"So my lovely pupil…what do you think?"
"What was the purpose of all this? Another act of intimidation or do you get pleasure out of it?" Asher had stood vigilant throughout the whole scene. He stood there experiencing a strange combination of disgust and awe. He now knew that Elend was playing everybody like a fiddle.
The way Elend changed personas…how he acted…how he displayed himself. It was all measured and calculated to produce the maximum effect. Asher could see why Stephan wanted him to learn from Elend, but he refused to do so before understanding him.
"First…Never answer a question with another…And secondly, you can't rule with fear without inciting tragedy. You see my pupil…I'm quite weak…my abilities are all smoke screens and fancy applications of chaos theory. All I've got is a reputation and I've lived thus far because of it."
"The men below...most are hardened criminals and power-hungry brutes...some even canites but they all fear Elend the Ripper. If they knew the truth my head would be mounted in front of the mess hall for all to see. So from time to time, I give them a reason to remember."
"Remember what?"
"Why fear of course...Do you know how I got my nickname?...I ripped the throat of the previous boss with my teeth. Things spiraled from there and I tricked the buffoons to appoint me as boss. Your teacher is quite impressive isn't he?" He declared proudly but Asher could see the lines of regret across his face. Some things were hard to hide.
"You're a sylph, aren't you? Don't you feel any guilt for…?" Asher didn't get to finish his sentence before Elend snapped.
"For what!? My People!?...get a grip…any sylph who says our people is either delusional or prideful…My people are all slum born…my people are the parents who birthed me and that's that." He raised his voice a bit and slammed the table.
"The Sylph race lost its place after the pyre wars…any half decent sylph either burned with the great tree or is now a cannibal beyond the great wall…the rest of us…slave by lot or slaves to human rules. Each on his own." He ranted quite a bit on the subject. Asher assumed it was a sore spot for most sylphs. He didn't expect Elend's self-centered view.
"I-I got a bit carried away…excuse me!" He took a deep breath and eyed Asher again. "One more question and we call it a day.
"Were any of them guilty?" Asher finally asked the question circling in his head. Elend might as well have killed them all but he spared one.
"Ahhh…finally a good question and the answer is I…don't…know!" He spun in his chair and laughed. It was a dry laugh that held a lot of complicated emotions.
"One of them…probably…the other two…their gods have mercy I suppose. They served their purpose. A carrot and a stick. Betrayal punished, Loyalty reward…and my position maintained."
"Then why not kill all three…why leave one alive…what if he decides to take revenge?" It was admittedly a childish thought but Elend's methods didn't make sense to Asher."
"Kill one without mercy kill the other with cruelty and kill the third with kindness…A survivor is a reminder…his life is of more value if he's alive."
"Worry not though…All loose ends tie themselves up."
"Now…leave…come on off you go…I have to change my clothes before my beautiful skin turns red. We'll start lessons again tomorrow." Elend motioned to Asher to leave as he pressed a button. The large office doors opened and a maid proceeded to guide the masked Asher to his room.
-------
As Elend had said, a week later the very survivor was found dead. He had shot himself in the head using the gun Elend had given him. His blood and brains splattered across the walls of the room. People murmured for days about it even more so than the execution of the two before him.
Asher didn't know if the man had actually committed suicide or if Elend had him killed. The Ripper never cared to elaborate but he did give Asher that strange theatrical smile when he asked.
That was how he started his training with Elend. Calling it training was a bit of an exaggeration, but he did soak everything the actor had to offer. It was mostly street skills despite how Elend vehemently called them an actor's code. Most of the things he taught him were things Elend had picked up when he was a young rising star.
Visiting nobles…pretending to like stuff…people even. It sounded a bit sad especially when Asher realized that Elend was sold into the theater but the sylph never cared to tell that story.
He taught Asher whose hands to grease, whose to kiss, and whose to cut. He made him read a lot of books but reading had grown on the boy…gods know how much reading both Clara and Stephan made him do on anatomy and medicine.
From ranks of nobility and table manners to customs and seduction. Elend even made him practice on some of the maids much to Asher's reluctance. Most of their effort was spent on getting the boy to understand the concept of social malleability.
Asher hated that aspect of the training. He hated pretending. Lying was cool and dandy but to always be on guard of others. To always wear a smile because as Elend had put it:
"Even when everybody is out to get you…smile…s-m-i-l-e goddamit!" He grabbed Asher's face and pinched it to form a smile.
"A smile hides a lot. It hides your thoughts…it hides your weakness."
When it came to acting...Elend forced him to interact with the men outside. He made him pretend to be a newly hired thug. To wear the mask and try his hand at acting normal. While inside the office he didn't wear the mask but instead was Elend's new assistant. One was a hardened killer while the other was a fallen noble who was trying to make ends meet.
The masked one drank with the men below and told stories of murders and slaughter. The fallen noble would flirt with maids and work in the bar above the fortress. The fang's base was located below a bar called Hawk's Fall. A series of tunnels and mechanisms connected it to tunnels that led to multiple other locations across the city and even beyond.
For all intents and purposes, Elend was a self-made sylph and the proprietor of multiple properties. He'd meet constables above in his office in the bar and pay them in front of Asher and they'd look the other way.
Elend loved giving the personas he gave Asher to practice a story. "Everything has a story...habits…flaws…without them, you're no better than a shell." He told the boy on a late night while drinking. He had a strange melancholy in his eyes as he stared at the tinted glass of the office that faced the ring below.
"Come…every good noble knows how to play something." He walked towards a large piano to the side and sat in front of it. He patted for Asher to come forward and the boy sat beside him.
Slowly he opened the piano's case and started fiddling with the notes till he found his rhythm. He had Asher play multiple notes while he used the rest to produce a sweet symphony.
"Ahhh…a smile…good…excellent…Progress!" He gulped the last of his wine as he watched a smile appear on Asher's face. Asher enjoyed playing the piano. It was relaxing to be lost in something beyond the cacophony in his head.
Asher also spent time with Desil. He was the only other person to know that Asher was Stephan's apprentice. The bellied man taught him some gambling games and how to manage the respect of a lot of men.
He was the right-hand man of Elend and worked for the fangs even before Elend was boss. He explained to him the structure of power between the major gangs and organizations.
"Now listen...I'm not a fan of repeating myself."
"There is us...the small folk...with no real power. On this side of the underworld, only five names are important. The fangs...we handle most major trafficking business. We're the guys who you ask for what you can't find top side."
"There's the Weavers...they're the guys you go to when you can't go to alchemists and witches. Nasty things...wouldn't recommend them unless you want to grow an arm or a leg back."
"There's the Soothsayers...they're brokers...the people you go to for rumors and information. Hard to track and appease. A rumor for a rumor...that's the price."
"The Glaives...a mercenary guild for the jobs nobody wants to take...not sanctioned by the ruling parties so most of their work is relic finding and ruin searching. You can find canites there from time to time but it's rare.
"Finally the Black Sun...Assassination espionage and major thefts. They have many men on their payroll. Better off avoiding these guys. They've been growing in power too quickly the last few years."
"If there are so many illegal activities going on why doesn't the government uproot the problem." Asher asked intuitively.
"They could but we're useful...they need us. Military operations...information...you name it. We scratch their backs and they scratch ours. Take for example recent events. The new regent is trying to ban slavery. The nobles backing us get rid of the annoying bureaucracy and we keep the trade flowing."
"Now after the underworld, there is the military and constables. As long as we don't do anything major we avoid each other."
"Then comes the churches...if you hear an Abolisher or a Blighter is nearby you turn the other way. They ask you for anything you sing like a canary. We don't mess with the churches. It's an old underground rule."
"Why not?"
"They're old kid...you don't mess with old things. They've stayed relevant until now for a reason and I'd rather not find out why."
-----
Eventually, three months would pass. Asher would wake up, wear his mask, and practice in the arena per usual. Sometimes he'd duel with other guards and even monsters but this time he was alone. He swung his blades and ran around the field.
His stay here was hard to put into words. He benefited from it both physically and mentally. Interacting with new people, being around a crowd, and mostly pretending that he was not him, helped him dull out the voices of fear and regret. He gained more than he cared to admit but he still avoided mirrors like a plague.
Longing was always watching. He didn't understand why. He was gaining strength in another way. He was learning more but she still stared at him with disappointment as if he didn't deserve this serenity. As if he should return to the streets.
Moments like these he recalled the time he spent with Clara. How he couldn't return to being alone again. He often wondered how she was doing.
He was lost in thought when suddenly his senses spiraled, and he dodged to the right as he narrowly evaded a flying blade. He didn't stop there. Asher quickly grabbed his blade and blocked another attack. A hooded figure appeared out of nowhere and relentlessly jabbed at him while Asher did his best to dodge.
The figure never gave him an opportunity to attack so Asher pretended to slip and when the figure took the opportunity, Asher swung himself and stabbed the figure who was wide open.
"Is this enough…shadow?" Asher said between huffs. He recognized the move set and patterns of the attacks. Stephan had beaten him senseless too many times not to recognize it.
"Tasteless nickname by tasteless people…I'm glad to see living in the boonies didn't dull your senses." Stephan removed his hood and the unnatural darkness that surrounded his face disappeared.
"Now pack your things…we're leaving…no time to dilly dally." Stephan commanded the confused Asher. He hadn't seen the man for months yet here he was taking charge again when he was the one to dump him here without any explanation.
"Where were you…what about the fangs…leave where."
"Getting everything ready…they don't matter…To get your factor." He answered every question with short answers and prompted the frozen Asher to move.
"Factor?"
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"Shadow came by…he left some instructions." Desil narrated his encounter with Stephan to Elend. They were in the ripper's office alone. Elend sat on the piano while Desil stood beside him.
"It's going to be less crowded without the kid…you know you could catch up to them." Elend stated while playing some notes.
"Goodbyes aren't my thing boss." Desil rolled his eyes at the dejected Elend.
"Back to business again…what did he want." He got up, closed the piano, and returned to his seat.
"Two things…delay the next shipment of bodies until further notice and to begin the plan."