Radiance and Shadows

16 years ago, Gray Vale

"Find the home! Now!" The man in the dark cloak growled to his servant, Ravin. His form wavered in the night, phasing in and out of reality as his astral projection faltered. Ravin's master was taller than him, with a lean muscled build. His facial hair was sharply trimmed, giving his jaw hard edges. His nose was pointed regally, complimenting his piercing blue eyes. In his younger, less stressed days, he would have been quite a handsome man.

The man pulled a small orb from his pocket. "We have limited time, fool."

"Yes, master, I know. I'm sorry." Ravin said, fumbling with a small hand drawn map of a city section. Ravin himself looked borderline starved; he was always so occupied with his master's tasks that he rarely had time to satiate any hunger, and going hungry was a better punishment than failing his master. Ravin had a sad, but soft, kind face, one that showed age beyond his young years, and had seen and done far too much. His eyes were a longing brown.

The young man sighed, glancing over as his master continued to speak.

"You're lucky we haven't been seen yet. It would be your head on a stick, not mine."

Ravin smiled to himself, turning down a street on his right. "Sun elves are not so barbaric, master. They would probably try to imprison me like everyone else."

His master scoffed. "Sure, and listening to Sun Elves talk law in a court trial is a punishment far worse than death."

Ravin chuckled quietly, walking with his master through the alleyways of a massive sun elf city. The city's wall, as well as its homes, towers, and castles were made of ornate white stone, with decorations of gold or bronze. The street lanterns hung on carved wooden poles, flickering in the light breeze.

"Stay in the shadows, Ravin! There is no room for error!" The cloaked man hissed. The bright, full moon cast rich shadows from the homes.

"Yes, master, of course." Ravin said, tucking himself tighter against the wall.

They walked another six hundred feet down the road, stopping at last in a wide cul-de-sac, a large white home dominating the end of the street. The home resembled a small castle, perfectly symmetrical, and colored in style to fit the city. Four levels high, the home also had its own bell tower in the center of the roof. A private wall had been built around the estate, ten feet high and solid white stone. Green ivy grew across it, preened delicately. In the warmer air of Gray Vale, the ivy had bloomed.

An intricate iron gateway was situated before the home, leading to the front door via cobblestone path. Beyond the wall, the grass was lush and green, multiple flowering trees planted across the lawn.

"There!" Ravin said, pointing ahead.

"Yes. This is the estate." His master said, his spectral image looking down at a piece of parchment, then back at the home for comparison.

"We found it, master!" Ravin said enthusiastically.

"Stop gloating, you idiot, and get in there to find what I need."

Ravin's excitement faded, and he dropped his smile."Right, I'm sorry."

Ravin approached the wall, crouching slightly and leaping over it in a single bound.

"Why build walls when most elven races can leap them cleanly?"

"They don't expect our kind here, either, remember." The cloaked man said. "Though.. I suppose the point still stands... In any case, you could have just passed through the gate as mist."

The man's astral projection walked through the wall, keeping up with Ravin as he crossed the lush grass yard to the outer parts of the home.

"I don't have that whole thing figured out yet. Mist is a bit tricky for me, otherwise this whole thing would have been a lot easier." Ravin muttered. His master rolled his eyes, not replying. Ravin talked on.