The Darkness of Dawn

by Braden Michael

  “You better look healthier than this when you’re presented to the Archon,” said Black-Beard.

  Black Eyes wanted to fire back, but his exhaustion prevailed, guaranteeing his silence. Black-Beard turned around and began marching towards the nearby doorway, and the two crewmen followed, continuing to keep Black Eyes upright. The two men forced him to maintain a pace they deemed satisfactory, but pushed him to his limit. He remained light-headed as he put one foot in front of the other too quickly to permit any semblance of comfort.

  Once through the doorway, Black Eyes was inside a torchlit hallway, made up of even more metal. Black-Beard’s steps were pronounced by the hall’s acoustics, causing dissonant pings in Black Eyes’ ears.

  Once he was carried down the stairs and out of the bottom doorway, the air was filled with the sounds of the outdoors. He looked around, for the first time seeing the deck, which was littered with torches and firepits, casting light all around to compete with the darkness of night. Roughly a dozen black-armored men patrolled a grid made of knee-high cages containing prisoners. The Bargemen paid little attention to the prisoners, only offering them scoffs and taunts. From the look of the deck, over fifty prisoners were locked away inside the cages. More comfortable than that fucking crate, I bet. When Black-Beard and Black Eyes came into view, the Bargemen immediately stood to attention and gazed curiously.

  “Ready the prisoners for the dock!” Black-Beard roared.

  “Aye, Captain!”

  The Bargemen scrambled around the deck. Half took out keys from the pouches on their belts while the other half readied ropes. One by one, they unlocked cages, frisked prisoners to their feet, and bound them by their wrists and ankles. None of the prisoners offered any resistance, allowing the Bargemen to bind them with efficiency.

  “We’re bringing this one to the bow. I want him to see Hivemind before we dock,” Black-Beard ordered Black Eyes’ handlers.

  “Aye, Captain!” they affirmed.

  Black-Beard’s feet stomped thunderously as he began jogging towards the bow, quickly ascending the steps leading to the elevated platform. Black Eyes worked tirelessly to keep himself standing as he was hurried along. His feet started to drag slightly just as he reached the steps, but the two men simply hoisted him by his arms and pulled him up. Black-Beard stood at the edge of the ship, facing the sea with his arms crossed just as they reached the bow platform. The two men simply pushed Black Eyes towards him. “Hurry along now,” one of them told him.

  Black Eyes shambled towards Black-Beard, slowly closing the gap. He felt his body continue to weaken, but he was still tempted to fight. Just push him off the edge! he thought. His face was twisted with rage as he second-guessed himself. Even if you can, what then? There are probably hundreds of Bargemen aboard this ship, and you’re too weak to fight, he recognized. Black Eyes slowly began to realize they had left him locked up in that crate, famished and parched, for the sole purpose of making him weak. They don’t want me to have any strength.

  “Get up here, freak,” said Black-Beard.

  Black Eyes struggled the last few steps, but he reached the edge of the ship right beside Black-Beard. He rested against the railing, nearly collapsing, but he forced himself to stay standing. Black-Beard grabbed him by the back of his head and pulled him up, forcing him to look out at the view.

  “You see that?” Black-Beard asked.

  Off in the distance, Black Eyes saw a large stretch of dark land with a dense collection of light at a single point. As his focus narrowed on the light, he could make out silhouettes of many buildings, ships, and countless docking piers. Hivemind, he realized.

  “This is what you wanted me to see? A bright light?” Black-Eyes asked.

  “That bright light is your new home, freak.”

  “You seriously only gonna call me a freak? Come up with a new insult instead of repeating a stale one,” Black Eyes said, finding the strength to mock.

  “I won’t even hurt you for that, given how much more miserable the rest of your sorry and pathetic life will be,” Black-Beard seethed.

  “Yeah, because everything has been fantastic and pure joy for me so far,” said Black Eyes dryly.

  “You’ll certainly feel that way. In comparison,” Black-Beard chuckled.

  Within minutes, the Bargemen’s ship covered an impressive distance, and Black Eyes could now see Hivemind more clearly. It must have been twice the size of Kaiyotan, but it was far less vibrant and colorful. The surrounding landscape was comprised of endless gray wastes, the buildings, docks, and ships were dark gray or black, and the entire area was spotted by mysterious white lights. Are those white lanterns? Or something else? Black Eyes asked himself. Every one of Hivemind’s details felt obscure and completely foreign to him. This place is completely separated from my homeland. His gut was twisted by dread as he imagined the endless possible horror that occurred throughout the Deadlands: most of the stories he heard growing up felt like hearsay, but he knew that he would soon learn the truth.

  “Lower the docking bridge!” a voice on board shouted.

  Black Eyes and Black-Beard reacted by turning their heads towards the voice. The pair then made brief eye contact. Black-Beard scoffed with disgust and shoved Black Eyes forward.

  “Move it,” Black-Beard said starkly.

  Black Eyes grimaced but held his tongue and proceeded forward. After a few steps he was able to see the deck: all the other Exiles had been organized into a straight line. Not only were their legs and arms bound, but they had all been tied to a single chain that covered the length of their line. Dozens of Bargemen were gathered around the prisoners to bark orders or taunt them. Black Eyes stopped just before the stairs began and looked on in horror as he watched a group of Bargemen flogging a young girl. He was instantly overwhelmed by rage and grief as he remembered Becky, then his sister Reyna.

  “I didn’t tell you to stop!” Black-Beard shouted.

  Just as Black Eyes began turning around, Black-Beard kicked him in the back, sending him flying down the steps, landing face-first on the cold-metal deck. He yelled out with pain and anger as he coughed blood onto the deck.

  “Get moving! Now!” Black-Beard screamed as he began down the steps.

  Black Eyes began to comply with extreme reluctance, seething as he slowly worked his way up to his feet. Before he could get onto both knees, Black-Beard grabbed him with one hand and hoisted him up to his feet, shoving him forward yet again.

  “Don’t fall down again,” said Black-Beard.

  Black Eyes shambled forward, dragging his feet as he slowly got closer to the docking bridge.

  “Send that one down first! The Archon will want to see him,” Black-Beard yelled out to the Bargemen.

  “Aye, Captain!” one of them replied.

  The Bargeman came up to Black Eyes and grabbed him by an arm, proceeding to take him past the line of Exiles, who looked at him curiously. The Bargeman guided him up the platform and started him down the docking bridge.

  Black Eyes studied the docking pier. The pier was constructed of wood, but had strange rectangular white lights placed at symmetrical intervals along its length. A small number of people dressed in warm black clothes stood by the end of the bridge, none of whom seemed to be armed. They stood silently with their arms crossed in front of or behind their backs, studying Black Eyes as he drew nearer to them.

  “This is him? The one I’ve heard so much about?” one of the men inquired.

  “The one and only,” said the Bargeman guiding Black Eyes.

  Black Eyes stepped off the bridge and onto the pier, which greeted his feet by wobbling slightly. He looked up at the men and tried to scowl, but he was too exhausted.

  “What’s the Archon want with trash like this?” the same man asked.

  “I don’t know. But I can tell you what the Archon doesn’t want, and that’s a lowly shithead like you questioning him,” said the Bargeman handler.

  “Why does Marcus always get so shitty when he’s be
en at sea?” one of the men asked.

  “You wouldn’t be thrilled to be near scum like this for weeks at a time,” said Marcus.

  “Fair point,” all the Bargemen chuckled.

  Someone pushed Black Eyes forward, so he resigned and began walking forward. He continued down the dock, surrounding by Bargemen. As he passed each of the strange rectangular lights, an obscure buzzing seemed to continually escape from them. It was like nothing he had ever heard before, but he did not pay much attention: Hivemind itself was of greater concern than Hivemind’s lighting.

  Once off the pier, Black Eyes entered Hivemind. The street layout was not much different than that of any other city he had been to, but it felt unmistakably different. Where other cities would be bustling with merchants, commerce, artists, and children, Hivemind had a lifeless industrial aura and was sparsely populated by Bargemen and chained Exiles. They all gave him passing glances of disdain, curiosity, or disgust.

  The buzzing lights overwhelmed Black Eyes’ senses. As they continued to bombard his eyes, he started to feel blind. As they invaded his ears, the pervasive buzzing ripped his brain to pieces. Eventually, his entire body fell numb until it was only the cold he felt. He entered a state of sensory-deprivation, barely able to take in the world around him. He only heard the muffled and unintelligible words of the Bargemen who surrounded him. Are they taunting me? Should I even care at this point?

  Hivemind’s layout and structure were entirely consistent, lacking any apparent deviation through all the streets Black Eyes shambled through. The buildings were gray squares, and each block was identical in size to the others. In every street corner there were men or women dressed in black who barked orders at chained Exiles, flogging anyone who did not immediately comply. The Bargemen are nothing more than slavers, he realized.

  Eventually, the street layout changed as Black Eyes and his escort reached a massive building on top of a large hill. He stopped a moment to gaze upon the building but was shoved to the stairs.

  “Up the stairs, freak!” a Bargeman shouted.

  By this point, Black Eyes barely clung to consciousness, but forced himself to fight through the pain. The staircase seemed to be never-ending, but he persisted, eventually reaching the top of the hill.

  The massive building was composed mostly of stone, but had various marble and steel pillars, and massive torches on opposites sides of the great door. Two Bargemen stood guard, offering scornful glares at Black Eyes as he was brought to the front door.

  “Open the doors!” one of the men escorting Black Eyes shouted.

  The doormen swiftly obliged, allowing Black Eyes and his escort to pass through. The first room inside was not nearly as bland as the rest of Hivemind and was much more harrowing: pikes were evenly distributed across the hall and decorated by the severed heads of men, women, and children. “That’s what happens to those that anger the Archon, freak. Take note,” said a Bargeman.

  Black Eyes looked at each of the heads that decorated the pikes around him, and he was filled with dread. How much worse can this place get? He clenched his fists and looked around, ready to strike the Bargemen who surrounded him, but he chose not to. You’ll never see Becky again if you fight.

  At the end of the hall, two identical staircases ascended to an upper balcony. There was a buzzing white light for each step, but the second-floor stone walls were decorated by torches. The balcony was rather thin, but a massive corridor led to a pair of doors even larger than the front doors. Several Bargemen stood guard along the length of the corridor, wielding spears that they pointed upwards to form a triangle over the walkway. The Bargemen in front of Black Eyes stepped aside and lightly pushed him into the walkway.

  “The Archon will receive you just beyond the doors. Go. Now.”

  Black Eyes shambled through the spear-archway, each Bargeman he passed glaring at him mockingly or with disgust. “The freak can barely stand!” one taunted, met with laughter. “The Archon is gonna have fun with him!” “His eyes are even more disgusting than I’d been led to believe!” “He’s the one that all the Dawnlanders are scared of?” He continued to walk towards the door, ignoring them the best he could.

  As Black Eyes approached the door, he started to push, but it barely budged. He threw the weight of his body against it repeatedly, making large thuds. As he lunged towards the door again, it was swiftly pulled open, causing him to fall through onto the ground, making the corridor Bargemen laugh hysterically.

  “Get up, freak,” someone said to Black Eyes as they pulled him back to his feet.

  On the verge of fainting, Black Eyes shambled forward, struggling to keep his head upright, dragging his feet across the smooth marble floor. Once farther into the hall, he collapsed onto the floor again, grunting pitifully.

  The chamber was mostly empty, save a dozen more heads on pikes, and a handful of armored Bargemen standing beside an elevated platform.

  “Stand him up,” a voice said calmly.

  Two Bargemen’s armor clanked as they went over and calmly lifted Black Eyes to his feet. He looked up at the source of the voice. His vision was blurry, but he could make out the shape of a massive throne, and the silhouette of a man sitting proudly on it.

  “It’s been ages, Duncan,” the voice said.

  Black Eyes squinted as his sight slowly returned. As he regained focus, he dreadfully recognized the man on the throne. He can’t be… the Archon?

  “It can’t be…” Black Eyes said dreadfully.

  “Believe it. I haven’t seen you in over a decade, and still you look like a frightened child,” the Archon said, beginning to descend the steps before the throne.

  “How’re you even alive?” Black Eyes muttered desperately.

  “Well, you were stupid enough to spare me that day. Your dead foster father sent me here instead of killing me. Surely you know by now that mercy is a weakness…” The Archon walked straight up to Black Eyes, looking at him face-to-face. There was no doubt in Black Eyes’ mind who he was.

  “You fucking bastard!” Black Eyes seethed.

  “You castrated me, and you have the nerve to call me bastard!?”

  “YOU RAPED AND MURDERED HER!” Black Eyes screamed, tears beginning to stream from his eyes.

  “Ah yes, your sweet sister. What was her name? Jane? Or, uh, Nancy?”

  “REYNA!” Black Eyes screamed, fully sobbing.

  “Yes, that’s her.” The Archon looked at Black Eyes with a blank face, then slowly revealed an evil smile. “You seem distraught. Are you suffering? Is that why you’re sobbing like Reyna did when my friends were only trying to have fun with her?” The Archon chuckled darkly, then addressed the Bargemen. “Lock him up in one of the Dead Cells.” He then leaned over to Black Eyes. “You haven’t even begun to know suffering, freak. Everything Reyna suffered, everything I suffered… You’ll get it worse…”

  Black Eyes’ body turned limp as he continued to sob furiously, then the Bargemen seized him. The Archon glared at him with a devilish grin as he was taken away.

  CH 39 – Asher XI

  Asher waited in the Furakuhold’s council chamber, peering out from the balcony. The courtyard below had just enough room to tightly pack the 20,000 Headland soldiers due to how vast it was, but it seemed so small from above.

  The Siege of the Furakuhold had occurred only a day before, and the aftermath of the battle was apparent. The firedust drops had destroyed much of the courtyard, leaving behind many craters in both the concrete and grassy areas. Most of the bodies had been cleared out from the courtyard, but there was still a significant remainder of corpses and body parts yet to be cleared. Even from the top floor of the fortress, the distinct smell of smoke and burnt bodies filled Asher’s nose.

  “Asher, we completed the accounting.” Andy appeared in the chamber, went over to Asher, and handed him a note.

  Asher unfurled the note and began reading. The paper had been divided into two halves: Headlands and Emberlands. The Headland forces started with
20,000 men and the Emberlands had only 700, but the battle was a profound victory for the Emberlands, according to the paper. Only 112 Headland soldiers remained alive, while only 104 Emberland soldiers had died. No one will believe what I’ve accomplished, he thought, grinning.

  “Bring me Nobunaga,” Asher said fiercely.

  “At once.” Andy scurried out the door, his footsteps fading as he went down the spiral staircase.

  Several minutes later, the door opened again, and Andy walked through with Nobunaga shortly behind. The General walked in looking at Asher inquisitively.

  “Take a seat,” said Asher. Nobunaga nodded, pulled a chair out, and sat. Asher walked up to him and placed the casualty report in front of him. “Read.”

  Nobunaga leaned forward and squinted, carefully studying the report. He then looked at Asher curiously. “Was I summoned to be reminded of my decisive loss?”

  “For someone to have had a decisive loss, their opponent needs a decisive victory,” Asher said smugly.

  “I am most pleased to see my Emperor achieve victory,” Nobunaga said disingenuously.

  “I may be your new Emperor and all, but you don’t have to kiss my ass. I’m not stupid. You’re not pleased, you’re anything but,” Asher countered.

  “I apologize, your Majesty. I will be fully honest with you from here on out. No more deception from me.”

  Asher scoffed. “Fuck you. You had my father murdered in cold blood, in this very room…”

  “It was a terrible crime, what Prince Hideki did,” said Nobunaga, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

  “And you’re completely separated from that?”

  “I did not give the order. I simply did my duty as a soldier,” Nobunaga contended, his voice remaining calm.

  Asher scoffed and walked to the other end of the table. “I don’t believe you for a second.” He sat down, leaning forward with both his hands clasped. “However, when you surrendered, you told me you ought to be spared because you could provide information. You will not leave this room until that information is provided, understand?”