"You are a coward. You are weak. You are good only for becoming fodder for others who are stronger than you" the man said, as he smirked. Tears were rolling down his cheeks by now, clouding his vision.

"I won't run. I promise. I will never even cry. I will become stronger. Take me with you Pa. Don't leave me. Don't leave me. I promise."

Rafil's father shook his head in disappointment. "I won't accept you like this. You are the Rafil I know. You are not my son." Rafil by now had fallen to his knees, his breath coming in sobs. Tears now had completely blurred his vision.

"Hahahah, what are you crying for child. I will call you son from now on. You are my son now. Call me father or pa or whatever you prefer. Come on son, we have dinner to prepare" said the man next to his father.

Rafil rubbed his eyes and through a slit he dared to open he saw man with a face devoid of flesh, and eyes with blood dripping from it. His father looked at him with contempt, and then turned his back on him as he walked away. The man with blood falling from the sockets in his skull, neared towards him.

Rafil squealed in terror as he backed away. The man bend towards him, extending a hand with insects crawling on it. "You still run in terror from me? Looks like you need to be taught about the laws of the world once again. Come Rafil. Let's go." The man grabbed Rafil's hands and pulled him by force.

Rafil woke up drenched in sweat. For three cycles every time Rafil slept, he had been dreaming the exact same dream over and over again. The dream shaped him and moulded him.

I do not cower. I do not run. I will become strong. I will live. I will survive. Pa is waiting. I must endure. I must become strong. Every night while lying awake in his cot, Rafil would go through these thoughts over and over. They were a part of him now.

After getting fresh and ready, Rafil went ot his Master's chambers. They were where he now broke his fast. At around four feet, Rafil now felt that he was becoming like his father. A hard featured man. As Rafil entered his Master's chambers and waited for his Master to summon him, he noticed there was another man today in the chambers. Rafil's eyes narrowed at the insignia of the three headed snake on his black shirt, left side of its chest . Through the three cycles that he had been with his Master, Rafil had never seen his Master entertain a guest with the same insignia as his Master had. The only other person Rafil knew having such insignia was the man whom he had last seen with his father.

The man looked at Rafil, then grinned revealing a missing tooth near the back of his upper jaw. Rafil could feel that the man was able to see right through his hiding place, able to discern where Rafil was hiding. This was the first time Rafil had been exposed.

"Come out child." Rafil heard his Master's coarse voice calling him and came out into the open. Rafil noticed that the man with the missing tooth was quite large. Even while sitting, he was more than a head taller than Rafil. Rafil shifqwted his gaze from the man to his Master and bowed and said "Yes Master."

"You have been with me for three cycles now. I have taught you well. But now you must show me what you have learnt. The man in front of me is Grungee. Grungee will now ask you to do something from him. You will do as he says. How efficiently you perform the tasks given to you will determine what will happen to you. It will decide the path that you will be led on. Don't shame me child. I abhor cowardice. You would do well to remember that."

"I will not fail you Master" Rafil said as he stood up, staring into his Master's eyes.

"Those are some good eyes you have got there" said Grungee in a deep voice, smiling at Rafil. "I see determination in them. But determination alone wouldn't be able to help you. Break your fast child. We will set out soon. We have to go far."

Three days after Rafil had left the estate with Grungee, he came into a forest. After going for a few miles into the forest, Grungee stopped. Rafil who had been following Grungee up until now, followed suit by rubbing his sore muscles. Grungee looked at Rafil and said "This forest has a creature that is indigenous to this forest. It is known for hiding and people rarely are able to sight it. Your task, is to follow the creature without letting it know that someone is following it. It generally is a docile creature. It won't act against you unless provoked. The creature travels by burrowing through the ground. You got all that?"

"How will I know what creature you are talking about?" Rafil asked looking earnestly at Grungee. Rafil had spent the last three cycles lurking in the shadows. If the task was following some animal, then Rafil was confident in his abilities to do so.

"You will know when you see it" said Grungee as he smirked at Rafil.

"How long do I have to tail it?"

Grungee just smiled at Rafil and left the way they came from.

Rafil looked at Grungee's back and sighed in resignation. He still had many questions. How would he find the creature? How will Grungee know that he had failed and been discovered by the creature. But Rafil's thoughts were interrupted by a savage shriek coming from a mile or so away. Rafil quickly made his way to the source of the sound, trying to be as inconspicuous about it as he could.

In a clearing, Rafil saw a six legged furred creature nibbling the corpse a buck. As Rafil tried to get close to the creature he saw that the buvk was still alive. The entrails of the buck were being chomped by the creature while the buck was still alive. The sight of the creature was like a nightmare to Rafil. The six crooked legs with silver fur. The sound of munching of bones and flesh, and the complete devouring of the buck while it was still alive. in under a few minutes rendered Rafil terrified. There was nothing about the creature that suggested it was docile. Rafil felt as if he was five once more, standing in front of the boar he faced. Rafil quickly tried to calm himself, trying to hide in the shadows, lurking behind the creature.

Rafil kept reciting the runes in his mind, trying to focus and calm his nerves. He blended with the shadows, trying to become one with it. Rafil followed the creature to a cave, where the creature went in. Rafil decided to not go into the cave and wait for th creature to come out.

Rafil followed the creature for four days without getting caught. The things he saw the creature do gnawed at him, trying to scare him and making him give up following the creature. Yet he endured. He had to. He had promised himself that he would never cower. That he would never run. Trying his best, Rafil kept following the creature as inconspicuously as he could. Oblivious to Rafil, Grungee was tailing Rafil, trying to measure him up. Grunge was impressed by Rafil's ability to focus himself and his hiding skills. "Though he is a bit rough on the edges, he passes. H He still needs to control his breathing though" Grungee mumbled to himself.

On the sixth day as the creature was gouging out the eyes of a hare it had caught while holding the hare with two of its legs, Rafil stepped a bit too heavily. The creature snapped its head towards the are where Rafil was hidden. Rafil's heart raced as he watched silently what the creature was doing. The creature with one of its legs, stabbed the hare then threw it away. It then started walking slowly where Rafil was hiding.

Rafil felt a surge of panic seize him, and he turned to run away. You are a coward. You are weak. You are good only for becoming fodder for others who are stronger than you. These words ran in Rafil's mind. Rafil slowly forced himself to turn towards the creature. He had promised himself to never run. He won't run now as soon as he faced some real danger. Rafil grabbed the dagger his father had given him which was now tied to his waist. He pulled the dagger from its sheath and crouched, moving so as to not be in direct line of the creatures sight.

Rafil saw creature turn its head, looking for him. Rafil knew that he had to strike first. That was the only way he could do any damage to it. Waiting for the right opportunity, Rafil waited for the creature to turn its back to him. He slowly crept up to the creature. Just as creature turned its back towards him, Rafil jumped plunging his dagger towards the creature's back. The creature suddenly jerked around, snapping its maw towards Rafil. Rafil felt terrified but he refused to run. The dagger coincidently lunged into one of the creature's eyes. The creature shrieked thrashing its legs wildly. Two of its legs hit Rafil, on his chest and another on his right arm, throwing Rafil into the air. As Rafil hit the ground, he felt all the air leave his lungs and pain seized him in his chest and right arm. Blood was flowing profusely from his arm. Water welled up in his eyes yet Rafil refused to cry. Crying was for the weak. He would not be weak.

Rafil got up looking at the dagger in the creature's eyes. The creature was frantically trying to remover the dagger by its legs. Rafil now felt satisfied. He had not cowered before the creature. But Rafil also knew his limits. Siezing the moment, Rafil left the area as fast as he could. After he felt that he had gone far enough, Rafil took a look at his right arm. It was still bleeding, but not so profusely. All the blood loss was making Rafil dizzy. Rafil tore a piece of cloth from his shirt and tied it around the wound. His chest in comparison was much better. There was only a long red slash mark on it. Rafil then went to the edge of the forest, trying to get some sleep. His blood loss was making him lose consciousness but Rafil knew he could not afford to sleep in the forest in his condition.

Grungee saw everything as it happened. He was about to intervene but when Rafil's dagger hit the creatures eyes, he stopped himself and watched what Rafil did. As Rafil slept, he smiled and went to sit near him.He cleaned Rafil's wounds and applied a paste on them. He built a fire near Rafil, trying to warm him up.

As Rafil woke he saw Grungee sitting next to him beside a fire. "You have fruits and bread next to you. Eat them. You need replace all the lost blood" Grungee said still looking at the fire. Rafil just stared at him, looking for the answers he desired. Grungee sighed and said "You did well child. Your hiding skills are not bad. But you still need to improve. You need to work on your breath. But what truly impresses me is your ability to not cower in the face of danger and knowing your limits. You did what I asked you to do and exceeded my expectations. Now eat. You need it."

Rafil only nodded and slowly sat. He was still feeling a bit groggy. He silently ate the food Grungee had brought for him.

Both of them remained silent for a while. Then Rafil went back to sleep. Silence was a part of them now. It was what defined them. Silence was all Rafil had now. The only thing his father had left him, his dagger, was now in the eyes of that abominable creature. That night Rafil once again had the same dream. Once again at the break of the dawn Rafil woke up drenched in sweat.

Sorry for the late release. Was stuck there for a while. Had to work it through. Anyway exams over! I will now try to release chapters as fast I can.