Invincible

His stride was quick and deliberate, his long legs devouring the distance before him like a ravenous monster. A gold medallion hung from his neck, glinting dully in the soft moonlight.

Walking quietly, his passing had the sound of dried leaves, swept along a narrow path rustling in the light spring breeze. His passing was invisible to those without trained eyes, and even most men who knew what it was they were looking for failed to notice his presence. Becoming seemingly invisible was only one of the Dark Apprentice's many talents

A slight grin crossed his dark lips, vanishing at once within the depths of his cloaked face. Dark Apprentice, he thought weakly, recalling his old mentor. For as long as he could remember, he had been referred to as that. It had seemed an eternity since his last visit with his old teacher. No matter, he almost spoke the words. His training had long been finished, for now he was the mentor, wiser and more powerful than his master had ever imagined he become. Immensely powerful, yet without an apprentice of his own. He was alone.

Alone. The word crept into his mind through the darkened corners of his fragmented memories. He was alone in the world, a speck of dust among the immense oceans, and it terrified him, terrified him more than he would have expected and hoped. He came to realize it some years before, life was without meaning to him. Nothing challenged him, not from within the deepest woodland of the east, nor from the barren wasteland south of the mighty Ippississum. Nothing, whether it be north or south or west had stood against him and survived...save for one...

It was nearing dawn when Sonac reached the Ruhk pass leading through the mountain range when he saw the group of men settled in the pass. He surveyed the men quickly, uninterested in what he saw. Walking towards them, he dropped his spell of invisibility and stroke towards the men.

The apparent leader of the group jerked to his feet, surprised at seeing the man in black materialize seemingly out of the trees itself. Regaining his composure quickly, the tall man, all clothed in black with a deep scarlet sash slung across his chest, took a deliberate step towards Sonac.

"Ello mate, how are you this good morning?" The speaker was strongly built, yet there was a slight twinge of doubt mirrored in his eyes as he faced the man. A broadsword was strapped to his back and a brace of long knives hung from his belt. "Since this be my highway, and you desire to pass through, it's going to cost you." A large, slanted smile crossed the man's face, revealing crooked, unkempt teeth.

Sonac pulled the cowl from his face, revealing his strong, lean features, his black eyes piercing as they stole the light from the rest of his face. His face was pale, yet there was a dark complex that seemed to cover him like a shadow, as if there were innumerable layers of blackness shrouded beneath the level of his skin. Glancing back over his shoulder briefly, he let out a low chilling laugh that seemed to freeze the air in the valley, silencing all sounds of life. "I am merely a weary traveler friend. I have no money from which to give you. Take your men Raldan, and leave this valley. You tread on my land now." His gaze pierced through the bandit, seeing through him as if made of glass. Icy and deliberate, his voice reverberated through the trees.

Raldan took a step back in spite of himself.