"Alright boy. You have not embarrassed me so far. Pray that continues." He smiled but it was a hollow gesture. I silently followed Thrass as we came to a door in the mountain I had never visited before. The door was black, which by itself was not unusual, but carved into the door were skulls.

"Reach the other side without making a sound, and live. Any sound and I will make you wish you were dead. Fail to complete it and the same fate will befall you. Remove your shoes and enter." I only nodded at his command.

There was no point in answering when he got like this. Thrass opened the door and closed it behind me when I entered. The room was pitch black without torches or windows. It was so dark I could not see my hand inches from my face. The three years of being here taught me many skills. As I stood in the darkness I reflected on what would be needed now.

My bare feet were cold on the stone floor. I went to move my foot and I felt my clothes begin to catch on each other. I crouched low and spread my legs to maintain a distance from each other to move freely and without sound. Slowly I moved, inch by inch, through the darkness. My eyes began adjusting and vague shapes could be seen in the room.

If I knew Thrass at all, then just walking through the room would be out of the question. My first confirmation arrived in the form of a needle's sharp point entering the soft skin of my feet. My teeth ground my lip to keep from making a sound. I lift my foot and removed the needle, placing it in my pocket for my own protection.

As I continued more needles came more and more frequently. My mind was wide alert but no matter what I did the sharp points entered under my foot or between my toes or into the soft digits directly. Small trails of blood began following me in the journey of darkness. The smell of oil reached my nose and from past training with other masters I remembered it was the oil used to keep a crossbow maintained.

Somewhere in the room there was a crossbow set up against me. I continued deeper and tried my best to remain vigilant, only to receive a bolt to the shoulder after tripping the wire that fired the crossbow. I couldn't hold back and cried out.

Immediately the door opened and Thrass entered the room with light. He dragged me out and looked at me.

"Disappointing." He sighed and lift me up. He forced me to walk and pushed me into the Gathering Chamber used for announcements. "Gather all trainees and Masters." Thrass yelled to a cleaner maintaining the room.

The poor man jumped and rushed from the room to obey. With me in hand Thrass marched onto the stage and grabbed rope from a box set in the corner of the stage as if it was a part of it. The stage had pillars erected to allow a curtain to flow over the top as if for a play, but there was no curtain. Metal rings sat near the top and Thrass threw the rope through one of the rings before coming to me and tying my hand, then repeated the process on the other side. When he pulled the ropes my arms were pulled over my head and spread wide. I couldn't help by cry out as the shoulder with the bolt moved.

My back was to the front of the stage as I looked behind it. Slowly students and masters entered the Hall and the faint murmurs of the curious reached my ears. All eyes were on me. I knew this to be true. Thrass walked the stage and stopped in the center.

"I have asked you all here to show you what happens to those who can not follow directions. Those who fail in the expectations of their masters. We do not accept failures in any mission we see fit to give you. This is only one of the punishments awarded to you when you fail." Thrass walked over and used a knife to cut away my shirt; the knife biting skin underneath as well. He walked back away and the sound of something hitting the stage came. The sound of something flailing and the sound of gasps made me almost want to struggle.

It wasn't till the first strike hit that I thought Thrass was insane. The lash of a whip bit deep into my back. I cried out and tried to pull free of my ropes, only jarring my shoulder for me to cry out once more. Thrass whipped me again and again. Each time the accuracy made sure to hit a new place and tear fresh skin. Only when I blacked out did I escape the pain. I awoke some time later with my back in ribbons and still tied to the stage.

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The bolt must have fallen out because it was at my feet with the head broken from the shaft. I felt the stream of blood and knew if nothing was done I would die from the loss. I tried standing, the scabs that formed on my back began tearing apart in fresh pain forcing me to keep my mouth shut the best I could.

Thrass was a monster and I had to do anything I could to be free of him. It took me an hour and two dislocated thumbs to get out of my bonds. I made my way off the stage and headed for my room to clean up and find new clothing. As I dug through the chest I found my black cloths, half mask and daggers.

Each dagger was earned by completing training tasks, but the tasks alone didn't mean anything. They were given to me because I surpassed all recorded goals set by others who came before me. The daggers varied and each one became special to me. At the bottom of the chest I found something I thought I had lost years ago. A small stone set in a bracelet, an heirloom given to me on the day of my birth all those years ago.

As I stared into the gem I felt a calm descend over me in a way that was new. I had clarity that was unmatched before. As I was placing the bracelet onto my wrist, a voice came to me.

"You freed yourself. Try not to disappoint me again. I may not be able to hold back next time." Thrass voice moved through the room like a dark and poisoned cloud. It will be the last time I feel that way.

Thrass walked into the room on silent feet as he always moved. I stood before the man who claimed to be my master. "Are you ready to enter the Darkness again?" he asked. At first I was unsure of what he referred to. Then I remembered how dark that room was.

Was that what he called it? The Darkness? I thought. I looked Thrass in the eye and nodded. "Yes." I said. Thrass smiled one of his out-of-place smiles and took me back to that door. The Darkness. Was that all?

Thrass opened the door and I entered after removing my shoes once again. The door closed and darkness enveloped me. Moving slowly I made my way through the room. The first needle entered my foot, followed by many more as I continued on. I found the crossbow and disabled it before it would be triggered. Inch by inch I entered deeper into the darkness. New needles found my skin but these felt different. Colder. Slowly a numbness entered my feet. Poisoned. Crap. I kept my mouth shut and my heart calm.

Moving deeper and deeper I began to lose feeling in my fingers. I felt a sharp point enter my arm and found a spike on a wall I must have walked near. New dangers mounted all around me and my body was beginning to fail to listen to me. By the time I reached a door on the other side I had cut myself on various blade, traps, spikes, and only the gods knew what else.

I lost all feeling in my hands. They moved but that was all. I tried the handle gently and found it locked. I dug into my pocket and found lockpicks. Painstakingly slow I began to work on the lock. A few times I dropped the pick and had to move quick enough to catch it before it reached the floor and made a noise. I had to use my mouth at times to work the pick as my hands failed me too often. After what felt like hours of work, I began to feel my fingers again, slowly.

Using them I made quick work of the lock and was about to push the door open when I froze. Something in me felt like it was too easy to unlock the door. Very slowly I cracked the door open, and a slight chime rang out. It was soft enough to be ignored and that may be the only reason Thrass didn't attack me again.

I took a deep breath and calmed myself. I breathed slowly and in a quick motion I pushed the door open and attacked the bells that hung behind it. The bells rose in the air as I swiftly began catching and taking them from the door. I had just reached the last one before the chime rang when it slipped through numb hands and fell to the floor with a loud TINK. TINK. TINK TINK TINKTINK. I watched with horror as the bell rolled on the floor and came to a stop under Thrass' foot.

"So close. So close indeed. Looks like you have yet to learn your lesson." He smiled again and moved quickly at me. Dagger in hand he swiped at my arm, shoulder, chest and anywhere else he could reach. Fear formed in me for the first time in three years. I never felt this helpless since the Orcs killed my mother.

Just when Thrass was going for my throat a dam burst inside me. I never would feel helpless again. My body moved with it's own accord and I attacked my Master the best I could. A few lucky shots from surprise allowed me to rain a few blows. Thrass was not happy with the event.

With a swift swipe he brought the handle of the knife hard against the base of my neck and blackness met me. I was unconscious.