Fenris awoke with a start, jerked from sleep violently. He tried to sit up only to find that his body would not respond. From his neck down to his toes he discovered himself entirely paralyzed. His eyes searched the darkness before him as he attempted to orient himself, buy all that he saw was black as pitch and impenetrable,
He took in a couple of deep breaths to calm himself, almost gagging at the room's over-warm air stained with the acrid scent of blood and rot. He realized that he was laying on a table made of rough stone, each individual pebble a tiny knife in the bared flesh of his back. For a long time he stayed in that position, nothing changing except for the beads of sweat that had started to collect on his forehead and on the flesh pressed up against rock.
Then, slowly, gradually, something started to change. The room began to lighten, and Fenris found he was staring up at a ceiling made of shiny, reflective metal. Small red lights shined in the mirror-like surface, and Fenris surmised that someone was lighting candles about the room, though no reflection of a person could be seen. He became aware of the room, that is was small, and that the walls were made of metal as well. He discovered that there was a measure of chain criss-crossing his body, and wondered if it were enchanted to paralyze him.
"Who is there?" he demanded in a voice raspy with dehydration, but received no answer.
Fenris laid in the dim candlelight for what felt like hours. He didn't know for certain who was at hand for this particular project, nor could he know what purpose this would fulfill, but undoubtedly Danarius was behind this scheme. Fenris could only wonder what plans his master had while he laid there in a pool of his own smelly sweat, waiting for something to happen.
He heard footsteps at last. He couldn't place what direction these steps originated from, as the room echoed every little sound to the point that it seemed to surrounded him. He tried to look to the right, to turn his head, only to be reminded how thoroughly paralyzed and how utterly vulnerable he was. The feeling was an unwelcome one, and despite himself, he let out a small snarl.
"Hush now, boy," came a sickeningly familiar voice. Hadriana walked walked into Fenris' line of vision, and he greeted her thoughtful look with a glare. She peered down at him as if he were a mere retort on her alchemy table. Whatever was going on inside that twisted mind of hers would be something Fenris could only wait to find out.
She left his side without another word, and for several moments, Fenris thought she had left the room, though he heard no door. Then he heard a click, a clear, crisp sound that reverberated along the metal walls. There was a long pause where Fenris breathlessly waited for something to happen. Nothing seemed to change, however, about either himself or his environment. The air was still too warm, and the acrid scent still hung in the air, though Fenris had long become accustomed to it. Then there came another click, and Fenris felt a pressure on his chest.
It was a peculiar feeling, one Fenris had never before experienced. It seemed internal, as if there were a weight beneath his skin and muscle, placed directly on his rib cage. He felt the very same pressure in his arms and legs and unconsciously tried to stretch his limbs. Combined with the air, breathing felt difficult and dragging in even a shallow breath seemed a chore.
Another click. Fenris felt the pressure tense up in his spine just as it almost doubled in his chest. His feet began feel sore and numb, and his fingers felt ice cold. With no idea how these sensations were being achieved, Fenris fought to keep his mind from turning to fear.
Click. Now the pressure turned to pain as Fenrus' entire body seemed to gradually pull together, as if being crushed from the inside. He tried to open his mouth and found that his teeth seemed locked in place together. They grated against each other, cracking in places where they were weak, as Fenris struggled to separate his jaws. Blood filled his mouth as tears filled his eyes, and he tried to spit. Blood mixed with saliva dribbled down his slick chin and cheeks.
Click. The next bout of tightening brought with it the first of the fractures; fire bled up Fenris' arms and shins as his bones cracked. His toes caved in, bone splintering through skin. Despite not wanting to show weakness, Fenris yelled out his agony and drew in short, labored breaths through his mouth into lungs that felt compressed in his body.
Fenris had no sense of time as this torture went on, and the time between clicks seemed to stretch on into hours of unending anguish. Sweat fell into his eyes, blinding what sight he had, and dripped into his ears to cloud his hearing. He heard the next click, dulled now, and squeezed his eyes shut as his ribs began to fracture. Waves of nausea washed over him, and he fought to keep it at bay, knowing that if he were to vomit, he would only choke.
Another click. Fenris body almost seemed to crumple as his spine crushed into itself. He felt every crack, every unnatural bending of bone acutely, and he cried out through teeth once again locked together. The pain was nearly too much to bear, but his mind locked in on a memory of a time of even greater agony. He let his mind be consumed by the recollection of the ritual, of every super-detailed memory of lyrium being burned into his skin, inch by infernal inch, reliving as it had happened until he finally fell into blessed blackness.
He awoke some time later from nightmarish memories. He laid in his bedding, a pile of hay on cold stone floor. Hadriana stood him, and he jerked into a sitting position. He unwittingly let out a relieved sigh to discover he could move, and he swept his gaze over his body. His limbs were whole, his ribs healed, and his jaw and teeth felt as they had before. Glancing up at Hadriana, he glared coldly.
She didn't say a word. In her hand she held a small wooden box with a very thin sheet of metal in the center of it. With her thumb, she depressed this sheet, and the box emitted a clear, crisp click. At the command of the sound, Fenris' body tensed up in an ingrained memory of the torture he had suffered.
Hadriana smirked, turned, and left Fenris alone in a cold sweat.