Burke had chased him for years and now it was over. His pirates life had caught up to him. Agent Burke regretted the fact that he was dead and could not face justice and judgement in imperial court. Though that had happenned already and didn't accomplish much.
All the chasing and research and then Balthier just turned himself in at Windfall. That didn't last of course. Under the Malekite regime every scumbag who would do a favor for the Dark Emperor was released on his errand. Balthier betrayed the Empress, may she live forever, and led the Emperors forces to her.
That would be enough to condemn him to the death he sufferred, yet Agent Burke couldn't help but feel a bit of sadness. So much of his life was spent chasing the thief and the pirate that he barely remembered the boy he once knew.
His father, Lord Oliver, was from a respected Imperial family, royalty of one of the outlying provinces actually. Lord Oliver got Balthier a position in the imperial agency. All the wealth, opportunity, and adventure a good imperial could want. Expect he wasn't really a good imperial. He was the result of Lord Oliver's indiscretion with a human maid he employed. Its not that being a half elf was shameful, the imperial family was half elves, but his infidelity was a shameful stain on Oliver Silverblood's otherwise good name.
One day Balthier just went rogue. Agent Burke could never figure out why. He theorized he was tired of his father's shadow, didn't enjoy the imperial trappings which reminded him of a father who would never accept him.. or maybe it was a less complicated desire for riches--He never got the opportunity to ask.
He was always selective in anyone he claimed to trust or associate with until recently. When his friend Mist fell in love with that Drow it seems he was forced to open his doors and let in the people who would eventually betray him.
It was strange, 15 years of studying and following Balthier yet he had never had a run in with the black venom cult before. There are hundreds of factions that would want to kill him...but why the black venom cult?
Agent Burke openned a new case file-- after all Balthier was an imperial citizen and had just been murdered. Agent Burke had a new target for his obsession.
No comments:
Post a Comment