Chapter ONE

Shadows lengthened as the day grew old, and the sun went to rest. In the clear northern sky the faint twinkling of the first stars could be seen as they awakened to light the darkening sky. The moon, a faint curved line, was hard to see against the fading light. The glorious sunset set the western seas aflame, turning calm blue into a dazzling red. Towards the east, the already dark mountains soaring past the clouds, held a forbidding gaze, a warning to any travelers. In the south, the busy city of Oragleis was preparing for night. The rich and nobleman prepared for sleep in the safe, plush and grand mansions, well guarded by their well-paid men, whilst the poor and homeless prepared to barricade their homes and sleep with knives close to their chests.

In a castle overlooking the city, a young man lent against a balcony railing, gazing out at the city. He let out a sigh and pushed his dark hair from his blue eyes and walked back into his room. A servant scurried out of the room as soon as she saw him enter. Why did they treat him as a though he had a disease? He smiled ruefully. He did have a disease, the disease of being born noble. He smiled again. His father would have a fit if he found out that his only son and heir thought that being a nobleman was a disease. His father was a proud and arrogant nobleman. He even refused to enter a room in which there were more than three servants. The young man sighed, as he poured himself a glass of water. Unlike most upper-class citizens of Oragleis, he disliked indulging in the drinking of wine and ale. He found that he felt intensely sick even inhaling the fumes of the wine or ale. As he raised the glass to his mouth, a door opened up to his left and his father stepped into his room, grey eyes stormy and jaw clenched so tightly he thought he could hear his father grinding his teeth.

“Here we go again.” He muttered to himself. He put on a smile and stepped towards his father, greeting him.” Father, you have returned.”

His father eyed him disdainfully. “Of course I returned. What? You thought I wouldn’t return if I found out my son had jumped to the defense of a slum dweller.”