Master's Journey: Stranger in the Stacks #1

Author's Note: A revival of the Master's Journey! This is for Lawrence, so I will obviously not be accepting votes from anyone but him, though you are nonetheless free to comment!

I am still feeling my way through this, setting-wise, but after this installment I do think I have a pretty solid grasp on the direction I want to take it. Hope everyone enjoys it!

[story]

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‭You awaken to the heavy slam and rattle of a metal door closing in the distance, but the echoes of the long hallway in front of your cell bring it to your ears as if it was happening right beside you. Your eyes creak open, and you let out a quiet groan, sitting up on the meager straw mattress you’ve been allotted during your time in custody. Blinking sleep from your eyes, the dim light greets you to the sight of what have been your only friends during your time here. There are your own markings -- simple scratches in the wall to keep track of time, eighteen times you’ve been fed. Assuming the guards feed you twice daily, you’ve been here nine days. Feels like a month.

Then there are the other markings, cartoonish characters drawn in some sort of graffiti in a myriad of bright, cold colors. Whether the guards were unable to clean it, or simply chose not to, you have no idea -- but these have been what’s been keeping you company so far. There’s the little blue man with the horns and the beard, the one-eyed purple blob, the sneaky green mouse. Other designs pop up here and there on the walls or floor, but not as often as those three and their adventures. You’ve given them names: Ocht, Vabba, and Sooz, respectively. Not much else here to do but dream.

“That’s right, caught her trying to sneak past the border with some other no-vals. Ones that made it past the river didn’t get by the autoballistae....” You hear a man’s voice of gruff tone but oddly high pitch, and two sets of booted footsteps coming down the hallway. The iron and flagstone of this accursed place carry his voice farther than if he’d been properly shouting.

“And if you’d left her to die with them, we wouldn’t be in this mess, would we, Hom?” A woman’s voice this time, more certain and commanding, carrying a slightly airy accent foreign to you. You sit patiently, knowing who they’re talking about. It’s only a matter of moments before two shapes appear in front of your cell door, and you look toward them, eyes adjusting to the dark.

The man is short and sallow, his lank, jet-black hair and short beard contrasting with ghostly-pale skin. A dwarf, you assume, though a little less hardy than the ones you’re acquainted with. The woman is very much human, tall and dark-skinned, her own black hair tied up into a severe bun that complements the angular features of her heart-shaped face. They wore similar armor -- brittle composite plating over soft leather -- and the liverie of Vauntreux, dark violet with a white chalice overlaying a downward-pointing longsword. These aren’t just guards... they’re officers.

“It’s your lucky day, no-val,” Hom grunts, clearly annoyed. “We’re letting you out...” he scoffs, spitting on the stone dungeon floor, “on a paperwork technicality.”

“Quite a few paperwork technicalities,” the woman shoots a sidelong glare at the dwarf, visibly annoyed with him. Turning back to you, she sighs. “How am I not surprised it’s one of your kind in here?”

Your kind? Right. You assume she must be referring to the fact that you’re a....

1) Low Elf -- Unlike their better-accepted cousins, low elves are known to be troublemakers, often forming loose-knit communities and holding barely enough power and energy to provide a thorn in the side to the governments over them. Shorter than humans and far slimmer, low elves tend to be pale, their hair and eyes a rainbow of chaotic colors.

2) Impkin -- Smaller yet are the impkin, the last remnants of the time before Gateway magic was permanently banned. The blood of demons runs through your veins, though it can manifest in many different ways. Impkin tend to be below five feet in height and rarely exceed eighty pounds, sporting horns, tails, small vestigial wings, or any combination thereof. Other mutations have been seen, but are uncommon. Not having major communities of their own, impkin tend to be wandering outcasts.

3) Veislin -- Amphibious and foreign, veislin hail from Darkfen, far to the south, and rarely venture far from their river cities. Long-armed and taller than humans, their skin ranges from cyan to azure, though their fingers and pointed ears tend to sport a secondary coloration, like pink or gold. Their hair, which grows only on their heads and brows, regardless of gender, tends to be white, though other shades have been seen.

4) Oran -- Vivid of appearance and temperament alike, the oran once had a vast, scattered empire in the days before advances in weaponry negated their natural advantages. Now, they are often seen as pariahs when not hired as mercenaries or bodyguards, though of course plenty have shed their peoples’ past in favor of more peaceful pursuits. Large and strong, their hair tends to be black or brown, with their skin appearing in dark, intense colors like crimson, navy, or forest green. Brightly-colored eyes and thin, sharp tattoos make them even easier to identify at a glance.

5) Maeva -- Precious little is known of the Maeva. and by some they aren’t even considered one of the Anderfolk -- species sufficiently analogous to humans to be able to coexist with them. Lean and flexible, they sport long antennae near their temples, which give them empathic gifts ranging from the standard vibe-check, to abilities nearing genuine telepathy in skilled users. Dark-haired and eyed, their skin tends to range between tan and deep gold, with some subspecies being mottled with darker colors. Their strange abilities, along with other, internal, physiological differences marks them as strangers wherever they go, often unable to enjoy the food or medical care of other species, and most comfortable amongst themselves. Their origins are mostly unknown, even to them, though recent discoveries of ancient maeva ruins have been leading to breakthroughs as to where they may have come from.