I looked at the bodies and then my mother. He had a point. I had to leave. I dropped the knife and it planted into the ground. I looked up at the man with tears in my eyes and nodded.

"Please take me." My voice broke as I said the words. The man smiled and walked over to me. He looked into my eyes as he promptly swung his hand and slapped me across the face. My feet left the ground and I fell next to my mother.

"There will be none of that. I am not your friend. I am your master. You will learn the difference in time. Now take nothing. Let's go." I looked from the man to the body.

"What about my mother? We must bury her." He rounded on me and slapped me again.

"Leave now!" He yelled. His voice came out crazed. "This will not be the last body you see. This will not be that last friend or loved one to die. You will see and cause much more."

I stood my ground and refused to move. The stranger was not pleased by my actions and made it clear by backhanding me harder then I had ever been hit before. I even spun and landed hard on the ground. Blood filled my mouth and I felt a tooth wiggle loose in my gum. I rubbed my jaw and breathed quickly. I stood and ran at the strange man. The results were like a child futilely fighting an adult, which was the case.

After being knocked down the fourth time, I rose again and looked at the stranger. "I will bury my mother." I said.

The man sighed and finally gave in. "Alright. But you will do it on your own. When you are finished. Find me."

I rubbed my mouth and spit some blood from my lips. I released my breath and set to work in the grim task of digging a grave. Slowly I dug, foot by foot until I had a hole big enough for my mother. Carefully I laid her in the ground and gave her one final kiss on the forehead before putting the dirt back on her. Once finished and the ground resting with my mother I placed flowers on her grave and made my way to find the strange man.

After leaving my old home I searched the forest for signs of tracks that would lead me to the man I was looking for. It didn't take me long to fully realize this man was a ghost. There were no tracks. No sign of anything that might have passed through the area. It was like he didn't exist. I returned to the clearing and once again found nothing. Not even footprints of where the man stood or where we battled. Nothing. Only the orcs and myself.

Maybe dying in the forest with my mother was my purpose. At best I could delay my death by hunting and fishing in the rivers. Maybe if I was lucky I would come to a village. But then what? I would be alone and lost. I sighed and looked where I could have sworn he walked. Slowly I picked a direction and walked into the forest. My heart pounded and my senses buzzed to life in a way that I had never experienced before.

It was an odd feeling and a small part of me worried about it. It seemed killing the orcs, or maybe seeing my mothers murder awoken something inside. As I kept walking I felt uneasy in the forest. I had often hunted by myself and I knew the dangers present in the woods. The forest grew still and quiet. Not a sound of any living animal reached my ears.

My eyes darted around me and I felt some sixth sense warn me that danger was close at hand. I looked around quickly before jumping to the ground and rolling to my feet. A knife had just passed where my head had been before my hasty roll and was vibrating where it's blade now rest inside of a tree.

The man walked from behind a few bushes and smiled at me. "Impressive. You are the first to avoid my knife. Your instincts will serve you well boy. What will I call you?" he said. It made me feel afraid as I stood there and looked at the stranger.

"I-I am Ven. And you are?" The man moved closer to me.

"I am now your master. That is what you shall call me."

My breath caught and I looked into his eyes. "But what if someone asks me your name?"

The man smiled again. "Thrass. But from this day forward you speak to nobody. Your life is now mine. Do nothing without my words. Only I guide you."

I felt something inside me cower before the man. I nodded. I had no choice. I am only a child and I am alone. If I wanted to live I would have to listen. I followed Thrass from the forest and moved over miles of land. Day blended into night. We slept outside or Thrass slept in any roadside tavern we found while I was forced to sleep in the stables or covered in trees. Rain fell and sun baked, I wanted to ask where we were going but to be honest I was afraid.

Many times I found myself ill, but continued to follow my Master. When we passed through cities I often found myself picked by thugs and cutthroats. I have been beaten and kicked. I often found the blade of a knife buried in my flesh.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Cuts on my arms and legs. Blade resting in my gut on more then one occasion left me waiting to die. Each time I feared my life would end, Thrass would show up and tend to me just enough to live. I have often cried myself to sleep and reliving my near death in my nightmares. I would only wake when I feel the bite of the blade entering me once more.

I was sure we traveled for at least a month before finally reaching what looked like a large mountain, bigger than any I had ever seen.

The faces of the mountain seemed riddled with pocks and holes. Caves maybe. There must have been thousands. On a small face there were carved buildings attached to the rock. I gasped in amazement.

"Where are we?" It was quiet and barely over a whisper, but Thrass heard me.

"That is your new home. Black Hive Mountain." he said. Then drew back his hand and connected hard with my face. I fell to the ground and rose quickly. My lip bled but I stayed quiet. We continued to the mountain and reached the face with the carved village. My eyes moved all over the rock and I looked for any life that might be there only to see nothing.

So this was to be my new home? I thought. What awaits me there? To say that Black Hive Mountain was unwelcoming could be a vast understatement. The rough and jagged rocks gave way to the smooth carvings of the stone town. Buildings of all sizes formed the small settlement and each window was like the empty sockets of a skull starring at you as you walked.

It felt empty and lifeless, with no sign that anyone lived there. We walked a good few minutes into the town before we were cut off by a man stepping into the road. "Master Thrass, I am pleased to see you have arrived. You are the last and everyone awaits in the main chamber." The man was dressed in black, a half mask covered his face from nose to chin. For what I could see, the man was thin and on the athletic side of the weight spectrum. His eyes were as empty as my Masters and on his waist has a belt of knives or daggers.

Master Thrass nodded and walked passed the man. We walked into a building that must have been used as a tavern at some point, though dust and rodents had since reclaimed it. Leading the way to the back room and down into a cellar a passage, dug through the stone, lead into the mountain. Torches lit the way in varying intervals.

Their light was not much, but as my eyes adjusted they seemed to be just fine. Thrass walked down the tunnel and guided me through twists and turns of caves. Soon the rough stone gave way to smooth and polished walkways. The walls were etched with symbols and pictures. The carvings were rather beautiful as they depicted scenes of fighting, weapons, and death.

"Here in the mountain we train those who will one day take our places. We do the jobs others find impossible. Our clients are ever different. We never turn down a job, and we never fail. I hope you take my words to heart. I would hate to kill you myself one day. Now listen carefully." As Master Thrass spoke I listened. He told me that the process was fairly simple but very dangerous as well.

For the first years, the Initiates would be trained together. We will learn the tricks of the trade, weapons, poisons, killing. Everything would be drilled into us.

Second years, or Ores, would be focused on specializations. What we are best at and how to hone them.

Third years, Blades, is missions with the Master that recruited us. They will test us out in the field and find any flaws we may have.

Fourth and final year would be back in the mountain. We will be given a task that takes everything we have learned and tests our skills to the absolute limit. He also told me that it was possible to complete the training early and be tested into the ranks of Assassin before the time specified but none have ever achieved this prospect.

Everything he said absorbed into my mind. It sounded that I may have agreed to something beyond what I could handle. I was too afraid to ask what happens to those that failed. I had a feeling I knew the answer. We exited the long tunnel system and entered a large cavern. There were tunnels ringing the walls in every direction.

In the center was a staged area with benches before it. They were filled with other kids my age and each looked as terrified or awe struck as I am sure I looked. Thrass smiled and looked at me. "While you are in training you represent me. Whenever someone looks at you they will see me. I am sure I do not have to tell you what would happen if you embarrassed me but I will anyways. I will make your death as slow and painful as possible. While you are here you will need to speak so I will allow it. I will have every person here watching you. I place this one condition on you, stand on top."

With that he turned and left me with the others. I made my way to the bench and found an empty seat. My hands shook slightly and I had to pocket them to pretend I wasn't afraid. Others talked among themselves and few even tried talking to me. I ignored them. Thrass' words repeated in my head. I had to separate myself from the other boys somehow. I had to stand on top. My eyes roamed the cavern and over those sitting in the benches. The boys ranged in size and weight but I noticed from their conversations they were all ten years old.

No exception over or under that age. I was a bit small for my age so I was one of a handful of short kids. By a count it seemed there was forty of us and out of them, fifteen were larger, eight were short, and the rest ranged slightly in the middle. Some had hands of crafting families, farmers most likely. The dirt on their hands kind of placed them.

One had stained skin you often would find on a tanner, so that meant he was used to hard labor. Adding the fact he was the tallest among us then you would find your bully. I made a note to stay clear of him. Then it dawned on me. My head whipped around quickly and I even rose on my bench for a brief moment. Boys. All boys.

From my position I could only count three girls in the whole lot of us. I took my seat and put my head down. This could only mean Thrass was not bluffing in the slightest about how this would be. During my thoughts I failed to notice the noise slowly fading away. It wasn't until a loud and booming voice spoke that I was yanked from my thoughts.

"Welcome maggots!!"