Author's warning: Part 2 contains depictions of emotional and physical abuse which may be unsettling to some readers.
My report to the King is intentionally vague and useless. It's full of patrols, their policy on execution, the feud between the sisters. It obviously sounded good, but without a way past their magic, it was pointless. I don't tell him that we just have to get close to them. I don't go into detail about how their biggest weakness and strength is trust.
After the report, I wander up the dreary steps to my room. They're covered with dirt and cobwebs, with the occasional scratch marks on the wall from either claws or swords that varied in age.
I sit on the edge of my bed, rip off my helmet and hurl it across the room in a fit of rage. This entire situation was like being trapped in the middle of a swamp. I wanted out, but had no visible place to go. The King was the water, the kingdom is the mud, and I'm the tree growing in the middle. I'm tired of the deception, of having to watch my back, the constant feeling of putting on a disgusting mask.
The rest of my armor gets tossed in the corner. It's supposed to go on an armor rack but who cares. I crawl into bed, still consumed by guilt. I just wanted one new friend that I didn't have to lie to. My cramped room is illuminated by one tiny candle. Sleep takes me a few minutes after the tears stop.
I see myself before the King; he glares at me, a murderous fire in his eyes.
"You told them. You betrayed your kingdom. You betrayed your family!" To my left is Luna. She looks at me with tears, horrified with a runny nose.
"I trusted you! You lied to all of us!" she screams angrily.
After a few moments of stuttering, I finally get out a reply.
"Luna I never spied on you! I never was! Please believe me!" She runs away crying. The chains that hold me to the floor rattle furiously as I attempt to chase after her. I look back at the King. We're at my trial now.
I'm surrounded by a counsel, all wearing red robes with black hoods so I can't see their faces. The middle of the robe has the Taraska hammer on them. The King stands before me in front of his throne. He sighs and begins reading from a document.
"First Captain Raiden. You are charged with the failure of protecting your assigned post. You failed to do your duty, and because of this, you are hereby accused of treason." The room explodes with angry yelling. I stand in my full armor without my helmet. There's nothing to say. The King tilts his head back and looks down at me condescendingly.
"I hereby sentence you to….Repentance." The room erupts again. Almost every judge yells out for my head to be removed.
I'm in the training yard now. Angry soldiers remove my armor. They slap iron around my wrists. I'm wearing nothing but brown shorts they give to prisoners. I haven't had the chance to shave in weeks. It's raining, but oddly enough I don't remember it ever raining. A soldier holds onto the chains attached to the locks on my wrists, as the eight of them take their anger out on me. One punches me in the jaw. I stumble to my right. The water from the sky is cold, but my skin is lit with anger. I'm too tired to fight back; they don't feed you while you're on Repentance. They're also in armor. I do my best to stay on my feet for the sake of pride. Another soldier comes over and boots me in the side. They all laugh as I stumble to the ground. I get a strange feeling as if the very sky is watching me. The clouds are an odd color of bluish-purple.
Emeris stands in a corner in the yard, facing the wall. He can't bear to watch and he's unable to help me. A sudden kick to my side sends me falling to the ground. My face is expressionless, I felt almost nothing at this point anyways. The soldiers approach me, mocking me, daring me to attack back. I gradually get to my feet and try to tackle one. He easily sidesteps me and punches the right side of my head. My mouth is full of mud as I slide across my stomach. The rage and sorrow fight valiantly for control of my mind.
I had gone from a respected captain, to a punching bag in just a few days. Their cruel laughs reinforced just how alone I was. Emeris still sobs in the corner. He stands rigid with his hands clenched. Strange, distant, feminine crying flows down from the clouds. The soldiers kick me in the ribs, in my back, my legs, everywhere. I do my best to protect my chest with my arms. The soldier holding my chains starts dragging me. I'm too weak to hold on and keep my chest covered. They unload on my upper body as he drags me around the yard. I feel my shoulder muscles creak as I'm pulled. There's nothing I can do; I can only hope I die quickly, but that was intentionally not allowed.
A few days later, they pull me through the town. Everyone is gathered along the main road running through our city. They call me traitor and coward. One woman runs up with a large stick. She shrieks at me.
"You let our city die!" She hits me with her weapon. I duck behind my arms just in time, but it still hurts. She gets another four blows on me before one of my escorts starts gently pushing her back laughing to himself. I look around the crowd, dazed, starving, freezing and in agony. I had no friends here. The loneliness was worse than the rocks thrown at me. These same people used to hand me the occasional vegetable or fruit, handpicked from the best of their groceries. Now they were more than happy to let me have the produce not even their animals would eat. I'm pulled along, doing my best to stay on my feet, as the last ounces of pride I had are torn away.
I'm back on that night of the defensive. My men are screaming and fighting around me. Most are on the wall, doing everything they can to live. One by one they get surrounded on all sides by Og Nag and are taken down. Sergeant Rufina runs up to me. She pants and staggers from exhaustion.
"Sir, what do we do?! We're outnumbered and cornered!" My eyes dart around to my men in absolute terror. My hands shake. Every plan fails, every idea meets an abrupt end.
"We...we...we need to regroup and use the rubble to-to build a-" Rufina takes an arrow to the back of her head, falls against me and slumps to the ground. I hold her screaming. My sounds are drowned out by war.
Several Og Nag rush me. To my dishonor, I let her body go and draw my sword. The first Og Nag is my size and boots me in the stomach before I can slash at him. I stumble into a house that was barely standing. It was all stone, as a fire had claimed everything inside. I quickly scramble to my feet. He lunges at me with his sword. I deflect it and punch him, with just enough time to stab another Og Nag climbing through the destroyed window to my left. A third runs up behind me and wraps his arms around my chest so I can't move. The Og Nag in front of me punches my face. We fall to the ground and they begin kicking me, howling with amusement. I happen to glance over and see lieutenant Termin down the road, on the ground, with an Og Nag on top of her, trying to impale her in the eye with a dagger. She screams, holding on to its wrists.
She sees me out of the corner of her eye and shrieks my name, begging me to help her. The last of her screams echoes in my head, as she loses the struggle. They reach an ear piercing climax as the knife enters her face. Her metal boots pound the stone floor frantically, as she kicks her legs almost animalisticly. She goes silent as the last ounce of strength she has is used. I reach out to her, giving anything to take it all back. An Og Nag grabs my hand and bites my wrist just barely not covered by armor.
I'm back in the streets again, being dragged on the ground by chains. Several people from the crowd run up and kick my already bruised and bleeding sides. They throw rocks at me as I do my best to get to my feet. My escorts slow their pace to a petty walk, laughing to themselves the entire time. A crazed man sprints up to me, screaming that I killed his family. He jumps on my back. I fall to the ground, too weak to do anything. The rest of the crowd runs up to me yelling insults. They beat me mercilessly. Several people pull my hair, eager to get in a single hit. An elderly woman yanks my beard so I face her.
"This is all we have left to eat!" she screams into my face. She forces a rotten tomato covered with black mold into my mouth. A man in a tan cloak emerges from the crowd and begins pushing people off me. He has half a facemask on, covering his mouth and nose. He does his best to keep some of them at bay. They begin hitting him too. He lies on top of me. Arms stretched out, trying to cover me. They begin kicking him as well. I hear his horrendous grunts as everyone stops caring about who exactly is being beaten and just wants to thrash about in rage.
Three people grab his cloak and pull him away from me. He grabs like mad, trying to hold on to my arms. His facemask gets pulled off; it's Emeris. He dives on me again, taking some of the blows for me. He's once again lifted off. They attempt to toss him. He tries everything to hold onto me. I give up protecting my sides and reach out for his hands; not for his protection, but because all I want is a friend. Emeris starts fighting back, putting an older man into an arm lock and dislocating his shoulder. He even uppercuts the elderly lady who still brandishes her stick. He gets hit in the gut, then the face and doubles over. The back of his skull get wailed on repeatedly until he's laying on the ground, relying on pure instinct. He's dragged away from me by his ankles and gets his own little party off to the side.
They lock me in a cage. I can barely breathe. My right eye is so swollen I can't open it. My nose is broken; my ears are ringing from all the screaming and beatings. My body is covered in bruises and open sores. I hear that strange familiar voice in the clouds again.
"No...no this can't be. Why are they doing this?!" It rains harder than I remember it. I sit in the cage, hoping I'll finally die. The floor is metal, but it doesn't matter since my legs went numb a while ago. My knees are too swollen to sit in any normal relaxed position. I probably had spine damage just from being dragged. My wrists are raw and a dark red. The metal cuffs had rubbed them raw. I can barely swat the flies away as they land to nibble and try to lay eggs.
A few guards patrol my cage in the training yard. A crowd shows up to throw more things. The cage is on a seven foot tall platform, too high for them to grab me. They throw whatever they have at me, calling me a traitor and coward all over again. I can barely hear them over the ringing in my ears. I glance at the crowd and see a peculiar trio standing in the back. They wear helmets and heavy armor with red capes on their backs. I manage a small smile, knowing it's my fellow captains, trying to show me support. Captain Magus was a strong but silent man, bald, with a huge black beard. He always came across as this serial killer, but was reknown for his kindness and patience. Captain Emeris knew people and knew them well. He would help soldiers figure out dispute when neither of them really knew why they were angry. Captain Lucretia showed us that no matter what, there was always a way. She was a ruthless tactician when in battle, but a comforting blanket for our troops when it was needed. They can't be obvious about it though, or they'll meet a similar fate.
Later that night, as I lay shivering in my cage, I hear a sudden commotion and fighting. The same trio is back. They fight the guards, quickly teaming up on the ones who are by themselves. They use non-lethal tactics, knowing the guards don't know the truth. Captain Magus uses his shield to either ram a soldier, or hurl at their helmet. All the guards lay on the ground, except for two who run inside the castle to get reinforcements. The trio runs up to my cage. Magus lifts who I presume to be Emeris up to my cage, then rushes to the hallway in anticipation of more guards. Emeris tells me not to worry in a rushed whisper as he fiddles with a set of 20 keys and begins trying them on the lock.
I hear the whimpering from the clouds again.
"Please...please...get him out...I can't bear this anymore…" her voice...so familiar, so beautiful. Emeris glances down the corridor and sees another massive bulk of guards running towards us. He stops fiddling with the keys and stares at me terrified. With my last ounce of strength, I reach through the bars and gently clasp my hands around his.
"It's okay my friend." Tears fill his eyes. He screams in anger and hops down from the platform. The trio run to the wall and mount over it. The guards run after them. The rest of the night is silent as the grave.
A day passes. My wounds are getting infected. I'm dehydrated, I barely sleep and my stomach growls for food. There's no way I can even move at this point. Why can't I just die already. It's night time again and a cool breeze makes my entire body shiver. I have no ability to keep warm and pray that this is the last time I see the moon. It's glorious white light illuminates the courtyard. There's a teal glow around it that pulses randomly.
Two guards walk out to my cage with torches. They're suspicious, not even bothering with setting up patrols. They look around, trying to act casual. They stand upwind of my cage, talking about the war. The warm breeze from their torches is a small comfort. I try not to react so they don't change places. The breeze changes direction. To my surprise the guards move upwind once again. They glance at me. I can see smiles in their eyes. They're trying to keep me warm; trying to keep me alive. My eyes begin to water.
"Thank you…" I whisper and begin sobbing quietly. One of the guards, a female, starts shaking. I see pain and depression in her eyes as she watches me waste away. She can't take it any longer and faces a different direction. I hear muffled sniffling from her: it's Captain Lucretia. Emeris can't watch me anymore either. He stares at the ground, reaches out with one hand and places it on Lucretia's shoulder. The warmth from the torches feels good. Somehow I manage to doze off or pass out.
I wake up in my cage the next morning. It's actually decent out but I feel too horrible to notice. I sit up, barely able to move. A wound on my chest begins to fester. It wouldn't be much longer until I was finally free. I watch a few birds in the sky with envy. The guards glance at me awkwardly. They're tired of seeing me suffer, and it begins to get to them. Despite all the beatings and mocking, even they can't take this. A shadowy figure on the roof in a cloak and facemask creeps along. I look up at them, doing everything I can to watch without drawing attention. They pull out a bow and arrow, draw and aim at me. Finally, it's over. Probably a grieving parent come to remove me; I don't mind at all. Take your comfort in my demise, take it any way you can, it's what you deserve. I close my eyes and don't move, hoping they don't miss their mark.
"Traitor!" they scream. The arrow flies into my chest wound. It's unbearable as the explosion of pain makes me writhe around in my cell.
I slump to my side from the blow. I would scream if my throat wasn't already so hoarse. My eyes open and I examine the wound. The arrowhead is barely even in my skin. I stare at it confused. The arrowhead was much smaller than normal. Did they not pull the string back far enough? How could that be? Even toddlers wouldn't make that mistake. The arrow smells odd and there's a clear liquid on the end. I gently pull it out and sniff it. It's Sapphire Spring; a herb with natural antibiotic properties. It was ridiculously hard to find and expensive, but powerful. There was another smell on it as well. Could it actually be Hersaphine? It was another plant that you could chew to help reduce pain, especially stomach cramps. It was decently common, but you had to be on your toes to grab it since it was highly sought after.
What was going on? I get it, they weren't trying to kill me. The guards yell at the masked figure. They're not terribly concerned with them though. I do my best not to move too much as I gently pull out the arrow and rub all the liquid I can on my wound. Then I spread blood over the arrow tip to mask the smell and sight, finally pretending to pass out which wasn't too far from the truth.
I wake up and It's almost night. I was hoping to sleep through it. I look at my wound, it's still red and tender, but it's healing. It was a nice gesture, however I was still starving. I needed water more than anything at this point. I catch a glimpse of another figure on the roof. Again? It meant the world to me, but I knew better than to get my hopes up. The figure does nothing.
I see Lucretia enter the courtyard. I'm surprised to see she's just wearing some light, low-cut dress that's powder blue. She complains she can't sleep. She lets her hair down from a bun. The golden blonde is distracting every male guard, but why? She makes any excuse not to look at the guards faces, giving them plenty of time to admire her cleavage. Gradually, they come over and talk to her, leaving me all alone. I raise an eyebrow. She glances at my cage and smiles, then goes back to making loud giggling, and responding with fake embarrassment to their flirtatious comments. I get sprayed briefly from the roof. As the liquid travels down my face, I shake my head and look up.
The figure has a decent sized container and a basic pump. They keep trying to squirt my mouth. Joy fills me as I realize it's water. Screw it, I may die here but I'm going to get every last piece of relief I can. I carefully get up on my knees and face the figure. They keep squirting water in my mouth. It's warm too. I close my eyes and imagine myself under a waterfall, having all I want to drink. Eventually the container stops putting out water. It's fine though, I've had my fill. I do my best to mop up the water with my hair, arms and shorts. With any luck they won't notice.
Eventually Lucretia goes back inside and the guards resume their patrol. I act like I'm sleeping again. The moon hangs overhead. Once again the sky speaks in that blissful female voice again.
"Please let it end, I can't watch this…" The voice, I've heard it before but who is it?
Versa walks out, and watches me confused.
"He seems to be doing...alright, all things considered."
The guards glance at me then back to her. One of them walks up to her.
"He's not okay, he just got lucky so far. He'll die any day now." She grunts an acknowledgement and walks back inside. About ten minutes later, the shadowy figure is on the roof again. They slowly stand up, bow and arrow at the ready.
I hear Emeris' voice again. He tries to make it deeper. "Die traitor!" he calls out again.
A long sigh escapes my chest while I sit on the floor, but do my best to stay straight. He does the same thing. He lets out an arrow and it hits the other side of my chest. This arrow was way heavier than before. It actually knocks me against the cage wall. I slump over again, intentionally away from most of the guards. Groans of agony bellow out of my mouth. Th arrow barely went in, but it almost dislocated my shoulder. Emeris pretends to be angry.
"Why won't you die?!" He goes on some overacted rant about how I destroyed his home. I examine the excruciating arrow. The head was just sharp enough to stay in my skin, but it widened quickly. The pain was blinding but it didn't get very far inside me. My eyes almost fall out of my head with awe. There was food impaled with the arrow. The guards all laugh at him, trying to give him condescending tips. He pulls out another arrow and intentionally fumbles it, shrieking curse words in his fake voice. No one's watching.
I quickly pull the strands of meat off with my teeth and gobble them down. There's even a few vegetables. They look familiar. It takes everything not to chuckle. The high quality could only have come from one source: the King. They actually stole from the King's personal reserve of food. It was one hell of a middle finger to him. Once the meal is gone, I go back to acting weak. I feel a strange fire inside me growing. Could I...could I actually live? Eventually I'd get better if they keep this up, but then what? The King would probably have my head for it.
The cycle repeats, with a few variations. Sometimes there's a distraction so Emeris can get me more food. I'm surprised that we get away with all of it. They even managed to be a few of the guards and dropped off food when no one was paying attention. The meals come about once a day, the portions are small, but I keep my movement to a minimum. My sores began to heal and the swelling on my legs starts to die down. There was no hope. How were they getting away with this? General Versa kept a strict eye on the patrol logs. There's no way she'd let Emeris and Lucretia anywhere near me. Did I have more quiet supporters than I thought? Was there more than just those two helping me? Why bother though? I was doomed and worthless. I could survive in this cage, but it was going to be my home or coffin.
I get angry at myself and a little voice inside gets mouthy.
"You coward. How dare you, you selfish pig. They haven't given up on you. So you're just going to throw in the towel? They haven't given up on you, so don't you dare give up on them. If the King wants you dead, he's going to have to work for it!" I get mad, but most importantly, I get determined.
Our luck seems to run out. They drag me to the throne room in irons. In front of me is a big bucket of water. Emeris was having issues keeping me hydrated as it was. Versa drags me over to the bucket and lets go. Someone grabs me by the back of my head. Versa gets in front of me, hands on her hips, still in full armor.
"Who's' been helping you?" she demands. I stare at her defiantly in silence. She looks at the soldier holding me and nods. My head gets dunked into the water. I manage to get a breath first. While I'm submerged, there doesn't seem to be any reason why I shouldn't get my fill. I take multiple gulps until I'm yanked out. The water feels good on my sunburnt skin. I pant heavily, unable to speak. My lungs burn; they never were very strong to begin with. Versa gets angry.
"I said who's helping you?! I'm not stupid; you're getting better despite no medicine or food. How?!" She waits a few seconds. I get dunked back in.
That female voice echoes from around the throne room, but I seem to be the only one who hears it.
"You can do it...please…hang in there…." They repeat the process over and over, but not one word out of me.
A week goes by. Several drowning sessions and random beatings but I've still said nothing. It's the middle of the day. I sit there, no longer wallowing in self-pity. I'm waiting for my chance. A guard walks by; I see Magus' blue eyes in their helmet. He looks at me and gently taps the cage. I look it over closely. There's special latches that make it so the cage can be adjusted. They weren't locked.
A fight breaks out. The trio is once again fighting the guards. I hear a carriage pull up outside to the gate. With all my strength I push the top of the cage. I'm shocked as it falls off. I use the horizontal bars as foot holds and climb over. I land on the ground. My legs are weak but I can make it. Two guards block my path. They have their hands on the hilts of their swords.
"Raiden...stand down." I pretend to surrender, and act tired and defeated. As soon as he grabs me, he takes his hand off his sword. I grab it and draw it across the neck of his backup. I kick the inside of the first guard's knee. He grabs his leg howling in pain. I stumble towards the gate.
Several guards block my path again.
"Don't make us kill you….please." They all draw swords this time. The trio tries to fight their way over to me but there's too many. The King comes out with Versa. He looks surprised, almost hopeful. He has his hands behind his back, almost studying me. What was his game? He raises a hand for everyone to halt. The fighting stops. I glare at him. We stand there for what seems like eternity. He looks me over and sighs.
"Bring him." He says. The guards look at one another, understandably confused.
I walk into the throne room with a small escort. It's surrounded with the same council members as before. I still have numerous dark bruises all over. I'm still in the same nasty shorts I was in at the beginning. The King sits in his throne, rubbing his face; clearly stressed out. The Minister watches me, perplexed that I'm alive. The council members stand there in their black and red robes; silent and still. Part of them respects my tenacity. The King squirms in his throne, unable to decide what to do.
The Minister walks towards me, his hands behind his back, eyes closed, and nose pointed upwards in that same stuck-up manner he always has.
He begins circling me, in a slow walk, trying to make me anxious; he gets nothing.
"I'm going to be forward with you...Raiden." he intentionally leaves out my rank just to be a prick.
"We haven't found anyone to replace you, but we can't just simply forget all this." I stare ahead, not moving or flinching, I won't give him the satisfaction.
"Perhaps we can come to an agreement."
I raise an eyebrow.
"What kind of agreement?" He grins without opening his eyes, and dramatically clears his throat, just to drag this all out.
"We will give you your title back, with one exception." He reaches into his dark blue coat and pulls out my black crown. The orange gem reflected every torch in the room. It brought back years of destruction at my hands. I could still hear my men cheering for me as we had beaten miraculous odds.
He opens his eyes and sees my reaction. His smile gets bigger.
"But the King and I just...don't feel like this...represents you at all." I glare at him.
"I...we...feel like we need to make a small adjustment to it." An assistant comes out with a large bowl of a brown liquid.
"I don't know about you, but we feel like you've forgotten where you've come from." He slowly walks towards the bowl, just to make me mad; it's working. I start to stand up.
"Just put me back in the cage…"
He does a poor job of muffling his chuckle.
"Come now Raiden, this is for the best."
He holds the crown over the bowl. It's slick black exterior called to me to be rescued. Every tree etched into it cried out to me in defiance. The orange stone begged to be free from his grasp. I get to my feet in one leap.
"Just put me back in the cage!" I get a knee to the stomach in response by one of the guards. The crown...my crown. After the most brutal battle of my career, I was given that crown. The outside was black, made up of leafless trees branching upwards. The sharp tops of their branches gave it an ominous vibe. In the center of it, right above my forehead, two large trees wrap their branches around a gem almost made of fire. The sheer orange of it was intimidating, and it's black surroundings just made it stand out that much more. I wear it every time I'm in anything but armor.
That crown reminded me of all the handshakes and back pats from every last soldier who had survived thanks to no one else but me. We had used the bodies of Og Nag to create a choke point in a cave. There, we lasted against relentless Og Nag for weeks. Half my men had broken down completely, including Emeris. In one last desperate attempt, we pushed out of the caves, and created a massive distraction, as Emeris ran to get reinforcements, through a thin opening in their ranks. It was Lucretia and myself, against easily 10/1 odds. It was that day that I came up with the idea of the outside soldiers stacking their shields side by side, to create a wall and eventually a roof. As everyone on the inside fought off attackers with spears; it was literally a house of shields. I swapped units out for hours, as we kept moving, keeping one side of it facing the mountains of bodies piling up.
Emeris returns with three full platoons, who delighted in rescuing their brothers and sisters from certain demise. There was a parade, food, celebration, all of it. While it was only for a few hours, the King had a crown made for me resembling the black forest we were trapped in. The emblem symbolizing the blaze of fury from our soldiers. It was the lamest and best description I had heard since it was the first and only gift I had ever received.
The Minister dangles it over the paint for just a few seconds, daring me to desperately bargain with him; it works. I feel the sensation of being drowned in a sea of shame.
"Please…" I hang my head in humiliation.
"I'll do anything…" He examines my crown for just a moment before putting it back in his coat. He resumes his patrol around me.
"I want to hear you admit what you did." I start shaking and grind my teeth, but say nothing.
"I want to hear you confess, in front of all these soldiers, these wise council members that you, and only you, were the reason our defense failed." I slowly shake my head from side to side in anger; I can't get the words out.
He sighs and strolls over to the bowl. I hear him pull out the crown. My mouth opens autonomously.
"It...it was my fault." The Minister stands there.
"And? Come now, I want to hear all of it." My mouth trembles, my heart burns.
"I let the city down. It was my fault. They're all dead because of me." The Minister sighs again.
"I thought we had an understanding Raiden, I really did." He slowly starts lowering the crown. I scream everything after that, as loud as I can.
"It was my fault! I failed them! All of them! Every last soldier, every last citizen! The buildings burn because of me and only me okay?!"
The Minister smiles.
"Thank you Raiden...but I don't believe you." With an evil grin, he drowns my crown. I half yell and shriek with every drop of air in my lungs. I try to charge him as two guards hold my arms. I head-butt one, it hurts and not an ounce of me cares. He stumbles back and I use my free arm to uppercut the other guard restraining me, pick them up, hoist them onto my shoulders, and hurl their body at two other guards running at me. Three steps is as far as I get before being tackled. I reach out to the Monster, screaming and clawing at the air. He turns to the guards.
"Bring out our next prize." I look over my shoulder and see Captain Magus. His head is bald and a black beard covers his face. He was almost pushing forty but decided he was comfortable with the rest of us taking lead in any operation. He was a silent man, but when he spoke,e his words were pure wisdom. he Minister shakes his head.
"Captain Magus, you've been caught telling lies to the guards and villagers. Apparently it's caused a few...issues in our guard rotations. Tell you what, say the truth and we'll all let-" Magus stands up and lifts the two guards holding him up by their throats and tosses them away.
"You and that pig can go to hell! Our defensive failed because you sent orders that ruined everything! I'm not gonna stand by and-" He cries out as a guard hits him in the back of the head. He goes down and is beaten savagely. He stops resisting and is yanked from the floor to his knees. The Minister smirks.
"No you certainly won't stand will you?" He looks over at Versa and nods. She swiftly walks over to him, tilts his head up by the chin and gives him a punch that must have stretched back to the heavens. The crunching of bone makes everyone recoil. She stands there, with her arm still cocked back. Captain Magus starts convulsing as a clear liquid starts draining rapidly from his nose. Then there's blood, scores of it. It pours out all over the floor. She lets him go and he falls flat to the ground, with his eyes rolling into his head. A few minutes pass and his face is white. He's stopped breathing entirely. The Minister turns to the guards.
"Put him in the cage for a few more days...just to be sure." The hallway is filled with my kicking and screaming. Captain Magus is picked up and carried away.
My time in the cage passes quickly, as sorrow is all I have to keep me company. Versa watches me for 16 hours at a time, with no one allowed near my cage as she slept. Above me, the sky pours. Those strange purple clouds are nothing to me now. I hear that feminine voice again, sobbing heavily, with broken sentences of agony. The voice in the clouds is no longer of interest. I had nothing, I was nothing. I wish they had let me die. I didn't care about who I was giving up on. The world was better without me. I stay slumped in the corner of the cage, my legs straight out, my shoulders and arms hanging next to me, my gaze towards the sky, with no life in my eyes.
The Minister walks out, and stares at me. His grin holds his victory over me with pride. There was no denying it; he beat me. He motions to a guard to let me out. They drag my worthless corpse out. I stand up when I hit the ground. I'm slow, apathetic, nothingness. My stare goes through the minister, I'm not even here. What was left of me drowned with the crown.
"Now Raiden, I will need you to obey my every command henceforth if you wish to resume your duties to the Kingdom. Do you understand?" My mouth moves automatically.
"Yes Minister." In a bitter whisper just loud enough for him to hear. I just don't care anymore. Why bother. He smiles "Dearest Raiden, you look like you've died. It's almost like…" He pulls out my former crown and places it on my head.
"It's like you're the King of the Dead." He laughs. A few guards let out some unenthusiastic chuckles, just to stay on his good side.
I'm escorted back to my room. Every guard along the way can't bring themselves to look inside my hollow eyes. Once I'm at my door, my escorts let go of me and walk off, having no will to torment me further. I walk inside and put on my armor. Over the next few months, my men joke with me, compliment me, offer part of their rations to me, just to be rejected. I didn't care anymore; I really was the King of the Dead.
I see myself, sitting next to a campfire in a burnt forest. I'm in full armor, still as hollow as the metal I wore into battle. There's crunching behind me. A large wolf looks me over, takes my arm in its mouth, and drags me off into the woods, just like my self-respect. A brilliant purple beam erupts from my left, as Luna comes charging up, sending the beast scattering. She drags me with her mouth back to the campfire with ease. She nuzzles my head up from the ground, slides past and props me on her side. She nuzzles my helmet while singing me sweet lullabies.
"I know what you're after; I know what you've done.
Your face is my comfort; your voice is my song."
Her voice is soothing and as gorgeous as she is. Her teal eyes glow, washing over me as if wrapping me in a warm blanket.
"Your pain is my burden; your joy is my quest.
Stay with me young child, and forget all the rest."
Her voice was the same one from the clouds. Having her so close, so compassionate, so sweet. A single tear makes it down my cheek as I drift off. I open my eyes, back in my bed. My heart ached and sweat covered my bed.
Maybe things will be okay. I got up and put on my armor, the only thing I really know how to do anymore.
