Ozahl the Wise

When Ozahl first laid eyes on Jabez, he was stunned. He had lived for 114 years and never seen anything quite like it.

“N-necromancy? No... This is... Different.”

“What?” said Duke Sigard. “Is this an undead?”

“No... Not exactly,” said Ozahl. “This man, or what’s inside this man is... Not of this world.”

Any mage worth their salt learned to see auras. Auras of life, of death, of magic. It became their sixth sense and, for some, how they primarily saw the world. For someone like Ozahl, he could learn more about a person by looking at the aura of their soul than that person might know about themselves. Through this, he had learned the difference between creatures of his realm and those from the beyond, things simply known as “Outsiders.” While Ozahl had encountered monstrous outsiders before, such as the unpredictable Xangi – fleshy, alien, inhuman things – he had never before encountered a person, let alone someone that resembled a human. Upon further examination, it became clear that it was the soul itself that was the outsider, not the body. Jabez wore damaged rider armor upon his arrival, and after Ozahl learned of the attack along the border, he wondered at first if the Hidden Grove was behind Jabez’s appearance. Of course, why the Hidden Grove would summon an outsider and abandon it to its fate made no sense, so he ignored that possibility.

Then who is behind this? Jabez doesn’t seem fully aware of how he got here... Unless he’s withholding information from me. Is it the Xangi? No... Even when they pretend to be human, they’re not very good actors. This is quite the puzzle.

As Ozahl thumbed through ancient tomes in his tower, he grinned. It was the most exciting thing that had happened to him in a long time. Of course, he couldn’t reveal Jabez’s true nature to the public. All he could do was act as a guide, and with luck, Jabez would integrate with society and not cause too much trouble. But... Then he learned how Jabez felt about slavery.

“Peace? Peace?! You call this peace?! This is terrible!”

“Jabez, you shouldn’t speak as such. You lack the context!”

“I don’t need context to understand what’s going on isn’t right. No one should be treated like a possession.”

Of course, he knew Jabez was right. Ozahl was always against King Kojak II’s decree to enslave their enemies. But it was just prisoners of war, at first. The original agreement Kojak signed with the other races was that said prisoners would serve out a sentence and then be released. Given that the races were far longer lived than humans, Ozahl assumed it would barely inconvenience them. But then... Kojak changed the conditions. He said that the prisoners were rebelling and escaping, so he would make their punishment more severe. Then Kojak set his sights on expanding his kingdom.

“We will fulfill our destiny!” the king shouted. “We will fulfill the promise of the Twin Suns!!”

Still weak from the 50 Year War, the other races could do very little to stop the march of Ramtha, and the kingdom grew, and grew, and grew. But such growth required resources and workers to sustain, and the prisoner slaves were so useful. Too useful in fact. That’s when the Shevak Tong proposed to simply... Capture more slaves. Then over the course of a few years, Ramtha transitioned from a proud and noble kingdom to that of an oppressive regime, and it only got worse as time went on. Ozahl did everything in his power to reason with his friend, but in Kojak’s old age, his mind and body grew weak. He became an obscene, ill-mannered drunkard. No longer was he the mighty ruler of the greatest kingdom in the land. He was a laughing stock among his own court. And that’s when Ozahl noticed a change in the queen’s demeanor, too. She became a politically savvy schemer, whispering in her husband’s ears and directing him like a puppet. Queen Claricia became known as “The Power Behind the Throne”, and some even said the queen should seek approval from the Church to ascend once her husband passed away.

But then there was hope... Duke Sigard was promised the princess’s hand in marriage by King Kojak himself. Duke Sigard was a fine ruler, one who helped maintain peace, law, and order in Norwyn. There were many who desired to see him take the throne, but the resulting infighting between supporters of Duke Sigard and supporters of Queen Claricia proved to be quite the headache. More than once did Ozahl have to dispatch assassins aiming to kill Duke Sigard. They were almost certainly sent by the queen’s supporters, but without proper evidence, Ozahl could do nothing.

I have to keep Sigard safe... His marriage will be soon. But I need to watch over Jabez as well. What to do, what to do...?

Then, something astonishing happened. Jabez took to the mercenary life like a fish to water. He worked hard, he grew stronger, and he amassed a small fortune. He did very little except work, but in that regard, Jabez was a man after his own heart. Ozahl even snuck some jobs into the free company’s books that helped him take care of suspected assassins. All was well. Ozahl could focus on keeping Sigard safe, and when the time came, he said his goodbyes to the duke.

“I’ll leave for the capital first thing in the morning. I put the care of Felstat in your hands,” said Sigard.

“But my liege, are you sure I can’t come with? Couldn’t Wallack watch over Felstat instead?”

Sigard shook his head. “There’s no one I trust more in the land than you, my friend. Keep my throne warm for me. I’ll be back soon,” Sigard smiled. Then... He was gone.

After setting aside a table and a massive stack of tomes, Ozahl couldn’t help but feel happy.

No need to fuss. Jabez keeps himself busy, and Sigard has twenty of his finest soldiers with him. I might as well continue my studies and see if I can get to the bottom of this outsider situation.

Sipping a glass of fine wine, it felt like all was right in the world. But then...

“The head chef was killed?!” Ozahl shouted.

“We’re still not sure who did it, sir, but his home was broken into and his slave was stolen.”

“Dammit all... Who would do such a thing?” But then Ozahl was struck with realization. That day when Jabez bumped into the head chef’s slave, when he was publicly humiliated, and Jabez told Ozahl how he felt about slavery. “No... It couldn’t be...”

“Sir? Your orders?”

“I’ll send my birds to aid in the investigation. If you learn anything else, report to me immediately.”

“Sir!” the guard saluted before running off.

Ozahl leaned back, unsure what to make of things. He was certain Jabez was off on another mercenary job. That’s what his birds had told him. But if it wasn’t Jabez, then who could be so brazen? So foolish? It didn’t make sense... He’d have to find Jabez and question him. He could force answers out of the man with a spell. It wouldn’t be hard. But... He couldn’t find Jabez. For whatever reason, his blue birds lost track of him.

What? But how... Did he find a way to evade my detection? Impossible!

While he searched, another guard came to him saying that a mercenary from the Company of the Spade had a letter for him. Upon realizing it was Aurora, he had her brought in right away.

“S-sorry for intruding, Ozahl the Wise,” said Aurora. “I didn’t mean to disrupt things, but-”

“Do not fret, child,” Ozahl smiled. “Now what troubles you?”

“It’s... About Jabez. Something happened at the free company and, well, Captain Bowen believes Jabez might be behind things.”

“What happened?”

Aurora explained that two of their veteran mercenaries, Ronnie and Bobbie, had died during a routine cave sweep mission. The circumstances were suspicious, though, and Bowen suspected Jabez of foul play. Ozahl was shocked. He had been so preoccupied with other matters that this was the first time he heard of it.

“I see... When was the last time you saw Jabez?”

“Actually, I saw him on the walk over here,” said Aurora.

“You did? Where is he?!”

Ozahl personally flew to the last spot Aurora saw Jabez, but the outsider was nowhere to be seen. Ozahl called out to his birds, but they hadn’t seen him either. He checked the free company, he checked local taverns, he even sent guards to check the aqueducts running beneath the city, but it was no use. It was as if Jabez had simply disappeared.

Later that night...

“Out of my way! I must speak with him at once!” shouted Ozahl, parting the guards and clergymen overlooking Sheriff Wallack. “Who did this to you? Who?!”

“It was Jabez... That demon lured us into an ambush. The Hidden Grove... We were nearly wiped out.”

“The Hidden Grove?!” It was worse than Ozahl feared. Jabez had aligned himself with a violent anti-slavery faction that sought to tear down the entire kingdom. And yet...

He’s grown so strong. What if...? No, I can’t think like that. If Ramtha falls, humanity falls with it. If not the other races taking their revenge on us, it will be the grinmar, or the demons, or the Xangi. I have to stop him before it’s too late!

“Double all patrols along the roads. We have to find that traitor at once!”

“Yes sir!!” the guards saluted Ozahl.

Wallack would live, thankfully. The clergy would see to that. And while the wounded were tended to, Ozahl found himself alone in his tower, looking out to the city. So much had transpired at once, all while Ozahl was supposed to be watching over Felstat in Sigard’s place.

I can’t let him down. Whether Jabez realizes it or not, he’s walking down a dark path. One that will only lead to death and destruction. Perhaps... Perhaps I can still save him. Even if I have to hide him away, at least then...

A vision of Ozahl’s past flashed in his mind. A vision of a soldier marching off to war, never to be seen again. Ozahl slammed his fist onto his table, holding back tears.

Of all the times for those memories to return!! Oh Twin Suns, this life is most trying.

For now, he had to rest. He would find Jabez in the morning and drag him back to safety. And if he refused... That would be the end of it.