The two walked through the scenic inner courtyard of the castle itself cutting across into the hallways that led to the classrooms. Every room in the hall led to a sort of class. There were classes on how to properly interact with the general population when out on a hunt, and even classes that taught Wardens about the political instability in Ikorum and its many Highlords. The variety of classes that were offered to Wardens was wide and ever expanding.

The first door on the left however, was the only class assigned to initiates. Akaro and Iris both reached the class and entered as quietly as possible but the moment they stepped foot in the room, all thirty six initiates glued their eyes on them.

“Hello you two! Hurry take a seat next to your team, we are just about to begin,” Lady Gwenneth excitedly said.

Iris, who hated having so many eyes looking at her, quickly walked to her seat at the far end of the room, taking a seat next to Arneth. Akaro also took his seat next to Wigyur just a table away.

“So you and Iris coming into class together all of a sudden eh?” Wigyur whispered.

“Shut it, or I’ll drop another log on ya,” Akaro whispered back.

Gwenneth stood in her usual place at the center of the circle, surrounded by the tables she laid. She felt this was the best way to get all of her student’s attention and for the most part it did exactly what she wanted.

“Alright class as you may already know, you have all entered the combat portion of your training! And I'll let you in on a little secret…I love the combat portion of training!” Lady Gwenneth clasped her hands together a single time and held them to her chest.

“How are you gonna teach us combat…in a class Lady Gwenneth?” asked Derren Shembles, a smaller young man with glasses and a member of Team Frenwa.

“That is a great question Derren,” Gwenneth left a large space between two particular tables that led to the far corner of her room. In the corner sat a large blanket covering what looked to be a giant box the size of an adult man. Gwenneth pointed to the box and grinned, “that is how I’ll be teaching you.”

The entire class turned to face and look at the box sitting in the corner of the room.

“A box?” shouted Ilya, the brunette girl.

“Good guess Ilya! But no my dear…it's something special,” Gwenneth looked around the room in search of certain faces. Her eyes stopped directly on Arneth. Gwenneth pointed at him and then she searched for another face. Her eyes then stopped at a man named Gregorei, the only other man who matched Arneth in size and muscle. Gwenneth pointed at the two gesturing for them to stand.

“Will you two strong boys move it to the very center?” asked Gwenneth.

Arneth and Gregorei both nodded and made their way to the box. The two of them expected it to be light, but were instantly shocked the moment they placed themselves behind the box to push it.

“Fuck..whats in this?” Gregorei groaned as he pushed the box with all his might.

“Apparently something special…” Arneth grunted using his broad shoulders to push the box ever so slowly to the center of the room with Gregorei’s help.

“Fantastic!” Gwenneth shouted as soon as the box was moved to the center of the class. She beckoned the two boys to go back to their seats before proceeding.

Gwenneth reached her hand out to the woolen blanket that covered the giant box, with an effortless motion of her hand she yanked the blanket off the box revealing that it was not a box but in fact a large empty cage.

Arneth looked to be confused, squinting his eyebrows together. Why was the cage so heavy if it was empty? While training he was forced to lug around metal bars, wooden logs, and even other initiates. So why was this so damned heavy for even him AND Gregorei who was arguably the only other student even close to his physique.

While Arneth was confused, the rest of the students were unimpressed. Why was an empty cage so special and how was this supposed to teach them anything about combat? However Gwenneth didn’t seem phased one bit, in fact she reached for a particularly long bladed dagger that was strung on her flowery leather belt.

Gwenneth held the dagger tightly in her hand and violently jabbed the long blade into the cage. An inhuman scream filled the entire room, threatening to burst the ears of everyone in the class.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Every initiate gritted their teeth as they covered their ears. The sudden scream was abhorrently high pitched and almost unbearable. Members of Team Astone and Dolken sitting directly in front of the cage found themselves almost having to duck under their tables, including Edalia; Iris’ roommate.

Lady Gwenneth twisted the dagger before pulling it out, revealing her blade to be soaked in a black ooze. The scream subsided shortly after the blade of her dagger was pulled out. With the scream gone, initiates one by one opened their eyes and lifted their heads from under the tables to gaze at the blood on Lady Gwenneth’s dagger.

However, that was not the most terrifying part. From inside the cage formed a human man practically materializing out of thin air. The man looked to be homeless with a light brown furled beard and long oily hair. His clothes were torn to shreds as if he was attacked by a pack of wild dogs. At the lower abdomen of the man was a dark soaking wound from where lady Gwenneth stabbed him.

“My apologies, I should have warned you all about the scream. But then the surprise would have been ruined!” Gwenneth stated in her usual giggly tone.

“Is that an Aberrant that can go invisible?” Wigyur asked, with his mouth hung wide open from awe.

“You are correct Wigyur! Good on you,” Gwenneth said with a snap to her fingers. “This lovely fella was picked up in the lower city of Kings Way by a team just a few days ago,” she explained.

“Can all Aberrants go invisible?” asked Jacob Crofen, still baffled by the fact that one was able to even do such a thing.

“Good question dear! No, not all of them can blend like this one,” Gwenneth answered. “In fact, Aberrants come in all kinds of forms. A team of Wardens sent out on a hunt will never truly know what to expect. Some can harden their flesh as hard as metal, others can climb like spiders, but the most terrifying of them all are the ones that can manipulate the mind,” Gwenneth explained, pressing an index finger to the temple of her head.

The class remained silent. Instead, they listened intently to every word Lady Gwenneth had to say. When it came time for the Seer’s lessons, everyone found themselves interested in one way or another. It also helped that it was information that could potentially save someone.

“With that being said, I will need a volunteer,” Gwenneth said, swiveling her head rather immediately to see if there were any takers.

Without hesitation a majority of the class raised their arms to be picked for volunteer. Yet, her eyes made direct contact with Akaro. Gwenneth smiled, and Akaro knew what this meant. Begrudgingly, Akaro planted his hands flat on the table and stood up from his chair.

Wigyur and Arneth both looked at one another ,grinning, as Akaro was beckoned over by the cage. Iris leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest, curious as to what was about to happen. Akaro approached Lady Gwenneth and stood by her side, away from the cage, purposely so the man inside couldn’t reach him.

“So glad to see you volunteer, Akaro,” Gwenneth smiled, her tone was sarcastic but her smile was not. “Of course Lady Gwenneth, how could I not?” replied Akaro.

“Alright class, Akaro will be showing you the proper way to kill an Aberrant,” Gwenneth stated, handing the bloody dagger to Akaro.

“I will?” Akaro questioned, taking the dagger in hand.

“Yes. Don’t you worry, I will tell you how to do it and you will display it for your fellow initiates,” she assured. “The Veiled One functions much like a human with a single brain and heart. Take one of these out and you will likely kill the creature. However, Aberrants are a little more different. In their case they have developed a sack within their upper abdomen,” Gwenneth pointed only a few inches above the stab wound she made on the Aberrant in the cage, indicating that's exactly where the sack was.

“This sack is only found in the Aberrant, leading us to believe this may be the source of their unnatural abilities. Destroy the sack, and you destroy the Aberrant,” Gwenneth glanced around the room making sure everyone was paying attention to this very vital information.

When Lady Gwenneth was finished talking, she stared at Akaro rather sadistically. “Destroy the Aberrant, Akaro,” she said rather bluntly.

This was the first time Akaro had ever seen this kind of stare on the Green Seer. Up until this point she had been happy and bubbly. Seeing Lady Gwenneth so serious sent a shiver down his spine.

Akaro gripped the hilt of the bloodied dagger rather tightly. He took a deep breath and glared at the man in the cage. Even if it was actually a Black Blood in disguise, it was so convincing. Akaro hesitated, swallowing a lump that formed in his throat, but he knew the entire class was watching.

A minute of silence draped the room like a curtain. The suspense a few initiates felt, kept them from being able to sit fully in their seats. For some, this was the only reason they volunteered. To get a chance to kill a Veiled One.

Akaro jabbed his arm forward through the metal bars of the cage piercing the dagger’s blade into the flesh of the man. The Aberrant rushed the bars reaching its arms to grab Akaro, but Akaro twisted the blade firmly in the creature’s flesh, killing it instantly. Its body dropped to the floor of the metal cage, lifelessly.

The class was quiet, some found themselves to be rather repulsed by the bloodyness of the killing, but Lady Gwenneth embraced the carnage with a smile sat on her face, “And that is how you destroy them.”

Akaro stared at the corpse laid on the cage floor, not a single thought of guilt came across. He instead felt pride and adrenaline pumping in his veins. Akaro had never once killed anything, not even the common chicken or pig. Yet, seeing the corpse drool blood did nothing to veer him from the sight. He simply stared at the body..until a hand touched him. It was Gwenneth’s hand.

“Thank you Akaro, for the demonstration,” Gwenneth said, squeezing Akaro’s forearm gently. With her other hand, she cupped her palm towards Akaro and beckoned the dagger with her fingers. Akaro obliged and gave her the blade, returning back to his seat.

“So, as you could all see from the demonstration, a well placed sword in the upper abdomen of the creatures is enough to put it out of its vile misery. However, keep in mind, most if not all Aberrants will know you’re coming and will do everything in their power to protect this vital weakness,” she explained with a simple gesture to the corpse in the cage.

Gwenneth walked over to the blanket she had yanked off the cage and picked it back up, tossing it over the cage. She fiddled around with the blanket covering a majority of the cage. Once she was finished she turned to the class and smiled, “alright, today’s lesson was a short one. You must all be tired from training today, so you’re all dismissed. Enjoy the rest of your evening my lovely doves!” she shouted.

“Thanks Lady Gwenneth!” shouted several voices.

The excited students leaped out of their chairs at the news of early dismissal and bolted out of the room. Others casually walked in a line to leave, but not before waving goodbye to the Green Seer who stood by the blanketed cage, cheerily waving in return to her students.

“Good luck in combat training tomorrow!”