14. That was his new name. In fact, 14 had been his name as long as he could remember. In fact, he couldn't even remember his old name, it was so long ago. 14 was a member of the Secrets, a society so dark and sinister it could put a torch out. The secrets was a terribly powerful secret army, performing clandestine operations in an attempt to achieve it's ultimate purpose: Destruction of the current ruling creatures, which, in other terms, meant the death of every single mouse, squirrel, mole, hedgehog, otter, badger, vole, and hare in existence. Gruesome, but viewed as necessary. The Secrets where actually founded nearly two thousand years prior, by a deranged wildcat named Semis Nor. Semis actually raised an army for his ultimate purpose, but nearly all of it was destroyed by an alliance of woodlanders and soldiers. After retreating to his fortress, which was abandoned by the remainder of his army, he began to create the Secrets, which had been , either directly or indirectly behind every major horde or army in the history of the world. But trouble was arising as of late. A few brash woodlanders had discovered the Secrets, but they disappeared before any of the forces that where under the Secrets' command could react. Now, they had formed the Order of the Torch, whose purpose was to foil the secrets in anyway possible. But the Order had never dreamed of the lengths their adversaries would go to see them burn. 14, along with 20 others, had been taken from families of ferrets, rats, weasels, etc. based on physical ability and lack of empathy. Then, for 20 seasons, they where subjected to horrendous living conditions and powerful beatings by fat, ugly taskmasters. 13 and 17 actually died from it. They were replaced, but only after the others had completed that section of their lives, and then where trained to kill. After 5 seasons of desensitized violence, they where subjugated to Binding. Now, some beasts scream when they et a tattoo. they wouldn't even survive a Binding. It seems simple on paper, but nothing, not even death, could hurt more. Blacksmiths will actually meld metal to your bones, let it cool, and position the muscle and skin so that the non burned parts heal over it. Very messy. 14 himself got two chains attached to his forearms.at the other end of each chain was a sword. Not a heavy or powerful sword,but light enough so that he could carry and use two without tiring. he kept them in his specially modified cloak, which had sleeves with concealed scabbards in them. Using these weapons, along with a mass of deadly and totally unsafe devices created by the madbeast Flecker, 14 was used as a powerful and deadly weapon in a battle for the fate of the world. The following chapters record his saga.