The Erudite: Cyoraz and the Seneschal

NO AI WAS USED IN THE CREATION OF THIS WORKA short story from The Cloudbreak Mythos - a fantasy series I'm developing.Cyoraz Ce Valonrik, a lightning-wielding Erudite from the Talon School, has wandered far from his homeland of Aciros to the rain-soaked city of Naplanti Vonvorola in Feluki, where he's been making enemies by dismantling local gangs. After surviving an assassination attempt, he wakes in the care of Vendri Nielli, a sharp-tongued Felukite woman with mysterious medical skills and motives she won't reveal. Nielli introduces Cyoraz to Keranth Tresoro, the city's Lord Seneschal, who hires him as hired muscle to crack down on crime. But the jobs aren't what they seem. On his first mission, Cyoraz encounters a mute, bell-draped Erudite in heavy plate armour who bests him in combat – and his still-healing wounds make a rematch impossible. As Cyoraz wrestles with old demons, including the violent reputation that earned him the name "The Mad Dog," Nielli begins to see past his bravado to someone genuinely trying to change.