Three days after our departure from Sakaris, nothing much happened aside from witnessing the occasional beatings and failed escape attempts from the others. It’s a good thing the ones with me in our carriage didn’t try anything, otherwise we would’ve all taken lashings from the knights outside.

We were camped out for the night, to lessen the risk of running into a Deimos. The knights accompanying us were in a separate area, feasting on the rations they had, while we were holed up inside tents, getting whatever leftovers there were. I wasn’t starving since I managed to luckily get a large piece of leftover bread. The others, however, weren’t so lucky, and I’m not sure if I’ll be so lucky the next time around.

As tempting as it was to try and escape through the little crevice just by the backside of our tent, there were too many eyes. They stationed guards all around the tent, each taking breaks from their shift to eat or sleep and switching out with another.

“Psst.” Glenn would lightly tap my shoulder, “Are you hungry?” He’d offer up a small piece of dried-up jerky to me, almost the size of his palm.

“No, it’s okay. Save it for yourself, or for the others.” I’d tell him, pointing towards Iferos and Damian, who had it the worst out of all of us in the tent, barely getting any food.

He’d quickly move over to where the two were, and offered them his food, and soon enough they would be smiling and sharing laughter together. It was a heartfelt moment- something that you’d rarely see in a place like this, where the dreary and uneasiness in the air was felt by all of us.

It was nighttime, and everyone dozed off except me and Viella.

“So… Were you always this gloomy..?” I’d ask her in a joking manner, “You haven’t said much the entire time... Or at all for that matter.”

“I don’t like talking to people like you.” She’d say, scooting a little farther away from me.

“To people like me?” I’d say, scooting a bit closer, “Now what’s that supposed to mean?”

“You fucking peasants wouldn’t get it.” She’d say, scoffing at my words.

“Oh yeah? Try me.”

She’d say with her arms crossed, “First off, you lot are all so unpleasant to be with, aside from Reanne, the only other noblewoman here, you are all filthy lowborn commoners who don’t know a single thing about proper etiquette.”

“Do you really think that etiquette of yours fucking matters when we’re at god damn war?!” I’d snap back at her, letting out a deep sigh before continuing, “Does that etiquette of yours matter when there’s people dying; brothers and sisters in arms falling to the hands of the enemy?!”

“I-“ She’d stutter, not being able to say anything back.

“Because if it did fucking matter then the world would be a much better place to be in, but it’s not. All those pointless acts of nobility and looking down on people just because they weren’t born with noble blood doesn’t matter when you come face to face with fucking death.” No matter how cruel I sounded, it was the truth- it was the reality of war. Everything that was taught to us in the academy like honor, dignity, respect, that’s all just thrown out the window. No matter how honorable someone tries to act, it never really ends up mattering and they just die a pitiful death. When we come face to face with life-or-death situations, where one tiny mistake; one small slip up could cost us our lives, possibly even the lives of dozens- hundreds even.

“I…”

“If you’re going to spout more bullshit, then you can kindly fuck off.”

“I’m sorry.” She’d say, avoiding meeting my eyes as she tucked herself to sleep.

Sigh. What a day. I’d lay down on the cold, hard ground and went to sleep, staring at the stars through the little holes that were in the tent. How beautiful they are- I wonder if the Gods are watching us right now, would they be disappointed? Do they enjoy seeing their creations suffer at the hands of one another? Questions filled my mind as I slowly dozed off into slumber.

The next few days were the same as usual, barely getting to eat enough and many, many corpses of those who tried to escape, and failed. By the time we got to Thunder’s Call, the two hundred or so prisoners from my cohort, dropping down to about a hundred fifty, more or less.

It was exactly as how the stories portrayed it to be. Tall and thick walls made of black bricks looming over our heads, the sounds of bells ringing and the screams and cries of those inside the fortress all mixing together as we approached the heavily fortified gates. I’d take a glance to my left from inside the carriage and see an even larger mountain, covered by a thick mist, and surrounded by dead flora and the bones of the fauna.

“Holy Skiiva.” Iferos would say, gawking at the massive fortress, “I really hope someone comes at gets us soon.”

The moment we gates opened and we were let in, we were greeted by dozens of guards, all lined up on both sides of the gate, facing each other. They didn’t seem to be well armed, but anyone could tell from a glance that they were well trained. Enough to be able to suppress the inmates that were stationed here, at least.

We were all quickly told to get off the carriage the moment we were settled inside, moving us to a large open space with a stage at the front. Suddenly, a rather large man wearing a black jailer’s coat and light chain armor would go on the stage, accompanied by two guards, wearing the signature black-plated armor with gold lining.

“You lot are in fer’ a treat now! Welcome to Thunder’s Call, where you can forget about ever having pointless things such as hopes and dreams, and where you can forget about ever leaving.” He’d say in a mocking manner, “I mean, you can try, if you want to die an early death, atleast.”

He’d continue his long, and quite frankly, boring speech about leaving behind our ‘hopes and dreams’ and whatnot, honestly I just wanted to get this over with.

“Now, where you are standing right now is the main courtyard, you will all line up here at dawn for the morning and nightly roll calls.” He’d continue, pointing towards a medium-sized building relatively nearby. “That place is the cafeteria, here is where you lot will eat yer’ fill.” Next, he’d point towards a tall building right next to the cafeteria, it appeared to be about twenty to thirty floors in height, towering over even the walls. “And that, my lovely prisoners, is where you will be spending the rest of your lives in! You will all be divided into a maximum of six people per ‘room’, no more, no less.”

“That’ll be all fer’ now, the guards will show you the way to yer’ rooms. Oh, and one last thing, enjoy your stay, my little prisoners.” He’d say with a large and menacing grin on his face before leaving the stage, towards one of the buildings, which was most likely the guards’ quarters.

Iferos would whisper to the five of us, “Is it just me or… He was a little… Fat…”

We would all try our hardest to contain our laughter as Glenn would add more to what Iferos had just said, “I don’t know… It just seemed like, you know, you would expect a large muscular and well-built man to be the warden, but… him..? Of all people?”

It was at this moment that Viella, of all people, chuckled. We all looked at her in disbelief, distraught that the cold and stern woman was capable of such emotions! It truly was a blessing to have Iferos and Glenn with us, the two innocent young boys easily lifting our spirits and the dreariness of the world off our shoulders.

As the six of us headed inside following one of the guards, the cries of people would echo through the dark hallway, barely being lit up by the occasional light-lamp. Each jail was filled with different kinds of people, from Humans and Rahasa, to even Elves. It was a place no one would ever want to be in, and unluckily enough for us, we just so happened to be here.

A Lion Rahasa would suddenly lunge at the bars, heavily fortified and embedded with Numen, his beautiful golden mane shining through the darkness of the cells and hallway, “Help us… Please!” He’d beg us, going so far as to try and gnaw his way through the bars with his large fangs, only to be whipped by one of the guards.

Damian and Reanne tried to stop the guard from hitting him, but we held them back, out of fear of what they might do to us if we had tried anything. “Fucking empire mutts.” Damian would whisper to himself, only being heard by me and Iferos, who was the closest to them.

We continued down the hallway and up the stairway before continuing down another seemingly endless hallway. We were on the third floor, somewhat close to the staircase on the opposite end of the building.

As the six of us entered the cell, the guard reminded us of the nightly roll call. It was hard to tell what time of day it was, with only a small little barred window showing us the whether it was day or night.

The guard then left, closing the doors to our cell on the way out. Damian pointed out that the walls weren’t quite sturdy, and if applied with enough force, we could break through it. Our only problem was these damned shackles.

“Our best bet is to wait for the rest of the forces to rescue us.” Reanne would say, placing her faith that one day, they would come back for us.

With our hopes held high, we decided to endure what we could. Across from us was a cell that consisted of six Fanged Rahasa. One of them would approach the bars, “Psst. Hey boss. It looks like we got some freshies here.” He’d say, telling the others in his cell.

“Will they be our new prey, perhaps?” Another would say, his blood-red mane and lion’s tail would distinguish him from the rest, who had orange manes. “You. The skinny boy with brown hair.”

“A-Are you talking to me?” Iferos would say, “I-I don’t want any trouble… Sir”

“Don’t worry, kid. Just give us yours limbs and we’ll be satisfied”

“What! No!” Iferos would back off from the bars, hiding behind me and Damian, “They’re going to hurt me!”

The Rahasans would suddenly burst out laughing, their laughter echoing throughout the entire hallway, “I jest! I jest! We only seek honorable combat from the strongest among you.”

“I would like to gladly take you up on that offer!” Damian would say, smiling as he quickly approached the bars, “I too, seek honorable and glorious combat!”

“Finally! Someone who truly knows the true meaning of a fight! Oh how long has it been since I have seen a Human of your nature!” He’d say, laughing and smiling alongside Damian from the cell across from us. “The guards permit duels between prisoners, both to weed out the weak and for their entertainment, I will consult one of the guards so that we may engage in honorable combat.”

“May I ask for your name, oh honorable warrior!” Damian would say to the Rahasa with a blood-red mane,

“I am the Bloodied Mane, Ninth Sword of Hurakeen, and the Crimson Lion, I am Qantheos.”

“I am Damian, Swordbearer of the 51^st Cohort of Trazia.” Damian would say proudly, the confidence and bravery of the two affecting all of us enough to give goosebumps.

“What about you, young lady with the light-green hair, what is your name. I can sense a large density of Numen emanating from you.” He’d point towards Reanne, curious about everyone in our cell.

“Oh, I am Reanne of House Fairwind…” She’d say in a shy manner, “I don’t have much to my name and I am but a mere foot soldier for the 51^st Cohort of Trazia…”

“Of House Fairwind you say? I knew your aunt before she passed away!”

“You knew Aunt Breanna?!” She’d say, shocked as to how this person, who she has never seen before, knows her relative.

“Of course! How could I not know of Deathly Wind Breanna, who used her wind Numen to rid her opponents of any air to breathe as she would watch them suffocate to death. It was quite a sight to see, and even greater to have gotten the chance to fight alongside her.

Reanne was left speechless, she never knew her Aunt had that side to her, she always thought of her to be a kind, warm, and gentle-hearted woman.

Qantheos wasn’t interested in the rest of us, “You best be ready for the roll calls, I suggest getting some sleep while you can. The screams of the others at night can be petrifying at first, but with time, you’ll get used to it.” He’d say, before quickly laying down and dozing off.

The others would heed his suggestion, laying down for a quick nap just before the nightly roll call. I on the other hand, couldn’t sleep. I had too many thoughts in my head and was anxious to get the fuck out of this place. The cold, hard floor wasn’t pleasant at all, and even trying to lay down was a hassle.

I’m surprised Viella was able to sleep under these conditions, knowing how she is with her ‘etiquette’ and whatnot. But she was improving. She started to look down on us less and finally started to treat us as equals, even going so far as to strike up conversations with the others from time to time.

There wasn’t much to do since everyone was asleep, so I decided to join in and take a quick nap as well. I was going to need it, after all.