The whispers ran through the city of Kowal.
The Baron’s son was returning. It had been a year. Arnexi had long been known for his adventures and disregard for his station, ever since he travel to Tyr on a diplomatic mission in his teens. He had never arrived in Tyr and returned to Kowal a month later. But this had been different.
Rumors said that Arnexi was a warlock. A practicer of magic. But in Kowal, practicing magic was considered almost the same as murder. Magic destroyed the world, magic was forbidden.
But the son of Baron Zadeku was off limits to the magistrates and their tough laws. The ruling family was above the law. After all, they wrote it.
Arnexi had been gone for a year, off in a far away land doing the things only a young lord can do.
Now he is returning. And he was different. Word came from the outlying villages. Arnexi had been captured by Eredar, the tower of the mages. He was sentenced for practicing ravaging magic and had been silenced.
Arnexi arrived in the streets of Kowal astride a giant white horse, his honor guards behind him in dull gray armor and dull gray horses. Large red banners flew from their backs, the symbol of Kowal floating in the breeze.
Arnexi had changed. His blonde hair was shaved in places, and tattoos covered most of his skin where it could be seen. His eyes looked sunken and bruised. But he sat tall in his saddle, ignoring those who stared from the streets and windows. The silent procession carried itself down the street and through the gates of the Baron’s tower.
The gates closed, but mouths opened and the city was buzzing with speculation.