The extent of how much his actions towards her were borne of hatred and not just him being naturally that cruel were even more apparent in the way he interacted with those she was coming to realize, that he considered ‘worthy’ of his attentions. From his previous discussions that she’d overheard while being let down, she was starting to understand a little bit about the structure of his school. This class of students were made up of second Tier, and from the snippets she’d overheard there were at least 7 or 8 tiers, plus the masters, of whom the man who had brought her here was one. And Dilu was a name she’d heard before, from the assault on the capital. He was one of the mage generals from the enclave. She pressed her lips together, going back to listening in the hopes of learning anything she could. He may have wanted her for pure spite and his own sick tortures, but she’d be damned if she wasn’t going to make the most of the slim chances she’d probably get to learn anything she could. At least he wasn’t keeping her locked in a cell or, as she’d previously feared, clothing her in rags and making her one of the lowest of the servants.<br/><br/>She flinched as he approached her, taking her arm in his as the other woman stepped away, almost chastising her for being a burden when he was the one who had rendered her to a state of exhaustion to the point where she could barely stand. Though formal and seemingly polite, his touch on her arm was almost repulsive to her, after what he’d spent the morning doing. it was not helped as the red mist began to swirl around them her trembling returning as she tightly closed her eyes, only opening them again when she felt a tug on her arm as he began to walk, realizing that the red mist had brought them outside the main building. She tried not to lean on him, tried not to stumble as they began to walk, wanting to focus on what was being said. But her attention had to be divided, some of her focus on making sure she remained standing. At least she didn't have to worry about stairs.<br/><br/>By the time the group of maybe twenty had started to slow in their pace, now definitively heading twards a rather large tree, she was steadier on her feet. She’d only stumbled a few times towards the beginning, not daring to look up at the man who had her arm when she did so, deeply embarrassed. Able to listen in more closely now, she found herself wondering about what had been taught to her as a child, these student’s perceptions of the Keepers were so different, so much more benevolent than the reviled tricksters and sociopaths they’d been painted as in her studies. She was having a hard time reconciling the two, not understanding why people were so trusting of them, where there was the potential for so much harm. Her father had strong opinions of the kingdom of Blackhill as well, convinced they’d been founded to minimize the influence of the keeper, and instead spreading it, allowing men such as Ralasizon to exist. The king had been convinced, and probably still was, that the man was bound to at least one of the keepers. School children were taught the symbols of the keepers, so they could stay away from, or even report anyone who bore such marks or had them in their homes. But she knew that had been a somewhat failed endeavor. After all, if your neighbor refused to sell you their farm, hide a symbol of one of the keepers in their hay loft and get his family evicted or exiled. Her lips trembled, knowing despite what her father had said, that at least some of them were probably executed.<br/><br/>He loosened his grip on her as he sat, Araminia following his lead as he subtly steered her to sit on a wide, thick root still half in the ground near his feet. The raven haired girl did as was expected of her, neatly tucking her feet to the side and making sure they weren’t on any part of her dress, so she could stand with ease. She kept her sea green eyes on her hands, neatly folded in her lap as she listened to him speak of events she’d never heard of before, where men and women bound to the keepers had directly interfered and aided the people of Blackhill. She’d heard of the order before, it was the one that now held leadership in Blackhill, with Allfather Quentin Savoy as the leader of their Theocratic government; a man her father insisted had the potential to be more dangerous then Ralasizon, as he’d allegedly made pacts with each of the twelve Keepers.