Odyn was awoken by the sounds of his cell door being unlocked. The jingle of metal keys sounded as footsteps approached him. It was now morning of the next day following when he had been put into this current prison cell. A gruff voice sounded off in front of him, gaining the young elf's attention. Most likely, the voice belonged to an older man. Odyn could tell that much based on the pitch in his voice and... the smell of some rather odd subtance the man had been chewing previously.
"Oi, did you hear me? I said get up brat!," The man said.
The young dark elf felt the guard roughly grab him when he didn't answer. It was only when the guard grabbed him, he realized that this child was one of the dark elven lineage based on the pointed ears. Humans didn't particularly think much of elven folk, seeing themselves as surperior to those of minority. The common perception among humans concerning elves and especially dark elves, was that they were weak people. This couldn't be further from the truth of the matter. However, humans were so prideful that anyone who didn't fit the mold of what they considered to be "normal" was ostracized heavily. Not all humans are like this, but to an 8 year old dark elf who had seen nothing but the worst of humans so far in his young life, that thought was difficult to believe.
"Tch! So, you're one of them long eared ones, eh? Get moving then, "forsaken"!"
The guard said this clicking his tongue in annoyance before kicking the young dark elf roughly in the back. The blue haired dark elven child grunted in pain as he stumbled forward out of his cell. That kick made his bones creak in agony. The boy was strong for a child, but he was still no match for a grown man's strength. This was especially true since he was already quite weakened, he had no strength to fight back at the moment. What did he ever do that deserved treatment like this? Was it something on his face? Or.. did this man, these humans, simply hate him because he was a dark elf? After shakily rising to his feet, Odyn heard what appeared to be loud cheering coming from outside. As he was roughly escorted outside, the young elf could feel hundreds of eyes staring at him. These eyes weren't the kind and supportive eyes of the elven people, these eyes were judgemental and harsh. He could feel the animosity and scorn for him in their stares as he was walked through the crowd of people gathered. The people he passed as he was dragged by the chains around his limbs never said anything, but he already knew what they were thinking due to his abilities as an elf. The young dark elven child was shoved into the back of a vehicle, most likely a truck of some kind. A moment later, is when the truck began to move down the road. When the flame eyed elf looked up, he saw others in the back of the vehicle they were inside of... other captives, slaves, just like him. All of them had one, singular thing in common: they were all malnourished.
There were a handful of adults, however, the vast majority of them were children like him in ragged clothing. The other children looked at him, curious about Odyn as well. The dark elven prince didn't exactly have the strength to talk at the moment, due to the beating he took in the midst of being transported to this planet from his own world. The young dark elven boy put his head down while bringing his knees into himself as he curled up into a ball. He felt silent, frustrated tears run down his face as he drifted off to sleep. Maybe if he slept, all of the pain, ridicule, and suffering he'd endured would go away. Perhaps, if he slept, he'd wake up and this would all of been nothing more than a nightmare or.. some really cruel joke. The dark elffelt eyes on him as he tried to sleep, these eyes most likely belonged to the other children in the back of the truck he was in. He couldn't fault them for being curious about him, he most certainly didn't look like anyone they'd ever seen before. It was only natural they'd be curious. Here he was, a child like them, but one who's skin was dark and who had pointed... ears and very oddly colored orange eyes? If one thought logically about it, that was just asking for someone to investigate him. The only difference between the other children and Odyn was the fact, they weren't anywhere near as badly bruised and beaten as he was. The other children would look away out of shyness when Odyn looked up, but when he'd look back down, they'd go back to staring at him. The young elf felt himself growing tired as his eyelids became heavy suddenly. "May as well get some sleep I suppose.," The young dark elf told himself. Wherever they were going, it seemed like it was going to be a long while before they arrived there. He did wonder where exactly they were headed, but he was sure that the answer would become clear after a while of them driving. He felt the truck then begin to move as it was most likely taking off down the road now. Darkness invaded his vision as he felt himself drift off to sleep once again for the long road ahead.
Meanwhile, back on the planet of Arkynor, Khanna had just finished packing the necessities for the long trip. She was now finishing putting on her jade green armor, adjusting the straps to her bracers in an effort to prevent them from falling off of her arms. She then went ahead and double checked everything before walking to the door of her house. "Okay, looks like I have everything that I need.", she told herself. The brunette and lavender haired dark elf then walked to the door and opened it, stepping outside before closing it. She began down the road, heading to meet her commanding officer. She came face to face with her father, Raptaryn, who was clad in his usual dark green armor. She regarded him as her youngest brother was being held atop the shoulders of her father. "I know you'll be alright, but be careful. Okay, Seraphina?," Raptaryn said to her. She smiled towards her father and hugged him for a moment. "I'll do just that, Father. I'll find my cousin and bring him back. His family needs him. I won't come back until I've found Odyn, and I'm willing to think mother feels the same way as I do.," Khanna said. Raptaryn returned his daughter's hug before turning her around and lightly shoving her forward as he smiled at her. "Alright, go on. Your mother and Lynnia won't wait all day for you.," Raptaryn said with a chuckle out of respect for his daughter's resolve. Khanna nodded and bowed her head slightly in respect for her father before dashing off down the road towards her destination. "Papa, will sissy be okay?," Borhdak Raptaryn and Lailah's youngest son asked from atop his father's shoulders. Borhdak was young yet, at only 6 years old. He'd inherited his father's mostly silver hair with parts of it being lavender from his mother, Lailah. And like all of the dark elves, young Borhdak had flame like orange colored eyes, a shade of dark skin, and pointed elf ears. Raptaryn answered his son as they watched Khanna, also known as Seraphina in the distance. "Yes Borhdak, she'll be fine. Your big sis is a big girl, she can take care of herself. Plus your mommy will be with her so she'll be just fine.," Raptaryn assurred his son.
Khanna then rejoined the elven soldiers, who waited on her as they headed towards their destination. Lynnia, who waited there among the elven soldiers for Khanna then spoke to the young dark elven shield maiden. "I take it you're ready to depart, lieutennant?," Lynnia asked her. Khanna nodded in agreement. "I am, commander.," Khanna replied. The smallforce of soldiers then set off towards the docking bay where the ship they'd be taking was ancored. It didn't take long to arrive at the docking bay, where Lailah [Khanna's mother], the elven Supreme Commander awaited them along with her middle child, Alek, a superb tracker for his young age.
Meanwhile, back at the castle in Xenia, word had eventually spread to the other Albanar siblings in the days following Odyn's kidnapping. Needless to say, Roy [also known as Thallion at times] wasn't pleased by the news, he was pretty angered at the news. But he also knew that currently, he wasn't strong enough to do anything about it. Banryu was still too young to really understand the situation, so he just went along with whatever Roy did. Ragna was just learning to walk as he was only around 2 years old at the time, and Zerick was a newborn. Roy put all of his frustration over not being able to help his brother in a time of need into his own personal training regimen, with Banryu helping him at points. Roy and Banryu would train with Berethon and their childhood friends, the Arkham siblings , while Khanna searched for Odyn with Lailah, Lynnia, and her brother, Alek. Zephyr, Roy and Banryu's cousin who was around their same age, eventually joined them in their training to get stronger. Sarai, the dark elven princess, just watched her brothers and cousins train as she grieved the loss of her brother. Sybyrh, Lynnia's younger sister, stayed with Sarai to support her through her pain. It was honestly very sad watching. Because the experience she went through with her brother, Odyn, being taken away right in front of her, the princess found it very hard to communicate verbally anymore. Those who did take care of her,learned from Hyatan just to comfort her without words. All they could do was to pour as much love and support as they could into Sarai in the hopes that she would get past this grief someday. The princess was a shell of her former self since Odyn was kidnapped. She'd cry herself to sleep every night and had now gotten to the point where she was no longer showing any sort of emotion. Her family and those around her were honestly becoming a little worried about this concerning trend within the young dark elven princess. The other elven princes looked over towards their younger sister, clearly worried about her. "Will sis be okay?," Banryu asked. Banryu had sky blue and lavender colored hair, a lighter shade of darkened skin, the standard orange eyes of the dark elven race, and pointed elf ears. He wore a simple violet tunic with a red tank top underneath, beige colored pants, a black belt, brown combat boots, and silver arm bands around his arms. He sat next to Randolph, one of the elven elders, who was clad in white and silver robes, holding a white staff that he also used to walk with. He wasn't crippled by any means, it was more of a sign of his standing among the elven council as its most trusted and established member. His silver beard matched his shoulder length silver hair along with his white boots. Banryu was receiving instruction from Randolph in the ways of ancient elven magic. Though Banryu didn't quite have the natural capacity for the craft as his two elder brothers did, he made up for it with his enhancing and fortifying skills. He was learning how to enhance his weaponry with magic as he sat next to Randolph. "That, my young prince... I don't have the answer to at present. This is wall your sister will need to conquer on her own, the best thing we can do is to support her. This will dependentirely upon the will of your sister. Though, I'm confident with all that her young mind has absorbed from your parents, her siblings, her family, and most importantly, from the teachings of Udiyah, that she will overcome this in her own way.,"Randolph explained to the young elven prince.
Banryu thought on his teacher's words for a few moments. "Teacher's right. Sis will come out of this on her own. The best thing we can do is to help alleviate some of the pain she's feeling and help make that decision for her easier.," Banryu thought to himself. Standing up, he looked to Randolph, who recognized Banryu was ready to continue his lesson. Sybyrh[ Sai- ber]was seen to be cradling the princess in an attempt to comfort her. The Dark elven vanguard with blonde and black striped hair then spoke to soothe Sarai. "Don't you worry, princess... The time will come when you see Lord Odyn again. But until then, you have to be a good girl and get stronger. That way when you see your brother again, he'll be proud of the young elf you've become in is abscence.," Sybyrh encouraged the princess. That seemed to do the trick, as Sybyrh felt Sarai shivering. That was progress, it would seem her words just now had caused a reaction from Sarai. She held her close, much like an elder sister would do to calm a crying sibling. Although Sarai didn't say anything, that reaction just now was more than words could convey to how Sarai was feeling inside. She'd resigned herself to possibly never seeing her beloved eldest brother again, but with Sybyrh's words of encouragement just now.. the princess realized she hadn't given up hope just yet. However she wasn't sure. Should she dare to hope Sybyrh's words were true and that she very well could see Odyn again someday? She was still young yet to be thinking about such things. So for now at least, she'd let the people around her comfort and encourage her. Maybe that's just what she needed to get back on her feet.
Back on earth, the vehicle which carried Odyn and the other slaves arrived at their destination. Odyn was awoken by the same thugs who had shoved him into the vehicle to begin with, they were now roughly dragging him out of the truck. These thugs couldn't care less about how they treated him, nor did they hide their very obvious disdain for him specifically. It was night now, but there were still people who were out and about. As the young dark elf was escorted to where he would be staying temporarily, he spied what appeared to be a raised podium or stage in the middle of the town square. He concluded that was most likely the place where auctions were held during the daytime. As for what was auctioned and sold off there.., he had a few ideas of what that entailed. He wasn't certain yet, but he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that him being brought here to this small town was related to it. For his sake and for the other children who were also being escorted alongside him, he was hoping and praying against all hope that he was wrong about this... They were then brought to a basement level of the building in which they were staying temporarily. Looking around though, this was less of a basement and more of a cellar. It was dark, poorly maintained, and.. was that mold he smelled? The young dark elf was then brought to a cell door where he was AGAIN shoved roughly into a cell. No, he wasn't just shoved, the man had kicked him in the back! Odyn landed with a hard thud onto the stone cobbled floor, causing some of his wounds to re-open. The children who were put into the cells next to his felt sorry for the young elf after seeing how much rougher he was being treated compared to them, it was something their young minds couldn't understand. Sure, he looked a little different than they did.. but, he was still a person too! Unfortunately, Odyn couldn't really do anything to fight back against his much harsher treatment compared to the other children who were slaves like him. He was severely weakened from the beatings he had already endured and now add the beating that occurred just moments ago on top of all that. The young elf shakily picked himself back up off the floor with a small amount of blood dripping off of him from his re-opened wounds as he made his way to the bed inside of the cell. He was wearing little more than rags at this point as all of his personal property that he had on his person had been taken away from him. The only exception to this was the elven circlet and the dark green bandanna that he wore. The circlet would only remove itself if one of royal elven blood were to touch it. When his captors tried to remove it, they were violently electrocuted or engulfed in flames to the point of having severe burns. Because of this, they reluctantly allowed him to keep those two items. The boy tore off a small piece of fabric from the raggedy shirt he now wore and wrapped his wounds in it. The other wounds he could not wrap with the fabric, he was able to use a very small amount of healing magic on. Odyn was still young, so his control with magic was that of an amateur at best, nowhere close to the expertise of someone like his elder cousin, his aunt, or his mother or father.
After caring for his wounds to an extent, he was able to slip inside of the bed sheets on the bed in an attempt to rest. Here he was, a dark elf high prince in a strange country, and on a strange planet where he didn't know anybody. Beaten up to save the life of his younger sister, and most likely was being slandered at by someone without even realizing it. A major reason for this could be perhaps because he didn't really understand some of the language the humans were using. He knew a lot of human language for an 8 year old dark elf, but there were some things and phrases which he didn't understand the meaning of. Shrugging at the thought, Odyn was confident that he'd learn to understand later. That would be after a bit of sleep first...
The next morning Odyn is awoken by the same thug who'd kicked him into the cell he was inside of. "Hey, time to wake up freak!," the man said. The dark elven boy didn't even have time to respond as he was roughly grabbed by the arm and dragged to his feet where his hands were again bound by mana blocking chains. The man looked at the young dark elf with disgust as he clicked his tongue before ordering him to move. "Tch, get a move on you little gremlin!," the Thug spat, glaring at the boy. The young dark elf did as instructed, despite not wanting to. He went along with what he was told to do for now, it was sickening, but he wasn't strong enough right now to fight back against a full grown man. The chains he had secured around his hands and feet at the moment were somehow draining or restraining him from using his mana. So at the moment, he was as weak as a normal human child would be under those same circumstances. He was then led to the same wodden platform that he'd seen the night before. Odyn could already tell what the man who served as the auctioneer was thinking due to his heightened abilities as a member of the elven race. The man smirked when he saw the reaction of the crowd to the dark elven child. "Now then, next on the docket is... prisoner x901. Male and... a rare dark elf for those who were curious. Feity, strong, healthy, and a strong fighter despite his young age. With enough training, he could become a valuable commodity to whoever manages to purchase him. Above all, this one has incredible latent power.," the auctioneer said much to the applause of the citizens gathered. Odyn looked around at the people gathered in the town's square. Was he really nothing more than a piece of property for someone to buy and do whatever they pleased with?! No! He refused to believe in or to even accept such a meaningless existence. There was then other thoughts that began racing through the dark elf child's mind. Thoughts such as: "when I am eventually sold off, how will my owner treat me?" or "Will I even be free to any extent once I'm sold to someone?"
He may have been a strong dark elf warrior, despite his young age but in reality, he was still a child. Even the bravest of warriors would've been afraid and scared for their life had they been placed in the situation Odyn now found himself in currently. Odyn already didn't like humans and didn't see them in a positive light to begin with, and the way they'd treated him so far was only fueling his growing anger towards them. What had he ever done to these people that warranted such blatantly hostile treatment? To his young mind, it didn't make any sense why he was treated so horrificly compared to other humans. This fact angered him, but he was careful not to show it. Despite his growing anger at the injustice humans had subjected him to, there was a voice of reason in the back of his mind. It sounded a lot like the voice of his parents. It told him that the humans were simply afraid of him because they didn't understand him. That same voice told him that these people, these humans don't know what they're really doing. This voice calmed the young boy and he secretly knew who this voice belonged to: The Spirit of Light, Udiyah. One whom he read about in the book of light with his parents that was mistreated for much the same or for similar reasons as Odyn himself was... they didn't understand him either. So what did they do? They persecuted and mistreated him due to not being able to comprehend or understand Udiyah. With this in mind, Odyn calmed himself and resolved to endure for now. "Anger isn't the answer... Anger only leads to destruction.,"Odyn told himself as a reminder. He'd simply have to wait for who his new owner would be as a bidding war for his eventual purchase began. The dark elf hoped for his sanity that a decent person would purchase him. As he looked around though, he unfortunately didn't see a single person who seemed to be decent. All of these people felt... "dark", like they'd been corrupted by greed in one way or another. Besides how they felt, all of them had a certain look in their eye that Odyn really didn't trust. He had the sinking feeling that he'd be sold to someone very oppressive and power hungry.
However, before he could fully feel this way, something happened that he did not anticipate. A dark skinned man with vibrant green eyes and ebony black colored hair, showed up in the center of the town square. "Who... is that?", the elf boy wondered to himself. The man, who was en route to some place else locked eyes with the young dark elf. Whatever his previous plans were suddenly didn't matter now. He instantly knew this young elf had seen the worst parts of humanity and seemed to be silently crying out for someone, anyone, to come save him from this mess. The man felt sorrow for the young dark elf, he was only a boy and yet.. he'd been subjected to some things and treatment that no child his age should even have to go through. What this dark skinned man felt when looking into the young dark elven boy's eyes was frustration, sadness, confusion, anger, and a growing rage towards humans for treating him and his people this way. "That poor boy... No child whether human or elf should have to go through what this young one has been subjected to.," The man thought aloud. Though he wanted to, this kind samurai couldn't save this young dark elf boy. At least, not yet.This kind man was Kazuya Anuyachi, a member of a local samurai core. He'd wait until after all of the other offers/bids for this young elf boy's services and purchase were heard before making an offer of his own in an attempt to rescue the young elf boy. It was only then that he'd swoop in and offer the highest amount to purchase him. Odyn stood there on the platform, with his hands cuffed and a distrusting scowl etched onto his face. The young dark elf just wanted this to be overwith already. There were several official and council members that were now seen to be in a heated debate over the dark elven boy's posession/ownership. The longer and more drawn out this debate went on, the more impatient the potential bidders became. With each bid that was put forth for the boy, even more of an uproar was then caused by the arguing people gathered in the town square. "Disgusting... These.. Humans, these people know nothing of the suffering they cause! Humans are nothing more than selfish, greedy, and filthy creatures who's only interest is in lining their purses atthe expense of others suffering!," The young dark elf thought angered.
Kazuya was about to offer his own amount for the boy and free him from needless suffering, when a certain man spoke. The man who spoke then, offered the highest amount yet offered by anyone for the boy's purchase. This noble however, Odyn could tell... he was corrupt and rotten to his core. This corrupt noble's name was Yaichi Sato, an officer in service to the current Shogun at the time. Some considered him to be the closest to being the next Prime Minister of Japan. And for good reason, he had influence within the most important circles of government within the country. That meant, if he didn't like you, he could essentially strip you of anything important you ever owned without you even being able to say anything in defense against such actions. This offer prompted those in charge of the auction to not even allow other offers, due to the auctioneers greed for money. They sold the boy in that split second before Kazuya or anyone else could even object to it, due to the influence Sato had. Kazuya grit his teeth in frustration, there was no way this wasn't planned from the start! "Sato must've paid off the slavers and auctioneers in order to orchestrate things in this way. That... sly weasel knew exactly what he was doing!,"Kazuya thought balling his hands into fists in outrage. He was determined to rescue the dark elven boy, no matter what. Sato had a filthy on his face as he eyeballed Kazuya. The corrupt noble knew what the head of the Anuyachi Clan was trying to do just then. All of his actions here thus far were to make the Anuyachi Clan suffer as he feltlike they were always getting in his way. The Anuyachi Clan was probably THE most vocal in standing up to him and against several of his proposed policies. The fact they wouldn't just "be quiet" or "fall in line" like the other groups had done most likely annoyed and angered him, this was the start of him at least attempting to undermine their influence. To Sato's annoyance, the Anuyachi Clan had grown to have far too much influence and political favor as of late for his personal liking. Because of the sheer amount of political favor the Anuyachi Clan had gained in recent years, he felt threatened by them. Because of this fact, He'd taken such drastic measures of trying to undermine their political pull and influence through actions such as this one: kidnapping and buying dark elven children and selling them off as slaves to other corrupt nobles who were in league with him. Perhaps, this would put a stop to or take away some of the Anuyachi's influence. ODyn scowled darkly at seeing who he was sold to: a corrupt human with delusions of unchallenged granduer. The reality then set in for him in that moment. He was nothing more than a slave now, wasn't he? This man would treat him no differently than any other human had so far. For now, he'd simply have to grit his teeth and bear it against his better nature. He'd wait until a later time to plan his escape and to exact his revenge against these humans. He knew what his parents would say, but... that resolve was waning in the face of the injustice he'd been subjected to and the growing anger he felt boiling within himself towards these humans who had wronged him. One way or another, he was determined to get his revenge.
End Chapter 1...To Be Continued in Chapter 2: Mistreatment and ... a Daring Rescue?