The moment Rheta Ingram opens her eyes and becomes aware of the world around her, she screams. As the horrible sound is ripped from her chest and throat, the core of her feeling so much pain that she can't breathe, the air around her vibrates and the floor, walls, and ceiling and windows all tremble. She screams and wails, the agony in her body so profound that she wonders if this will be what finally kills her. If Rheta will finally die.
No longer sure of how long she has been trapped in this gods forsaken room, she lifts her head to try and look around. But even that small movement causes an intense spear of agony throughout her spinal cord. Rheta moans in pain, her glittering tears falling down her face.
Rheta is alone. She is always alone.
Trapped in the core of the accursed Glass City, Rheta serves as the power source. The only thing that controls the way of life. It isn't just the sheer, dark magick of an elven warlock. No, it's the raw, unfettered power of a primordial being such as an Elder Witch.
I am Rheta Ingram, and I will not die here.
A powerful blast of pain causes her to see sparks in her vision. She lifts her hand, hanging from the iron shackles that support her body. But the faint clink of the shackles moving hurts her now throbbing head. Rheta sighs as best she can, the breaths suddenly scorching her lungs and freezing her throat.
Rheta tries to think of something, anything but the horrible pain.
She thinks of the only friend she's ever found here. Ramsey, a dragon. The girl was broken when she and Rheta met. They did not know how to survive with the expectations of Mercury, as well as the whole of Ilyntalos, and Glass City. But Rheta, having been here since she was around two years old, told Ramsey, a new arrival, how to survive. The poor girl was only five when she arrived here, but Rheta was ten.
Neither girl knew what would become of them here. Neither of them realized what was going to happen to them was going to rip them apart. Something that shred any of their empathy or humanity. Something that coiled itself around every nerve and sinew.
A dark, living thing within them.
Rheta is in the center of the Glass City, trapped in a room that constantly saps her powers from her. It uses the shackles that are locked around her wrists, forearms, ankles, throat, and knees. They all remain cold, despite having been there for years. And because Elder Witches do not require food or water to survive, Rheta is perpetually alone.
Only the memory of her long, sleepless nights at Ramsey's side keep her alive. Because, some time ago, Rheta found a way to end her suffering. But Ramsey and her memories, as well as the faint hope that someday, someone will save her, those keep her alive.
But even though all of those seem distant, it's times like now, where Rheta pulls herself out of the Dreamscapes, where she spends most of her time, she wants to die. Dreamscape is a world she and Ramsey crafted with their powers. It is a way for them to escape the hell they're in. It is a world where nothing can harm either of them. A world where they are safe, and able to hold each other.
A world where Ramsey and Rheta can kiss.
A world where they are able to embrace their love. But no, here, in reality.... According to Ramsey, they've been apart for over five years.
Rheta closes her eyes. She wants nothing more than to actually be in her lover's arms. She just wants Ramsey, the real Ramsey.
So, even though she's in agony, she tries to fall back into the Dreamscape. Back to find Ramsey once more.
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Origins of the Fates
FantasyIlyntalos is the last living major city in what was once the proud United States of America. America was ripped apart by the gods from other worlds who were waging a bloody war on each other. They destroyed everything and killed most of the humans t...
