JAY MYERS

Footsteps.

I could hear people stomping down the corridor. I looked towards my cell door and saw multiple figures stop outside of it. From my estimate, it had been a week since I first awoke in this cell.

The door squeaked open, and four men entered. Three armoured soldiers and one older man in dark blue robes. The soldiers came close to me and the robed man stood a few paces away.

The soldier on my right announced “You had better answer our questions or this will not be pleasant for you.” I had gathered that I was still alive exclusively for this purpose.

The questions started out simple. “Who are you?” The soldier asked. I remained silent.

“Answer now or there will be consequences!” The soldier said angrily. Silence.

The soldier punched me in the face. He asked again, was met with silence and punched me.

The cycle repeated over and over. The questions changed.

“What happened in the Shearmouth Caves?” Silence. More punches.

“What happened to the soldiers on patrol?” Silence. More punches.

“Who are you working for?” The cycle repeated over and over.

Different questions were asked and were ignored. The soldier drew his blade and made a shallow incision on my back. I gritted my teeth as an explosion of pain seared across my back

“What are you doing?” the robed man asked.

“Beating him clearly isn’t yielding any results, we’ll have to try this next.”

The questions started over and besides my occasional screams of pain, I gave no responses. The soldiers and robed man left me in my cell bleeding from the numerous cuts they had inflicted. There were shallow gashes all over my body with the exception of his face.

The next day it was repeated.

And the next.

And the one after.

What felt like three days had passed with me not answering any questions. The robed man stepped forward and the soldiers retreated.

“I had not thought I would need to use magic on this filth but it appears I was wrong.”

Use magic? I thought to myself.

The robed man began to chant quietly to himself. I thought I heard the word ‘mental’ somewhere in the chant. I definitely thought that man was mental and hoped that was all it had meant.

Vyom.

My vision began to flicker and darken. Memories of my past flashed before my eyes. The day I had lost my parents, the day I lost my grandfather, and the day my sister had been murdered.

They began to flash in my mind. My thoughts swam amongst the currents of pain I was being subjected to. The pain began to pierce my mind and once it started, it didn’t stop.

The pain was unbearable.

I was being forced to watch my sister be killed over and over.

The blood gushing out of her wound.

The sound of the sword being pulled out of her.

The glisten of blood pouring from her lips.

The shine of tears falling from her face.

The sound of her ragged breathing.

It was all too much.

It felt like hours had passed, then it was over. I blinked, and in front of me was the robed man. He was smiling. There was a glint beneath his robes, I looked towards it and saw…

“Why are you wearing that?” I screamed at him.

“I am the one asking the questions here, not you.”

I struggled uselessly against my restraints and stared him down with the worst glare I could. “Why are you wearing that pendant?” I screamed.

“How bothersome.” The robed man sighed. “This pendant was found in the cave you were found in, and I took a liking to it? Now answer my questions or else.”

“That pendant belongs to my sister, now give it back” I screamed.

“Enough!” he shouted.

My vision began to darken once more and I was subjected to the pain of seeing the horrific incident over and over. This mental torture happened over and over until at last I broke. “I will answer your questions,” I said to the robed man.

He smiled. “Excellent. Now then what is your name? And just so you are aware, I can tell if you're lying with my magic.” he said, the smile never leaving his face.

“My name is Jay.” The questioning continued and the robed man asked about who I was and where I was from. I had replied to that with “Not from around here.” The robed man tried to coax me into elaborating but I refused.

The questioning then turned to the events that had occurred in the Shearmouth Caves. “What happened to the patrolmen inside those caves?” the robed man asked. “I don’t remember.” I said after a while.

“I told you not to lie filth.”

The robed man nodded to a soldier and he made a few incisions onto my back with his sword.

“Now let’s try that again. Answer truthfully, otherwise I will have to use that magic again.” I winced, but remained silent.

I couldn’t tell them, my life would be forfeit if I divulge that information.

With me refusing to answer his question. The robed man began the mental assault once again. However, I refused to answer no matter what he did. They tried various methods of torture.

Besides the few meals and water they gave me, every other visit brought pain.

They tried beating me, cutting me, whipping me, mentally assaulting me, leaving me naked in my cell, subjecting me to ice magic. They tried burning me, using devices to stretch my limbs and locked me inside a coffin with no light aside from a couple holes to let me breathe.

Weeks passed and I still refused to answer them. I hurt everywhere, but the worst of them was the mental torture.

The robed man visited again to work his horrible magic. This time it was when Kaiden had abandoned us. “You’re on your own, You’re on your own, You’re on your own, You’re on your own”

I heard Kaidan’s voice over and over, warping and compounding.

The incessant noise wouldn’t leave my mind. Over and over. I grinded my teeth and wanted to scream.

The noise dug into my head and kept digging deeper and deeper. “You’re on your own.”

“You’re on your own.”

“You’re on your own.”

“You’re on your own.”

“YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN!”

It wouldn’t end. It wouldn’t stop. Slowly, I began to lose my emotions. I had to give them up if I wanted to keep my sanity. I threw away everything except my anger and hatred. Instead of hurting me, the visions made me angry. Instead of causing me pain, the beatings made my hatred grow.

I don’t know how long I have been imprisoned for, but it has been a long time.

I don’t even know who I am anymore.

I had hoped that they would leave me alone or kill me after a while of refusing to answer their questions but they kept at it every day. Slowly, my thoughts changed from wanting to die and be done with my miserable existence to contempt for my captors.

I wanted to kill them, to tear the limbs off, to cut them and subject them to a fraction of the pain they had caused me.

I was unguarded and left alone when they had finished with their ‘questioning’. Back near the beginning they had used his blood on a status stone and it had shattered, so they believed that I didn’t have any skills and was not a threat. I didn’t correct them.

I will kill that magician. I thought to myself. I will kill him and take back my sister’s pendant.

Agsius the Court Magician

“Today is a special day!” I announced, inside the cell of the criminal.

Hmmm. Criminal is annoying, I should call him something else, I do come here almost everyday after all.

“I have decided to grant you a name, you wretch. I have decided to call you Solus.” I smiled. “Do you know why?” He didn’t respond, just simply stared at me. “Because you are all alone, just how scum should be. So now your name is Solus.”

I started chanting softly and cast a spell on the filthy wretch. I watched as he tried to move but was unable to.

“I have casted a spell of paralysis onto you.” I said with a smile. I directed the soldiers to unshackle him from the wall and put a cloth sack over his head. The soldiers picked him up by his arms and began to carry him away. The soldiers had taken him through the dungeons and up into the town, I directed the soldiers to attach him to a large pole and tie him to it.

“Partial release.” I watched as the presence restricting his movement was gone from his head. He could turn and look around. He looked at what he was tied to. I laughed as I similarly examined the contraption. It was a flat carriage with horses attached to the front of it. He was tied to a pole which forced him into a standing position and left him open to the elements and to the people.

The horses began to trot forward onto a large street. Hundreds of people were lined up on either side of the road. He looked around at them and noticed that they were all holding something in their hands.

I held up a roll of parchment and began to read its contents. “This man’s name is Solus and he is responsible for the Shearmouth Massacre. He committed an atrocity and shows no signs of remorse. Feel free to take your frustration out on this filth.”

I looked at the people on the sides and saw them move their arms back. They all started to pitch something at him. He was being pelted by rocks. Hundreds of rocks were thrown and many found their mark.

I heard the stone throwers shout at him.

“Murderer!”

“Scum!”

“My husband was killed by you!”

A few hours later, I brought Solus back to his cell and the soldiers restrained him. Once that was done we left him battered and bruised.

That will teach you, you filthy criminal. All will bow to the almighty Agsius. A smile crept onto my face as I imagined torturing the scum tomorrow.

JAY MYERS

Humans are so ignorant. I thought to myself. They believe whatever they are told without trying to pierce the veil. They don’t know that their precious soldiers murdered my sister.

I WILL KILL THEM ALL!

Do you want to kill them all? Xeria asked.

Yes, I will tear them apart. No-one is innocent.

Then when the time comes I will assist you, for the moment however.

I felt Xeria’s presence retract as he went back into my soul. Soul, I thought to myself. Do I even have one anymore? I thought back to when my sister was still with me. Ever since I lost her, I feel alone. I feel soulless. Soulless? I ran the word through my mind.

I have no family. I have no-one and I am alone. I don’t know how to feel anymore, it’s just too painful.

I guess that piece of shit magician was right. My name is Solus.

An endless amount of time passed and I had been ‘questioned’ three different times. If they did it once a day, that meant it had been three days since the stoning incident.

“Get in there you filthy demis.”

I looked up. Demis? As in demihumans? I watched a group of soldiers shove a bunch of animal people into the cell across from his. He watched as the robed man entered the cell with four soldiers. Are they going to be tortured too?

I watched as the robed man began to ask them questions. None of them answered him. He raised his hand and a soldier pulled out his sword. He walked over to one of the animal people and swung his sword at its neck. I watched as the head dropped to the ground and rolled before coming to a stop.

The old me would have been disgusted by a sight like that. I thought to myself. How I have changed.

The decapitations continued until there were none left. The robed man exited the cell with his soldiers in tow and met my gaze. He smiled and waved his hand at the headless corpses as if he was showing off a piece of art.

Humans are filth.

The soldiers and the robed man left and I activated my ability. Different coloured orbs shone in the dim cell across from me. I extended myself towards the souls and dissolved them into myself. An immense amount of knowledge burned into my brain. My vision flashed as hundreds of memories played and imprinted themselves in my mind. What I learned was disgusting.

Humans treated beastkin as lesser creatures. They called them demihumans or animals and hunted them for sport. If beastkin were captured, they would either be enslaved or executed. From this knowledge I gained, I found conflicts in what I had read from human texts and the knowledge of the deceased beastkin.

Of course each side would have bias, but from what the beastkin has shown me...

Humans are despicable.

I woke up and opened my eyes to see the robed man opening the door to my cell. He was accompanied by his usual retinue of soldiers. “I’ve grown tired of this farce,” the robed man said. “You are scheduled to be executed the day after tomorrow.” I remained still and didn’t say anything.

This seemed to anger the robed man. He ordered his guards to begin their ‘questioning’ and waited for them to finish. For what seemed like an eternity, they had finally finished their bloody work. The robed man seemed dissatisfied so he ordered the soldiers to impale each of my limbs with their swords and leave them there.

He laughed as he left the cell with his soldiers, locked the door and walked down the corridor out of sight. The swords weighed heavily and caused torrents of pain with every small movement.

I am tired of this torment, Xeria. Will you lend me your power soon?

The time is near, I will lend you my strength tonight. We will slaughter them under the darkness and make our escape.

I look forward to it.

The hours slowly ticked away as I waited for Xeria to give me power.

It is time.

I felt a surge of power enter my body. It was like a storm welled up inside of me, coursing through my veins. I flexed my hands and yanked hard. The metallic manacles that had kept me stationary all this time snapped as easily as a twig. With my hands free, I used them to tear the remaining chains off of me.

I moved towards the cell door and ripped it off of its hinges and threw it across the corridor. The screeching and crashing sound of my work was bound to attract soldiers, but that was the point. I screamed in pain as claws began to protract from my fingers and a fire began to attack my wounds. The bleeding stopped immediately. I looked at the swords still inside of me. I ripped them out one by one and dropped them onto the floor.

It is time for the hunt.

I moved through the corridor, searching for my prey. It wasn’t long before I spotted a group of soldiers, they saw me and ran away down the corridor.

That’s right, run.

I swung my claws at the lanterns lining the walls pitching the corridor into darkness. I could see well in the darkness. I slowly walked along the corridor smashing lanterns. A soldier ran out towards me and I slashed at him. My claws raked across his face down to his stomach, leaving deep and jagged cuts down his body. He dropped to the floor and convulsed before stilling.

One.

I walked towards a large contingent of soldiers. They couldn’t see me yet but it wouldn’t be long. My claws dripped with the blood of the soldier and left a red trail down the hall. I came into the light and the soldiers shot arrows and magic towards me. So slow, I thought. I dodged the incoming projectiles with ease, the ones I couldn’t I simply smashed or absorbed into my claws. My body burned with hatred as I charged towards the line of shields. I swung my arm and tore through the metal shields as if it were paper.

I tore limbs off of soldiers and tore some in half. My strength was off the charts and my anger began to take control. I had no mercy as I slaughtered soldier after soldier. As their lines began to thin and break they became more frenzied and chaotic. They swung their swords without regard to their fellow soldiers and hit their comrades instead of me. A soldier with special markings on his armour broke away and began to run from the fight. I killed the remaining soldiers and smashed the lanterns, cloaking the corridor in darkness. I saw the soldier stop and turn around, he hit two things together and a flame appeared. Matches, I thought.

I stalked closer and closer until I was in front of him. He noticed too late however, as I slashed his neck with my claws. He raised his hands to his neck from which he was bleeding profusely. Shortly after, he dropped to the floor and bled to death. I saw another soldier run away, bleeding from a gash on his stomach. I chased him towards a cell. I noticed it was full of beastkin. I lunged and grabbed the soldier by the neck.

I held the soldier as he squirmed in my grip. “Please don’t kill me, it isn’t my fault I swear.”

“Where was the mercy when you tortured me huh?” I asked. “You humans are filth, every single one of you. I am disgusted that I share the same race.”

“Please let me g-” The soldier never finished as I crushed his throat. I looked at the dying soldier in my grip, then threw him at the wall. Intense pain flooded my body as the claws began to retract and I felt the strength ebb away. I heard a woman’s voice in my head.

Stop. The voice said.

Who are you and why the hell should I take orders from you.

I am the Goddess of Parity, I am Aequa.

Okay, so what do you want then oh goddess.

Hmph. Such disrespect. Moving past that, I want you to release the beastkin.

Why should I do that?

Why? You have killed many in your escape, should you not rescue some to maintain a balance?

I don’t need a balance. I will kill anyone who stands in my way and anyone who has wronged me, and right now that is a lot of people.

I do not wish to argue with you. Please do as I have asked.

Seeing how this was going to go in circles, I relented. Fine I will free the beastkin.

Thank you. The presence retracted back inside and he heard no more from Aequa the Goddess of Parity.

I walked over to the soldier I had thrown and fished around his pouches until I found a set of keys. I headed towards the occupied cell and unlocked the door. I entered and looked at the beastkin, they looked terrified of me. I leant against the wall and tried to speak but my strength was fading. I struggled to stand as everything went black.