Khal spent the next two days in his room. He didn't bother to go to the training room with master Copper. He had too much to sought through his head. He spent the first day crying his eyes out and wishing he was with his father. How much it pained him to watch the man having to run with Sagdel through the town like a runaway slave. Then he sulked over his grandfather deceiving and sending him away. Everything that he'd been holding in came pouring out like a river that broke its bank.

The second day he started coming to terms with his situation. He knew that to survive in this place he needed to become someone he was unfamiliar with. He decided that it was best to shut off that side of him that was an impressionable child who wanted to become a Knight. The Khal from before was dead like he was told during the ceremony. He needed to become ruthless and decisive to survive here.

After coming to terms with who he needed to be, Khal then began to meditate on master Copper's words. During their exchange, Khal never saw any of the usual cladding glow that he would usually see many fighters using. He knew there had to be a trick to it. There was no way the man could break two swords so effortlessly. Lord Tommel had trained Khal to be a skeptic. If the information went against what he knew then it had to either be fake or there was something he didn't quite understand yet.

Khal thought back to when Kitten had first cladded the air. It was an application of cladding he had never seen before. If cladding could work that way, was there a way for cladding to work without producing the glow? Khal thought about it some more but didn't find any answers. Maybe it was the fact that he spent two days without food but he couldn't be quite sure.

The next day, Khal found his way to the training room without many issues. There were still mass killings in the Hallways but since he knew what to expect, Khal was more careful. Master Copper still sat meditating in his usual position without saying any words to him. Khal couldn't focus on meditation too much since he was too hungry to concentrate.

Instead, he half closed his eyes and observed the man. Quite often, master Copper would turn the blade over before continuing to meditate. Khal found this strange after watching the man for half a day. It wasn't until the afternoon that Khal realized the blade wasn't shining like the ones on the wall. Strange, the blade master Copper has is especially smooth, why isn't it shining like the others? Khal thought about it for a second but he was too hungry to figure it out. "Hehe, it seems you're still not quite ready to learn from me, young man." Master Copper smirked a little before returning to stare at his blade again.

That evening, Khal walked home, pondering at what he saw the master doing. It was only when he was just outside his room that it hit him. Wait, maybe he IS cladding! Khal punched the wall lightly, removing a chunk of dirt that dislodged. He quickly cladded the dirt only to see it become coated in orange. Thinking to himself, Khal rubbed his chin before he removed the cladding and tried again.

Khal absentmindedly ate the dinner placed in his room while he kept cladding and un-cladding the piece of dirt. Sigh, I guess it requires more focus than this. Khal decided to meditate a little more before he tried again. It wasn't until early in the morning that Khal made up his mind to try again. This time, however, the dirt never changed color when he cladded it. Instead, it seemed like an unassuming piece of dirt. To be sure he wasn't going crazy, Khal threw the dirt towards the wall only to see it falling to the floor, still in one piece.

Khal smiled to himself. There was an obvious dent in the wall now. He had finally understood the 'trick' behind master Copper's technique. That sly old fox. Khal kept practicing the technique until he was comfortable enough. Today, he was sure he would be able to properly train with the master.

---

Khal returned to the training room as usual at the first sign of dawn. Although the Hive was dark and dreary, the room of the Hollows had fist-sized holes to allow sunlight to enter. Without it, there would be no real way to tell when it was day or night at the Hive. Khal wasn't sure how they did it since the outside looked like a castle. He was sure there was some mystery involved.

He didn't bother to sit down and meditate in the room like he did the previous days. This time he approached the wall and removed a sword. He then walked towards the front of master Copper before saying, "Master, I've come ready to tell you two things about this blade." Master Copper looked up towards Khal, surprised.

"Oh, is that so? Then do tell. What do you notice?" Khal could see the excitement in the man's eyes again. This man is so weird, Khal thought. Why would somebody become so fascinated with mere swords? "Well, all humans are made with flaws. Since we are flawed from the beginning then it is impossible for us to create anything without flaws. Like this sword for instance. Although it is made of Cormac steel, it is still flawed in many ways. While it may be flawed, however, when one wields it, it can become powerful, an almost perfect weapon."

Master Copper watched Khal excited, "If you get this right, you would be the first to ever be taught by me. You're doing well so far but that's just the first thing about this blade. What else can you tell me?" Khal realized that the old man was no longer acting as silly as before. He stood upright for the first time and folded his arms, waiting for Khal to continue.

"The second thing is that we do not need a sword to become a sword master. While swords techniques are fundamental to wield a sword, what matters is the application. Although swords can cut, fear cuts even deeper. Using this principle, just as a sword can cut so too can my bare hands." Khal held the sword in one arm while he cladded an open palm. However, the usual orange glow was not on his hand this time. Instead, it seemed like a normal hand. Master Copper watched on as Khal used the side of his open hand to cut cleanly through the metal sword.

The 'trick' as Khal called it was an application of cladding that he only figured out when he realized master Copper's sword the previous day. Since the sword was not shining then it meant the sword was cladded. It was the theory Khal came up with. Using his theory, Khal managed to clad the piece or dirt and even his hand using the technique master Copper was using. It involved manipulating world energy into the structure and cladding the defects instead. With the dirt, the majority of the dirt particles were only weakly adherent to each other. All Khal needed to do was cause the world energy to seep through the spaces in the particle then clad it together. Since the cladding was within the structure as opposed to around it, it was impossible to see with the naked eye.

"HAHAHA!" Master Copper clapped his hands at Khal's display. "You're the first to understand my teachings, young man. I will now commit your name to memory. Five, was it?" Khal watched the man giggle to himself happily as he dropped the sword he'd been fascinating over since the first day Khal met him.

"Using this application, it is time for me to train you. The other masters may have flashy techniques but with my arte, there will be none above it when it comes to pure killing." Khal watched the old man producing different art forms and techniques to train. Today would become Khal's first step in becoming a Black Recluse.

---

Cloud had his plate full every time master Claw left the Hive. It always seemed as though the other masters found it more convenient to have him deal with their issues. Cloud missed the simpler days when he spent most of the time doing missions for Lord Fang instead of babysitting a bunch of killers. He hated these responsibilities but that was why master Claw appointed him to do it.

Lately, he had been preoccupied with preventing the infighting between the two factions that existed within the Hive. First, there was Lord Fang's faction that remained steadfast to the task of protecting House Dor. However, there has been growing dissatisfaction with the status quo. Some of the Black Recluse found that they owed nothing to House Dor and wanted to become an independent organization in Seabo. Cloud had voiced his concerns about the matter to master Claw but the man brushed it off as typical Recluse behavior. Most of the members were forced into this life anyway and their personal opinions were nothing to worry about is what he told Cloud.

Cloud had suspected otherwise though. He knew that this dissatisfaction was different from before. He could feel the faction growing stronger with each day they waited. The idea of becoming a private organization was something brought forth by the last master of the Hive, master Coin. The man claimed to have received an invitation from an organization known as Raven Council. His conviction was so strong in whatever the invitation promised that he became bold enough to stand against master Claw. Foolish as it was, it roused the selfish desires in some of the Black Recluse member's hearts.

Master Claw had promptly cut off the man's head but the damage was already done. Master Coin was well respected at the Hive. The training masters, as well as the other members, revered him. Lord Fang, master Claw, and master Coin were said to be the three on top of the Black Recluse at that time but since master Coin interacted with the members more often he was better received than the others.

Cloud hated the day master Claw forced this position unto him. There was little he could do though, he was the understudy to master Claw after all. He revered the man ever since the day they met. Like Khal, he was also a noble who was recruited to the Black Recluse. His family was a branch of the Great House of Stigs but after his father killed his brothers and sisters, Cloud had run mad. It wasn't until General Dor came that he realized he had killed his father in his fit of rage. He had only later found his sanity after a few years at the Hive.

It was all thanks to master Claw. The man had mentored him even after the other Black Recluse shunned him. He couldn't blame them though, he did kill almost half of the Spiderlings from his batch. Now, however, Cloud was conflicted. Although master Claw had told him to ignore that faction, he knew that if they were allowed to grow too strong, the entire Hive would be destroyed. He couldn't let that happen, he needed to stop the fire before it even started.

"Moon, Rain, you're my most trusted men. I need you both to gather your teams to investigate the Raven Council. Moon, you take your unit and search for any leads in Igbal. I have reason to believe House Rhodes are somehow involved. Rain you look around the Hive for that invitation. Master Coin must have hidden it somewhere. Do it discretely."

Cloud knew that he had to see exactly what the Raven Council promised for master Coin to become so bold. Both figures were on one knee with their heads bowed. After hearing their orders, they both responded in unison, "Quel T'luze!" They disappeared even before their voices could echo throughout the room, leaving Cloud to ponder on the matter some more.