53 Raven Cres (1/2)
As Will and Maya accompanied Roland to each cage to unlock and set free the slaves, Jake stared into a piece of glass while focusing on his brother. He saw the useless slave trader opening each cell as his brother reached in a hand and pulled the slaves out one by one.
”This may complicate a few transactions in the future.” Jake mused as he threw the shard out the four story window.
Jake looked around the great hall of raven crest castle. Everything around him was cloaked in darkness. All of the tables, chairs, flooring and walls seemed to be obsidian black. The only source of light was the rows of lit flames lining the walls which reflected light off of everything in the room. It felt as though he was standing in shadow itself.
Jake looked over to the singular guard posted at the door. He knew The guard reported any suspicious behavior to whoever it was that gave Jake orders.
Without a seconds hesitation, Jake put one foot on the ledge of the window and said to the guard, ”I'm going out to train my new affinity, I'd rather not be shown up by my brother again.” he made sure to add as much distaste into the word ”brother” as he could.
The guard nodded only once before leaving the room. Jake took that as an open invitation to do what he wanted, so he stepped from the fourth story window and dove into a free fall. A moment before he hit the ground, he allowed his wind aura to pick him up.
Jake flew over the dark city of Raven Crest and looked down at the population. As always, the streets were bustling with business. Looking closer, Jake could point out the corrupted from the original dark flame users. The streets were of dark stone to match the tall buildings surrounding him on either side. In a lot of ways, it was the only city in his new world that reminded him of New York. The only difference were the citizens.
The corrupted had a ghostly appearance, looking as though they had been dead for a day just to be reanimated by corruption which is of course exactly what happened.
The dark flame users were like him. They were born into the darkness and sent to Raven Crest. All dark users were bound to the kingdom and couldn't set foot out of the boundary with only one exception, him.
Since Jake had been born in Ebonhart and transported directly to earth, no one from the kings court had time to seal him away. Without the proper seal, he could come and go as he pleased.
One would think freedom would be a blessing, but Jake knew better. He was the key to the freedom of darkness. Since he wasn't bound, the corruption within him could take over and use him as a puppet at any given moment.
Jake flew from the city to the dark wood that surrounded Raven Crest. Unlike the Forrest which surrounded Ebonhart, the dark wood was a place which came straight out of a nightmare. The trees were only a shadow of what may across the border. The twisting black branches blocked any view of the path below as Jake flew from atop the cursed wood.
Having taken the path countless times in the past few months before being gifted flight, Jake easily navigated from above. He flew only minutes before coming across an opening in the dense darkness, an opening he had created himself only a few days prior.
Slowly, he lost altitude while aiming himself towards the human sized hole in the trees. He had earlier listed the spot as a breeding ground for Raven Crest's shadow prowlers, large wolves in which had over populated the woods and kept travellers from hunting smaller game.
While it was true that he had left the castle for training, Jake always kept an ear to the ground in the city to ensure that the citizens had all the help they needed. The guards never truly did anything to help the population seeing as though they were only animated corpses. Jake wanted his people to look upon him as a resource, something that could help them instead of being a symbol of fear. He didn't have much choice when corruption took over his mind, but in the times he had control, he wanted to do what he could to feel different from the others.
Waiting around to be controlled was not within Jake's future plans. If he was going to make Raven Crest his home, he was going to bring some light back into the dark lands.
Setting down in The clearing, Jake took a position near a dark tree in which the opening was located. A faint light shown through the clearing, falling upon him as he took his cross from his neck and activated his sword.
He took a cross legged seated position and put his obsidian black sword across his lap and waited. Within the darkness of the corrupt forest, no indicators of time could penetrate the thick wood, almost as if night were ever present along the tree floor.
Rustling was heard within the bushes nearby. Jake stood alert, his sword at the ready by his side. The true apex predator could be heard panting just out of sight.
Using his aura, Jake could pin point at least ten wolves surrounding him from within the bushes. He knew it was just a small force compared to what was out there within the wood line. Most of them would be out there already hunting small game to feed their young. So far as he had heard, there were hundreds roaming the lands.