Another spear slipped past the crushing chains digging into her chest and back. The point of the spear was a searing pain that drove her to scream another silent scream. Silent might have been a wrong, she could hear herself screeching mad with pain and so did the chosen, but the men around her that gleefully stabbed her over and over couldn’t hear her howl. Though they seemed to take great pleasure in the way she sometimes jerked.

My Lady please let us help, please.

It was Isabella this time, pleading with her. The chosen were a mess of emotions and she was tempted to release them. It was a consuming amount of pain that drove her to the brink with every stab, kick and caning. It would only take a simple gesture or a word to release them like the angels of the old testament. Her chosen would fly high as they carved her anger into Werthe and annihilated this forsaken city and its people. Everything and everyone would be ground to ash. And a growing part of her was fine with Dion’s destruction and unleashing her terrible wraith on the world. No one would dare to hurt her again.

Was this the madness that Sister Sun hoped to unleash on the world? Was this the reason she waited in the prison beneath their feet? Regardless of the answer a terrible rage would be sated this day one way or another.

Stay away! They might redeem themselves.

Her rage grew from a need that would not be denied and she pondered the role of the divine as she felt them drag her to a statue above the prison aptly named the Tomb. At the statue a pretentious man, councilman Ledos, gave an impassioned speech about the triumph of humankind over the monstrous goddess, Sister Moon. They cheered him on when he kicked her. The crowd booed her as he blamed her for the city’s woes and when the speech ended they unceremoniously dropped her down a hole at the statues base. Cheers echoed in the chamber as she fell down into the dark. She let herself hit the ground to get the full murdered experience then removed her hand bindings. Her body shrank with a thought and the chains fell from her body on to the hard stone ground. With a ragged sigh her body returned to normal and she stepped out from the circle of chains at her feet. There was a scraping sound above her as they sealed the hole and the prison became a sea of darkness.

Are you okay my lady? Do you want us to join you now?

It was Isabella again.

No thank you, I need a moment. Let everyone know I’ll be back soon.

She wanted to lash out and inflict pain, so she kept her chosen away and kept them safe from her anger. The city above would be judged after she met with Filou and maybe her sister goddess deserved some of her wraith first, they all deserved what was coming. Glowing stones rose into the air and lit the room. On the floor in the cavernous pit there was a tidy pile of corpses and some looked like they might have survived long enough to crawl for a while after the fall. She couldn’t help but sympathize with what must have been a terrifying end.

“Barbaric.” Syl said to no one in particular. It was a terrible place she decided and looked for a path deeper into the prison. The pit’s exit was a narrow series of stairs that led her to an ancient corridor of stone prison cells and connected hallways. The prison proper was a quiet place mostly preserved from the passage of time. She carefully made her way past ancient tools and personal items leaning against walls and spread out on sturdy looking furniture. In one hallway the body a man still sat at a desk wearing what might have been an ancient guards uniform. The officer still held a stone tablet in his desiccated hands any greater meaning now lost to time.

Syl stopped by a set of thick black metal doors, the final threshold between her and Sister Sun, and for a moment she considered walking away. The threshold would change her, she knew, and there would be no going back. Syl drew in a deep breath as she swung a door outward and walked into the chamber.

The vision had mostly prepared Syl for the sight in the large chamber. Chains held cages suspended in the air at various heights surrounding a circular dais where Sister Sun was also wrapped in similar chains and bound with her arms lashed to a couple of pillars. Her flesh looked mummified and her clothing was nothing but worn bits and scraps clinging to an almost skeletal frame. There were loud snapping sounds as the chains holding her in place began to break and sleeping forms started to stir in the cages around the dais.

Syl wasn’t prepared for what happened next. The living corpse with black eyes started doing stretches and soon the chamber was filled with another round of snapping and popping sounds as she worked her way from head to toe loosening joints that had been still for hundreds of years. Too weirdly stunned to interrupt Syl stood watching until the other goddess finished.

“You aren’t what I expected” Syl said.

Sister Sun held up a boney finger, seemingly asking Syl to wait.

The figures in the cages began to drop down and collect near Sister Sun by a quick count there was around sixty of them. They were a variety of races though all of them looked a little worn and wore rags that Syl assumed used to be their clothing. Many of them followed her lead and did a series of stretches to loosen up. The frail corpse looking woman wearing nothing but torn scraps of cloth otherwise known as Sister Sun held her arms out wide to them when they were done and smiled. Then tapped her chest twice and did a sweeping gesture toward them. The figures nodded staying quiet and a few smiled back. Then one of them started rapidly making his own hand gestures, followed by a woman in the back, though they all stopped when Sister Sun started to gesture again. Syl didn’t know sign language though it was definitely some form of a hand language. An argument of some kind broke out as she watched and many of the silent people around Sister Sun started gesturing rapidly.

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Sister Sun held her arm high in the air with her palm facing them and then brought it down in a gesture that looked like she was pushing something down. The silent crowd stopped gesturing and a few even nodded. Then in a strange moment they turned and faced Syl as a group. The man from earlier came forward and made a gesture she didn’t understand and then nodded. After that they left filing out past Syl. Some of them smiled at her as they went by and others did what reminded her of a salute. When the last one went by Sister Sun was back holding up a boney finger seemingly asking her to wait, a long minute passed and then the hand came back down.

“Thanks for waiting Syl. You wouldn’t happen to have something to drink would you?” Sister Sun said her voice was hoarse and dry.

“Ah, no… sorry.” Syl said and felt a little embarrassed. “What did that man say to me before they left?”

“He said, Don’t let us down.” Sister Sun said while watching her with her strange black eyes.

“Let us down… Like how you made me come here, and let me down? They beat and stabbed me and the mob cheered as they tossed me down here!” Syl said her anger rising.

A hoarse laugh dry and brittle croaked out of Sister Sun. Syl’s anger continued to rise until a long boney arm reached over and flicked her ear hard enough for her to yelp in surprise.

“Take responsibility for your own crap, little sis.” Sister Sun said with her head cocked to the side.

“How dare you! I don’t even know you!” Syl screamed.

“No you don’t remember me…” Sister Sun said her cracked voice filled with grief.

“Oh… I’m so sorry.” Syl said.

“I knew you didn’t remember me, totally worth it… you felt bad enough to realize I’m not who you’re really mad at now right?” Sister Sun said. Her voice was starting to sound closer to normal as they talked, the grief from before forgotten.

“Feeling manipulated and not happy about it, but my rage is no longer directed at you.” Syl said starting to see why the chosen had warned her about Sister Sun.

“You’re about to feel more manipulated.” Sister Sun said as she started of all things to hop up and down. “It has been a while, really hated being down here by the way.”

“Aren’t you the goddess of death? This place is pretty horrible would have thought you liked it.” Syl said

“Did your ’System’ tell you that?” Sister Sun said as she snickered. Then it happened, on one hop she was a living corpse and the next hop a young mist elf that could have been related to Syl’s avatar stood in the same place. She was similar in age and features and was about the same height. The young girl standing there watching her could have been a different person if it wasn’t for those eerie black eyes. Sister Sun gave Syl a long considering look. “I honor the past and help the dead transition to new beginnings so they can grow. This isn’t the shire chica.”

The shire… Was she possibly another shard that had memories of earth?! “Why are you down here Filou? Are you another shard?” Syl said.

“Hehe hahaha oooh… and the worst part is I can’t ever laugh around anyone else. I’m not a shard, Im a prime like you Syl. That’s what I call us… it’s just a name for an original… like it? I like it. As for why I’ve been stuck in this stupid hole in a forced performance… come with me.” Filou said and then appeared directly next to Syl so close she jerked in surprise. Then the little monster poked her in the chest with a finger and not gently.

“Ow!” Syl said. They weren’t in the prison anymore it was a city and she could see part of it burning in the distance.

“This my dear sister is Darnsa and you would know that if you were doing more than just playing elf in Ril.” Filou said with a face that might have passed for amusement. She pointed over to a pile of bodies discarded in the street. “Those are technically your fault.” Filou said.

“What?! How is that my fault! I’ve only been up for a few days, I’m still learning!” Syl said frustrated. When she looked over Filou was standing near the pile of corpses dragging one of them out of the pile. “Wait, what are you doing? I don’t trust you to be normal.” Syl said horrified.

“Well, this girl needs clothes and this thing isn’t a person anymore.” Filou said holding up the arms of a corpse of a young girl. “Also, the answer to your question is the answer to my question. Why do you think there are shards?” Filou said while dressing herself.

“How would I possibly know that.” Syl said after a moment.

“You didn’t even consider bringing me a drink when I was down there. I knew you wouldn’t but seriously it still sucks. And don’t try to blame it on the people of Dion. You saw how they left me in there and yet you still blamed me for how they treated you. That little event was a taste of what they did to me for years, decades!” Filou said ranting, suddenly she had an odd look. “Stand right there and don’t talk to anyone, I’m getting a drink.” Filou said and was gone.

‘Where did she go?’

With Filou gone the area grew quiet and Syl couldn’t help but take in her surroundings. The horizon and early morning sun were shrouded in lingering smoke that made her feel isolated in a pseudo dark. She stood near the center of a deserted street marked on either side by the gutted remains of houses. Wisps of smoke drifted up from the scattered debris of collapsed roofs and walls and another pile of bent and broken bodies rested only a few meters away.It was a surreal scene of quiet stillness that contrasted the visible reminders of the previous day’s carnage. A moment in time that when witnessed few would forget. She realized then why she was here, Filou wanted her to see and process. The black eyed mini-monster had made her point, she wouldn’t do this to Dion and didn’t want to add another destroyed city to her legacy.

Syl’s knowledge of the shards was limited and as much as she hoped the problem would solve itself somehow it was doubtful it would be that easy. As she considered why the shards existed it became apparent that when they existed was just as important. The creation of the shards must have been a consequence intended or unintended as part of the creation of Werthe or possibly her own ascension. Syl conceded that the chosen for all their good intentions wouldn’t be able to help her as much as Filou.

And she had to admit that even though they had gotten off with a rocky start Syl was glad the black-eyed weirdo was around. Syl turned toward movement to her left expecting Filou and found herself faced with a statuesque woman with red and black eyes, a long braid, and horns wearing some sort of uniform. The sword the woman had held clattered to the ground when their eyes met. Syl almost said something to her but remembered Filou’s words so she gave the young woman a solemn smile instead, all too aware of where they were. To her surprise tears ran down the soldiers cheeks and she returned the smile. Neither one spoke until the soldier picked up her sword, saluted, and and made a quiet exit.

A soft whistle came from behind and Syl turned to find Filou now wearing a blue and white dress siting on the the wall of a ruined house swinging her legs back and forth. The very image of a happy preteen if she wasn’t a sneaky goddess. “Good job, that one becomes one of your high priestesses eventually. Loved the sad but sweet smile, really sold the moment.” Filou said while she sipped a layered drink in a hug glass.

“What in the world are you drinking?” Syl said and eyeing the suspicious beverage.

“Oh this? It is a tequila sunrise, I’ve got a guy and it seemed appropriate given the time of day.” Filou said as she sipped and kicked her legs back and forth.

“You expected me to bring you a cocktail while entombed in a dungeon?” Syl said.

“What? It would have been awesome.” Filou said.

“You look very underage drinking that.” Syl said.

“First off, as you said before elf years and I’m only matching your preteen obsession.” Filou said.

“I feel like if I argue with you about this it’s going to bite me in the butt later.” Syl said.

“Yep, now you’re getting it.” Filou said while grinning. “I promise I’ll get you back soon, we have one more stop.” Filou said and in a blink they were gone.