Kaleeth shook her head. "No. I always heard it is like an endless lake, but really salty. I think my father mentioned it so that I would not try to drink the water if we ever ended up there. I think it will be interesting to see a lake that never ends, but still...leaving Black Marsh. I never thought that would ever happen to me." She commented. No doubt, it would take her quite a while to get used to the idea of leaving her homeland, but she did have time. 

For Ahnasha, taking the book and glancing through its pages did not produce a smile. It was not that she was not glad to have it, but that she was having a hard time bringing herself to be happy with all that was on her mind. Still, the book would be a good distraction, a way to keep herself occupied whenever she was doing nothing, and her thoughts could wander.

---

[i]Pain. It was all Ahnasha could feel. She was lying on her back on what felt like a cold stone slab, with sharp points stabbing into her flesh. She could not move, though she had no bindings.Standing over her was the faceless, shadowy figure with the cruel, jagged knife in his hands. He cut her open, discarding the flesh like damaged hide. She was filled with familiar pain and horror, blood poured from the wound, but the pain never diminished and she remained perfectly awake. Everything else around her was in shadow, except for a table next to her which was illuminated by a single candle. On the table laid Rhazii, bound by leather straps and screaming at the top of his lungs, with fur that was wet and shining as if covered in oil.

"You deserve this, you know." The figure above her said as it reached into her chest cavity and pulled on one of her ribs hard enough that it cracked, then broke off in his hand. The pain was unbearable, but still she lived. "You are a worthless cat; a worthless mother." He continued, breaking off another rib. "You are a curse on him, and would be better off dead." He taunted. After breaking enough ribs, he cut out her lung, then severed the artery just above the heart, yet she still lived. He reached in with his other hand and ripped the heart from her chest, yet she still lived. His expressionless face seemed to stare down the heart in his hands until it erupted in flames. No matter how much she screamed, no matter how much she bled, she could not die.

The faceless figure tossed the burning heart onto the table with Rhazii, igniting the oil and setting him ablaze. His screams filled the air, inflicting upon Ahnasha a pain far greater than anything she could physically feel.

"You are a failure!" The figure shouted as he brought down his knife on her tail and severed it from her body. He then stabbed the knife into her chest, then grabbed the severed tail in both hands and wrapped it around her neck. He pulled it tightly enough to choke her and held her down long enough for the lack of air to do what his blade could not.[/i]

Ahnasha shot up from her bedroll, gasping for breath. Although it wasn't every day, most of her nights had been punctuated by these terrors. It had only been just over a week since they left the xanmeer, but it was clear the experiences she had suffered through were not going to abandon her any time soon. She brought her knees up to her chest and buried her head in her hands as she started to sob, not caring who she awoke in the process. No matter how much she wanted to, she could not longer pretend that everything was fine.