Dawn of the Unconquered Sun (Part 8 of the Ignaius-Saga)

In the Dark

*** Warning: Torture (not too graphic, though). ***

When Tanier awoke, he found himself unable to move and blindfolded. At least this is what he realized after a few moments of sheer terror when he awoke to complete darkness. As he calmed, he realized that he neither lost his sight not was he in a pitch black room - most likely - but his eyes were tightly sealed by some fabric. He also realized that he could not move, not just because he was bound, but because he simply couldn't. None of his limps would move, not even a finger. And that alarmed him a lot.

As an attempt to calm himself - amongst other things - he started to analyze his situation. Aside of the fact that he could not move, he seemed unharmed. He didn't even have a headache and the dizziness was gone now. He seemed to be indoors, as there were hardly any sounds. The room was maybe slightly colder than average, so he was probably closed away in a windowless room. Most likely, he was alone, at least he was not able to pick up any sounds that would betray any other human being. He could only speculate where he was, who had abducted him and why. Of course the Disciples were high on his list of potential suspects, but he was also aware that this was only the first item on a rather long list.

The complete lack of control over his body was more than frustrating, but he reminded himself that he could not allow himself to be driven to desperation by something so simple as this. He had discussed poisons and their use with Vis extensively enough to know that he was probably experiencing the effect of one of them right now and he could expect it to be reversible. Still it was a very uncomfortable situation to be in.

He was left alone for a bit longer, but eventually, muffled footsteps could be heard. A key was inserted and turned, a bolt thrown, and a heavy, somewhat creaky door opened. It shut again, was locked, and thus he was no longer alone. The person who had entered the room did not speak. The sound of boots on a stone floor signaled their approach, and Tanier received no warning before a small flame was touched to one of his hands. It was brief, but it was enough to burn.

Tanier would have jumped or cried, as he felt his hand being burned, but he couldn't. If this was a test to see, if he was awake or still alive, it failed, for only to a very observant person his more heavy breathing would give away that he felt anything. Being deprived of any way to act upon pain and fear, with no way to fight back, even if only with words, he had no choice but to tolerate whatever was done to him.

"So, you are awake." It was a man's voice that spoke, thickly laden with an Auroran accent. "And no longer immune to fire, apparently... if you ever were." The last part was added in a mocking tone. "I am here to ask you some questions, but for that, I need your mouth to work. Just remember that any freedom I give you can very easily be reversed. So, if you decide to sharpen your tongue, I will simply still it again and wait... And this time, you will not be given the mercy of sleep."

With that, the unseen man shuffled around with something. Then, again without warning, a needle pierced Tanier's jaw accompanied by the sound of released fluid. The same was done on the other side of his jaw, and seconds later a stinging heat was spreading through the lower half of his face. A feeling like thousands of much tinier needles followed, reminiscent of a limb waking after having fallen asleep and gone completely numb. Feeling and muscle control returned to his jaws and cheeks, though the muscles would still feel somewhat slack.

Soon Tanier could confirm what he had assumed to be the purpose of the procedure: He got control of his face and throat muscles back. But the rest stayed just as uncooperative. He had concluded that his experiment in Lekal-Kayla's room had indeed been a mistake and that the young man had obviously shared what he knew, as the only other people who would know about this were Variel and Vis. Or had Lekal-Kayla spread rumors so quickly that this had reached others as well? He didn't recognize the voice that was speaking to him, but there weren't that many people in Aurora he was familiar enough already to recognize their voices.