"I'm sorry, the child must die," a gentle, sad voice whispered. "The child must die... must die... die..."

"NO!" a woman woke up with a scream and quickly sat on her bed. With a single spell she lit a small lamp on her drawer and let the warm flame erase the darkness of her room. Her night dress was soaked with sweat and her dark brown eyes were full of tears. She brushed her long blond hair off her face and took several deep breaths. It was just a nightmare, she told herself. But a nightmare based on a real event. She remembered what followed those words. She had only a few options back then, she did what she thought was best. But no one could anticipate what it led to. Someone found out her secret. Someone powerful and cruel enough to use it against her. She should have acted differently back then. Now, it was too late. All she could do was to pray to Aion for mercy and guidance.

~ o ~

"I heard about the incident last night," the fortress commander stood behind his table and frowned.

"It is unacceptable to threaten or attack your superiors. Since it's your first time breaking the law, you'll only get double shifts and half pay for the next week as a punishment."

"Commander Appius, it seems you weren't informed of all relevant details about the incident," Nesha kept her voice calm, she wasn't here for long, but she had expected this.

"And what details that might be?"

"He attempted to rape a child. I had to stop him."

"I heard something different. Clodias was having fun with an Asmodian slave, when you stormed in and put a knife to his neck. Disgusting tastes are not illegal, assault of an officer is."

"She's a child! And sex with children is illegal."

"It's an Asmodian. If he just even touched an Elyos child, I would've killed him myself. Repeatedly."

"But..."

He raised his hand to stop her protests and silently watched her for a moment. Of course he didn't care about an Asmodian, child or not. His only concern was to keep the fortress life running. The Elyos soldiers here were the worst of the worst and the commander had only one job, to keep both, Asmodians and Elyos, inside. Morheim was a prison masqueraded as a town.

"Tell me, why were you dismissed from Miragent?"

Nesha clenched her fists, her heart was beating faster and she could feel a drop of sweat on her back.

"The reason I was given was that they couldn't verify my parentage and didn't want to risk having a potential half-breed in the most prestigious legion."

"And are you a half-breed? Is that the reason why you pity them?"

"Of course not! I'm an Elyos! And I don't pity them, commander. The purpose of having slaves is that they do work we don't need to. If we break them, they won't be able to work. It would be wiser to let them at least grow up, before having fun with them."

"That's not up to you to decide," he waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Now get to your duties before I change it to a month."

"Yes, commander, as you order," Nesha saluted with her right fist to her chest, as per regulations, and left the room. She had some time before the commander's decision reached the officer in charge of guard shifts, so she walked through the trade district of the fortress to buy some durable, high-nutrient food. It was unlikely that she'd get any breaks in the upcoming week.

As she walked through the winter town, now with her cube containing tasteless crackers and some dried meat and fruits, again she saw the repercussions of the war and a reminder of who had won it. The Elyos didn't have it easy in this frozen hole, their bodies weren't used to such low temperatures, but they were given enough warm clothes, unlike the Asmodians, who wore mostly rags. Also the Elyos knew they were just shoved here so the higher-ups could get rid of them. They didn't have any scruples in taking out their frustrations on the Asmodians. Beatings and yellings were the most common. Nesha knew this had gone too far, but she couldn't say anything, otherwise she'd be considered an official half-breed and that was fate worse than the Asmodians had. It was either them or her. She shook her head and walked quickly to her tiny room in the barracks. She had no other option than to obey the officers.

~ o ~

"Cathy, wake up," someone shook her. "You know you can't be late."

"Uhm," she opened her eyes and focused. "I'm sorry, grandma," she yawned and pulled off her thin blanket.

"Cathy, what happened?" her grandmother pointed at her torn shirt.

"I... I'm sorry, grandma, I was too slow," she bowed her head and searched behind her mattress for thread and needle. The only positive thing about waking up late was that there was enough light coming through the half-open door. "I was cleaning the kitchen, you know how Zaiza gets angry, if she finds it messy in the morning," she took off her shirt and quickly sewed the torn part. "I was leaving, but then one officer came in and..."

"Did he do something?" her grandmother looked horrified, Cathy was only thirteen years old, her youngest grandchild.

"He smelled drunk. He pressed me on the table and the shirt got torn. But then that woman came in and beat him up. She told me she wanted hot soup in her room, now, and then she beat him up again. I... I was scared, I did what she said, I brought her the soup and ran here."

"Which woman was it?"

"One of the new Elyos. Black hair, brown eyes, leather armor. They say she's from Miragent."

"Don't listen to those rumors, Cathy. No one here's from Miragent. And please be careful, don't stay alone there anymore."

"Yes, grandma, I'm sorry," she hid her thread with a needle and put on the fixed shirt and shoes. "I'd better go, before Zaiza notices I'm late."

Cathy ran from the room she shared with her grandmother and two brothers in the basement of the only building, where the Asmodians were allowed to sleep. Every room was full beyond its capacity, but at least with so many people it was warm in there, they weren't allowed to waste the coal and wood to make fire. That was only for the Elyos. She slowed down to just a fast walk before leaving the building. Running Asmodians were suspicious. She saw her oldest brother clearing the snow, but she didn't dare to wave at him. Asmodians looking anywhere other than on the ground or on their work were suspicious too, so she cast her gaze down and quickly crossed the open area. Her work was to help in the kitchen, where food for everyone in the fortress was being prepared. It was a very busy place and the only time it was empty was a few hours deep in the night. The head cook Zaiza noticed her immediately and with a scowl sent her to wash the dishes that had already started to pile up. Cathy didn't complain. Work in the kitchen was hard, but at least it was warm in there and she had access to leftovers.

~ o ~

Although called Morheim Fortress, the settlement wasn't a fortress in the traditional sense. It was a group of houses on an island in the middle of a frozen lake located inside of a mountain crater. The only way in was barred with a huge gate with battlements, the only structure reminding a fortress. Traders and hunters were allowed to pass through that gate almost freely, everyone else needed permission from the commander Appius himself. And the purpose of the watch was to make sure this was upheld. Nesha was standing in the guardpost, watching the path through the mountains. The gently falling snow was making it hard to see anything and made her sleepy. This was the third day of her double shifts week and she was freezing even through the layers of clothing and was highly irritated. Since she got these double shifts, both times, when she returned to her room, the tiny window was open and the room frozen. She was certain it was closed and secured, when she was leaving and she was also certain about who was behind it. The other Elyos have already heard about the incident and she noticed them whispering, a few times even the word half-breed, escaped their lips. But that was ridiculous, she knew this reasoning was only an excuse, they kicked her out because she was loyal to general Lavirintos, before he suddenly disappeared and was replaced by someone from lord Israphel's guard. Even though she was an orphan with unknown parents, it had to be clear to everyone, she was no half-breed. She had no claws, no mane, her eyes didn't glow and she was so frozen in this weather, it was proof enough she didn't have even a drop of Asmodian blood in her.

"Aren't you cold?" her fellow guard, Herlen, asked while jumping and moving around to warm himself at least a bit.

"Isn't water wet?" Nesha grunted.

"I mean... this weather is horrible, and it's even worse at nights. I have a thick blanket, but it's not enough, so if you'd want to share some..."

"Not interested."

"Uh, really? Are you sleeping with someone else already?"

"What? Why would I... just drop it. I'm not interested and that's all you need to know," she snapped at him. She really wasn't in the mood of getting intimate with anyone, the memories of her fiancé, cancelling their engagement after he found out about her dismissal from Miragent, were still fresh.

"Well, I just..."

"Just shut up. I already hate this watch, don't make it worse."

He didn't argue and let her watch the road undisturbed. No one tried to get in or out of the fortress, only the snow kept falling and the rest of the watch was as uneventful and boring as the beginning. Finally new guards came to the gate and she could go to bed. It was already the middle of the night, although Nesha didn't see much difference between day and night in Asmodae. Both were much darker than anything in Elysea. When she reached her room, it didn't even surprise her that the window was wide open. She closed it, took off her coat, shoes, armor and her woolly vest and in the rest of her clothes she crawled under her blanket. It took her quite a long time before she was able to warm up and fall asleep.

She woke up instantly, when icy water splashed over her face and upper body. Instinctively, she grabbed her daggers and attacked the nearest person, which was no one else than the officer Clodias. He blocked her with the now empty bucket, which he threw at her. She deflected it aside and had to defend herself from his two lackeys, who attacked her simultaneously from both sides. She jumped back to her bed to evade their attacks, but one of them pulled the blanket from under her and she lost her footing. She dropped one dagger and used her hand to gain balance, while kicking the guy into his stomach. But due to the days of enduring the extreme cold, her reactions were too slow. Clodias grabbed her hand and twisted it, so she had to let go of the second dagger too. He also slammed her to the wall to not give her any space to maneuver.

"Now!" he shouted and one of the lackeys clipped something to her wrist. She felt the aether being slowly drained from her. She didn't need the aether to fight, only to manipulate the shadows, she was trained for situations like this, but here the aether was helping her to deal with the cold and the sudden lack of it was painful.

"So you need minions and aether-cuffs to beat me?" she grunted.

"Take this as a lesson, half-breed, and learn your place," he hit her in the face, several times, and threw her to the hallway.

She tried to get up, but her whole body was shaking with cold.

"You're wearing too much stuff," he pulled her up, holding her collar. "Hey, guys, stop slacking off and undress her. Leave only the underwear."

"You perverted..." she tried to fight them, but he just punched her again, until she was too dizzy to resist.

When they were done undressing her, he carried her over his shoulder out of the barracks, where he tossed her to the snow. Few seconds later he splashed another bucket of water over her. It was cold. Everything was so cold. She felt ice crystals forming on her skin, in her hair, on her eyelashes. She was lying on her side, half buried in the snow and all she wanted to do was to drift to sleep.

"Get up!" Clodias yelled at her. She found it impossible. "I said, get up!" he walked towards her and kicked her in her belly. "I am the officer you dumb bitch!" he kicked her again. "You will do as I say!" another kick. "So get the fuck up!" this time he kicked her in her face.

The taste of iron in her mouth woke her up and she slowly pulled herself to her knees, spitting the blood. Every movement was painful.

"I hope you learnt enough from this lesson," he knelt beside her and grabbed her hair. "Did you?"

"Yes," she wheezed. Even talking hurt.

"Will you behave like a good Elyos girl?"

"Yes."

"Good," he let go of her hair and moved his hand over her back down between her legs, under her panties. "Because if you won't, I'll make sure you end up in a dungeon, free for all. Do you understand?"

"Yes," her voice was shaking.

"What did you say? I didn't hear you."

"Yes, I understand."

"Good girl," he slapped her butt, removed the aether-cuff from her wrist and got up. "Now get ready for your watch."

She waited for several more seconds, until the aether, now flowing into her body, stabilised her enough, and she slowly got up and headed back to her room. On her way she collected her wet clothes, fortunately she had enough of spare ones. After she dried herself and dressed up, she pulled the wet bedsheets and carried them with the clothes to the drying room. Everyone was responsible for their own laundry, so to make the drying room available for everyone, the fire was always burning there. When she finished, she heard a growling sound from her stomach. She still had some time before her guard duty, so she went directly to the kitchen. There were several Asmodian girls and women preparing various foods for the fortress inhabitants. When she entered, they stopped talking and watched her cautiously. The head cook approached her.

"Do you wish something, madam?"

"Can I have a bowl of hot soup?" Nesha asked, surprised by her own polite tone.

"Of course, do you want it in the dining hall or your room?"

"Oh," Nesha looked around. "I'll eat it here," she pointed at a dining table in the corner.

"Yes, of course," the cook turned around. "Cathy! Hot soup here!"

"Y-yes!" a girl chopping some vegetables stopped and went over to one of the big pots to get the order. Nesha sat on a chair and waited. After a while the girl, Cathy, brought her the bowl.

"Thank you." Why am I thanking them?

"Um, are you alright?" Cathy whispered.

Nesha gave her questioning look.

"Because you... people don't come here and..."

She was interrupted by a young man barging into the kitchen.

"You won't believe me what I saw this mor..." his excited expression froze, when he noticed Nesha. "Uhm... actually... I didn't see nothing. I have to... back to work," he ran away faster than he came in.

Nesha sighed. She could guess what he wanted to tell them.

"Cathy! Back to work! Stop bothering her!" the head cook called.

"Y-yes!" the girl gave Nesha an apologetic look and returned to her place to chop more vegetables.

Nesha didn't want to prolong the uncomfortable and awkward moment more than necessary, so she quickly ate the soup and left the kitchen. She stopped at the drying room, collected her almost dried blankets and carried them to her room.

"You know... you should've really accepted my offer," Herlen met her halfway through. "This wouldn't happen in my room."

"You knew about this?" she scowled at him.

"Nah, not really. I just overheard them saying something about revenge, didn't know what was it," he shrugged. "Anyway, my offer still stands. At least until they officially recognise you as a half-breed, that could be troublesome for my reputation."

"Just fuck off," Nesha rolled her eyes and continued to her room. When the door closed behind her, she sat on the floor and helplessly stared at her wet mattress. Even if she could get firewood to light her hearth, it would take days before that thing dried up. But she refused to cry. She couldn't show them defeat. She could lay low for now, but she knew one thing. She had to get out. The sooner the better.

~ o ~

In the evening, Cathy returned to their room in the basement, her brothers and grandmother were already there, preparing for sleep. She gave them some half-eaten meat rolls, which the Elyos masters left to throw away and sat on her mattress. She could barely see the others, as there was no light source with a closed door, even her Asmodian eyes couldn't see well in complete darkness.

"Ekmun, what did you want in the kitchen?" she asked her brother. He was almost fifteen years old and always hungry, so he sometimes came to the kitchen to exchange gossips for some food.

"You haven't heard yet?" he asked with his mouth full. "What was that Ellie doing there anyway?"

"She just wanted soup," Cathy shrugged. "It was weird, she wanted to eat it there and even thanked me."

"Are you sure? Those bastards never thank for anything," her oldest brother, Andmos, grunted.

"That's 'cause she's not normal Ellie, she's a half-breed," Ekmun said. "At least I heard, and..."

"Don't say that, Ekmun, that's really rude," their grandmother admonished him.

"But they say she is. And what I saw today confirms it," he frowned defensively.

"So what did you see?" Cathy asked.

"That dumb officer Clodias was beating her like mad."

"What? But a few days ago I saw her beating him and he couldn't do anything about it!" Cathy couldn't believe it. "How could that happen?"

"I know what I saw, right? And he's thrown her out of their barracks to the snow, just in underwear. Then he splashed water on her and yelled at her and kicked her. Everyone in the yard has seen it."

"But that's horrible!"

"No, Cathy, that's good," Andmos smiled for the first time in weeks. "If they're too busy fighting among themselves, they have less time to beat us."

"But..."

"Cathy, we didn't deserve this any more than she did," their grandmother stopped her protests. "It's not fair, but the world is not fair to anyone. You can't help everyone, so you have to focus on those you love the most. Your brothers need you, and you need them. Do you understand, Cathy?"

"Yes, grandma. I'll do my best."

"Good, now everyone go to sleep."

Cathy muffled herself up into her blanket and closed her eyes. She was tired and used to the perpetual cold, sleep came to her quickly.

The morning was the same as the usual mornings were. Cathy woke up in time and went to the kitchen to start her daily work. Sweep the floor, wash the dishes, and then anything that needed to be done. She was just carrying firewood to the kitchen, when she noticed her grandmother slowly hobbling from one house to another with a bucket full of warm water and broom in her hands. She looked very tired, her age was taking a toll on her. An Elyos soldier walked through the same path and when she wasn't fast enough to clear the way for him, he just bumped into her. Grandmother fell on the ground and the water from the bucket spilled, splashing the soldier's boots.

"You dumb crone!" he cursed and kicked her.

"Grandma!" Cathy screamed, dropped the logs, ran towards her grandmother and knelt beside her. "Grandma, are you alright?"

"I'll be fine, Cathy," her grandmother coughed. "You can go back."

"But.."

"Get lost brat!" the soldier grabbed Cathy by her shirt and pulled her up standing. "Go back to your work and don't get in my way."

"Sir, please, be merciful, grandma didn't..."

He punched her in her face so hard she fell to the snow and spat blood.

"I said, go back to your work."

"Yes, sir, I'm sorry, on my way," she gave one worrying look to her grandmother, who managed to pull herself up to kneeling, and walked towards the pile of wood she dropped.

"I'm sorry, sir, it won't happen again," she heard her grandmother saying.

"No, it won't, because you're too fucking old to work," the soldier spat and Cathy heard a sword being drawn from its sheath and... She froze in the middle of her step.

"You bastard!" Andmos shouted.

She turned around.

And her eyes widened with horror.

Her grandmother was falling to the snow, the soldier pulling his sword from her neck.

Andmos ran towards the soldier and hit him with the snow shovel.

"GRANDMA!" Cathy screamed.

And the world around her exploded.