The walk to the dorms was a long and complicated one. According to yet another speech from Gregory, there was no single door that led to personal areas like bedrooms or baths. Instead, you had to navigate long, dark corridors for what seemed like hours.

Apparently, it was the only part of the halls that was a single piece, rather than being separate rooms and halls scattered throughout the rooted bedrock beneath the forest. That fact allowed it to be expanded as much as was required, adding to its marvel. Gregory also whispered that this restriction could be lifted in times of battle, but that was apparently a secret.

Corvus was tired of all the walking over the last month, choosing to ignore most of what Gregory was saying. He tried to make the walk slightly less mind-numbingly boring by listening to Gilgamesh rambling about how angry this dark always made him. Corvus was often surprised by just how much Gilgamesh found to complain about, from his hair to the particularly irritating flight of the felias.

By the time the many different corridors began to change slightly, Gregory was breathless, leaning against the stone walls, much to Gilgamesh’s amusement. It began to branch off in several directions marked by runes above each one. With a few seconds of staring at the various letters, Corvus deduced which one he needed to go to. At least he assumed it was the right one, judging by how it was labelled ‘New Blood’.

With a raised eyebrow, Corvus took a step towards it, eyeing the opening carefully.

“Wait…Corvus…” Gregory panted, taking laboured breaths.

“What for?” Corvus asked, not even turning to look at him.

“You need…to wait.” Gregory took a deep breath and forged ahead, stepping beside Corvus and stopping. “A precaution.” After taking a few more deep breaths, he wrote a small rune in the air and held it on his finger, smiling apologetically. “This rune will let you bypass the various defences in place around the halls. It wont hurt a bit.”

Corvus eyed the rune. He didn’t trust the man. There was something about him that put Corvus on edge.

“Sorry. I’ll pass.” Corvus shrugged to the man. Before he listened to Gregory’s response, he took a step down the corridor.

Immediately, he was faced with a large cloaked figure, all in black. The figure extended its right hand and sent spikes of black smoke into Corvus’ chest. The spikes launched Corvus into the black stone of the corridor. Terrified, Corvus looked down to his hand, but it was thankfully unharmed. He stood up, raising his left hand in a fist and putting his left foot forward.

The figure advanced quickly, more spikes forming in its hidden hands.

Gregory jumped in front of the figure, spreading his arms wide protectively. The cloaked figure twitched then dissolved into the air, the smoke still hanging in the air. He quickly turned and knelt beside Corvus, a worried expression filling his face. He quickly started writing the same rune that Cleo had used to save her own life.

“Don't bother.” Corvus waved his hand away.

“You'll die if I don’t!” Gregory continued tracing the rune.

“Nope. Look.” Corvus sighed, getting to his feet to the shock of Gregory.

“Don’t move! You…You…” He trailed off, staring at the closing wounds on Corvus’ chest. “You can…heal?” His voice was vacant and shocked.

“That’s the one. I’d like to avoid it if possible though.” Corvus shrugged. “Anyway. No runes.”

“W-wait! You must have one. It is the only way that the defences will allow you through.” Gregory stumbled to his feet, pleading.

“Then write it onto a broach or something. I wont let you put any runes on me.” Corvus shot back, stabbing a steely gaze to Gregory.

Gregory was taken aback, flicking though his mind over and over to try to find a solution. He frantically patted his robes, rustling his chainmail and searching various hidden pockets. He finally found something and tugged it out of his pocket.

It was a small, simple, silver necklace, decorated with antler-like decorations around it. Gregory held it out to Corvus.

“This. Will this work?” Gregory was almost begging.

“Yeah. Sure.” Corvus shrugged, tugging at the holes in his clothes.

Gregory immediately began writing various runes into the necklace, writing faster and faster with a wild look in his eyes. After his frantic writing, he breathed a sigh of relief, holding the black and silver necklace out to Corvus, who absently took it and tied it around his neck. Gregory stood up and offered his hand. Corvus cautiously took it.

“Welcome to the family, Corvus.” Gregory smiled happily, warmly shaking Corvus’ hand. “I hope we can do great things together.” He motioned towards the corridor that Corvus had walked down earlier.

Corvus dropped his hand, focussing intently on the corridor. With a few cautious steps forward, he slowly made his way towards the front of the corridor. Gregory strode passed him excitedly, motioning for Corvus to follow quickly.

Corvus sighed in irritation. He just wanted to be free of Gregory at this point. He followed behind the confidant man, darting his eyes around the corridor of dark rock and green lights. After that close call, he was desperate to protect his hand from any other surprises. Immediately after that thought, one such surprise occurred.

The corridor began to melt away, the green felias streaking across his vision like rays of light under the ocean. The stones twisted into each other, warping into a vile broth of bubbling black sand. The sound of the shifting roots and earth tore through the corridor, shattering Corvus’ eardrums and shaking the earth. The roots began to constrict, wrapping themselves around Corvus’ neck and pressing.

The feeling of his wind-pipe being crushed sent ribbons of panic through Corvus, who tried everything to tear at them with his left hand, but they held strong. He tried to raise his right had to burn them away, but it remained pinned to his chest, strangled by white cloth. Corvus tried to scream, but no sound came. A strange hum filled his ears, ripping through the corridor.

His new necklace began humming, the illusion melting away before Corvus’ eyes. He felt his neck with his left hand and it was perfectly unharmed.

Corvus became slightly light-headed, stumbling forward and tripping over his own feet. Gregory was waiting to catch him, holding his shoulders carefully. Corvus took a few breaths to get his senses back before looking back to Gregory, who was smiling warmly and apologetically.

“I am truly sorry. The runes took a few seconds to activate it seems.” He patted Corvus’ shoulders supportively. Corvus didn’t say a word, instead placing his left hand on to of Gregory’s. Gregory went to say something else, but was cut of immediately by his own scream when Corvus wrenched his middle finger back, snapping it instantly.

Gregory stumbled back, hitting the stone wall, clutching his hand and bleating in pain. Corvus didn’t spare him a glance when he walked passed, only stopping for a moment to get his point across.

“The next time you do something like that, I’ll break more than your finger.” Corvus growled, coldly.

He didn’t stop to listen to Gregory’s shout/cry of a response. The corridor was different than before. It was much shorter, no longer clouded in shadows and had a door about ten feet ahead of him, lit by two green torches. Corvus placed his hand on the door, pushing just as Gregory had done to all the others. It slowly began to swing open, scraping against the ground but not slowing down.

Corvus heard a small, childlike sob from Gregory before he closed the large stone door, blocking out all sound from the corridor. However, there was more than enough sound coming from the room to disguise that.

Laughter, friendly conversation and the familiar crackling of a fire. Corvus was stood in a small porch, shoes and boots lying in various levels of order and cleanliness in small alcoves in the stone wall. There was one alcove that stood out to Corvus, as it had his boots in it, cleaned, repaired and untouched. Corvus raised an eyebrow, making his way to the front of the porch.

The room in front of him was physically less impressive than anything else he had seen from Desperius, but far more welcoming. It was small compared to the other rooms, but rather large compared to normal houses. It was about ten feet high in the ceiling and twenty or so feet square. There were small, open doors that lead to what looked like a kitchen and a study room, judging by the desks.

There was another corridor opposite Corvus, leading to several other branches of doors. The bedrooms, Corvus assumed.

The room itself was wildly stacked with comfortable chairs and straw mattresses, each one pointed towards a soothing orange fire, snapping quietly in a black fireplace. The warm glow of the fire massively contrasted with the eerie green light that filled the rest of Desperius, giving the room a sense of otherworldly comfort.

There were several figures lying down all around the room, laughing and chatting. There looked to be about seven people lounging on the various comfortable furniture items, some hugging blankets, some hugging weapons, some hugging each other. Their conversations overlapped loudly, to the point that they sometimes had to shout over each other to be heard.

Corvus took several moments to take in the scene. It seemed like years since he had seen a fire that wasn’t green, and voices that weren’t angry or discussing fighting.

He remembered that Cleo had said that they had been here for a while longer than him. Long enough to become good friends it seemed. That may have been helped by their slightly older age, but they didn’t look much older than Corvus. In fact, they all looked young and full of life. Curiosity calling, he decided to wait in the doorway of the porch and listen to their conversation.

“I told you not to tell anyone that, May!” A fairly short but ripped man complained, waving his arms in defeat at the girl who sat next to him. His pale blue eyes blinked in embarrassment as he tried to shift his light-gold fringe in front of his eyes to no avail.

“How could I not? Everyone would find it eventually!” The girl, Corvus guessed was called May, laughed, falling on to her back on a straw mattress and giggled. Her voice was vaguely southern, but that may have just been a side effect from her laughter. She pushed her pure white hair out of her yellow eyes, rocking back and forth with giggles.

“There's no shame in having one, Damian. If it helps, one of my servants—I mean, I used to have a dream diary too.” Another man chimed in, correcting his near mis-step. He needn’t have bothered because his accent screamed ‘Noble’. His flowing brown hair that looked as if it needed hours of modelling added to that. Gilgamesh nodded in approval of the man’s hair.

“Oh come on. Yours would just be ‘roll in gold’ over and over again, Jack.” Damian rolled his eyes at the noble. Corvus was initially confused why a noble would have such an ordinary name.

“Stop calling me Jack! My name is Jacque Neutrialis Rivielle VIII!” Jack sprung up, stamping his feet in irritation.

‘Ah. There it is.’ Corvus nodded slightly.

“Nah. You’re Jack. Easier to say.” A deep voice spoke from a separate mattress. The man to who it belonged was similar in build to Corvus, toned and athletic, except he was about 7 feet tall. He was lounging with his arm around a woman, who appeared to be sleeping. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, exposing several brutal scars along his chest and arms. He blinked some tiredness out of his brown eyes, lifting his hand to yawn into it.

“Oh be quiet, Henrith. You don’t get to say whatever you want just because you're tall and strong…and handsome…” Jack lost his train of thought, sitting back down quietly. The room was filled with muffled chuckles, breaking out into hearty laughter soon after.

“I couldn't agree more, Jack-a-boy.” A small, but playful voice chirped up from beneath Henrith.

The girl who was tangled up in his arms raised her head, lifting her eyebrow in the direction of the embarrassed noble. Her skin was a pale white, blending seamlessly into her platinum hair. Her piercing blue eyes bounced with flirty mischief, giving her smile a scheming air to it.

“I’m with May on this one, though.” Another voice spoke up. It was identical to the last girl’s, but quieter and more honest. The owner of the voice sat up, forcing Corvus to double take. She was identical to the other girl, pale skin, platinum hair, piercing eyes, everything. The only difference they had was that one looked flirty and playful, while the other seemed quiet and reserved.

‘Not to mention that one has a man practically wrapped around her.’ Corvus mused.

“Oh? How so?” May sat back up, holding her chin in her hands, curiously.

“Well, um…I prefer Damian as well.” She tried to hide the growing red on her face.

Unfortunately for both May and Damian, they had both decided to rehydrate at that exact moment.

They both choked and sprayed water through the air, half covering Jack, who did not take it well, getting up and leaving to change. After the pair had recovered from their coughing fits they tried to speak up.

“We (cough) aren’t—” Damian started.

“We aren't (cough) like that—” May shook her head, restarting her coughing.

“We’re just (cough) you know—” Damian stopped trying to speak, instead taking laboured breaths to clear his throat.

“Just friends! Partners, y’know? Right? Aria?” May panted, her face practically glowing red as she looked over to the mischievous of the two twins.

“Oh? I wouldn't know.” She smirked, feigning ignorance in a dramatic fashion.

In response, May only blushed harder, moving her seat to the floor to avoid eye contact with Damian, who was still trying to clear his throat and hide his ever reddening face. Henrith and Aria burst into laughter, slapping their legs, rolling on their backs and clutching their sides.

“I guess we all know who Lanya likes now.” Henrith grinned at the quieter twin, holding up his hands in a heart shape around her and the still coughing Damian.

This immediately sent a buzz through Lanya as her face rose in surprise then immediately fell down into defensive anger.

“No, I just said that I would prefer a muscle-head like him over a moron like you.” She spat back, her gaze hardening on Henrith, who fell back in mock injury. Aria took this as her cue to start gasping for breath, beating the floor with her fist in an attempt to stop herself from laughing. Damian drew his knees into his chest, hugging them for respite.

“Can we please change the subject?” Damian pleaded quietly.

“Nope.” Aria breathed, her fits of laughter subsiding. She lifted her head towards the other side of the room, where Corvus could see the vague outline of the last figure, who had so far stayed silent besides the occasionally uncontrollable burst of a chuckle. “How about you, Johanna? Any of these lovely fellows tickle your fancy?” Aria asked, over-eloquently.

The figure shifted slightly, looking towards Aria.

“I can’t say. I haven’t seen them fight yet.” Johanna seemed to shrug. Her features were difficult to define from the shadowy orange light. Her skin blended perfectly into the darkened corner where she was sitting, the same red/black hue as Cleo’s. Her eyes flashed into view, showing deep pools of solemn, ruby red. She pushed a strand of black hair out of her face, returning her eyes to the fire.

The rest of the group were silent for a few seconds. Henrith burst out laughing, sitting up in his knees and counting his fingers.

“That makes, what? Seven times?” He tried to encourage his memory but he couldn't seem to find an answer.

“Nine, actually.” Jack said, coming back into the room, a set of purple pyjamas thinly covering his muscles. He directed a scowl at May and Damian, walking back toward his seat. “Three sentences when we first met each other, four when the twins arrived, one last weekend and now.”

Aria whistled, eyeing Jack jokingly.

“Not leaving much to the imagination, huh?” She pretended to swoon, causing Lanya to blush and bring out a book to bury herself in.

“I’m not the one who’s wearing a miner like a coat.” Jack sighed, shaking his head indignantly. He went to sit down, flashing his eyes to the doorway where Corvus was standing. Their eyes met briefly, causing Jack to jump and let out a high-pitched squeal in fear.

The group was instantly alert, looking directly at Corvus. He waved casually.

“Who are you?” Henrith shot his words out like daggers, standing up.

“Corvus.”

“What are you doing here?” Damian got to his feet beside Henrith, though the height difference made this rather comical.

“Nothing at the moment.” Corvus shrugged.

“Don’t you have somewhere else to be?” Aria asked, sitting up, groaning.

“Not right now, no.”

“How long have you been standing there?” Lanya asked, sinking back into her mattress, into the defensive arms of May.

“A while.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Jack asked, slightly deepening his voice to make up for his squeal.

The conversation would’ve continued like this for hours if Corvus wasn’t focusing on Johanna, who was walking towards him slowly. The rest of the group also took movement as something unusual, looking at her with confusion. She stared at Corvus, looking him up and down in assessment. The silence grew tense as she got close to him. They were about the same height, allowing her to look him straight in the eye.

She continued walking forward until she was so close that any normal person would be uncomfortable. Corvus continued eyeing her, cautiously.

“Evening.” Corvus said, as she took another step forward. Another step and their noses would be touching.

Johanna stayed silent, looking into his eyes searchingly.

Suddenly she smiled. Not teasingly, or maliciously, but understanding and friendly. She extended her left hand in greeting, her red eyes blinked sadly.

“Johanna. A pleasure.” She spoke softly.

Corvus took her hand, shaking it slowly.

“Corvus. Likewise.”

The pair stayed still for several moments of silence, staring at each other. Corvus couldn't tell why, but the look in her eyes spoke volumes about something familiar, something strong.

May cleared her throat, snapping the pair out of their greeting.

“Sorry to break you two apart, but what’s going on?” She asked, scratching her head in confusion, still with a protective hand in front of Lanya.

“And where's Gregory? He said he’d be here soon to introduce us to someone new”. Aria spoke slowly and clearly, also shielding her twin sister.

Corvus dropped Johanna’s hand, scratching his head.

“Well, that’s a long story.”