ruination ➤ REWRITING

five.

THE HUT OF THE GREATEST WARRIOR WHO EVER LIVED FELT MORE LIKE A DUNGEON THAN A HOUSE. Oden lived on the outskirts of Anya's village and didn't come out unless they were going into battle. His hut was a mystery to the majority of the trikru clan since he only ever let a very select people into his living quarters.

He wasn't a recluse because he wasn't a people person, however. Oden had lived out his younger years as an outstanding warrior, even better than the commander of his time. He was strong and smart in battle, and as far as anyone was convinced, Oden remained undefeated. He had never lost in battle, and after deciding to "retire", the heda had given him the task of being the go-to torturer.

He was scarily good at his job, knowing techniques to make enemies talk within minutes of being alone with him. People were taken to his hut in the forest, far away enough from town that no one would hear screams, but not far away enough in the case the prisoner would escape. He was a recluse because he couldn't bother having people ruin his hard work.

Luckily, though, Nela was one of the select few granted access to the famous warrior's house whenever she wanted. She had been granted the privilege when he had chosen her to be his second. She was his first and only second and she had learned lessons she wouldn't have ever learned anywhere else.

She stood outside his darkened hut, Thesda by her side. She had Murphy's body over her own, legs and arms sticking out over each shoulder. The young warrior didn't even look phased by the taller, heavier boy's body weight on her. Nela raised a fist and rapped on the wooden door three times.

"Is he even home?" Thesda asked quietly, a trace of worry in her voice. "Maybe it's a bad idea to come here."

"I don't know what myth you've heard about him, but it's probably false. He's always home," Nela replied, rolling her eyes at the sound of Oden shuffling around in his hut. "If you listen closely, you can hear him moving inside."

Thesda seemed to lean her ear in towards the door as Nela heard more shuffling. The door swung open, making the second jump back in surprise. A startling tall man stood in the doorway, stark blue eyes staring down at the pair. Looking at him, Nela wouldn't have guessed he was the greatest warrior ever. He wasn't muscled or built big like the other men she knew. Instead, Oden was lean, with smaller arms and unnoticeable muscles among his body. One quick glance at Thesda and Nela knew she was thinking the same thing.

"It is very late, Nela. I hope you have a good reason for bothering me." his deep voice spoke, a hand reaching up to brush a long strand of hair away from his face. His eyes seemed to glow against his tanned skin and the dark hut behind him, almost like they were infused with energy.

"I always have a good reason for bothering you, Oden." she gestured towards Thesda, who was still carrying Murphy like he was a rag doll. "I brought you a sky boy."

His pale eyes traveled from her face to the boy hung around the second's shoulder and he stepped back from the doorway. For a split second, Nela thought she was about to get the door slammed in her face. Instead, the door swung open wider, inviting the two of them inside to Oden's hut.

"Is it safe?" Thesda whispered to Nela. "I heard his house is dangerous."

"That's a tall tale that he started to keep people away. It's perfectly fine." she replied, stepping over the threshold and into Oden's house. "Do you have any water, Oden?"

"Do I look like a housekeeper, gona?" Oden asked harshly, but he went over and grabbed her a cup of fresh water. He handed it to her while Thesda set the boy down on the ground. "No — do not be putting skaikru people on my floor."

"It's dirt," Thesda replied, eyes drifting to the dirt ground. Oden's hut didn't have proper flooring and nobody knew why, not even Nela, who had grown close to him in the years she was with him.

"It's my dirt, child," he spoke. He went over to where Thesda had set down the boy and picked him up, throwing him over his shoulder like he was a sack of grain. "Come."

Nela quickly gulped down her water and followed Oden out the back of his hut. There were multiple bloodstained cages in the back, all kept in by a wooden fence built by hand. The man opened one of the metal cages and pushed Murphy in, closing the door and locking in. "There. Is that all?"

"What're you going to do with him?" Thesda questioned, giving Murphy almost a sorry look.

"Torture him — obviously." he responded, with a very 'duh' tone. "What did you think I did in here all day by myself? Cry? Play with my-"

"Oden." Nela cut him off. "It was a good question. You know none of the townsfolk know that you torture prisoners out here. Salem didn't figure it out until last year."

For the first time since the visit, Oden smiled. He gave a nonchalant shrug and looked at Nela, crossing his arms. "Yes, I do know," he said, sighing happily. "Salem was kind of dense, wasn't he? How is he?"

Nela snorted, shaking her head at her mentor. "Goodness, Oden. Salem is one of the smartest warriors, you and I both know that." she shrugged. "As for how he is, I wouldn't know. We rose ranks and separated ways."

"Who's Salem?" Thesda questioned, tilting a curious head to the side.

"An old friend," Oden answered for Nela. "If Nela wasn't in his class, I might have chosen him to be my second."

"Is he a chief, then? An army leader?"

"No — like Nela, he chose to lead a village. A small one, where I'm sure no one will question his thirst for blood. " Oden looked down, his face showing no signs of humor as Thesda's face barely contorted in fear. "Would you be interested in helping me with the sky boy?"

"Me?" The second looked at Nela, who nodded. "What could I do?"

"You could do a lot. Be the fresh breath of air while I take naps after tearing his nails out. Write down his answers, I don't know — but it'd be a learning experience, yes?" he looked to Nela teasingly.

Her grey eyes rolled as Thesda hesitantly agreed. Nela opened her mouth to ask Oden a question. "Can I ask you to get out your house for a few hours, Oden?"

"No."

"Please, seda," she pleaded. She watched his chest heave with a heavy sigh and he nodded. "I want you to come to the bridge with us. We need you."

yeah yeah, i hyped up oden and he's HONESTLY just a dad — i just love him. anyways, i used more trig this chapter, though i've used gona before. gona means warrior, and seda means teacher. but anyways, oden's like this insanely tall guy with scarily pale blue eyes and everyone's scared of him because he's a big mystery but he's just a big joker who tortures people idk how else to describe him. and anyways i no longer have access to a computer so let's just see how this goes