Iridium Thane's page

About Iridium Thane

He sat stoically in a simple wooden chair in an office room that felt too close and confining. It was unseasonably hot in Ilizmagorti, the kind of day where he would typically wrap himself in cool shadows and hide from the glare of the tropical sun. Instead, he found himself here, staring across the desk of Undermaster Lothan, struggling to maintain a façade of calm despite his apprehension. His training had him note all the exits, threats and defenses of the building as he entered. One obvious exit from this room, two guards. Secret escape route behind the bookcase, with one – no, two guards according to his keen elven ears. Lothan’s taking no chances, he thought.

“You missed your Mark,” Lothan said from behind steepled fingers.

“I know.”

“Why?” the Undermaster queried with a raised eyebrow, disappointment obvious in his tone.

“She was an innocent.”

Lothan scoffed, “There are no innocents in this. She was just a Mark, and you failed. Tell me why.”

“She reminded me of my mother.”

Lothan nodded but his stare did not soften. It was cold and unblinking, like a serpent hypnotizing its prey.

“Which was precisely why you were given her Contract…as your first Contract. You had a bright future with the Red Mantis. You could have been among the best, in time. But you’ve always had this misplaced nostalgia. Do you have any idea what happens now?”

He knew. His fingers moved unconsciously toward the knives he kept hidden, only to remember that he had been meticulously disarmed before he’d even been allowed past the foyer.

Lothan smirked, “Please. I could have left them to you and killed you with a flick of my wrist. Do you think I have called you here to gloat? My merest nod would have seen you dead hours ago, tossed into a garbage pit in the Bilges, before you ever saw my face.”

“Any other day, your corpse would be filling that garbage pit,” he continued, “but the Venai are grateful for your part in the Stolze Incident. And you’ve been like a son to me. You are dead to us now. Dead to me.”

“Your new name is Iridium Thane,” Lothan said, solemnly, as he pushed a folded and wax-sealed parchment across the desk. Iridium took the parchment and scanned it quickly.

“The River Kingdoms?” Thane looked up in surprise.

Lothan nodded, “Cooler weather and a chance to make something of yourself. Don’t be foolish and try not to end up spitted on an orc spear.”

Then he fixed Thane with a penetrating stare and said, “Remember this: Few of the Red Mantis know your face. But, I know it. If I ever see you again…you are a dead man, for true.”