Lowly Ascent

In a large, intricate maze that was Carc's sewers, a group of people gathered in its depths.

Oil lamps illuminated a small hall with sewer water running down the middle. In an elevated part of the hall, Cain stood surrounded by his zealots.

"To start this meeting, I want each of the heads to give an update on their assigned goals."

A man with a black beard walked forward. His hair was frizzled, and he looked older with his beard.

"My lord, I am Kilvish. I have been assigned to acquire new members. We have found many suitable recruits. We have them in a facility that I personally oversee in the southern sewers. As of now, we have close to 500 young boys and 230 girls being indoctrinated as we speak."

Cain nodded in silence and looked to the next person who stepped forward.

A young woman stepped up. She had seemingly slimy skin that made it hard for light to reflect off of her. Her hair was light brown and silky, but her eyes were orange, which was extremely uncommon.

"You honor us with your presence Lord, I am Sarah. I am in charge of intelligence. So far, all operations have been kept secret, and no one knows about us yet. But covering so much area is hard with so few members."

Without waiting for Cain's gaze, another person stepped forward. It was an older gentleman with glasses. His skin was darker, and he had a long and narrow grey beard that reached his stomach. He wore a bowler cap and formal clothes.

He bowed and spoke, "I am Yonio. I lead the research division. We have found a suitable location in the deepest parts of the sewer, but it is not secure. We also have yet to acquire equipment or materials to begin our duties."

"My Lord Cain, the great master!" A figure ran forward and bowed, interrupting Yonio as many looked at him with an accustomed gaze.

"I am Cassian. Charged with overseeing our diplomatic relations. As of now, we have no mission or goal, so we have been searching the black markets and acting as merchants of sorts. We have had some success and have acquired some useful items already"

Cassian was of a shorter variety, he had blonde hair and yellow eyes. His build was on the skinnier side, but he had good looks and a silver tongue.

Before Cassian could continue his bootlicking, a large man walked forward. His hand was the size of Cassian's head, and he brushed him aside, flinging Cassian across the room.

"Borus. I lead the soldiers of the syndicate. I have been training my few members non-stop"

Borus was at least 7ft(2.1m) tall. He went down to one knee, creating a large thud that echoed through the hall.

Cain knew Borus personally, as he had quite a hard time getting him out of Free City. He spent almost an entire month with him before he had the chance to help him escape.

Borus was in his 30s and bald. His body was massive and mostly muscle, his most prominent feature to Cain was that he had bright red eyes.

These five people were the leaders Cain chose, either for their talents or wisdom, they have become the leaders of this organization.

Since the leaders of each division finished, Cain began to talk. His words caused reverent gazes from everyone present.

"I know I have asked much of you, but this is the start of the Obsidian Syndicate, our foundation! With it, we will grow untouched and dominate this entire city and Netherane. I ask all of you to continue with you're duties for a better future for all of us!

"Tonight, I will introduce you to my pupil, Austin. Come forward!"

Out of the shadows Austin appeared, many were surprised by his abrupt appearance. The room was well-lit due to the many oil lamps so for Austin to successfully hide was surprising.

Cain continued, "He recently became skilled enough for the position I will now give him."

The room became silent, as the word of their leader was akin to that of a god.

"Austin will become the leader of a group of elite soldiers. He will work closely with you five to create soldiers fit for my dagger technique and be my private force. Only the best and most loyal will be accepted. Do you accept this declaration?"

The five leaders and everyone else kneeled and lowered their heads in light of Cain's declaration, speaking in unison, "Yes, Lord!"

Cain smiled, "I will leave him with all of you. I look forward to the next meeting I will attend. Continue to grow and make me proud."

They all remained still as Cain's footsteps echoed while he left.

Austin was left there, he was feeling nervous. He didnt know if these people would treat him well. He had already witnessed the people in the Merchant group fighting over status.

He feared the worst as the members of the Syndicate raised their heads to look at him. They surrounded him.

Austin became fearful, but then an arm wrapped around his shoulder.

"You think we're gonna eat you? You have nothing to worry about. You're the lord's pupil! You might as well be the Lord's son in our eyes!"

Austin saw that Cassian was the one who wrapped his arm around him. He darted his eyes around to see everyone staring at him with similar reverence as they did Cain.

"You will still have to prove you have the right to hold that title." A stiff and strong voice echoed through the hall. Borus stood up and walked to Austin. Among everyone, he had spent the longest time with their lord, so no one refuted him.

"Give him a break, you beast. He is still young!" Yonio walked next to Borus, scolding him.

"Our lord is also young. You forget he is only in his 20s!" Kilvish added.

"Yes, but this one is not our lord, but his pupil." Sarah spoke clearly and loudly from the back, now leaning against a wall in the shadows.

"I'm going back to acquiring more recruits. Young Lord, I will contact you when I have some promising recruits." Kilvish walked out of the room followed by the few men he had.

The syndicate wasn't large, the number of people in this room didn't even reach 50. They were a small and close group of people who used their zealousness for Cain to work together.

"You will come with me. I will train you to make sure you can fight." Borus spoke as he was getting ready to leave.

"I think we should all train him. Don't hog him for yourself. He could learn from all of us!" Cassian became a bit annoyed at this beast's attempts to hog the Master's pupil.

Borus looked around to see the other two looking at him the same way as Cassian, and he sighed, "I will have him for a week, then one of you can have him."

"Okay!" The three responded in unison, grinning.

Before Austin could understand exactly what had happened, a hand grabbed him by the torso and picked him up. He tried to struggle, but he couldn't do anything.

With that, Borus took left with him, taking him to where he trained his soldiers for the week.