The Darkness of Dawn

by Braden Michael

  “Send that one down first! The Archon will want to see him.”

  Viktor turned his head over towards the shouts, then witnessed the supposed Captain pushing an oddly dressed prisoner towards the barge’s docking arm. The prisoner was not chained and wore more layers than the rest, with the strangest eyes Viktor had ever seen. They’re as black as the night sky!

  The black-eyed prisoner appeared desperately exhausted as he shambled towards the docking arm. Many Bargemen taunted and belittled him as he passed by. Once the prisoner was down the docking arm and closer to the pier, the Bargemen around Viktor began muttering amongst themselves.

  “That’s the one? The Black Eyes? He’s a lot shorter than I’d imagined. And he looks even more disgusting.”

  “He was locked in a crate down in storage the entire voyage, living off his own piss and shit.”

  “From what I’ve heard about him, that’s quite just!”

  Where’ve I heard that name before? Some Northerner? Viktor had rarely heard much about the Northern Empires growing up, but occasionally traders had come through the Pit, passing his farm, and they’d told many tales. No Winterland child was unaware of the Rockland-Midland war, but most did not know why the war was being fought, including Viktor.

  “I want to look at these things before we send them in. The Archon doesn’t want useless things…” the black-bearded Captain returned to the front of the line.

  The other Bargemen waited patiently and silently as the Captain intently studied each prisoner. One by one, he nodded acceptingly or shook his head disapprovingly at the prisoners. For those he disapproved of, the Bargemen took them away, snapped their necks, and dumped their bodies overboard, unshaken by the pleas for mercy. Viktor felt some of his strength come back to him as he became filled with overwhelming fury. He clenched his fists and glared at the Captain during his entire walk along the line. When the Captain reached Viktor, they glared intensely at one another. The Captain looked him up and down, taking note of their similar size.

  The Captain folded his arms. “You look different than the rest. Not one of Fiskman’s that’s for sure. Why are you here, Exile?”

  “I killed a Captain, Captain.” Viktor smirked ever so subtly.

  “I’ve never admitted a Winterlander with an attitude problem,” the Captain said, completely unamused.

  “I’ve never admitted a Winterlander with an attitude problem,” Viktor replied, mocking the Captain’s accent.

  The Captain immediately seized Viktor’s throat and squeezed just softly enough not to kill him, but hard enough to rob him of his breath. He then leaned in close and glared viciously into Viktor’s eyes. “You seem to care little for your life. Perhaps you want me to kill you and spare you the terrible life you’re doomed to here at Hivemind? I’ll never give a bastard like you what you want!”

  The Captain released Viktor, who gasped heavily in response.

  “Unchain this one from the line and bring him straight to the dead cells! After that, we’ll make him a quarry slave, then he’ll beg to be brought back to the dead cells!”

  Before Viktor could respond, he received a blow to the head, then was promptly choked out.

  Back to darkness, Viktor skipped time, and regained consciousness hours later. Multiple Bargemen were dragging his limp body through a poorly lit hallway made of dark-gray stone. The smell of waste and burning corpses began to overwhelm Viktor’s nose, instantly making him gag and nearly throw up.

  “If this fucker gets any of his bile on me, I’ll rape him with my knife!”

  “The Captain was very clear he didn’t want this one dead yet!”

  “Then why bring him to the Dead Cells?”

  “It’s not our place to question, unless we want to be locked up down here too.”

  Viktor’s breathing started to quicken as the rotten smell only got worse. The Bargemen continued to drag him farther down the hallway until they reached a hallway containing multiple cells. Of the cells that Viktor’s struggling eyes could see, some had rotting corpses and maggots inside. A third Bargeman walked up the gate of an empty cell and unlocked it with an iron key, then the others tossed him inside. He grunted as his body slapped the stone floor. The first Bargeman then closed the gate and locked it.

  “If ya get thirsty, piss in your mouth!”

  The three Bargemen laughed heavily as they promptly walked away. Viktor grunted and groaned as he struggled to his feet. He remained light-headed, shambling over to the bars of his cell, grabbing on to maintain his balance. He started breathing deeply and slowly with his eyes closed, eventually regaining his senses, despite the constant and soft ringing present in his head.

  Viktor turned around and looked at his cell. The floor, wall, and ceilings were all made of hard stone, and stained with blood. The only two items in the cell were a small cot and a pot. A window offered a sliver of morning light, but all Viktor could see outside were multiple bodies that had been hanged and displayed off an unseen structure. He shambled to the cot, groaning as he crouched down to sit on it.

  Finally receiving a moment to himself, Viktor sank into his thoughts. Alexey’s Artifact… He activated it, and when I returned from the darkness, he was gone. Did he abandon me? He felt himself being overwhelmed by fury. He was furious with the Winterguard for trying to make him steal from the farmers, he was furious with Alexey for arming the Artifact and having him enthralled, and he was furious with the Bargemen for what they were putting him through: it was the same rage he felt when Petrenko strangled him. When he remembered the end of his spear finding its way into Petrenko’s neck, he chuckled and felt the fury leave him. Smiling, he lay down in the cot and found himself in a deep slumber.

  CH 43 – Black Eyes XI

  While his cold, limp, and exhausted body was being dragged through the streets, buildings, and hallways of Hivemind, Black Eyes was lost in his mind, remembering his past while feeling an unsatisfied rage deep in his bones. All he wanted to do was administer justice by mutilating and castrating the Archon, but he already had done so years ago.

  ***

  Many neighboring villagers and farmers treated twelve-year-old Duncan with suspicion and often ostracized him due to the unique color of his eyes. His twin sister, Reyna, never once belittled him for his mutation, making the two of them incredibly close.

  They grew up in a small farm just southeast of Steeltower. Duncan spent most of his time assisting their father on the land, tending to the crops and livestock while Reyna helped their mother with homemaking tasks like sewing, cooking, and cleaning. Whenever the two siblings found a break from their work, they explored the forests around their home, hunted small animals, or searched for treasure.

  Their parents were always happy to let them run around outside and experience the world, but they always had to be home by dusk. “If the sun is down, you better not be outside to see it,” their mother had told them. However, one day, the twins felt rebellious.

  Duncan and Reyna ran deeper into the forest than they ever had. While clambering across ponds, rocks, and tree stumps, they laughed with more vigor than they ever had as the sun began to sink into the horizon.

  Once night fell upon the Emberlands, Reyna grew concerned, but Duncan had reassured her that there was nothing to fear.

  “I don’t know about this, I’ve heard that monsters come out at night,” Reyna said, trembling.

  “Nighttime is when the Stars themselves come out to watch over us!” Duncan replied gleefully.

  “The Stars watch over all of us, including the monsters,” said Reyna.

  “Then we better become monsters!”

  Duncan held his arms outwards and began to roar comically, chasing Reyna around the forest while she giggled. After running for a few minutes, the twins stopped just outside the forest near a road in an open grass field. They jumped onto the ground, out of breath and continuing to laugh. Once the laughter died down, Duncan, lying on his back, looked up into the night sky with a solemn expression.
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  “Everyone does think I’m a monster,” he muttered.

  “Duncan, why do you care what those kids think? They’re all a bunch of shits,” Reyna replied feistily.

  “Because it’s all the kids. It’s everyone around us calling me the black-eyed monster. Mom and Dad want us home before dark because I’m the monster that’ll scare everyone.”

  “Don’t say that. They’re good to you,” Reyna pleaded.

  “The way everyone looks at me, it’s how Mom and Dad look at me too. They think I don’t notice.”

  “Duncan…”

  “You’re the only that doesn’t look at me like that,” Duncan said sadly.

  “It’s because you’re my brother, and I know that you’re not a monster. You’re the best person I know.”

  “Tell Mom and Dad that too.”

  “I will. Let’s get back home then,” said Reyna.

  Reyna quickly got to her feet then stood over Duncan, looking at him expectantly. He sighed, then gave in, rising to his feet. Reyna began walking along the road and Duncan quickly followed. They walked down the road saying nothing, surrounded by the night sky’s darkness with no sounds to be heard besides their footsteps.

  A shiver shot down Duncan’s spine and the hair on the back of his neck perked up. Reyna seemed to sense his hesitation, looking back at him concerningly.

  “Duncan, is something—”

  “Wrong? Yeah. Why is it so quiet? Why aren’t Mom and Dad out calling for us?”

  “I don’t—”

  A woman’s scream erupted from the direction Reyna and Duncan were headed. Both siblings had panic sprawled across their faces as they sprinted down the road. Their breaths became heavy and frequent, and the smell of smoke began to fill their noses. They continued to sprint faster and faster, ignoring the tired pleas of their muscles until they passed the tree line and laid eyes on their home.

  Blazing fire consumed the fields and livestock while smoke darker than the night erupted into the air. Pigs and cows squealed in agony, and horses let out panicked whinnies. Duncan stopped dead in his tracks to gape at his home with petrified shock while Reyna sprinted into the smoke.

  “REYNA!” Duncan cried out.

  Reyna either ignored him or was unable to hear, continuing to sprint towards their house despite the apparent danger. Instinctively, Duncan chased after his sister. He ran face-first into a cloud of smoke, closing his eyes, coughing violently, then collapsing to the ground.

  “NO!” Reyna screamed.

  Duncan could hardly see his surroundings with the area shrouded in smoke, but the sight of three men kicking Reyna to the ground enraged him.

  “REYNA!” Duncan shouted.

  “Get the brother!” a man shouted.

  Two men sprinted at Duncan and pulled him off the ground, dragging him into the house, shortly followed by Reyna, then tossed them both onto the floor beside their parent’s mangled corpses, all while laughing maniacally.

  “M—Mom? D—Dad?” Duncan whimpered.

  “What are you doing!?” Reyna screamed at the men, sobbing.

  The four men stood above the two siblings, all dressed in Emberland armor. They carried various makeshift weapons, ranging from wooden planks to clubs to daggers. Their faces held malice as they glared at the frightened children. Reyna glared at them with terrified anger while Duncan sobbed and loomed over their parents.

  “The black-eyed freak is even more disgusting than you made ‘im out to be,” the assumed leader said.

  “Don’t talk about him that way!” Reyna upbraided.

  “Feisty little bitch, eh?” the leader chuckled.

  “Let’s teach her a lesson,” the club-wielder said.

  Two men swiftly walked at Reyna. She screamed desperately as they tore at her clothes and began dragging her into one of the bedrooms.

  “Stop!” Duncan called out.

  Before Duncan could get to his feet, the leader punched him across the face, knocking him into the floor and making him fade in and out of consciousness.

  Duncan spent an unknown amount of time in darkness, feeling it change him, warping the very reality of who he was. When he came back to consciousness, the fires no longer burned, the smoke only lingered, and the morning sun barely began to peek over the horizon. He lay on his stomach, alone in the room with only his parents. He quickly stood up, empowered by a fury the twelve-year-old boy had never experienced in his life.

  Duncan made for the bedroom he had seen the men take Reyna into. When he opened the door, he found the men gathered around Reyna’s motionless body, doing unspeakable things to her. Duncan immediately pulled a dagger from one of the men’s belts, hacking away at them while screaming furiously.

  Perhaps it was pain, perhaps it was the blow to the head he had suffered, or perhaps it was the fury, but Duncan lost track of everything as he became a writhing force of pure rage, killing and mutilating three of the men that stood before him. The supposed leader quickly capitulated and collapsed to the floor, refusing to fight. When Duncan saw him yield, he came back to his senses, catching his breath. However, the sight of Reyna’s naked and mangled corpse drove him into an even greater fury. He descended upon the man with lightning speed, shoving the end of his dagger into the man’s crotch, decrying him as a worthless rapist.

  Duncan dragged the eunuch outside, throwing him before the burned crop field. “You will die slowly…” Duncan wielded the dagger, slowly marching forward towards the eunuch.

  A vicious blood stain continued to grow around the eunuch’s crotch, and his Emberland armor clanked as he pathetically tried to crawl away. “N—no… Please!”

  “YOU DON’T GET TO BEG!”

  As Duncan was about to descend upon the eunuch, he was interrupted by the stampede of dozens of horses. The horses were dressed in astounding armor, all ridden by men in Emberland armor. “Their tracks lead to the farm!” one horseman shouted.

  “Take the brigands alive!” an authoritative voice reminded.

  When the cavalrymen laid eyes on Duncan, they looked at him suspiciously and with fear. The obvious leader emerged, carefully approaching Duncan.

  “Stay… Back…” Duncan warned, holding his dagger out at the approaching leader.

  “There’s no need to be afraid, son. What’s your name?” Now much closer, his fierce green eyes were apparent.

  “D—Duncan…” He wept, the dagger in his hand shaking.

  “I’m Harvey Miller.”

  The Emperor? A confused and grief-stricken Duncan thought.

  “My men and I are here to track a group of traitors.” The Emperor glanced at the castrated eunuch in Emberland armor. “That is one of them… Do you know where the rest of them are?”

  “Dead in the house. They… They killed her… They—” Duncan dropped the dagger and collapsed to his knees, sobbing desperately.

  The Emperor walked up to Duncan, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, son. I… I don’t… I can make sure this one is brought to justice.”

  “HE NEEDS TO DIE!” Duncan roared. “THEY KILLED HER!”

  “They’ll get worse than death, son. I promise.” The Emperor lifted Duncan’s head up and looked at him in the eyes, undisturbed by his mutation.

  That day, the Emperor organized a burial for Duncan’s family, shipped the eunuch off to the Deadlands, and brought Duncan into his home.

  ***

  The Archon had the exact same eyes as the pathetic eunuch on the farm so many years before. Being dragged to a mysterious cell in the Deadlands on the orders of such a creature made him feel the same fury he had felt that fateful day. If I get my hands on that fucker, he’ll have the single worst death in the history of our species, he thought.

  Eventually, Black Eyes was dragged through a dark and torchlit hallway into a collection of cells that smelt of rotten flesh. The Bargemen unlocked one of the cell doors then violently threw him inside, locking the door right after him.

  Face-first on the cold and sti
cky floor, Black Eyes let out the most primal scream he ever had and pounded his fists on the floor, seemingly unable to vent his rage. The scream ended and he became overwhelmed with light-headedness and shortness of breath. He crawled into the corner of the cell while shivering, suddenly aware of the cold.

  “I can get why you’re mad, but did you have to wake me up?” said a young, tall, and intimidatingly strong man with a Winterland accent in the cell across from Black Eyes.

  “Huh?” Black Eyes squinted, looking straight at the man. A Winterlander, and an Exile?

  “I said, I can get why you are mad, but did you have to wake me up. I can repeat it again if you like.”

  Black Eyes stood up and shambled over to the bars of his cell, getting a better look at the man. “Winterlander?”

  “Accent gave me away?”

  “That and your shitty attitude,” said Black Eyes.

  The Winterlander chuckled. “That’s why I was given one of these cells, because of my distinct lack of charm!” His whimsical mood turned stoic. “You are the Black Eyes?”

  “My eye color gave me away?” Black Eyes scoffed.

  The Winterlander lightly chuckled. “Even the average Winterlander knows who you are. But I’m guessing it’s just a nickname, right? What’s your actual name?”

  “Duncan.”

  The Winterlander laughed obnoxiously. “If that was my name, I’d beg to be called Black Eyes.”

  Black Eyes scowled. “What is your real name, Winterlander?”

  “Viktor.”

  “Tell me, Viktor. Why are you here?” Black Eyes asked.

  “The short version, or the long?” Viktor asked.

  “Short, please.”

  “Very well. I am—was a Winterguard recruit that killed a Winterguard Captain. They decided to send me with the Bargemen instead of executing me, and one voyage later, here I am.”

  “Winterguard recruit, eh? Now what would make you turn traitor and kill your Captain?” Black Eyes crossed his arms, looking at Viktor curiously.

  Viktor twisted his lips and his eyes turned to sorrow. “The Winterguard would have me do horrible things.”