Children of The Underground

Chapter 16: Elysium Lost

Drazhek came to in a dark, cold place. He couldn't tell much about his surroundings, except that bright green, alien light shone from some glowing mushrooms around them. Through the light, he could make out that he was in a large cell, with what appeared to be his comrades unconscious beside him.
The air tasted damp, and a little sour.

No gas mask

He pawed at his face with a blind panic, before relaxing. If the air here could really kill them, it would've happened already. He noted there lack of weapons or equipment. But so long as they were alive, then that was the least of their problems.

The mushrooms dotted the interior of a tall cupola, like fantastic stars. And although the light each individual cast was dim, each together cast a dim light in the room that gave form to unlit torches, candles, and benches.

Something stirred behind Drazhek. He turned around to see that Misha was getting up, groaning softly and cracking her joints.

"Gods. Where are we? And what happened to our—" her voice caught in her throat, and she touched her face softly. Then she calmed down and begin to wake everyone else.

Suddenly, there was a loud pop, like snapping fingers. The room brightened in an orange flash of light and the deafening roar of bonfire. At first, it looked like an explosion, but what happened was much stranger: every torch and candle in the room instantly catching fire.

From a doorless passageway across their cell emerged a pale man, with silver hair and white skin. When he came closer, it was clear that his eyes were also pale white and pupil-less.

The man was old, with thin, narrow features that made him look sharp, cunning, and with the orange light bathing his face, almost predatory. Like a vulture approaching a dying calf. Drazhek had no doubt that it was him, who with a snap of his finger, ignited every flammable light source in the room. And if this phantom wanted to do so, he could do so to Drazhek and his compatriots, too.

If Misha had such fears, she sure as hell didn't show them. Instead, she rushed the gate and grabbed the bars with such force they shook.

"Who the hell are you, you dirty bastard?! You maggoty piece of goat shit?! And where the hell have you taken us? Why'd you throw us in gods-damned the slammer? If you can call this shithole a slammer. Looks like a dungeon fit for a Tsar!" Misha let off another volley of invective, then stared, teeth bared like a cornered animal. She sounded pissed off, that was for sure, but a little frightened too.

The robed man, who on closer inspection was probably a priest, did shrink away from Misha in surprise, if not terror. But quickly regained his composure. Probably after remembering that he he could light them on fire with a snap of his fingers.

"Speak not like that to me, child, for you talk to a man of god. Our Tsar Koshei The Deathless, hallowed be thy name." His voice was high pitched, but mellow and quite pleasant, taking both Misha and Drazhek aback.

Vera pushed her way towards the front of the cell.

"Koshei? The Koshei?" Vera's voice grew strident from her incredulity. Drazhek could see the fire reflect off her wide, brown eyes. Perhaps there was a little flame dancing in them themselves."

"You know of him, Daughter? And here I thought heathens knew not of our lord." And here the priest smiled bashfully. "For he is not your lord, but ours."

"Enlighten us, please," asked Vera. She was eager and deferential. The priest smiled, which made him seem almost young again, then began to speak.

"Well, my children, your humble servant Afanasy shall enlighten you." He cleared his throat, and then with a deeper, louder voice began proselytizing his literally captive audience.

"Long ago, before he even came to The Underground, Koshei Bessmertny was a being of the Upper World, a god even amongst mortals like yourself——"

There was a loud cough. Boris, who stood forgotten along with Lena behind the other three, was stifling a laugh and was smothering more snickers behind a closed fist. Vera and Afanasy looked daggers at him.

"I apologize, father. There was something caught in my throat. Please, continue."

"Koshei had descended deep beneath the Earth, for his great powers and wisdom frightened the heathens above, and they struck his name out from memory. But down here, Koshei set to work on his first miracle: the creation of life."

Afanasy gestured to himself with a dramatic flourish.

"And thus came into existence the ones such as your humble servant. The Children of The Underground. The Mavs. Being born from Koshei's own flesh and blood, whom he endowed with great strength and speed. Intelligence, and dominion over the greatest of natural forces: magic"

And now, Afanasy pulled another flourish: he raised both of his hands, palms facing upward. In one palm was a bolt of ball lightning the size of an apple; in the other a fireball of similar proportions. Afanasy flipped his hands, and the conjured objects disappeared in twin puffs of smoke.

"But as we held mastery over the laws of the universe, Koshei our father, held mastery over us. For a time, he let us stay in his Inner Sanctum. Work with him directly in his greater goals and creations. But then...One of us, an ancestor whose true lineage was lost to history, sought and found knowledge that they were not meant to know. And then, Koshei cast us out of his sanctum, out of his paradise of light and knowledge, and sentenced us to Darkness. A punishment we have earned for our transgressions..."

Afanasy the priest's gaze fell. He looked wistful, but also ashamed. Who knew how long these...Things. These "mavs" lived beneath the Earth? And why did Afanasy's story sound so...Personal?

Lena spoke up. "That's a sad and charming story, Father Afanasy. But I must ask what it has to do with us? In general, what's your plan with us? After all, you took our weapons, our gas masks, everything but our lives. That witch from earlier, I remember that she turned her fists into balls of great lightning. Like the boltholes. Didn't kill us, but knocked us the hell out." Lena began massaging a part of her stomach.

Afanasy looked back at them, once again with those vulture eyes.

"Elektra was adamant that we take you alive. That you could be reasoned with, even though you were hostile aliens to our domain. She's been dead set on the idea that somehow you can help us re-establish contact."

All five members of the group stared blankly at Afanasy. At first, they did not understand. But comprehension struck them like bullets through the chest.

"You want us to breach that stronghold. That 'inner sanctum' of your Koshei." Misha's face was thoughtful, but her eyes were shiny, like a magpie eyeing a diamond ring. "Well, what's in it for us?" 

"Tsar Koshei made many great and wondrous things. Perhaps he has a way to send you back home." Afanasy looked away and contemplated, "Or more likely, a map of all the tunnels and their entrances." Misha, instead of reassured, looked uncertain. Nervous, even.

"So...What's keeping you from reaching that inner sanctum?"

Afanasy smirked.

"Why don't I take you from this cell and let you see it for yourselves?"