She was alone in a room. What felt like weeks had passed since she woke up in the dark chamber. She had no idea when she was put in there, when she was getting out, who put her in there and where in the world she was. There were no windows, and no visible doors. Her wrists, ankles, thighs and midsection were bound by what felt like leather. It was crude and taught. Her black Guns 'n' Roses shirt was ripped from the bottom right of her ribcage to her left hip, though her slate-coloured jeans were already ripped, they showed several more rips that were unintentional. She lay barefoot on a wooden board in the center of the room. The only way she knew she was in the middle of the room was because of her developed talent of echolocation if her vision was ever impaired. She got splinters every so often when she shifted uncomfortably from the wood. Her mouth was painfully dry, her stomach empty. Though in all this suffering, she was quiet. Every so often, she would hear someone walking through hallways outside of the room. The steps went all the way around the room in a counter-clockwise fashion, but from an odd angle, still, the room was isolated. Only two different sets of step patterns ever walked by. And when they were gone, only silence filled the air.
No breaths were ever given away, no sighs of frustration or anxiety. Dysis Ilithiya Edwards never dared breathe unless it was necessary. She flexed her muscles whenever she felt like the leather was loosened for a moment. Dysis was not completely human. Her kind was called dragna singh. Meaning "Dragon Shift". Dysis had the ability to transform into a great crimson red dragon. Usually when there was someone entering the room, it would be in front of her, which was quite odd, seeing as she was laying face up on a table.
Perhaps her keepers had grasped the power of anti-gravity to the extent of being able to make her feel like she was on the ground? When Dysis had long hair, she could tell much better when gravity was being altered around her. Instead, she sliced off all her beautiful, thick, crimson hair for a much shorter, spiky, boyish look. Though her hair did not make a difference in dragon form, in human form, it was just a hassle trying to keep it out of the way. Dysis's bright green eyes shifted around mischievously while her face was still frozen in the same expressionless manner she was used to.
Huh… speaking of shifting… reaching for the fire in her belly, Dysis's human form began to disappear into the mighty dragon form she knew so well. Her skin started to change colour and soft skin cells became hardened scales, her head started to elongate, horns beginning to emerge from her bright red hair and she could feel her powerful wings starting to regenerate from her toned back muscles. As her sight became sharper and more defined, she noticed that indeed, she was being held against gravity to the wall, a door behind the table she lay on, attached. There were three very large windows around Dysis's room. She saw two video cameras in the corners; one to her left, in the top corner, the other, to her right, in the bottom corner. Dysis moved her hand; the right camera followed her movement silently. Using some of her new elven trickery, she called upon wooden elements to try and break some of the board off. She would distract the cameras with hand-shaped pieces of wood. Some of the bonds began to let go in the board. A glint in her eye faded just as quickly as it appeared.
All of a sudden, she heard a creak behind her. The board was moving and Dysis's head rapidly approached the wall to her left. Should I escape? Should I stop the transformation? Dysis prepared herself to break free of the leather quickly, and then escape in denidragna singh. Half dragon, half human form. The end of her snout stopped further swinging of the door. Dysis winced slightly from the force.
I wouldn't try to escape if I were you. You have too much value to us. And, this room is charmed. You won't get much further in your transformation anyways. If you don't stop transforming now, it will hurt. But only a little. A gruff, but sarcastic, chuckling voice intruded Dysis's thoughts and put her off guard. The thoughts broke her concentration and her armour sunk into her skin, snout returned to separate nose and mouth, back was smooth, tailbone went back to normal size.
Get out of my thoughts. Dysis began to picture and concentrate on a solid piece of metal to try and push the gruff voice out of her mind. As the wall developed strength, the intruder sighed and his presence in her thoughts subsided.
"I am Agheksandr," Defending men. "and you, you are correct." Agheksandr half smiled, but his voice was unpleasant. Dysis found it to be like her father's; scratchy, rough and accusing, but light. Agheksandr was a tall, burly man. He wore a pure white lab coat, the first thing Dysis noticed about him. She almost gagged when she saw it. Hospitals and lab coats were not her most favourite things in the world. Under his coat, he wore a light blue button-up shirt with a black tie and black dress pants. He looked very presentable and professional. On the coat, he bore a nametag with "Dr. Agheksandr" in bold, black letters. His hair made him look like a skunk – jet-black along the sides, a stripe of pure white down the middle. He was Caucasian but showed a slight tan from being out in the sun. His face was worn and wrinkled, but wise.
"I don't care about your name or its meaning. Why am I here and where is Ayanna?" Dysis demanded. Agheksandr's eyes showed his surprise at the pitch of Dysis's voice. It was high and quiet, tinkling like icicles bumping into each other, but sharp as the shards that spray when the icicle falls to the ground. Though he was surprised, the rest of his features showed darkness and mischief, an ugly, twisted smile played upon Agheksandr's lips.
"Those are good questions, but Agenor Adrastos, my master, has requested your audience. Come quickly now, and do not attempt to shift. There will be severe consequences for your actions if the situation arises. Your little friend Ayanna is fine. She is in another room. She woke up last week." The leather was released from the other side of the door. Dysis fell to the ground with a cry of surprise. She clenched and unclenched her fists, rolled her ankles around, cracked her neck twice and finally got up. Almost too quickly, her legs gave out. Dysis's arms shot out in front of her, catching her fall. If Ayanna woke up last WEEK… how long have I even strapped there for…?
Agheksandr snorted and pushed a thought into Dysis's mind. 3 weeks. Now follow me, we've got a ways to go before we get to my master. Well, come on. Get up!
The handcuffs were even worse than the leather. Though they were primal human restriction devices, the simple chain had been replaced by a heavy duty, 10-pound link. Three massive guards accompanied Agheksandr and Dysis, though one looked very familiar. Dysis took the liberty of probing his thoughts and memories to see if he could be recognized but to no avail. The guard noticed her presence and immediately shut her out. Guess it wasn't him. She could feel his gaze on her back but did not turn around.
As the walk went on, the group strolled through the labyrinth of a building Dysis had been unconscious in for 3 weeks. She started trying to remember the path they took to get out but soon gave up – it was pointless to try and remember the path out when every wall was such a constant pure white. Since Agheksandr had on a lab coat, Dysis began to think that the building was some sort of science facility. Every once in a while, they would pass a glass door. Dysis would constantly try and look in, but either the guard closest to the door would block her view or there would be something in the way of the door. It was like a coloured cloud, but it was thick and looked solid.
No one ever came out of the doors but when someone else finally crossed their path, she waited outside of the door until they walked away to go into the room. Dysis entered her mind for a moment to see what she was seeing and found it to be a lab. She was correct that it was a laboratory, but not the kind Dysis knew of. On the table in front of the woman was a tree-like figure. It was shaped like a human and had human figures but wasn't quite. The tree figure was thrashing about in its hold; it was also leather-bound, as Dysis had been. As soon as the door closed behind the woman, the connection between Dysis's mind and hers was broken. Dysis sighed and the guard on her right eyed her suspiciously.
Eventually, Agheksandr stopped walking. Beautifully carved, black marble double doors opened to Agheksandr's right. Walking in, the guard walking on the left side of Dysis had a firm grip on her elbow. Dysis began walking into the large white marble room after Agheksandr. Before Agheksandr stood three doors, enveloped by perfect white marble: all three doors were made of glass. Though they were made of glass, Dysis could not see anything through any of the doors. Agheksandr checked his watch and then began reciting something out loud in a language Dysis was not familiar with. It sounded very… serpentine. Taking exactly 5 steps to the door on the far left, Agheksandr tapped the first door twice, and a low note resonated out of the door. A twitch in his eyebrow revealed his apparent annoyance. Taking another 5 long strides, he moved to the far right door. Tapping it twice, no sound was made by Agheksandr's gloved hands. One corner of his mouth turned up as he gestured for the guards to move forward with Dysis. Agheksandr bent down and reached for a handle on the bottom of the door. He lifted it up and grunted from the effort.
When the door was open, a great hall revealed itself. The hall was made entirely of dark stone. Multiple banners hung from the height of the ceiling. A long, gold embroidered, red carpet unraveled before the group, leading about 100 meters in front of them before it disappeared into darkness. Agheksandr turned to the hall and a sigh of frustration escaped his lips.
"I see he's made a few minor changes," he muttered. Advancing, Agheksandr clapped his hands unenthusiastically and the guards shoved her into the hallway, she almost tripping on the ledge of which the glass door had rested on. As Dysis regained her balance, she noticed that the floor had disappeared aside from the carpet. Dysis's eyes grew wide as she dipped her foot through the black space where the floor had been, only to find her foot disappearing. Shocked, Dysis stepped back onto the carpet and looked around nervously. Agheksandr had been watching her the whole time and a smile crept upon his face.
"Whoops, better not fall," he said with a wink. Dysis approached Agheksandr slowly, watching her footing closely. Before she got too close he turned on his heel and melted into the black abyss before them. "Well, are you coming?" Agheksandr's voice echoed eerily. Dysis shuffled quickly down the red carpet, into the darkness. She followed Agheksandr's echo, staying straight down the path. Every time she took a step, the anxiety of falling overcame her. What if I fall? Where will I go? Could I shapeshift quickly enough?
You'll fall into the Garta Denas for eternity. Oh yes, you would have plenty of time to shapeshift; all the time in the world. Agheksandr's sinister chuckle filled the space. Dysis's human instincts forced her into a submissive state with a tinge of fear and nervousness, though it only lasted a second, Agheksandr's mind link to hers revealed her spark of emotion. She heard him turn around and stop before her.
"There is no room for weakness here. You may be in human form, but here, everyone has the mental strength of their singh." Dysis could almost picture the hard look on his face. She imagined his hands in fists, neck muscles flexed, jaw set, expressionless face and eyes full of impatience. Once she got to the mirage of his eyes, the once gray, dull eyes of the man turned crimson red, brighter than lasers, full of more hate than molten lava.
Then she remembered the name that Agheksandr had said – Garta Denas. Protecting her thoughts, she scrambled around her messy, but vast knowledge of the ancient language. 'Great Darkness', it meant. Turning around once again, Agheksandr continued down the seemingly endless path to who knows where.