Death
“ “ - All empty parchments waiting to be written on.
Gloomeye was lying on his back in his cage, and now he understood Splinter, who was lying not far away. It''s better to do nothing, maybe he can disappear into the world as if never existed. His eye leaked onto his face and some of it had got onto his clothes. Intense pain throbbed in his eye socket, along with the pounding of his heart. Darkness began to thicken on the right. Small, but eternal.
He lay there, oblivious to the passage of time, until Splinter broke her days-long silence:
"I was born in a pit like this. I was able to free my body, but my soul stayed there. And now it was dragging my body back. In the cage, in the prison, in the darkness..."
^^^
Young Boiriann was led into her home, a cell in the earth where you could only lie down. Even she was cramped, let alone her parents. The ceiling in the cell was so low because above them was another cell with another family, and above that another and another.
Dad was already lying with his face against the wall, and mom was lying on her back. Boiriann threw herself into her arms and sobbed.
"Oh, come on, Ann, it''s like you saw a troll," Mom joked, stroking her child''s head.
"They torment you so much!" the girl wailed through her sobs.
"They want to make you a sorceress, magic is emotion," mom explained softly.
"I don''t want to be a sorceress! I don''t want you to get hurt!"
"Believe me, sweetheart, I don''t want to do that either. And your Dad doesn''t want to, even though he liked to lose at cards. But our world is broken. Only magic can put it back together again.”
Boiriann calmed down a little, more from exhaustion than from a revision of her view of the situation. She took a key from under her clothes.
"What is it, Ann?" Mom was frightened.
"This key was on the table where you are being tortured. No one saw me take it. Perhaps we can escape..." the girl suggested.
"Oh, Ann. Don''t tell anyone," Mom snatched the key from her daughter''s hand. "I''ll try to save us."
The next day, instead of the usual torture room, Boiriann was taken to a striped man with horns covered in a cloth (also striped) that looked like a strange hat.
"Ah, here''s the orphan," he said, looking at the girl.
"I am not an orphan," Boiriann corrected.
"Your parents are dead, Wrath-14. Just now. That makes you an orphan," the striped man corrected her.
"No, you''re lying!" the girl shouted.
"Denial? Very good. Well, since we can''t torture your parents for lack of them, we''ll have to move you to another experiment."
The next time, Boiriann lived on a platform that didn''t quite fit her. The platform was at the top of a huge pillar, so long that if the girl fell, she would be suspended for tens of seconds. Below, the wasteland spread out, and in the distance some structures could be seen. But it was better not to look down, or her head would start to spin and it seemed that the next gust of wind would blow her down.
Every day the pillar was lowered and she was fed and measured. Then the pillar was raised back into the sky.
But one day, the pillar Boiriann lived on came down and never came up with her. She was in a semi-conscious state when she was brought back to the Striped Man:
"We have found you new parents, Fear-54. And you become Wrath-14 again. Oh, you''ll get along, you all love to scream so much."
When Boiriann was brought home, the adults were already there. A woman and a man were crying, their arms around each other. The woman looked up at the girl and asked in a hoarse voice:
"Who are you?"
"My name is Boiriann. I lived here with my parents."
"Can we just call you Boi?" the man asked.
Boi nodded.
The new parents shared a similar fate to Boiriann''s family. Only their child was being tortured, and they were forced to watch.
Boiriann entered her home, her voice hoarse. Boiriann collapsed in her home. Boiriann walked into her home, smearing tears of blood. Boiriann was thrown into her home. Boiriann entered her home, she ran out of tears. Boiriann limped painfully back into her home. Boiriann crawled into her home. Boiriann entered her home. Boiriann entered her home. Boiriann entered her home...
Boiriann did not enter her home. She was led along a familiar path through dark corridors. She couldn''t walk because she was afraid, and they dragged her by the elbows. All she could feel was growing panic, nausea and a tremor so intense it was transmitted to her porters. Boi was taken to the Striped Man.
"Hello, orphan," he said, and his face cracked. The girl would have recognised a smile if she hadn''t stopped at some point to understand what it is.
Boiriann heard a hum. It was a hum from the very foundations of the world building. What the First Gods heard as they created the Universe. This primordial hum grew and a more ancient silence began to break in. It became like the sound of drums coming closer, like earth - to a man who had fallen from the sky. An endless hum followed by an endless silence began to overwhelm the world. Everything trembled, pulsed and began to turn red. The walls, the ceiling, the objects, Boiriann''s insides, especially her eyes, trembled. Is she building herself into the trembling world, or is she sending a ripple through everything? Judging by the spreading cracks in the walls and the way people were running around, the outside world felt the same as the girl. Darkness came at last.
As Boireann came to, she saw two dark silhouettes against the bright white.
"It''s definitely a wrath demon, but it''s incredibly strong, and it''s clearly a numbered one. Our power was barely enough to subdue it. It is clearly above the level of Malice, Hatred, and even Fury."
"So we can think of a name for ourselves. What about Frenzy? Was it definitely Wrath-14 that caused it?"
"She is the only one who has lost all emotions and therefore the ability to use magic. Either this girl created a demon in her critical moment at the cost of everything: humanity, soul, magic and the future, or it''s just an unbelievable coincidence and an inexplicable demonic self-birth. Which, as an archmagus, I''m not prepared to accept."
"Can she regain the ability to use magic?"
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
"It is possible. If the emotions return. In time. But in our conditions this is impossible."
"So she''s useless to us. Throw her out.”
"Frenzy will attract a lot of attention. Have you heard of crybabies'' scouts nearby?"
"That''s an order. And do it alone. Then come to my office."
Boiriann was plunged back into darkness.
***
"I didn''t feel anything at first. But then Slizvert gave me a goal - to destroy the Court of Madness. I thought it was the best thing for the world. But now I realise that all I want is revenge. They destroyed me, and I want to destroy them in return. Now my revenge will be taken without me.
But judging by the way the world works, nothing will happen but the triumph of the Court of Madness. They will have unlimited power, and we will all be Boirianns and Girls."
The girl finished, and there was silence. Gloomeye continued to lie on his back. No, waiting to disappear into the world is foolish. He must take non-existence into his own hands. Just not breathing will not work, the body is stupid and will cling to existence. But if you can put something in your throat...
Gloomy searched the area for suitable rocks. As luck would have it, they weren''t there. Then he felt under his clothes for the sling and the object he had taken with the dagger. He lifted the object to his eyes (now half useless) and began to turn it in his hand, examining it. It was a figurine of wolves that Earlier had given him earlier. Gloomeye had forgotten all about it. The alm-not-alm that gave his father his name.
That''s right, I have a family. There are parents, though fewer than Splinter''s - only three (though I do not know about Valkali''s private life (she travels with some guy)). And the parents have friends - Mom with Babyboy, Moose with Shroomer.
Yes, and I had friends (though a long time ago) - Meat, Crushy and Rasca, and now only Giggler. Giggler has a father - Storyteller. What did he talk about? The deeper the hero falls, the higher he can climb?
And the others? Firster and Earlier, Northman and Divider. They''ll be disappointed if I don''t come back. And the whole Worldedge.
Don''t I have any friends outside the clan? Dara? Seifo and Fatron''? Old hermits? Even a couple of Mourneers helped along the way - Yar and Almcatcher. Lady Uthera? Drat who speaks the language of his first mother? And Splinter? She''s in need of help right now, and he''s just lazing around. What was he thinking?
Gloomy hid the figurine, tied the sling around his leaking eye and stood up.
"I''ve figured out how to get out of here," he said to Splinter. "We''re helpless, so we need help. We need to start a slave revolt."
Splinter looked at him in surprise, as if she had seen a new person instead of an old acquaintance.
"Haven''t you had enough, one-eyed? Just don''t try to involve us in any of your stupid games," the half-shaven slave said.
Gloomeye looked at the slaves. It will take several months to gain their trust, to slowly drag them out of their apathy and grief. Or...?
"Tomorrow we''ll give the masters a fight, whether you want it or not," Gloomeye heard his father''s commanding voice. "I''ll start, and then I''ll let them know that we''re working together. All slave owners suspect their slaves of plotting rebellion, and they''ll believe me. You will have a choice - fight or death. Pity... it''s a pity Girl is no longer with us, she would have warned another group.
Some of the slaves looked at each other and started to get up. At least something!
"Better save your strength for tomorrow. And if you get up to fight me, remember that I am full of energy because I am determined to fight, and you are a wreck because you have given up and are preparing to die. And the guards will rush in here, open the door, and I''ll let them know that this is the beginning of our escape plan together. But we don''t have any pickaxes at the moment. Choose."
"Gloomeye, are you sure?" Splinter whispered weakly.
He looked back at her and smiled:
"Absolutely not. But tomorrow we will be free from this slavery."
***
Gloomeye banged his pickaxe hard against the stone. The other slaves, with the exception of Splinter, kept looking at him nervously and whispering to each other. This was not lost on the guards.
Gloomy found a rock that was very hard, and he tried to knock out the rocks around it. He was approached by the fan of antagonizing him, under the pretext of taking the pieces away:
"When already?" he whispered.
"Are you impatient now?" Gloomy smiled.
"What is it that you can''t keep your mouth shut? Your days are like one!" the guard who had been knocked out by the guy yesterday shouted at them (before work he had told Gloomy that he would no longer take him to the toilet, and now he always kept a certain distance from the guy).
"What are we waiting for? We''re only going to get tired!" said one of the burly slaves, driving a pickaxe into the head of the nearest guard.
The slaves immediately turned on their guards. They tried to draw their weapons, but all the rioters were close to each guard, either by accident or design. Only one guard managed to draw his sword and wound a slave before being stabbed by the mob.
"Attack!" Gloomeye shouted. "All together, as agreed!"
"And that was your entire plan?" Splinter asked.
"It was easier than it seemed," the half-shaven slave said, surprised at himself.
"All thanks to you, good sirs. Your long subservience has lulled their vigilance. Well done!" Gloomy said. "Now I suggest we take their weapons and change into their armour."
"I hope this works and you stop trying to disguise yourself as an enemy," Splinter said.
They killed every Humanist and Steel Collar along the way, losing only two. Gloomeye stormed into the rest room, smashed the tip of his pickaxe into the slaver''s face, and went to the crate to collect his belongings. He used the pickaxe to hit his former masters at least once with the weapon they had given him.
At the next fork, Gloomy decided to go straight ahead instead of going down. The guy really wanted to say goodbye to Astoro. He was sitting at a table near the entrance to the mountain path, and next to him, of course, was his pet orc. Seeing the aggressive crowd, the master stood behind his slave.
"Did you think of piling on us with the whole bunch? The expected risk in my business," Astoro pointed at Gloomy. "Kill."
"No! Stop! Don''t attack us!" Gloomeye shouted at the orc who was about to attack. She was surprised and stopped.
"Attack! Your master commands!" Astoro ordered.
"Do not listen to your former master! I defeated him and now everything he has is mine, don''t you see? I order you not to attack!" Gloomeye ordered.
The slave looked from Astoro to Gloomy and back again, undecided.
"And you bring me far more losses than gains," the Humanist said, as emotionless as ever. "Zuzu, die."
The runes on Zuzu''s neck began to bleed. The slave staggered to her knees, clutching the floor with one hand and trying to stop the bleeding with the other. While everyone''s attention was on her, Astoro took out his stiletto, for some reason, circled around and stood on the mountain path. The path was so narrow that he had to stand sideways.
"Cancel the order," Gloomeye stepped onto the path, pickaxe in hand.
"If you say so, gloom eye. Zuzu, don''t die, just cark it!" Astoro touched Gloomeye''s outstretched weapon with his own, spun it around, and knocked it into the abyss. Zuzu collapsed to the ground.
"Zuzu, live!" Gloomy shouted, but it didn''t help: the runes were harder to fool than their prisoner.
"Gloomeye, catch it!" Splinter grabbed a sword from the nearest ex-slave and threw it at the guy. He just turned around and immediately returned his gaze to his opponent. Just in time, as Astoro stabbed him in the face, and Gloomeye dodged, escaping with a cut on his cheek. The tossed weapon fell into the abyss after the pickaxe.
"I don''t know how to use a sword anyway," the guy dodged another attack.
"Then come back and we''ll throw weapons at him," Splinter suggested.
"Let me take my revenge properly! We will fight one on one!" Gloomeye sounded annoyed at the constant distractions from mortal danger. He dodged three quick jabs, but the last one still slipped over his shoulder.
"You want to play noble? Remember what I taught you when I was on top of you!" Splinter ignored the surprised stares that were directed at her.
"Have you forgotten what I told you? I don''t need to be taught, I''m the son of the bandit," Gloomy pulled out his belt and took it in both hands. The pants fell down, of course. Sounds of surprise and disbelief could be heard from the crowd watching the duel.
"Stop him! Can''t you see he''s gone mad?" one of the former slaves called out.
Splinter turned to him:
"Gloomeye is the sanest of us all," she proudly stood up for her friend.
"Nice belt, but I don''t remember it coming with my clothes that you stole," Astoro said, throwing a few more jabs that Gloomeye dodged.
"A gift from the Demon Lord Regent," Gloomeye explained, catching the enemy''s stiletto in the loop of his belt.
"How..." Astoro started, but Gloomeye took a step towards him and smooched the air. The Humanist master''s face showed surprise, and he fell, tripped by his opponent.
Gloomeye immediately caught him by the throat with Regent''s gift. Astoro''s feet slipped off the path, but Gloomy held him by the belt. The stiletto flew off into the abyss as the slave master tried to undo his new collar with one hand and find a handhold with the other. Gloomeye took a more comfortable grip on the belt and lifted the enemy up, leaving him with no support.
Astoro''s face became less beautiful by the second: it grew fatter, redder, and his eyes had decided to become external organs. When the former master stopped fighting, Gloomeye released him into the abyss.
"Here''s the special one," the new killer said wearily. The crowd, which had been holding its breath until now, erupted in cheers. The guy''s arms and legs were shaking with tension, but he still limped over to the dying Zuzu. Her upper body under her throat was completely covered in blood, which had already formed a puddle underneath her (the blood is red, the same as in humans).
"Was I a good girl?" the orc asked weakly.
"You were the best girl ever. The best in the world," Gloomy said, stroking her head. She died shortly after.