Varian woke up slowly. He felt groggy, confused, and didn't know exactly where he was. He was cold and just wanted to go back to sleep. He rolled over, trying to find a more comfortable position, only to feel empty air beneath him as he accidentally slipped off the bed and began to fall. Varian yelped in surprise, which shifted to a gasp when he felt an arm awkwardly reach around and grab him, keeping him from falling, but not quite pulling him back onto the bed.
Varian rolled his feet off the bed and placed them on the ground. "I-I'm okay."
"Watch yourself, kid." Hector said as he released Varian. The boy looked back towards his uncle. His eyes widened. "A-are you okay?" Hector looked exhausted. His legs didn't look any worse than yesterday, but they didn't look any better either. His chest, on the other hand, looked a lot worse. The bleeding had stopped, thankfully, so Varian didn't feel like he was going to fall back into unconsciousness, but the wounds still looked open, and his chest was completely covered with dark bruises that had formed overnight.
"I've been better." Hector grunted.
"I don't know if you've been worse though." Albrun said. Hector turned his head and glared at the Saporian.
"You really think the kid had to hear that?" Hector asked. Albrun gave Varian an apologetic look.
"I know it's hard to hear, but this is not something that can be avoided." Albrun said. "With how often you get hurt, the boy should know what to expect."
Varian wanted to help treat his uncle's injuries, but before he could do anything there was a harsh pounding on the door. Anybody who was still asleep quickly started to rouse. Hector tried to sit up, but he groaned and fell back. Varian may not have known his uncle for very long, but he knew that he was really stubborn. If Hector couldn't handle even sitting up then he had to be in excruciating pain.
The door was unlocked and opened. As a guard stepped inside. "Alright, get up, we're burning daylight." Varian expected some muttering and complaining, or at least a sigh or two of resignation, but there wasn't anything like that. Most people got up and started getting ready for the day, though there wasn't a lot of preparation to do. The only exceptions were Hector and the sick old woman from the day before.
The guard stepped further in. He approached the sick woman and studied her for a minute before grunting and moving on to Hector. Andrew grabbed Varian's arm and pulled him away from Hector's bed before he could think about trying to stand in the guard's way. The guard sneered down at Hector, who scowled back at him.
"The warden's trying to find some work for you to do without walking or moving, since you'll be like this indefinitely." The guard said. "You'll be watched at all times."
"Looking forward to it." Hector smirked. Varian could almost believe that he meant it.
"The rest of you, line up." The guard said. "We've got assignments." Varian had no idea what was happening, but he just followed everybody else's example, standing in line. The guard started going down and telling everybody a location. East side, west queries central streets, that kind of thing. Varian was still in the dark about just what kind of work they had the slaves do here.
When the guard came to Varian he raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't know what you did, kid, but you're coming with me to the main building." Varian felt a pang of anxiety, but he pushed it down. He didn't want to show fear. If Hector could show courage in the face of torture, Varian could handle a simple task.
Everybody made their way out of the cabin. Varian began to follow them, but Hector called out to him.
"Hang on, kid." Hector said. Varian looked back towards him. "I can't believe I'm about to say this, but do what the guards say. Don't aggravate them, don't cause trouble, and don't get hurt."
Varian stared at Hector for a long moment before he nodded. He didn't really want to lower his head and behave himself, but Hector had gotten hurt to keep him safe yesterday. The least that Varian could do was do what he asked and keep safe. He had to figure out how to pick and choose his battles.
Outside all of the slaves were escorted to their areas of work by the guards. The guard who had woken them put a harsh hand on Varian's shoulder and began to guide him towards the looming building. Varian and Andrew exchanged concerned and encouraging glances before they were dragged their separate ways.
At the main building Varian was brought in front of the warden again. He swallowed thickly and shrank back slightly under her cold gaze. Seeing the warden he couldn't stop thinking about how strong she was. She had pinned him down and held him still while his hand was branded, and then she had hurt Hector's legs. This woman was dangerous.
"I've heard that you're an alchemist and engineer." The warden said. "You're not as strong as the Brotherhood, but I think we can find a way to use that mind of yours. She bent forward to be closer to Varian's eye-level. "You've used your skills to harm Corona. It's only justice if you do it to serve the kingdom instead."
Varian seethed. He didn't want to do anything to serve Corona. He desperately wanted to spit in the warden's face and tell her to back off, but he was scared. He didn't want to get hurt, and Hector had specifically asked that he behave.
Varian took in a deep, shuddered breath. "What do you want me to do?"
The warden smirked, satisfied, as she straightened. "Follow me." The warden went into the forge/torture chamber. Varian didn't want to go back in there, but the guard behind him gave him a harsh shove, leaving him with little choice.
"We've been looking for a way to utilize this room when we aren't receiving new slaves that need to be marked, or when a slave needs to learn a lesson. Perhaps it can be your lad." The warden said.
Varian grimaced as he looked around. He could tell at a glimpse that this place wouldn't be good for alchemical or mechanical work. Varian's work had a tendency to blow up, and he didn't think that working next to an open fire would be the best way to discourage that from happening. Varian also didn't feel safe here, after what had happened yesterday. If he felt unsafe or anxious, he might get sloppy and make mistakes, and that was dangerous when working with volatile materials.
"I-I don't know if I can work here." Varian said. The warden gave him an unimpressed look. Varian shifted back and tried to make himself smaller.
"I'll be the judge of that." The warden said. She pointed to the table that Varian had been pinned against. His hand itched and burned just looking at it. Sitting on the table there were some cheap and cracked vials, as well as a few simple chemicals and solutions. It looked like a mockery of Varian's first alchemy setup, which his father had been quick to replace after the first time that Varian had burned himself.
"Your first task should be simple." The warden said. "My records mention a substance you've created that can confine and trap people, no matter how much they resist. I want you to make me some of those orbs, but with an improvement. Instead of being harmless the orbs will cause discomfort and pain, which will get worse the more someone tries to escape."
Varian felt disgusted and horrified at just the thought. The whole reason he had created his orbs was so that he could trap animals, or people, in a humane way, without causing harm at all. This was the exact opposite of what they were meant for. Varian was even more unnerved because he knew that it was a very real possibility that these orbs would be used against slaves. Varian would be directly responsible for hurting people, and just the thought of that happening made him feel sick with guilt.
But what else could he do? Hector had told him to do as he was told, and Varian was terrified of the consequences should he disobey. "I-I'll try." He'd never worked on something that he specifically didn't want to work on. He didn't even know if he could create something that he hated and feared on principle. He had to try though. He didn't have a choice.
Varian took a deep breath and sat down at the table. He didn't see any gloves or protective gear. His own gloves hadn't been given back to him, and he doubted that his safety was a high priority here. Still, he wasn't just going to jump into alchemy without the proper gear if he didn't have to.
"Do you have any idea how dangerous alchemy can be without the right tools?" Varian asked quietly. He didn't dare look over his shoulder, but he could feel the warden's glare on the back of his neck.
"No, I don't." The warden admitted. "But you're a smart boy. I'm sure you've noticed how dangerous it is to displease me, and you're really trying my patience right now."
So, Varian would be doing this without anything to protect himself. This wasn't going to go well. Varian would have to work extra slowly and carefully, much more than he would at home.
Varian grabbed one of the vials that contained one of the least volatile chemicals. At least everything was clearly marked and easy to recognize. He just hoped that this wasn't a trap, and things hadn't been purposefully mislabeled.
Varian worked slower than he could ever remember doing. His dad would be pleased…no! Varian had to remind himself to not think about his dad. Not now. He would just get upset, and this wasn't the time for that. Getting upset would mean getting sloppy. Varian did his best to push down the anger, fear, and despair and constantly gripped his heart. He could focus on his feelings when he was safe in the cabin.
Varian worked for about an hour before he thought he had finished the base of the substance. It was different from the base that Varian usually used for his spheres, but he'd had to make some simple substitutions and adjustments to account for the slightly different materials he was working with.
The substance, as it was, wasn't harmful in the way that the warden wanted it to be, but it wasn't as harmless as Varian preferred. If the substance came in contact with human skin it shouldn't cause any pain or damage, but if it was ingested or got into the body some other way then it would be very painful and potentially dangerous.
From this base Varian would normally work on making it as safe as possible. He would add a few more elements to counteract the harmful parts. For what the warden wanted though, Varian would have to go in the opposite direction, adding things to make the relatively harmful substance a weapon.
Varian faltered for a minute. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to be responsible for hurting anybody. He didn't hesitate for very long, but it was long enough for the warden. Varian heard her sigh in frustration, or perhaps disappointment, before she took a step forward. Varian stiffened as his breath got caught in his throat.
Logically he knew that the warden was the one behind him, but the only other adult he'd ever had watching his every action as he worked was his dad. For just a moment Varian was thrown back to his lab a few months ago, just before everything went wrong.
Varian was working on the experiments he'd found in the old alchemy journals. He got careless and let the solution slip just a little out of his fingers. The spill was a relatively small one, but it was still disastrous. In just a few minutes the spill started to solidify and rapidly spread.
It had been an accident. Varian hadn't thought that the spill would get worse. When a change started to occur Varian hadn't retreated as he should have. He had tried to study and investigate the changes. He'd been so busy investigating that he hadn't noticed the danger he'd been in.
His dad had paid attention where Varian hadn't. He'd jumped in and pushed Varian out of the way before the solidifying amber could trap him, sacrificing himself.
Varian hadn't been paying attention, and his dad paid the price.
Varian got lost in his memories. In thinking about the mistake he'd made of not focusing on the thing that deserved his attention, Varian didn't focus as much on the work right in front of him. As Varian thought about his dad his hands began to shake. Just a few drops of the base solution slipped out of the bottle, but just that small amount was enough.
Varian screamed and dropped the vial. He pulled his hand back and instinctively stumbled away from the table. It was just a reaction to the absolute agony making the back of his hand feel like it was on fire. It was just luck that his stumbling got him away from the broken glass and spilled alchemical solution.
Varian cried and continued screaming until he was out of air. He paused for just long enough to draw in more air before screaming in agony again. It hurt. The mostly harmless solution had fallen right on top of and into his unhealed brand, getting into his body just enough for it to be torture.
Varian heard the warden say something to him, but he couldn't understand a word she said. His screaming was too loud, and the pain was too distracting. After a long minute Varian felt a grip on his arm. Someone tried to pull him along, but Varian's legs wouldn't move. His body didn't want to move out of a fetal position.
After a moment Varian was lifted up. He instinctively curled against the person who was now holding him. Their grip was far from gentle, but Varian was way too out of it to care. His throat hurt from the strain he put on it. All he could do was continue to sob and gasp. His hand hurt with every movement it made, but it wouldn't stop twitching.
Varian's eyes were closed tight as tears streamed down his cheeks. Normally he would be trying to pay attention to where he was being brought and who was bringing him there, as he didn't want to be caught off guard, but he couldn't bring himself to do that.
Varian heard the clanging of a metal door being thrown open. He was carried past the threshold and immediately noticed the sudden chill. This wasn't just the cold of a stone building that still held the lingering chill from the evening. This cold felt unnatural and almost sinister. It was a stark contrast to the burning in Varian's hand. The boy shuddered.
He was carried in further and another metal door was opened. Varian was tossed harshly inside, dragging a pained gasp out of him. He couldn't move and was helpless to resist as somebody pulled his shoes off his feet and locked a tight manacle around his ankle.
Varian squinted his eyes open to see that he was in the middle of a small room. It was smaller than the cells of Corona's dungeons. The warden was walking towards the door, though she looked over her shoulder to look coldly at Varian.
"I gave you very simple instructions, and you couldn't even manage that much." There was definitely a tone of disappointment in her voice, and Varian was ashamed to notice that he felt upset to hear that tone. He didn't care about what this woman thought of him, but he hated disappointing people, no matter who they were. It made him feel like he was a failure.
"You made a mess, caused a scene, and disobeyed me." The warden said. "Perhaps you don't understand the severity of your situation. Maybe a day or two in here will change your tune." She left the room, closing and locking the door behind her. Varian was left in complete darkness.
A year ago Varian would feel afraid to be locked in here by himself, isolated, cold, and hurt. Now though it was almost a relief. Varian had been by himself and in the dark for so many months, it felt like an old friend at this point. Perhaps a dangerous friend that he was better off without, but Varian was in no state to complain. At least if he was alone he didn't have to worry about being hurt by anybody.
As for the dark and the cold, well, it felt like the opposite of Corona. The kingdom of the sun was so bright and cheerful all the time, but Varian had seen enough to know that it was all just a pretty cover to hide the hideous underbelly. The dark and cold weren't nice, but they weren't a lie either.
Varian closed his eyes again and let the exhaustion that he'd been pushing down since he woke up overtake him. He fell back into unconsciousness.