The landscape was bleak. No matter which window one chose, the view showed little beyond rocky, mountainous terrain with sparse vegetation.

A sky that was once a vibrant blue with periodic clouds now existed as perpetually overcast. Nothing but a dismal Gray.

Time and lack of maintenance had weathered the stone of the fortress at the center of this wasteland to a dull, boring hue.

 The courtyard that had once hosted training and inspections now contained a horde of undead, aimlessly shuffling and milling about.

 The once grand hall that used to be lined with fine artworks, relics and treasures was now reduced to a pile of rubble and scattered wood scraps.

There was hardly anything that resembled what it once was.

It was during such a time when an old woman hobbled out onto the ruins of the courtyard.

With a rickety gait she trudged across the rubble towards the castle gates.

She limped towards a large door and with effort pushed open it.

Once through the doorway she leaned heavily against it as she slowly made her way towards the stairs leading to the second floor.

"What are you doing here, my dear?" asked a stern and yet concerned sounding voice as a tall elderly man dressed in elegant robes came out of nowhere.

 He was flanked by two  skeleton dressed as soldiers who seemed to be in charge of protecting him.

"I bring news caretaker " The old woman croaked as she continued to make her way further into the castle.

“Oh, and what might it be this illustrious news that the keeper herself deemed it worthy to come herself to deliver it instead of sending one of her many minions?”

The old woman stopped as she reached the end of a long hallway.

 She gazed up at a huge ornately carved mahogany door before slowly opening it revealing a spacious room with a large bed and a balcony overlooking the forest on one wall.

The room was elegantly decorated with a lavish golden canopy bed and luxurious white fur covered chair. On the desk sat two expensive porcelain cups, one filled with wine and the other with tea.

 The aroma of both tea and wine permeated throughout the room.

The old woman smiled as she moved towards the wine cabinet and poured herself a glass as she slowly began to sip from it.

 The sound of distant thunder filled the room and the light raindrops fell gently on the windows.

“The mistress is returning”

The man called caretaker scoffed. “That is unfortunate.”

 He muttered softly before he turned around and attempted to walk away,

The old woman glanced up at him and smiled sadly.

“My lady has requested your presence as soon as she returns” she told him as she slowly made her way to him

"she has a very important task for you'

“Very well then,” the caretaker sighed with resignation.

With one swift move he drew his sword from his waist and thrust it into her body.

The old woman let out a gasp of agony but after a moment of shock her eyes eased as she just casually pulled out the sword and sadly smiled at the old man before her as she handed the blade back.

the caretaker's face contorted into pure disgust as he slowly took the blade and wiped it on his robe.

“I Knew you wouldn’t’ risk your real body coming here what is this a puppet?’ he asked in an irritated gruff voice

But instead of answering the woman just smiled at the man

"And what is this very important task that the great mistress had deemed worthy enough for the likes of little old me"

The old woman smiled slightly as she raised one shaky finger and pointed at the caretaker

“she requests that you train someone” she said

The caretaker's mouth dropped open as he stared at the woman with horror written across his face.

“Are you insane!?!” He spat venomously.

“This… this madwoman demands that I train...someone.......who!..................a human?”

he shook his head in disbelief. “I have more pressing matters that need attending to; I can't dedicate all of my time to train a human. This must be some kind of trick”

“No, it isn't a trick” the old woman replied calmly.

“You're telling me that the mistress wants me to train a human?”

“Yes”

"A man?"

"A male child"

"A child?"

"yes'

"A human child?"

"yes"

“Why?”

“As I understand the child is a radiant"

The caretaker's eyes opened wide in shock

“What? Why didn’t you lead with that?”  he exclaimed.

“I thought perhaps you would prefer me to lead with something different”

“Nonsense, tell me more”

“She wishes to have a radiant child to be raised in her own household, and because the child will belong to her she wants him trained in the ways of the Magitek army or rather she requires a certain... special training for the boy.”

“A special training...you mean….”

“yes”

The old man burst into maniacal laughter.

“HAhahahaha oh this is perfect; this will be so much fun" the caretaker laughed maniacally as he danced gleefully around in a circle

 "this shall be a most entertaining experience indeed! You may leave now"

“but sir-"

“Now!” He shouted as he raised a hand, causing the bones on the ground to immediately shift and transform into humanoid shape that immediately grab the old woman and began dragging her away.

The caretaker watched as they dragged the old woman away, laughing hysterically.

"If it’s a monster she wants, a monster she will get"

His laughter began to grow more maniacal as he thought

 "oh, I will give her a monster, oh yes indeed"

“I'll show her what a true monster is” he chuckled darkly.

*************

The room was small and dim, making the space appear even smaller. Its walls were also covered by a thick layer of dust, obscuring whatever images may have been etched there upon their original time. Even its ceiling had a faint sheen of rustic cobwebs clinging to it.

 Bookshelves lined several walls, and several workbenches held various beakers, alembics, and a multitude of other paraphernalia used in arcane research.

 The centre workbench supported a mass of dead flesh, pieces of corpses on which the sole occupant worked with a knife.

The laboratory’s sole occupant hummed to herself as she went about his work.

 She wore only a hooded black robe without any sort of shirt underneath it.

 Her skin was pale, almost deathly pale, and completely devoid of colour; it contrasted greatly with her jet-black hair that flowed freely down her back in an unkempt braid.

lady Kesala the last Philosopher, Highmaster and the personal wizard of Crown Prince Aleksander was happily working on one of the greatest weapons ever made: the Soulforge.

 It was a rare and highly coveted artifact forged of high-quality metal and forged using the blood of many people in order to achieve its greatest potential.

 It was slow, tedious work even more dangerous with no guarantee of success.

 But that’s how these things were done and thus, Kesala worked diligently on her project, trying to make every second count as possible.

The last philosopher could not have cared less about the countless failures that occurred each day due to her labours, her mind was set only on completing this weapon in order to secure her proper place in the world.

But as more time passed without any significant result

 Her arms began to trembled slightly as she tried desperately to pull out another piece of corpse tissue. It felt like hours since the last piece had fallen out.

As each failed attempt led to another frustrated growl from the woman ’s lips, the blood drained from her face.

 It was as if her veins had become frozen, causing them to congeal into a solid black substance that pooled beneath her chin.

A knock at the laboratory door drew her attention, interrupting a particularly vital train of thought. She was not pleased.

      “Enter,” she growled.

      The door opened to reveal her apprentice Ravella, who walked silently towards her mistress.

Ravella stood at attention and waited patiently for her superior to speak. But when she was silent for too long.

“Yes? What is it?” The Philosopher’s tone harsh and unforgiving.

 “Begging the mistress's pardon, we have received word, that we will be arriving at Athos tonight.”

Kesala glared at her apprentice in response, her eyes narrowing. The girl did not seem to notice this however as she continued to talk to the floor, unable to look up at the angry mistress.

“We have also received news that our guests are expecting us tonight.”

“And?”

Kesala finally glanced over at the young apprentice, her eyes burning with anger

“The prince wishes for you to attend to their needs.”

“And why do I need to do that? We have the resources to do such simple tasks. If anything, I should be taking advantage of their weakness while they sleep.”

Ravella looked at her mistress with concern written on her face

Lady Kesala scoffed but refrained from letting her true thoughts to be known, after a moment of silence she returned to her work bench, feeling dismissal Ravella prepared to leave but before she could move

"How is the boy doing"

Ravella froze in her place at the sudden question from the woman.

“He is progressing well” Ravella answered in fear.

Kesala nodded absently “and are you teaching him everything I asked?"

"Yes"

"Good"

 she whispered, still staring intently at the corpse on the slab

Ravella remained rooted to her spot, afraid to even breathe as she waited anxiously for her Mistress's next words.

"Go now, return to your post and inform me the moment we arrive.”

“Yes, Mistress”

And with those words the young apprentice turned and hurriedly left the room. Kesala stayed in silence after she left, continuing to stare at the lifeless body, a bitter smile plastered onto her thin lips

"Finally,"

*********

Evgenia silently looked at the sunset through her window, watching the orange and purple hues dance across the sky.

The wind was gentle and calming, and a cold breeze swept against Evgenia’s cheeks, chilling her.

 The sky was painted orange and red and it made her feel sad that the day was coming to an end.

They had been travelling for two moons now, following Vladym's commands like children, never stopping nor resting, moving as fast as they could, never staying any longer than necessary to find food, water, and shelter.

She was hungry and thirsty, her clothes ragged and tattered, her hair dishevelled.

The only thing that gave her comfort were the soft fabric of her cloak, the soft sound of the waves lapping at the shore, the cool night air caressing her skin; and it was just enough to keep her going.

The girl was lost in her thoughts when suddenly the sounds of footsteps echoed throughout her small room, drawing closer.

 A few moments later the sounds stopped outside her door, and after a few seconds, the door slowly began to open. She stared at the doorway, expecting to see a maid entering the room with some sort of delicious meal just like it was done at her home.

The memories of her home flowed her as she grew melancholy and depressed, hoping against hope that she was back at her house surrounded in love and luxury,

Instead she was met with a young elf woman holding a tray with a steaming pot and bowl of hot soup.

“OH, good you are awake here the soup is here for you,” she said in a gentle voice. The girl nodded weakly “thank you." she spoke softly, trying hard not to let tears fall.

After the young woman placed the tray on the small table, she picked up the empty bowl and prepared to leave the room.

“Um,” Evgenia stuttered nervously, looking up at the woman with uncertainty.

After what seemed like a eternity,

 the woman looked down at Evgenia, raising her brow questioningly

“Is there something else you require" The child looked nervous, then spoke again.

“um I'm sorry to bother you Miss...”

She trailed off.

“Sophie, Sophie Wintour.”

“Miss Sophie, I need to ask a favour, can you tell me where are we going?" Evgenia’s expression was confused.

The Eleven women smiled warmly at Evgenia before answering.

"Athos from what I can gather, is a large island surrounded by mountains, lakes, and rivers. You see there are some very powerful wizards there that want to meet with us as soon as possible and and I hear That is where Prince Aleksander lives……”

The elven woman beamed happily as she went on and on about the trees and flowers she would encounter along the way, and the wonders the scenery would contain along the way.

"You must be exhausted; you should get some rest now. I'll be back shortly" Sophie reassured the anxious looking girl.

Evgenia's mind was reeling in confusion

'Athos! why there, what was there, who were these powerful wizards and who was this crown prince' she thought frantically, as she struggled to keep up with her new companions’ rapid pace as she ran after them.

Before she could air out her concerns the elf was gone leaving Evgenia in even more confusion then before