Three people traversed a dimly lit stone corridor, their pace quick while they walked.
At the front, there was a burly looking man with a full set of full plate armor on, colored red and white, with a visored helmet on and a two handed sword on his waist, as if ready to be part of a field battle. Behind him, a woman of smaller build, equipped with the same armor and weapon; and another man that was wearing an ornamented cloth suit, without a weapon and nothing covering his head, letting his long red hair wave with every step.
“Excuse me, your royal highness” The woman spoke, not faltering her step while doing so “Can you reconsider?”
The red-haired man chuckled, and waved a hand in front of him.
“That won’t be possible, this is quite an important visit… “ He said with a slight smile on his face.
“I apologize, your royal highness” The female knight bowed her head.
“Pay it no mind, Dame Hildegard…I know this isn’t the ideal visit of a member of the royal family to your esteemed post, but i assure you it’s a matter of utmost importance to the kingdom”
“Prince Brandr, your royal highness, please excuse my rude comment, it won’t happen again” The female knight stopped in her tracks and kneeled in front of the one she just called Prince Brandr, who stopped as well and put a hand on her armored shoulder.
“Please, i said to pay it no mind, i rather you speak your mind about this things, i’ve told you this on previous occasions, and this one is different from the usual ones”
She got up, and looked straight at the prince’s dark red eyes.
“I apologize again, your royal highness”
After some more apologies, they resumed their journey. They walked for another ten minutes until they came across a solid iron door, guarded by a group of ten soldiers, who bowed at the sight of Prince Brandr.
“Your royal highness, we didn’t receive notice of your visit” One of them said, likely the superior officer among them. Although his words didn’t match his tone, he wasn’t particularly surprised by this visit.
“It was a matter of urgency officer, please read this document” Prince Brandr signaled the male knight with him, who unknotted a paper document from his waist and handed it to the speaking officer.
The latter read it, and his eyes grew wide as saucers.
“You are to release the demon of Isvagar?!” He shouted out loud, but he quickly bowed his head, as raising one’s voice in front of a member of the royal family was a criminal affront, an ironic thing to do as a military jail officer.
The prince just raised a hand, dismissing the thought.
“It’s been decided by the council today, to be effective immediately… he’s now under my direct supervision as the commander of the 42th division, so I’ll be needing your help with releasing him, as you see, i’ve brought enough insurance”
The male knight raised the visor of his helmet, and revealed his face to the group of soldiers, who audibly gasped, and then the first ones to get out of the shock bowed.
“Lord Drakenschild, sir!” They said in unison.
“Now you know, there’s nothing to worry about with my second uncle here, so please, let’s stop with all the bowing and ‘your highnessing’ and give us a hand, would that be alright?” Said the Prince, using a polite tone.
The soldiers then moved in a hurry, unlocking the iron gate and leading the group inside.
It was a narrow corridor, even more dark than the one they just came through. There were cells with white bars every thirty or so meters, but the cells were extremely small, barely fitting a straw bed and a wooden bucket.
The vast majority of the cells were empty, and the ones housing an inmate were almost completely silent, except for a couple of them whose residents were mumbling to themselves as madmen, although it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them as such. This prison was officially known as Skedelbyld, but the usual name to it was “The Pit”, as it was located deep underground beneath the barracks of the Vaelrian capital; this was a prison for mages, the most dangerous of them, and the ones imprisoned in this particular wing of the prison were the most extreme cases of them.
The one the Prince was visiting today was one of such cases.
“Damian Skeaven” he said, looking at a young man sitting down in the middle of his cell.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
The guards around him were tense, their postures rigid as a natural reaction when one’s life is in danger.
The black haired man in front of them, who was looking at the floor without any reaction, was a figure that was not meant to exist, or so it was said.
“Your royal highness… is it time?” The inmate said weakly, there wasn’t much vitality to his cracked voice. He was no longer staring at the floor, instead he and the Prince were looking at each other without showing any expression.
“Yes, although I think you might be surprised by the actual reason…guards, please” The prince gestured to the guards, urging them to open the cell door.
The guards looked at each other in doubt, visibly afraid of opening the cell, until Lord Drakenschild put a hand forward.
“Give me the key” He said with a commanding voice that echoed across the corridor.
The one holding the key gave it to him without a second doubt, immediately bowing in apology.
Drakenschild, without any doubt or fear, opened the cell door, which creaked from start to finish. He then unsheathed his sword from his waist, and a dazzling radiance briefly illuminated the dark cell, as if a firework had just exploded.
Damian looked at it with curiosity, and the Prince smiled at his reaction while also stepping inside the cell.
“The dragon’s tooth of the Drakenschild, impressive, is it not?” He asked, to which Damian just nodded.
“I’ll have you know, you are now under the prince’s authority and command, and any kind of reason that you give me that makes me think you are a threat to him, is reason enough to sever your head from your shoulders without a second thought, is that clear?” Drakenschild said while still holding his sword in hand, addressing Damian.
“Yes sir” He said without hesitating. Drakenschild then went behind him and unlocked his handcuffs from the chain on the floor that prevented him from escaping from the cell. His hands were still chained with a loose handcuff that allowed him some degree of movement, but he used the opportunity to stretch a bit both of his arms.
“You’ll have plenty of time for that, now, let’s go, we have much to talk about” Said the prince with a smile, giving a last look at Damian and then returning to the corridor, to the way they just came from. Damian followed behind, while being monitored by Drakenschild.
The group reached the thick iron gate they had just come from, and then separated from the guards, which let out a sigh of relief when the prince’s convoy left their sight.
After more than half an hour of walking through the silent cells of the prison, they managed to reach another iron door, although this one was quite smaller, only fit for one person at a time. Dame Hildegard went first, followed by the prince, which signaled Damian to follow him.
When they were inside, they were greeted by a simple room with a stone floor, and a table with chairs in the middle. Prince Brandr quickly took a seat, while Dame Hildegard stood behind him.
“Please, accompany me, we have to wait for a bit, so let’s use that time to explain what’s going to happen to you as of now”
Damian just shrugged and did as told, taking a seat in front of the prince without much protocol.
“I thought we were going to the gallows, I was already surprised that it took a year for that but… i see that it’s not the case, at least not right now” Said Damian, looking at his own hands, dirty and dry.
“You are not going to be executed, Damian” Brandr said, now with a serious look on his face.
Noticing the change of behavior in the usually easygoing and playful prince, Damian narrowed his eyes.
“You have been placed under my direct command in the 42th squad of the Vaelrian army, from now until the end of your sentence or your death”
Damian’s eyes went wide with surprise. He spent the last year expecting his imminent death, but now… he was told he would be freed, to be a part of the Squad of Ashes, a renowned squad within the army that usually recruited inmates with the promise of reduced sentences in exchange for service.
Although in his case, it was a bit more complicated.
“What’s my sentence in the end?” He asked.
Brandr sighed, expecting this kind of question.
“Death by sealing” he said.
Damian chuckled, as this was exactly what he expected his sentence to be. What else could he expect after all that had happened? All those deaths…
“You will be a member of the squad until you die, or you make enough contributions to make up for the past” Brandr added. He was serious as he spoke, not a glimmer of mockery or disdain.
“I won’t complain, but what contributions could be enough to make up for Isvagar?” Damian asked, but then something came to mind “Has Rodoris attacked?”
“I see your sister said something the last time she visited…” Said Brandr, his voice softening a bit for the first time since they’ve begun the conversation.
“Only that there had been strange movements in Balenvhein, but it’s the only thing that comes to mind if your royal highness mentions to make up for the past”
“Well, I'll fill you in with the details after we agree to the conditions of your recruitment… but yes, we are but a step away from war”
Silence filled the room for a few minutes, until Damian spoke.
“Do you want me to… do what happened in Isvagar again?” He asked, with a hint of doubt and fear in his voice.
Dame Hildegard visibly flinched when she heard that, and although Lord Drakenschild remained steadfast, the hand which he held his sword was placed in a way that would allow him to attack in a blink.
“I won’t lie…” Said the prince, leaning forward in his chair “There’s been voices in the council that want you on the frontlines with the hope another Isvagar happens, for you to kill as many rodorians as possible”
Damian nodded, he could understand that, at least from their perspective. He was nothing more than a danger for everyone, he was well aware of that, even if he wished to stay alive.
“But” Brandr continued “We managed to agree for you to be under my command, we are going to be part of the spearhead operations in this conflict, and you will have the opportunity to prove to yourself and the world that you are more than a vessel”
“If you don’t come with me, others will try to use you as a weapon, to try and wield you against their enemies…do not be mistaken, although they fear you, their ambition makes them blind to the risks, so please, don’t be a sword, be the swordsman, i’ll make sure you have a place in the world”
Damian didn’t respond, so Brandr continued.
“I’ve known you since you were a little boy who had just arrived at the Skeaven’s manor, what happened in Isvagar was an accident…You are no death harvester, Damian..”
“That…” Damian hesitated to speak. His hands trembled a bit, he still remembered that day.
All those deaths…
He never wanted to be a hero, nor be known throughout history. His only wish was to be able to be happy, to be of help to her sister, who was the only person in the world who he could really consider family, and to feel that he had a place in the world.
But after that day a year ago, he could think of nothing else but how he would die. He accepted that, and agreed that his death was likely to give at least peace of mind to the world.
Death by sealing, as the prince had said, would have been the best case scenario. He would be sealed along the power inside him, for it to never appear again within the world. That cursed power of death.
But if there were some who wanted to use that power for selfish interests, to increase their own power… That could mean deaths, more than he could ever imagine. None of them understood, none of them could, not even Brandr.
There were some minutes of silence, until Damian’s hands stopped trembling, and the look in his eyes was focused again. He looked at Brandr, who was still sitting expectantly, and told him.
“At your orders, commander”