Footsteps padded on the cold stone floors of the king's palace. A new child, born under the sign of the Shadow, was to be presented to the King of Black Marsh. The child had emerald scales that glittered in the dim light.

The man who carried the new-born entered the grand hall where the King was seated. There had been a decrease in the number of Shadow-born Argonians recently and the King was in dire need of a legendary assassin. The King prayed to Sithis that this child may be the assassin that would protect the King better than anyone else.

'The pleas to Sithis must have been heard' the King thought to himself. The child, although he was only seven, had progressed exponentially and was capable of defeating all the adult trainers in single combat and he could defend himself in a situation of four to one!
They had named the child Veezara and he had begun to grow two horns on the top of his head.

The child's stealth was incredible, ever since his first birthday they had been feeding him on potions of sneaking and weapon buffs, and this had resulted in the most silent being in Black Marsh. They had named him the 'Shrouded one' as he picked up the ability to be completely unseen in dark spaces quicker than most of the other children in the academy.

This wasn't mortal. The child, at fifteen, had begun to grow small horns around his jawline and he was already thin but muscular and unbelievably strong. Unfortunately he had accidently killed six Orcs they had kidnapped to use as training for him. They put him in a circular room with nothing but cheap worn Dark Brotherhood gear, not even near the standard of basic Shadowscale armour, and then released all six Orcs simultaneously. They weren't any old Orcs either; these were professional sell-swords, trained to put cocky swordsmen back into their places.

The first Orc attacked with a steel warhammer but the Shrouded One flipped over it, slashing the Orcs face with his tail as he did so. A second Orc took a stab with an Orcish sword but Veezara twisted slightly and yanked the Orcs wrist, causing his sword to pierce the first Orc through the back, killing him instantly. The child whipped out an Elven dagger and cut the Orcs neck. the Orc flailed, catching Veezara in the shoulder before dieying. Two down. The next four Orcs surrounded him and circled the Shrouded One. Veezara showed no fear, these weren't going to kill him he thought for he had not been told these were not ordinary trainers. The first brute, who was an elderly Orc, swung an Orcish war axe at him. The child took a casual step back, like it was no effort, and then ducked low, lying flat on his back, as the Orc behind him delivered a killing blow her war hammer into the Old Orcs face.

Veezara pushed against the floor and slid underneath the female orcs legs, slicing her thighs as he did so. He flipped to his feet as she fell to her knees, unable to stand on her shredded legs. The Shrouded One span, throwing the dagger into the kneeling Orcs skull, defeating the fourth enemy.

Only two Orcs left, these were the two biggest males of the group, both armed with two handed ebony weaponry. Veezara pulled out two steel swords and advanced. He went for the Orc on the left first who heaved the heavy Battleaxe around in a wide arc, The Shrouded One avoided it and with his right sword arm, swung an attack that would have taken the Orcs head clean off if it wasn't for his helmet. Veezara pivoted and used both swords to push the sword of the other Orc into the ground as he tried to stab him. The child, perfectly balanced, ran up the back of the blade and brung both swords down onto the Orcs head. However, the Orc was prepared for this and jerked his head forward, head-butting Veezara in the shins causing him to front flip. The Shrouded one landed in a crouch, his swords scattered. The Orc had failed to remove his sword from the ground and had moved to the other side of the 'arena', the Orc pulled out a bow as the Orc with the battleaxe came in for another strike.

The Shrouded One crouched under the weapon and sent out a flurry of punches to the Orcs wrists causing him to drop the battleaxe. The huge mass of muscle punched the child in the jaw and pushed him away. Veezara stumbled but remained upright, he dived towards the opponent and manoeuvred him so that the first arrow hit the Orcs brethren in the back. Veezara punched the Orc in to temple, knocking him unconscious, and sent his limp body colliding with the archer.

Veezara slowly padded over to the archer and removed a steel arrow from the Orcs sheath. He then stabbed the Orc in the head with it, killing him before he had even been able to get up. He did the same to the final Orc and then dusted himself off, setting off towards his bedchambers.

*Hi, please tell me what you think of this prologue, feedback is really appreciated*

*There is a lot of violence but I wanted to get across how well trained the Shadowscales are... Do you think there was there too much violence?*