The peaceful kingdom of Valrathia was invaded by the anger-lead Explorers from across the ocean. They took rule over their land and exploited their pacifist nature.
Seeking shelter from that terror, Valrathians turned to their legends, specifically...
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They were sitting in a carriage wagon with chained wrists and ankles. The wagon was a part of a larger caravan transporting all Valrathians captured by the explorers. But it wasn't a regular slave caravan. They overheard enough to know they were being transported to the capital, to the Valrathian Colosseum. A huge circular theater where Valrathians held plays, concerts, and any other events that were celebrating their vast culture. Since it has been taken by the explorers, it became a place where Valrathians from the deep continent fight for their lives, to the amazement of their oppressors.
They traveled through the forests and fields of Valrathia, until finally reaching the Valrathian desert from which they could see the borders of Rathdar - the biggest city on the continent. From the great distance they looked at it, Throne could easily spot the huge banners announcing The Kingdoms' presence. On the pale white background there was a crown embroidered with threads of pure gold. On top of the crown sat one tiny bird - it appeared that it was singing. The sight of the banner felt ethereal, yet what he's been through didn't align with it. The tales which Thorne had heard about the terror that took place behind Rathdar's walls weren't convincing him that the explorers would go easy on any of the people they've taken. People of the capital were being killed on the streets when disobeying the guards, enslaved by noblemen who were taking over their shops, taverns and most of the city's infrastructure. Paintings and sculptures were destroyed or taken back to their own continent. They said that the guards were taking all the babies and little children with them, stealing them directly from the embraces of their parents and caretakers.
Arriving in the Colosseum, the guards took every single one of the captives and gave them a small cage in the tunnels underneath the audience. There weren't cages for prisoners, but for animals. Most of them could barely stretch their legs in them. They separated families and friends, just like Thorne, Elowen, and Althea. Some cages were stacked one on top of another, creating the atmosphere of chaos and tension around them. Thorne was disgusted by the idea, but he wasn't the only one. None of them could resist that fate. There were already drawn swords for the people that had the slightest idea to escape. They could do nothing but obey the guards. Some cages had their residents already. That was because people were already fighting in the arena. Replacements like them were coming frequently to keep up entertaining the bloodthirsty audience.
After some time of sitting still, trying to not focus on the enormous back pain, Thorne heard someone mumbling in the distance.
-Oh, Grand Savior, please free us from the claws of our oppressors. Bless us with the strength you have to endure in this time of hardship. - Grand Saviour meaning Han'Thun as Althea called him. He was known to many across Valrathia, but not everyone had the same opinion.
-Shut up, you old hag! - a woman called out to her from another cage. - Don't spread this filthy hatred even here. Let us spend our last moments in peace. - many other Valrathians spoke up, starting an argument about what is right and what is wrong about the spirit from the legends. In the end, screams of his worshippers and enemies were indistinguishable from each other. All loud and all unreasonable. All blind to the truth that stood in front of them.
The coming guards brought the fierce argument down.
-Silence! - they shouted. They started opening cages, holding the youth and lying them up to the arena. Althea was frightened. She reached out her arm with the bars of her cage and screamed - Dad! Dad! - but she was not the only one. All the children had the same reaction and their parents couldn't do a thing from their own separate cages, reaching out their arms in a mechanical response.. Some were screaming, some were crying, some were silent. They would share that fate with them in a matter of time, after all. Thorne was somewhere between being silent and crying. He looked at the guard, taking his daughter by the arm and dragging her out, later lining her up with other kids near the arena entrance. Tall, fat, bold individual with lavender gaze. He was an archer, and Thorne remembered him, not knowing why. Thorne felt hopeless and weak. He could only watch the terror happen around him. Steel bars of the small cage kept him from doing anything, but even if he could run out there and intervene, the guards would kill him on the spot. The gate to the arena has opened and many of the guards lead the group of more than 50 children into the arena. The tunnel they were held in fell silent. Only the shouts of the crowd echoed from behind that gate.
Althea and other children were placed in the middle. They were freed from the chains, as the King himself spoke up.
-My dear people! Now it's time for the most special part of today's show. These are the children of the savages that ruled upon this beautiful piece of land. Their fragile brains didn't have the time to form properly, so with our great generosity, we will give them a chance. - he coughed as his age and rotten mind was slowly starting to take his body apart. The blind resilience he had for life helped him continue that speech, just like it did with anything he did ruling The Kingdom.
-The ones that will endure the challenge they are about to face in this arena will be freed and sent to facilities where they'll be taught our ways. Without further ado, let's finally leave their fates in their own hands.
The horns sounded in the colosseum as a number of 30 wolves were let inside. There were weapons placed in different spots on the ground. Many of the children went to grab them. Some of them even run into the animals with better or worse results. Althea stuck to the group that decided to defend themselves. They picked up a few weapons and stood their ground, backing against a wall on the opposite side of the arena to the gate behind which Thorne and Elowen were being held in. At this time, he felt like he needed to do something. How could he not even try to save his daughter from this horrible fate? He didn't try with Lyanna. How could he do that again? The feeling of being trapped overwhelmed him. It was crushing his soul as if the colosseum was collapsing on top of him. The cage was progressively getting smaller and smaller. He felt something deep inside him. A cavity in his heart from which a weird surge of energy came to be. He pushed and pushed the cage door as suddenly the lock couldn't handle his strength and broke loose. The door opened as the metal lock fell to the ground, to the amazement of all the surrounding captives.
There were no guards around for now. Too many children entered the arena, so they needed to be in other places. Other Valrathians begged him to open their cages, too, but he couldn't do that. Maybe his lock was just old and faulty? - That was probably it - he thought. And moved to the big gate separating him from the arena. A huge chunk of steel bars making a checked pattern. The holes in between were too small to squeeze through. He bashed against them in desperation, looking at his daughter in the distance. She and a few other kids stood near the opposite wall, defending themselves from the pack of the surrounding wolves. He needed to hurry if he wanted to save her. He needed to do something.
Suddenly, that cavity in his heart started overflowing again. It was a weird feeling. Like an actual bottomless canyon was resting on the structure of his physical heart. It felt cold, and it was spreading that chill throughout his body, giving it strength. As he was continuously bashing against these steel bars, he could move them. He snapped one of them. It fell off on the other side, hitting the ground covered with sand. He pushed and pulled a few more and he made a hole he could walk through. With a little dose of hesitation, he walked into the arena and ran towards his daughter.
Elowen, who sat in the cage near that gate, seeing all of this. Before he could say a word, Thorne was already out there. Immediately, he took the little saw he smuggled in and started sawing the lock.
