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Seeds of Divinity, Ch 1

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Raedryn Wescott was the son of Jeddiah Wescott, one of the wealthiest merchants in Kashyr was quite the family embarrassment. Although he did incredibly well with the many scholars his father hired to teach him, Ray had always been fascinated by scholastics over business-- he preferred philosophy and history to economics and trade. Despite being a dutiful son, the elder of Jeddiah's two children had no interest in shipping contracts or money lending; as far as his family was concerned he had his head in the clouds.

Most first born sons of trade families joined the family business at fifteen or sixteen; it was all his father could do to get him to run the counter at one of many Wescott stalls on the streets of Kashyr and, even then, Ray was more likely to part with items at the lowest possible price his father allowed rather than haggle a good deal for the business. The young man just didn't see the point: if the business turned a profit and the customer got a good deal then everyone won; why bother cheating people out of their money?

As with most fathers, Jeddiah had wanted Ray to one day be able to take over his business. He was always drilling it into his son's head that legacies were important. The Wescott family business had been started by Jeddiah's grandfather and one day, Jeddiah hoped to have it passed down to his grand children. The Wescott family had gained its wealth due to hard work and perseverance, and he wanted to see that tradition carried on.

Ray had no problem with either of the two traits, but he did lack the drive to be a shrewd businessman, making money off of the ignorance and mistreatment of customers. Insofar as his father was concerned, the two were mutually exclusive. After about three years, Jeddiah stopped trying to shape his son into a successor and, instead, focused his energy on the younger of his two children: his daughter Vanessa.

Nesi had always been the apple of her mother's eye and, once Jeddiah gave up on Ray, she became the sole focus of both of her parents, leaving the young man to move listlessly through his day, bereft of obligation or expectation. All but ignored by his entire family, Ray was free to pursue his joy of studying for the sake of learning, and spending the rest of his time either alone with his own thoughts, or among his friends, a rag-tag collection of other rich-family cast-offs without direction or purpose.

Time passed by without his notice as weeks turned to months turned to years even and, by the time Ray was 19 he assumed he had life figured out. While he was too astute to take what he had for granted, it had grown up around the luxury of an upper-class household and had a difficult time balancing his understanding of the world with his expectations regarding his place in it. Little did he know that his position in his family, among his friends, and even as part of life in general was going to be challenged. Hard. It all began on the night of his 20th birthday party.

The rest of the Wescott family had been gone for a fortnight and were expected to be out of town for at least another four or five days, leaving Ray alone to at home while they visited the neighboring nation of Rudstern. While the young man had great interest in travel he rarely if ever got to join in on family business, mostly because his father didn't consider the additional expense worth having him present.

Aside from the fact that Ray had no real business acumen, if someone from the family didn't stay home then the household's head servant would get a bonus to his wages for the duration. Between a presentable spouse and a good-for-nothing son, it only made sense that Jeddiah Wescott would obviously prefer the former at his side while the latter stayed home and saved the family money. Still, the servant's contract allowed Ray to leave the house, just so long as he stayed in his city, and the young man's friends had more than one idea when it came to celebrating his birthday.

Between being left home alone and the incessant insistence from his circle of friends, Raedryn found himself out of the house for the night. More than that, he found himself dragged from one drinking establishment to another as his friends flashed his family name and dropped the hint that he was a year older then reaped the benefits of free drinks from the proprietors who wanted to get in good with the Wescott family.

It wasn't that HIS name was the only one they could have used; among the six youths their families collectively owned a third of the city, but the taverns and inns usually relied on the trade services offered by Ray's dad so he was a shoe-in for being on the good graces of those who could supply his friends with a copious amount of free booze. Being the tactful ne'er-do-well disappointments of their respective families, his friends were also very adept at knowing how much they could push their luck, thus they didn't stay at any one establishment for very long, which was how they ultimately ended up in the Beast Quarter.

Arguably the poorest part of town, the Beast Quarter was where the non-humans tended to make their homes. While few Humans liked having anything to do with the beast folk, they were an important component to keeping things running smoothly, taking the least desirable jobs such as street sweepers and laborers. Of course, the more human-like Halflings and Sevletons usually found places for themselves among the Humans, the more animalistic and feral-looking humanoids looking for a place in the city were left with few options, thus the south eastern district earning its colloquially name. If Ray remembered correctly, it was originally known as the Dawn District, but that name hadn't been used in almost a century.

Despite his research into the history of the district, Ray had very little first-hand experience and he felt very awkward taking a seat in the large, pungent-smelling common room of such a low-brow tavern. Chairs and tables were an eclectic collection of styles and sizes, which made sense considering how varied the builds were of the patrons. Ray chose a seat closest to the wall; he always liked to be able to see an entire room, and the opportunity to 'people watch' such an obviously 'not only human' scene was too good to pass up.

All around the tavern were a motley collection of races. Halfings made up a decent portion of the patrons, but there were also some beast folk-- the few who had both permission to seek asylum in the city and had the coin to afford it. Although Ray had heard that some green skins made their home in the slums of the Beast District he didn't see any present, which made sense due to the general consensus that they were too dangerous and barbaric to comply with civil laws. If any actually DID live in town they probably had a powerful patron who had them there for a reason. Even without them, though, the entire tavern had a rough-and-tumble feel to it. Fortunately the tavern's massive pair of bouncers standing near the door seemed to encourage good behavior.

Ray found himself staring at the two of them; the one on the right-hand side of the door was a Zardon; although Ray had never seen one, his lizard-like form was unmistakable for anything else. The left was easily eight foot tall and undeniably a Kornos. The young man had only ever seen one of the bull-looking humanoids from a distance; one of the longshoreman managers his father worked with from time to time was one, though the bull-like bouncer was even bigger, and looked far more rough-and-tumble.

The common room was filled with far more beast races as well; a pack of canine-like Varken were just three tables away; there were enough of them that they had two tables pushed together. It made sense, of course, considering they were a social and socialable people who tended to travel in groups. Elsewhere around the room were interspersed a collection of cat-like Sunfeli who clung closely together, occasionally looking around as if trying to catch anyone who might be eavesdropping on their conversation; Ray's dad only rarely employed the cat folk and then it was usually for 'off the books' activities involving 'resolving problems' with his competition. That thought didn't endear them much to the young man.

Even as Ray was taking stock of the room his friends were already accosting the server, a petite-looking Rakken girl with pure white fur and pink paws. Usually considered untrustworthy, dirty, and sneaky, it was not common to see Rakken in town, but she seemed almost as surprised to be dealing with Humans as Ray was to see her. Her whiskers twitched with obvious unease. For a moment Ray felt sorry for her, especially when one of his friends made a remark about her keeping her paws off his coin pouch. Eventually the ferret-like girl managed to get a word in between his companions' constant demands. "I'd have to ask the owner before I can give away any free drinks, M'lords."

His friends, as usual, weren't comfortable with being given an indecisive answer and so, after another minute of their accosting her, Ray stood up. "Relax, guys... let me."

He stepped around the boisterous group and walked right up to the girl; she was at least a foot shorter than he was so looming over her wasn't hard. "Listen, girl... do you have any idea who I am?"

Even as he spoke, Ray ushered her further from the table. Only once they were out of earshot did he lower his voice. "Sorry 'bout that... they're a handful."

She paused at his sudden change in demeanor. "M'Lord?"

Rather than answer, he reached into his pouch and pulled out a Golden Crown. "Here. This should cover everything for the night, and a little extra for the trouble. Just... let them think they're getting the drinks for free."

She was quick on the uptake and, rather than make a scene or try to question his motives as to why he'd drop such a valuable coin, she simply nodded. "Yessir. Thank you, M'Lord."

Relieved that he avoided any worse of a scene caused by his friends, Ray about-faced, ready to return to the table before he stopped himself. While it was true that he'd spent most of his childhood with the young men seated at the table, it had been a long time since he could convince himself that they were really 'friends' and not just 'familiar acquaintances'. Truth be told, he had very little in common with them.

Although none of them were well received by their families, most of his group was content to just laze around and life off the fortunes provided to them and the benefits afforded to those who came from important families. Ray, however, didn't want that life. Just as he'd provided the Rakken girl an opportunity to escape them, he realized that he was suddenly afforded the same luxury. With his 'friends' all focused on their own witty banter, Ray took it as kismet that he would be able to call it a night; he hadn't really been interested in carousing in the first place and, to be honest, his heart wasn't in it and he wasn't having any real fun to begin with.

Stepping out into the cool, spring time air, Ray paused let out a deep breath before taking another in. He regretted it immediately. Each city had its own distinct scent but, unfortunately, the beast quarter's was dung. Rotten dung. With the added aroma of urine and feces. It wasn't that Ray hadn't been exposed to it on the way to the tavern, but he'd been much more careful with his breathing. In return for his carelessness he spent a moment coughing and wheezing, forcing his body not to retch.

As he was recovering from the oversight, the young man froze at the sound of a hiss, followed immediately thereafter by a shout and the sound of a fleshy impact. Quickly peeking around the side of the building, Ray saw a very large man pinning a young Sunfeli who couldn't have been older than ten or eleven. Despite baring his teeth at the Human, the cub was only squirming enough to keep a leather pouch out of the man's grasp. It was obvious that the large thug was more interested in the pouch than his captive, and his grunting threat said as much. "Gimme back my money, or so help me..."

Just as the man was about to get his hands on the pouch the cub tossed it over his head to another young Sunfeli, who caught it nimbly and took off down the street like a shot. The captured one just smiled up at the Human. "Sorry. Better luck next time, Mister."

Raedryn stood passively by, the scene playing out before him as if he were an audience of one in a show performed just for him. Rather than let the cat boy go, the thug hefted him up off the ground, growling as well as any beast man at the cub. "Me getting my money back was the only thing keeping you alive, you little shit."

Aghast, the youth stood stunned as the large man bodily tossed the small cat boy into the brick wall of the adjacent building. The Sunfeli cub bounced off the stone and landed with a thump on the alley floor. He writhed on the ground, struggling to get up while gasping for breath; the wind had apparently been knocked out of him and he wasn't fast enough to escape. The Human stalked over and hefted him up again, grabbing hold of his neck. The cub struggled, wheezing out "No... I-- I can get... I can get it back!"

The aggressor scoffed. "Yeah? I don't believe lying little alley cats like you... I can find it myself... after I take a stray off the street."

Ray took a step into the alley as he saw the big Human switch his grip so that both hands were on the poor cub's neck, throttling the Sunfeli as the boy's weight hung loose. Time and time again Ray's dad told him to stay out of the affairs of the beast folk, and never, Never, NEVER get involved in the dealings of the street. In one single word, the youth broke both rules. "Hey!"

In one solid motion the massive man had spun around, still gripping the cub with one hand while the other came free, launching out in a straight line, catching Ray right in the face. Stumbling back, the youth put up his arms to defend himself from further attack, but the blow had already knocked him away from the man's reach. He rebounded off the wall behind himself an fell to his knees, both of his hands going to his face, blood pouring from his nose. The thug shifted his grip to the cub's shirt, and pinned the boy against the wall as he stared down at Ray. "Who're you? Their handler? I want my god damn money."

It took a few seconds for Ray's brain to stop rattling around in his head and for him to regain his senses; he'd never been struck before, let alone with such power. "H-handler?"

The man slammed the cub against the wall again to punctuate his statement. The Sunfeli urchin responded by thrashing out with the claws on his paws and bare feet but, despite the little lines of blood created on the man's forearm and hand he held tight. "This one cut my purse. I want my money back, so if you're taking responsibility for this little shit then you owe me... big."

Raedryn shook his head, staying on his knees as he blotted at his bleeding nose with a hand gingerly. "N-no. No. I-- he's not mine-- not my employ-- uh... I'm not his 'handler'."

The human maintained his grip on the cub, having no real trouble keeping the boy off the ground and pinned to the wall despite the Sunfeli still struggling and clawing; the choked little cub even started trying to bite him but a quick pull and push slammed the street urchin right back against the brick, stilling his squirming without a word from the thug. The big man stared down at Ray. "Then what're you gettin' at? I'm doin' the city a favor dealing with this trash."

Ray had heard of 'street justice'; his father often used it as a reason why he shouldn't get involved. It was too late. "I... don't want to see anyone get hurt."

The bruiser laughed, giving the cub another slam against the wall. "SomeONE? This little waste of fur isn't someone... it's a thing. A leech. Leeches need to be pulled off and squashed so they don't keep feeding."

The young man shook his head. "I... I can pay you."

The thug froze in place, slowly lowering the cub to the ground. Even the Sunfeli's eyes were on Ray at that point and only then did the teen realize his mistake; his father ALWAYS told him to keep money matters to the better parts of the city-- most lowborns would likely slit his throat the moment they found out he had anything on him. He felt a chill run up his spine at the tone in the big man's voice. "Yeah? How much?"

There was a balancing act to business negotiation, that much Ray knew. He also realized that he was not skilled at business but, at the same time, dealing with a man almost a foot taller than him and far beyond his build, the fact of the matter was that he was more concerned with leaving the alley without being mugged. He quickly pulled his coin pouch out from the inner pocket of his cloak and held it out to the man. "Take it all... just... let him go."

Cub forgotten, the man released the Sunfeli, who took off like an arrow shot from a bow. Accepting the pouch, the thug walked off out of the alley too, albeit, at a much more casual pace, laughing hysterically as he gazed into the pouch. Ray had no illusions that his family was well off, but the man was making such a big about the remainder of the young man's weekly allowance that it seemed almost comical. Regardless, Ray counted his blessings; he would live through the experience and the only cost would be four days without money.

He had just stepped out of the alley, when the weight of what had just happened hit him; Ray fell down onto his butt, leaning back against the building behind him as he stared shaking. Thousands of thoughts began bouncing around in his head as he replaced the situation over and over but all o that halted when a raspy, ragged voice spoke from off to the side. "That was a rare kindness ta observe, m'lord."

Ray turned his head, recoiling when he caught sight of a frail, half-starved Varken. "Huh? What?"

The mutt-looking creature was dressed in rags with a grime covered, torn cloaked hung around his shoulders to protect his emaciated body from the cool night air. Despite his obvious disadvantage, the dog man offered him a paw to help him up. The Human noticed that it it shook faintly with palsey. The Varken braced his legs in anticipation of Ray's weight. "Ah saw you help th' cub, m'lord. Ah don't see many highborn involve 'emselves like that."

Feeling uneasy about actually touching the dirty paw to accept the help and offending the obviously well-meaning beggar, manners eventually won out and Ray took hold of the offered digits and was helped to his feet. The Varken pulled him to his feet and gently dusted him off. The youth awkwardly accepted the additional help, sheepishly adding. "I-- um... thank you. I'd-- I'd offer you something, but I... gave away my--"

The mutt offered him an amiable grin, revealing numerous missing teeth. "No worries... no worries, m'lord. Ah wasn't doin' it fer pay. Kindness begets kindness, ah always say. Doin' good means doin' well."

Ray recognized both statements. "Kindness begets kindness" was a common phrase used by the temple to encourage people to get along or, as his father always said, it was an effective tool to make sure the poor didn't kill one another. "Doing good means doing well" was a little more esoteric, and one that Ray had studied in his search for scholastic knowledge. It had fallen out of favor as a common phrase by the church to suggest that the rich provided help to the poor. The Human paused just long enough for those thoughts to sink in, and he couldn't help but ask "Where did you hear that?"

The Varken cocked his head to the side, floppy ears perked, not unlike an inquisitive pet. "Hear what, m'lord?"

Sighing, Ray shook his head; it had been a long night, and the punch to his face had obviously left him devoid of his common sense. "Never mind. Thank you for the help, um... sir."

The beggar nodded, backing a way as he offered a short bow, and another, before slowly about-facing and making his way down the street. Before turning into another alley, the Varken raised a paw in farewell, offering a parting statement "Sun be at your brow, m'lord."

It was another old church-related statement: a parting for loyal followers of the divine word. Was the beggar's comments pure coincidence, or was there more to it than that? Ray was left alone wondering exactly what had happened and he continued trying to figure out what he was missing all the way home. He didn't discover it until that night.

* * * * *

It was not quite midnight by the time Ray got back home; it was much earlier than he usually returned when he was away with his friends but still far later than his parents normally liked him out, not that it mattered since they were out of town. The young man walked right up to the front door, unlocking it with his house key, and let himself in. Ray had no doubt that he could have knocked and the doorman would have come despite the late hour, but he was more than content to handle the issue by himself.

Surprisingly, when he entered, Ray was not the only one in the entryway. Reclining in a lounge chair appropriated from the study was the only Sunfeli his father employed full time, a tiger-striped Sunfeli who Ray had only ever known as Bird. While the Wescott family often had a very broad divide between employees and the household, Bird was an exception; not only did he have a room at the house but, when not on duty, he never left the family's holdings. As far as Ray was concerned, it was probably due to his father's overriding urge to avoid looking back to the other wealthy families, and having a Sunfeli on staff would definitely do that.

Little of that mattered to Ray, especially since the emerald eyes staring at him belonged to his father's spymaster. Bird's pupils contracted, turning into diamond slits as he eyed the young man. His question was cryptic. "So, Raedryn, you give as well as you received?"

In Ray's estimate, the Senfeli rogue was no more than a few years his senior but had been hanging around the family as far back as the Human could remember. He only also ever used Ray's full name to get a rise out of him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The Sunfeli raised a paw and gestured to his own muzzle. "Did you fight back?"

The young man suddenly realized what Bird meant; he'd been struck in the face and his hand went up in reflex to touch his still-tender nose. He winced, but quickly underplayed the reaction. "I'm fine."

Scowling, the tiger man reached into his belt pouch and pulled forth a familiar-looking coin purse, then threw it at Ray's feet. "You are NOT fine. You are careless, clumsy, and prone to rashness."

The teen matched the expression as he knelt down to retrieve it; Bird had obviously been following him. "So? Looking after me isn't your job."

The edge of the Sunfeli's muzzle quirked up in a sardonic smirk. "Yeah? Just imagine me telling you dad that if you get mugged for real next time."

Ray huffed, turning to walk up the stairs with a dismissive "Whatever."

He knew that Bird had been recruited at a young age-- from among the street cubs, if the rumors he'd heard were to be believed. His training had been at the brutal hands of the Prescott's former spy master, and that meant that the family's eldest son and the 'prodigal cub' had few reasons to interact... until recent years. Considering Jeddiah Prescott seemed to consider Raedryn something of a disgrace it seemed that Bird was continuing to get involved in the teen's affairs.

As Ray reached the top of the stairs, Bird's call echoed up after him. "You aren't going to leave again tonight, are you?"

Scowling, the young man didn't bother calling back, choosing instead to head off to his room; he provided his answer in the form of slamming his door. A split second after the loud impact heralded his response Ray winced, realizing that his 'mini tantrum' likely would have awakened half the house. Letting out a lengthy sigh, the teen took off his overcoat and tossed in into the chair that sat next to his writing desk. It hadn't been a great birthday. His friends were, as usual, overbearing asses; he had been given a bloody nose; his money had been taken only to be retrieved by his family's spy master who, in all likelihood would report the events to his father.

Letting out an even deeper sigh, Ray was ready to toss himself onto his bed, only to pause when he saw a small, carefully folded note on the pillow. "Wha?"

Leaning forward, he retrieved it and slowly unfolded the paper; it was written in the careful, intricate penmanship of Bird. "I assume you'll run off to your room after I bring up the events in the alley. Thank you for helping the cub."

A faint tingling in his fingers caused Ray to recoil; he had scarcely managed to read all of the words on the paper before it fell back to the bedspread and, before his eyes, the oils from his fingers interacted with the parchment, causing it to slowly dissolve. Staring in disbelief, Ray could only roll his eyes at the insane lengths to which Bird went even in casual correspondence.

He brushed the dust off of his bed and was getting ready to call it a night when his cloak, which had just managed to hook the chair, shifted slightly, falling to the floor. Oddly, it landed with the muffled 'thunk' of something hard. Ray paused at that; he hadn't been storing anything in his cloak. Confused by the sound, he moved over to where his garment had fallen and picked it up, reaching a hand into the inner pocket; he was surprised when he felt something within.

Withdrawing the object, Ray was taken aback by the presence of a circular amulet. It was made of gold; even with his limited business acumen he had been around his family long enough to identify the metal by sight. An intricate symbol was engraved into its face and the engraving had been meticulously filled with what looked like platinum. The piece was unbelievable, but surprisingly familiar; the young man had seen the symbol before.

Practically pouncing on his writing desk, Ray pushed aside several scrolls until he found one of the recent historical tomes he'd purchased from the town's book binder. It took him several minutes as he flipped through hundreds of pages, not stopping until he came to an entry detailing the ancient temples and apocryphal passages regarding the church's old ways-- specifically, an enigmatic divine entity known as The Sundered One. That god's symbol matched the amulet perfectly, except the amulet had twelve empty insets that looked like they should have held small gemstones.

Only once his first question regarding the amulet's symbol was answered did Ray's mind latch onto a more important one: how had he come by it? Replaying the numerous events of the night in his head, Ray thought back to the last time his hand had been in that pocket: he had kept his coin purse there, and had drawn it out so he could throw at the thug in order to placate him. He KNEW his pocket had been empty after that and he had not encountered anyone else on the street on his way home. A moment later a recollection came to him: the Varken beggar!

The dog man had helped him up and dusted him off. Ray's father told him about the pickpockets on the city streets who could easily rob an unwary man blind, but the teen had never heard of someone using such skills to plant an item rather than take it. Had that been the case? He didn't know, but the thought bothered him. How had a beggar come by such a priceless item? And, if he had it in his possession, why hadn't he sold it. Further, why give it to Ray? He didn't have an answer for any of those questions and the only one who might was back in the Beast District.

Raedryn had his coat back over his shoulders before he could even finish the thought. He put his coin purse back into the inner pocket and then looked down at the amulet where he'd placed it beside the tome on his desk. Picking it up, the young man considered where he could store it on his body but, in the end, with his mind still awash with thoughts of pick-pockets, he donned it. So focused on getting out of the manor without Bird catching him (again), he didn't even take note of the faint gleam from the amulet as it settled against his chest.