Warn you with a Whisper: Chapter 1- Early Suspicions

The luminescent rays of the sun shined directly into my left eye. I scooted myself closer towards my tome for a better look. The verdant patch of grass beneath my body tickled my knees as I rested on them. I shifted my weight so I was sitting on my behind instead of knees, which were smudged with a layer of dirt from the wet terrain. As my bottom came into contact with the grass a sensation of wetness overcame me. For the moment I ignored the dew-covered patch of grass I decided to sit on and focused my attention to the ancient writing before me.

I pinched one of the pages with my thumb and index finger and gingerly flipped the tome's worn page. The particular tome looked as though it could be the same age as the ancient language it read. I only prayed each time I flipped the page that I would not rip it. Some pages looked as if they might crumble if you touched them. All I could do was be certain that I was as meticulous as humanly possible.

I traced my tiny finger across each word. Every now and again my hands would begin to tremble and I could not understand why. Occasionally my heart would accelerate and my breathing would quicken. This time however the tremors in my hands would not let up so I hastily decided to close the book for now. Such power…I thought to myself, just what I need.

Suddenly the sound of footsteps awoke me from my trance. I spun myself around to see a young boy close to my age with distinct green hair and honeycomb eyes. I smiled upon recognizing my newly acquired friend, Sothe. He took a few unnaturally quiet paces towards me and returned my smile.

"Hey Tormod, what are you doing?" he asked as his eyes flickered towards the ancient tome in my hand. I picked myself up off the ground so I was level with my friend.

"Well if it isn't my favorite thief! How ya doin', buddy?" I asked as I slid my tome between my arm and my side. Sothe's eyes wandered to my tome again and back to my face.

"You didn't answer my question. Where did you get that tome? That thing looks older than Tellius!" he replied with curiosity creeping into his voice. I gripped my tome tighter and held it so my crimson cape would shield it. I subconsciously let out a fake laugh.

"Oh, this old thing? Just something I picked up off a Daein soldier after a battle," I said. Sothe narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips.

"So now you're scavenging weapons from dead soldiers? That's a little weird…. even for you," he remarked. I chuckled nervously again, in attempt to break his tension.

"Well he didn't need it where he was going and besides I was eying the tome up for the entire battle. I'd never seen one quite like it before," I replied confidently. Sothe peeked his head closer to where I held the tome. I instinctively took a step back. The thief narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms in disapproval.

"What's so special about it?" he asked inquisitively. I swallowed deeply and gripped my tome against my side even tighter than before. I scanned my eyes across the camp in attempt to find a distraction but nothing worthy appeared.

"Nothin' really I've just never seen a tome similar to it before. It kinda caught my attention I guess," I replied shakily. Sothe began to walk in circles around me never once letting his gaze off my left arm where I hid my tome. I mirrored his movements in the anticipation that he might try to take the tome from underneath my arm and possibly tear it.

"So why can't I see it?" he interrogated. I stammered for a moment until I thought of something to say.

"Well it's really really old and I don't want you to rip it or anything…" I replied. Suddenly my left arm began to twitch where the tome was resting. Oh come on, not now…I thought to myself. The muscle spasm continued until it must have been visibly noticeable. I bit my lower lip and began to turn around. A tight grip on my shoulder stopped me from going any further.

"Tormod…what's up with you're arm?" he asked with concern. My eyes grew wide and I bit down harder on my bottom lip. I thanked the Goddess I wasn't facing towards my friend.

"It's just a…muscle spasm…yeah! Ya know…it happens…when you fight everyday your muscles get tired and well you get it! Anyway, I'll see you around buddy, I got a few things I need to do. See ya!" I said hastily. Before I could even give Sothe a chance to protest I shrugged his hand off my shoulder and sprinted towards camp. I knew he wouldn't be able to keep up with me if I ran my fastest. After all, I learned from the best. Muarim taught me everything I knew except magic. As I approached my tent I prayed Muarim was training and not in the tent because my arm continued to twitch. I knew the spasm wouldn't cease until I dropped the tome.

I opened the flaps of the tent and immediately studied my surroundings. To my delight, the tent was barren. I thanked the Goddess as I slid myself in and pulled out the tome carefully from under my cape. I slid it between a fire and elfire tome that was neatly stacked in the corner of the tent. I figured this way its presence was inconspicuous enough for the time being.

My arm began to relax at my side as I drew a deep breath. I couldn't help but to wonder what the effects of actually using the tome would be. Just by holding it I could feel it's unbelievable power pulsing through my veins. I could not ignore the fact that it could quite possibly inflict harm upon me but it was a risk I was willing to take. If something held so much power that it could hurt the predator then there was no hope for the prey. A little burn here and there wouldn't inflict a profuse amount of damage anyway. As long as it helps to protect the ones I love then that is all I can ask of a weapon.

For the time being I had to hide the deadly weapon from the others especially Muarim, but hiding it from him wouldn't be too much of an issue. Muarim wasn't exactly magic savvy since he was a laguz and only needed his claws to rip an enemy to pieces. He would most likely overlook it as another fire or elfire tome.

Now that my secret weapon was hidden it was safe to leave the tent. I prayed I wouldn't run into Sothe again because there was no doubt he would be full with questions. I pushed the flaps of my tent away and began to walk through but was immediately halted by a body standing in my way. I crashed into the figure like thunder nearly knocking him down. I pulled my face out of his chest and looked up to see a pair of honey colored eyes staring back at me.

"Geez Sothe watch where you're standing!" I scolded. The thief frowned and crossed his arms while letting out a frustrated grunt. "Are you alright, Sothe?" I asked as I noticed the dismay in his gestures.

"I'm fine but it's you I'm curious about. Why were you in such a rush to get away from me before? That's not like you…at all," he said with an obvious tone of voice. I let a grin plaster onto my face.

"Awww Sothe are you worried about me? You're such a great friend!" I nearly shouted with a small giggle. Sothe rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.

"That's not…" he began before I interrupted him.

"But there's no need to worry your pal Tormod is doin' just fine! I feel great actually!" I said with a voice full of cheer. Sothe let out another long sigh and I gave him a smile in return.

"Well before you were…" I interrupted him again with more excuses.

"I was in the zone before! Never disturb a mage when he's reading his tome. Just like when your thieving around you don't need someone stepping on twigs making lots of noise. It's all about the concentration, my friend," I said with utmost confidence. Sothe dropped his gaze to his feet knowing that he couldn't argue anymore. I placed an arm around Sothe's shoulders in a friendly fashion and faced him away from the tent. "Come on buddy, let's go get some dinner before there's nothing left!" I suggested as we began for the kitchen. Despite my efforts, something told me Sothe wasn't going to drop this that easily.