	That night he went to sleep in his bed, certain that it would be the last night he ever spent there. He was half right. He awoke the next morning, fully clothed and alone, on a forest trail as far from anywhere he could recognise as he had ever been. All around him the trees were dead grey skeletons, stripped of leaves and radiating cold. He could not even see the smoke from the fires of his home from where he was. Nor had he ever heard of a forest such as this. In short: he was lost. 
	In the grey light of the pre-dawn he could see two small furrows made by the heels of his boots of the path. He had obviously been dragged here, at least part of the way. A quick examination of the soil told him which direction he had been travelling in before he was dropped. Since he had nothing to go back to, he pressed on. After an hours walk up the track he found himself in a circular clearing, about thirty feet in diameter. The sun was now barely visible through the trees. He moved to the centre of the clearing and turned a slow circle, peering deep into the shadows of the dead, tangled undergrowth. As he finished his circle something inside him made him call out, "I may not see you but that does not mean you are not there."
	"Very good," a silver-grey shadow detached itself from the trunk of a not particularly large tree. "You have passed the first test adequately."
	"I fail to see what I have learned from the experience," he replied, just before the world closed in on him in a bright wave of agony. Later, much later, judging by the position of the sun, he regained his senses. Feeling a residual burn at the base of his neck he groaned slightly but managed to sit up.
	"Ah, back with us I see. Good, now we can continue," the shadow moved back into his field of vision, appearing as if from nowhere. "Unfortunately, you failed the second test, and after such a promising start. In case it was not completely obvious to you, you are to refer to me as "master" the duration of our time together. I am sure you will learn quickly enough, or maybe it will require a few more tastes of the <i>sennach</i> root to teach you the lesson. No matter, gathering more to replace that I use will be a valuable use of your time."
	The shadow reached out from under the folds of it's cloak an pulled back it's hood, revealing the weathered face of one long used to the wilderness framed by hair as pale as the cloak that had covered it.
	"Might I enquire as to my master's identity?" Arquinsiel asked, once he had shaken his head to clean the pain.
	"You may not," the shadow replied.
	"Very well, then may I ask what I shall expect to learn from you? Master," he hurriedly added.
	"That you may, we like to encourage our students to have an interest in their studies. I shall teach you the basic lessons that must be applied to every area of your life, simple things that you would overlook otherwise. Such as not dismissing the obvious and not relying on it either, for example, that which you seemed to feel was not a worthy lesson earlier. Amongst other things, I shall also be giving instruction in the basics of woodcraft and stealth. I'm sure you are quiet enough in your own environment but in the life that awaits you, your own environment is the one you shall frequent least."
	Arqunsiel sat still for a moment, letting the master's words sink in. Now he understood the reason for the first test and the second became a matter of simple logic. He had failed merely through his own inborn arrogance. He realised would have to work to curb that lest he wished to spend all his time comatose, this was not the city.
	His reverie was interrupted sharply, "On your feet now, you've had enough of a rest." The master turned and moved back towards the tree which he had first come from. "Follow me please, as fast as you can." And with that he was gone, faded into the shadows of the dead forest. Arquinsiel raised himself slowly to his feet, his joints protesting at the poison still in his blood. Another shake to clear his head and he was off, tracking the master as best he could. It seemed that he wasn't trying to seriously hide his trail though, and Arqunsiel caught frequent glimpses of him up ahead. 
	And all the time, that same little voice that had informed him of the master's presence earlier now told him that someone found this all very funny indeed. He didn't like that thought.
	Over the next few days he found his master set him varous small tasks to be performed while on the move. Usually these involved collecting some form of leaf or root along the route although occasionally he would be forced to stop for a while to complete a more complex operation. Slowly he noticed the amount of time he required to finish the tasks increased, as did the dificulty of tracking his master. He would regularly finish his march several hours after his tutor, who he would come across asleep in whatever area he had deemed fit to camp in. He obviously woried little for treachery as Arquinsiel had nowhere else to go. Even if he was worried Arquinsiel was regularly t tired from lack of sleep to even consider anything underhanded, he simply collapsed in a heap on the ground and slept straight off.
	At some point, during one of many stops he was now forced to make for his tasks, he began to suspect that they were moving in a rough, circular pattern. He resolved to move faster and confront his master on the issue. Finishing his task he moved along the trail, hardly paying attention to the signs. When he reached the appointed camp site his master was already asleep. He would have to wait until morning.
	He woke at dawn at usual, no longer needing a kick to get him moving. Stretching the cold out of his limbs he waited to be given his tasks for the day. Eventually, after his chores had been explained, he broke his silence to ask, "Am I mistaken or have we been moving in circles the entire time I've been with you?"
	"Not the entire time, we had to leave the spot where I found you lest you get suspicious too early."
	"Might I impose upon you as to enquire why?"
	"Simple, to see when you would notice."
	"When I would notice? What benefit does that lesson give me?"
	"None really, it Is merely a test to see how much attention you've been paying. You did rather poorly really, considering your pedigree. Anyway, no matter, on to the next part. FOllow me please." 
	He started off in a seemingly random direction at an easy pace, crossing the circle, or so Arquinsiel thought. A few days of easy travel later and they reached a what appeared to be a small fortress in a large clearing, it's black stone walls a replica of the city in which he had spent his youth. As they left the treeline a third figure, this time cloaked in dappled green and brown left with them causing Arquinsiel to start in astonishment.
	"Yes, before you ask, he has been with us the entire time. Did you not think to wonder why I trusted you not to get yourself lost?"
	"I wonder why I merit two teachers, do all students of the school do so or is this a slow year for you?"
	"Do not be so facetious, it is unbecoming. Remember that we would be not at all inconvenienced by your death but we must account for you, lest we come under scrutiny. In other words, your body would be required as proof that we are not training a secret army to oppose the council. We can't have you falling down a ravine and us not knowing. A rather fundamental thing really, you should have guessed it."
	"Well I seem to have failed that test to haven't I?" His master said nothing, instead walking around the wall to the gatehouse. The other figure fell into step with them, nodding politely.
	Entering the fortress through it's single gate he noticed a small pile of bags, all about six feet in length, just off to the left inside. Realisation hit him suddenly, like a stone into a pond, stopping him dead in his tracks. There were bodies in those bags, bodies of young misfits just like him. Now that he focused on them he could see that one of them was seeping slightly, a small river of red blood running across the dirt floor of the fort. He shuddered and moved on, following the master again. 
	He was led into a small cabin, built of the same stone as the walls but roofed in dark red tiles. All that was inside was a desk, at which sat another man, his cloak, dark blue this time, hanging from a peg behind him. The masters came to attention before his desk and Arquinsiel followed suit, not quite sure what was appropriate. He looked up from the papers he was reading, and cleared his throat before speaking in a rough voice, "Which one is this then?"
	"Arquinsiel of house <insert house name>," his master replied.
	"Very well, I shall expect both your reports tomorrow morning. Dismissed." He went back to his paperwork.
	The two masters bowed slightly and turned, leaving Arquinsiel alone with this new person. The silence lenghtened. After a short while Arquinsiel felt compelled to make some noise, just to remind the master that he was still here.
	"Ah yes, you. Well, you are to be assigned to the wall guards until the other recruits start coming in. You finished the first part of your training indecently early you know, quite inconvenient for us. You shall be placed in Draughair patrol when they all report in. Until then familiarise yourself with the compound and the guard staff, you shall be billeted with them. Any questions?"
	"I am confused sir, you say I arrived early, the master implied I was far slower than I should have been. The corpses outside would seem to confirm his version of events. What am I to believe sir?"
	"If we tell you what to believe at every step of your training then what do you truly learn? Dismissed."