It was night, but in the prison, one person still stirred. He was dressed in the uniform of the prisoners; indeed, he sat on a cot in one of the locked cells with a guard snoring outside the door. He was very thin, as if he hadn't eaten a decent meal in a long time, and he had a tendency to stoop over, making himself look smaller than he was. His long, bright red hair fell in curtains around his face, hiding his eyes from view. However, had his hair not been in the way, anyone looking at him would have noticed his oddly-colored violet eyes immediately.
The raucous snoring from the guard didn't bother Zakrey; he hardly noticed it. His attention was focused on the plain wooden chessboard in front of him, where he was losing badly to himself. It wasn't nearly as fun when he knew every single move before it happened, but it wasn't like there was anybody else willing to play against him.
An abnormal gurgling sound made him look up, and he nearly screamed. The guard's throat had been neatly and entirely silently cut. The body toppled to the floor as a trail of blood splattered onto the floor.
Zakrey had hardly recovered from the sight when a black shape formed from the shadows. It was the figure of a man, dressed entirely in black, and masked. Zakrey gulped nervously, convinced he was about to die. Wonderful, the Mob attacks and I'm stuck in a cell with nowhere to run. Cripes, I'm so dead!
He blinked in surprise when the mobmember unlocked the door to his cell. Then he spoke in a low, gravelly voice. "You have one chance to survive this, and that's to join us. Well?"
Zakrey began edging toward the door as he appeared to be undecided. "Uh, well, let me think about it." Instead, he swung open the door, knocking over the mobmember, and ran for the door. There was a grunt from behind him and something whizzed past his head an inch from his ear. He gulped and ran on faster, not daring to look to see what it was.
He made it outside and ran towards the forest to find somewhere to hide until morning. He made it to a tall, very leafy tree he could climb easily, and though he was tired, he didn't get any sleep that night.
By morning, the Mob was gone, melting away with the night, but the prison was empty, all its inhabitants either slain or taken by the Mob. Zakrey climbed down from the tree he'd taken shelter in, cramped and more tired than ever, and decided this would be a very good time to get as far away as he could, before he got blamed for another murder he didn't commit.

Wo Yao Fei Castle was the closest castle, and probably the only one Zakrey could get to, anyway, unless he had a boat. Not many people noticed the stranger walking the halls, assuming he was merely a servant or a new aspirant. He stole down to the kitchens, where he nicked some food and hid in one of the storerooms to eat it before somebody noticed his theft. He kept watch near the door, where he could hear anybody approaching, as well as the cook's assistants.
"Did you hear about that town that got hit by the Mob a few days ago?" One said.
"Yeah, it looks like the knights didn't know about it until it was all over. They said there weren't any survivors. A pity."
"I guess it's a good thing the traders were late, after all, then. They may have stopped in that town, otherwise. They brought faerie drak eggs, did you know? I saw them in one of the upper rooms."
"Ooh, I wouldn't mind one of those."
The cook arrived to scold them back to work, and Zakrey moved away so as not be seen. But he'd heard enough.
As soon as the coast was clear, he packed away the rest of the food and made his way upstairs. It took him awhile to find the right room, but sure enough, he came to one that had a tiny, cream-colored egg nested in a bundle of cloths by the fire. Seeing that the owner was away, Zakrey stole inside, watching carefully to make sure he wasn't caught. Once he was sure he was alone, he gathered up the egg, cloths and all, and stuck it into his bag, careful not to smash it. His job done, he snuck out of the castle, nobody the wiser.

The captain of the Stormchaser set about strolling around his ship and yelling orders to his crew, as was his usual routine when docking. He was too busy to pay much attention to who was around him, and he never noticed the young red-haired man dressed in well-worn sailor's clothes, nor the young night faerie drak curled about his neck.
Zakrey smiled to himself as he followed the rest of the passengers off the ship. Hubris squawked angrily from his shoulder as he was jostled by the crowds, and Zakrey hurriedly tried to shush him before the faerie drak drew unwanted attention to his owner. It seemed to be too late however, as a heavy hand grabbed his shoulder. Zakrey gulped and turned around, certain the captain had found him out.
It wasn't the captain. Instead, a large, blond-haired man stood behind him, keen blue eyes staring at him. There was an easy-going grin on his face, however, and didn't look like he'd just caught a stowaway and thief. "Hey, kid, can I talk to you for a second?"
Zakrey bristled at being called a kid-he was twenty-one, after all-but as he didn't want to make trouble, he shrugged and followed the man off the street. He nearly turned and ran when he saw a large gold and silver drak waiting for them, but the man's hand still clasped on his shoulder stopped him. Thoughts of ending up in another jail flew out of his mind, now he was afraid he was going to be fed to a drak, instead.
The man still smiled, though, as if he was trying to put Zakrey at ease. "My name's Twan, I'm the Head Judge for Descas Castle. This is my drak, Merilka."
Zakrey had an excuse ready on his tongue this entire time, but it slipped his mind at the man's-a knight!-introduction. What did they want with him?
"Merilka and I have been talking," the man continued obliviously, "and we agree that you should come with us. She thinks you'd make a good aspirant, and she's not wrong often." Twan said with an indulgent smile for the drak.
Once again, Zakrey was struck speechless. Well, almost. "Me? Well..." Actually, this could be a good thing. A very good thing. "Okay."