Shadow of the First Sin

"Who could have possibly hired you lot, huh? I'm quite the big guy, hard to miss. So what coward would send a bunch of costumed clowns when they know exactly where to find me? Let's see, who have I pissed off over the years..." Orion paused, stroking his white beard as if deep in thought.

"There was this red orc named Took-ha, or was it Took-sha? Doesn't matter. I beat him to a pulp a few years back. Haven't seen him in a while though..." Two assassins interrupted him, attacking from behind, but Orion was ready.

His fists crackled with lightning as he grabbed the two incoming assassins by their throats. The instant their skin touched his, their lives were forfeit. He tossed them aside like ragdolls and continued his speech.

"Or maybe it was that cunt of an elf who tried to rob me. I turned the tables and stripped every coin and every layer of clothing off him, and left him naked in the middle of the town square! The story doesn't do it justice; you had to be there!" Orion laughed like a madman as more assassins closed in from all sides.

He swung his fists and grunted like a beast, blood splattering his face. He began hurling debris from the tavern at the assassins on the roofs. His throws were as powerful as a catapult, spreading panic through their ranks as their numbers dwindled moment by moment.

"Now, there was this short fella, a son of some cunt noble, who would buy slaves, torture them, then cut their throats and wrists, letting them bleed out like cattle," Orion's mood darkened as his eyes began to glow blue and the lightning around his arms intensified.

"I am not a good man, far from it. I've taken many lives, but never for sport. Evil breeds evil; it only took one man's wickedness to bend my morals and turn me into someone I didn't recognize. When I was done with him, I left a gift for his father: his son's head on a spike," Orion spoke solemnly.

"Talons, disperse," commanded a figure among the assassins.

Following the order, they vanished into the night, leaving an uneasy silence.

Orion stood calmly, prepared for an attack that could occur at any moment. Meanwhile, Silas and I observed from a safe distance, peeking from behind a wall. I urged Silas to flee with me, but no amount of begging could convince him. He claimed he had unfinished business in Buckleberry and wouldn't leave until it was taken care of. My frustration with him was beyond words, and a faint shadow began to coat my leg, healing it from the fall. I realized that the shadows that had saved my life countless times were triggered by negative emotions, and Silas had just helped me reclaim them. A tingle spread through my back; my wings had returned as well.

"Go and hide over there," I whispered to Silas, pointing to an alley where a little girl was tending to Kaela.

"I'm not going to hide, you go hide!" Silas snapped back.

"Fine, then be prepared to die with me, for I will help Orion fend off the assassins."

"I'll hide," Silas conceded, drunkenly swaying from side to side as he finally reached his destination.

This way, if the girl was in danger or the Talons decided to finish the job and kill Kaela, Silas would be there to protect them. I was sure of that.

"I will fight alongside you," I said, standing next to Orion.

"Look, kid, I appreciate it, really, but I don't want to share the burden the loss of your life will bring. It's already too heavy," Orion said, his gaze fixed on the rubble where innocent lives were lost.

"Fear not, my life won't be lost to a couple of freaks in costumes. It's you I should be worried about. What if your bones start to ache, old man?" I teased.

"Old? Do I look it now?" he asked, suddenly concerned.

"Now that you mention it, you don't, yet you do... Why is that?" I asked, studying his face, trying to determine his age.

His hair and beard were as white as snow, and his blue eyes held the wisdom of an old man, yet his skin was as smooth as a child's. I couldn't tell if he was thirty or a hundred.

"If you survive this, maybe I'll tell you. Now, be ready, they're coming," he warned.

"Wait, how do you kno—" Just as he predicted, an assassin sneaked up behind me. I barely escaped a terrible fate by revealing my wings and taking to the air.

"Now, this isn't something you see every day," Orion exclaimed in surprise at the sight of my wings.

When I first left Emberfield, I thought the right thing to do was hide who I was from the world, conceal the essence of my being, and live the rest of my life in hiding. I had done that already, be it my will or someone else's. When I'm lost and struggling to discern whether I'm human or avian, the wings on my back serve to protect me, and my human heart guides me. For whatever reason, I want to help Orion. It isn't my fondness for him that drives my resolve, nor the goodness of my heart; it's the first decision I've made on my own, for no one but myself. This decision will shape my path; it could lead to certain death or to somewhere I've only dreamed of, and that thought alone makes me smile.

Finally, I can say with certainty that I found freedom! Memories of the past no longer shackle me, and the path ahead is mine alone to take. I decided to help Orion of my own volition, I decided to reach out to Silas, and I decided to show the world who I am!

I had searched for freedom where I felt at peace, and whenever danger lurked and disturbed that peace, the sense of freedom left me. It wasn't the freedom I was searching for but the safety my family offered. When that safety left me, freedom found me.