Never had I seen Zenia look so defeated. What had Master told her that she changed so? It brought fear to my heart to see her so. I couldn’t talk to her now, even though I really wanted to. Master was undoubtedly watching us. I had to wait for the time that we had arranged, and hope that Master didn’t find us there. A strange sense of urgency envelops the thoughts that I have. I had been feeling this way since Mother was taken. With no idea what it could mean, I had decided that it was probably my hope for the fact that Mother was alive. It had seemed a pointless dream to me back then, and it still seemed so, but I had received a confirmation of my mother’s life. Though the Unknown were not to be trusted, I had never heard that they had lied to anyone. I had been desperate for any confirmation at all, but when I received it, I was told to deny it. Master wouldn’t have done that without reason. I hadn’t heard of any major battles, so why didn’t Master send the soldiers stationed in the walkways to get my mother? The question kept spinning in my head as I aimlessly walked around the stalls of the market. The merchants yelled prices at the people walking up and down the crowded streets, which parted before me. I had no idea what rumor caused this, and didn’t want to know. If people were willing to move to the very edges of the street, then there was no good in it.

“There he is, that poor boy…”, a voice drifted from one of the stalls

“Son, stay close. Remember what I told you about the Dark One?” A woman muttered to the child beside her.

“...wonder where she is…can’t be good luck...probably dead... no way she’s alive” The snippets of conversation drifted among the stalls, uttered at such a low level that I doubted they thought that I could hear them. If there was a downside to being able to hear everything around me, this was it. It took years to gain this level of hearing, but I’d been training to do so every day since I was entered into the Upper Center.

The fears drifting in the wind were suddenly blown away. A chill spread along my back, like somebody was watching me. It couldn’t be Master, I could always feel his presence anywhere, and this figure didn’t have any tangible form. Almost right after the thought , a dark shadow seemed to enclose the air around me. The people ran, screaming, trying to get as far away as fast as they could. My mind seemed to begin to freeze along with my body as the shadow twisted tighter around me. Fear ran high within my mind, causing the instincts that Master had basically beat into me to take control. Hoping that I wasn’t too late, I mentally called for the Solas Sword. It responded to my call instantly, appearing at my side. I made a movement to grab for it, but the darkness beat me to it. As soon as it touched the sword, it recoiled, making a hissing noise. Any doubt about what the shadow was faded from my mind. A Kenofek, a dragon-shaped being of shaddows, was trying to capture me. The creature formed when Ketakutan combined, but where and when could it have had time to do so? Where had enough Ketakutan to do so come from?

Shoving the questions away to deal with later, I reached once again for the Sword, which hadn’t even budged from the attack of the Kenofek. I was having difficulty moving at all, meaning that the Kenofek was trying to drain all of my power. I gritted my teeth against the struggle. There was no way that would happen. I wouldn’t let it.

“Give up, welp. You can’t touch the Sword either.” A slithery voice pronounced, with some difficulty, in my mind. “It will reject anyone it deems unworthy. Your struggle will be in vain!” The voice kept shouting in my mind, calling me a fool, but I wasn’t going to give in. As my fingers closed the final distance to the crossguard of the Sword, I felt energy rush back into my muscles and mind, amplifying what the Kenofek hadn’t stolen from me.

“Have you forgotten the line of the Flaming Whisper, Kenofek? The heroes who defeated your kind twenty years ago?” Anger pulses within me, creating a connection with the Sword that I had never felt.

“Hello, young master. I have not felt your family’s energy in a long time. It is refreshing to do so once more, though yours is greatly weakened.” The voice of an Ancient transmits to my mind from within the Sword. All I could do is stare at the weapon in my hand, which seemed to be keeping the Kenofek at a distance on its own with a shield of shimmering light. The Kenofek wasn’t happy about that, growling as it tried to break through it.

“You talk?” I asked, wondering if I was still concious or dreaming.

“Did your father not tell you? Wait, where is Farad? The last thing I remember happening was stabbing through Nightshade…“ The Sword paused, as if thinking. “How much time has passed since then? If I remember correctly...and my sense of time isn’t lying to me… that would mean… No, its not possible. How could I remain dormant for so long?”

“What do you mean?” The Sword was confusing me. It was a weapon, which shouldn’t be able to speak, yet it was.

“Perhaps we could discuss this at a later time? Once we dispose of this Kenofek?” The sword did have a point.

“Um… Sure? How exactly do I do that?” Something like an exasperated sigh sounded in my head at the question.

“What in the world do they teach you at the Upper Center? How to knit?”

“ No… but I’ve never done this with a sword an-” A large crack interrupted the rest of the sentence. A segment of the shield was now covered in hairline splinters.

“No time to talk. As soon as the shield breaks, swing for the vulnerable spot on its tail.” the sword ordered, then paused. “You know where that is, don’t you?” It queried, slightly suspicious of my knowledge

“First thing I learned”, I confirmed, slightly miffed at the question

“Good. Then you won’t need my help finding it.” Sounding satisfied, the sword stopped glowing and I saw how bad the damage on the shield was. Calling on the renewed energy, I got ready to strike. As soon as I realized the danger, the shield shattered, flinging shards and the Kenofek’s tail at my face.

Barely having time to consider my move, I brought the sword up in an effort to block the attack and hopefully hit the vulnerability in the tail. My luck did not hold, and I flew through the air, landing a couple of feet down the deserted road. Sensing Master closing in on my location, I sent out a telepathic message, telling him to keep away from the fight. Master, surprisingly, fought less with me than I had expected, but I managed to convince him to keep back, assuring that I was battling a weak foe.

“Little nuisance.” the Kenofek growled, obviously annoyed , stalking closer, “When I kill you, we’ll see who’s weak.”

“Apparently you read minds now. What else is new? Your sense of humor?” Unprecedented courage fills me to the point where fear doesn’t seem to exist.

With an angry hiss the Kenofek leaps at me, shady fangs bared. Suddenly, time seems to freeze, and I, somehow moving at a speed three times that of my fastest sprint, sliced through the Kenofek’s abdomen. Light passed off of the sword and onto the darkness of the Kenofek’s body, viciously spreading along its length and dissolving everything that it touched. The Kenofek screamed with pain, cutting off abruptly as its mouth dissolved.

Relaxing, I turned to see the damage that had occurred as a result of the attack, but was surprised when I found nothing behind me.

“Well… That was honestly better than I expected” The sword’s voice sounded in my head once more.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, annoyed. “I defeated it without your help, thank you very much.”

“We’ll see about that, young Osgood. You still have a lot to learn.” With those words the sword glowed brighter, almost blinding me. When the glow subsided I had a sheath with the sword on my waist. Already feeling more ready than ever, I decided to patrol the city from within. Who knew what could happen?