The Insurgent

The Insurgent
By S. Hof

Prologue


The sun had just begun to set, but the city seemed to already be asleep. Nothing stirred, and no sounds could be heard no matter how hard one strained to hear them. The decaying buildings, their windows all dark, had no inhabitants to make the sounds and, as far as Caslynn was concerned, the sun had set on the city a long time ago.

Valancy, he had been told, had once been a beautiful and magnificent sight. As the wind ran through his hair, sending a tingle down his spine, he closed his eyes and tried to imagine the rotting buildings new, the silence unheard. In his mind, ghosts of what once were danced in the streets to the hypnotic music that was native to their proud land. Their laughter echoed through the times, their smiling faces long forgotten. Caslynn shook his head, pulling himself from his thoughts.

His had been the only footprints in the dirt, but the wind soon covered them, as though they had never existed. But then, in his line of work, it was better not to exist so far as everyone was concerned.

He still wasn’t sure why Saloian had wanted to meet him here. No one came to Valancy anymore. When people abandoned a city, they tended to leave it that way. But, Saloian was the boss, and so Caslynn came. Just as he had been told to, he now stood in the center of the city, where the square had once been. That had been before Caslynn’s time. Although his graying hair and beard indicated otherwise, he was a relatively young man who had not yet even celebrated his twenty-fifth birthday. Men in his family had always advanced more quickly in appearance than in age.

Caslynn glanced at the sky, his fingers drumming rather impatiently. It was good manners to show up to a meeting you arranged on time, a leader especially, and Saloian was late. Caslynn searched the area around him, squinting through the shadows. After a moment, he caught sight of a movement, and saluted as Saloian stepped into proper view.

“Evening si—” Caslynn felt his throat close up and his eyes bulged as he looked at the sword Saloian had quite suddenly thrust into his chest.

“Good evening, Caslynn.” He said smoothly. Caslynn stared at him, trying desperately to suck in a breath. “Thank you for meeting me. I’m terribly sorry for this, but you’ve become a liability. It was voted, and I’m afraid you lost.” Caslynn stumbled back and fell, the blood flowing freely now so that the dry earth beneath him became a crimson red.

“You’ll…” Caslynn’s voice failed him for a moment. “You’ll regret this.” His words tumbled out as his breathing became more forced. “I swear it! You’ve no idea what you’ve just done.” His strength gave out then, and Caslynn let his head drop into a pool of his own blood, Saloian’s triumphant laughter filling his ears as he drew his final breath.

“Such a pity.” Saloian said as the echo of his laughter was carried off by the wind. “Such a pity. Another heartless murder by those cursed rebels, no doubt.” He sighed, wiping his blade on the man’s cloak. “I suppose I’ll have to be the one who tells his family poor Caslynn’s gone missing. I’ll give them as much assurance as I possibly can, but I’m afraid we’ll never find him.” His thin lips stretched into a smile, and he walked back to his waiting horse and rode away.

The wind picked up in the ancient city, and both Saloian’s and Caslynn’s footprints were lost to the times. Caslynn himself lay lifeless, his empty eyes staring off into the sky. In short time, his body would become submerged in sand, and Caslynn would join the countless other forgotten faces of Valancy.