Chapter 1

Seventeen-year-old Victor Rhychton stood on the bench near his bed as his guardian, Kyierchton,

tied his scarf. He was getting ready to travel north to Mayfields to meet up with Christophe so they could buy supplies for their trip to Luna Falls. Victor had received a letter from the prince asking for his assistance on a murder case he was investigating. The prince was hitting a dead end on the case, not from lack of evidence, but rather too much evidence pointing several directions. He had somehow learned of Victor's abilities as a Tasmin and was curious to see if Victor would be able to help. Victor had been reluctant at first, but after talking it over with Christophe, had agreed to go.

Victor was brought from his thoughts as Kyierchton gave the scarf a final tug, "All done."

"Thank you, Kyierchton."

Victor smiled at the man grateful for the help. Tasmins were born blind, or rather, "saw" their world differently than someone with normal vision would. For instance, instead of seeing people, he saw auras. The auras told him quite a bit about the person, such as if they were human, mage, vampire, etc., and whether or not he should be weary of the person. Another skill he possessed as a Tasmin would be coming in handy today as well. That was his ability to sense weather patterns. This helped him tell whether there were going to be storms and how long he could travel before he needed to stop and seek shelter at an inn.

As helpful as his "vision" was at times, getting around was still difficult without the staff Christophe had made for him a year after they began living at the pub with Kyierchton and Triecton. Christophe had enchanted it with a spell to act as a second eye for Victor so that Victor could see where he was going. It was made of red oak and curved around at the head to secure an orb which held a gold dragon's eye.

"You're welcome." Kyierchton handed Victor his staff then gave him a pat on the back, "Triecton is downstairs. You should eat before you go."

"I will. Thanks."

Victor sighed then made his way downstairs. As he walked to the bar, he noticed it was quiet, which he didn’t mind as the place was usually packed. He must've gotten lucky and missed the breakfast crowd. Triecton was currently serving a customer, seeming to be in good spirits. Victor was relieved to see this as his adopted uncle had seemed down the last several days, though nobody knew why. Anyone that asked received a forced smile and "it's nothing" as a response, and anyone that knew Triecton knew it was wiser to leave it at that. Triecton was a gentle soul, but was also a force of nature if one pressured him too much.

As Triecton finished taking the customer's order, he spotted Victor and smiled as he walked over to him, "Good mornin' Victor. Want your usual?"

Victor smiled and nodded, "Yes, please. Would you also make a canteen for me?"

"Certainly. You have a long travel ahead so you'll need to remember to refill as you go."

"I will"

After Victor finished his meal, he thanked Triecton for the canteen then left to head towards Troll's Creek Hall. Last time he traveled with Christophe, they had traveled to Yulkinah Riverside and were almost turned away because Victor's traveler's ID was discovered to be expired. The only reason they hadn't been was because Christophe had been the one driving the wagon and his ID had already been updated from when they traveled to Nymphoria during harvest season last year. The guards at Mayfields, however, were strict so he needed to get it taken care of. Especially if he and Christophe intended to spend some time trading and selling while they traveled.

While he waited in line, he took the letter out of his pocket and reread the information the prince had enclosed about the case. Something about this case was nagging at him, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was. Whatever it was, he hoped to be able to figure it out once he got to Luna Falls. He folded the letter then returned it to his pocket before walking up to the counter. He smiled politely at the elf as he approached, "Hello, I need to renew my ID please."

The elf seemed to study him for a moment before nodding curtly, "Name please."

"Victor Rhychton." He handed her his ID then waited as she inspected it.

"Very well, just a moment."

Victor nodded then allowed himself to get lost in thought, shifting slightly as he sensed a change in the atmosphere. Mother Nature must be getting ready to bless them with more rain. Victor smiled and silently thanked her for this. They needed the rain after the devastating drought they had last year. Between the drought and the fires it had caused, harvest season had been almost completely destroyed. Merchants such as he and Christophe had been left little to no choice but to travel to distant villages in hopes to get enough food to get through the winter.

This had not been an easy feat as there weren't many villages who had been fortunate with their harvest and fewer were willing to share their food with travelers. Fortunately Victor and Christophe had managed despite the setbacks.

The elf cleared her throat as she handed Victor his new ID, "Here you go, Mr. Rhychton. Have a safe travel."

Victor nodded his thanks and was turning to leave when he noticed someone watching him. The man was standing over by a pillar as if waiting and nodded as he and Victor made eye contact. Victor sighed and walked over. The prince must have sent him if Victor judged the uniform correctly. The aura surrounding the man, however, left Victor puzzled as it was unheard of for a vampire to be hired to work in the castle out of fear that said vampire would turn on the royals. Victor wondered what this man had done to prove he could be trusted. His aura wasn't putting off any warning bells, so Victor hoped this meant he could trust him as well.

As Victor approached, the man straightened as he offered a hand to greet him, "Lieutenant Hector at your service. I was sent to ensure you reached Luna Falls safely. You are Victor Rhychton, correct?"

Victor nodded as he shook the lieutenant's hand wondering why this man was so familiar, but decided he would ponder on that when he had the time. Right now they needed to get to Mayfields before the first round of storms arrived, "I am."

He had assured the prince that he wouldn't be traveling alone when the prince had replied with a letter explaining that he would be sending an escort, but it seemed the prince wasn't taking any chances. Oh well. Safety in numbers he supposed. Speaking of which, "I have a friend waiting in Mayfields. We were going to buy some supplies while we were there."

Lt. Hector nodded in comprehension, "Alright. It will be evening by the time we get there so it would be best to stay overnight."

"We already planned on that. There will be storms moving in tonight, so night travel is out of the question. Not to mention we don't want to be traveling when the shadow moths come out for their hunt. Not until we have to anyway."

"We should be able to avoid them once we pass the Neurophian Mountains since they only go south to hunt."

"Yes, but the Neurophian Mountains are located halfway between Bayleaf and Luna Falls with the Alkalinah Forest lining them on the south side, so until we pass through them we'll need to be careful."

"Alright."

Of course, traveling would be easier once Christophe joined them. He had a spell he could use to ward off the shadow moths, but Victor and Lt. Hector needed to get going if they wanted to make it to Mayfields before sunset. He conveyed this to the lieutenant and they headed out.

On their way to the gates, they stopped by the market to get a canteen for the lieutenant. Since Lt. Hector was a vampire, Victor made sure to have the canteen filled with Rubia Elixir. This would be more effective in keeping the guard hydrated than a simple juice would. This gesture seemed to put Lt. Hector at ease as the man gave Victor a smile, "Thank you."

Victor returned the smile and nodded, "You're welcome."

"How did you know I was a vampire though?" Hector asked.

Victor frowned a bit confused, "Surely the prince filled you in that I am a Tasmin?"

Hector nodded, "He did, but what does that have to do with my question?"

"As a Tasmin, I can see auras, which helps me differ from human or otherwise, such as vampires, mages, werewolves, etc."

The lieutenant gave a nod of understanding then smiled again, "Well then, thank you again for being considerate."

"You're welcome."

The vendor cleared his throat then gave a polite smile as he handed their canteens back to them. Victor had decided to fill a second canteen for himself to ensure he had enough to drink since it would be a long walk. He paid the vendor then walked with Hector to other vendors where they bought fruits and other foods to have during their journey. Once they were finished, they made their way to the gates. As they approached, Victor noticed the number of guards securing the gate had doubled. They must be increasing security with the Blood Moon approaching. Victor shuddered as he thought of Triecton and hoped for the best as he and Lt. Hector handed the guards their IDs. Once the guards gave them the okay to pass, they walked through the gates and began their journey to Mayfields.