Rinnack sat at his desk, his glowing yellow eyes illuminating his light gray skin faintly but not the parchment his was writing on; not that he needed any light to see. He was a Kayal, the spawn of a Shea and a human, a usually disgraceful combination in the society of The Plane of Shadow, unless the human was a Shadow Dancer or an other who is martially adept. Being that he was the only Kayal in his course, it was to be expected then that the Sheas, Shadows and other creatures in the upper echelons of  society within his various classes would alienate and tease him. He was unfazed by these idle adolescent games, though, for he bested them in every practice. Not to mention his noble heritage, his mother being the current ruler of Paratheon, the seat of power in the Plane of Shadow.

He smiled, thinking of his mother’s power, for it meant that his father must be a powerful human. Perhaps a Shadow Dancer of some renown. He paused from writing at the sound of a faint clicking from down the hall. His mother appeared at his door way, her shadowy, almost incorporeal body blending in with the near complete darkness of the palace. She smiled, seeing that Rinnack had heard her. She beckoned him to follow and said “Come, I have someone I wish for you to meet”.

 He followed her down the hall and onto a balcony which overlooked the court yard and had a rather enchanting view of the dim sun that held the plane in its eternal state of shadow. Leaning on the balcony was a cloaked human, who, despite being from the material plane, seemed to blend in with the darkness around him. Without turning to see Rinnack, the man quietly said “You must be the Rinnack I’ve heard so much about.”

Rinnack smiled and let his bravado show for a moment, “I am, are you my newest instructor? I must warn you I broke the last one.”

The man laughed at this and turned to Rinnack, his gaze felt cold upon Rinnack’s mind as if the man was examining him with medical instruments made of ice. “I heard about that,” the man said, his gaze unwavering. “It was unfortunate, he was a talented swordsman.”

“So were the others before him,” Rinnack said whilst drawing his dual Gladiuses. “Lets just get this over with.”

The man smiled, and gestured for Rinnack to come closer, taunting him, an invitation he gladly accepted. It was stupid, but Rinnack was just arrogant enough to make it work. The man stepped froward and met Rinnack’s twirling blades with pure finesse as he dodged the initial high sweep and spun to evade a low jab. Rinnack attempted to slice the man across the chest but the man was faster, ducked  and spun towards Rinnack, grabbing him, and with strength that was surprising for a man of his physical stature lifted him off the ground and threw him against the wall. Rinnack spun in mid air and attempted push off from the wall and spring attack the man but did not see him. Anticipating an attack from above he turned just in time to see the man drop and kick him in the chest, forcing Rinnack to the ground and pinning him.

Rinnack smiled “Hey, you’re actually pretty good, you might last a while.”

The man returned the smile “You’re not bad yourself … for an arrogant 13 year old.”

The man stood up and offered a hand to help him up. Accepting it, he rose and asked “You a Shadow Dancer then?”

The man tilted his head and nodded.”A little more than a Shadow Dancer.” He walked off and Rinack turned to his mother.

“Who in The Nine Hells was that guy?” he said gesturing to the man once he was out of ear shot.

His mother did not look pleased. “Probably the greatest Assassin the Multiverse has ever seen: the Cullrath Knight, and your father”.

Rinnack paused and then looked back towards the man, “Well, fuck.”