Books, cloths, a pocket watch, three flask of what was definitely blood and two of water, some utensils and more books. Though there seemed to be a loaf of bread, but it looked rather stale and unsavory. Nisi and Teluna had placed and arranged everything from the bundle in a neat and orderly line. But at the moment they only had eyes for that loaf of bread and flask of blood.

Asare had provided the bare essentials for me to survive for a while. But with the addition of Teluna and Nisi I would have to splurge and use every provision gradually. I broke a quarter of the bread and put a quarter of the flask of water into a cup and handed it to Nisi. The young girl was so hungry that she snatched the food from my hand and gobbled it up in quick movements that saw everything disappearing in seconds. Teluna was not any different either as he downed a quarter flask of blood in one huge gulp.

“there’s not much here, so we have to manage our resources.”

I did not want both of them to think I was stingy based on the amount of food I had given to them. But they said nothing short of giving me a look of satisfaction.

I walked past them to lay my hand on the tower, is was not but just a huge slab of earth. But I could almost envision what it would look like when I was done carving out a home.

“hey Mr. Hero, if you want I can help you make a house. You don’t even have to pay, just give me more of that bread from before and I would have it done in no time.” Nisi's voice came from behind me as she tried to make an agreement with me.

I found it funny. Looking at her size, you could almost not imagine that she would have a mouth on her, or be this sharp about some things. But I doubted there was much she could offer me. I knew gnomes were the ones usually charge of digging and hollowing out a cave to form an abode or shelter of sorts for the prisoners, but they weren’t cheap either. Asare had told me I had to pay with ores, and I was not so sure that I could take the words of Nisi being a master builder at face value. After all she was still nothing but a child. But I saw no harm in letting her have her fun, besides at the moment I had no way to pay other gnomes for the construction and I was not into the business of disappointing little girls, after all I am Mr. Hero

“okay Nisi, but are you sure you can build my tower to very detailed specifications.” I asked with more mock seriousness.

“Yes sir, any how you want it, and I can deliver.” She replied with all the seriousness a ten to eleven year old two foot gnome could muster.

“Very well then, this is how I want my shelter to be built.”

I purposely came up with the most extravagant if not slightly insane plans for an abode. I told her I wanted her to first dig out a reception room, of about a hundred square meters, with a back door at the extreme end of it. Each of this towers were five hundred meters in diameter so I quite believed there would be space for such a reception. Then starting from the back door she built, I wanted her to make a narrow but long hallway, that stretched all the way to the very end of the tower.

At that end she would make a back door of sorts, and give us a chance to run out in case we faces dangers from the front. Then from the beginning of the hallway she was to carve out four rooms on both its left and right sides. With the sizes made at her discretion. But on both sides after two rooms were built there should be a break in her construction and stairs for what I plan to be a second floor would be built, then she could continue on to build the remaining four rooms.

Nisi had paid rapt attention with every second my explanation. I could not help but find the young gnome cute and endearing, as she made such an expression. Teluna however did something that left me surprised as soon as I was finished with my explanation. He walked up to the tower and thick black fog began to dance and seep out of the tip of his finger tips, a hum, buzz or feeling that I had gotten so used to in recent weeks and months from feeling it on my wrist filled the air.

This time however, I could almost taste it. I knew what it was then and there, if was the feeling of magic. That buzz was how a natural reaction formed from when a living being used the way as a medium to interact with the ether and bend the natural laws of nature to the favor.

The swirling inky black mass, was used to mark out a huge drawing for where a set of double doors would be carved into the tower. And I still watched in abject fascination and with a dislodged jaw as the fog of darkness seeped into the rock leaving a thin black line behind as a marker for any body to carve through. I knew without a doubt that he was still making outlines deep within the sediments of the huge tower according to the specifications I made.

Ten minutes later he collapsed on his knees gasping for breath and his face pale. I quickly ran to him with the flask of water, but he refused citing that we needed to keep proper management of our resources. Also he was a vampire, the water did not have much of an effect on him, and he would rather save it for Nisi when she ran out of Mana.

Safe to say, I was thoroughly spooked by the capabilities showed by this boy. If this was what every vampire was capable of with out the seal, I could see why they could be feared. But I knew the seal was more than it seemed so that was a story for another day. Nisi suddenly got up, tapped her sitting brother on the shoulders and said.

“Now its my turn.”

I couldn’t help my self but looked at her and followed her every movements with such focus the likes of which I have never mustered before. Standing before the outline of the double doors had brother had made, her size was even more emphasized as she looked so tiny from where she was standing.

I watched as she tentatively placed her hands on the tower, and then in the blink of an eye, a meter thick partition the tower tailored according to the lines made for the doors, turned into dust and moved to settle itself in a pile by the tower. My jaw dropped again, at such a spectacle. Two siblings one is supposed to be a prisoner, the other a member of a community of free gnomes who live in a whole other different section of the dancing caves, but both of them were masters of both darkness and earth magic. And that was just what I could glean from the surface. I was sure there was much more to them than meets the eye. I turned to Teluna as Nisi kept working and asked him how they met. I wanted to know their story and what would force them to come and hide in this hidden, desolate and solitary part of the prison.

Teluna was at first a little tight lipped I suspected that unlike Nisi who seemed so full of life and easy going. Teluna was more reserved, careful and someone who trusted no one. But I finally got him to open up though and he told me everything.

Teluna’s mother is a whore, unable to mine for orhicalum like every other imprisoned vampire or night elves, she was slated for punishment. But as far she was concerned she would much rather die than let her body be defiled by werewolves or humans even. So she got mixed up in one of the gangs from the red and white districts. She sold her body instead to members of both imprisoned races, preferring to dine with the devil she knows, rather than those she did not.

Teluna’s mother was a beauty, in fact she was so beautiful that it has always caused no small amount of problems for those who wanted to possess her as their own personal woman.

And to give credit where it was due, she was not an ordinary vampire, but one of the last few remaining descendants of the last vampire king Ahsan Aloysius the arc steel. I did not get the title, but apparently the dude was a big deal during his time, well doesn’t matter though the dude's dead.

Her status as princess made her even more wanted. And she lived a comfortable life for a few decades with the price being that she had to spread her legs for a few big shots in both the vampire and dark elves communities.

Then she discovered she was pregnant. Apart from the fact that she had no idea, but any man who could claim ownership of her child or prove he was the father would own her indefinitely. Not to mention the horror of handing her child over to the human wardens for them to decided whether to Kill him on the premise of him being a good addition to society.

It would have been nothing more than sport for them, a game with the life of an innocent child who was born much like his mother a victim of a war that had nothing to do with them. And so she fled to the blue district and became a maid to the leader of the blue district. But that did not mean she was safe or out of danger, the wardens and guards could still discover her child. So she hid him for eight years, told him stories of the child hero Kael Cor, as she somehow managed to hear outside gossip from the mouths of traveling gnome merchants.

They brought back books and posters of his deeds, told the story of how a human noble, a child no older than six at the time ran back into a burning fire just to save the half dark elf half vampire nanny who took care of him as a child. From them on his act inspired many equality groups to go all around Shearath, protesting to the unfair treatment of both the vampire and dark elf races. And as Kael Cor grew, he became a more active speaker, fighting for the rights of the dark children at the council of light. Trying to sway the opinion of Shareath’s leaders, into accepting their dark counterparts as equals and put an end to their discrimination.

Teluna grew up on those stories, he learnt to glean and believe in the ray of hope that Kael Cor, a young boy, a human for that matter gave to every single prisoner in Noxis Nyx. But his mother could not hide him forever, without the seal, Teluna had access to the way. He could communicate and interact with his system. Giving enough time Teluna could very well be the key that could help the races break their shackles of oppression. But the wardens found out, and so Teluna’s mother and a handful of both vampires and dark elf sought to hide him.

While his mother sought to hide him deep in the blue district, the others created a diversion by proclaiming their beliefs and painting the wall of the guard tower. Long live Kael Cor.

The guards use an enchantment on the spikes that kept them all alive for years as they suffered through a fate worst than death. Teluna’s mother safely dropped him at the edge and abandoned her son to his destiny, hoping with all of her heart that the then eight year old Teluna would be able to survive. Besides even if he died, she would make sure it was not at the hands of her oppressors.

It has been two years since then, Teluna had somehow managed to find his way back, and this time he came up at the market which was the hub where all the districts met. And there he met the orphaned Nisi who took care of him and protected his secrets ever since, becoming his elder sister even though she was not more than a year or two older than him.

Teluna occasionally snuck around to see his mother. Somehow she had avoided punishment, but she had also lost the sponsorship of the leader of the blue district after he was over thrown by someone else. She has had no choice but to go back to her life of selling herself for ores, so that she could meet the weekly quota set by the wardens.

I could not imagine the amount of pain Teluna has had to go through in his short life. I learnt something about my past again. But this time I felt I had been foolish, or maybe it was just me loathing myself. For all the talk of me being a hero and how I stood up for their rights, my words did nothing, old me must have been thought as nothing more than a foolish nuisance by those leaders on the council of light.

Here they all look at me in worship, respect. I get that I sacrificed a lot to stand up for this people. My position, my family, my prestige, my memories, my species. But all those has turned out to be for nothing, because here we stand and a poor mother and child had to be ripped apart from each other. My words did not stop this, non of the actions I took made any difference. I was nothing more than a little bump on the way.

Nisi's story was not as complicated as Teluna’s. She was taken in by a litter mate of her mother’s after she had passed away. Much like Teluna she did not know who her father is or was. Her aunt if you could call her that later sold her to a merchant as a slave for to rocks of orhicalum and a bottle of human wine.

And that was how that chapter of her life ended. The merchant that Nisi served was also a gnome and unlike all gnomes who are naturally gifted with earth magic, but had never been bothered to learn and refine their manipulation of it to a higher degree, her master had went to a college of magic during his travels and was an advanced earth mage.

She secretly learnt from his books, and practiced so hard she became as good as she was today. Though she did not know what level or classification of mage she was. When she met Teluna, she chose to ran away from her master to keep his secret safe.

Nisi had a good life as the merchants slave, he never maltreated her and treated her like his own daughter. But she gave all those up for the boy she chose to call her brother. And her reasons for doing so gave me an urge to slap myself. Nisi had given up on a good life, because she beloved in the message Kael Cor stood for. And much like him she was going to protect this vampire boy. And so they have been together ever since. Both victims of circumstances, but both idiots for believing in all the bullshit I spouted as a human.

I felt like a liar, and that I had deceived a lot of people. I was beginning to understand why Aware told me to stay away. In fact all the nonsense I did, the great cause I had tried to achieve could have done nothing more than make things worse for a lot of other vampires and dark elves. And if I knew it, then so did they.

********************************************

Nisi was able to go on a lot longer than Teluna when it came to her control over magic. But after about an hour she just collapsed, fell unconscious right where she stood. She was so adamant in doing this that she refused to stop when she had depleted her reserves. But in the end she had accomplished a lot. She had actually carved out a room of about ten square meters, with the ceiling actually five to almost seven meters above our heads. I was so impressed I ended up feeling intimidated. This kid’s bought a lot of talent to the table, but the only thing I could offer was the fact that I was a failed revolutionary. Teluna and Nisi were now both asleep. Using a blanket from the bundle I made a makeshift bed, it was nothing much, but enough to prevent the cold from the floor seeping into their bones.

As soon as I confirmed that I was alone I turned my attention to the seal on my hand. I had no idea how I could read it, or understand the basic structures that it was made up off. I only knew that it was bad, I wanted it off. And I wanted to do awesome stuff like Nisi and Teluna.

From among the pile of books Asare had left, there was one titled intermediate introduction to the runes of Shearath and the histories of weavers. That book drew my attention because I knew seals could also be called runes or symbols.

I spent hours, pouring into that book and learning a whole lot more than I was expected to know, even in a prison like this. Asare was up to something, or he knew something really important that involved me he somehow ended up throwing me in the secluded place. At that moment I did not know whether to thank him or be wary of his intentions.

The book did not call it seals, seals were actually just a genre or category of what the symbols or runes could cover. It was made from a language unique and only seen when someone interacted with the way. During the course of interaction anyone even animals would be able to understand the runes. But after that, no matter how hard you tried you could never successfully read the runes on a common sheet of paper, regardless of how power and enchanter or magus you were.

When the way was first formed an elite group of ancient humans were selected to be its guards and keepers, they were called many names, by many different races. The elves called them Rune masters, the dwarves rune smiths, humans called the seal masters or lockers. But surprisingly enough, it was the vampires with their extremely long if not immortal lives that called them the same original names they were known with during their inception. They called them weavers.

Weavers were capable of reading the runes, inscribing it on any surface even water and imbuing it with power to cause a myriad of reactions, from as mundane as making a water boil to as bizarre as changing the gender of any living thing.

As of the time magic already existed and was quite a feared profession. Anybody with the wave serving as an intermediary and buffer, could access the ether and covert its pure arcane power into Mana for spells and enchantments. It gave them the ability to bend but never break the rules of nature which ever way they wanted.

But the weavers were feared, and powerful. They have never bent the rules of nature-no not at all…….they broke it. They could cause disasters with just a flick of the fingers or a brush with ordinary paint on it. They were known as keepers of balance and guidance in accordance to the will of the way. But there was just one problem, they were all humans. An over the years of their existence their nature caught up with them and they became corrupted. They ruled lands and lavished in power and wealth. With their abilities the human race has been on the top of the food chain and remained there since time Immemorial, until now.

There has never been a weaver outside of the human race, it was what made them so unique and so feared. But I was not stupid, every evidence laying before me was all pointing to one thing. As a human I was born a weaver, and I don’t think that information was well known to anyone. In fact I could swear it was a complete and utmost secret. I had the power to change a lot of things but I still foolishly ended up here, another things to check on the list of stupid actions I did in my past, well things Kael Cor the hero fucked up on, Kael Cor the prisoner however was a whole different ball game.

For the first time ever there was a weaver and he or she was not human, no it was something much worse. I was a night walking blood thirsty vampire. It couldn’t get any better than this. And I was sure those bozos on the council of light would be tickled pink should they ever find out what they have just created. In fact come to think of it hero me could have come up with all this elaborate plan so that he could become a vampire and shove his race and the abilities he wielded with it in front of their face, while starting a proper revolution. To bad he did not expect to loose his memories.

I paid serious attention to the book from then on as I was determined to learn how to harness my abilities and get this damn life sucking seal away from me. According to the book, a weaver drew his power from the soul, and from his mental energy.

Unlike other magic professions which had magically constructed conduits for their Mana reserves built and magically grown around their hearts. Weavers had access to other forms of energy apart from Mana.

The mental energy they cultivated had a myriad of purposes it helped them withstand the full brunt of the sheer volume and force that was nature. No matter how powerful they were once nature’s rules were broken, depending on the scope of the laws broken, nature would lash out. Without sufficient mental energy they would end up with a destroyed mind and be nothing more than vegetables or imbeciles.

As for the power of their soul, it was a little bit more complicated. Nature could be affected by a host of different things and energy, the most commonly known was Mana and its advanced and raw form the ether. Not much is known about the ether than that it was made or comprised of the power of creations and destruction. A perfect combination of the power of life and death and in complete harmony. The only other thing that could compare with such power, was a soul.

Soul are made up of the same power of creation and destruction as the ether, but much more refined. And it is refined by its owners memories, his very being and existence. Who you are was what truly powered a soul.

And right now, I was veritable blank slate. If I could weave before, I certainly couldn’t weave now. I had to start all over from scratch. The process of being able to successfully cultivate both your soul and mental energy takes a lifetime of growth. I was not sure I had all the time in the world, but right now time was something I had an abundance of.

I had no idea what tomorrow would be like, or how is slowly seems that I was embroiled in conspiracy that was so vague I had no idea where to point fingers at. The only clue that I got from all this was that Asare had a bigger part to play in all this than what was seen on the surface. And me, I think somehow I had been demoted from a major piece in this game to what I could only describe as a pawn.

There was to many inconsistencies, and I couldn’t even make sense of a lot of things. Everything could be as simple as it seems and I could be nothing more than just a failed activists who got put in prison with the very people he was fighting for, or it could be deeper. Much more deeper.