486 P.C. (Undisclosed Location)
Urgh my head is killing me… Charles slowly regained consciousness in a stone room with an iron door that was firmly shut. There were several other young urchins also in the room, some were even awake, but none were making a single sound. The only source of light was coming from a wall candle located in the hallway outside the room.
Charles tried to slowly stand up however his legs felt weak, and he also noticed there was a weighted prisoners anklet attached to his right foot. Charles looked toward a younger girl who was nearby and tried to ask her about their current location or why everyone was being silent. However, he found that when he tried to use his voice that no sound came out.
“Hello.” He waved and mouthed the words despite his rising panic at seeming loss of his vocal cords. The girl just continued to stare vacantly forward and that’s when Charles noticed that most of the other urchins in the room all shared that absent look.
Alright well this is bad. Very bad even. I thought I was getting taken to Tommy to get the living shite beaten out of me before passing onto the great beyond but now I’m stuck here in some sort of freakish dungeon.
Charles thoughts continued to speed by at maximum velocity. He had no idea where he was. He had no idea how Billy was doing, and he had no idea what was going to happen to him next. All he knew was that he was stuck in this room full of zombie like urchins.
**Tap Tap Tap Tap** The sound of steady steps came from the hallway that placed Charles’s confused panic at bay but brought his anxiety into overdrive.
A fully grown man wearing a black cloth over his head along with matching light armor stood at the doorway and peered through the prison bars towards Charles. For a few brief moments, Charles and the masked individual made eye contact before the man turned around and headed back to where he came from. A few minutes later an excited young girl’s voice could be heard.
“Thank all that is silent, he’s finally awake! Took him long enough. Tommy was getting impatient to start the initiation.”
Riley once again made her presence known as she appeared at the doorway peering towards Charles with the same manic grin she had when he first saw her. Behind her stood the same masked individual from earlier.
“Have a nice dream sleepyhead? It might be the last good one you have for a while you know.” Her hazel eyes met his icy blue ones as he thought of all the bitter curse words he could use in this situation before recalling he couldn’t speak.
“Oh, I forgot about the medicine. Don’t worry your voice will come back after the initiation or maybe not… depends on how you do. Haha!” She giggled as if she’d just made an extremely funny joke.
“Anyways, Xavier would you be so kind as to help our potential chapter member with removing his anklet and make sure he gets to the ritual room without causin’ a fuss. I’ll go inform Tommy that we can start the initiation soon.” Then she disappeared like the wind down the hallway.
The clanking of iron keys and a loud metallic click rang out as the man now known as Xavier opened the cell door and approached Charles. He was a mountain of a man, and the extremely heavy prisoner weight seemed like a light toy in the hands of the masked man as he expertly unlocked and removed the metal contraption.
The man didn’t speak after the anklet fell to the floor with a soft metallic clink. He just stood there silently waiting with a hand outstretched towards the open-door, beckoning Charles to stand and exit the cell.
Charles stared blankly at the man for several moments before his intuition started sending warning signals that the large man was becoming impatient. Slowly, and with a silent groan, Charles made his way to his feet and shuffled out the door.
The hallway was like the interior of the cell with large stone cut walls and floors with periodic candles spreading sparse light along the way.
Xavier quickly overtook Charles and started walking down the path in the opposite direction that Riley had ran towards. He didn’t seem worried at all that Charles would attempt to run away and maintained a slow and steady stride down the hallway.
To be honest, he would be right to assume that Charles wouldn’t run away. He had no idea where he was, and he’d just watched the man casually move around a weight that he couldn’t budge. Charles had a feeling that if he tried to run away things wouldn’t end well for him.
He continued to silently hobble after the man for what felt like several minutes until the reached what appeared to be a grand entryway. Two other individuals wearing the same uniform as Xavier stood on either side of the entrance and didn’t acknowledge their existence beyond a quick glance. Beyond the guards, stood an ornate silver door that had a large engraving of a skeletal reaper with a boney finger raised and three notches etched across its forehead, it seemed to be hushing everyone entering the room. Xavier walked up the door and lightly tapped a metallic knocker against the door before it swung inwards allowing them to enter.
The interior was pitch black. The only light came from a torch hung on the wall at the entryway. Xavier removed the torch and started walking forward. The pale orange flames struggled to illuminate more than a few feet around them.
Charles felt himself becoming more and more nervous as he continued following behind Xavier. His body was still sore and the unknown of what was about to happen to him now wasn't improving his situation. He even had the realization that this might be the first time in his entire life where he wished he could go back to picking up stale bread for an evening’s meal. While Charles was lost in thought, he didn’t notice that Xavier had stopped walking and walked straight into the back of the large man.
**Thump**
The sound of Charles backside thudding onto the ground echoed slightly into the darkness.
**Scritch Scritch Scritch** What sounded like a thousand claws scraping against stone echoed quietly from below as Charles felt every hair on his body stand on end. Suddenly, Charles felt a firm grip on his arm before being hosted across the shoulder of Xavier who was now definitely pissed off. Very fearful and unsure of what he’d just heard, Charles lay paralyzed as Xavier approached what appeared to be an old rope bridge that hung over a chasm of darkness. With practiced and balanced steps, Xavier made his way at a much faster pace than before. Charles felt every sway of the bridge as he bobbed side to side from the man’s shoulder.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
A minute or two later they reached the end of the bridge and arrived at what appeared to be a large bonfire pit. Intricate calligraphy painted in inky black swirls covered the stone platform surrounding the main basin.
“Welcome to initiation unenlightened.” A deep and smooth voice came from a man who somehow Charles had failed to notice until that moment. He was seated on the far side of the fire pit in a meditative position. He wore the same black garbs that Xavier wore except this man wore a skull mask that looked very similar to the reaper etched into the first door.
Charles nervously started towards the man still unsure of where of what was about to happen or what those sounds from earlier were.
“If you would be so kind as to put him down Xavier. We will begin shortly after Riley and the Silent Watchers arrive.”
Charles suddenly found himself on both feet again as Xavier swiftly placed him the ground and respectfully retreated towards the bridge they’d just walked across.
Slowly they came, first those that Charles assumed the masked man referred to as the Silent Watchers. He couldn't tell how many there were, but they all wore long silky robes with large hoods that completely concealed their faces and body. The only thing that stood out against their black garb was three grey notches embroidered at the front of their hoods. The new arrivals walked at a steady pace and slowly formed a circular formation around the fireless pit.
Finally, Riley arrived, only now she had changed into a black huntress garb that matched the clothing of the others gathered on the platform. Her eyes quickly found Charles who was still standing bewildered at the same spot he'd been placed down at. She silently mouthed the words “Good Luck,” before smiling at him like a childhood sweetheart and moving to stand next to the skull masked man.
“Now that we have all gathered, let us begin a new round of initiation and hopefully the birth of a new charter member.”
The skull-masked man slowly walked forward until he faced Charles directly and the man’s grey eyes met Charles’ blue ones. “My name is Thomas Mourning and I shall be the Reaper in charge of your initiation. May your soul find enlightenment from Silence.” He whispered softly at the end which was softly repeated by everyone other than Charles and Xavier.
“Anyways, let’s get you comfortable. “Thomas snapped his fingers and a swirl of ash rose from the pit and formed a black chair behind Charles. He then reached out and slightly pushed Charles's chest causing him to fall backwards onto the magical construct that swiftly restrained his arms and legs.
Charles couldn't believe it.
A Magician!!!
If he could speak, he would be shouting like a child who just spotted a dragon flying over his house. Magicians were extremely rare and were usually only spoken about as legends. In the Mourning Kingdom you could count the number of magicians on one hand. They were a kingdoms greatest superstars and war deterrents at the same time.
Wait… Thomas Mourning. Mourning is the family name of the royals. IMPOSSIBLE! Why would a royal come to the outskirts of the kingdom to run a gang?! It makes no sense!
Charles felt his thoughts continue to spiral out of control as the panic of being in presence of a magical being and being fully restrained wreaked havoc on his emotions. The Silent Watchers began to sway side to side rhythmically, and Charles could only watch on in uncertainty and fear as the pit suddenly burst into eerie green and black flames that now illuminated the pale marble platform.
“Once upon a time our great world was a beacon of life and thriving magical energy. It was a healthy world which would enable humanity and all its future generations to live happy and peaceful lives. However, humans became too greedy and drew too deeply on the magical reserves of our world which led to the outbreak of the counterbalance, the Corruption. Slowly many of the peaceful magical and non-magical creatures of our world had their wills eroded as the Corruption changed the very magical fabric of their being. That is what lead to the creation of the Corrupted Beasts. Although they may be the bane of humanities existence. They are not evil; they are simply the representation of our worlds’ will heal itself. Who are we humans to speak out against our mother world when we are the cause of the very issues that plague us? Who are we to think we have a voice when the truth is the world only needs our assistance and silence?”
Charles was getting more and more freaked out by the second. First, he had no interest in how the corruption came about. Secondly, these people were clearly all lunatics or some kind of demonic corruption worshiping cult. He’d never heard of a group that viewed the corruption as anything other than the enemy of humanity but somehow, he was unlucky enough to get involved with the only such group probably in the entire human realm.
“Initiate, you will now undergo a ritual called the Purging. Participation is mandatory. If you can take in the corruption and withstand the changes brought by it, you will be reborn and awaken great power as one of our charter members. If you are blessed and are chosen, you may even awaken a power akin to my own. Fail and you will join the many mindless you saw earlier in the cells. I pray your soul is enlightened by Silence.”
With a wave Tommy reached into the dark inky green fire and pulled out a brightly glowing ember. The small smokey ball of light burned harmlessly in Tommy’s hand and illuminated the reaper mask in a magical greenish glow. He slowly approached the now visibly struggling Charles, who had been spending the better part of the mans’ monologue frantically trying to escape despite the futility of fighting the magic that bound him. However, the closer Tommy approached the less Charles struggled and the more fear he felt. It was somewhat horrifying and cathartic to see possible impending doom approach and not being able to do anything about it. Charles imagined this is how mages felt in the golden age before they lost control and felt their magic turn them into Mindless ones, flesh puppets with no consciousness or sense of self.
“Relax sleepyhead. Everything will be just fine. Soon you will be reborn and learn what it means to be one of us.”
Riley had somehow appeared behind him at some point and was now lightly massaging his temples and scalp while whispering encouraging words, which given the circumstances Charles found both mildly terrifying and soothing.
“May Silence allow this young soul to find enlightenment and to allow him to be reborn as one of us.” With those final words of prayer and the slow rhythmic dancing of the Watchers surrounding the pit, Thomas released the ember which floated lazily in the air before turning to fine smokey wisps that entered Charles nose and mouth.
It burned, it burned worse than any normal burn that Charles had suffered his entire life. Worse than the time he reached into a piping hot bread oven and scalded his hand. Worse than the time was beaten near death by the local guardsmen. This was true agony it felt like his insides were melting. He couldn’t breathe, move or even think with the amount of pain he was currently feeling. The veins along his entire body rose to the surface and it looked like snakes were writhing under his skin trying to escape.
His hair changed from a dirty dark brown to a greyish black. His skin remained tanned from many years spent under the sun but noticeably turned many shades paler. His irises alternated colors from an icy blue to a dark grey. Two long horns of black mist extended from either side of his forehead marked him as a corrupted being.
Charles felt his vision change colors and for a moment he could see everything even into the pitch-black depths of the chasm surrounding the platform. Far down below, there were thousands of Corrupted Beasts that silently looked back. However, terrifying as the sight was, Charles couldn’t find it in himself to care as the soul burning agony was only increasing. He wanted to scream with every fiber of his being but couldn’t make a sound, so he just let out a muted scream.
After what felt like an eternity, the pain reached the point where Charles started wishing for death. As his sense of self was on the verge of being completely eroded and corrupted, something strange happened, a small black wisp left the large magical fire and entered his body. Instantly, he felt a powerful soothing sensation, and could hear some quiet magical words that he was somehow able to interpret.
Your soul is worthy…
I have no name, but you may call me Silence. I accept you into my family child, rest in peace as your mind and body is reborn.
Charles suddenly had a vison of a large multi-winged angel reaching out towards him. Twelve pairs of majestic inky black wings supported the rather eldritch looking being in a vast expanse of darkness. Charles couldn’t find the beings’ eyes but felt as if he was wrapped in a warm blanket as he fell into a deep slumber.