text: Year 5
  
  You are sitting in a gray room at a desk with several other children your age. All of you glance at each other a lot and it is obvious that there is much curiosity, but nobody speaks. This is very unusual for you, up until now, you have only had minimal contact with others. Most of them are male like you, but a few of them are female.
  
  Soon the silence comes to an end when a dark skinned woman walks into the room. She has long hair and sharp features. One thing you notice is that despite her long hair covering her ears you can still see that the tips of them are pointed. She must be elven, but in the pictures you've seen in books, you've never seen one with dark skin before.
  
  "Hello children, and congratulations on maintaining dignified silence during your time by yourselves. It's nice to see that your previous human minders aren't totally incompetent. Still, if you were Svelk children you would've been much better trained by now. Ah, but it is not my place to dwell on the limitations of the lesser born. I am merely here to oversee your training into proper Eternals so that you may serve the Emperor to your fullest capabilities. Now before we begin, I suggest you all ask questions now, because this will probably be the only time I will be in the mood for your ignorance."
  
  For a moment nobody speaks, but when the elven lady insists, one brave soul raises their hand.
  
  "Yes, you."
  "Are you an elf?"
  "Yes, I am. While the ignorant would use the vulgar term dark elf to describe me, my kind are more properly known as the Svelk. In fact WE are the purest of the elven race. All others you may have the misfortune of meeting are merely diluted members of our bloodline. They are truly pitiful creatures really only fit for extermination. Remember this."
  
  "Yes, you."
  "What is your name?"
  "My name is unimportant, but you and the rest will always address me as Mistress. Failure to do so will earn my wrath, and more importantly the wrath of the Emperor. Remember this."
  
  "Yes, you."
  "What will you teach us?"
  
  A second passes after the question, when a small bolt of light from the Svelk's finger tips and hits the child in the chest asking the question. He falls backwards out of his chair and on to the floor. The rest of you jump in your own chairs and look back at him. He is breathing very erratically.
  
  "I will teach you to OBEY my commands when I give them!" Mistress shouts, she then warns the rest of you.
  
  "Don't you dare touch him, let alone help him! (Sigh) And here I thought you lot had been trained better! It occurs to me that I will have to be extra strict in my discipline. As to the question about what I will teach you...  I will teach you to be warriors. I will teach you to be wizards if you display the talent. I will teach you to shed yourselves of weakness. I will teach you to serve the Emperor without question and kill without mercy and you will always obey for you will find strength in obedience. You will find joy in order. You will find love in murder. You shall be instruments of terror and genocide if he so wishes it. You will be Eternals... or you will die. Remember this."
  
  After Mistress' speech, the child she struck down eventually struggles back up and gets back in his seat, clutching his chest and still wheezing.
  
  "I trust you have learned your lesson?"
  "Y... yes... Mistress... " he gasps.
  "Good, now one more question before we begin... you there. What is your question? Speak up!" Mistress demands while pointing at you, though you have not raised your hand.
  
  You don't wish to disagree with Mistress, so you stumble and try to think up a question.
  
  "Uh... er... I was just wondering when will you teach us to fight Mistress?"
  Mistress raises an eyebrow and gives a smirk as she approaches you.
  "Fight? And what makes you think that YOU are even ready to learn yet? Do you have even the slightest knowledge of combat tactics?"
  "No, Mis... " before you can even complete the sentence Mistress knocks you out of your chair with a quick jab with her hand, the pain from your face spreads to your chest when Mistress steps on it with her boot. She digs it into you and presses all her weight on it, while the rest of your class looks on.
  
  "Damn right, no you don't. You weren't even alert enough to anticipate my attack. You let me get in close and now look at you, you're completely at my mercy. I am in a position to do whatever I like with you, while you are only in a position to beg or die. So what will it be worm? Are you going to beg for your miserable life, or should I save the Empire's time and money by killing you now?"
  > die
  The pain is great and you want it to be over with as quickly as possible, but you know to beg for mercy would be shameful, so you gasp say you'd rather die than beg. This response surprises her to a point that she actually takes her boot off your chest giving you relief.
  
  "Truly, little one? You accept death so quickly? Have you no instinct for survival, or are you merely a fool? Still, your refusal to beg at least shows promise. It also shows that you know your place and that your life is ultimately not your own. It is nothing. ALL of your lives are nothing! Your lives will never be anything more than warm bodies to serve the Emperor! Remember this."
  
  At this point much like your other classmate hit by her magic bolt, you slowly get up and back in your seat, clutching your chest. It hurts, but you compose yourself the best you can.
  
  Time passes by under the harsh guidance of Mistress. She teaches you all that she promised she would and then some. Your lessons are not only that of a combat nature, but of an academic one as well. You wouldn't be aware of it, but you and your classmates are probably much better educated than other children your age.
  
  As for you, Mistress doesn't treat you any worse or better than any of the other children, but your first experience with her did have an effect on your behavior. You take her lesson that your life ultimately not being important to heart and you become more and more withdrawn. So withdrawn in fact that you almost become invisible to your fellow classmates and even Mistress sometimes forgets that you're there at all. If it was not for group projects and sparring lessons you probably would be forgotten.
  
  You obey commands and do your training and that is all. Why bother worrying about anything else when your life is not your own? You must follow orders even if it means your death, it's the only way you'll be able to please the Emperor.
  
  Despite your low key nature, your personality doesn't completely go unnoticed by your instructor and watchers, they make note of it and decide how you should be handled in the next step of your training.
  
  Year 12
  
  You are in a room with a few of your fellow classmates standing in a row. Most of your class has been separated for reasons unknown to you. All you know right now is there is a man in a dark robe speaking with a well dressed man. They are speaking about you, but not actually speaking TO you... 
  
  "Far be it from me to question orders, but I thought the whole point of this program was to create a separate elite fighting unit. Why are they now being split up and more importantly why are some being placed with us?"
  "Things have changed since the program's inception. Besides I would've thought the Shadow Guard would've appreciated such an honor of receiving such worthy candidates." the man dressed in black formal wear calmly retorts.
  "That remains to be seen. I'm sure you're fully aware of our strict guidelines on who is accepted. There are tests and rituals to go through."
  "So, put 'em through whatever it is you do. Look, I'd say you could benefit by having a few Eternals in your ranks, if nothing else than to keep you from getting lax."
  "Lax? Our group has been the eyes and ears of the Empire for centuries, and our vigilance is beyond reproach. We haven't even seen one of these so-called Eternals can do. It's all been just speculation, and if I may be so bold, a misguided appropriation of time and funds. The Empire should be providing the regular military better equipment and more of it, so that we don't have to be sent in to help them on the frontlines when we could be doing better things with our time such as keeping the Empire safe from subversives and other internal parasites."
  "Your concerns are irrelevant. This is the Emperor's project and he has his reasons. If I were you I'd watch your tone. For someone who doesn't question orders, one wonders if you have to be reminded that you are a servant of the Emperor and you will obey or you will be replaced."
  
  The robed individual steps towards the well dressed man before speaking.
  
  "Fortunately for you, I do serve the Emperor, for that is the only thing keeping me from ripping out your throat. Never question my loyalty again... very well I shall take these so called Eternals, but if they fail to live up to Shadow Guard standard, then they shall die like anyone else."
  "As you wish brother, I leave it in your capable hands. You will keep me apprised of their progress on a weekly basis. Good day." The well dressed man says and leaves the room, leaving you all alone with the robed man. You've never seen a Shadow Guard before, but while he doesn't look quite as menacing from what you've heard about them you know that he is a force to be reckoned with by reputation alone.
  
  He walks up and down the row sizing you all up before speaking.
  
  "I am Brother Gray, and I will be in charge of the rest of your training until the Emperor deems otherwise. I imagine that your former instructor was that svelk woman, so I trust you all know by now that failure and weakness have no place here. Correct?"
  "Yes Brother!" you all shout in unison.
  "Hmm, well glad to see her skills in teaching discipline are still as effective as ever. Good. Now let's see how good your combat skills are... "
  
  At this point you and your fellow classmates instinctively start to pair up to spar with each other, but Gray stops you and immediately knows what's going on.
  
  "Oh no, you won't be fighting each other. The svelk's cultivation of mistrust and loathing in all of you has its place, but not for our purposes. As a Shadow Guard you will learn that the reliance on such emotions to be a hindrance, as all emotions are. I can see I will have to undo some of the foolishness she has instilled in you all."
  
  Time goes by and Brother Gray begins to train you in various forms of combat. It's actually similar to some of the stuff Mistress was starting to teach you as he goes on about unconventional warfare such as poisoning water supplies and assassinations. However he also teaches you and your classmates to work better as a team. One test involves fighting a strange beast called a Thought Lurker. It is one of the most grueling battles you've ever had and it doesn't require weapons at all. It takes place all in your mind and it utterly destroys a few of your classmates. It is only when you and your classmates concentrate together as one you are ultimately successful in defeating it.
  
  Academically speaking, you are still given a well-rounded education. A strong mind and knowledge wins more battles than any blade did as Brother Gray says.
  
  Brother Gray is just as uncompromising as Mistress in his training, but he is not gleeful about it at all. His verbal abuse is a cold disappointment rather than gloating about your failures. He still reminds you all regularly about how it is your sworn duty to serve the Emperor, but you hardly need him to tell you that, to believe otherwise is unthinkable.
  
  As for you, you find yourself fitting in better here. It might be due to the conditioning that emotions are a hindrance and the emphasis on duty since you already had a slightly stoic personality coming in. There is a calming peace of knowing exactly what you need to be placing importance on. Despite your nature of blending into the background, you have not gone unnoticed by Brother Gray who approaches you to give you direct advice one day.
  
  "You are a little different from your fellows. I have noticed that you adapted much better to training than they did. You may even survive the ritual when the time comes, however I will give you a little advice. I can see that you do not believe your life is truly important. You believe that you feel it is merely your duty to serve and if you die in the process, then you will die. I imagine this might be the result of something that the Svelk woman did to you... in any event, this approach will not do. There is no weakness in maintaining a survival instinct while serving. Yes, you will be called upon to perform dangerous duties or even suicidal ones in the service of the Emperor, but you should always try to survive even if the odds are against you. The Shadow Guard has been doing it for centuries. Remember, the longer you survive, the longer you can continue serving the and there is no greater honor. Think on this on your next training assignment."
  
  Brother Gray's words carry much weight with you and in the years during your training you begin to discard your overly fatalistic approach to life well as becoming an accomplished warrior.
  
  Your instructor and watchers once again note your growth and skills, and as usual they make decisions on how you will best serve the Emperor.
  > Continue
  Year 16
  
  You and four of your fellow Eternals stand once again before Brother Gray this time though he is joined by another one of his fellow shadows. This man is almost indistinguishable from Brother Gray, similar robe, head covering hood, the only thing really different about him is that he's slightly taller.
  
  "Eternals, you have survived this far when some of your fellows have not. This means you show promise in joining our order, but it does not yet mean you belong. There is one more test that you have to pass through, before that can happen. I shall let Master Ebon explain more."
  
  With this, Master Ebon steps forward and begins to speak, it is at that moment you notice that something is slightly off about him. Like part of him is becoming translucent momentarily.
  
  "Eternals, I have heard much about you and how skilled you all are. So far I am not impressed. You have been given gifts and advantages from birth yet only a few of you actually made it this far. However, given Brother Gray's sterling assessment of all of you that do remain, perhaps I just need to see it for myself. In any event, all of you shall be undergoing the Ritual of the Shadow. It is in this important ceremony that you will gain abilities such as this... "
  
  Master Ebon, suddenly disappears completely and before you know it, he is behind all of you, forcing you all to turn around.
  
  "This is just a simple ability, compared to others you will gain in time, assuming you survive the ritual. I should also mention this ritual will also open your eyes to the truth and bind you... all of us in a way you have never even pondered before. I am not sure if you Eternals have bonded despite growing up together, but you even if you have, that bond will not compare to that of the shadows. Our order has existed for a very long time and will continue to do so long after other systems haven fallen to the dung heap of history."
  
  Master Ebon at this point turns around and begins to chant in some strange language. After about five minutes of this, a shimmering portal opens up, though it sort of fades in and out of existence.
  
  "And now Eternals, the ritual begins. You two, enter the portal together." Ebon says pointing at Cyrus and Brian. The pair of them nod and walk into the portal.
  
  After a few moments have passed, Ebon speaks again.
  
  "You two, enter the portal together." He says and Talia and David enter the portal leaving you by yourself.
  
  A longer stretch of time passes and even you begin to feel a little anxious despite your best efforts." Master Ebon naturally notices this.
  
  "Since you have been spoken about in such high regard from Brother Gray, I have decided that you do not need to take this test, you are already skilled enough. In fact I believe that you probably do not belong in our order, and you would best serve the Emperor as a soldier. I will inform Mr. Mol of this and he will probably have you transferred to an appropriate post of your skill."
  "Master Ebon, I'm not afraid to go through the ceremony! I want to do this!" you protest.
  "Hmm, didn't expect you to protest. I was told that you have a habit of not questioning orders almost to a suicidal degree, though due to your skill, you manage to survive, so I know you are not afraid. However, while loyalty and obedience are certainly important traits to have, I believe that your particular mindset really would serve the Empire's military instead. The military is a very simple place. Your superiors tell you to kill and you kill. They tell you to die, and you die. The Shadow Guard is a less... absolute branch that requires questioning and deeper thought at times. Contrary to popular belief we do not just snatch people off the streets because someone criticizes the Empire. Such a policy would undoubtedly depopulate countless cities and towns. No, we only seek out those that truly desire the fall of the Empire and sometimes that requires investigations."
  "So you are telling me I am not intelligent enough to be a Shadow Guard."
  "I didn't say that. Again from what I've heard, you have exceptional intelligence. No, what I'm saying is your mindset is different. Now I know Brother Gray said he spoke to you about maintaining a survival instinct, but mere survival isn't enough."
  "I know this. I survive so that I may serve the Emperor longer."
  
  Master Ebon at this point raises his hands and drops them.
  
  "And that's exactly why you would better serve in the military. There is no shame in this, not everyone is meant to be a Shadow Guard, not even an Eternal. I will make the preparations to have you transferred."
  
  Master Ebon turns from you to speak to Brother Gray and you're left speechless. You're also left with a lot of conflicting feelings. You feel disappointed, angry and confused all at the same time. Part of you is content on accepting Ebon's assessment. He may even be right. He's talking about questioning and complex thought and you don't exactly know what he means by all that. What else could there be other than serving the Empire?
  
  Another part of you feels defiant. You want to prove that he is wrong, you want to jump into the portal before he can do anything about it. Maybe he's expecting you to do that though. Maybe this is a test? But why would there be a test that encourages disobedience?
  
  In any event, if you're going to make your move, you need to do it now.
  > stay where you are
  You might not agree, but you aren't going to disobey orders. Besides, maybe the military would be better for you. To be quite honest you thought you were going to be serving in it anyway.
  
  You are taken back to your room by Brother Gray who says he will be sorry to lose one so talented, but if Master Ebon feels you are not right for the order, then you should not be here. He says that Mr. Mol will be informed at once of the situation and he will give you your new assignment from there.
  
  You aren't too sure what to think about everything, but you're confident that you will be placed somewhere fitting to your skills. Hopefully soon, so you can start serving the Emperor properly.
  
  A couple days pass and it is all straightened out. Mr. Mol seems slightly disappointed that you're being transferred out, but mentions that he knows where to put you. He has you transferred to the Rask frontier, specifically a place called Fort Defiance.
  
  It's a long carriage ride to a cold snowy land, but eventually you make it there. You haven't gotten off the caravan five minutes when a man wearing battle armor approaches you.
  
  "Hey are you one of those Eternals?"
  "Yes I am."
  "I'm Captain Ian, I've heard about you and while you don't look like much, we'll take anyone at this point. Though I would've preferred more battle mages or even orcs at this point.
  
  Captain Ian begins to give you a run down on the entire area. He mentions that the mortality rate here is high so morale isn't the best. He goes on to mention that Shadow Guard detachments have been assigned here to help out, but between the ogres and the giants there's only so much that even they can do. He mentions the new unit you are to be assigned to and to report to it as soon as possible.
  
  With the caravan leaving, you head to your new unit. When you see them, quite a few of them are predictably much older than you, but surprisingly you see that half of them are around your age. Your superior gruffly introduces himself as sergeant Baily and that he expects you to pull your weight and then some, because there is no room for slackers here. You of course say you have no intention of slacking, and are thrilled to be here to serve the Empire.
  
  Your enthusiasm is met with dismissal from Baily and a couple of snickers from other soldiers, but nobody else really says anything. You are told to find a bed and make it your own.
  
  You settle in as you begin your assignment at Fort Defiance.
  
  Year 17
  
  Knee deep in snow with minimal visibility due to a blizzard and chilled to the bone. This situation would be unpleasant even without ogres trying to cave in your skull at the moment.
  
  You dodge the ogre's swing and cleave one of his legs causing him to fall into the snow, then you finish him off. You look around and see the bloody dead bodies of several members of the squad and of the ogres that ambushed you.
  
  "Damn it! I knew this was going to fucking happen! He does this every fucking year! He sends a bunch of unlucky bastards to patrol this pass during the worst winter month and they get torn up every time. To hell with this, we've been out here long enough, we're getting outta here!" Sergeant Baily shouts to you and the remainder of the squad.
  
  You have to admit you didn't see the logic in sending a group to patrol Kragen Pass either, but then you've noticed that Captain Ian isn't the greatest mind for tactics or strategy. Your whole time here hasn't been what you expected, but then you're just glad that you're doing something meaningful to serve the Emperor.
  
  Your squad leaves the bodies behind and makes its way through the blizzard in silence. You briefly think about how this time last year, you were a potential candidate as a Shadow Guard, funny how things change so quickly. You've seen some of the Shadow Guard that have been stationed here, but you've never spoken to any of them, they tend to keep to themselves, like they're hiding secrets nobody else is supposed to know about. In any case, you appreciate their combat training, its certainly helped you survive in this harsh environment.
  
  During this momentary retreat into your own thoughts, a large rumbling is heard. You look overhead and even in this blizzard you can see the large figures looming on the cliffs. Given that you can actually make out the figures in this snow, you know that these aren't more ogres.
  
  "GIANTS! RUN!" Sergeant Baily shouts to you and the remainder of the squad. You all attempt to run as fast as you can out of the pass. Large boulders crash down along side the cliffs with an equally large amount of ice and snow. You see two of your number crushed by the boulders thrown by the giants. You and Sergeant Baily make it a little further, only to be engulfed in snow and buried in the stuff.
  
  You're disorientated, tired, freezing and slowly suffocating, but with determination, you manage to dig yourself out. You look around to find Baily, but apparently he was killed immediately or didn't have the strength to dig himself out. It's too bad, because you could've used his help when you see several giants now advancing on your position, though perhaps it wouldn't have mattered.
  
  You know that this is most likely going to be your last battle. You draw your sword and walk towards the giants. It will be a good death, but your only regret is that you will not survive to serve the Empire for longer than you would've liked.