Kaid forcibly set his nose into position, feeling the small cartilage and upper bones bend to his will until it felt set in place. He had lost count of how many times his nose had been violated by an unwanted punch over the years, and no doubt had looked different when he had arrived at Caladin as a young boy at the age of eight. Kaid hardly recognized himself in the broken mirror, which made him wonder just how much his nose or face had been changed by violence over this thirty year period.

His black hair was long, well beyond his shoulders and his beard overgrown. He reminded himself as a beggar among the polished limestone streets he would walk around as a child, wherever that was. Getting himself groomed here was very well impossible, given he did not like the idea of another prisoner holding a razor to his throat even if it meant a long overdue clean up. As much as he stayed on his best behavior, Kaid did not trust a soul in this place.

Kaid was never one to cause trouble. In fact, the broken nose was collateral damage in trying to break up a fight, as he was never one to start one but he always tried to end one if possible. Breaking up fights in Caladin was like punching these pearly white steel walls hoping to make an inch of a dent. When the system designed prisoners to turn on one another, fights were bound to happen.

Caladin was some sort of prison of high importance, given nobody really seemed to know about the place until someone was dumped here. Guards never said a word and wouldn't be caught dead revealing any sort of truth. New prisoners who trickled in usually had no idea why they were here other than committing petty crime or perhaps pissing off the wrong aristocrat. But those were things that usually resulted in a month-long stay in a kingdom's dungeon, not a sophisticated and constantly locked down facility such as this.

Kaid arrived at the age of eight with no family. Orphans were not uncommon then to enter the facility, which kept Kaid at ease. Luckily at the time, they had a few prisoners act as teachers, teaching the kids to read and write which Kaid found great solace in. As others constantly planned failed escape attempts or coerced their way into one of the small groups to offer protection, Kaid found safety in books. He was never concerned with escaping and gave little thought to it. The more he learned about the world with all its wars, pestilence, and plague...the less he wanted to escape into that. As miserable as Caladin was, he knew he was guaranteed three meals a day and left alone in his cell or the old library to tend to himself.

Life was miserable, so why go in search of it elsewhere?

One thing that seemed to unite all prisoners, and also persuade betrayal was this common practice of Magic. As far as Kaid knew, Magic originated from powerful parties in the world, before over time it slowly diminished after being withered by war after war. What was once seen and used in positions of power like emperors or magistrates was now being brittled to the poor beggars among the streets and in very small percentages. Kaid remembered the days when nearly twenty new prisoners would be lined up when he was a child. Now, they were unfortunate to get two every few weeks.

Caladin set their system built on paranoia. Kaid knew very little about this prison's purpose but it had to do with Magic. Every month or so, each prisoner would be tested in a Trial. It always started out small, like solving a puzzle or ridiculous riddle, until it ended up with Kaid constantly being thrown into dangerous situations. He believed the longer one remained in this prison, the harder they made it to succeed in a Trial. And because his Trials became increasingly more difficult, given he had been here for years, he knew each pass only pissed off the Guards more. His secret was not revealed yet and it never would be.

Trials had two rules: don't die, and don't use Magic.

Nobody knew what happened when someone failed. They were never seen again, so of course there was the assumption that if one did not die during a Trial, they were certainly killed after. It was a genocide just as common as the histories before Kaid. The weak will perish and the strong shall inherit everything, and right now the weak were seen as Magic bearing peoples.

Trials set up a dangerous precedent in Caladin, mostly because the only way to avoid a Trial was to successfully inform a Guard of another prisoner's Magic capabilities. While new prisoners found they could find strength in numbers, in friendship, they were quickly betrayed the second they even gave a hint at their capabilities. Fuck, sometimes it was beaten out of them and they had no realization they should have taken the beating rather than selling their own soul based on a single word confession.

Hence why the fight he had broken up was somewhat important to him. Nobody dared to pick a fight with Kaid. While Kaid hardly knew how to fight and could care less about violence, when he wasn't training his mind with reading, he was working his body to remain strong despite his lean appearance. Kaid could hit, maybe not with experience, but certainly a passion that made enough not bother him. Besides, most people knew upon arrival when talking with others Kaid had been here for thirty years. Most prisoners never made it to ten, and the majority failed within a year.

The prisoners here respected him, to a certain extent. Those of a more kind hearted nature tended to leave Kid alone, or rely on him for knowledge of this place until they realized Kaid couldn't give a shit. A small majority saw Kaid as a challenge, having been here that long since a child. Surely the one prisoner who could figure out Kaid's ability might be granted a longer grace period for a Trial?

If only they knew nobody would seem to figure it out.

Attention: lockdown in effect within sixty seconds. Anyone caught outside their cells will be punished with merits deducted.

"Shit," Kaid cursed to himself silently. The fighting after supper must have pushed for a lockdown rather than the usual free time. Kaid knew his cell was on the floor above him, and even at a running pace, he would never make it within a minute. The announcement caught him by surprise, but Kaid immediately finished up cleaning the blood off his upper lip and beard before leaving the washroom at a slow pace.

Kaid had never gotten punished in all his years here and he wasn't planning on it now. Being caught after lockdown for him would probably mean only a loss of an entire day of eating, for others it could be as severe as lashings. Time was never a stressor for Kaid. What was thirty years in prison? What was a quick minute until lockdown to him? Nothing.

Time meant nothing to Kaid.

Kaid was in control of time.

He knew nothing of it until two years of Trials: his twenty-fifth attempt. He had been portaled into a dark space with floating steps in between. It was almost like a dream, and that's how most Trials felt. They could be as imaginative or as ridiculous as a childhood dream, which could very well instantly turn into a nightmare. What seemed like childsplay of jumping from each platform to the next, became a misstep due to Kaid's complacency. He had overjumped, his momentum causing his footing to slide off the edge of the platform.

Any normal person would have slid off, and who knows what could have resulted in that other than failure or certain death. Kaid's fear caused everything to stop. The faint breeze he felt in the darkness stopped. The hairs sticking up on his neck from the sudden spike of fear still remained unmoved. In fact he was sure his heart had stopped beating for just a second. His body angled, a bit of platform floating beneath his feet that had scraped off from slipping, he was timeless.

At first he thought it was a coping mechanism. Children had fascinating imaginations when young and Kaid was no exception at the time. All he remembered during that moment was this feeling of heavy burden. Maybe he didn't want to know his Magic. Maybe he could have lived his whole life without it. This new realization had just saved his life and doomed it altogether.

By now, he had mastered it. It was difficult at first when controlling time to create an inconspicuous movement. It had to look fluid, like a simple blink of time to be one place and end up in another. Time could be slowed to a complete stop. He could have it move slowly enough to anticipate movement and move freely between it all. The Magic became almost as easy as remembering to breathe when he slept. He didn't have to think about it. The second his mind would anticipate a need for it, the soft craving of safety, he could already be in that timeless loop until he forced himself out of it.

Kaid could commune with time, like a conversation amongst friends. Time was always there for him, always willing to bend to his slight will. Kaid never asked much of time, and time never asked much of him besides an overgrown beard and aging. It felt like a partnership rather than complete abuse of authority. While others may misuse their Magic for their selfish will, Kaid never once thought to use his Magic for gain outside of mere survival. The bond he had created mutual understanding in each other. Kaid needed time and never took it for granted as his life depended on it. For some reason, time needed him. For what, he wasn't sure yet.

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And that was how he would get back to his cell in time.

Guards moved in a pattern, and once he got past the first one he could anticipate the next. With his control of time, his other senses soon became a keen factor in strengthening. He could focus on footsteps from a far distance, or smell an alcohol drenched Guard approaching a blind corner if his hearing failed him. He walked up the stairs, leaping over every other step with a quick exhale before going down the hall. By now he had ten seconds, which meant getting caught any time between now and reaching his cell would result in punishment.

The first corner he had heard a soft wheeze from the Guard, enough to make him stop time and float across the hallway. The Guard was frozen in the middle of his soft hacking, eyes closed, fist balled to his mouth to cover his illness. It was the perfect cover. Kaid crossed the hallway in those seconds, releasing the time with a thought and was already out of view. What was a simple cough, wink, or blink for a Guard was a lifetime for him.

Kaid did it another four times around corners until he finally reached his cell, laying amongst the thin layer of blankets as if he had always been there. A passing Guard glared over to see him there, shaking the cell door before locking it. He let out a pleased grunt, as if he should've known Kaid would have been in his cell on time. Kaid wondered if the Guards gossiped about him, as they gossiped about everything. He wondered if they questioned his Magic, if they had any clue what it could be. He wondered if they were afraid of him, since Kaid was here longer than most of the Guards.

Or perhaps they saw him as a wiser man who followed orders to a strict line, in order to prevent standing out or getting in trouble. Maybe they admired his strict discipline in never breaking the rules. They'd be surprised by just how many infractions he had unknowingly escaped, especially as a teenager. By now, he did his best never to touch time if he didn't have to. Unfortunately today was the slightly rare exception as his mind was taken to a memory.

The fight resulted in the possible threat of snitching one prisoner from another. It wasn't uncommon, in fact it was more rare if prisoners got along during meal time and some sort of disagreement was not mentioned. This one struck Kaid a little personally. It was a disagreement between a male and female prisoner, along with another male trying to protect himself, which resulted in the words, "Tell me now or you will get what happened to Mara, in which you'll wish I had killed you."

Mara had been an old friend of Kaid, if he could consider anyone here a friend. She had been his cellmate, the first and the very last. Mara was a gentle soul but she certainly had a passion about her in wanting to get out of Caladin. That passion had gotten her into severe trouble with a Guard, who certainly had no problem in giving his own punishment. Kaid merely remembered being forced into a Trial, and upon return finding Mara in a mess on her bed, sobbing and heaving for the rest of the evening.

It was not uncommon for Guards to force themselves upon prisoners, preferably the women. Kaid had ignored it plenty of times, but when it struck him personally with Mara, he realized just how damaging to the soul such an act could be. It was the highest form of cruelty Kaid had witnessed, more than what this prison symbolized or entailed.

Mara had soon become burdened with a growing child as a result. Kaid did everything he could to help her hide what she called her 'deformity' but soon enough Guards got a whiff of it and Mara was never seen again. Some say she was sent somewhere safe for the child to be born, after all, she had a chance at producing either a Magic filled child or a normal one. Some rumored she was killed instantly.

Mara was the only one who was able to tell Kaid of what life was like on the outside. What dirt or mud could feel like beneath their feet, what pine from the tallest of trees could smell like, or what the sound of waves crashing violently against cliff sides. When Mara was taken, so was Kaid's last sense of hope in getting out of Caladin.

She now became a warning sign to most newcomers, particularly women. If anything, they had to avoid trouble twice as much as a male prisoner to avoid any attention. Guards could do as they pleased, and so could other prisoners if they felt competent with the same cruelty (which some had). The Guards could care less what prisoners did to one another, especially if it resulted in them learning about someone's Magic. Hence why Kaid had to stop the fight.

Some days he could be the voice of reason, a shout of wisdom to the frightened or violent prisoners. Other days he was just another face to bash in. Phillip had been the one to throw his fat fist into his nose, and definitely realized his mistake upon doing so. Phillip was one of those that was normally well mannered until his temper flared like dumping oil on a fire. Whatever pissed him off was big enough to mention Mara, and punch Kaid who was moving to step between the fight. Luckily his realization of punching Kaid was enough to cut his explosive fuse short.

He didn't stick around for the apology. Most knew bringing up Mara was also an additional insult to Kaid. Maybe if he had been there, if there hadn't been a Trial, he could have prevented the entire incident. Maybe he should have done more, completed it quicker or...now he was stuck in that cycle again. He hated thinking about her. He could go days or months without seeing that raven haired girl, who once had the silliest laugh in the world, and the most heartbreaking of sobbing tears. And now it was all thrown back in his face.

Kaid knew he wouldn't get sleep with her still in his mind, so he moved to grab one of the books borrowed from the library in his corner. The library was meager and old, probably holding a hundred books with Kaid having read them all. It was the only touch to the outside of Caladin he had, through references, stories, and histories of the land he resided in, somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

Kaid peeled the old withered pages until he reached the map, the small illustration filling his saddened mind with a small dose of dopamine. Illustrations had always made learning easier for him as a child, where he hadn't appreciated reading to the fullest extent at the time. Pictures made much more sense to him, until he realized life wasn't full of illustrations to guide him.

Four kingdoms seemed to control the continent: Vitross, Skale, Lungor, and Arilla. Each kingdom had its vast spread of large cities, small villages, or even smaller independent 'colonies' that made up its entirety. Kaid had done his best to memorize most of the major cities. If a new prisoner was ever introduced to him and revealed their previous home, Kaid would often let his mind go straight towards the map and find a bit of their past. From there, Kaid would learn more about the place from the prisoner than this decaying map.

Vitross was the furthest West, surrounded by water on most sides with various islands all around. From what he could gather from geography and minor history of Vitross, the kingdom focused heavily on sea-power to construct its purpose. When the various kingdoms faced severe drought, Vitross with the use of brilliant engineers (and most likely a bit of Magic at the time) were able to create machinery to transform salt water to become drinkable. Those machines were powered by oil from the creatures of the sea, which made Vitross heavier reliant on the sea, resulting in it becoming a naval superpower.

Skale was not surrounded by any sea water, and was stuck between Vitross and Lungor. It was a primarily agricultural kingdom that focused on feeding the continent, and seemed historically to be the most lenient to Magic. They were also caught in the middle of most wars, which surprised Kaid. Given their control of the food supply, he would've thought they'd have more power over the others. Perhaps they didn't believe food to be weaponized, which Kaid could agree with.

Lungor was industrious, more so than Vitross. It relied on mining and coal to create machines of glorious splendor. Brilliant minds and inventions all stemmed from Lungo. All its scientific glory also resulted in a huge dislike of Magic. Many prisoners in Caladin seemed to stem from Lungor, for whatever reason, Kaid beginning to assume either they despised Magic entirely, or had an uncontrollable population of it. Lungor and Vitross did not seem to get along at all, according to the histories of atrocity.

Arilla was the unique one of all of them. Arilla funded the rest of the kingdoms. Planted on a rich bed of gold, Arilla was once a war-torn kingdom until once united to share the wealth. Arilla loaned the money to other kingdoms but was not afraid to invest in its people. Arilla was able to buy Lungor's protection from other kingdoms, and also bought Vitross's favor when the drought had plagued the continent. In Arilla, money solved everything. Kaid thought if he could have been raised in any of the kingdoms, he had wished for it to be Arilla.

Kaid didn't know where he might have originated from. It could be the grandest city in Lungor, or perhaps a meager fishing village in Vitross. All he wished was some form of answer to his burning questions. Where did he come from? And why would anyone think it would be reasonable to throw an eight year old boy into a prison like this? Did he ever have a home, a family, or even someone who knew of his existence? Perhaps he stared at this map for hours on end, hoping there would be some sort of sign of his home, a place he had once belonged.

He certainly didn't feel like he belonged in a place like this.

Kaid's eyes grew tired from all the reading and use of Magic, about to let the evening pass and another uneventful day in Caladin arrive in the coming hours. But that all ended abruptly when he heard the screeching of his cell gate being opened. His eyes glared up, seeing Guards struggle for a moment before throwing a frustrated, screaming woman upon his cell floor.

"Get your fucking hands off me, you piece of shit!" she shouted, before being thrown to the floor in a frustrated grunt. She got up immediately, moving to the gate before hearing it lock. She shook it momentarily, soon finding it useless as it was firmly locked in place. Another soul trapped in Caladin, and for the first time in years, trapped in his cell as well.

Kaid felt weight returning to his tired shoulders once again upon the sight of her. There was a heavy shift in the air, as if he had reached to control time and time had denied him. It denied the fate of Mara beyond his control, and now it threatened him again. His safety net was removed, and now it was just him and a complete stranger to share a cell, once again. Solitary confinement was welcomed by Kaid and now interrupted by an outside force against his will. Kaid would not make the same mistakes as he had with Mara. Time had taught him a lesson the first time, and he refused to fall for it again.

Time had a funny way of communicating with Kaid. And right now, it was telling him that his time was coming to an end with her arrival.