Pheo opened his eyes to see himself back to reality. He recognized most of them from earlier.
They all had restraints, and so did he. Unlike him however, most of them were sleepy or drowsy.
He noticed that there were three people that stood out. They were adults, free from the restraints and standing still as if waiting for something.
The eldest of them stepped forward. He had grey hair, with eyes that commanded respect from others. "Warhound" He said as he looked to the left.
A muscular man who looked to be in his prime stepped up. He began to curl up, his body started to surround itself with a silver flame as he started to grow.
Pheo watched as his shirt began to tear off, his skin changing texture with fur growing all across his body. His head slowly morphed from a humans to a canine's.
"Beautiful" Pheo spoke without thinking, he had read about them. A rare power that granted extraordinary strength at the cost of uncontrollable rage. Their sanity extinguished when transformed.
Warhound seemed to be different however, he was still sane. Something about him was special, allowing him to jump over a wall that others said were impassable.
"Cover your ears kid" Warhound gave Pheo a heads up. He listened and covered his ears with his hands.
Warhound took a deep breath, then howled as loud as he could.
Everyone woke up abruptly, writhing in pain as they scrambled to cover their ears. Even Pheo, who already covered his, could feel a bit of blood leaking out from his ears.
He howled for a few more seconds, then stopped as soon as the old man patted him on the back.
"Heh, looks like you failed being an alarm clock" The third one pointed out one kid, who was still sleeping soundly.
It pissed him off, "How the hell?" Warhound furiously walked towards the kid. He growled as he got right next to his face.
He went and grabbed one of his arms, breaking it in half. The kid woke up then, screaming at the sudden pain that went through his body.
Warhound instinctively punched the kid away as far as he could, "Too loud"
The kid came crashing at a wall, with most of his body turning purple. He stopped screaming then, his eyes trying to stay open until suddenly, it flickered shut.
Warhound looked at his arm, noticing how bloody it was. "Disgusting" He commented before licking it off, smudging his face with the blood as well.
Maybe he wasn't in full control after all
Pheo reconsidered his past comments.
"Alright alright, let's not scare the little ones" The third person spoke up. He spun a knife in his hand, in the other was a large pink object about the same size.
What the heck is that?
Warhound clearly looked angrier when he spoke up, snarling softly as he went back to the old man's side.
"Now that the dust has settled, my name is Parquatz" He introduced himself, "One of the three Wardens of this place"
He gestured towards the beaten down kid, "You could end up just like him if you don't listen to us"
He smiled as he saw the fear spread across the kids, all except for a few. It made him a bit mad, but he kept his composure.
"You'll be doing regular work, from cleaning and washing the dishes to a bit of mining and being a body shield" He told them like it was a script he practiced hundreds of times.
"Any questions?" He took a glance at all of them, noticing that one kid was raising his hand.
"What if we don't want to?" He asked brazenly. Warhound felt compelled to act, but Parquatz signaled for him to stand by.
Perfect
He wanted to make an example of someone. And as a bonus, it was one of those people who weren't scared.
"Because we told you to"
"For what reason should we listen to you?" He asked, "You should know that my family's already searching for me, and all these children's families are too"
"Once they come, people like you stand no chance against them" He raised his voice, trying to rile the others. They remained still however, some of them even started to cry.
Parquatz laughed at him, "You don't know, do you?" He went up to the kid, crouching to the same eye level as him.
"Your parents already abandoned you. Whether you were sold off to us or found in a ditch, no one will come looking for you"
His eyes faltered at the thought, "You're wrong, my dad would never do that" He shook his head as fear filled his mind.
Parquatz liked the way he reacted, he genuinely smiled at the child. "Well, have you guys everheard of this wonderful gift you guys get after reaching the age of 16?"
He began to walk around him, "This gift could be anything, from flying across the skies to making you smarter than the biggest nerd in your school"
"It could make you the hero of the day" He paused for a moment, "Or you could become the king"
"To use your powers for personal gain, to kill for your own convenience" He grabbed the shoulder of the kid, "What will you do when you awaken, I wonder?"
Pheo knew what he was talking about, but only a few of the books he read had contained information about it, about awakening.
Awakening what exactly? The answer differed each book he read. Some say its a dormant power inside you, others say that its a blessing God bestows upon you, and others barely even get a change at all.
But those who barely get a change seem lucky compared to others...
"Tsk" Parquatz shook his head as he waved the pink object around. "You know, I never tested this new eraser yet"
That thing was an eraser? How was he going to test it?
Pheo watched as Parquatz spun it around, then slashed through the kids arm. At that moment, his arm dropped to the ground.
The kid freaked out, looking at where his hand once was now nothing. He screamed in confusion.