Duke

Fingernails scratching on iron triggered an adrenal response. I scanned the cell for the man next to me but found no one. Had I imagined the whole thing like a weary desert traveler seeing an oasis mirage?

"It's time." A gnarled voice sounded as a dungeon beast led me from my cell to the Prince's chamber. When I arrived the Prince had his back turned towards me, lost in deep contemplation.

"The lessons will come fast and hard so pay attention. There's no time to relax. Our foes are fierce and unrelenting. We're twice as much."

The Prince lead me down a long, narrow corridor. Small windows, about the size of a fist lined the walls. The faint sound of grinding coming from the other side, I had no desire to look through the glass.

The corridor opened up to a room. The Prince took us to the back where small pools of muddy water sat in rows on the ground. The room held a force bent on dominance and war, powered by dark emotion.