(Hagrid’s Brothel, Riven’s POV)
Riven returned to Hagrid’s brothel as quietly as he possibly could while carefully pushing open the entrance door, as he hoped that if he pushed it slowly enough, the rusted hinges might not release their usual loud creak into the hallway.
"....."
Unfortunately for him though, although the hinges did indeed not creak, all that effort proved to be for naught anyway, because the moment he stepped inside, Hagrid was already seated in the hallway waiting for his return, as the cripple sat there with a crooked smile on his face.
"Back home already, boy?" Hagrid wheezed while saliva gathered near the corner of his mouth.
"Come here... come tell me whatt all ye learned today, ye little ingrate..."
He demanded, as Riven quietly lowered his gaze while suppressing the irritation rising inside his chest before slowly walking toward the cripple with the same submissive posture that he had always maintained around him.
"Master Hagrid, sir," Riven muttered softly while keeping his eyes lowered toward the floorboards beneath his feet, "the instructor did not really teach us much today because it was only the first day."
Hagrid narrowed his good eye slightly while listening.
"The instructor mainly separated everyone into different training groups...
He made us punch his palm one by one and assigned categories depending on how strong each person was."
Riven explained, as Hagrid listened patiently to his explanation.
"And?"
Hagrid demanded, as Riven took in a deep breath before continuing.
"And.... The stronger children were placed into better groups.
While I was assigned into the weakest category."
For a brief second, silence filled the room.
Then Hagrid suddenly burst into wheezing laughter.
"The weakesht bunch?" the cripple laughed while his shoulders shook unevenly inside the wheelchair. "Well of course ye were placed in the weakesht bunch, ye worthless little rat..."
His crooked grin widened further afterward.
"It would’ve been a joke if they placed ye anywhere else."
Hagrid slowly raised his right arm slightly while clenching his fist weakly.
"Listen carefully, boy..." he muttered while staring directly toward Riven. "Even half-dead like thish... thish right iron fisht of mine would still crush ye if it landed properly."
His expression darkened slightly afterward.
"So remember yer place and never raise yer eyes toward me like ye forgot who owns ye... because the day ye do, I’ll break yer nose so badly ye won’t recognize yer own face anymore."
Hagrid threatened, as Riven immediately nodded obediently while keeping his expression carefully restrained.
Yet beneath that lowered gaze, he almost wanted to laugh.
Because despite all Hagrid’s threats and posturing, Riven now finally possessed something the cripple did not.
Opportunity.
"Now stop standing there like an idiot and go finish yer work," Hagrid muttered irritably while waving one crooked hand dismissively. "I want no excusesh tonight... go cook me a meal and make sure it’sh piping hot."
He demanded, as Riven quietly bowed his head once more before turning toward the kitchen where he went on to mix extra portions of sleepy herbs in Hagrid’s food.
That night, long after the brothel had gradually fallen silent beneath the freezing northern winds outside, Riven found himself replaying Garron’s explanations repeatedly inside his mind while lying awake beneath his thin blanket.
Aether. Soul Vessel. Ember. Spark. Flame.
The words continuously echoed inside his thoughts while excitement slowly built within his chest stronger and stronger with every passing hour.
Until eventually, while imagining what tomorrow’s training might be like, Riven slowly drifted into sleep.
—--------
The following morning, Riven arrived at the training grounds long before any of the other children.
As with Hagrid sound asleep, he knew there was nobody who would object to him going out early, however, it was probably not the best decision, since waiting for training to start in the biting cold was a challenge on its own.
*Shiver*
Cold winds swept across the empty field while Riven quietly stood there alone shivering, as he kept blowing warm air into his palms repeatedly in an attempt to stop his fingers from going numb.
’It was dumb to come so early.... I’ll not make that same mistake again tomorrow....’
He thought, as he kept jogging where he stood to stave off the cold, until half an hour passed, and the sky gradually turned brighter.
Eventually, more children began arriving at the training grounds, with most of them now separating into their designated training groups without anyone having to instruct them to do so.
As it was only then that Riven noticed the two sisters from yesterday to be in the same group as him, as he kept stealing glances at the elder sister in a discreet way that would not label him as a creep.
Finally, just five minutes before the sun rose over the tree line, Garron Vale appeared with two small jute sacks in his hands, as he dropped the bags, and began to set up some equipment, while waiting for the sun to go up.
And, the moment it did....
He finally clapped his hands and put an end to all the chatter happening around the grounds.
"Alright, quiet down and pay attention here," Garron declared firmly while resting one hand against the nearest jute sack.
"Once I call you forward, each of you will come take one piece of medicine from this bag and place it inside your mouth."
"You are to chew it slowly and allow it to melt naturally before swallowing it down together with your saliva."
He explained, as his tone became much more serious when he explained this part.
"And follow this instruction carefully if you don’t want to die, because if you swallow this medicine whole, even by accident, then there is a very real chance that the concentrated Aether inside it will burn a hole through your stomach before your body properly absorbs it."
He warned, as the atmosphere across the training grounds immediately turned serious.
"This medicine," Garron continued while lightly kicking the side of one of the jute bags with his boot, "contains more concentrated Aether than any of you have ever sensed in your entire lives, and once it enters your bodies, it will begin forcing your mind to slowly recognize and react to the existence of Aether for the very first time."
"Back in the Valdrak Empire, this medicine is called ’Mother’s Tear’, because of how many mothers have lost their children because of it.
So, when I tell you to swallow it slow.... I mean it."