This story the story you are about to read took place a long time ago, so far ago that many have completely forgotten it but for the two it will never be forgotten for it was etched into their existence by their forebears. For some this story is one of hope, to others it is a sign of tragedy but for the two it was simply just-
2nd Cycle of history, the 112th year of athbhreith beithíoch calendar.
Φ Pulled forward by horses, countless roofless carriages thread down a singular path. The carriages are rickety, old and have sharp pieces of wood sticking out of them. They are all something that even a man with nothing would still not use.
In those carriages are countless people shoved together to fit between the four sort and brittle walls of the carriage, and every single one of them has their hands and feet bound with rope except one.
Sitting in the 5th carriage is a boy whose hands and feet are bound with chains, whose displeasure increases with every second.
The men beside me struggling for space try to crush me to find space, but I hold my ground and put up with their pestering. The constant pushing and shoving by the men to my side urk’s me to no end, but still, at least those men have spirit, unlike the one directly in front of me.
He shakes non-stop while mustering prayers. “God please, your faithful servant has never sinned against you, he has been as pure as the day he has come into this world so even if only me, please come and save me, messiah. Please forgive me lord even if I had sinned.”
Annoyed by his words, I lean forward and say, “Hey, hey you.”
The man with his hand still interlocked looks up towards me, so I say, “No imaginary god is going to save you. If he existed, you wouldn’t be in this situation, would you? So man up and stop fucking shaking.”
He says, “You speak of my imaginary faith, yet your faith in your own self seems just as imaginary to me.”
Raising my voice, a little, I say, “Wha-.”
“BE QUIET!” A voice shouts from the head of our carriage.
Calming down, I lean back, and simply go back to struggling for space. Instead of staring forward, I look around at my surroundings. To my right is the annoying pest who keeps shoving at me for space, despite the constant annoyance, I at least applauded this guy’s effort.
To my front and back are trees so tall that the sunlight struggles to hit any of us, due to this and how long we have been travelling through this forest my sense of time has faded completely.
To my left is something that I can only take a few glances at, or my life will be forfeit. There is a near-endless line of carriages, but riding on the front of the carriage is a man with two ears reminiscent of a tiger, and a tail as well; a beastkin.
Being at the edge of the carriage I can feel his gaze lock on to me from time to time, and without a doubt, the gaze of such a hideous creature drives me to insanity.
But then in the back of my mind, the words of my father play. “My son, play along and do what they say, do not fret we will come and save you!”
Sighing and out I look up at the thing to distract me from my discomfort, the trees.
What were those words that mother once said, “If heaven existed it would be the northern continent of Victoria, a place where nature is the happiest.”
But despite how amazing Victoria is, it doesn’t really live up to how heavenly it is supposed to be. But my mom did exaggerate from time to time, so I guess there is no point dwelling on it.
Yawning, I say, “I must be tired, guess I might as well sleep.”
And thus, he laid in the same spot for hours on end, and during same time, the carriages had arrived at their destination.
-Break-
Continent: Victoria
Hearing a loud bell ring I open my eyes and see that people around me are being kicked off the cart, so I jump up and hop off the cart.
It is dark, so dark that I can barely see anything, but through that darkness I see flames start to appear, and looking at them I see people holding torches in the air and waving them to attract attention.
Then I hear someone shout, “All of you hurry up over here one by one, and if any of you do something like try to run away, you will be swiftly executed.”
Following the man’s instructions all of us start to slowly form ourselves into a lines; each one in front of their own torch. We go up one by one, and each time I hear the person up there let out a gut-wrenching scream. As the terror from the sounds I hear fills me to the brim, I reach the front of the line.
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In front of me lies two beastkin, and one wonderbeast. One of them has goat horns, and a similar tail other than that he looks like a human. The one to the right is completely different, he looks like a bat in humanoid form, and to the right is a wolf wonderbeast with a third eye. Taking a quick look at the lines beside me I see they have the same split of personnel.
The one goat beastkin says, “From today on your property of the Tuatha De Danann, wish yourself lucky that you have been given such a chance.”
The bat says, “Chain shackles? You must be a special one.”
The goat says, “He is one of the citizens from our expansion into the underworld. What did they call that southern continent again?”
“Terrafide is what you're thinking of, and he must be from the most recent war. I heard the clan we were fighting this time put up some challenge.”
“Of course, we did, my people specialise in hunting idiotic, savage beasts.”
Looking at me straight in the eye, the goat says, “Funny you said because I am the same, hunting you humans is what I am best at, and I heard my brothers did a rather good job hunting you beasts.”
As I feel anger well up in me, I am about to move but the bat beastkin grabs me and holds me steady, then says, “Omega wolf record his face.”
The wolf wonderbeasts third eye glows and moments later it stops. While still confused over this, the goat takes what seems to be a steaming circler object and presses it against my arm.
The initial shock makes me scream a little, but I quickly quiet down, holding in my voice with all my might.
But doing this seems to have annoyed the goat, so he presses it even harder against my skin. Still, I hold back my voice and stare him straight in the eyes.
When he finishes the bat wonderbeast tosses me behind him and says, “Follow him.”
Looking at where he points, I see a beastkin with a group of people who have just been recently branded. When I reach the group, he says, “That’s enough people, let’s go to the camp.”
The man wakes with a torch walks with us through to front gates, and says, “Umm, in order I would like the person to go where I point to.”
We walk through what seems to be a campsite, and we do as he said, but due to being in the back of the line I happen to get a good look around.
All the people around live in thatch huts, with some of them nearly falling apart. The people are all packed into each hut with barely any space around. Including the people, the only thing that looks like it has any value is the large wooden walls that surround the campsite.
In front of me, I hear the man say, “Cormac isn’t a bad guy, I know it might look like that but he is actually rather nice even to me.”
Is he trying to talk to me? “I doubt such a thing.”
“I know it must be hard to believe, but I just wanted to say please don’t hold it against him. Since he is someone who bothers to say hello to me.”
I thought so, but this one in front of me, the rat beastkin, is rather pathetic. It seems I have found a weak spot within this place.
Pointing to one of the most broken huts, he says, “Go there.”
Walking over to the hut, I notice something strange; no one seems to be in there.
Entering, I say, “Hello anyone there.”
Getting no response I sigh, and walk forward and when I do, I notice that I stepped on something. Pulling my foot back, I say, “A person!”
I didn’t notice because it was so dark but on the floor in front of me was a little blue-haired boy, from the looks of it only a few years younger than me.
The boy sits up and says, “You're new.”
His eyes are pitchback and lack life. His skin is bruised and cut, and his body is extraordinarily skinny. Looking at him I wonder if what I am looking at is actually a human or simply a walking corpse.
Composing myself, I say, “I am new, just brought in.”
“I see,” The boy says with a tone that I can only call flavourless as if he said them for information, not communication.
Getting up the boy walks to the side and gets what seems to be a thatch bed.
But holding up my hand, I say, “Don’t bother, my people are nomadic, so I find more comfort sleeping this way.”
Laying down on the floor, I mutter, “I don’t plan to stay here for a long time anyway, I am going to live a long and free life.”
Closing my eyes, I heard the sound of the boy going to bed behind me, and soon I fell into a deep slumber.
-Break-
A bell goes out throughout the campsite which causes one boy to jolt up, and immediately he goes to walk the boy sleeping on the floor with no covering.
He pushes him again and again whilst saying, “Wake up,” In the same flavourless tone he used the day before. But it was to no avail, so he decided to use another method.
Jumping up he slams his entire body weight into the asleep boy's stomach which causes the boy to wake up and scream, “MOTHERFUCKER!”
Looking at the boy beside me, I scream, “What the fuck are you doing!?”
But he doesn’t respond and just grabs my arm and runs me out of the hut. When we exit, I see that everyone in the campsite is now in front of a large statue in the northwest.
Stopping us in front of the statue, the boy lets go of me, so I ask, “What the hell have you been doing.”
“It is morning prayer time, if we were late we would have been punished. Now bow down and follow along.”
As everyone blows down, a man comes out and says, “Now repent.”
Most of the people in the area, holding their hands together say, “Forgive us oh great goddess Danu, we are sinners whose bloodlines have stood against your children. Are sins will never be forgiven, but I ask you to accept our apology and the apology of our foolish forebears. By the power we have, we disregard all of our predcesso-.”
Beside the boy with blue hair, he sees his new roommate has stopped praying and has a face filled with fury.
What kind of nonsense prayer is this? Do they really think I will just insult my bloodline? Feeling fury well up inside me I am about to stand up and say something, but then the young boy beside me grabs my head with one hand and pushes me down into the ground.
Quietly, I mutter, “The fuck are you doing,” While trying to push against. But in the midst of that, I notice that no matter how hard I try I can’t push back against his hand.
Suddenly, I hair someone else stand up and say, “I refuse to pray to any other god than my own.”
It was the man who was sitting across from me.
“This is an utter far-.”
Instantly, I hear a sound I am all too familiar with; the one of heads being crushed. Feeling blood pour over my body, I realize the man had just died.
Calming down I get into position and continue to mumble the prayer but with furry filling my soul.
When the prayer finishes, one of the beastkin screams, “Now go to work!”
Walking with everyone out, I get a good look at where we are.
Serene green grass, towering flowers, trees which reflect the sunlight, and a lake which is a clear blue than the sky, everything before me is in harmony. Before I couldn’t notice it due to the darkness but now, I do, this is what Mom meant when she said Victoria is heaven.