Bring him in," the voice echoed in the distance.
Apart from the mining sections, the majority of the passageways lay cloaked in darkness, necessitating the presence of a manalamp for safe navigation.
However, amidst the obscurity of the tunnel, two figures emerged, clad in resplendent scarlet and green attire that glimmered faintly in the dimness.. As if that wasn't indication enough of who they were, the way they walked, indicative of the Leuf Kingdom's military division, was enough to strike fear into the heart of any Leuf kingdom's inhabitant. Every man of Leuf kingdom feared that gait, those uniforms, those elves, who were now going to carry out the order given by the voice from earlier.
The young man, who had been unconscious until that moment, suddenly regained color in his eyes, as if he were alive again despite being near death. Blood flew from his mouth, his internal organs were crushed, yet even in that moment, he did not look away from the guard.
The mere gaze of the young man, which stirred unrest in the being, sparked rage in the guard, who could barely contain himself from killing the young man. "Why should a superior race kneel before a being of low intelligence like a human?" the guard yelled angrily.
Two soldiers passed through the group of miners present at the incident, paying them no mind, as if they were flies, until they reached the young man. The first guard struck him in the back of the head with a flick of his wrist, while the other put handcuffs and a muzzle around his neck, like an animal. Then, the first guard took a chain from the backpack on his back and found a small loop on the muzzle.
They dragged him like a dog, and as he was dragged, his blood smeared across the stone floor. The young man was unconscious, but that didn't mean he felt nothing; at times, he let out groans.
And again... near the end of the tunnel, the young man regained consciousness and saw the light, but now it wasn't the same gentle light he had seen before. This was something different, something he had grown accustomed to.
It was sunlight, shining brightly that day. The young man could only see a trail of blood behind him, which stretched far as the two elves dragged him.
The people nearby just turned their heads, terrified of what might happen to them.
The elves dragged the young man through the forest of birch trees, through the villages of Ohamhlom, to the Hero's Path in Ilimvil, and all the way to the center of Vidin Loma city. They wanted to send a message, that every rebellion would end as the young man's had. And indeed, it was working; in the next few days, productivity increased by 40%, miners didn't complain about the harsh working conditions, hunters brought in even more game than necessary, farmers gave even more than was required. The entire region flourished in that moment.
The fate of the young man was unknown to anyone, and, in fact, nobody cared, fearing that it would bring misfortune upon them. The essence of human nature had been lost completely; nobody wanted to change things, and the feeling of enslavement became natural.
...
But the only one who remembered freedom was in prison.
And even though the prison was one of the worst places, the young man finally felt comfortable there. What he had been used to before was much worse; food was served once a day, the place smelled of mold and dampness, but at least it had a roof over his head. The young man finally had time to think, thought after thought, raced through his mind.
"Why was I healed?"
"Where am I?"
"How did I get here and whose body is this?"
"How much time has passed?"
Yet, the main thought that rose above all others was about the people of this time. He could never have imagined that humans would fall so low, considering them the same as animals, holding onto the bars of their cages.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Anger and sadness mixed within him. "The descendants of my warriors, comrades, countrymen, are now slaves because I, Baron Urki Millitatus, could do nothing to stop it," he said as he looked down at the ground.
The body he inhabited was weak, emaciated, his hands were like toothpicks, he couldn't even do 10 push-ups. Apart from his feeble body, which seemed like it would break under any pressure and somehow pulled heavy minerals from the mines, there was an even weaker mind.
His gaze descended to the earth below, carrying with it the weight of one who had not only lost life but also the hope that sustains it.
The guard would pass by and hit Urki with a metal object to see if he was alive.
The prisoners had no light in their cells, which were underground, and the only way to tell the time was through dinner.
The guard assigned to distribute food to the prisoners went from one cell to another, throwing in snail meat, which was one of the best dishes in the prison.
Urki's cell was at the end, so he was supposed to receive the smallest portion, but instead of a small portion, what the guard threw in was twice the usual ratio..
Despite this, Urki just looked at the ground, paying no attention to the guard.
It was like Urki really wanted to die.
"Eat," the guard told him.
But he received no confirmation.
"I've been given the task that Prisoner 52 must eat his meal," said the guard.
He repeated it again, this time with a threatening tone, for Urki to eat his food.
But Urki didn't.
And just like when an disobedient animal doesn't listen to its owner, the law of force takes over; the guard took the keys from his bag, placed them in the keyhole, and angrily entered.
"You won't eat? Well, we'll see about that," he struck the prisoner, harder and harder, but the prisoner paid no attention.
The guard was used to this behavior, and it could be said that he enjoyed hitting the prisoners. He hit Urki until he drew blood, and that was the moment when the color of the prisoner's eyes changed.
As if he had been ready for battle again, the sight and smell of blood visited him.
Time seemed to freeze, and the droplet of blood he followed reminded him, in a micro-moment, of all the battles, rage, and desire for vengeance. Looking at the blood like that, he thought, as long as I'm alive, I must not stop fighting.
"I am the guiding star, the light that must lead people to freedom," he remembered saying those words to his soldiers once.
In an instant, a sudden grip of his hand and a look at the guard gave him the feeling that the prisoner had come back to life.
Instinctively, he began to eat his meal, and while thinking, well, this isn't so bad, as it looks, while he messily tore the meat with his hands. ...
After he finished eating, he realized one thing: his body was weak, and he had to do something about it. ...
Every 2 hours, a prison guard would pass by each cell, checking on the prisoners' condition. Urki would use that time for training: 10 push-ups, running around the cell. Then he would sleep and think about the world.
"Is there a record of me?
Who rules now?
Who were those elves who brought me here?"
...
This is the secret training of the supreme private guards of Baron Urki! he said proudly.
1000 push-ups,
1000 squats,
100 kilometers, 10,000 times hitting the punching bag
and doing it all with a special breathing style, surrounded by a mana circle personally invented by the Millitatus family.
The problem was that Urki could only do 10 to 15 push-ups, squats, and other things.
But his rebellious will didn't allow him to give up.
He did the same thing every day: sleep, eat, exercise, think, and sleep, without communicating with the guards.
Now, instead of 10-15 push-ups, he could do 20.
And although he showed progress, it felt like something was blocking him, and if he couldn't figure out what it was, the guards would notice. ...
One push-up, two push-ups, three push-ups, four... the guard's voice interrupted his training. Urki had learned the behavior, time, and manner in which the guards functioned, but this was sudden, unexpected; the guard wasn't supposed to be there at that time. Urki hurried to act as if he hadn't been training.
"Mirk Gostovsky, report to the head guard's office."
Mirk Gostovsky? Urki didn't know what the body he had entered was called.
The guard approached him, running a metal object over his bars. "You, why aren't you reporting?"
"Me?" Urki replied questioningly, acting as if he really didn't know who they were talking about.
"Come with me," said the guard.
Urki saw other prisoners for the first time; for the 15 days he had been in prison, he hadn't left the cell, using the facilities inside. But the guards paid no attention to it, as if it were a standard for people of that time.
Passing by other cages, then through the laundry room, then through the area where prisoners did various tasks, all the way to the kitchen, they finally reached the head guard's office.
"Enter," said the voice behind the door.
Urki, looking back, slowly pushed the door open, unaware that instead of the people he had seen up to now, he would see an elf...