Chapter 1 Shackled Introduction

A man can be seen sitting in a dark cell, no windows are present. His hands are shackled to a wall. his black hair is long and scraggly with his clothes little more than rags, clearly showing he has been there for awhile his head is down with no view of his face. Although he clearly has been imprisoned for quite some time he still appears to still have a muscular build. Several scars can bee seen on his arms and a long scar visible on his exposed chest the portion the rags did not cover.

Footsteps can be heard heading towards his cell with jingling as someone unlocks it. In enters a man with a scar above his right brow. He has short blond hair cut high and tight and even with the scar above his eye you could only describe him as handsome although he maintains an arrogant look on his face. Dressed in leathers with a long sword strapped to his waist he enters the room and looks down his nose at the prisoner, who hasn't even raised his head.

"Duncan 'the hound' Blackwater" the man calls out to the prisoner saying his name as though it were a joke.

Silence was the only answer he received in return, the prisoner not so much as twitching. the mans face turning into a scowl as the uncomfortable minute goes by.

"You dare ignore the Prince of Falastia! you filthy mongrel!"

the prince marches closer to kick the man only for the prisoners legs to suddenly lash out at the princes leg knocking him of balance. as the prince starts to fall the prisoner uses his legs like a hook going for the mans neck only for the prince to quickly roll away mere moments before his throat would have been crushed. Breathing heavily with a murderous look on his face the prince quickly stands up preparing to draw his blade only to meet the cold green eyed gaze of Duncan who stared unblinking with a look that practically begged him to test his mettle.

Several seconds goes by with this staring match going by as the prince's hand going for the blade begins to shake, Fear clearly creeping into the man even though the prisoner is shackled for over a year he has not lost any fight and if anything his current appearance frightens him even more.

Quickly the prince turns around facing the door and places his hand on it to keep him balanced while he catches his breath.

"Little Edwin comes to pay a visit to the 'hound', how exciting." Duncan rasps out, clearly having not spoken in quite some time.

Prince Edwin now that he has seemingly calmed down quickly turns around and glares at the man but dares not hold his gaze. he begins marching back and forth at the entrance to the cell all the while Duncan continues to stare at him unblinking a small smirk on his lips clearly enjoying the effect he has on the prince.

"Perhaps we should begin torturing you again! maybe that will wipe that smug look off your face dog!"

suddenly Duncan begins to laugh maniacally only further increasing the fear present in the prince however he continues to maintain his arrogant look he could never fool "the hound". once Duncan finishes laughing he gives a hard stare to Prince Edwin as he speaks.

"I welcome the change, perhaps i will break another one of your puppets seeing as your previous attempts have worked out so well.

Saying nothing Edwin for a moment audibly gulps, only making a grin appear on Duncan's face again. Thinking back the prince remembers the last 3 attempts to torture this monster before him. every attempt ended with the torturer either dead or mad along with 5 dead guards. they still don't know how he did it but they were not that surprised seeing as he is the former leader of 'Legion' a mercenary group full of elite people who only took on the most challenging of bounties. the moniker 'hound' had been earned as he hunted down the most wanted criminals in the kingdom no matter if they went to the far east into demi territory with a variety of different races that all hated human. Elves, beast-kin, dwarves, and several others to name a few. even going as far to the south which belonged to demon territory bent on conquering the realm no matter if your demi or not. Duncan had hunted every criminal down without fail...except the last one who he knew to be innocent and once there refused to arrest them and even assisted in their escape. Only to be betrayed by his second in command Cassandra a former soldier from Falastia. While resting preparing to return back to the keep he suddenly collapsed while eating his field rations, his last view before the world went black was the smiling face of Cassandra whom he considered to be his closest friend tying his hand and feet together. waking up in the dungeon he vowed retribution for her betrayal. Maintaining his facade of confidence prince Edwin begins to speak.

"As fun as it would be to see you scream I actually have a job fit for a mangy dog."

"Oh! and why ever would a mangy dog like myself help you little Eddie" tilting his head sideways as he breaks into a smile still staring unblinking.

Prince Edwin as being called 'little Eddie' clenching his fists and grinds his teeth together anger overcoming his fear.

"Listen here you little shit! I could of killed you ages ago however you and my whore of sister are the only ones aware of how to open the tomb! Finally after a year of running her down which you failed to do we caught her hiding amongst a small village of demi's, living with an elvish husband! how that happened i can only imagine however after torturing her husband and spawn she finally revealed that you had the key all along and were the only one capable of opening it!"

Duncan's face became unreadable but his eyes showed his killing intent.

"that's right after laying her and her family to the sword we also burned the village. I swear we could hear their screams for hours!" Clearly enjoying see that he is having an effect on Duncan.

"Now you will go to the door and open it, I will get the power of the Demon Queen Morgana sealed below the castle! Do this and I will let you get a swift death instead of slowly rot here for years!"

He has an arrogant smile on his face as he delivers his 'offer' clearly knowing that he will deny it slowly thinking of things he can use to coerce him into opening the tomb that was protected by a member of the royal family. His sister was the chosen protector but after meeting Duncan while he was hunting her passed the role to him. This ability can only be passed from guardian to guardian.

Hanging his head Duncan says nothing for a few moments before slowly lifting his head and making eye contact with Prince Edwin a unreadable expression on his face he responds.

"As you wish"