Chapter 13: Trial of grasses.

Boys woke up like always, early in the morning. The sun was slowly raising, enlightening the world, while the morning serenades of the birds were slowly gaining its power.

August woke up and rubbed his eyes, feeling somewhat depressed. It was no surprise, since he had to go through a trail today that will decide his future destiny.

Shall he fail to complete it, there is nothing that is awaiting him, but an eternal darkness. Shall he succeed? There are tens of other obstacles that he will have to conquest in order to reach his goal.

But this was not enough for him to lose motivation to move on. Slapping both of his cheeks loud enough to wake up those that were still half asleep.

Boy next to August rubbed his eyes and looked around, spotting August that had cheeks colour of blood red. His eyes slightly shrank as he inquired "Morning?"

August just nodded without giving any verbal reply, but curiosity slightly pushed him to ask, "Eskel?"

Eskel nodded his head and inquired back, "You are the one that spoke that belief in something does not help?"

August shook his head and replied, "August"

Without August noticing, someone got behind August and said slightly, surprising him, "So your name is August"

August turned around and looked towards the boy, about 5 years old, no older than him. He tilted his head to the side and said gradually pronouncing every letter, "Geralt?"

Kid nodded his head and went back to the place where he slept. Next to him sat a boy with hair colour of flaming fire; fire-ginger.

Their dialogues were not meant to continue when a bunch of man wearing leather armour and a bunch of those wearing beautiful hoods walk inside of the room, carrying a cauldron of some mixture along. This was the first component of the trail.

It was the one given to prepare young bodies, before loading it up with the strongest potions that were basically changing everything about a person, from their muscle density to their nerves and neurons speed. So they could become one of witchers.

Those abilities were fatal for those warriors. They were required to react extremely fast to anything happening around them,while analyzing everything occurring during the fight and making right decisions on time.

Man fed all the boys with this liquid and told them to follow them into the lab where further components will be injected right inside of their veins.

Boys walked along, well most of them, some were terrified enough to be carried by older witchers, some were trying to escape their destiny last minute. But at this point in time, there is nothing that could be turned back. It is either do or literally die.

Boys walked inside of the lab where chairs were located. Those chairs were not the regular ones, but with cuffs to hold back those that go under the trial.

All the boys were asked to take the seat on those chairs. August took a seat next to the boys that he spoke during the night. You could see Eskel that had his entire body slightly shaking, Geralt behaving calmly, but his eyes were giving it away, saying everything for him. Gwelt, boy with ginger hair that looked older than others. He was tapping on Geraltshoulder whispering something in his ear and Lambert. He looked like one of those that could start a fight any minute.

All of them lay in the chairs and got cuffed strongly by their ankles and hands, giving them no ability to move around.

August heard a terrified voice of Eskel "Good luck guys, see you on the other side"

August listened to him and looked towards the ceiling. His eyes were burning with searing fire, while his mind filled with resolve to push through this trail no matter the cost.

Sorcerers walked around cuffing the boys, pinning them to the chairs, tough, giving absolutely no ability to twitch.

This was their last moment before they will start the process. Some of the boys were silently praying, wishing for successful outcomes, some were begging their parent to take them back home and some were having their head empty, hallow of any thoughts.

Wizards went around and injected huge metal syringes into boy's veins, injecting some kind of liquid that composed of different mutagenic herbs that were specially cultivated for this purpose.

It didn't take them long before all the boys were injected with a liquid and left alone. Nobody wanted to look after first several hours of the experiment since they will be the most agonizing for those going under the trail.

Inside of the lab, the ones that were left there were only boys, young boys pinned and cuffed by their legs and arms, unable to move. They were waiting for the process to start. In front of their eyes they were witnessing how the liquid colour of black traveling through their young veins, slowly painting them black.

It didn't take a lot of time for the first effects to take place, one boy released an agonizing scream.

*aaaaaaaaaaaaaa*

One after another, boys screamed in agony, feeling extreme pain. Their screams turned into hell's orchester that combined voices of most, singing their parts with agonizing voices.

Some of the boys were still not feeling anything happening to them, and it was a good sign. Only those that are resistant enough will be able to survive, and the time it takes for their bodies to react the better it is.

But the delay wasn't big. August that laid next to Eskel heard how prays of Eskel died down before his screams started to gradually grow, making them louder and louder, cutting your ears just like a knife against the plate.

Everyone around August started to get affected by the herbs, but August and Geralt. They were clueless as to why they were not affected yet, but the time lasted increasingly long, stretching second into hours, making it hard to remain calm and collected during the experiment.

August felt how something started to crouch up from his arms towards his head, incredibly slow.His breath pattern started to increase as his heart started to race. The feeling of something crouching reached his head. In an instant he went through the feeling of overload. His entire body screamed in pain, whine and crack inside of his head. He felt how all cells of his body sent panic signals towards the brain, echoing it with pain, pain and pain.

His emotions got wild and his mouth could not stay shut any second longer. Exhaling lungs full of air, he released an agonizing scream, loud enough to silence screams that were coming from all around.

His heart started to bleed.

His muscles started to rip apart.

His nerves started to scream.

And his head started to explode.

With eyes fully open, slowly getting painted in red, his body started to violently twitch and shake as if it was his last calls.

His eyes were open, but he could not see. His mind drifted into hell, frying itself alive, showing to a young boy full of ambitions, a truth of actual pain.

He doubted his decision that he took, started to question 'Is it necessary?'. Was it actually worth resisting such a torture to keep on living?

When the doubts were getting control over the young man, a flash of memory, like a picture for a fraction of a second, appeared in front of his eyes, disappearing incredibility fast, but this picture was forever in his mind.

Memory of his almost dead mother. Picture of her teared flesh, bleeding like a fountain, shouting and begging for torture to stop, for pain to end.

With newfound powers, he gritted his teeth between each other, milling them, producing flour.

But right now his spirit rose and with a goal to sustain, to endure all the pain , and to come out as a new version of himself.