"A New Dawn" - Eothan story

“A New Dawn”


A young man strolled through the park district of Stormwind, his nose buried in a book. This was not an unusual sight for the residents of the district; there would be very few times where this particular man would actually be focused on where he was walking.

He stopped in front of a wooden staircase that led to an expensive looking house, he turned his head away from the book and let out a sigh. He snapped the book shut and turned to walk up the stairs, preparing himself for whatever mental anguish he might receive upon entering the home.

The young mans name was Eothan Dawn. He was the son of a very rich and wise man, the son of a well-respected magus. Eothan had been a constant disappointment to his father, as he seemingly had no desire to do much of anything besides gather knowledge. He would become angry with his son for the slightest things, especially when the boy refused to divulge any reasons for his constant collecting of facts and fiction.

Eothan took a key from his pocket and unlocked the door to his home, stepping inside with a heave of a sigh, before shutting the door slowly behind him. He lifted a hand to grab the strap of his bag and lifted it from over his shoulder. He smiled slightly as his mother emerged from the kitchen and walked towards him.

“And where have you been today?” she said in a curious tone. Eothan simply set the bag on the floor beside him and knelt down, sliding the book inside it. As he stood up he carefully removed his boots and set them neatly beside the bag.

“I’ve been in the library” he said as he turned to look at his mother again. “I’ve been doing some reading on the arcane” he continued. His mother raised an eyebrow before smiling a little. She had never been one to pressure Eothan into doing anything, though she could understand her husband’s plight. She wanted her children to do anything they wanted but coming from a rich household herself, she knew how much it meant for a son to follow in his father’s footsteps.

“You could have been doing that in the magus tower, Eothan. Why do you continue to skip your lessons there?” she said with a slight sigh afterwards. Eothan peered at her and narrowed his eyes. “Why should I allow myself to be taught by people who have had their intelligence replaced with arrogance?” he replied.

His mother simply shook her head and turned away from him and took a few steps toward the kitchen before stopping. “Rosemary is upstairs, she’s been playing in your room” she muttered before continuing on into the kitchen. Eothan nodded a little and moved towards the staircase before being stopped by a voice he had grown to despise.

“You’ll be attending your lessons at the tower tomorrow, or you’re no longer welcome in this household”. Eothan turned his head to see his father stood in the doorway to the living room, his arms folded. He had the same stern look on his face that Eothan had grown painfully used to. Eothan turned away and took a few steps up the staircase. He stopped shortly afterwards and firmly gripped the banister.

“I’ll be gone in the next hour” he said calmly. His face slowly contorted in anger as he turned to look at his father. “Always remember that I would make the effort to see you suffer” he said in an almost snake like hiss. He spat on the ground in front of his father and turned to continue walking up the stairs.

He heard the growling of his father as he reached the corridor that led to his bedroom, he walked down it with his fists clenched, the same angry look was spread across his face. He reached his door to see it slightly ajar; he could hear the happy playing of his sister inside. She had a habit of bringing her dolls into his room and playing there, the two of them enjoyed each other’s company, despite the gap in their years.

He closed his eyes for a moment and let out a quiet sigh, his face returning to normal as his fists unclenched. He lifted a hand and pushed the door open, cracking a small smile at the sight of his sister. She lifted her head and dropped her toys, flashing him a toothy grin. He took a few steps into the room as she stood and hurried over to him. He knelt down and caught her as she wrapped his arms around his neck. He smiled again as he stood up again, moving an arm to hold it underneath her.

“I missed you!” she said as she lifted her head from his shoulder, the same toothy grin on her face. Eothan nodded and closed his eyes briefly. “I missed you too, Rosie” he said warmly. He walked across the room and sat down in an old looking armchair, resting her gently on his knee.

“I was looking after the babies again!” she said excitedly as she turned her head and pointed at the mass of dolls all over the floor. Eothan chuckled and looked over them, not a single one even had a scratch on them. He had always admired the caring and careful nature of his little sister. He lifted her down on the floor and watched as she resumed her playing. He sat back in the armchair and rubbed a hand over his forehead.

Rosemary was the only thing about returning home that Eothan ever looked forward to. He truly loved his little sister and he knew that if he left the home, seeing her would become very difficult. He sat up in the chair again as she walked towards him and looked up.

“What’s the matter?” she said with wide eyes. Eothan smiled sadly as he moved a hand to stroke her head gently. “I’m afraid I have to leave for a while” he said quietly. He sighed as Rosemary looked at the ground, her toes seeming to scrunch up together. “Father and I simply can’t carry on like this, Rosie. He’s told me I’ve got to leave, I’ll try to see you as often as I can” he said as he peered at her with a sad expression on his face.

Rosemary looked up at him; her eyes began welling up with tears as she lifted her arms toward him. He nodded and picked her up again, letting her wrap herself around him. “I don’t want you to leave” she said with a sniff. Eothan rubbed a hand up and down her back gently, giving a little nod in response. “I know, but I’ll be around you as much as I can, I promise you that. I’ll miss you a lot, dear little Rosie”

--

Months had passed since Eothan had left the family home; he had not been able to see his sister once in that time. He had become used to exactly how Stormwind operated beyond the standard guards and Paladins. There was a lot more to be seen and experienced in the city than he had first suspected.

Eothan strolled into a dimly lit tavern and simply observed the people inside. He’d recently began inserting himself into people’s lives and walking away with whatever he could get. It wasn’t the easiest life, because he was having to pay to keep a room in the various inn’s of Stormwind almost constantly. Fortunately for him, he had very little shame in stealing to keep himself afloat, even if it would devastate the people he stole from.

He walked up to an attractive human woman who was leant against the bar. As he leant beside her he got the instant scent of whiskey and smirked. As wrong as it may have seemed to anyone on the outside of his “business”, the easiest target was an intoxicated woman. He had kept himself clothed and well fed almost exclusively on this sort of prey. The woman turned to look at him with a small smirk on her face, her blonde hair flopping down to cover one of her eyes.

“You gonna flirt with me as well?” she said with a slight hiccup afterwards. Eothan smirked and folded his arms; he had spent plenty of time perfecting his techniques and was developing quite the egotistical nature because of it.

“Well, just from a single glance around this room, I can tell that you’ve hardly had many men worthy of your time this evening”. The woman let out a laugh and took a gulp of her drink, stumbling as she turned to put the glass on the counter. Eothan moved an arm to catch her, his arm running across her bust.

He helped keep her on her feet as she turned to face him again. He slowly moved his arm away and smirked. “You see… I’m a different breed of man” he said confidently.

“A New Dawn”

Part II

Eothan walked quietly down some stairs, as he had expected, he awoke to find himself next to the woman from the bar. He smirked as he patted the inside pocket of his sweater, everything had gone according to plan. He stopped at the door and slipped on his boots and opened the door carefully, taking one last glance back into the house to give a thank you and a nod to the sharp bar dwelling man that was Gregory Yolen.

He stepped into the cold morning breeze and closed the door behind him and strolled casually down the street. This lifestyle was starting to take a firm hold of him; there was nothing about it that he didn’t enjoy. Of course he would be forced to occasionally sleep with women that didn’t appeal to him at all and the sex wasn’t always great, but at least he getting a decent bed, some relaxation and a nice reward. He slid a full envelope from within his sweater as he stepped onto a bridge to cross the canals. He grinned as he parted the envelope to see many gold and silver pieces of jewellery, he would be making a fine amount indeed.

He stepped into the Cathedral district, taking in the new surroundings as his pace slowed. He was always fond of the architecture of this district, especially the Cathedral itself. He stopped in front of it to take a long gaze, smirking very slightly as he turned to walk.

He may have enjoyed the sight of the Cathedral but it was a rarity that he would ever step inside it. He was not a man of faith, nor would the priests and clerics appreciate his fondness of the shadow arts. He had been using a fair portion of his finances to purchase books on the subject, steadily teaching himself how to use such things as curses and shadow spells. It had come quite easily to him after the minor training in the arcane school he attended and it was becoming apparent to him that he made the right decision in leaving; the shadow arts were just more fun.

He blinked and closed the envelope again, sliding it back into his sweater as he realised he had come close to his destination. He had arrived in the Mage district without taking much notice, he was still getting as lost in thought these days as ever. He certainly had no issues with that fact, thinking about how much he was enjoying the life he had chosen was nothing to damn.

He hammered a fist on an old and worn looking wooden door, wiping his hand clean of the moss that had ended up on it. The door opened slightly, revealing half of an aged face. The man nodded before opening the door fully, gesturing for Eothan to enter. The man was Charles; he had never given his last name. Eothan had suspected that was because he dealt with stolen goods. Eothan would often come to Charles with his takings of the night, simply because he had developed a decent way of dragging more gold out of the old moron.

Eothan sat down at a dimly lit table, staring at the almost entirely melted candle that sat in the middle of it. Charles sat down, his large arms rattling the candle upon contact with the table. Eothan looked up at him and smirked; Charles really was a fat bastard.

“So then, Harry. What have you got for me?” said Charles with his gruff voice; the man had clearly been smoking since he was a child. Eothan straightened his back and reached into his sweater, producing the envelope full of jewellery. He opened it and gently poured it’s contents over the table.

“You know, most folk wouldn’t be so ready to just spray this sort of thing everywhere, I could just take it” said Charles with a smirk. Eothan returned that smirk confidently and let out a small laugh. “You could try, however I doubt you would want to, considering I’ve at least fifty ways to end your life”

Charles let out a hoarse laugh, moving his hands to pick up a few pieces of the jewellery and examine them. He wouldn’t be able to deny that Eothan had brought him a decent package. Not a single piece of the jewellery was fake. He looked up and lifted his glasses from his eyes. “Well, you’ve brought me some good stuff today. Much better than you have in the past, looks like you’ve been getting better at your work”

“How much?” said Eothan, his words were sharp and to the point. He didn’t have much time to be wasting here, he had finally managed to get his father to allow him to see Rosemary.

“I’ll give you five thousand for the lot” said Charles as he leant back in his chair and folded his arms. “Seven thousand and you’ll have three more necklaces by this evening”

Charles nodded and began placing the jewellery back in the envelope. “S’fine by me kid”

--

Eothan closed the old door with a bag over his shoulder, he was always certain to count his takings, perfect mathematics was required for a man with his mind, and he always had to be certain. He walked to his room in the recluse and opened a wardrobe, pulling a panel from inside it and stuffing the bag inside. He had been sure to keep a few hundred gold pieces on his person, being one step ahead was also a requirement. He shoved the panel back into place and shut the wardrobe again, heading out of the recluse.

He stepped over to a market stall and looked around, finally purchasing a little red bow and with a nod, he made his way to the Park district.

--

Eothan stood leant against the moon well, holding his gift for Rosemary behind his back. His face lit up as she emerged from the house, their mother being stood just behind her. He stepped forward and knelt down as Rosemary ran down the stairs and into his arms.