Metal clinked against metal. Long shadows were cast on the wall from what little torchlight filtered in from the hall. Four girls, thin blankets, and pillows of straw was all there was to be found in the cell. Four girls that huddled in the blankets and against each other, searching for some modicum of warmth in the chill of the stone cell. Aiyoko and Tanaya leaned on one other, eyes closed. They still looked relatively healthy considering that they had barely a few feet of space to themselves.

The other two in the cell were also human, one was an older woman with red hair. Old enough to be a mother to the three. She had perhaps the most dejected and sullen look of the four. The last was a girl with dark skin, and white hair. Her eyes were still rebellious, hands still scuffed from her attempts to escape. There was a sound of rattling as the door to their cell was thrust open.

Two men in purple robes peered inside, bowls in their hands. They sat them down, careful not to spill them, before slamming the door shut. For whatever reason, besides giving the girls food and water, they rarely bothered them. It was a mystery to everyone here. Aiyoko grabbed the bowls and put one down in front of everyone. It was a simple stew, lukewarm but it would keep them alive. For now.

Tanaya gulped her bowl down quickly before throwing the empty remains at the wall, cracking the wood of the bowl. Aiyoko took a little longer to eat hers, savoring one of the only changes in the daily monotony she had. When she was done she tossed it next to the door and went back to silently cuddling her sister.

The girl with white hair sat in silence for several minutes as she sipped slowly at her bowl. Once she was done she stared at it. The bowl was just simple wood, it wasn’t of any help. At least, that’s what their captors thought. The girl looked down at the chains binding her to the wall, at the arcane symbol etched into it that drew the magic slowly but surely out of her. If she could just get some mana, she might be able to get out of here. The stone of the wall was enchanted, even all four of them trying together on one had failed to so much as loosen the chain.

She listened quietly to the sounds of fading footsteps, of a heavy door being slammed in the hall. None of the four were sure how many others were down here, but they knew there were at least six other cells, just from doors they had counted in their early days here. They had seen more than that on their way in, but they could only count six being opened at every meal. Maybe the others were just too far away, or maybe several were opened at once. It mattered very little. None of them knew what was going to happen to them, they feared being sent to the markets, but they’d been ignored here for…how long had it been?

The white haired girl raised her bowl and brought it down with a soft thud. She did not beat on the chain, she did not beat on the symbol. Instead she beat on her ankle. She yelped and bit down on her cheek. She grabbed a discarded bowl and clenched it between her teeth before beating on her ankle again. She repeated this until the bowl broke, but by then her task was done. Through tears and whimpers she pulled her broken ankle free of the chain before discarding the broken bowl.

Already she could see mana beginning to tick up in her status window. Already…just a little longer now. She shook from the pain, something about this cell was amplifying the pain. She’d felt much, much worse than this before. She’d been beaten, stabbed, and cut open, but this was by far the worst pain she had ever felt. The cell must be magnifying pain, maybe to try and prevent exactly what she had just done.

The red haired woman simply turned over and faced the wall. Tanaya and Aiyoko both watched with wide eyes. Tanaya looked at her own ankle, where the chain kept her bound and then at the girl. The girl shook her head through winces as she did her best to keep as much weight off her ankle as she could. She hid both the chain and foot under her thin blanket. It’d be hours before she could heal it, hours before she could try and escape. They’d be back with another meal later, she couldn’t let them see she was free. Not yet.

“If…I…can…barely…stand…it…you…would…never…manage…it.”

She said to Tanaya through ragged gasps. Tanaya first looked angry, then sighed and settled back down. She was probably right. The girl had nearly killed one of their captors even with the chain on, Tanaya probably couldn’t pull the same trick. She hugged her sister and nodded.

“...okay.”

The girl clenched her fists and took another deep breath, trying to push away the pain.

“I’ll…bring…help…”

Tanaya and Aiyoko both shrugged. At this point they’d given up hope of help. They didn’t know where they were, who had them, or why. Kahari was probably dead, their father was probably dead, their home was probably gone. They hadn’t given up hope of ending up somewhere better, but they had lost hope of an escape…or rescue. The girl sighed. She had seen it before, but she promised…she’d bring help.

The girls settled back into the monotony of their day. Before none of them had a way to track time, but the white haired girl…now she could watch her mana tick up. It took eight hours to reach full, eight hours from whatever time lunch was. Assuming noon…she’d be able to escape at eight tonight. Not long after dinner. In fact she planned to wait till she ate one more time just to be safe. No point trying to fight your way out if you were going to collapse from hunger part way through.

The horus ticked by, unnoticed by most. Eventually the door opened once more. Two more men in purple robes stood there, dropped off some bread and cheese, and a small cup of water. They cleaned up the bowls, and scoffed at the broken ones.

“White haired bitch is still fighting…”

“Don’t worry about it, Matron Damya will be back from searching for her daughter in a few days. She’ll break that one’s will.”

“I’d pay to see that.”

“We all would.”

“Come on, we need to check on the last cell. Captain says if she doesn’t start eating again we’re going to have to force it down her throat.”

“Last guy that did that lost a finger. No one can heal it!”

“Then shut up and help me.”

“Fine fine…”

The two closed the door and walked away. The four in the cell silently ate their food, the white haired goal downed the water. Once she heard them return upstairs, she got to work. First things first, she chanted a spell under her breath and a holy light appeared, mending her ankle. It hurt even worse. Definitely a pain effect in the cell, healing spells were supposed to suppress pain. Once she was sure she could stand she got to her feet and faced the door.

“Oh mighty Adeallus, grant me thy strength. Bless your servant with the power of Light!”

There was a moment where nothing seemed to happen, before the room was bathed in blinding light. The white haired girl became cloaked in armor, and a great two handed sword appeared in her hands. A voice rang out in the cell, booming so hard the stone itself shook.

“Blessing unto you my loyal Paladin. Take this gift and find Ixul. There a mighty gathering awaits, and some of the next great heroes gather. Find the party of Bedora, the bonds of blood you find within will guide you to victory. Go now, Emelyn of the Snow, go!”

Emelyn raised her hand and kicked the door clean from the wall. She turned back to the others within.

“Stay strong, I will return. I swear it.”

Before dashing off. Tanaya and Aiyoko could hear the sounds of battle beyond, and…frankly it sounded one sided. After a few moments the sounds of fighting stopped. They thought Emelyn had lost before there was the sound of another explosion, and the torch in their hallway went out. Emelyn leaped free of the castle, into the night sky and using her magic, propelled herself over the wall.

She left behind sounds of panic and fresh corpses as she moved to flee this unholy place. She turned her eyes to the night sky, and once she found her guide, turned and began sprinting south. She did not have much time to put distance between here and there, but she would do so. She could not fail. Not her God, not those she left behind. Great black shapes took the night sky, searching for their escaped prisoner. She did not slow, she could not. If she let herself be stopped here, she would fail Adeallus himself. There could be no greater shame.

Her steps were heavy, but left behind no mark. She was moving under the blessings of one of the mightiest gods on the continent. If he did not want her found, her armor would leave no trace. High above the moon grew red and she shivered as an eye of malice scanned over her. After a few moments it moved on, the moon returning to the pleasant blue-green color it usually bore this time of year.

She did not know what Detia had wanted with her, but it seemed, for the moment at least, that Detia and Adeallus were not at odds. That alone sent a chill up her spine. The Dark Twin of the Moon and The Father of Light were rarely more than an errant word from war. If Detia found no issue with a blessing of Adeaulls, then something truly dangerous was happening. This revelation, and no small amount of fear sped up Emelyn’s footfalls. She had to reach Ixul before it was too late. If mortal enemies were finding common ground, they could be looking at the start of the next Cataclysm!