[12 Day of Summer, 498 A.V.]
The burning sun was in it's mid-day drift across the
sky heating the region of Sylira with the fury of a Deity. Luckily, the city of Ravok was blessed by it's own powerful God who kept
his citizens comfortable through the seasons. So on a day that
would be punishing for most, it was fairly nice over the Ravokian
Docks. Groups of children on the poorer side of the city would gather
at the docks and play with one another while their parents were away
earning enough Mizas to survive.
Syndre was eight years old and was tall for his age. He
looked older than other children of the same age, giving him the opportunity to hang out with the bigger kids. He was raised by a
family of thieves and his parents involved him with many of their
unlawful activities. This didn't give him too much time for fun,
so when he was able to get away he liked to come here and play a
popular game the older children played.
It was a form of kick ball. They used a ball made of soft
leather, threaded with cheap yarn and stuffed with wool. It wasn'tmuch, but it was all they had and they made good use of it. They
darted back and forth across the busy streets and between the shops
of the waterfront. Syndre was good at this game. He liked to run
and was very fast for his age. His father demanded that he be quick
on his feet so that if trouble arose, he could escape if he had to.
He had the ball and was working it between nimble feet, his
swift movements leading the pack of shouting boys through an emptyalley. The bricks of the walls were a blur as he concentrated on
keeping the leather ball infront him so that he could continue
kicking it forward, keeping it away from the larger kids that tried
to keep up. Once he reached the end of the short alley, Syndre gave
a brief hop and nailed the stitched ball as hard as he could. It flew
over the heads of those crossing the next street, hitting the front
of a Bakery and bouncing back into the street.
The ball rolled and stopped infront of Nydryn. A moment later
Syndre came sprinting between the crowd, looking over his small shoulder to see how close the other boys were. Satisfied of the
distance he had gained, the youthful rebel skidded to a stop in front
of the little girl. He stared at her with a pair of soft blue eyes,
his dirty face offering a small smile.
"You better hurry... the others are almost here," he said
while pointing a finger to the alley behind him. A worn shoe nudgedthe ball and it gently hit Nydryn's foot as if he was urging her to
play the game.
"Come on... this way," he nodded toward the next alley over,
wanting her to follow him as he started up into a brisk jog. He was headed back the opposite way from which he came, back toward the water front
where one of the canals slithered through the city.