(A bit of a drip update for the main character before this ball gets rolling)
(For some reason I’m the type to have a little sentence or maybe a few sentences before I begin the story)
(July 8th - Y1854)
Mines guards brutally shook me awake today. All of us implicitly knew what was about to happen.
My body, dull and weak, couldn’t dream of resisting their monstrous strength.
They dragged me to an empty room, which reeked of the smell of iron. A smell so common in the mines, all thanks to the inhumanities.
I was pulled around by the guards and got thrown inside the chamber like a sack of stones. They quickly shut the doors on me, leaving me in a room lit by my hope, and only my hope.
The darkness consumed everything else, besides the glare of one of the guards who had dragged me in here.
His look was primitive and predatory. “You failed to pull your weight, prisoner…”
He took a breath and continued, his voice bellowing like a bull’s threatening call: “…And because of that, a whole world of pain has been stocked for you.”
He stormed off soon after with deep tremoring steps that felt like they shook the whole mine. I sat in the room, unable to make a noise.
My whole body ached from rashes and mistreatment. I was breathing heavily from the sudden punishment.
I knew this had been coming, though not this suddenly. I dusted myself as well as I could, and got up.
After that, it became very quiet.
I stretched my arms, the rashes burnt as I did. As my arms dropped to my sides, something felt wrong.
I looked down at my chest. Apparently during all the chaos, they had ripped my shirt off of it. The cold of the mines seeped in like a toxin, becoming far more effective.
…
I waited, keeping my arms over my exposed chest to avoid freezing. My heart pounded, being a harmful doctor.
…
“Hey.” A light, familiar voice said.
I peeked through the shallow bars that allowed me to see outside the chamber. To my surprise, Tora had found me. Her blonde hair almost sparkled with the darkness surrounding me.
“What a relief.” I said with a sigh.
“Good luck dealing with the guards. They enjoy your pain.”
“That’s common knowledge. We’ve seen them heartlessly beat other prisoners like this before.”
“You know some even perish as they’re getting abused like this. Good luck, hopefully they’re not too harsh.”
“Though, knowing what I did to get in here…”
“Just… Good luck. You really need it,” Tora said, “I can hear more guards coming. I can’t linger anymore.”
“But-”
Tora immediately vanished before I could respond. The clanking of the mines guard’s armor could be heard as they approached.
Shortly, a pair of guards came in, one of which had a spiked whip in his hand.
They rushed me up to my feet through force, and cuffed my hands to the walls. My back, bare as the day I was born, was now facing their cruel, vicious grasps.
The guard cracked the whip in the air. I could feel a sadistic smile creeping up on their face, while I felt like a child without their mother.
A few seconds later, the blades of the whip snared my back. I felt a dense blade drag along my back, cleaving a crevasse through my flesh.
I held back a scream or grunt, those two things being what they desired most from me.
The blade tilled another harvest for blood. I was having trouble resisting so much pain, the cold hands of the devil were gripping me tight.
And those claws struck the moment after. My bare back couldn’t handle it, I grunted.
I tried to look back, I could barely catch an insidious smile on one of the guard’s faces. As they caught me, however, they threw a punch towards my face and scored a direct hit.
My head spun backwards, now in terrible pain as well. My back was sliced again, I almost screamed at it.
My face was throbbing, red like a tomato. My back was being turned into demon’s art.
Red liquid coalesced in my mouth, the familiar taste of iron struck like thunder. The whip tore my back once, twice again. I could feel lonely tears escape my eyes and trickle down my face, dropping to the floor.
Only about four minutes in. My being was losing hope, and its touch.
As more slices met my back, my fingers lost touch, I couldn’t feel them. My feet were burning, but now they were numbing up as well. Darkness was in my peripheral vision.
A sudden grim feeling befell me in that same moment.
I yelped softly as the blade raked my skin once more. However, somewhere in the distance I could hear a booming sound.
I was battered again and again by the blades on the whip. My vision was red from my blood, and things were darkening quickly. My eyelids put weights on themselves as the numbness and cold overtook my bare feet.
Moments later my eyes shut themselves and everything became dark, my soul was dragged into the darkest of voids…
KA-BOOM!
My eyes snapped open like robotic doors. Shards of bright orange rocks scattered in a mess of dust and pebbles. My back was aching with every ounce of my being and a red puddle had formed where I laid.
No guards appeared to be around me, which was a relief. However, three shadowy figures stood where the hole in the wall was made - one had a halberd and bright white eyes, another had a blue glow to his, but the last one was completely black.
“It’s him!” One of them said, He had a familiar deep tone, but it was also sort of vague.
“So this is Vega?” One of the others said in a ripe, feminine voice. It had seen lots and lots of encounters but didn’t feel worn out by any of them.
“YES! Grab the vial, look at his back!” The man said. I tried to push myself up but my arms felt like bags of rocks. My legs were the same way.
The same guy came up to me and I could clearly see his facial features: Black, rugged hair and pale skin with eyes that were completely black. Yet, shined like wet river rocks. A light made of darkness, per say.
I coughed out some blood onto his face. He was wearing a black face mask, so it didn’t get on his face.
“Muh-Mmm…Morden…?” I croaked, a coalition of my strength.
“He’s alive. Get the healing vial, or whatever you called it.”
“July’s rejuvenating elixir? Got it.” The girl said. She handed Morden a decently sized green potion as I threw up a few more drops of blood.
“I’m sorry buddy, but open wide for a moment.” He told me. I opened my aching mouth, a stew of red liquid was cooking in there.
Slowly, I drank the healing vial they were handing me. With big, slow gulps, the thick and syrupy mixture slid down my throat.
As the juice slid down my throat, it tasted amazing. Well, compared to what i’ve been eating recently, which is a sparse vegetable stew.
It felt like a kiss from the ocean now that I’ve finally gotten it on my tongue. Tasting like coconut milk, which was something I had slowly grown fond of.
“That’s it…” Morden said with happiness in his voice. My hands, appendages that felt like weightless pieces of meat attached to my body, regained their strength, a long-awaited and triumphant return.
My back - which had gained a fresh new coat of red paint earlier - stopped aching so badly.
More of the vial’s juice went down my throat. The dust settled, and I could see the other two people more clearly. The girl with the halberd had almost perfectly white eyes and hair that was close to black, along with extremely pale skin like a ghost. She was also wearing a jacket, though with one sleeve and shorts without any shoes. The other figure was nobody other than Tora, who had perchance lead Morden and this girl here. The two of them seemed to be talking.
Though now, looking at Tora, she wasn’t stuck in the prisoner rags anymore. She was now in a blue jacket with a white undershirt, beige shorts, a blue hat that resembled an officer’s, and now had sandals to protect her feet. There was a blade strapped to her back, with a sheath for it to ride in. I assumed this was slipstream, which she had mentioned to me several times before.
She also looked extremely tidy and pleasant. She looked like he was the epitome and embodiment of freedom itself.
I could feel my arms and legs growing more and more than before, their original strength was returning. I slowly pushed the bottle away from my mouth and took a breath.
“Feeling any better?” Morden asked me.
“I haven’t felt this good in weeks.” I answered, “You guys saved us at exactly the right time.”
“Us? Who else are we saving?”
I pointed towards Tora. “She… She did a lot for me when I was stuck down here. She’s young, but she’s got a big spirit and a great heart.”
He glanced at her, but focused on me a second later. Tora’s eyes turned to us, and the other girl’s too.
“Is he finished?” The taller girl asked.
“Not yet, Ivory.” Morden answered. “He’s just taking a small break.”
“Did any of you find my clothes?” I asked them, “Tora’s got hers.”
“We found the storage room,” Tora said as she pulled out a familiar pair of boxers, a dark hoodie and a white tank top, “It’s a miracle I found my equipment in there. With how long I’ve been trapped down here it felt impossible for them to actually be here.”
“Give me those. I’m freezing.” Morden stepped back as I got up and walked towards her.
“Step back!” Tora said. I could hear Morden scramble away while Ivory stepped to the side. She drew her sword and blasted me with a blob of water from the tip of her blade. I put my hands over my shoulders as I pulled the washrag shorts I had on up my body. I pointed down to my feet, showing the cuffs there.
“These things are keeping my fire magic contained,” I said, “Tora, be a sweetheart and cut them off.”
She came over to my feet, as if instinctively, and picked the locks on one of the cuffs using her sword.
With a click, these heavy burdening weights slipped off my ankles, making my soul feel light as a feather.
“Sorry for the blast of water,” Tora said, “You smelled sort of funny.”
I gave her a mad look. “Just give me my clothes.”
“Okay, fine.” She handed them to me in an instant, and I took them from her.
“You guys will have to look away for a moment.”
The others closed their eyes. I ripped up the washrag shorts I was wearing, letting the scraps fall to my bare feet. Surrounding myself with warm fire to evaporate Tora’s water, I dried myself off and pulled my shorts onto my waist and bottom.
I then slipped the tank top and hoodie over my chest. I could feel a grin forming on my face, quickly.
I went back to Morden and snagged the potion from him. He opened his eyes, and the others did too.
I slurped the rest of the vial, and my right leg began to feel numb. I looked down to see that it had transformed into the Iron leg I had known it by previously.
“Also, we found these in the storage room for you.” Ivory handed me an amulet made of several grayed stones, The magic defense amulet I used just to keep myself safe in fights. It also made my Iron leg feel heavier, which allowed me to kick harder.
“I also have something else, Vega.” Ivory handed me a pair of dark red pants.
“Don’t your legs ever get cold?” She asked.
“Sometimes. But I have fire magic, so very rarely.”
“Well, you’re weird for running everywhere with your underpants exposed. Put these on.”
I slipped them onto my legs, these were some of the softest, most comfortable things I’ve slipped onto my body. They were regular red sweatpants, but they felt like smooth gossamer carpets draped all across my legs.
After drinking the rest of the vial, my body felt like it was brimming with strength. After being weakened to a state of inability, being choked and purged of all of my special talents and gifts, allowing them back into my life was exactly what I needed.
“Well, we got him.” Ivory said.
“Yeah, we’re freed, but what’s happening next?” Tora asked.
“What’s next?” Morden said, “Good for you to be aware. The next thing we’ll have to do…”
“What is it? Is it dangerous?”
“…Yes. We’ll have to assassinate the king, by any means necessary. With how we broke in, he is likely too well prepared for our approach and will be ready to face us head-on.”
“So we’ll have to engage him directly.” I said.
“Mhm. And you’ve got the best shot at stopping him.” Morden said.
“Yeah-Hold on, WHAT?!?!”
“Come on. We don’t have a lot of time, who knows how many bronze legion soldiers the others have had to kill.” Ivory said, rubbing her hand on her halberd. It gained a reddish orange aura that sizzled with vigor.
“I know Calvus is a bad guy, but… Seriously? I just got my freedom back and now i’m on a suicide mission.”
“Don’t think about it, we’ll talk later.” Morden said.
“Later? You’re making this sound urgent!”
“That’s because it’s extremely urgent. Come on.”
The others dragged me through the hollow caverns, worried about our friends. I struggled to deal with the shock of what I was about to do.