**

I was about to take the hand offered to me, but another figure fell from the hole in the ceiling. A strange green aura emanated from him which seemed to be barely contained in his body, it was the drop of water making the vase overflow. My spirit, ignited by instinct, I threw myself on the man, prepared to bite and tear.

I couldn't even react, pinned down by two strong hands, my attempt to escape was put to a stop. I heard a few guttural sounds, then two callouses hands laid on my head. The storm inside was suddenly confronted to an external force, a tempest with the same intensity. Despite the seemingly equal opposition, the external force was able to pierce easily in my spirit.

My consciousness flew away with the storm of my instincts.

**

As I woke up, the same serial of event happened, I tried to retaliate against the contact of another threatening figure even with my bind on. He had the same green aura than the other one, but far more tempered. He easily subdued me, after spitting out a few incomprehensible words, his greens eyes, right in front of my face, slightly shined.

The smell of blood and ashes, the clancking sounds, the light and the tall, frightening men, those past experiences aroused my self preservation. But no matter how intense those were, they became meaningless. 

A gentle breeze surrounded my mind, unlike the other man who used that mysterious force on me before, this one was soft and precise. Without opposing resistance, my spirit let itself invaded.

After a few second the breeze returned outside of my head, but this time, I didn't lose my consciousness. 

My surroundings had completely a completely different feel from before.

'I have time, no more dangers, what are all those things around me ?' 

As that thought erupted without words in my mind, the ties around my limbs were removed.

The space seemed more static and I begun to wonder at the warm red aura near me, the flat and vertical stone and finally above me.

A myriad of small light far more beautiful than the one in the cave, a big contrast with the darkness I was in, only illuminated by that small warm light.

My gaze brightened by this mosaic and didn't leave it, not until it progressively faded with the appearance of a light in the east.

Then my body, after losing all its remaining energy laid down on the same surface I slept on before, and my eyes closed.

**

A little boy was now lying on a saddle, a fur blanket on him, sleeping soundly. A man was staring at him in front of the fire, he stayed awake most of the night, only taking small naps when his comrades took his place. This man was the Master, being tasked to "educate" the new member of the group.

This one had been quite attentive about the action of the young boy, from his contemplation of the celestial vault, to his slumbering as dawn was coming. After putting the child in a more comfortable position, the Master waited for his companions to wake up. When they did, he left the morning light meal to his pupil and decided to check the sleeping body, in particular his right shoulder which seemed to be smaller than the left one.

As he was manipulating his body, making sure each joint, bone and internal organ were more or less only scattered by light bruises, his attention drifted to his right shoulder.

Ith was indeed smaller than it should be, what seemed to be the bite of an animal was carved into the flesh, a large part of the deltoid had been teared off. This was of no concern now since the shoulder and the scar were covered by a sever burn, which seemed to have coterise the injury immediately after it was inflicted.

"A burning Hound ?" It only took a moment for the Master to probe the injury, and he stated the identity of the attacker with a slight tone of surprise in his voice.

Peyron and the Bishop who were respectively tending to the pot on the fire and reading some documents, turned their heads at the statement.

"This kind of beast are not able to be summoned in our realm. At least, not without a superior Demon, isn't that only a legend ?" The youngest, Peyron told those facts with a bewildered look.

The Bishop had his attention only aimed to the young child, at the mention of the terrifying monster, no surprise, no fear could be read on his face.

Only a slight glimpse of hope was burning in his eyes. A sinister hope.

**

The days were passing and the imperial forces were slowly rallying to leave the ruins of Keradia. Months of siege and days of rotting in the ruins of the city made their depart quite welcomed despite the fruitlessness of their undertaking.

Only a few mercenary groups were remaining, the less experienced and the most desperates ones, trying to salvage something more than the miserable wage they've been paid.

During this time, the three men and the young boy were staying in a remote place of the city, hiding the only survivor of the siege from the others. As the Bishop and Peyron were checking the numerous written reports of the mercenary groups they were able to bribe, the Master was passing most of his time with the child.

As soon as he woke the first day, he seemed to be more aware and no more scared of the other men, especially of the Master. While he couldn't understand their words, his curled up figure was often near the old man. This one was no innocent to that behavior since he submitted him to a strict schedule.

The Master first made him aware of his own limbs. They often sitted in front of each other, the old man confronting the youngest to various hands tricks that he had to reproduce. Then they walked side by side, the small figure of a seven years old boy walking clumsily, with a still slightly slouched back while the silhouette of the old man, gigantic compared to the smaller one, was guiding him. 

As the time to eat came, the Master let the child eat his way, with his hands while making drooling noise. But after two days, the Master forced him to use spoon with a proper posture. The few retaliation were handled with a light strike on the back of the head.

The duo was observed by the two other men, which gaze varied from curiousity for one and a variable interest for the other.

The disciplined routine was interrupted the night of the sixth day when the Bishop announced the departure of the group the next day.

**