I do not own Chaotic nor anything related to it. It belongs to TCDigital.

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The Pains of the Past

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Time 14:

The sun isn't up yet. The streets appear to be empty. The moon is hanging in the sky, casting a pale glow on Al Mipedim. I walk down the road to the prison. Under my arm is a stack of paper tied up with twine.

I'm not dressed for the cold night. Instead of a body covering cloak, I'm wearing my usual daytime shendyt. The hair on my body is standing on end, and shivers shoot through my body. This is good, though. It keeps me alert, makes me move faster through the night. It will also be useful later.

I arrive at the doors to the prison. There's a lone visible guard, though you can never take the Mipedians at face value about their numbers. The guard is properly dressed for the cold, with a long thick cloth wrapped around his body, leaving only his face and hands exposed.

The guard moves his weapon to cross the door. It's a symbolic gesture, of course. The door is likely locked anyway. "We are not taking visitors at this time," the guard says.

I stop walking and turn to the guard. "I would like to visit my friend and employer Sett."

"It is too early," the guard says with a shake of his head. "Return at dawn if you wish to visit."

I bow. "Very well." Then I continue to stand in front of the prison.

It takes several seconds, but the guard finally makes a comment. "You're still here."

"I'm waiting for the prison to be open to visitors," I respond politely. I resist the urge to fold my arms to combat the cold.

The guard blinks. "You could wait at your home."

"I could," I say without moving.

A few minutes later, the guard sighs. "The inmates need to sleep, sir. You can return later when the sun rises."

I glance at the guard. "I'll be fine right here." Then I raise an eyebrow. "Are you telling me that Sett is actually asleep?"

The corners of the guard's eyes twitch. He tilts his head to the side and hisses something, too low for me to here. I hear the click of a lock, and the door opens and shuts, apparently on its own.

Okay, any moment now. I clench my teeth to stop them from chattering.

There's another sound of a lock clicking, and the door once again opens and closes. The visible guard's head twitches a little, and his eyes drift to the side. "I see..." He focus returns to me. "It seems that Sett is indeed awake. Still, I can't-"

I cover my mouth and sneeze. Hmm, that wasn't one of my better fake sneezes. Oh well.

The guard's words die in his throat. "Ah, well... You really should go home..."

Okay, now I can act cold. I visibly shudder. "No thanks, I'll be fine out here."

The guard grits his teeth and closes his eyes. He crosses his arms over his chest and takes a deep breath. After a while, he sighs. "...Seeing as the person you wish to speak with is already awake, I suppose I can let you speak with him. However, you will have to sit outside his cell. It's too early to set up the visitor's room."

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For the first several minutes, I simply sit on the ground outside Sett's prison cell. It's a stone room with metal bars, but otherwise it looks pretty normal inside. There's a mattress on the floor, a toilet bucket in the corner, stone table and stool set, and a small window. Okay, it's normal by Mipedian lifestyle standards, maybe a little minimalist by human standards.

Sett is sitting on the stool in the center of the cell, looking at me. There's an awkward silence in the air as we decide who should start first.

Sett lets out a breath and stares at the wall to his left. "Did Shasta tell you to come here?" he sighs.

I shake my head. "It was my own idea to visit you."

Sett glances at me with a raised eye ridge, then glances out his window. "You know, I think you were only let in at this time because of your standing with some of the palace guards." He turns to me and focuses his eyes past me. "Am I right?"

I glance at the guard behind me, who shifts uncomfortably. Probably a rookie, none of the other guards ever showed discomfort.

I turn back to Sett. "So, looks like your cough is gone."

"I've been well treated," Sett snorts. "More than I deserve. Someone like me needs to be sleeping against the wall with chains binding his arms up, not treated for a cough and put into a bed."

I frown. "You aren't a bad person-"

"I'm a drunkard and a rapist, Michael," Sett snaps at me. "I go to work every morning with a pounding headache and drink myself into unconsciousness every afternoon. Sometimes I have so much that I forget that Rasha's de- ...gone, and Shasta has to deal with my delusions."

There's not a lot anyone can say immediately after a rant like that. I chew on the inside of my cheek as Sett folds his arms and stares at the ground. After a few moments I say, "You could always, you know, not drink."

Sett gives me a one-eyed glare and snorts. "You've never seen a Mipedian addict go into withdrawal."

I lean forward. "Do you want to stop?"

Sett opens both eyes now. He turns his head away from me a looks at the wall. "I... don't have any control over myself. I've tried, but..."

"Sett," I interrupt, "do you want to stop drinking?"

Sett slowly nods. "Yes."

"You have friends that can help you," I continue. "Yes, it's probably going to be tough, but whatever you need to do, we can make sure you do it."

Sett shakes his head. "I can just ask the guards to not give me any alcohol, even if I ask for it-"

"What happened to Rasha?" I ask suddenly.

Sett's body seems to curl in on itself a little. He folds his arms over his chest and stares at the ground without answering me.

I start fiddling with the corners of the papers I brought with me. "Shasta told me that you wish he hated you. It started when you came back from the war. If you can tell me, what happened to her?"

Sett lifts his legs and wraps his arms around them so he's curled up in a ball on the stool. "She was a soldier, just like me," he says with a faraway look in his eyes. "We were part of the same squad during the... I don't even remember the war's name anymore. It was with the Overworld." Sett grits his teeth for a few seconds. "We got ambushed during the night, there was fire and ice everywhere. Rasha got up first, told me to keep low, and she opened the flap of the tent."

Sett squeezes his eyes shut, and he breathing becomes heavy. "There was a crack of lightning, one of the Overworlders had a cyclance. It hit her in the face, and she tumbled backwards. Her face... her beautiful face... it was..." Sett grabs his own face with his hands. "I should have been faster. She was still alive, lying there, missing half of... But I never learned how to control mugic, and the muges were under fire, and... It must have hurt so much. It should have been me on the ground there, dying... not Rasha..."

I let Sett cry for a while. It's a pitiful sight. This strong, powerful warrior breaking down and crying in a prison cell.

The guard hesitantly leans to me. "...The cell door is unlocked, so..."

I stand up off the ground, pull the cell door open, and walk over to the sobbing Mipedian. I place the paper I brought on the table and put a hand on Sett's shoulder. Sett continues to sob, but it's quieter.

Eventually Sett looks up and sees the papers. He sniffs and says, "Shasta tried to give those to me several times."

"You should read them," I say, stepping away from the Mipedian. "I know you never gave Shasta a chance to explain. Rasha sent many letters to her family while the two of you were of to war. These are the important ones, the ones with things you need to know about."

Sett stares at the stack for a while. He reaches a hand forward, then pulls it away. He stares at the floor. Then he picks up the top page.

I exit Sett's cell and thank the guard. As I leave, I hear Sett choke back another sob.

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Up next: The Thirteenth Time

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Like I said before, Chaotic belongs to TCDigital.

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