As the students were hushed and the speakers turned up, Syn came walking out from behind the curtains.  His team was there with him as he tossed Freya onto the ground.  She was bloody and beaten, but she was breathing.<br/><br/>"Ya know.  When the Head Master first dragged my ass here, I really hated what I saw.  Not a single soul in this building knows the pain of loosing someone to a Hunter.  Ya'll live here nice and cozy while those of us who are tired of the Hunters and the funerals, fight on the ground.  Then.  When one of you gets it in your head that you're the best, that you're cream of the crop.  It's really hard for you to stomach it when you get knocked down a peg.  There isn't a student in this school that can take on a seasoned Hunter and come out alive.  Freya here got a real good reality check.  I found her about two seconds away from getting her throat sliced open by a veteran Hunter.  You want revenge for the humiliation and the deaths huh?  Well that's fine, but make sure you have the talent to actually pull it off.  The instructors here haven't fought a battle in centuries.  They forgot what it's like to bleed.  So when they tell you that you're the top fighter...don't let it go to your head."<br/><br/>Looking out at the crowd he nodded to Tina as she started up a computer and a massive screen started to display a list of names.  The list easily held hundreds of names.<br/><br/>"Every name on this list is a name of recently graduated students within the last century.  Every name in this list was ranked as top ten in terms of speed, strength, agility, stamina, magical abilities you name it.  Know what they all have in common?  They're all dead.  Killed by Hunters all within the last century."<br/><br/>When the list shrank there were roughly fifty names.<br/><br/>"Within the last five years."<br/><br/>The list shrank again to about twenty names.<br/><br/>"Within the last year.  Anyone see where I'm going with this?  Not a single fucking one of you stand a chance as you are now.  Face off against a rookie Hunter you MIGHT come out on top.  Face veteran Hunters or a well oiled team...you'll be added to the list.  You all seem to have it in your heads that I'm the bad guy.  I take pleasure in beating you all senseless.  If that was the case and I didn't care...I'd have passed all of you and lied to your face just like all the other instructors.  Telling you how great you are and boosting those inflated egos of yours, which is just adding a new pile of body bags to the table."<br/><br/>Stepping back Tina took the stage as Freya was being healed by the team healer and Syn was lighting another cigarette looking seriously pissed off.<br/><br/>"I graduated from here fifty years ago.  Top of my class for combat and spells.  Every teacher told me how great I was and how I was going to be a huge asset to my future team.  Well when I came out of this school I realized it was all a huge lie.  Angel wings are very strong as I'm sure you all know.  My right wing had to be magically stitched back onto my back and my left wing was shredded so bad that I had about six remaining feathers after my first battle with Hunters.  They out classed me in every aspect of combat and on top of all of that, humiliated me and...well...a female surrounded by males..."<br/><br/>As she shook Syn walked over and put his hand on the top of her head and smirked giving her a pat which got her to cool down.<br/><br/>"Angel's have it the roughest in teams outside of Lancaster.  We're seen as stains.  Egotistical, high and mighty, dense, useless, a fly with feathers...you name it.  You kids are right.  Syn is probably the biggest asshole you'll ever encounter.  He'll talk down to you, he'll kick you into the dirt and step on you while you're down.  He does it because he's preparing you for what a Hunter will do.  Unlike me.  Every member of this team...is an orphan.  Syn and Raven lost their families in the first Hunter war.  Terra lost hers about four centuries ago.  Brock two centuries ago.  I'm the only one who can visit my family and still feel the warmth of a hug.  All of you, you have someone you can turn to.  A shoulder to lean on.  My team...they have one another and no one else.  Consider yourselves very lucky that you haven't had to bury your loved ones, to hold them as they pass.  To witness your team dying around you...Everything Syn, Raven, Terra, myself and Brock will be doing to you is to prepare you.  However, Syn isn't just pain and humiliation.  Raise your hands if Syn has pulled you aside after a lesson and shown you how to do something?"<br/><br/>Several dozen hands went up after Tina asked her question.<br/><br/>"See.  You hate him because he doesn't kiss your ass like the other instructors, but in reality...he should be the one you go to the most as he is the best one to prepare you for the hell on earth you'll be stepping into after graduation."<br/><br/>Looking out at the crowd Syn sighed.<br/><br/>"Open floor.  Anyone who wants to bitch, whine, complain, question...whatever.  Just raise your hand and we'll talk it over.  Oh, and by the way...any student that I have to track down for leaving the school is in for the worst ass beating of their lives.  I'm tired of burying kids."