“... —gressing well…” “… —eady soon…” “... more tests ar— …” The first thing Derwin noticed when he woke up were the various poking and prodding fingers traveling across his body. The second and third things he noticed was that he was shirtless and that his arms burned from their awkward position as he hung from the ceiling. What was going on? Where was he? The last thing Derwin could remember was that he and Dandy were… “My Lord Huntsman,” like nails on a chalkboard, a creaky voice interrupted his thoughts, “it seems that he’s beginning to awaken.” Cold, wrinkly hands roughly grabbed his chin and turned his head, forcing his mouth open as a cool liquid poured down his throat. Unable to prepare himself to drink whatever was given to him properly, Derwin sputtered and coughed as he tried to get whatever he was forced to drink out of his system. Though he struggled to turn his head away, he was unable to escape the cold grip on his chin that held him in place. “Enough.” The cold hand quickly retracted itself from Derwin’s face as he felt his blood run cold. That voice… He would never forget that voice for as long as he lived… Derwin forced his eyes open to stare upon his would-be captors, and it was then that he saw him. Rage overrode fatigue as Derwin attempted to lunge at the cold suit of armor in front of him, only to be foiled by the rope linking his bound hands to the ceiling. The hunched, old hag moved to subdue him until the dark figure put up a placating hand to halt her. “Let him be,” he commanded, “I wish to see how he fares.” Coherent thought continued to elude Derwin as he thrashed and pulled at his bindings until his instincts kicked in and a blade that seemed to be made of pure fire sprouted forth from his hand and cut/burned through his containment. Falling forward without the rope to support him any longer, Derwin turned his descent into a forward somersault before charging the dark figure once again. “You bastard!” he shouted as he closed the gap between he and his foe, “I’ll end you!” He brought his blade down for an overhead slash, only for it to clash with the armored man’s own sword. A black, gauntleted hand palmed the entirety of Derwin’s head as he was lifted into the air and thrown through what he must have assumed to be the door of wherever he was and into the cold earth that was outside. Derwin forced himself to stand up as his opponent, the Man in Black, stood in the doorway of the hut they were in. “You’ve changed since we last met, Vessel.” He said as he made his way to Derwin. His words seemed to have fallen on deaf ears, however, as Derwin charged at hit yet again. Hoping to catch him off guard, Derwin summoned a thorned vine from the ground to latch onto the Man’s leg and pull him off balance. While it failed to do it’s initial goal, it did happen to momentarily distract his opponent, giving Derwin time to dash in and plunge his blade deep into his chest. The Man only looked down at the burning sword piercing his chest and let out a dark chuckle. “Yes…” He said as he grabbed Derwin’s wrist and lifted him into the air. The blade of fire dissipated from the Man’s chest, leaving only a scorched slit in his chestpiece as evidence of Derwin’s successful blow. “Even if she tried to protect you from it, your natural-born talent seems to shine through in the end.” “The hell are you talking about!?” Derwin barked as he tried to escape the Man’s hold on his wrist. No matter how hard he twisted his body or kicked his foe in the face, nothing seemed to change, he probably would’ve made more progress against a brick wall. “Nothing that should concern you, Vessel.” He said as he his head towards the hut. “Valcina!” the hunched over hag appeared in the doorway, “Sedate him.” The hag, who Derwin assumed to be this Valcina woman, made a gesture with her hands and spoke a quick incantation. Quickly, Derwin’s vision started to fade as his consciousness faded. The last thing he saw were those same dark, soulless eyes that brought change into his once-peaceful life only but a few months ago. Derwin continued to fade in and out of consciousness for the next few days, hearing only fragments of conversations, sometimes merely sounds, as this Valcina woman examined him and the Man in Black watched...
