Lihar was overcome by shame, but more than that, he wanted to live.
The mages sneered at him.
"What would you know?"
They casually materialized an icicle and stabbed him in the arm.
The pain was enough to make him pass out, but Lihar was trained to grit through the pain. Knowing that passing out would spell his death, his body didn't allow him the luxury of unconsciousness.
As he struggled to find the right words, the Voice was suddenly back.
<Say you're Savine's brother.>
"Urk… I-I'm Savine's brother… When she was a c-commoner in the Magicracy, she was with m-me before she was adopted."
At that, the mages' eyes changed. They looked at Lihar all over and seemed to notice his foreign looks.
"Are you two close?" one of them asked.
Lihar knew he had to lie.
"Yes… She brought me over the moment she-" Lihar struggled to find the proper words. "settled down here."
The mages exchanged glances.