Ari - The Underworld

  The Past

  Years later, under the same explosive mountain in Abyss, sat a boy still wrapped in chains. However, he was changed: No longer did the chains cover his entire form. They wrapped tightly around his body, still keeping him restrained and unable to move. Now stretches of skin were visible on his long arms and legs and along his torso, peeking out from the twisted metal around him. He stood on the precipice of being a boy no longer, nearly fully grown. He slept quietly, head lolled to the side, oblivious to the moans and cries of the dungeon around him.

  A servant, a young boy weighed down with his own chains, connected between his hands and feet, shackles around his wrists and ankles, pulled keys from his pockets and fitted one into the hole on the cell door. He picked up the tray of food he had set down on the floor and hurried into the cell, quick to set the tray aside once more to lock the door. He then pulled a second key from his pocket and bent to unlock the tight band of metal that wrapped tightly around the sleeping man’s neck. The man’s eyes opened upon the metal falling away and he turned his neck side to side, trying in vain to stretch the sore muscles where the iron collar dug in. He looked solemnly up at the child before him and opened his mouth, resigned to be fed. He knew the routine. Knew fighting against it was futile. It would end badly for him and the boy both if he didn’t accept the meal. The only thought that kept him going forward these days was the solace that it would all soon be over, one way or another.

  After the meal, the boy left with the empty tray, locking the door behind him. The man watched his every move, eyeing the key with special intensity, though no one would have been able to tell. Long ago he’d learned to keep any emotions from showing. Expressing any only ended in punishment and pain. They made him weak, he was told over and over again. So, in an effort to survive, he sealed them all deep inside. He wasn’t even sure he could access them at this point. Smiling, frowning, crying. The idea seemed foreign to him now. An unnecessary expenditure of energy.

  Once he was sure the servant boy was gone, he closed his eyes. Anyone watching would have thought he was going back to sleep. He concentrated hard, picturing the key, every tiny detail ingrained in his mind. This wasn’t the first day he had studied them, the keys the servants and guards used. The chains were imbued with a power that subdued his magic, keeping him weak until they were removed. An invention of his master’s. Simple and effective. As he grew, however, so did his power. They never bothered to check his power against that of which had been forged within the chains. Slowly but surely, he was able to summon more power, even while he was locked in his cell. He used it quite constantly, for many years now, to create tiny balls of energy and float them into his ears blocking out the awful sounds of the dungeons. The basic shields he’d been taught as defence in battle, something he at one time struggled to perfect, now one of his most useful tools. He realized the shields, while invisible to the naked eye, were basically condensed, raw energy. It was how they blocked physical attacks along with magical ones. If you reached out your hand, you’d be able to feel the flat surface of the shield, like a barrier. He realized that he could make the shield any shape and size, like the tiny balls that rested in his ears near constantly or spread out over the plains of his body like a second skin of invisible, impenetrable armor. He’d perfected the shields, only needing very little power to create and manipulate them now. Nothing got past them now, except which he allowed. And he did allow things to slip past them frequently, especially in training. While he allowed himself to be mildly injured every now and then, it wasn’t for a love of pain.

  It was self preservation and part of a plan he had started to develop long ago. One he had just recently begun to set into motion. He was going to escape or die trying. He had no intention of wasting all of his existence within this cell, even if it meant perishing. At least then he would be free and he could see the realm of which his mother occupied, which Livinia in the adjacent cell had whispered stories to him about. Venhortia, the land of the spirits, a place of rest and peace and beauty. A home to the dead, pure souls of the past, like his mother. That was, if he even had a soul. He wasn’t so convinced of that. But either way, simply becoming nothing but dust would be better than being subjected to the suffering of this wretched place for all eternity. He was determined to, at the very least, secure escape for Livinia who’d suffered far longer and more grievously than himself, though she never told him so. She would disappear for long stretches of time, returning only once the master was done with her, body covered in bruises and dark circles under her haunted eyes. But she always managed a smile for him no matter what. It was that kindness he would repay with his life. The only being to ever show him anything but fear and disgust. He’d do it for her, if not himself. He had to.

  He stared into the cell across the hall from his at the dark, shadowed figure of the woman sleeping in the far corner. His sharp eyes picked up slight movement, the rise and fall of her chest in sleep and he sighed in relief. She had returned last night after nearly a week of absence. The guards pulled her chains, practically dragging her along as they made their way to her cell and unceremoniously shoved her inside. She had immediately sank to her knees, exhausted. Once the guards were gone he had called out to her, keeping his voice as low as possible. She had turned her head toward him, a small smile on her face in greeting as she panted heavily. He gave her a questioning look but she shook her head, crawling to the back of her cell. He had immediately noticed the lack of any aura around her, an indication of how dangerously low her powers had been drained. As she curled into a ball he had formed a shield over her body like a blanket, blocking out any sounds and protecting her in her rest. Her body had instantly gone slack, falling into a deep sleep. He had held the shield for hours, keeping his concentration on her form as her aura very slowly became visible once more. When he was satisfied she would recover naturally, he withdrew the shield and just placed the balls of energy into her ears to keep out the noise and then made two more for his own. He needed to rest now that she was safely back. It meant that it was time for him to put his plan into action.

  Satisfied that his assessment of Livinia proved she would live, her aura having grown much stronger since he’d fallen asleep, he decided it was time. Approximately five hours had passed since he fell asleep, he estimated. Though there were no windows here and the meals all consisted of the same, tasteless gruel, he had no real way of determining time. But he’d come to mark things by sound and counting. Many times, while alone with absolutely nothing to do, he had sat and counted between guard changes. They would rotate around every 15,000-16,000 seconds, which was about every 4.5 hours. He’d come to recognize most of their voices as well, learning their shifts and who would come after the ones on duty. With his keen eyes, nearly constantly enhanced with his power, he could see the auras of all the servants and guards. He learned quickly that not a single one he had encountered had the strength or power to come close to beating him.

  Occasionally the dungeon guards were replaced either for being assigned to new areas or likely dying. He didn’t usually learn the reason as the guards weren’t especially chatty to one another. Everyone knew that the fortress seemed to have ears of its own, a direct extension of the master’s. The master had an uncanny ability to learn things he should have no way of knowing. However, the guards yelled at the prisoners enough for their voices to become distinct. The guards who brought Livinia to her cell had finished the task in even more of a hurry because it was almost time for a shift change and they were eager to be done. He could tell from the restless way the guards were shifting on their feet now, his senses picking up every scrape against the stone, that they were once again about to be relieved.

  He focused intently on the shape of the key in his mind, remembering the one the servant boy had pulled from his pocket. He formed his shield into a condensed shape of power in the air in front of him. When he opened his eyes, he could see it, though no one else would likely be able to. He had also learned to enhance his vision with his power at will, allowing him to be able see the flows and fluctuation of power around him, including shields. He had even learned to detect his father’s presence when he melded into the shadows. He’d been careful not to make him aware that he possessed the ability though, keeping his gaze anywhere but where he knew his master to be. He wasn’t sure if the master saw through the act but hoped it would be enough for what he was about to attempt.

  He floated the key through the air with his mind, watching it twist and spin as he positioned it toward the lock on the cell door. This was the tricky part, as the keyhole was positioned on the outside of the door so he couldn’t see it. He moved the key until it hit the side of the door but didn’t go into the hole. He breathed calmly as he bounced the key along the door frame, searching for the keyhole. His previous attempts at this hadn’t worked. While he had been able to find the keyhole, his shape or size of the key was slightly off and it wouldn’t turn in the lock. But he was patient, studying the keys the servants and guards wielded when they came to feed him and let him relieve himself. He was patient, confident that eventually he’d get it right. He had nothing but time and it wasn’t like he had much else to focus on while trapped in here.

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  He was surprised when he quite easily found the keyhole. In the past it had taken a lot longer to line the key up without being able to see it at all. He attributed his success to previous practice and multiple failed attempts. As he strained his mind to turn the key, he hoped that his easy success was a sign that it was finally going to work. The key slowly rotated as he willed it and his eyebrows went up slightly as he felt it turn the rest of the way and the lock made a quiet click as it came undone. He dispatched the shield turned key as he heard the new guards coming down the stairs to take their positions at the dungeon entrance. The guards leaving grunted in greeting and promptly left. The new guards began their sweep of the cells, checking everyone as was protocol at the beginning of a shift. The chained man hung his head forward, feigning sleep. He mentally pushed his powers out, pressing a shield against the door of his cell tightly, like an invisible hand. The shuffling of feet made their way closer and he heard the rattling of metal as they checked the doors, one by one. Then they were at his and he gritted his teeth in concentration as they pushed against his own cell door. It didn’t budge under the pressure he was putting against it and the guard moved on satisfied without as much as a second glance in his direction.

  Once the guards were once again stationed at their posts, he picked his head up and began focusing on forming another key. The whole time he did this, he also had extended a cord of his power down the hall and across the floor as a tripwire, invisible to others but attached to his mind. If anyone crossed it while he worked, he would know immediately and be able to stop. Unlike the untrained, clumsy guards, there were other beings that frequented the dungeons who moved on silent feet and hid their aura, surprising even him as they passed by his door.

  The second key was smaller but of simpler design. This one he was positive he could make as he observed it for longer periods of time and up close for many years. He didn’t dare free himself from the chains until he knew for sure he could get the key for the door right, as it had proved tricky in his past attempts. He’d never be able to conveniently wrap the chains back around himself as they were fastened in a very particular order and locked once by one, overlapping in a complexity that had been especially designed to keep him from moving and effectively suppress his powers. He finished forming the key quickly and floated it to where he knew the keyhole at his neck was. It slipped easily inside and he turned it, the metal falling away and rolling down the other chains with a noisy clang. He held his breath for a few seconds to see if anyone would come to check on the noise. Thankful, maybe for the first time in his life, for the noise of the dungeons around him, he continued on. It wasn’t unusual to hear the clanking of metal as chains and shackles clanked along the bars of the doors or each other as prisoners moved about. He used the same key to unlock the many various locks on his chains at his wrists, ankles, chest and back, which was the trickiest. Finally, with a small click, the last lock opened and he breathed a sigh of relief. He moved, very carefully, to remove the chains wrapped around him, untangling his limbs and body from the pile of iron surrounding him.

  “Ari?” Came a small voice from across the hall. The man’s head shot up, peering across the hall into the cell where the woman had just been sleeping. She was now at the door, staring at him wide eyed as he stood amongst the chains, freed.

  “Sorry to disturb you LIvinia,” Came his flat reply as he carefully stepped out of the chains. “But it saved me from waking you now anyway, I suppose.”

  “What have you done?” She whispered, horror in her voice as she watched him.

  He said nothing, staring at her through his bars as he stretched and flexed his muscles, getting ready for what he was about to do.

  “It’s time,” He said quietly, staring into her big, brown eyes. Eyes that had brought him comfort in this dark place. “I won’t live like this any longer.”

  “You won’t live at all if you do this,” She said, voice quivering in fear.

  “Then so be it,” He said, expression hard. “I either escape or go to Venhortia this day. Maybe I’ll meet my mother, like you’ve always told me I would someday. Or maybe I will simply cease to exist, only remembered by you. Either way, this,” He motioned all around his feet at the chains, “ends today.”

  Livinia’s lip quivered again, eyes still wide with fear as she watched him. He once again made a key with his mind, watching the woman across from him as he did so. He knew she couldn’t see what he was doing. The third key slipped easily into the keyhole on Livinia’s cell and turned with a soft click as the lock came undone. He was thankful they used the same key for all the doors in the same cell block.. As it clicked, Livinia jumped back from the door in shock. The door swayed a few millimeters and her gaze traveled frantically between the door and the man’s eyes, confusion and fear frozen on her face.

  “What are you doing, Ari?” She whispered, body trembling now.

  “Listen to me Livinia,” The man, Ari, said quietly, with urgency in his tone. “I have placed a shield around your body with only the openings of your mouth, nose and ears uncovered. You cannot feel it but it is hard as steel and fitted tightly to you like a second skin. I can concentrate on it and hold it even from relatively far away. You are quiet and fast. When I leave, I will take out the guards at the entrance. You must escape quickly. Once you leave the fortress, my shield will strain once you’re out of range and I will release you. I won’t be able to protect you outside of here unless I get out as well, which is unlikely. But I know you aren’t defenceless, I can sense the power within you. If you weren’t powerful, the master wouldn’t have kept you around for this long. Am I correct in my assessment?”

  Livinia didn’t answer, staring at him wide eyed while she continued to tremble. “Y-you can’t do this. It will never work. You don’t understand his full power.”

  Ari turned his face away, casting his features into shadow. “I know of his power. I do not underestimate him. I know I cannot defeat him. That was never the plan.”

  “What are you going to do?” Came Livinia’s whispered question, barely audible to normal ears over the dungeon sounds.

  “Just distract him,” Ari said simply with a shrug. “Once I know you’ve gotten away, which I have full confidence you will, I will try to flee. There is a small chance I will be able to accomplish this, as I’ve routed an escape that has a possibility of being successful, though the chance to take it will be slim.”

  Livinia shook her head then and gripped the bars of her cell as she stared at him with pleading eyes. “Please don’t do this. Your mother…. She bid me to watch over you. She begged me to protect you in any way I was able. I have failed her. There has been little I’ve been able to do to shield you from the horrors of this place. Please…. For my promise to her… Do not do this Ari.”

  He stared back at the woman across from him, observing the fine lines that had begun to appear on her smooth, brown skin over recent years. Her hair had subtle white streaks in it now, signs of her aging. She was human, as was his mother, and most of her life had already been spent here, a place without hope. It had worn on her features, her cheeks hollow and sunken, dark bags under her eyes. Where he once saw vibrancy of life, trying to sustain itself amongst the terror, was all but completely gone, sucked out by the desolation of being a prisoner and slave to their master.

  “You haven’t failed, Livinia,” He answered, eyes softening only marginally. Only for her would his hard exterior melt away at all. “You’ve given me a reason to fight. Your stories kept me company and offered me solace when there was only darkness. In my whole life, you’re the only one who ever smiled at me. Even if you did it for your love for my mother, you showed me a tiny sliver of good. It kept me sane, gave me something to cling to.”

  Livinia’s body had stopped trembling and her eyes were now filled with tears as she stared at him. “Ari….”

  He stepped forward and pushed his cell door opened, its creaking echoing in the hall. He stuck out his head in the direction the guards were stationed. They didn’t move, much to his satisfaction. He stepped out into the hall, closing the cell shut behind him. At it closed he peered inside for a moment, eyes going to the bare spot amongst the chains where his body had been. The very spot where he’d been forced to spend most of his life. He turned away forever, closing his eyes as he took in the freedom, whether it led to his death or not. He would never go back, he promised himself, even if it meant destroying himself in the process. Never again.

  He turned back to Livinia, stepping up to her cell door. He rested his hand on the bars as he stared in at her. She stared back, tears streaming down her face. She stepped up and grabbed his hand, bringing it to her lips and then holding it against her cheek. He watched her flatly even as something deep inside of him stirred. He pushed the feeling back down, knowing he couldn’t afford to face it now on the precipice of extraordinary change. But he dared not pull his hand away, etching the feel of her skin on his as her tears poured over his flesh. He’d never, not once, been touched so tenderly by another person in all of his twenty years of existence. After a moment, she pushed his hand away from her cheek and let go, hands falling to her sides. She smiled at him, warmth spreading across her face as she gazed into his eyes. She nodded at him. A dismissal and goodbye written in her expression. He got the feeling she wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.

  He offered her a smile in return, something he hadn’t done in many years. Though it didn’t have the feeling behind it like it used to, her eyes widened in surprise anyway. He offered it as a last parting gift for her kindness. He turned to walk away but paused, facing away.

  “Thank you, Livinia,” He whispered. “For everything.”

  As he walked away he heard the sounds of her quiet sobs and steeled himself for the fight ahead.

  –????????–