Sevanouir: Rebirth (Snippet 1)

His curiosity got the better of him and he slowly opened the door into the study, looking around for anyone who may be inside. He saw two chairs, of wood and cracked leather in front of the roaring fireplace. Along the walls were at least a dozen bookcases filled from top to bottom, and a dark wooden desk in the corner, with documents strewn about, and a small statue of a man holding a skull placed on the corner. The room was empty and he entered, looking quizzically at the fire. The logs weren't too burned, so it had only been lit recently. He examined the desk and saw that the documents had nothing on them; just some scribbling, possibly done by some bored kids who were previously here.

            The door closed behind him. He looked back to see if Roux had joined him, but no one was there. As he looked back, his eyes widened; one of the previously barren pages now revealed a drawing. He moved the other empty papers and held the drawing in the light.

His mouth went dry; it was a sketch of him and his father.

He remembered this picture. He and his father had gone to a fair when he was ten, and his father got it commissioned towards the end of the day. He had hated sitting in place so long, his arm wrapped around his father's shoulder as he knelt beside him. But it had since become one of his favorite keepsakes from his childhood.

            “That was one of your favorite trips, the time we went to Portland,” a low, gravelly voice muttered behind him. Sylas spun back to face the stranger, only to nearly lose his balance in shock.

Before him was a man with long braids, dark skin——tough and aged by experience—wearing a familiar long gray jacket, dark leather boots and black brimmed hat. It was the eyes that he found so startling; deep-seated hazel eyes, the same as his own, the same as the man in the coffin they buried only a few hours ago.

It was Raines Chevalier, his father.