Marcus was just a little boy wheched in fear when his mother was taken from him and taken away by the guards. Marcus cried and shouted. He tried to bite the man that was holding him. But the gloves aher arms of the bastard's jacket were too thick for him to get through. The only thing he achieved was excruciating pain in his jaw and then even more pain when Marcus received a cuff on his nape.

  He cried himself to an almost half-scious state until it felt like his head, which was already ag from the rough handling, was ready to split apart.

  They were poor. Marcus khat. There was never a father. And his mom had always had to work from dusk to dawn to provide them with food.

  Marcus helped as much as he could. But what a small child could really do?

  The worst part was that he didn't even remember her name. She was just 'mom' to him. Nothing more.

  ***

  Marcus was given a er in the barracks. One of the guards who supervised the abdu of his mother took pity on him and decided to give the orphan a ce. It was ten years ago. Sihen, he has been rising up the career dder of a camp boy.

  Then, in the beginning, he was happy to do anything to survive, to have at least some food and a roof over his head. He had to start by washing the trines and perf the tasks her-ranking orderlies were happy to pile up on him.

  But also, he was watg and training.

  Finally, it was the day he'd join the ranks of the guard. Today was the test. And the person making the most important decision in Mackus' life was Joss Tallow.

  He didn't know this man's hen, ten years ago. But he remembered his face well. That sadistic happiness wheore away from her child from her. When he led her away in the darkness, Joss enjoyed looking at a woman who was ed with fear.

  Of course, Joss knew who Mackus was. Everybody in the barracks knew him and his story. That wouldn't give him any advantage during today's challenge. But it wouldn't be an obstacle either. Their didn't believe in bming the children for the sins of their parents.

  What they didn't know was that Marcus khem all as well. Every single person who followed the and to take away his mother. He khe names of each of them.

  He would never fet.

  ***

  Garen "Steelhide" Harth, Leena "Shadowstep" Vey, Orlen "Hammerfist" Dask, Freya "Stormstrike" Helstrom, Corrick "Bckthorn" Dunn, Nira "Razorleaf" Kael, Tharic "Stonewall" Maldan, Emryn "Barrelborn" Vale, Caida "Whisperwind" Lorne.

  And, of course, Joss Tallow. Joss "Ironbrand" Tallow. He got his niame after he got his first and, not before.

  Those were the names.

  Marcus has been a guard for more than ten years now. His military career was not as fast as when he was an orderly. But his progress was quite steady and respectful. Better than what most of his peers had enjoyed. Especially the ones who didn't have retives on the cil.

  Out of the inal ten, o people survived. Emryn Vale got her niame not because of the peculiarities of her birth. She loved to spend all her pay at the pub. After one night's shift, she was found uhe town's wall. On the wrong side. With a broken neck.

  The iigation rompt. And no one doubted that Emryn was loaded to the barrel well before she went up on that wall.

  What happeo Corrick Dunn? No one knew. He was on patrol in the mountains. And then he didn't e back with his squad. Ultimately, it was winter, and high paths were usually treacherous during that season.

  Of course, Marcus knew what had happeo his mother. She was the maker of her own problems. She couldn't really look after him, but she also couldn't look after herself. So, the fact that she tripped up and made herself the , the sacrifice, didn't surprise Marcus anymore.

  That didn't mean those ten didn't have to pay for what they did to him.

  Well, now there were o of them from that inal list. The list had grown in the past few years, though. Marcus' new goal was to bee a deaker for his . He had to rise higher. Because, as it appeared, some of the people who ged his life on that fateful night also held positions of power. Real power, not like what Joss thought he had.

  ***

  When you are a small kid who clears trines, you think that the ander is a god, and every soldier is a demon. You 't win that game. You just try not to lose too much.

  Finally came another day when Marcus had a ce to check off another name on his list.

  It wasn't an actual list anymore. It still included a few names, including at least a couple of Marcus' new colleagues from the cil. But he could wait. Marcus ehat his revenge rocess that took years. He built himself around it. Only because of the rage that this small child felt he was able to get where he was now.

  Still, there was more to do. Only retly did Marcus find out that his list had to be extended far away from their town. Not only that but far away from humanity.

  The undead were always the fright for the small kids. Years ago, as a new member of the guard, Marcus had learhe importance of patrols and safety protocols. These abominations killed tless humans during the Fall. And who knew when they decided to go on another killing spree.

  Today, he'll do the same to Leena Vey about what they did to his mother. She didn't shadowstep well enough when she skimmed some money from her squad's budget. It wasn't hard to pin some other crimes on her as well. A perfect didate for another sacrifice.

  Still, what did their unity buy by providing the undead with fresh huma? Safety? Prote?

  The tradition was old. There were rumors that it inated turies ago, in the first decades after the Fall.

  Every time he got to the level of this neverending dder, his story only got more and more plex. There were more questions and not enough answers.

  Mareeded to rise higher to unlock that secret.

  But he was still young.

  He had plenty of time.