Asd was sitting in front of a fire staring intently at the flame and feeling an ambient connection to it. Unfortunately, however his connection to his magic seemed incredibly subdued and weak. He was surrounded by a lot of Weres, and he could see the…. other people/races huddle together a fair distance away and watching them with annoyed gazes etched on their visages. Asd looked up at the were tiger as he took a seat opposite him, looking extremely tired and haggard in the process. If Asd had to be honest, he was extremely uncomfortable being surrounded by so much people, and not just people, but he's people.
"What Happened here?" Asd asked, hoping to get things done and get the hell out of here before it got a little too complicated.
"We serve, like we have always done your highness. But about three months ago a new supervisor was sent here, he was or rather is a noble from the imperial family. One that was sent here from the empire as punishment for having rather…. weird dispositions." A Caitsith growled out in annoyance and interrupted the old weretiger.
"you mean he was a psychopath who derived fun from torturing and raping and killing babies to prove his dominance. He was a monster!"
The old Weretiger shushed the Caitsith, telling her to be mindful of her tone and know her place. Bu8t Asd could see she was not the only one with such an opinion, he could see the rage that was festering within the eyes of everyone gathered around him. But not just the rage he could see and feel their pain, in their eyes was a horror unlike anything anyone has ever face or experienced and he felt incredibly sorry for it, they have been through a lot.
"The new supervisor proved to be incredibly difficult to deal with…. I have lost three sons and two daughters and four grandchildren to his psychopathic appetites. About a month ago a young alpha was sent to the mines, here he was able to challenge the resident pack leader of the werewolves and become the alpha. He absorbed a couple of other Weres, making his pack incredibly diverse and giving them a bit of reputation to ensure the guards and other supervisors did not mess with them.
Roland was not happy about such a development. I believe being from the royal family has given him the idea that he is above everything and everyone else. He isn't wrong, we are slaves after all; but still…. he has no heart. The young Alpha; Lucian lost his Beta in a rather gory and public display, and that was what set the spark for his revolt as he somehow broke the restrictions of his slavery seal and shifted…. He shifted! It was such a beautiful sight.
The yearning I felt in that moment…. to be free, to run and roar at the moon it was so all encompassing it brought tears to my eyes. It is something I have yearned for my entire life, but this shackle on me, on our race has locked that part away from us."
The old Weretiger fell silent, Asd noticed he was deep in thought and not just him. Everyone else seemed to be drawn deeply into a somber mood as they thought of that which was denied them. Asd could not begin to imagine or rather he could imagine. His life had not been easy either, even if he had Rhea, he went through hell as a slave for her family. He had experienced loss, first his mother and siblings, sent far away, an object returned back to its owner after it has been made use of. And then his father, punished for educating his son, and then succumbing to his wounds a few months later.
And then himself…. the insults, the beatings, the degradation and the horror he was forced to go through. His body healed well enough but there were scars that wouldn't ever fade on them, scars that he has had to receive with a smile on his face and gratitude from his mouth. This world has never been fair to the Weres, with Albion empire being the biggest sinners. But be that as it may…. they all had to keep living.
"Lucian took Supervisor Roland hostage, going into one of the mine shafts that led deeper into the Ionite Mountain. He went along with his pack and quite a few other slaves who fought and died in the process. They collapsed the entrance and left the rest of us to our fates. We tried to make a stand as best as we could, dividing the camp into two. The slaves still work in order to get the rations we need to survive from the supervisors and the guards, but now it's a matter of choice. The supervisors just watch us. Production has dropped down massively, but pushing us would turn into a full scale riot and the best they can do is leave us be and wait for the academy to send help.
The truth is, we will all be in big trouble if Roland is not returned, and alive. Fighting back might seem like such a good idea your highness, and the Seven Knows that it is something we need. But now is not the time, even without magic they are dangerous, and we have nothing. Our partial transformations can help, but not so much. And they have weapons of mana that does not need spells to be utilized. We need Roland, and we need him to negotiate. This can be a chance for us to change our lives for the better. We can give him back and get benefits for it, at least enough that the empire wouldn't out rightly decide to dispose of us. But to do that we need him alive.
Your highness I have no idea how much power you have with the humans, elves, dwarves, and vampires. But I heard you say you are free, and they have brought you here to solve this problem. You have some say, no matter how little it might be. Please speak for us, in all 150 years of my life I have not seen a Werelion, not even once. Much less one that is of royal blood. The seven beast kings stand for all of our race, especially when there is no other royal to lead. Everyone here are your people, please do not forsake us."
Asd was stumped, how could he tell these people that he was no different from them, that just like them he was still very much a slave and that he didn't have as much reputation as they think he did. The answer to that question was that he could not. He was no slave, but he wasn't free either, at the same time he could still try. He didn't want too, but he knew he had to try. Where the heck this bloody feeling of commitment was coming from he had no idea, but truthfully when it came to Weres things weren't always so simple. Feelings and blood, that was what drove them, and those things, especially blood always seemed to have a mind of its own.
"One thing at a time Elder. I will not make any promises, because even I don't know the depths of my influence with the empire. However, I will go retrieve this Roland, and I will attempt a negotiation with the academy to see if they can give in to a few terms. I don't know if they will grant you freedom, but I believe things should be a bit easier. Just give me a little time."
Asd didn't wait to hear anything else from them, he got up and walked towards the mages he came with and the supervisor that had welcomed them. the mage who had called him a slave glared with each step he took, coming closer until he was standing in front of him. Asd didn't know where to start, but it would be better if he showed no weakness.
"Just saving the Imperial would not be enough. There would still be a riot and production would be severely impacted. As it stands you would have to probably kill everyone and replace all of the workers in the mine. Slaves they may be, but they still have their own freewill and they are ready to utilize it. And I'm sure if they don't at least have a sort of deal in place, Roland would probably die before he can get back to you."
"His name is Young Duke Roland! You would do well to put the proper title in front of his name slave!" the mage with an attack up his ass growled out. Instead Asd just looked at him impassively and ignored him turning to the supervisor.
"You need to call the academy, I can get Roland back to you, if he is still alive. But the Weres would not go back to work even under the threat of death and torture if the empire does not withdraw all of its soldiers and supervisors from the Ionite island. They are prepared to make this place their prison, never to leave, but will continually mine the mountain for the empire for all generations and even increase production as long as the empire doesn't interfere with their lives. They're prepared to remain slaves and return Roland back to you in one piece."
The look on all their faces was practically priceless, Asd knew they were stumped by the demands. And even though it was quite fair and even served them, the fact that its coming from a bunch of slaves annoyed the heck out of them. but Asd didn't care, even Roland might not be so important in the grand scheme of things. Ionite was a bloody important resource for the empire, apart from its suppressive properties, it was the standard ore used for the forging of mana weapons and runic formations because it could keep mana contained and traveling in a definite pathway. It was used in building every machine conceivable and this was the main supplier of Ionite to not just the empire, but to the bloody world making it an important trade resource.
They could choose to wipe out every were here, but that would take too much time, and there were at least eight thousand Weres here…. replacing that much would take a significant amount of months if not years as there is hardly a free Were out in the wild except for the scorpions in the north and the Merfolk in the sea and a few Avians in their floating Islands. They were backed into a corner and they had to make a decision fast, cause Roland aside, the longer they wait, the more money they would lose. And if there was something the Empire of Albion liked more than its prestige and honor, it was its wealth.
"You guys should hurry up, I'm not going into that mine until I hear and answer and see an official contract signed by the emperor himself…. your time is running out."