by S D Huss
“A piece, my Lord?” Gurt asked.
“Take his hand. We will leave the rest for the pit.”
Robert’s heart began to race again. He knew more pain was coming and did his best to struggle against his bonds.
Gurt raised his hand and a blade of sand formed around it. With a rough grip, he lifted Roberts right hand.
“No!” Robert gurgled but was cut off by a sickening crunch and pop. Pain shot through his right arm. He screamed, but only a desperate wheeze came out.
Gurt held up the severed appendage with unrepentant indifference and admired his work. “A clean cut.” He said with a smile.
--
Robert was dragged from the cell and brought into the sunlight after weeks of the dimly lit dungeon. He couldn’t feel the warmth as it hit his face, there was too much pain. He had been pondering how he could have survived for so long after the amount of trauma he had endured, and the amount of blood that seemed to have seeped from his body. Nothing made sense anymore, nothing worked as it should in this world, it seemed.
They brought him into a large temple located in the center of the city. With the familiar spiral towers erected as if grown from the ground, Robert could tell that this was a very important structure to the Rexunii. He finally entered a large room, it was filled with Dae from all levels of the Rexunii hierarchy. Gasps could be heard as they saw the bloodied mess of what was once a human being dragged by his arms.
“What is this!?” Turak called, stepping from the crowd to the Warriors carrying Robert. “How did…” His face was one of disbelief. That face turned to anger as he looked at Espi-Arl. “You have overstepped! You have ruined him.”
Arl seemed puzzled at the outburst. “What are you talking about? We conducted our experiments and questioning.”
“Dio’mar is a spirit of Justice, she will see this and bring retribution to us,” Turak said, gritting his teeth.
Espi-Arl sighed at the warrior’s superstitions. “The Spirits don’t work like that Lord Turak, she is no longer here. How many of the criminal scum that you throw down there come crawling back up? None, they are judged by the creatures down there, not your spirit.”
King Alektor approached from behind Turak, his face also twisted in disgust. His eyes lingered on Robert, then shot to Arl. “Let’s just get this over with.” He said.
“Since when do so many attend the casting ceremony?” Arl asked.
“It isn’t every day we cast a creature like this into the Pit of Mar. Many of our people wanted to see him. They are calling these creatures the Spirit-Sent in the North; many of our enslaved brethren in Lokkadonia are worshiping them. I’m still not quite sure what to make of it.” Alektor put his hand on Turak’s shoulder to calm him.
“It bleeds like any other creature. After this, your highness, you will see that there is nothing to be afraid of. Your spirit Dio’mar will be at rest, and you will have what you want for your war with Lokkadonia.”
◆◆◆
Turak took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly as he now watched the ceremony take place. The Dae had been conflicted with his alliance to the Torre’ Espi-Dae. The High King ruled the other clan territories by commanding the money and trade. Torre’ had maintained dominion this way for hundreds of years, and every Moot that was held was now just a formality for the new ruler from that territory. Turak hated them for their malfeasance and debasement, but they were not yet strong enough to free their people from their ancient rivals, the Lokkadonians. He shifted in his seat next to his King and longtime friend, Alektor. The Ruler was conflicted as well by this grotesque display of cruelty by the Torre’ Espi, and though a generally practical ruler, Turak could see through his yellow eyes that he feared the wrath of Dio’Mar.
Robert’s flayed skin hung off of his body as they removed his clothes. Turak grimaced as he saw the human was in too much shock to scream at what was most certainly extremely painful.
“How does he still live?” Alektor asked, beside him. “I have never seen a creature endure such violence without the aid of the Dunamis… There must be something else.”
Turak didn’t answer, he was angry enough watching this.
“I know you are disappointed, my friend,” Alektor said quietly. “But we don’t have much of a choice. Our people endure far worse at the hands of the Lokkadonians… we must keep that in mind as we watch. Whether this creature is a demon or a savior sent by the Great Spirits themselves, his sacrifice will bring our people the freedom they have not tasted in hundreds of years.”
Turak swallowed hard as he watched them bring the wretched creature to the closed pit in the center of the room. Massive stone doors on the floor slid open to reveal a round opening into the dark nothing below. The room was filled with a horrid stench, and many of the attending Dae covered their faces.
Then they heard Espi-Arl speak.
“To the Great Spirits, we offer this creature of darkness, to bathe in your glorious light!”
Turak shook his head at the irony of the words. Arl was using the same passage they used to purify with fire, but seeing as how the human would be thrown into complete darkness, it took much of the meaning out of the holy man’s words. He would be thrown to be devoured by the Cugorii, vicious meat-eating monstrosities that plagued the Pits of Mar since they were first discovered a thousand years ago. Still, the monsters that lurked there weren’t the reason the Pit of Mar was so famous. It was the fact that any Dae, no matter how strong, could not use their Dunamis while in there. Many attempted to explore the caverns at first, but with the Cugorii attacking in the darkness, and the lack of the Dunamis, many died horrible and violent deaths.
“May your many blessings rain upon us under the glorious protection of Belous and it’s High King Phobos, of Torre’.”
Again Turak scoffed, earning a chastising glare from his King.
Espi-Arl finished the final words of his passage and turned toward Robert, who stood now wearing only a ceremonial robe and shaking uncontrollably due to his wounds, exhaustion, and fear. With a nod, two of his Espi walked to him and with little resistance, threw him into the black void below.
Turak shook his head, noting that he didn’t hear a scream from the human. -He must have been waiting for death…- he thought to himself.
After the ceremony was complete, and Espi-Arl finished his final words, they found their way outside and Turak decided to walk on his own back to the palace. As he did, he reflected on his actions in the South, how he had come to tolerate the human for his travels. He pitied the thing, he had been torn apart by his captors, and probably hadn’t been guilty of any of the vile things he confessed to.
“My Lord Turak!” He heard from a voice behind him. The Dae turned to meet the eyes of Demessa, who ran to him in a careful stride.
He didn’t verbally reply. Only nodded his head in acknowledgment of her arrival.
“My Lord, the King has requested that you join him at the northern towers.” She huffed, slightly out of breath. “He wishes to discuss the current military capabilities of Hego Agron’s forces. Apparently, he is positioning himself for war.”
Turak sighed, glancing at the sky above. “Back to business then, I suppose.” He looked darkly at Demessa. “You got what you wanted, the human ruined and cast into the Pit.”
Demessa reeled in surprise. “My Lord… I didn’t mean-”
“It doesn’t matter anymore… Alektor is probably correct in saying that Dio’Mar has left us… The Spirits are fickle things… I had always believed she was here, looking after us in some way.” He ran his fingers over the gruesome scar across his face. “Perhaps it was all just dumb luck.”
◆◆◆
Robert’s body swirled with pain. He groaned weakly trying to move his limbs; they were slow and nearly unresponsive. As he had fallen, he tried to land head-first to kill himself on the impact. This, it seemed, hadn’t worked. His body was far more resilient than what should normally be possible for a human being.
His eyes attempted to open; only one did, and a strange and invasive light shined above his head. At first, he thought it was the opening from the temple, but as he looked up, he saw only darkness. He then assumed they closed the massive doors after he was thrown in. The nobles and aristocrats above could only suffer the nauseating stench for so long. He looked then to the source of the light; large crystals that jutted out of the cavern ceiling, glowing a pale blue light.
Robert tried to move again, but froze as the distinct sound of feet and claws could be heard and felt thumping heavily on the dirt of the cave. Fear burned in him again, and the tales of strange creatures in the pits came to his mind. He started to rise as best he could, but every inch of his body burned with pain. He strained to stand, but only managed to get on his knees. The purple robe he wore was cumbersome and had strange depictions of certain spirits embroidered on it. He could now hear snarls and screeching voices echoing through the tunnels leading to where he struggled. He tried to stand again, his mind telling him to run, to escape these new and vicious sounding predators, but he just couldn’t muster the strength. Robert stopped at that moment and breathed heavily, staring at the damp soil beneath him. -Why run?- he thought to himself. He knew they would catch him and devour him. It was at some point during his torture that he had lost his will to live, and nothing sounded better to him than rest… rest from the constant pain and torment he had endured… rest from the world that held him in its clutches. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. -Just one more bout of agony… then nothing…- he thought. The creatures stormed into the cavern from the tunnels, they sounded big to him; the ground vibrated violently with their masses and they surrounded him. His eyes were clenched shut in anticipation of the first attack, but the seconds ticked by and all he could hear was the heavy and rasped breathing of dozens of creatures around him. His fear turned to curiosity as he wondered why he wasn’t being torn apart. It got the better of him, and he opened his eye slowly to see what was going on. Before him, all around him, were large humanoid creatures. He focused on the one that was closest to him, it stood almost eight feet off the ground, hunched over with heavily muscled shoulders and powerful arms, it heaved with each rasped breath. He looked from its vicious claws on its hands and feet, to the snarled maw that brandished hundreds of razor-sharp teeth, no doubt meant for rending and tearing flesh from bone. It had a massive bone plate that covered the upper half of its face, and within were a dozen or so black eyes that stared back at him. There was no assortment or order to them, they just looked as though they were sprinkled there.
The sight brought unparalleled terror to Robert. He still didn’t move, fearing that any small movement might bring their wrath upon him.
Robert sat still for countless seconds, blood and sweat streaming down his face. Still, they stood, rasping and growling, but not moving against him in any way. His fear and frustration finally got the better of him.
“What are you waiting for?” He wheezed, holding his arms out to his sides. “I’m right here!” He yelled, bringing sharp pain to his ribs.
It was at that moment that he saw the bloody stump that used to be his right hand. The blood had stopped flowing from the wound, which caused him to pause still in disbelief. He had forgotten that he lost his hand. -shouldn’t I have bled to death by now?- he thought to himself. His mind a groggy and fear-stricken mess, he inspected the wound. Unable to despair anymore, he fell forward, face first into the dirt. Overwhelmed by his situation and exhausted, his mind... broke again.
“What are you?” A small and timid voice whispered in Robert's mind. The tiny voice was nearly undetectable. He wasn’t sure when he passed out, but he woke in a spasm of pain and groans. Confused, he tried to open his eyes; only one did again. “Where? Wha…?” His gaze focused on the dozens of pale legs that still surrounded him, he looked up to see the horrible monsters still there, breathing and rasping around him.
“You… are alive…” The small voice said, with surprise, “Why do the Cugorii not feast on your flesh?”
The voice was fragile in his mind, but he had experienced enough of it while in the spirit forest to recognize… this was the voice of a small spirit.
He took a moment to clear his thoughts, to push the pain of his broken and battered body aside. “I…” He said weakly. “I am a human being…”
Silence ensued.
In the dimly lit cavern, Robert saw a small slinking form hiding behind one of the legs of the Cugorii. “If you are going to have your monsters kill me… then do it already… I have nothing left…” He said, cradling his right arm.
The spirit said nothing still, only peeked a little head from behind one of the legs. It looked as though the spirit was wearing a small cloak, but he couldn’t make it out.
It finally floated out and stopped right before him. The spirit was about twelve inches tall and did, in fact, have a cloak made of black mist that swirled around it. Its face was a pale white, but he could see no eyes.
“I have never heard of a human being before…” It said, its voice now louder, with a distinctly female tone to it. “How did you come here? To the prison of misery… and death?”
Robert pondered a moment. “Are you… Dio’Mar?” He asked.
The name caused her to flinch, and she raised her small hand to him. “Dio...Mar…” She repeated slowly to herself. As if remembering every sound in it. “I am? I… I am…” She floated toward his face and cocked her head to look at him more closely. Still, Robert saw no eyes, just a pale white face, and a small faded mouth that didn’t move when she spoke. “You know me then? The eternal prisoner here?”
“The… eternal prisoner?” He asked.
“I have been here… for thousands of years… watching… these foul creatures devour every living thing that entered here…” Her little hand gestured to the Cugorii around them. “They are the guardians of my prison… to keep them away... You are the first I have seen… remain unscathed…”
Robert glanced at the creatures again, they regarded him with no hint of intelligence, only an unrelenting presence of pure instinct. He focused again on the razor-sharp teeth that seemed to pour out of their mouths.
She brought her little hand closer to his bloodied face. “There… is something… I can feel it… emanating from you… it… it can’t be…” Her little fingers stretched to his skin; with the contact, a painful jolt of electricity shocked him. Robert yelped and flinched at the sudden pain. Her small form went limp, and she fell to the cavern floor, dissolving into black smoke.
Robert stared at the spot where she disappeared, stunned. -What the hell just happened?- he thought, believing that he had somehow killed the little spirit. He waited for several minutes, listening intently to everything in the cavern. He finally tried to stand again, struggling against his shaking and wounded legs. “God… dammit!” He cursed through clenched teeth.
His limbs ached with the exertion and he panted. With a glance, he looked to one of the Cugorii who still stood, looking at him with its dozen black eyes. “I don’t suppose you could give me a hand?” He said with a self-loathing chuckle. But to Robert’s absolute astonishment, the creature reached its clawed handout and grasped his shoulder. Using its immense strength, it pulled Robert to his feet and he stared at it, dumbfounded.
After several moments of speechless contemplation. He spoke again.
“Y… you…” He stammered. “You can understand me?” The creature said nothing, only stared at him with the same passive intensity. “Is… is there a way to get out of here?” He asked it, clearly a shot in the dark, but what other option did Robert have? He was thrown down here to die, and against all expectation, he still lived, so he had to try. To his surprise yet again, the creature lifted his clawed hand again and did what it could to point above him, to the opening that was now closed. Robert looked at the darkness above solemnly. There wasn’t much hope in trying to escape that way.
“There… is…” A small familiar voice called
in his head. Robert turned around, startled. “There is hope for me… and for you…” The small form of the cloaked spirit materialized before him again, floating in the air.
“Are you alright?” Robert asked, surprisingly relieved to see her again. “I thought I hurt you somehow.”
Dio’mar floated to him, with more life now then she had before. “You… are a creature of the heavens… surely… you must be. You are here in this desolate place… and still, I can feel the Dunamis coursing through you… only the divine could hope to use their power here.” She gestured to the large crystals that lit the cavern. “These are the Ugoto crystals… created and placed here to seal me in this prison… by draining all spiritual energy around them… from Dae… from Spirits… they make it impossible to leave.”
“Who? Who did this to you?”
