Province of Aetille

24th Breh

The keep of Gadros kept watch over the city of Gadros in the midlands of the Empire. The city had a fair population, but its importance lay in its role as a hub for overland trade. During the first conflict with the Coalition, it served as an initial line of defense against Coalition forces. It has since taken a leading role in Imperial politics given the affluence of the city.

Senator Averel Rahwin awoke in the middle of the night in his keep at the beckon of his guardsmen. A candle glinted off his senior guardsman's face, his ruddy complexion now coppered.

The stone faced senior guardsman spoke, "Your grace please enrobe yourself, there is an intruder on the premises that wishes to speak with you."

The Senator looked at his senior guardsman perturbed as he seemed in no hurry to speak to an intruder. He judged the gravity of the matter by the presence of multiple guards barring the door and watching his bedroom. All had their hands on the hilts of their swords or the shafts of their spears. Their eyes all seemed distant but vigilant.

The noble scrunched his brow, "Intruder?"

"Yes your lord, he says he bears thee a message."

-

Moments later, Rahwin stood at the parapet of an inner wall, eyes drawn to a an intruder.

The shadowy figure stood alone, flanked on all sides by Imperial guardsmen, spearheads aimed at him. The intruder basked in the light of the moon on the cobblestone path at the center of the inner courtyard where a few oak trees abetted his presence with their shadows overhanging. The rosebushes paled in the night, as he stood over them.

The intruder hid himself within black bandages and robes, but his voice as he spoke remained clear, "Within a few days time, you will receive ambassadors from Daellean seeking assistance from your people. Am I correct?"

"Quite," the Senator watched the stranger with leery eyes, "Who are you to have the audacity to test the mettle of my guards at this hour of the night? And what do you want?"

"Senator, I am a harbinger of things to come. I require that you refuse to offer aid. No good will come of it for you or your family if you do otherwise."

Rahwin seethed, "Are you threatening me, boy?"

The messenger continued with nonchalance and a hand gesture, "You're about as dull as you look," he murmured,

"But mark my words senator, lest you dare challenge forces that could lay waste to you with but a simple touch."

"As the castellan of this keep, I would be damned if I let you pass those gates alive for your insolence. Guards seize him!"

The soldiers moved in, and when the figure altered his posture into a defensive stance they locked their spears at him. The shadow chuckled, then his chuckle broke into outright cacchination.

"Tis a forewarning Senator," the shadow said, "One that would be wise to heed...because if you dont..."

"Take him!" Rahwin cried.

The soldiers extended their polearms, but their blades stabbed at nothingness.

The man began to morph and disfigure. His shape twisted, and his form wrenched apart in multiple directions until it became small black masses oozing in the sky. The masses coalesced and sailed through the cold air of the night leaving behind nothing.

A guttural voice seeped from the black entity, "You will be damned indeed."

His cackle haunted the crows.