Ridion has the same exact vision he had the night before. Waking himself up and and heading back out to find Sophia, Jeskat, and Lucas. He catches them working on a new project for the day and quickly gets to work, occasionally Lucas invades him brain to laugh his ears off while making small talk, noticing Sophia's constant sighing, hes probably doing it to her as well, and Jeskat seems to smile every once in a while, maybe they are able to get along well because of how outgoing Lucas is. The work cycle begins with planting these giant seeds into the ground, the next day you move onto caring for livestock, chickens, cows, sheep, and a creature by the name of mig, a two headed Marsupial, that seems to secrete a golden syrup. The third day the seeds give bear to a large leafy plant, with buds at the tip of each leaf, this grow into a fruit called Tersa which are highly valuable and expensive. After these three tasks everyone is able to eat on the fourth day. Ridion being an exception, Heran comes to make sure of this, but after a few cycles pass he doesnt bother anymore. Strangely enough, Ridion doesnt feel a desire to eat. He doesnt feel any weaker as a result, in fact the constant workout the farm was giving him was proving to be beneficial for his body. At night, Ridion would train his hearing, immpressed by Jeskat's amazing ability to hear when someone is sleeping from a different room so far away. Ridion would do this by listening for the guards footsteps every single night, and tracking them until they were as far away as possible. Listening not just for the steps, but their breathing, the walking patterns of each Jackal creature became known to him, pouring magic into his senses, he tried to amplify any and all that he could. Deepening his sense of touch, and controlling the level at which he would hear specific things. Not having to put all of the stress on his eyes and having a balance of helpful physical attributes, heightened by magic. The force of his soul. After days and days passed of this cycle, Ridion had successfully mastered this, and in addition to having amazing heightened senses, he had gained a great understanding of the layout of the inside of the mansion housing Heran. Soon, it neared a month since he had been a slave at this place. He wakes as usual, and greets the friends he made while here. Sophia and Jeskat are always awake long before he wakes up, Sophia cleaning her usual clothes along with Jeskat's, as Jeskat sits next to her, clinging to her waist. They wear the tattered sheets in the meantime. This slave barn has few amenities, first being a small washboard and barrel filled with water, Next to it lay some sort of cleaning agent, this is placed right next to the entrance, on the opposite side, awkwardly squished between a vent and heater, is a dining area, there is a drawer with mostly broken, dirty glass plates, next to those lie a few different eating utensils, all so broken down it is typically best to use your hands. In any case it is a dining area nonetheless, once a day two jackals bearing hilariously ineffective hair nets come and drop off small chunks of bread, cheese, and grapes, and fill a tankard positioned on the outside of the building with water. There is a lever that releases water, and the slaves see to it themselves that everyone is allowed a fair share.
Lucas is sometimes called off into the main building, he says that he's shown off as a trophy prize to Heran's friends every now and again, he typically laughs it off, save for noticing he has plenty of new scars brandishing his body. Ridion thinks it's all too clear something else is going on, but no one would think to question him further about it. Lucas, not only to those closer to him, but to all of the slaves, is seen as a beacon of hope, that one day his power would allow them all to be free once more. He is a Grimm reminder of the reality of the situation, and empowers the slaves to hold on to their feelings of regret, fear, and anger. One night, Ridion and Lucas sit along the rugged wooden walls of the shack, chatting about their work, the people they've met here, and finally, their lives.
"You know cousin..." Lucas says in a low voice, much different from his previous tone.
"On the other end of Spite, my home, a land covered in ashe and flame, there is an ongoing war. This war has ruined the lives of many, and taken more than that." He pauses briefly, then continues, small beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
"The reason we come here, to escape, for some others, to ask for the power to put an end to the war. Demons may all be born with a great deal of power to those above ground. But this strength is stagnant, yes there are varying levels, but what you are born with, it's what you retain. We cannot grow the way those up here do. My magic has stayed the same, since the day I was brought unto life. This feeling of being unable to improve in any aspect or capacity is frustrating, you know? When your life has been shattered by the clutches of war, and all you can do is run." Lucas looks directly at the floor, unmoving. After a while he looks back to Ridion, with tears in his eyes. He smiles, and puts a hand on his shoulder. It was unlike Lucas to ever speak in this manner to anyone. For him he was happy enough to be one of the ones that made it to this world. The demons called this land nirvana. A land so close to the deities of this world. So flush with life, death, and love, Lucas has been a slave here for almost as long as he can remember since escaping. He was promised a safe place to hide by Heran's father, and in that promise lay deceit. They allowed him a room in the very mansion that stands today. They offered the afraid and anxious boy food. Drugged so that he would sleep, and quickly escorted him to a bed where he would lay his head. He would wake up covered in seals. Squeezing at his skin, burning him, scorching his very soul. His resistance was futile. Heran's father a great mage, exiled by the capital of Gardes. 15 years later he had a son, he would teach this child everything he knew. Another 15 years pass and he passes. Leaving his fortune to Heran. In that fortune lay a fleet of slaves. Heran would experiment on them to practice his magic, killing most in the process. The only one that has held up, for 23 long years, was Lucas. Ridion, feeling a level of confused emotions and conflicting thoughts. Thinks to himself about the words his friend said to him, they'd only known each other for a few weeks, yet he, Sophia, and Jeskat, all bound together by the chains of slavery, had formed a close bond. Ridion, put on to this world for seemingly no reason, plagued nightly by visions, or memories, whatever they were, of a life lived in sheer pain. A childhood broken by the selfishness of a few people. A family destroyed. In that moment. He began to sob, for it was this utter feeling of hopelessness that finally began to creep in. He had been living this life as a slave as carefree as one could, not caring about his circumstances, in pursuit of knowledge. Dedicating his life to charity for another mans gain, this was not how he wanted to live, nor did he think anyone around him deserved to live like this. In that moment. Unbeknownst to anyone. Ridion's magic, his soul, began to pulse. Shifting and changing, taking form, bending, breaking. Ridion clutches his chest, soul swimming with negative emotions. Until a single phrase rings in his head.
"Remember your hatred."