My body ached from head to toe as the feeling of puking became more immediate with the passage of time or it could have been the wavy movement of the room that riled my insides. The sea and I never truly got along even when I was a small child sailing from Vusta to have a fresh start untouched by trifles. Mother held my hair behind my head as I hung over the railing and feed the sea life dinner from the night before. A nickname was given to me corresponding to the time spent emptying myself but I had forgotten it after so long. All I remember now was how the helmsman and the crew often playfully jested with the name whenever in my presence to the disliking of father.
The pain that I felt overcame every sickly wave as my wrists screamed in the tight shackles bound around them and the jostling rattle of the shortened chains holding my arms from one another made it difficult to cast a spell. Sobbing screams of other prisoners filled the dim darkness followed by pained screams of those being tormented just for the pleasure of breaking them in for their future lives. I was placed in a large cell that only held four others including the Vaniel princess who demanded to speak with her brother only to find her mouth gagged. We were those prisoners chosen to be offerings to the Emperor for him to do as he pleased with. The thought made my insides churn even more than the waves ever could.
A Ursa girl in her eighteenth winter by the looks of it sobbed to my left, "Renstead: Protector of the Forest, hear my cry. Save us from this torment and usher us back into the calming bosom of the Evergreen."
"Oh shut it," a Lepus woman in her early twenties snapped, "the Gods don't interfere in the affairs of man no matter how much you pray. If I were you, I'd sit quietly and enjoy what freedom you have while you have it."
The blue haired Nekojin next to the Vaniel princess hissed, "Leave the girl alone, will ya? The guards will eventually grow tired of her groveling and bind her mouth shut just like the galla over here."
"Besides," she continued, "I'm more curious why the Ljósálfar and the Racún haven't made much of a sound since being brought in here."
I felt eyes shift over to me and the woman in her late thirties with grey tinted black short hair who sat elegantly in the corner despite the chains binding her. Her torn orange dress hung over her crossed knees while a fuzzy grey tail with tufts of black fur around it sat evenly against the perched cloth. Black leathery clawed appendages gave way to dark grey fur around the forearms and calves before transitioning into fair dirt stained skin. The woman's rounded fuzzy ears twitched upon seeing several eyes on her as she stared back unblinking. Sunken blue eyes hid behind a tattooed mask of blackened intersecting vines.
Her gaze held an ominous primal force behind it as she spoke in a dry tone, "Death comes for them."
The Nekojin woman laughed at the words, "Great! I'm imprisoned with a hysterical Ursa and an outcast Racún speaking nonsense about how death will come. Get it through your tribal head and understand that death is coming for us, not them!"
"Quiet," a guard yelled, growing tired of the conversations being held.
Silence filled the cell when the sound of the door creaked open with a loud screech mimicking the result of clawing glass. Heavy foot falls clobbered the wooden floor in an almost mesmeric sequential way as the grew louder with each step and the splotches of some liquid spewing over onto the floor. My vision was a little hazy and filled with clumps of red making it difficult to see the figure towering over me before kneeling. Pain shot throughout my head with the touch of a mildly damp cloth and accompanying motion cleaning dried blood caked to my face from the struggle. The splotching of the rag being dampened once more stung like bees buzzing in the hive of my head.
I tried to remember how I ended up on a boat filled to the point of bursting with Vaniel troops and what has taken me off guard. I was standing on the adjoining balcony of the room that the Beastking had allowed Jackal and I to use until tomorrow when a hurried knock pounded on the wooden door. Thinking something was wrong like anyone would, I barely had the door opened when several figures bursted through without invitation and the familiar color schemes worn by the diligent maids which cared for the royal family. A fight ensued as the maid barred the door behind her while five assailants came after me. Sylla was held firm in my hand as the Hixlin dwelling inside replenished fleeting stamina from the blood they drank.
A plan was made to escape out from the balcony and find Jackal only to run into the Minotaur from weeks ago. He grabbed Sylla by the blade and broke it in half with a massive hand before darkness washed over me upon a sharp pain in the back of my neck. The next thing I remember was the sound of running water echoing in a dimly lit cavern where Vaniel knights dressed in rags sat imitating workers. My body hung over a gray muscular shoulder like fresh linen on the line shaking in unison with the billowy wind while cloven hooves clattered on stone in repliance to sounds of spell being casted. The shock of my immobile body striking the cold ground brought some sense behind my eyes only to wish it hadn't.
Agusta stood with his back turned toward me as a cloaked figure knelt in prayer before the image of Maddox Udreth painted in a cloud of green mist. He floated mystically in the air like old oracles speaking the governs of the gods they worshiped. His face was contorted in a hollow screaming shell and yet no sound boomed from his frozen throat where clear blue miasmic haze fluttered free into the confined air. I knew something wasn't quite right with the Maddox before me than the one being carried away earlier as tailored made clothes hung loosely. His skin showed signs of extreme decomposition yet was well preserved as it hugged the malnourished body underneath the folds of cloth.
I watched silently holding a pained groan back so as to keep the appearance of being unconscious to better understand what was happening. "Tell me," Agusta spoke in an irritated tone as he crossed his arms, "how long before he'll be useful?"
The cloaked figure answered without turning, "The process of extracting one's life force is a delicate craft, Young King. Age makes time differ between subjects and this specimen is still full of life. It will take longer to forge the Ghoul you wish to make so be patient for the time being and greet our guest."
[(Ghoul!?)]
Darkness took hold of my vision once more as pain began to spread throughout the back of my neck. With fading sight, I saw the figure turn and glare at me as Agusta muttered under his breath about the cloaked figure changing each time the prolonged spell would take to fully complete. A tingle traveled the length of my spine when the face of the shrouded figure was in full view. Just like the Ghoul that killed Jackal, the figures face was a mass of stitched flesh orchestrating multiple processes of decay from precisionly removed eyelids to different shades of skin tone contouring against high cheekbones. I now understood why the Ghoul from before was quite stronger than most of its counterparts and the reason it showed a more human mindset when in battle.
I glared at Agusta when he gallantly strode into the cell and made the short distance to stand over me. Gilded brown eyes were overly joyful in seeing me in such a state where my own voice failed and my will faltered to the brink of misery like the sorry loughts screaming in pain further in the hull. His smile grew even more when I tried to turn from his outreaching hand only to be forced to look into those eyes as fingernails dug into my cheeks. Placing his thumb on my lips, he traced the contours with an ever growing grin as chills moved through my body at the coldness in his gaze. A charlatan's gaze that tried to invoke fear in my heart but only heightened the need to vomit.
Agusta held up a hand stopping the guards positioned to watch over us from continuing forward and proceeding to dish out punishment for attempting to bite off the prince's finger. Leather lashings wrapped around each of their hands before trailing behind them like long slender tails ready to draw blood. It was at this moment that I noticed a familiar crimson ruby sitting in a bed of thorns resting around the center guard's finger and the faint outline of a pendant uncommon for Vaniel soldiers peeking through layers of cloth. Seeing such sights gave both a cautious yet reassuring feeling in my heart knowing that I wasn't truly alone behind enemy lines. I was still cautious because the entirety of the guard face was covered in a helmeted mask preventing anyone from seeing his identity underneath.
Pain erupted all over my left cheek following the loud slap of Agusta's hand, "You truly are that man's woman indeed."
"You both share an indomitable will," he continued as I stood to face him eye to eye just like Jackal would.
Seeing this, the guards hurried to form a barrier between us out of instinct despite knowing that the range of movement was limited though it felt nice to watch them scurry like mice avoiding sharpened claws. Agusta pushed past them against their constant begging and stared into my eyes without fear of what would happen to him. Though I hated to admit it, both Agusta and Jackal shared that ominous glow in their eyes that caused others to turn away from fear of being their next target. Eyes that held no emotion in them yet all the life in the world shrouded in blackness. The former described Agusta's eyes even though his face betrayed him as it shifted into a sinister grin trying to insight fear.
"Jackal," keeping my gaze, "will come for me. When he does, you can expect bloodshed to your heart's content."
Agusta bared his teeth, "I know he will and I'll be waiting for him with you by my side, Knife-Ear. I'll enjoy cutting that throat of yours before his eyes and watching him crumble to pieces as he watches, unable to do anything."
Agusta turned with his entourage and made his way out the cell as he finished, "I'd get some sleep if I were you. Tomorrow at first light, Breura's walls will crumble and Vaniel will have a new country to rule over with me as its king."
I slumped back to a seated position with the loud bang of the cell door and the footsteps disappearing deeper into the hull where many of the screams could be heard. Tears came to life and trailed my cheek as the need to bury my face into my knees came upon me without warning just like before. The feeling of being alone had finally reared its ugly face to the surface and dug its fangs deep into flesh hoping to claim me once more though I knew he was searching for me without any doubts. Agusta's words had finally made their way to my mind and it became understood that I was the one to bring Jackal's life to an end if nothing was done to prevent it. I was to be the flame that brought Jackal to the killing field.
By some miracle or exhaustion, I somehow managed to find sleep in spite of the constant bickering between my cell mates and the never ending screams that seemed to become more ravenous with each second. My body still ached from being on the Minotaur's shoulder and the swaying of the ship making it difficult to settle down. Agusta's words boomed over and over again in my ears prolonging the torment placed on my psyche which helped crumble my will to fight on. It was like I was a child once more being taken away from the only home I truly knew as flames consumed the memories. Those thoughts quickly disappeared when a hand covered my mouth startling me awake.
A muffled voice silently whispered in the darkness as its owner tried to restrain me from waking the others, "Without shadows there can be no light..."
I felt my body calm a little from hearing the saying. The hand moved away just enough for me to say the words only a few would respond with, "and without light there can be no shadows."
Allowing my eyes some time to adjust to the darkness, I saw the same masked guard from before kneeling in front of me so that only the two of us could hear one another without issue or interference. I watched as he tore away the emotionless mask free from the helmet and placed it on the floor at his feet before returning his gaze to me. Joy burned in my chest when Isaac's ember eyes looked upon me with a comforting grin. Pulling a canteen free from his belt, he placed the lid against my dried lips and helped me drink the contents bringing moisture to the wasteland that was my throat. The water chilled my insides as it went down, giving me a jolt of coldness.
"Milady," Isaac leaned forward and wiped my lips with the sleeve of his shirt, "I'm glad to see that you're still able to withstand that brute's demeanor. You have a bruise on your cheek and fingernail markings around your mouth."
I chuckled softly as Isaac delicately moved my head from side to side trying to analyze the extent of the mundane wounds. "I'm fine Isaac," I watched as he began to undo the shackles, "the real question is what are you doing here? I know Jackal asked you and the others to keep tabs on the Vaniel ships."
The lad smiled watching me rub my aching wrists, "A raven brought new orders from Lord Jackal a little bit after your disappearance. We were told to keep an eye out for you as we continued our other obligations. As for my presence being here, it was by sheer luck that the ship I was scouting for more captives joined the hidden fleet tucked away in some forgotten fishing village and found you here among them."
[(Leave it to him to put two and two together. Still, I wonder how he came to such a conclusion so fast. He harbors doubt in Vaniel's parley which was right to be placed and he saw how Agusta stared at us. I just hope he….)]
My mind trailed off as my eyes widened at remembering a key element in my abduction. "Isaac," I half yelled in a hushed tone, "you need to find Jackal or his sister about traitors disguised as maids in the kingdom. One of them was there and aided in taking me away."
Isaac's eyes widened, "What?!"
I proceeded to inform the young shadow of what transpired during the course of my abduction and the maid that kept an eye out for any interlopers. I stopped and considered the hostile eyes gazing at Jackal whenever we crossed paths with several of the help along with the cold eyes some of the knights gave as well. Jackal did have several enemies and was to type to allow them seek vengeance in any form. It could possibly be coincidence that those enemies had seen the Vaniel invasion as some means to an end or a way to reclaim lost honor. Then again, history tends to repeat itself when one or more individuals dislike the current royal family and concock some scheme to see them silenced.
Isaac stared at the boards between us trying to fully understand my words before gazing back up at me. "Lady Nyxis," he held my hands, "we must get you out of here and back to Breura especially if the brute truly wishes to kill you."
I nodded but my gaze caught the pleading eyes of Agusta's sister hoping to be saved from her bonds and from her brother's wrath. Resisting my will, I found my eyes looking upon each of the other captives who whimpered in their troubled slumber and called out to those they cared for like frightened children. The figures changed to resemble my past self during the time I barely clung to the lands of the living praying for someone to come to my aid before it was too late. Feelings of shattering dreams faded away with each exhausted breath and crying out for spare gold unfortunately to only be run off by local shopkeepers yelling slurs upon already fragile ears. Memories of past attempts hoping the next world was more kinder than the current one and the chance to find peace.
I rubbed the faint scar around my neck usually hidden by the straps of my mother's pendent, "If I leave, what happens to them Isaac?"
Sighing, Isaac softly closed the cell door so that no speculation could be made by passing guards around the further corridors. "They," Isaac's eyes found Agusta's sister, "are to be gifts to His men upon successfully conquering Breura before being presented to the Vaniel Emperor himself. Many of the men kept gloating about breaking in the new flock for the lives most of them will have in Vaniel's capital."
Tanja Jørgensen, the daughter of Emperor Titus Jørgensen and sister of Agusta Jørgensen, held the embodiment of true fear in her tearful eyes after hearing what is to become of her after the Beastdom of Breura falls. It was so unnatural to see a warrior's daughter show even an ounce of fear especially when said father is considered the strongest of a nation bred on strength alone. Chains rattled in desperate attempts to free herself only to fail each time while groans of anguish were barely heard through the twisted cloth. Her eyes pleaded to be save as the rattling chains became louded with each second purging the others from their paradisal slumber and back to reality. Footsteps sounded from the obscene corridor among the choir of voices begging to be set free.
"Isaac," I held the mask to the newly acquired shadow, "you must go before you're found out. Tell Jackal what you have learned and persuade him to save everyone here."
My heart broke, "Tell him to forget about me."
With one last look, Isaac appeared to speak once more but decided against it as he placed the mask and hurried through the cell doors just when light began to illuminate the corridor. I watched as several awoken knights appeared before the bars dressed in half their attire and gazed upon me with surprised eyes while several others gave chase. Every second was needed for Isaac to make his escape and hopefully bring aid to those still captured here while there was still a chance at success. I had made up my mind to be that chance Isaac needed and partly the saving grace the others behind me needed. With this focus in mind, I pulled the small dagger swiped from Isaac when he wasn't looking and slit my left palm allowing a river of crimson drip on the floorboards.
"You caught me off guard," a barrier the length of the cell appeared at my back, "now let's see what happens when I'm aware of my enemy."
[(Jackal isn't the only one that can be a monster.)]
Screams were swallowed by the blaze erupting around the metal bars forcing the knights backwards into one another while those directly in contact with the molten metal screeched like bats as they attempted to peel their eyes free. Those who were somewhat unscathed stood in a confused daze trying to understand where the magic came from when the shackles were embued with antimagic capabilities. Their daze didn't last for long as they collapsed with torrents of blood flowing from precision strikes to vital spots. Footsteps ran from the scene only to succumb to such fates as well after looking up with terror stricken eyes at the calm smile. Barriers were made in front of the cells positioned on either side as the massacre commenced.
Using the gathered blood from my slain victims, I held my left hand out and formed a crimson bow made from the stolen life force. "Ignis Lenociniis," I spoke the incantation and let loose a volley of flaming arrows upon the hundreds of tents filled with Vaniel troops ready to bring ruin.
My legs finally gave out as the floorboards of the ship caught my fall and the lukewarm pools surrounded me. I smiled at the terrified screams trying to understand where the flames started and the disarray happening just feet away to save what could be saved from the tide of cleansing fire. I was startled a little when an armored foot struck the ground beside my head only to be changed to delight at the troubled gaze of Agusta. Vision slowly became clouded in darkness as the overuse of mana had finally took its toll on my body just when Agusta reached down to do as he pleased. I didn't care what happened to me as long as Jackal and the others had the edge in the fight to come.