Chapter 12: Learning

Water dripped in the distance, hollow splashes echoing and re-echoing, losing their source forever. There were stone bridges and railless ramp-ways everywhere, all sprouting off from broad, flat-topped stone spires all polished and smooth and streaked with black and grey. Level upon level the maze stretched up and down through the murk, without any apparent beginning or end. Every bridge led to a spire, every ramp to another spire, other bridges. Whatever direction Ecero looked, as far as his eye could see in the din, it was the same, above as well as below. There was not enough light to see clearly, or for very far, but he did not mind. He liked the darkness, he was comfortable in it…and he was getting better at being able to focus his eye in it.

He pressed, seeking freedom from the walls, knowing it was an illusion. Everything was illusion. He knew this one well; had followed it too many times not to know. However far he went, up or down or in any direction, nothing changed. The smell of deep, fresh-turned earth permeated the air, the sickly sweetness of decay. The smell of a grave opened before its time. The smell of death. It filled his nostrils and clung to his skin like oil.

He breathed deeply.

A flicked of motion caught his eye and he froze where he was, half crouched against the polished guard wall around one of the spire tops. It was no hiding place; from a thousand places a watcher could have seen him. Shadow filled the air, but there were no deeper shadows in which to hide. The light did not come from torches; it was simply there, such as it was, as if it seeped out of the air. Enough by which to see, after a fashion; enough but which to be seen. But stillness gave a little protection.

The movement came again, and now it was clear. The form of a man striding up a distant ramp, careless of the lack of railings and the drop to nothing below. The man's cloak rippled with his stately haste and his head turned, searching. The distance was too far for Ecero to see more than the shape in the murk, but he did not need to be closer to know the cloak was the blackness of coal, that the searching eyes blazed like two sapphire stones. He tried tracing the maze with his eyes, to see how many connections Konin needed to make before reaching him, then gave it up as pointless. Distances were deceiving here, another lesson he had learned. What seemed far away might be reached by turning a corner, what appeared close could be out of reach entirely. The only thing to do, as it had been from the beginning, was to keep moving. Keep moving and not think. Thinking was dangerous, he knew.

There had been two or three close brushes, though he could not remember them clearly, but for a long, long time – how long? He had run while Konin vainly pursued. He would be lost here forever, he couldn't help but think, in this never ending maze.

For an instant then – just for the length of time it took to take a breath – he knew why it was dangerous to think, what it was dangerous to think about. As it had been before, every time he allowed himself to think of what surrounded him, of the impossibility of this task; if he allowed the fear to stir within his stomach, the air shimmered, clouding his eyes. It turned to jell, holding him. Taking away precious moments in which he should be running, hiding, training himself to remain calm.

The gritty heat prickled his skin, and his throat had long since gone dry as he trotted down the thorn-hedge maze. How long had it been now? His sweat evaporated before it had a chance to bead and his eyes burned. Not a breath stirred within the maze. Bone-dry dust rose in puffs at even his lightest step. It tickled his nose, threatening a sneeze that might give him away. This was a dangerous place, he knew that too. Ahead of him he could see three openings in the high wall of thorns, then the way curved out of sight. Konin could be approaching any one of those corners at this very moment.

Panting in the heat, he stopped to examine the maze wall. Thickly woven thorn bushes, brown and dead looking, with cruel black thorns like inch long hooks. Too tall to see over. Too dense to see through. Gingerly, he touched the wall, and gasped. Despite all his care, a thorn had pierced his finger, burning like a hot needled. He reeled back, shaking his hand and scattering thick drops of blood. He stuck the digit in his mouth and sucked around it, his tongue swirling to catch the tang. The burn had began to subside but his whole hand throbbed. A stray thought took vague shape then, that things might not bee what they seemed, but he pushed it down ruthlessly. Thinking was dangerous here.

So was staying in one place. That was one of the things he knew dimly but with certainty. Still sucking his fingertip, he started down the path in the direction he happened to be facing. One way was as good as another here. At the first opening in the wall he turned right, then right again at the next, and found himself face to face with Konin D'kal.

Surprise flitted across Konin's face, and his black cloak settled as he came to a halt. Then his features hardened.

"Well done, Ecero."

Confused about what he was being praised for but enjoying it all the same, Ecero smiled around his finger and took it from between his lips.

"You found me instead of the other way around." His teacher explained. "Even if it was not your intention."

The air about them began to shimmer and Konin's features blurred and faded. Ecero was used to this and waited patiently while the illusion dissolved. He stood now where he had hours ago. Before the test; the maze. Beside the small fire that burned within a circle of rocks.

It had been fourteen days, according to Konin, since the two of them had met, and Ecero had started training. He wondered often, but never asked, how Konin could tell the passing of time.

As they settled around the fire, Ecero prepared himself. This was where Konin would tell him all the things he had done wrong. What he needed to improve. Often, his teacher would have a new task for him to complete that would teach him to correct his mistakes. Often these tasks involved a great deal of pain, but he had not failed one of them yet. He learned from them. He was eager, even though he had yet to learn to wield a blade properly. He was learning to hide, to keep away where prying eyes searched. He learned to cover his tracks, and follow those who had not been clever enough to do the same. He learned about the land. What creatures lived within it and which ones he could eat. He knew which plants held nourishment and which ones were poisonous. And most importantly, Konin had said, he was learning how to listen.

"Awareness of your surroundings is a greater weapon than any blade." The man had said on their very first day of training, "If you know what is happening around you it can be used to your advantage. Know what is available to you and you will be unstoppable."

Ecero had taken the advice to heart. He had seen few of the creatures in the world, and been told about many others, in his short life. This was a place where two kinds of life-forms lived: Those who hunted and those who hid. There was no coexistence, and he certainly was not about to hide from anything.

He focused his attention on Konin, who was speaking once again. "Your greatest failure is that you do not hide yourself properly. You do not use the Shadow to your advantage."

Ecero held back a scowl. There had been scarcely any shadows at all! How was he supposed to hide in them?

"Pull the Darkness towards you, Ecero." Was the answer to his unasked question. "Reach out to it with your mind. It is always there. Try and you can feel it."

Already he was remembering the cell in which he had awoken. He remembered how comfortable he had been in the dark, surrounding him like a blanket, hiding him, protecting him. He let the memory overcome him. Drew on the feeling of being invisible, untouchable.

His eyes slide shut, but he hardly noticed, and the Darkness was there behind his eyes. Engulfing his mind, shielding him. A gasp shattered the serenity and his eyes flew open. Konin sat before him still, blue eyes wide and a grin splitting his face. "Well done." He said simply, his voice echoing strangely between Ecero's ears. "Though I did not mean for you to attempt it this very instant."

Ecero blinked, confused. He looked down at himself. He could not see his legs where they crossed beneath him. Shadow had swallowed them, and his arms too, as if he was in the very bowls of the Azure Lord's keep. He grinned – the light could not touch him.

"Let it go now."

Feeling frustrated, Ecero let the light overcome the Shadow, not bothering to keep the irritation from his face.

"A shadow in the middle of a well lit area is suspicious," Konin explained, "And some things here can see better than us." Ecero flushed under the revoke. "It is useful only in areas where shadows exist already. This is good however. I thought this would be more of a challenge for you." He smiled then. "But it seems the Darkness is drawn to you."

"That is what you want me to kill?"

Ecero and Konin sat crouched upon a bluff overlooking a deep valley in which there sat a castle. No, a castle was small compared to this…fortress. It reminded Ecero of Lord Raken's keep, black and sprawling, jutting from the mountain rock in great spires that stabbed at the sky.

The thing at which Ecero stared incredulously was moving slowly past the outer gates of the keep, surrounded by three guards, gnarly and bent at odd angles that made their arms sway wide as they hobbled beside their master. And their master was what he was supposed to kill. He was big, not so big as Lord Raken, but big enough that Ecero was apprehensive about an attempted assassination.

He turned to Konin.

"Ask your question, Ecero." The older man looked like he wanted to roll his eyes but was refraining.

"I cant kill something like that! When you said we had orders to kill Lord Raken's rival I assumed that meant you! I am not ready for this, Konin!" He turned away from his teacher's cool eyes to focus on the ugly bodyguards. "Cant I just peg his minions…?"

He was already pulling the bow from his back as he finished speaking, but a large hand on his arm stopped him. "You have been training for this for months now!" Konin hissed, as if he were afraid the demon would be able to hear them a mile away. "If you are not ready now you never will be!"

Ecero narrowed his eyes in disagreement and was not surprised when Konin did not give him permission to speak. He continued to glare and this time the other man did roll his eyes. "Fine." He said. "The demon is nearly through the front doors anyway. You can kill the guards when they move to watch the gates." He growled something about the bow being the last thing Ecero needed to practise as the boy rose and bounded silently down the slope behind them.

Konin followed, remembering how much the boy had learned so far, and much he had left to teach him. He could no longer find Ecero whenever they were in the maze. He covered his tracks flawlessly or else doubled back so many times it was impossible for Konin to tell which way he had actually gone. He hid in the shadows, swirling them about his body in corners. At first it had been easy to spot; a pitch black hole where only a little less light should have shone. That had been corrected though. Ecero's shadows were natural and blended seamlessly. He would jump out, tendrils of the Dark stretching and coiling like smoke, trying to keep contact with the boy, and have him pinned, a knife to his throat, before he even knew what had happened. For several minutes afterwards, Ecero's eyes were always as black as the shadows in which he hid. They lingered there, within him.

Konin made himself focus on the task at hand and noticed that Ecero had gained much ground while he reminisced, looking back up at his teacher with a quizzical frown. He grumbled at his carelessness. Furies roamed these hills like flies on a carcass and he was daydreaming! When he finally reached the bottom of the slope, Ecero had removed all the weapons from his waist up and was now pulling the thin black tunic over his head, where he balled it up and tucked it into the waist of his pants. He then began to replace his weapons, strapping the leather Holster right to his bare skin. It crisscrossed through the middle of his toned chest and stomach and left much of his skin bare. Konin began to think it was time the boy got a Holster that was of better quality. This one did not have near enough straps to hold all the weapons he would eventually possess. His own Holster had so many belts and straps that, even without a shirt, barely an inch of skin could be seen.

"Showing off?" Konin said, looking pointedly at his student's bare torso. He knew it was hot, Ecero seemed particularly affected by it, and he knew his protégé like to wear the least amount of clothing he could get away with. Konin couldn't have cared if the boy went nude, but had informed him that, should he get in a fight, it paid to have something covering your skin.

All he got in response was a mocking swagger as the boy walked away from him and towards the looming fortress gates.

Ecero pushed everything from his mind as he drew nearer the keep. Every thought left him until there was nothing but the Dark there with him. Konin had returned to the bluff, where he could get a good look in any direction. Ecero was alone, just the way he liked it. Alone with the Darkness.

He crouched down low as he approached the corner of a jutting rock. Peering around the edge, the fortress came into view. He didn't know much about it, only that they were supposed to kill the one who owned it. He could see the guards from where he stood, a little more than three specks on either side of the gate and the third walking between them. He grinned – this was going to be tricky.

The mountainside that he crouched beside was made up of jagged stones that were pointed and curved in odd shapes. Like flames that had solidified into stone while they danced. He used them as cover, ducking and balancing behind the strange shapes they made, making his way closer. His bow was strong, he had made it himself, and he and Konin were the only ones who could pull it all the way to the cheek, but he was still too far from the guards to make the arrow fly straight, now matter how good the bow was.

Eventually, he came close enough to make out the details of the guards' faces and clothes. They were new to him, but that came as little surprise. They had traveled for nearly five days to reach this place, where the enemy of Lord Raken lived. His name was Kevlamin, and Konin had been told that now was the time to attack their Lord's opponent as he was currently involved in a savage war with a city to the west and was low on both funds and men.

'Which would explain the lack of guard.' Ecero thought. Said guards were big creatures, hairy, with muscled arms that hung almost to their knees. Their brows were prominent and seemed to protrude over the rest of their face. Ecero thought they looked rather stupid, but knew that looks could be deceiving.

Centering himself in the void of Darkness in his mind, Ecero notched an arrow and raised the bow. He released a slow breath and pulled the chord to his cheek. It would be easier to hit a still target and he centered the tip of the arrow between the eyes of one of the guards, then raised it slightly.

The next second had the guard on the right side of the door crumpling in a heap and the remaining two turning in the direction from which the attack had come. Their weapons were drawn and they moved far more quickly than Ecero would have guessed their size would allow. He saw, out of the corner of his eye, Konin descending the slope of the bluff adjacent to him. He grinned and pulled a wicked looking sword, all pointed and odd shaped, from a holster on his back.

They were on top of him when he leapt from his hiding place. The creature in the lead fixed large, black eyes on him at the same moment Konin landed behind the second. It spun, quick as a striking viper, a great, ugly axe whirling in its massive hands. It lashed out, like lightning…and Konin seemed to lean casually aside, letting the blade pass so close he must have felt the wind from it. The beast howled in rage as the force of his blow carried him off balance and Konin moved hands and feet in rapid succession, so quick Ecero was not sure what he had just seen. The beast crumpled like a puppet and then he had to focus, for the other guard had reached him.

Quickly, he ducked as the large blade swung towards his head. As with his companion, the beast put too much force behind the axe and was forced to flow through with the motion or else risk letting the axe fly. Ecero spotted his chance as the large torso turned above him and, still crouch on the ground, he rammed the blade through the furry stomach. The axe slipped from the large slack hands as it reached the peak of its momentum and went sailing through the air.

Konin had reached him before the guard had hit the ground, the whole skirmish had only lasted seconds. The man was frowning down at the beast when Ecero pulled the blade from its midsection, wiping the blood off on his pant leg.

"We should move the –"

So suddenly it made Ecero start, the sound of a horn being blown hard rose from within the black stone walls and within moments, there were hundred of great ugly beasts, with muscled arms and hairy bodies, atop the battlements, all howling and shaking great, ugly axes.

"…bodies." Konin finished, sighing as he and Ecero moved to ascend the valley slope once more, angry howls and blaring horns fading as they climbed. Neither of them spoke as they reached the top, nor as they walked further still, towards the small camp they had made several miles from the valley ridge. They backtracked and crisscrossed frequently, so that if they were pursued, which they most assuredly would be, their hunters would not be able to tell which way they had gone. When the two of them did finally go in the right direction, they made sure no stone was turned, no boot print left in the dry earth, no branch or sprig broken, nothing at all to tell of their passing.

Eventually they made it back to their campsite. The fire was out, they had doused it and covered it with dirt before leaving several hours before. Konin set about digging the hole again and Ecero moved to the gnarled tree in which their food bag was hung. There was not much of the food left now, not after having traveled for five days, and what little they had would be finished tonight. Konin had advised him that the journey back to Ver'tora keep would be spent teaching him how to hunt.

But that had been before they had failed their task. Kevlamin was not dead and returning from an unaccomplished task meant certain torture for punishment.

Ecero grimaced at the thought.

He looked to Konin and stared, the food bag hanging over one shoulder, until the man felt his gaze and raised his head from the fire.

"Speak." He commanded simply.

"What are we to do now? We cannot return to the keep without Kevlamin's head."

The older man lowered his head again and after a moment said reluctantly, "We must return. We have no other choice."

A strangled sound of disbelief escaped Ecero's throat and he snapped his jaw shut before it formed into words. He did not need the collar to go off. But Konin seemed to understand as clearly as if he had spoken.

"It doesn't matter. It was by lucky circumstance we did not reach the other side of that wall. We'd have been in pieces within seconds." Konin scowled into the fire, "I do not know where Ver'tora got his information but it was false. Clearly, Kevlamin has plenty of men at his disposal."

Konin's words didn't little to ease the frown on Ecero's face, or to chase the images of punishment from his mind. It did not matter if the blame of failure belonged to someone else. The point was, they had failed to follow orders and for that, they would be punished.

'Darkness give me strength…'

Then end of the day was near. He was beginning to feel it. Konin said he would learn to read the passing of time on his own, as it was not something that could really be taught. It was in subtle things. The temperature changed slightly and Ecero no longer felt the stickiness of sweat coating his skin. The atmosphere lightened, the air became less oppressive. But other than those small details, nothing changed. He had been told that when he was able to listen and had a complete awareness of himself and his surroundings, he would be able to tell night from day.

He grinned, realizing that night had just fallen. He whirled, his grin widening. Konin raised a dark eyebrow, "What is it? Speak."

"This day has died." Ecero answered, green eyes glittering in the firelight.

A slow smile stretched Konin's lips. "Well done, Ecero. I knew it would not be long before you figured it out."

The sudden sound of rocks being disturbed made both men snap their heads around. On their feet and weapons drawn, the two peered into the gloom of dusty air. Nothing moved.

Ecero felt a chill run up his spine, stirring the hairs on the back of his neck. His grip tightened and he drew the bow impossibly taught.

The next second they were being charged. Two of the beasts fell at once, black plumed arrows sticking out of one eye. A closer look told Ecero they had been followed by Kevlamin's men. Cursing, he realized there were at least ten of the blasted creatures, but everything was moving so fast he couldn't be sure.

Steel met steel, loud clangs shattering the stillness of the air. Ecero struggled to keep the upper hand, but it was difficult. He was quick with a sword but they were only a little slower, their strength giving them an advantage with the great axes they swung. He was pulling his blade from one of his opponents when he felt his flesh split across his right shoulder blade. He cried out, not in pain but in a sudden rush of anger. He reached out to the Darkness for control, grounding himself within its stillness.

He forced the light from the air and filled the void in his mind. He saw the four remaining guards freeze, their eyes wide and gleaming as they searched for something Ecero could not see. He wasted no time however, and leapt to the nearest stunned beast, driving his sword right through its throat and up into its skull.

"Ecero!" It was Konin. He turned towards his teachers voice and frowned.

He had frozen as well, his hands splayed before his face, as if he were feeling for obstacles he could not see, suddenly blind.

"What have you done? I cannot see!"

Ecero felt his own eyes go wide as they darted around. The others were stumbling now, axes forgotten by their side as they fumbled forward, groping, searching. It was then that Ecero realized that the landscape about him had changed. It was colorless, cast in shades of black and grey. Thirty paces away in every direction shadows hung, like a dense black mist, swallowing the trees whole.

'The Shadow must have expanded.' Was all Ecero could think by way of explanation. He crept towards the fumbling beasts and, one by one, killed them. By the time the last one fell, Konin was sitting cross-legged on the ground, near the eastern edge of the circle and Ecero walked to him silently, satisfied with the start the other man gave at his touch. He laughed.

"Come on." The older grumbled, "Lead me from this place, you bloody Darkfiend."

He grabbed his teacher's hand obediently, pulling him toward the line that separated the dark from the light. He stopped at the edge, his nose flush with the border as he pushed Konin forward. He watched the man get swallowed by that wall of Shadow, on the other side of which he knew the light yet shone. Then he receded back to the centre, where he was drawn. He was so comfortable there. He felt protected.

After a moment however, Konin's voice drifted from the other side. "Come, Ecero. We must find a new place to camp." Ecero sighed and trudged from his hiding place reluctantly. "I fear more of them will come looking when these ten do not return. And we must be more careful this time."

Ecero snorted as he shouldered his share of their burdens: a blanket roll setting atop a rucksack. How could they be more careful? He didn't think they had ever been so careful.

"Do you still have your tunic?"

He frowned at the question, but nodded when Konin looked over his shoulder at him. It was looped around his belt.

"Good." Said the older man, "We will do double-backs and leave bits of the garment along the false trails. Trogs are not that clever, but they can fight," Ecero rolled his shoulder in a circle, grimacing in agreement, "And they don't see so well, but their sense of smell is strong. I should have realized it, but I thought if we…well, never mind now."

So they were called Trogs then. Ecero thought the name suited them rather well. The silence stretched on between them as Konin lead the way to wherever it was they were going. Ecero never chose camp. He hated it. Always he found something wrong with it; they were too exposed on one side. There was no shelter from the heat. They could be seen from a hundred places. Konin told him he was being too picky, that one seldom found the perfect hiding place, but he was stubborn and refused to decide where they rested. He had a feeling, though, that the situation might change on the way back to Lord Azure's keep.

Night had been with them for several hours before Konin finally stopped walking. They had done as he said, backtracking and laying fake trails with Ecero's scent scattered along the way. He had nothing left of his tunic but if it meant keeping the Trogs away, then he was alright with it. They had ended up going much farther west then they had originally planned, putting them close to Jarkaa, a dangerous city, according to Konin. The wilderness and the animals within the Slave's Land were dangerous, he said, but it was the creatures of the cities that you had to watch out for. They were smart, and so were more dangerous than anything you could find in the woods.

Ecero shivered at the memory, in a mixture of excitement and wariness. He had met many vicious beasts, interested in little more than separating his head from his shoulders. And every time he slaughtered them. He liked the idea of an intelligent opponent, of a challenge he might not be able to meet. Konin and him never fought, not for real. It was practice and lesson; a simulated battle to prepare him for a real one. But Ecero wanted that now. Wanted to know the feeling of having his life depend on a win or loss. On a single strike of his blade. He wanted to match his skill against another, and come out the victor. It was like an itch he could not scratch; a craving only temporarily satisfied whenever he killed an animal or sparred with Konin. But always it was there, the desire to beat a creature smart enough to know it was losing to him. Because he was the stronger, the more skilled…

"I will take first watch." Konin said. "We will not light a fire tonight. The smell of the smoke will be like a beacon to the Trogs."

Ecero nodded, a little disappointed. Even after months of seeing it, he still loved to watch Konin light a fire. The way he just pulled the flames out of the air, barely a blink of concentration, amazed him. He was promised he would learn to master the elements. In time. It would be the last part of his training. When asked, Konin had said something about 'making the mould before casting the iron' but Ecero had been so angry at the time he hadn't given it much thought.

He leaned back leisurely against a rough tree trunk, his legs crossing in front of him. Only a small hiss escaped his lips when the gash on his shoulder blade rubbed against the gnarled bark. But in the silence, it was enough to make Konin's head snap around.

"What is the matter?" he asked, striding swiftly to where Ecero lounged against the tree. "Speak, boy!"

Rolling his eyes, the younger of the two replied, "It's just a scratch."

"Sit forward."

Ecero did as he was told, a scowl on his face. He had had worse than this before. Konin was grumbling behind him. "A scratch…" his other words were indecipherable, but Ecero guessed they were far from kind.

He felt dried blood being wiped from his flesh and then saw Konin reach for a small pouch at his belt. He jerked forward and away from his teacher, eyeing the bag, and the man, warily.

"The infection you will get if I do not heal that gash will hurt far worse than the visecin leaves. Now, come here and hold still!"

The only reason Ecero did as he was told was because the salve would cause less pain than the collar. He sat down once more, his back to Konin. Then he was biting his tongue to keep from screaming. It felt as if the wound were being cauterised shut with a hot poker. He groaned, his hands clutching at fistfuls of hot dirt so hard he thought he might have stones imbedded in his palms.

"There. Now you will not die from an infection fever."

Ecero barely heard him, so focused was he on the pain. He let it flow through him, from his shoulder to his head and all the way to his toes. It pulsed, sharp, with his heartbeat and he controlled its flow, timed the stinging pulse with his pumping heart. Every second beat, every third, fourth…until it faded completely and the pain was gone. He opened his eyes. Konin had taught him how to do that. Ecero watched the man's back, where he stood nearly forty feet away. Though he could not see them, Ecero could picture those sharp blue eyes piercing the stillness around them. He remember that lesson well. 'If you can grasp the concept of mind over matter, then you can do anything.' Unfortunately, Konin had decided pain was the strongest motivator for that particular task and, by the time Ecero had finally managed to control the pain and force it from his mind, he had been dizzy and nauseous.

He took his eyes from Konin's hazy figure, the distance making it impossible to focus, and settled down against the tree trunk.

White hot pain made Ecero's vision go dark for several seconds, pulsing like liquid fire down his spine. He screamed, and heard Konin's agony in answer. No matter how much he willed the pain away, it would not leave him now. There was too much of it and it threatened to consume him.

They had expected this upon their return to Ver'tora keep. They both new punishment would be the only answer to their failure. It stretched on and on, until Ecero thought he might not be able to stay conscious.

Hanging from the ceiling, the chain cutting into the flesh of his wrists, he vowed to scale the highest walls, charge the toughest battlements or fight one hundred Trogs, so long as he never had to put up with this again.

But then Ukimu Noul was putting slack in the chains, dropping him to his knees on the dusty floor, where he trembled and moaned and spit blood from his mouth. Konin was his reflection across the room. Their eyes met and they offered bloody grins.

As they were led to their cell, Ecero though back on the conversation that had taken place upon their return. All in all, it hadn't been that bad. Not nearly as horrible as they had expected. Lord Ver'tora listened while they spoke and gave excuses as to why Kevlamin was not dead. But then his patience seemed to have dried up. Even now, Ecero grimaced at the memory of the shouting, as if it were happening all over again. He was fairly certain he had not seen Lord Ver'tora so angry, and was very certain he did not want to ever see it again. There were not many things that scared him, he had looked hungry wolven in the eye, fought furies with little more than willpower, and won, he had even taken down a skincloak by himself, a feat even Konin had seemed impressed by. But having Raken Ver'tora's blazing eyes on him as he roared in rage, throwing Dachen around the chamber, was something that made those uncomfortable tendrils of fear creep along his arms and up his back.

Konin's grumblings beside him made Ecero come out of his thoughts. He looked around at the man and saw he was just as bad off. They were both naked, the Dachen having taken their clothes before the torture. Cuts, welts, burns, holes and everything in between covered their bodies. Ecero realized he was having a hard time breathing, for something he assumed to be blood was building in his throat. Coughs racked his battered frame every few seconds as blood trickled down his windpipe.

"I don't remember you screaming so much you should have damaged your throat." A frown marred his teacher's handsome, bloody face.

Ecero shrugged and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the stone wall.