Seis : the Ruins of the Wind

Chapter 3 : Bloodstones (part 1)

« His body was a slave but not his heart. His master thought he had tamed both; it would soon turn against him. »

Excerpt from the Treaty, a work of a Knowledgeable.

---------------------------------------

Seis woke up with a start once again. It had been a week since the young man had started his new life in the mines of Rita. Seven days, seven nights, and seven times the same horrible nightmare. He had chosen a new name to have a new destiny, but for now, his past haunted him every night. In front of him, Babeth stretched her arms towards the invisible sky. Sleeping in the basement of Rita was no picnic. 3407 handed him a wooden cup. They were allowed to keep a little water every evening before returning to their cells. The mana lamp was not lit. This meant it was not yet time to work. The artificial light was the only indicator of the passing time outside. Without it, they would have no idea what time of day it was.

He had started to get closer to his fellow cellmates. 3407 acted as a bodyguard for the three other dormitory members. Her tall stature, frightening face, and muteness had made her known throughout the prison. No one wanted to mess with her. This amused Old Lou, who allowed himself jokes and provocations even towards the guards, as they too preferred to stay away from the tall mute. Seis found the contrast between her image and the reality he had experienced amusing. To him, 3407 was like a protective big sister; she always helped him carry heavy loads, gave him water, touched his arm when he trembled, and gave him a piece of her daily bread, which he refused every day to give to Babeth. Her unattractive face and sullen expression had become endearing to him.

As usual, Old Lou was snoring. The man was not actually that old, barely in his forties. The gray hair and wrinkles suggested a greater age. Lou had led a privileged life before ending up in prison in the kingdom of Burr. According to his own words, the prominent figure was a scholar from Balagad. Seis had never heard of this country before meeting Old Lou. Balagad was in the great desert south of Albion. The boy loved listening to the scholar fervently declaiming long speeches. It distracted him from his usual thoughts, macabre fantasies about the murder of his arch-enemy, Count Henri. However, Old Lou loved talking as much as he hated wielding his pickaxe. He constantly added extra work for 3407, who had to double her efforts so their dormitory as a whole could meet the daily quota. The ebony-skinned man felt no shame about it and sometimes even boasted to the other prisoners. He had often noticed Babeth's disapproving looks and just laughed in her face. He justified himself every day with the same exclamation. "Huspah." Annoyed, the young redhead snapped at him:

- "What is Humchat?"

- "Thank you for asking. Not Humchat, that's food, very good by the way. I was talking about Huspah. Huspah is a concept from Balagad that says in life, you must always be extremely bold in every circumstance. Without shame, always try to get the most out of every situation, and you must have confidence in yourself."

- "In your case, it looks more like being a shameless opportunist," Seis had retorted, as he too disliked this trait in Old Lou.

- "Ah, you speak like the traditionalists even though you are so young. The old Balagadians share your view and find it negative, close to insolence and opportunism. But for the young people like us, Huspah is courage, it is the zeal of not fearing the consequences to obtain the best conditions for oneself."

The tall mute then made a series of signs that Seis didn't understand, except at the end, where she asked him to get back to work. Seeing the proud scholar bow his head, Seis became curious. He asked what she had signed, but the old man refused to answer. But Babeth, who never lacked energy to satisfy her curiosity, pestered him all morning. He finally admitted with a sigh: