Night had slowly receded, and the brilliant sun graced the massive city of Rosa with its warm embrace for yet another day.
The city's walls stood strong against the comforting rays of light and its protectors still patrolled on top of it. Various sounds reverberated through the lively streets of Rosa; the loud bustle could be heard all over the city.
Even beneath it…
…Xaryus suddenly jolted awake as if he experienced a nightmare, his breaths were shallow and hoarse. Slowly, he moved his hand to his stomach and winced in pain.
His body was covered in bruises. Andrew had exacted a great deal of force on the two brothers.
Xaryus glanced around the dark area where he awoke with much ease, his vision significantly better than it was a few days ago. He was now sitting in a room slightly larger than the shack he had spent his life in.
The walls were made of stone and covered by many layers of dust. In one corner were a stack of old wooden crates and a wooden chair in another. To his back was a large heavy metal door that didn't allow a single inch of light into the room.
Zadius was still lying to his left, unconscious.
"Where are we?" Xaryus thought.
Without much thought, he turned to Zadius and slowly rustled him awake. Zadius' eyes slowly opened before suddenly widening, in a swift motion he rose to his feet in confusion. An obvious look of fear and anxiety permeated his entire body for a moment.
"Zadius…"
Xaryus called out to him calmly as he slowly rose to his feet. Zadius shifted his attention to Xaryus for a moment, then his posture calmed.
"Where are we?" He asked.
"I'm not sure…" Xaryus responded, taking a step towards the heavy metal door.
"There's no way we can move or break through this door…" He thought briefly.
As his thoughts ran around his mind, a heavy latch could be heard coming loose from the other side of the door. Suddenly, the two brothers were on edge; Xaryus quickly stepped away from the door and Zadius took a step forward to meet his brother.
The door groaned and dragged across the stone brick floors of the shabby room, revealing another room made of similar material but in much better condition.
However, they weren't able to get a good look because Andrew stood in the doorframe.
He had removed his coat and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows.
Andrew took a moment to look at Xaryus and Zadius, they were both in fighting stances despite the look of utter terror in their eyes.
"How cute!" he thought for a moment, "But to still have a will to fight after the beating I gave them last night… Impressive, if not utterly stupid."
Suddenly, Andrew chuckled to himself for a moment before returning a sharp gaze to the young brothers, "Good Morning..." He greeted them in a cheerful tone.
Neither Xaryus nor Zadius fathomed the strange situation they were in. Andrew didn't seem to have any obvious malice towards the two at that moment, but they knew that could change in an instant. Too scared to speak, they both stayed quiet.
"...Do you not have any manners!?" Andrew roared, a sudden burst of rage filling his voice.
"I said, Good… Morning." Andrew continued, taking a step forward. His voice softened once again but the rage filled look in his eyes still remained.
"G-Good Morning."
"M-M-Morning."
The two weakly responded to Andrews' dominating words.
"That's better. Follow me." He commanded, turning towards the door and walking into the room on the other side of it.
Xaryus and Zadius followed behind Andrew, each of their steps were filled with anxiety and caution. The room they entered appeared to be some sort of underground chamber made of stone bricks.
It was furnished with various crates and barrels to store supplies, and a dining table with a set of 4 chairs.
On the wall directly opposite of the door they walked through was a long table and single chair. On the wall were a plethora of pages stuck to it by stone needles and a red line of cloth connecting various pieces of paper in a vast interconnected web.
On the table were a wide swath of documents as well as an array of sheathed weapons and Andrew's discarded coat.
"Take a seat." Andrew said, gesturing towards the dining table in the centre of the room.
On top of the table were various plates with fruits, namely apples and grapes. On the table were two bowls of soup, each having a slice of fresh bread neatly placed to their sides.
Andrew passed by the table and grabbed an apple before making his way to a seat across from the two brothers.
"You can eat; I made those for you two." Andrew said, dropping into his seat.
Reluctantly, Xaryus and Zadius stared at the bowls of soup. What were the chances he was going to poison them?
Their mother had always told them not to eat from strangers. But they were too hungry.
Eventually, they both dug into the bowls of soup, but their gazes never seemed to leave Andrew; too afraid to take their eyes off him.
In a moment's notice they had finished their meals and to their surprise it was well made, better than anything their mother had made for them.
Eventually, Zadius mustered the courage to speak, "What do you want from us?" He asked, timidly.
His question put Andrew at a pause, an extremely long one. Xaryus felt as if they were suddenly going to be assaulted by Andrew's relentless fists, but his vicious blows never came.
"You and your brother are both extremely special and I intend to use you as much as I physically can…"
Andrew's statement was brief and outlandish, who would ever agree to such a thing?
But the brothers could only despair internally, neither of them dared to voice their reluctance. In the face of an overwhelming and unpredictable individual, they were forced to comply.
***
After their meal, Andrew began to lecture the brothers on how their new life would commence under his tutelage.
Constantly referring to them as his "Blades".
It seemed he was from a renowned guild of sorcerers, but he was reluctant to share its name at that point.
Eventually, another of his cynical actions was revealed to the brothers.
"What is this!?" Xaryus exclaimed looking down at his stomach.
Around his belly button was a tattoo of three thick black rings encircling each other. The mere sight of it had unnerved Xaryus to a wide degree. Zadius followed suit and looked under his shirt, he was not surprised when he saw an identical tattoo on his stomach.
"Stop overreacting, that's just a minor slave mark. It's called a mark of bondage…" Andrew responded wistfully.
He wasn't paying much attention to the brothers anymore; his attention was grasped by his intricate web of information that he had meticulously set up on one of the chamber walls.
"...Besides, that should be the least of your worries." He added with a wide toothy grin; his eyes once again filled with boundless madness.