Atrocluxx

Prologue

The sun began to rise above the horizon. The vibrant  complexion of daylight painted the morning sky.  The sound of the waves was like music to the ears; singing lullabies for all the creatures luring them back to sleep. The birds were chirping as the smoke from who-knows-where reached my nostrils. My eyes snapped open as the few rays of light carresed my face. What a beautiful day, one could say.

What a beautiful day indeed if I weren't chained inside a dungeon beside an extremely high cliff. The structure and location were designed to cage a monster wreaking havoc in the human village. It was like a chamber formed by digging through the mountain rock.

It's been five days since I was captured by the Golden Phoenix I had been chasing for several cycles of the moon. It was quite ironic that I should have been the predator to seize the creature but here I was-my left wrist was about to bleed while my right ankle was already numb of pain caused by the metal shackles used to restrain me. The shackles were magical artifacts judging from the ancient patterns engraved around it. It restricted my magic and it was draining my energy.

Around me were scattered haystacks which used to be my bed for several sunsets. It was weird. Since the Golden Phoenix captured me, I hadn't seen it again. Everyday, I woke up with food—placed on a space near the window bars—which was enough for me to go on another day. Sometimes it was a basket of fruit, sometimes a roasted meat of a hare or a wild hog. I've had several winters of experience in hunting to know which meat belonged to what animal.

Honestly, my condition here was much better than wandering outside. At least, I just had to wait for my food to be delivered everyday. I also had a shelter to reside to escape from the night cold, except that I couldn't use my magic.

Magic was my life, and I wouldn't allow this dungeon to strip that from me. I am the bravest warrior and the youngest magician of the Sagitaki Clan. We valued freedom first and foremost and these shackles were a huge insult to our moral discipline. Every creature should have an innate blessing of liberty; a belief passed from the very first root of our ancestral race.

I'll escape at the next sunrise.; I could have done it sooner, but my curiosity stopped me from doing so.
I needed to test if the Golden Phoenix could be a reliable ride to visit the place I longed to see since I was just a few summers old. But to my disappointment, I didn't expect that the Golden Phoenix was strong enough to grip my left hand which would have served as the channel of my spiritual powers and I fainted in the process.

I would be free at the next sunrise. I'd just enjoy one last meal in dawn, before I'd execute my escape plan. I was usually awake three breaths of time after sunset, and my senses were sharp even when I was sleeping, but I wasn’t able to how my food was brought. I guessed it was usually served before dawn. I was a lot fortunate as a captive. I had a cozy shelter, and provided enough food.

It's been three hands of time since sunset and I was not planning to sleep, I would catch the one to deliver my food; whether it was another hideous monster or the Golden Phoenix itself, which I guessed was impossible for the window was so small for it to enter. It could only fit two human bodies at a time and the size of the great bird was an equivalent of seven to eight human bodies combined. I only wished that whoever delivered my food had a sword or any weapon on their person.

I spent almost seven hands of time; carefully planning out my escape while pretending to be asleep. I used to have a lot of magical weapons but I wasn't able to bring them when I was abducted in the Black Forest except for my bow and arrows. My wooden bow was placed just upon my reach, but my arrows were nowhere to be found. The great bird or its allies might have confiscated it when I was unconscious. I guess they hadn't heard how vicious those arrows were. Not my fault anyway. Another five hands of time before dawn and I was losing my patience. It's not so easy keeping yourself awake while having the most comfortable position of sleeping.