way around here. You know, because..." he gestured to himself.

"Okay then, lead the way," she shrugged. "By the way..." Gavin turned to look at her. "What do you think?"

With her now long blonde hair and eyes set to match his own, any passerby would easily take them for siblings. Not only that, but she was short, shorter than him, which felt great for his self-esteem. "Looks good!" he approved, "I never had a sister before, but..." He put his elbow on her head, using her as an armrest as a wide, overdone grin spread across his features. "I could get used to this!"

"Hey! You better not!" she warned him, giving him a glare with more venom in it than himself.

"Aww," he complained, but he followed her down the main road, straight to the capitol, straight to the Relic, and hopefully, straight to their goals.