3 The Beginning
Saint-Domingue, Cayes-Jacmel
Fort Quintus
October 1, 1794
As the wagon makes its way back to the castle and he lays on its platform, countless thoughts fill Atem's mind with two of them being more prevalent than the others. Will Adanna be ok? And what will happen to him? She may not show it, but Atem knows that she has moments in private where she allows herself to be weak. Those moments usually begin with her praying to the gods or the ancestors for strength, to look after them, and at times for them to stop her suffering. Usually when she asks for the last she would end up crying herself to sleep in the middle of a prayer.
One of his earlier memories, a hazy one considering that he was younger then, is of him asking her why she is crying and shocking her out of her prayer. She had not expected him to still be awake at the time, npr did he want him to see her in such a state. As such, she had evaded the subject by telling him a story. Like any child would, he had thought nothing of it at the time and never bothered to ask her again whenever he caught her in a moment of weakness. As he grew older however, he was told stories of how his ancestors lived free. How some were great warriors, other magicians, and some were even Kings. It did not take long for him to realise that their current way of living is not only wrong but also beyond the norm considering the great feats that their ancestors have accomplished. It was then that he began to ask questions. Why? Why did they live such lives if their ancestors were great? Why did the people treat them this harshly? Why were they the ones treated like this? Why did they have to suffer? Adanna had not answered him and simply looked at him with sadness filled eyes before prompting him to sleep.
Which leads him to his other question, what did they want with him? As far as he knows he is not special, he is just a regular four year old slave who helped with pulling out weeds and cleaning the field. Perhaps there is something special about him that they want? Thinks Atem to himself before shaking that thought out of his head. No, according to Adanna they selected children between the age of four and eight, meaning that it's not him specifically but all of the children in that age group. They didn't want something from him specifically, but from every four and eight year old that they believe is special. So what is it that they want?
As that question fills his mind, he begins to replay his examination in his mind until one event in particular draws his attention, the man's glowing hand. Atem has never heard of anything like that before even in the stories about the gods and sorcerers. The magic they used were fantastical and did much more than make someone's hands glow. Maybe he is missing something, after all the stories tell of what the magic they used did, not what it made them look like. Maybe the man is a sorcerer?
As the thought of the man being a sorcerer enters his mind, Atem's entire being is filled with fear as he begins to remember every story that Adanna told him that featured an evil sorcerer with the most terrifying one being Zorc Necrophades, or Zorc the Dark One. A sorcerer so powerful that he easily defeated the Divine Beasts of Ra, Set, and Anhur. It was not until Pharaoh Atem, his ancestor according to Adanna, had the foresight to merge the Divine Beasts into one that Zorc was defeated. The thought that this man who took him from Adanna could possibly be this powerful frightens him to the point that his body begins to shiver without his notice.
If this sorcerer is that powerful what does he want with him? In most stories the sorcerer's needed humans for sacrifices to become more powerful. Considering the fact that no one ever saw the children taken ever again then its a possible option. But why children between four and eight, wouldn't a stronger person like an adult be better since they're already strong? As he ponders that thought an image of Adanna being in his position appears in his mind, causing him to quickly throw that notion. He doesn't want her to have to deal with anything that would make her cry even more than she already does. If it means that Adanna will be ok then he doesn't mind being the one that was picked. Before he can think more about his situation, the voice of the overseer shakes him from his thoughts.
"Stop pissing yourself you little beast, we're here." he says as the wagon stops in front of the castle gates and he attempts to whip Atem in the back only for the Lord to grab his arm.
"Are you new?" he questions with a gaze that seems to penetrate into the overseer's very soul.
"No m'Lord. I've been here for five years." he says with pride, oblivious to his situation.
"I see." says the Lord before snapping the man's arm with barely any effort. "I had thought that your actions were due to ignorance, but it seems that I was mistaken." he says as he gets off the wagon while ignoring the man's scream. "This will be the only warning that you receive, the children that are chosen are off limits to your kind. The next time I will be doing more than snapping your arm." says the Lord before turning to the terrified Atem who watched this all happen before him. "Follow." orders the sorcerer as he turns around and makes his way past two knightly armored men guarding the entrance and into the castle.
Recovering quickly, Atem scrambles out of the wagon and follows past the gates and into the castle. Walking in, Atem finds himself within a spacious hall with a red carpet covering the floor, portraits hanging high up on the left and right walls, and a massive golden chandelier hanging above to provide a bright lighting. At the end of the hall are two staircases, on the right and left walls respectively, that lead up to a balcony that leads further into the castle. Under the balcony's railing hangs a red banner with the face of a golden lion printed on it.
Despite the interior sporting such a beautiful design, Atem cannot find it within himself to admire it considering his situation. As such he follows the man that he is sure is a member of the Quintus family to the wall between the staircases. As the Lord presses a specific area of the wall, his hand begins to glow with the same circuit-like pathways as earlier, causing the wall to split into two and open a path to a staircase that leads down.
Now sure that the man is a sorcerer, Atem takes a deep breath in order to calm himself down before following the man down the staircase. As soon as he steps in, the wall behind him closes behind him and the stairs are plunged into darkness before small candles on the walls light up. With no other option Atem follows the sorcerer down the staircase and into a corridor. Continuing down that path they eventually come into the end of the corridor where it splits into two separate paths, one to the left and one to the right. Taking the left path, the duo continue down another corridor where they take countless turns before eventually coming to a stop in front of a metal at the end of a hallway. Placing his hand on the door, Quintus gives it a push and the door opens without making a sound.
Stepping past the door, Atem finds himself inside a decently sized white room. Inside is a bed with white sheets, white countertops filled with clean tools and drawers, and another door that leads to somewhere else.
"Take off your shirt and lay on your chest." orders the Lord as he rolls up the sleeves of his tunic after placing his cane to lean against one of the tables.
Reluctantly obeying him, Atem slowly removes his shirt before climbing on the bed and laying down on his chest. While Atem lies down, the man makes his way to one of the countertops where he opens a drawer and takes out a branding iron that possesses the shape of an eagle with its wings spread out wide open. Like when he was analysing Atem and opening the secret passageway, the man's hand begins to glow with circuit-like pathways that extend from his hand and into the branding iron. Not long after that the head of the iron becomes black and begins to leak a sickly purple aura.
Without wasting a second the sorcerer makes his way to where Atem lies on the bed and without hesitating plunges the branding iron onto the child's upper back. Not seconds after the room is filled with Atem's anguished screams. Shutting his tearfilled eyes in pain, Atem lets out a scream of torment while he struggles to free himself from the branding iron's hold. Unfortunately for him, the sorcerer has no intention of letting him go and simply pushes the iron further onto his back, increasing the pain that he feels. As the torture continues on for what feels like minutes to Atem, his senses begin to dim as he begins to lose consciousness.
Before he can lose himself to the darkness however, the branding iron is removed from his back and his screams are reduced to whimpers. Despite having the branding iron removed from his back, Atem can still feel the pain, albeit in a more subdued manner. With a groan and a whimper Atem opens his blurry eyes to see Quintus looking down at him with interest.
"Most children do not survive the first three seconds before falling unconscious. You should feel proud." he comments as he puts away the branding iron before turning back to Atem who is now staring at him with questions clearly on his face. Despite having questions however Atem cannot find it within himself to fight the pain to ask what he wants to know, and even if he could he isn't sure if he could vocalise them after having screamed his voice raw.
"You have questions."says the man. "You wish to know why." he says as he pulls a stool from under the table and sits. "The answer is simple, you and your 'Danna' are nothing but my property and as such I can do as I please with you. If I want then I can have you tortured or killed and there is nothing you can do about it. I can have your 'Danna' tortured, raped, before being slaughtered like a pig and you can only watch while begging for me to stop it." replies the man with a voice that makes it clear that his words are not empty threats.
For the first time since they've met Atem feels something other than fear towards the sorcerer, and for the first time since Atem can remember is mind is filled with only one thing, rage.With as much energy as he can muster Atem glares at him while for the first time in his life voluntarily praying to the gods. He does not ask for his freedom, nor for power, he only asks for one thing, the death of the sorcerer in front of him before he can hurt Adanna more than he already has.
"Pray to your gods all you want, they will not come nor will they listen. Here, I am God." he claims as if he could hear Atem's thoughts.
Despite the man's words however Atem continues to pray while hoping that the monster before him would drop dead, or catch on fire. Atem does not care how, as long as the beast in human skin dies before he can further hurt his Danna. So caught up in his prayers that he barely notices the man picking him up and carrying him out of the room, through the maze-like corridors and in front of another door. Like last time, the man's hand glows to open the door, showcasing white spartan room with nothing but a bed with white sheets that he throws Atem onto.
"You may call me what you want, it does not change your situation." he says before closing the door to Atem's new room and shocking the boy since he did not vocalise any of his thoughts. He had thought that the first time was merely a coincidence, but this time the sorcerer's words had been too precise to be a coincidence.
The revelation that his mind could possibly be read instilled a deeper sense of fear within him. If the man could easily read his thoughts, what else could he do? Could he force him to do things against his will? In some of the stories the sorcerers could make others do things that they didn't want to, or trick their minds into believing that what they were doing were for their own good when in fact it was harmful. These new possibilities filled Atem with a sense of need. A need to be away from this monster, a need to know how to escape, and for the first time a need for power. The boy had never thought of obtaining power, not even when he dreamed of living a better life. However, faced with this sorcerer, this beast in a man's skin, Atem felt that only having his own magic would save him, yet he did not know how to obtain any.
Unbeknownst to both Atem and his tormentor, something which slumbers deep within the boy's soul begins to stir from his sense of need and his defiant thoughts towards his master. Something, or someone, who once walked the Earth but has long since been forgotten by a select few who have passed his legend down throughout their bloodline through stories. Someone who once commanded Divine Beasts as if they were nothing but mere pets, and commanded the respect of countless powerful warriors and sorcerers. Someone who would not take kindly to the enslavement and branding of his descendants.
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AN: Here is chapter. As Usual tell me what you think.
The fourth chapter is already available on my p a t r e o n. The link is, (p a t r e o n . com / servantambrosius), minus the spaces.
