NOTE: I don't own the Ranger's Apprentice world! I own the characters and the story!
LifeEquals42: I hope your exam went well. I am a little worried about using my stories as inspiration. I don't mind it (actually glad that it helped). I just worry about it being dark because my stories get that way. I don't want people looking at you the wrong way.
I told all my A Shadow and a Warrior fans to look for this chapter. It reveals where Raven got that gold medal that he gives to Will. It's very special for a reason…
Find out why in the last chapter of Raven's Story!
Raven's Story Chapter 10
Fifteen Years Later:
The mountains are cold tonight. The wind blows, softly whistling through the air. Cedar branches rub against one another, their leaves rustling softly, the wood dark in the mountain's shadow. Raven is walking up an ancient flight of stairs, a sack thrown over his shoulder. These stairs were carved by skilled stoneworkers specifically for the leaders of the Hunters. Raven alone knows what is hidden out here. His heart is beating rapidly. Last time he was here, he made a promise, one that he failed to keep. Promises were important things up here. Raven could be walking into a death trap. There was no doubt that he knew.
He mounted the final step and approached the dark entrance to a deep cave. Set so deep in the mountain and rock, this cave was almost impossible to find unless you knew it was there. Two guards stood just within the entrance, looking like statues. Each was dressed completely in black, faces hidden by a black mask. Only two holes allowed the guards to see. Black hoods were pulled all the way up. Each man carried two long blades, a dozen knives, and a spear. The only splash of color was a red sash running from the right shoulder to the left hip, like rivers of blood. Their cloaks rested gently on their shoulders, covering the top of the sash worn. Black leather gleamed in the faint moonlight where their torso and feet were. Seeing Raven, they stepped aside so he could enter. Anyone else would have been killed on the spot.
Turning a corner in the cave, Raven approached a wooden table half shrouded in darkness. Ten feet away he stopped, lowered the sack to the ground, and bowed low. His right hand reached upward and removed the cloth across his face. Rasping breath comes to his ears. A slight movement in the shadows catches his eyes. Raven remains completely still, symbolizing his complete obedience.
A rasping voice rings out clearly in the cave, "Hissssler isss hungry."
"I would have not come without food for him," Raven replies calmly. His hand reaches into the sack and pulls a living, but wounded, rabbit. The creature trembled in fear. Raven dropped it in front of himself. Almost instantly a large snake attacked. It bit into the rabbit, killing it with a large amount of venom, then curled around it, suffocating it just in case. The monster snake is patched brown and green with a white belly. From where it comes, it is known as the most deadly snake. One bite could kill a human in an hour. Powerful muscles meant it could suffocate one in half that. No wonder it was chosen by the man hidden from sight.
The rasping voice came again, "Come here, Raven, my ssssssson."
Raven rose to his feet, stepped carefully around Hisler, and took his seat across from the man in the shadows.
The man continued, "What hassss the boy decided?"
"He has chosen to return to Araluen…permanently," Raven said, bowing his head. "I'm sorry, Father. I failed you…"
That rasping voice cut him off, "You have not failed me. If any have failed me then it issss Tiger." A wrinkled hand reached out of the darkness, refusing to tremble despite age. A black sleeve ending it dark green protects the arm from the cold. Raven reached into his cloak and pulled out a small glass of blood. The man in the shadows took it as he continued, "Yesssss. Tiger failed me after all I've done for him."
"The boy returned to help us after he learned of Tiger's betrayal," Raven said, watching the hand closely.
A pleased sigh came out before the voice continued, "Good. Sssssee, Raven. You haven't failed me. The boy knew that we needed him. Once a Hunter, alwayssss a Hunter. We defend each other, care for each other." The fingers began twisting the bottle. "When one diessss, they join our family here, represented by their blood. But if one betraysssss ussss then" (the voice becomes hard and cold) "we banish them in life…and death." With the last word, the hand turned and slammed the glass bottle into the table. Blood ran everywhere but Raven did not flinch. Instead he took out a white handkerchief and wiped off the blood on the hand.
"What am I supposed to do about the boy?" Raven asked as he sat back, tucking the bloody handkerchief back into his pocket.
A soft, rasping laugh came from the shadows, "Nothing. When the time comesss, he will return to ussss. Until then you lead our people just assss you alwayssss have."
"Yes, Father," Raven replied with a bow of his head.
That wrinkled hand reached out towards him as the man rasped onward, "Take my hand, Raven." Raven did so, leaning forward so the other man did not have to reach as far, as the man asked, "How do you ssssee the boy?"
"I don't understand," Raven replied after a pause in thought.
The voice became sharper with annoyance as it asked again, "How do you ssssee him? Brother or sssssson?"
Raven looked at floor as he thought. He never quite thought about that question. Mentally he berated himself. Family was everything to the man before him. Of course he would ask such a question. Finally Raven took a deep breath and looked up. Before he could answer, the other wrinkled hand came out. Instantly Raven gave his other hand.
"Will is great young man," Raven said. "Though he has chosen to leave for Araluen, I can't help but love him. He is like the brother I had and lost. That is my answer, Father. Will is my brother."
The hands tightened a little as the man sighed, "Then I have gained another ssssson. No matter how far he goesssss, I will alwayssss watch over him. All hissss enemiesss will fall…before him…or me."
The man's right hand released Raven's left and vanished into the darkness. It soon reappeared with a silver chain and gold medal. The medal was the Hunters' emblem, a lone hawk's feather. Raven took the medal from the man's hand, studying it. Then he looked up, confused. The man's right hand reached again for Raven's left. Still holding the medal, Raven gave him his left hand.
The rasping voice spoke at that point, "You know thisss to be mine own necklace. I would give it to you but Will needssss it more. Give it to him when he leavessss. Sssso long asssss he hasss it, I will protect him and watch over him."
Raven bowed his head in response to the command. He knew that the guards were only two of twenty. The others were spread across Skandia, watching and listening. Every now and then some would be sent out to learn of the happenings elsewhere. With Will in Araluen, some guards would be placed there permanently. Raven knew that these men were chosen because they had no families or ties. Had he not been chosen as the next leader, Raven would have joined their ranks. They were the best fighters in the world, deadly assassins who targeted anyone named by their master.
Holding the position, Raven felt Hisler climbing his legs. The snake wound itself around his body until its head appeared on his right shoulder. An amber eye stared at him as the giant-sized head (capable of holding Raven's entire hand in its mouth) rested there for a minute. Then it slid down his arm and across to the other man's arm. Then the snake starting vanishing in the darkness. This took a while considering Hisler is about fifty-five feet long from the base of his head to the tip of his tail. Raven knew that he would curl around his owner, a man that Raven loved with all his heart, a man that could not be beaten in combat…
The only man Raven would ever call Father…
Serpent.
Oh yes…Serpent is still alive. No one but Raven and Serpent's assassins know it though. That makes twenty-one men who know and will die before they reveal it.
I know I'll get the question so I'll answer it now: Yes, Serpent will appear in Book 9 1/2: Secrets, Lies, and Blood. He was my MAJOR surprise. If you wonder why I kept him alive, well, it's because 1). Raven has a conscience, 2). He's a more deadly enemy, and 3). The Mordasins won't listen to any but him and they appear in A Shadow and a Warrior (I didn't think that one totally through).
Don't worry, he dies for real in Book 9.5.