Duality Risen

 

Epilogue

 

Footsteps echoed in the old halls, full of crumbly leaves and vines. The place was old, in disrepair, and yet it made it all the better. The ruins of the old house lent a sort of awe, a fear, and a hope that one day the secrets of this place would be passed on.

His boots crunched over leaves that never seemed to go away. His robes, scarlet, the colour of apprentices, picked up the dust and dirt that clung to the floor. His young green eyes picked up every nuance of every shadow, his long black hair pulled into a tail that fell across his shoulder. Looking at him, one could mistake him for another, identical in features but not in colour. The boy himself didn’t know this, believing it was his own strength that had drawn his master to him.

And indeed it had been, if this other hadn’t have given the master a taste first. But the boy didn’t know that part.

Raansha eased his way into the work room, the cleanest place in the entire ruins. His eyes showed promise. He was young, a child still like that other, and strong in his craft. He had potential.

“Master? I brought that book you wanted.”

Aljei turned away from his worktable to his young apprentice and smiled. “Bring it here then, and let’s get started.”

Raansha almost beamed.

Aljei’s smile became something more dangerous as he put his arm around the boy’s shoulders. Retirement had never been so much fun.

“Master? Why are you laughing?”

“Never you mind. Get to work.”