Indoctrination

Screams are the symphony of captivity and deep within this underground laboratory they orchestrate the pain felt by its prisoners. Cold grey stone walls and smells of burning flesh filled the corridors with a dreadful solace.

Within one of these cells a young boy with pale skin, long overgrown black hair, and atrophied muscles lay silently on his back mindlessly staring into the grey ceiling. For him the cold walls, smells of flesh, and screams of torture gave him hope, he had survived another day.

A rhythmed heavy thumping interrupted the boy's trance drawing its measured pace upon his heart. The boy's breath quickened, his eyes narrowed to thin slits as he strained to see through the darkened cell into the corridor beyond the iron framed doors. Somberly the shadow of a tall lean man appeared in the doorway looking down upon the young boy. His cold eyes appeared to glow violet in the dim light of the corridors lanterns, and his features seemed to sharpen the darkness surrounding him.

"M4-Z3, code name Maze. Alive. Coherent. Uninjured." The man's jagged voice tore violently through the screams in the distance as he jotted down notes on a clipboard held firmly within his grasp. "Get up and follow, today you'll begin the Menu".

Maze watched as the man opened the cell door nodding slightly for him to follow. Lifting himself from the floor, Maze cautiously walked out of the cell, watching intently as the man once again began the rhythmic thumping of his walk.

Treading slowly behind the man, Maze began to analyze the towering figure, 'He keeps a knife in a sheathe on his back?'. Maze's thoughts began to run with possibilities. 'I can reach the knife and escape!'. Through the muted thoughts of his mind Maze began to feel his confidence grow, his emotions began to boil, urging him towards freedom.

Like a shattering of glass, the man abruptly stopped in place speaking dryly glancing behind him. "You will die".

Maze's heart clenched, the confidence building within him seeped away through the cracks of his fear. Without further pause the man continued his rhythm and Maze followed, watching the heels of his steps.

The two continued on in silence, leaving only putrid smells and screams to fill the void. Occasionally, Maze would look up to the glyph lanterns along the stone walls and the shadows that danced around them in determination. 'This place won't be my end. I will not die here', Maze's thoughts of determination steeled his heart.

Looking to the many cells revealed the tattered corpses of others that had failed to survive. Like Maze, there were those who clung to life, bodies frail and withered they stared sharply from the darkness of their caged homes. There seemed to be no hope for survival, those they passed did not beg or scream for help. Only piercing stares yearning for release snaked its way through their cell doors.

Tearing away the shadows a brightly lit room pulled Maze's attention from the ragged captives. Stopping before the rooms entrance the man he followed stepped sharply to the side and spoke. "Enter".

Maze burned with questions he knew better to speak aloud. Instead, taking a deep breath he walked through the doorway. Squinting at the brightness of the room, Maze's eyes slowly adjusted as he cautiously analyzed his surroundings. Three guards stood as statues to the left the room, a silent threat that invoked fear in Maze's heart. The black leather armor seemed to devour the light. Their faces covered by the shadow of their hoods became like an abyss stealing the soul of any who looked upon them.

Struggling to tear his gaze from the guards Maze looked to the front of the room. A small woman dressed in black sultry robes stood firmly in place, the lines of her age creased the contour of her features, painting a face of cruel commitment. Her pride stood tall, commanding the room in silence with her ivory eyes. It was then Maze noticed three others within the room, sitting in chairs lined side by side they stared at him intently. A single chair lay empty beside a young boy with long golden hair that strayed into his face hiding the emerald of his eyes. Tears could be seen soaking the hair draped over his face and Maze couldn't understand how the fragile boy had survived. Beside him sat a bronze skinned girl with viper eyes and dusk colored hair flowing down to the feet of her chair. Sensing a bestial ferocity from the intensity of her glare, Maze turned away to the final prisoner. The oversized boy smiled brightly from ear to ear, his crooked chipped teeth glistening in the lanterns light. Maze looked at the boy strangely, his bald head and joyful blue eyes were a contradiction to their circumstances. Pursing his lips, Maze began to ask the smiling boy a question, but was suddenly overcome by feelings of obedience. Looking up Maze saw the small woman in the front gazing emotionlessly at him.

"Sit, we have no time to waste". The small woman spoke with a melody of calming rhythm. Maze hearing the rhythm, felt the compulsion to do as he was told. Moving slowly to the open chair he sat, somberly looking to the woman for guidance. 

Acknowledging his subservience the woman momentarily paused, letting the weight of her presence bear down on the prisoners. 

"You all may address me as Envoy Vera, I am the Prime Envoy of the Malum kingdom. It is my duty to educate and oversee your progress through the Menu." The softness of the woman's words that drifted throughout the room left a cold silence in its wake.

Maze used the stillness to glance at his fellow prisoners, yet noticed their expressions unchanged. They had no reaction to Envoy Vera's decree, it was as though the acceptance of her words were something naturally understood. Turning back to the Envoy, Maze waited impatiently for further explanation. 

Furrowing her brows in Maze's direction Envoy Vera spoke in the same rhythmic calm as before. "Pathomancy, each of you have the inherent potential to become specialized pathomancers. The Menu, is a program designed to alter the natural ability of those who have yet to awaken their pathomancy, and in doing so mutate their pathomancer abilities. A pathomancer's mancy is based in the manipulation of emotion. Pathos, is when one enters a state where the pathomancer has influence over their emotions." 

With the falling Envoy Vera's last sentence the calming rhythm came to an abrupt halt. The air within the room stiffened, suffocating the prisoners sitting before her. Maze felt his chest rise and fall as his breath quickened with each passing moment. His face curled deeply into itself as scarlet veins webbed the white of his bulging eyes. Burning rage boiled within him threatening to overtake his reason. Bearing his clenched teeth, Maze looked to the other prisoners. The gold haired boy twisted and convulsed in agony. Falling from his seat the boy wailed in pitched screams echoing throughout the room. Through the red of his eyes, Maze, watched silently as the boy clawed at the stone floor tearing the nails from his fingers. Beside the boy, the bronze skinned girl looked down quietly, her faced completely covered by her hair. Though her small body seemed to shake at times, Maze saw nothing from her that could envelop the rage that coursed through him. Lastly, Maze struggled to look at the stocky smiling boy. To Maze's surprise the boy still smiled brightly, however, his cheeks had grown red from strain and his eyes seemed to crack from its own dryness. The smiling boy made no sounds and never flinched, only a smile lingered on his face. After a time, Maze felt the smile was not a smile but seemed to be the embodiment of his pain.

Stepping slightly forward Envoy Vera spoke once again in the calming rhythm. "What you are experiencing is how it feels to be lost in pathos, this is my rage. Your emotions are not your own, they are mine." Maze could feel the rage within him peel away back into the shadows of his heart. Yet, it was replaced with an inherent fear of this woman, Envoy Vera. 

"The Prandium, the first item of the Menu." Envoy Vera did not pause to check the well being of her prisoners and instead continued her speech. "For the next twelve hours you will be engulfed within the depths of rage. Each day you will be given a different emotion and at times multiple at once. The Prandium ends when you manifest your pathomancy and not before. There will be no breaks, there will be no pause, you must endure, and if you cannot then you will die." At the end of her words she began a rhythmic walk towards the room's exit.

While the guards at the side surrounded the prisoners. Maze listened intently to the rhythm of her steps, but felt they held nothing but a deep and endless desire. Her departure signaled the guards to begin the Prandium. Maze glared silently as the rage again crawled and scraped throughout his body.

Clenching his jaw, Maze focused not on the endless rage pouring into him, but on a single thought, an idea taken root in his mind. 'Power is freedom'.