King Vernash sent him on a particular conquest one summer. The conflict was brutal, and Legosia faced his greatest challenge yet. No one knew of the warrior that joined the enemy’s ranks, yet he bore a special blade.

For his service to the King, he bestowed this blade upon Legosia, and the young warrior would cherish it for the rest of his time in the field.

-From the 2nd Chapter of “The Remont of Elneshe”

If you wanted to kill a Bladeborn, you just needed to place them in a cold prison. That was what Rozu thought at least. The only reason he hadn’t succumbed to the cold himself was because of his powers, which he kept low and steady all this time. A blanket wrapped around his lower body, providing some measure of warmth to the disgraced Devourer.

It helped him some against the snowfall coming in through the grates, but nothing beyond that. He shook his head a little, pushing off the snow that had accumulated. His arms were wrapped around his knees and he wondered how long he’d been staying like that. A small flat piece of stone served as his bed, sapping his energy every time he laid down.

Tired, that’s what Rozu was. What had he really gained throughout this entire time? A loss of rank? An execution hanging over his head? He chuckled. It’d be hilarious if the joke wasn’t on him.

“Look at what you’ve become,” someone spoke from above. Rozu looked above, through the metal grate that separated him from the surface. The little hole in the ground that served as his cell could barely contain him, but Rozu hadn’t the energy left to free himself. What would even be outside for him?

But that voice, he recognized it.

“Aderah...?” Rozu muttered, having his suspicions confirmed when an aged man appeared before him. Rozu could only see the man’s outline in the dark, but that was all he needed.

“Yes, Rozu, it’s me. You should be glad, it was difficult to even secure a visit here,” Aderah told him, sitting down beside the entrance of the brig cell.

“What’re you here for, Aderah?” Rozu muttered.

“I don’t know. Maybe I want to understand why a man would throw his life away so easily?”

Rozu was angered, yet even that feeling subsided, replaced with a crushing blankness he couldn’t describe. If the Colonel had come to taunt him, Rozu didn’t need to reply. There was nothing else they could take from him, after all.

“You were the brightest Devourer I ever worked with, Rozu. I thought for sure, that you’d rise to either my station, or perhaps even above it. Yet… this is what you become instead? Why? What led you down this path, boy?” Aderah asked, sounding confused and insulted.

“I’ve been doing what I’ve always done. I fight who you tell me to fight, and that’s it,” Rozu replied.

“Tsk, you’re not an animal! You were a soldier, with all the training and discipline that entails! And you throw it all away, all that respect and admiration, to chase one single Devourer?” Aderah shouted at him.

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“Maybe I would rather be an animal instead. At least they’ve no quarrel about the way they live!” Rozu replied. A large pause left both of them unwilling to continue.

“What was the logic, Rozu? By my Form, I just can’t understand why you would do such a thing?”

Rozu sat silent. He curled in on himself, without reply. Aderah waited for an answer, and Rozu could see the breath frosting in front of him.

“Fine. Rot in this place, then. The only reason you’re still alive, Katar, is because no one remembered to have you killed!” Aderah said, then turned to walk away.

Rozu heard the footsteps receding slowly from his prison, and he welcomed the silence. But then new footsteps appeared, and Rozu perked his head up. They sounded lighter, quieter, yet still distinctly there. Was it a fox? Or some other kind of animal?

But when the head of a young boy peeked over, Rozu groaned. It was neither. Just a little boy who had run too far from his important father.

“Hey! Can you hear me!” the boy shouted at him. Rozu knew him, yet he chose not to engage.

“Hey! I’m up here! Wake up!” the boy continued shouting, his voice growing louder and louder. At this rate, if they caught him, it would be more trouble for Rozu.

“Yes, I can hear you. Go away,” he replied, hoping Fezashi would leave him alone.

“Great! I’ve brought you something!” Fezashi said, and Rozu heard him ruffling around in a pouch. He sniffled as he searched, trying to look for an item. Had the young boy not heard him, or did he just choose to ignore Rozu’s wishes.

“I don’t want it, nor am I allowed it. Get yourself back to your father before you get caught,” Rozu ordered him. He tried to put on his most demanding voice, and the young boy paused for a moment.

“Why should I? I don’t take orders from prisoners!” Fezashi said in a teasing tone.

“This isn’t a joke. Leave now, Fezashi,” Rozu told him.

“But they locked you in here. Are they even feeding you?”

Scraps, yes, but the boy didn’t need to know of that.

“That’s none of your concern. How did you even sneak inside the brig?” Rozu asked him. Fezashi sneezed and the answer became apparent.

“I hid in the snow!” Fezashi exclaimed, thinking it a genius move.

“You idiot! You’ll catch a cold that way!” Rozu admonished him, and Fezashi recoiled.

“But… I wanted to bring you something…”

“What?” Rozu asked.

“Tools. So that maybe you could free yourself!” Fezashi said. Looking at him, Rozu felt the boy’s anticipation.

“…I’m not leaving, Fezashi,” Rozu said.

“Why?” the boy asked, looking betrayed.

“None of your concern. Now get out of the brig before someone finds you,” Rozu told him.

“…If you can’t leave, I could get my father to help! He could get you out of here!” Fezashi offered him.

“I don’t need whatever it is you’ve brought and I don’t need your father’s favours either. Get out of here— quickly— and warm yourself up.”

“B-but,” the boy tried to say, ruffling around in his pouch more and more.

“No excuses. Leave!” Rozu shouted, at him. He had forgotten about his active enhancement, and the voice carried further than he meant it to. Fezashi began to look around himself, shooting glance back at Rozu.

The Devourer didn’t meet his gaze. The less he saw of Fezashi, the better. The boy ran away from the cell, the crunching under his feet growing quieter and quieter, and a couple of guards appeared in his place. The Wind howled as the guards examined his cell.

They looked down at Rozu and scoffed. They came close to the grate and hit it with their blades. The metal rung out harshly, and Rozu rubbed his ears.

“This one’s mad as can be. Must have been screaming at a bird!” one of them said to the other.

The pair left Rozu in silence, and the young Devourer took to it well. He leaned his back against the wall, feeling the stone digging into it. A bit of chipped stone fell from the crevice, and Rozu took it up in his hand. He swallowed it, even as it scratched up his throat, and let his skin solidify.

The cold receded a bit, and Rozu looked towards the wall to his right. There were marks here. Thirteen in total. Rozu raised a singly rocky finger to the wall and scratched downwards, noting number fourteen.