[Sytze]

Bright, golden and silver rays of sun shone through the dense trees, forming little rainbows as they touched the clear puddles of water on the ground. It had rained last night and the forest breathed a new freshness. Life, beauty and revivalism had nestled in the woods, giving it a new aura. Small leaves and twigs flew around the air, carried by the wind. It almost seemed like a dance, a dance which the wind was leading. High up in the trees birds sang their song while happily hopping from branch to branch. On the ground rabbits, squirrels and other small creatures scurried into the sheltering bushes as the faint, barely hear able sound of crushing twigs and leaves approached.

Under the foliage, a young man was running with all the speed he could muster. Moving as fast and agile as his thief skills still allowed him to, Sytze avoided the dead branches and pools of water lying silently in front of him. He jumped from a fallen tree onto a rock and swiftly moved on. Since last night, he had done nothing but running and running, only taking the occasional drink brake so he could reinforce some of his strength. It was now catching up on him, though. The warm sunrays lightened the path in front of him, but at the same time made it uncomfortable hot. Small drops of sweat started to form on his forehead under his dark hood. He wore his back cloak, adorned with intense red engravings at the edges, tightly around him. His hood covered almost his entire head, the only sign of something alive under it was the twinkle in his dark brown eyes. Despite that he was being hunted, he was having a bit of fun. Running until near exhaustion cleared the mind of events recently past. A smile crossed Sytze’s face and he slowed pace. After a while he abruptly stopped and leaned to the nearest rock; it was really getting too hot.

He had been running continuously since last night. Well, that wasn’t exactly true, not since last night. He had been running for the entire past week, last night was just an attempt to flee from Athkatla. A few days ago, Aran Linvail had, after an earlier failed attempt, decided to send Arkanis Gath, Kachiko, Yeanash and the rest of his elite group of thieves and assassins on a hunt. A hunt for the young man, started by the shadow master himself for reasons which could be easily disputed, after an encounter and a ferocious discussion that followed, which could also just as easily be disputed. But that didn’t matter now, not anymore. The past was not something to keep looking back on, it couldn’t be changed anyway. Aran had made up his mind. Perhaps he shouldn’t have angered Linvail so much, perhaps he acted too calm and uninterested in his presence, perhaps he behaved too disparaging against the leader of thieves. It didn’t matter anymore. Aran had sent some of his more capable thieves on a hunt exactly a week ago, and now this. Now this…

Only a few days ago, Sytze had found himself to be quite surprised when he noticed that he was being hunted. Maybe Aran had underestimated Sytze’s abilities, or he had overestimated the abilities of his own thieves. Regardless, the hunt did not take long. In the beginning, he even had some fun with the chases. Often changing his own role from the hunted one, to becoming the one who hunted. It had been an exciting week, the encounters and chases thrilling him to the very fibres of his body. Athkatla was a perfect setting for beating the thieves at their own game. He often watched and followed his attackers, until he got bored of the chase and had, to his own disliking, no other choice than to kill his enemies. They posed too much of a problem…

“Death…” Sytze murmured sadly, absently to himself. “How pointless their deaths were.”

But he had no other choice, just like the thieves chasing him had little choice. They could kill him, or they could be killed by either their prey or their employer. And the last option, Sytze knew, would be a most gruesome ending. He realised all too well he was being hunted, yes, but that was nothing personal. He didn’t loathe or hate his attackers, they had no choice but to obey their master. Sytze had quickly realised that an arrow between the thieves’ eyes was a much quicker and less painful end than torture followed by death, at the hands of Linvail. He actually did them a favour, or so he kept telling himself. Yet it did not comfort him, or give him solace in any way.

These events had all happened last week, though. During the course of the week, Aran had become increasingly tired and irritated by the failure of his thieves. In response, he had decided to send Arkanis Gath after him. Words of Arkanis and Kachiko searching him had reached Sytze’s ears quick enough, for information was not hard to come by in the city of coin. Of course he could’ve stayed in Athkatla, trying to avoid his former friends as long as possible, but in the end the confrontation was inevitable. If he stayed in Athkatla, battle could not be avoided. There was a chance he could kill his adversaries in the encounter, but he would certainly not come unscratched out of that battle. Ending up in a coffin was not unthinkable. Moreover, he did not want to kill his old friends and thus he had decided to head south. As far away from Athkatla as possible. Rumours of current and upcoming conflicts had reached his ears and disappearing in a war was less of a problem than in a city ruled by the thieves themselves.

Sytze had secretly hoped Arkanis would not chase him so far south. Maybe, just maybe, Kachiko would even disregard her leader’s orders like she had done before. Ohh, how he hoped that…

In the last two years he and Arkanis had become good friends. Mutual respect about each other’s qualities had formed a bond. Trying to outwit one another become a favourite pastime for the both of them when spending time in the local taverns.
His relationship with Kachiko, however, reached much further than that. The beautiful oriental assassin and the thief with sublime archery skills had become more than mere friends. Aran did not like the interest the two showed in each other and had shown his contempt multiple times, yet she had bluntly ignored his opinion and had followed her feelings. This hunt, however, was completely different than Linvail’s simple disliking of their relationship. This was a direct order from the shadow master himself. An order that could not be refused, neither be ignored. But not only that, she also had to justify to her own leader, Arkanis, and he followed Aran’s orders blindly. Often, at any rate.

Sytze sighed and took his hood off, shaking his head and allowing the wind to play with his dark blond hair. Sunrays shone on his face and for a moment he felt content and happy. Yet that small moment of happiness did not last for long, for he already missed Kachiko. He hadn’t really spoken to her for some time, and he knew he could never see her as long as Aran was in command. Since it was unrealistic to think Aran would be replaced anytime soon and he felt no urge whatsoever to try and assassinate the shadow master, which would only lead to chaos among the shadow thieves and, in turn, to the city, there was no other option but to leave. Leave the city he spent so much time in with the woman he cared for.

Sytze took a deep breath and absorbed the smells and sounds of the forest. In spite of his love for the city and the possibilities it offered, he always felt more at ease in the woods. Pleas to the stubborn Kachiko to come with him and travel to a village somewhere south were often answered with a dismissive gesture.

“So, there’s at least one good thing that came from leaving the city,” he mused softly as he looked around, absorbing the forest’s image.

He squatted down near a large tree, covered by dark green moss. Its trunk was gnarled, but looked firm and strong, it had obviously seen many seasons come and go. Sytze took his weapons off his back, and placed them in front of him. Last night, he had left when the sky was at its darkest point and he figured none had seem him leave the city. Because he had been running all night and day, it would be hard for Arkanis to track him down. Especially considering the fact it had rained last night and he had paid special attention to the tracks he had left behind. But that didn’t mean he was safe. He knew Arkanis was one of the best trackers, and it would only be a matter of time before his old friend discovered where to find him. For now, fortunatly, he would have enough time for a small stop. As long as he did not take excessive breaks, he should be able to reach it south, as far south as Tethyr, the elven forest he had laid eyes upon a long time ago. There he should be able to get rid of Arkanis. Hopefully…

Sytze inspected his weapons one by one to see if nothing was wrong. In the past, he had seen what rain could do to weaponry if it was not treated properly. After confirming that nothing was wrong, he sheathed his dagger and katana on his back and swung his quiver over his shoulder. He kept his self-made bow at his side for safety’s sake, you could never know. Although he had all the confidence in his own abilities, Kachiko and Arkanis had surprised him before…