Discordant Note | TBATE

Chapter 8: Brother

Norgan, however, began to slow. We were atop another bridge, this one smaller and for foot traffic only. He looked out over the rushing water of the canals, a somber tone to his voice. "I wish Arlen could see us now," he said. "We're almost ready to start our lives."

I looked out over the waterways with my brother, silently agreeing with him. Arlen was the last steward of Named Blood Daen, tasked with raising the two of us and giving us a proper Blood education. Even if our Blood had fallen, according to the old man our pride should still remain.

Arlen had passed away a couple of years ago from old age.

Now we were close. Once Norgan and I were out of the academies, we would form an ascender's team, just the two of us. Named Bloods were families that had gained acclaim and status from their ascensions, and we'd do it all over again for our fallen family. We'd claw back to our Named Blood status once more with accolades and glory from the Relictombs.

"Arlen would look at us and shake his head," I said forlornly, the exact image in my mind. "Say the scions of Named Blood Daen shouldn't be mingling with unads and healers." I snorted. "We lost that illusion pretty quick."

Norgan laughed lightly. "By the Sovereigns, did we. Being left on your own does that to you."

I patted my brother on the back. "Now's not the time to think of the past though, brother. The future awaits!" I said grandly, gesturing with my other hand. "To the ascension of Named Blood Daen!" I said, holding a fist out for him to bump.

Norgan grinned. "May all who doubted us eat our dust," he said in agreement. He raised his fist to meet mine, then paused. A frown creased his brow as he leaned to the side slightly, peering at something behind me.

My smirk slipped from my face. "What do you see?" I asked, turning around to peer behind me. My eyes widened in alarm, quickly spotting what had disturbed my brother

In an alley a ways away, I could just make out a man looming over a curled-up woman. I couldn't discern their features well from the distance, but Norgan could.

He bolted towards the alley, calling back to me. "That's Duena! The lady we treated a few weeks ago!" He said back. I began to run side by side with him. As we got closer, I was able to finally place the features. It was her!

The man, who I could now see was wearing a dark hood, raised a gloved fist, ready to bring it down on the trembling Duena. She closed her eyes, shaking in fear.

But his back was to us.

Norgan engaged one of his marks, a rune that wrapped his legs in wind. It propelled him forward in a streak, the blowback nearly knocking me off my feet.

The man turned quickly, revealing a face masked by a black cloth. The eyes peering beneath the mask had barely a moment to widen before Norgan's feet impacted his chest in a perfectly executed dropkick, sending him careening deeper into the alley with a burst of wind.

The masked man hit a crate with a crack, splintering wood. Norgan landed gracefully between Duena and the dark-clothed assailant.

Knowing my brother could keep watch himself, I knelt to help Duena. She was an older woman, nearing the end of her middle-aged years. We had assisted Doctor Trelza in setting a broken arm and partially healing it, something that was almost undone just now. Her arm was still in a cast, though the cast was dirty and damaged in several places.

The woman herself had a black eye and several bad scrapes, but nothing more serious. She would recover fine.

She looked up at me with terrified eyes, looking around for her assailant.