Chapter 6: Not a Command, but a Promise

Her eyelids were heavy. But warmth enshrouded her; this must be the afterlife. She opened her eyes to find herself lying on the ground. Her wrists hurt, and her body feels stiff. Lips dry and coughing.

"Hey, hey, hey, take it easy," said a panicked voice.

Aine tries to get into a sitting position but is struggling. A hand handed her a bottle.

"Here, drink bit by bit now," the voice said.

Aine took the bottle, only to see that Abaddon was the one who gave it to her.

"A-Abad-don?" She said it in a dying voice.

"I'm sorry I was late, Lady Aine; the blizzard made it hard for me to find you," he said.

"W-what happened?" She asked.

"You were in a cage in the skirt of Mount Altum; when I got there, you were already curled up like a ball and lifeless. I panicked, so I brought you here to this cave and lit a fire to hopefully warm you up."

Abaddon came to save her. Aine's call for help was answered. It also seemed Abaddon had a new mechanical arm.

Aine got in a sitting position and took a sip of water. She scooted over closer to the fire and extended her arms out to the fire. Her wrists had rope marks on them from being tied together so violently before.

"Anyways, if you're alright enough to eat, how about some snow boar?" Said Abaddon.

Aine looked at the fire to see pieces of meat resting beside it with sticks stabbed through them.

"They've been cooking for a while now; go on, help yourself," said Abaddon.

Aine took a skewer of meat and began eating it. She was famished, and the meat tasted passable. It lacked seasoning, but it was juicy and fatty, and Aine could not complain.

She gobbled up the steak and washed it down with water.

"Lady Aine, I don't mean to be rude, but why were you in a cage in the first place?" Asked Abaddon.

"Oh, something about illegal magic usage?" She answered.

"Illegal magi- Ah! It's a brooch problem, correct?" asked Abaddon.

It seems Abaddon is familiar with the issue.

"That also happened to me once; we of the demon race aren't allowed to legally learn magic, so we get into trouble a lot," he said.

"So you're a demon?" asked Aine.

"That's correct; however, I am included in the upper class of demons, so I am far more intelligent and stronger," he said.

Aine stood up and looked around the cave.

"Go ahead and explore a bit; the mouth of the cave is that way. Just don't leave the cave, unless you want to get frostbite from the blizzard," said Abaddon.

Aine nodded and began walking around the cave. The campfire's warm glow reflected off the crystal stalactites and stalagmites and illuminated the otherwise dreary-looking cave. The cave didn't go that deep; the only path it had led to its mouth.

Aine walked in the direction of the entrance. As the light from the campfire began to fade, the sound of the screeching wind echoed in the cavernous interior.

She stood in front of the mouth of the cave; beyond it was void with blistering cold wind blowing in. Aine could only imagine what lay ahead. This world has been put into an apocalyptic state without its Sun.

Aine turned back and headed for the campfire. As she was walking back, Abaddon was walking in the opposite direction.

"Abaddon? What are you doing?" Asked Aine.

"I'm going to refill our water; there's a frozen freshwater lake nearby," replied Abaddon.

"Will you be okay, though?"

"I'll be fine; my body is decently immune to the cold."

Aine nodded and wished him good luck as a strange figure ran into the cave. It startled Aine.

"Master, I've returned from my recon!" Exclaimed a gremlin.

"Ah, gremlin, glad to see you alive, so how's the perimeter?" Asked Abaddon.

"I didn't really find anything worth noting other than a decently sized monster encampment in another cave up the mountain," said the gremlin.

"Uhh, what is this? Who is this?" Asked Aine, slightly concerned.

The gremlin was red-ish green in color, had big eyes with no pupils, and a large mouth. It had many teeth, all of which looked like they hadn't been brushed in two millennia. It seems his smile is something only a mother could love. With long, pointy ears and no hair to complete its monstrous look.

Its stature was short; Aine thought she was short, but compared to it, she was a goliath. The gremlin could only reach as far up as Aine's stomach, and it's never really standing straight, always crouching; it uses its proportionally long arms to balance.

"Mistress Aine, it is a pleasure to bask in your presence. I am a gremlin who serves Master Abaddon," it said.

"Gremlin, uh, do you have a name?" Asked Aine.

"Name? Gremlin is gremlin! I am not worth a name," it proclaimed.

Aine looked at Abaddon, to which he replied, "Slaves don't have names."

Aine looked back at the gremlin and said, "Don't you wish you had a name?"

Abaddon looked at Aine and said, "Lady Aine, I beg, don't discuss names with it."

There were a lot of things that Aine didn't understand. Why aren't slaves allowed to have names? And if this gremlin was indeed a slave, why does it look so cheery? Aren't slaves supposed to be negative? Why does it seem like it doesn't mind being stripped of its rights?

Aine watched as Abaddon walked out of the cave with buckets. Ain looked back at the gremlin and saw it sulk. "I don't deserve a name, but I very much appreciate your concern, Mistress," it said.

"Now, if you ever need company, I am always here for you, Mistress," it said.

Aine walked back to the campfire with a lot of food for thought as the gremlin tailed behind her. She sat by the campfire, watching the flames burn. When the fire began to die out, the gremlin would stoke it. Aine lost herself in the sea of thought, waiting for the blizzard to settle.

The gremlin, however, was knitting something. As Aine continued to think, this experience has definitely taught her something: This discrimination will continue. She is a wanted fugitive; she needs to find a way to defend herself, and judging by her face, she has a plan. Something had changed in her; a spirit burned anew.

After an hour, Abaddon returned carrying buckets of water. As the gremlin greeted Abaddon's return, Aine couldn't help but look at them both conversing.

Aine got up and walked up to Abaddon.

"Abaddon, can I ask you something?" asked Aine.

"Of course, Lady Aine, ask away."

"I want you to teach me magic," said Aine.

Abaddon's jaw physically dropped; out of all the questions she could've asked, that was not one he was expecting.

"But why? We don't even know if you can do magic," said Abaddon.

"Was the big fuck-off laser that chopped your arm off not magic?" replied Aine in a passionate tone.

"That, uh, look, Lady Aine, not every human can learn magic," he said.

"Well, at this point, I don't even know if I am human."

Abaddon sighed and asked, "Why do you want to learn magic anyway?"

"Because at least if I'm going to be treated like some criminal because of magic, I might as well learn it," she replied.

"I also can't keep relying on you to save me every single time trouble arises," she added.

Abaddon rubbed both his eyes with his fingers. The gremlin was waiting anxiously for the outcome as it kept looking back and forth between Abaddon and Aine. Abaddon could feel Aine's determination as he smirked.

Abaddon got on one knee and proclaimed, "Then I shall be your teacher!"

Aine smiled and said, "Thank you so much!"

"However, I am not promising that you will be able to do magic; we are merely attempting," he added.

"I understand that, but I want to try," said Aine.

Aine felt a feeling she had never experienced before: a sense of purpose. She realized that up to this point, she had never set herself a goal; everything just happened around her, out of her control. Now she sets out to regain control and try not just to live but to prosper in this world.

Abaddon lifted his hand for Aine. Aine grabbed it and shook it.

"But I do promise that I will try my hardest," said Abaddon.

"So when do I start?" Asked Aine.

"Let's say in a few days, once your body fully recovers," answered Abaddon.

Aine nodded with agreement and happiness.

The gremlin cheered in delight. It clapped its hands and danced around the room.

"Hey, gremlin, behave!" Said Abaddon.

The gremlin stopped all the celebrating it was doing in an instant and immediately begged for forgiveness.

"Abaddon, come on now; there's no need for that," said Aine.

"I-uh, it's just that this kind of behavior won't slide in Deimos' Palace," answered Abaddon.

"But he's not there now, is he?" Asked Aine, "Come on, gremlin, raise your head," continued Aine.

The gremlin hesitantly raised its head.

"Lady Aine, you can be nice to it, but please, it is a slave," said Abaddon.

"He may be a slave, but can we just give him some basic rights?" Asked Aine.

"First of all, It is an It, not a he. Second, the whole point of being a slave is that they have no rights."

Aine stayed silent.

"If you want to respect it, then treat it like a slave, please," pleaded Abaddon.

"Alright, it will be treated like a slave," said Aine.

"Thank you, Mistress Aine," said the gremlin.

"Alright, now if anyone's thirsty, just take the water from here," said Abaddon.

And so more time passed until, eventually, Aine grew drowsy. But it seems like there isn't a place to lie down.

"Mistress, are you perhaps tired?" Asked the gremlin.

"Yes, I am; it's been a rough day," replied Aine.

"Well, you can sleep on this," said the gremlin as it handed him a big piece of what seemed to be cloth.

"What is that?" Asked Aine.

"It's a snow boar hide, very thick and warm. I skinned it off and cleaned it just now," said the gremlin.

The gremlin handed Aine the hide. The hide still had a lot of fur attached to it, and the fur was especially soft. She laid out the hide over the cavernous floor and lied down.

With the perfect distance from the fire, it kept Aine perfectly warm. Needless to say, she fell straight to sleep.

When Aine was already asleep, Abaddon returned from another expedition.

Abaddon remarked, "No good; this blizzard is bad," but was cut off by the gremlin, which was hugging his left leg. "Master, please, the Mistress is asleep; please keep your voice down."

"Ah, I see. Let's talk over there," said Abaddon.

"Of course, Master," said the gremlin.

Aine was asleep while Abaddon and his gremlin approached the cave's entrance, where Aine couldn't hear their words.

"Obice's Barrier is in session," said Abaddon.

"What? But how? It's early!" Exclaimed the gremlin.

"This is a problem; this blizzard will not let out until the next few months," said Abaddon.

"So, are we stranded, Master?"

"You're knitting that coat for Lady Aine, correct?"

"Yes, Master, progress is steady."

"Well, make it thicker; we need to get Lady Aine out of this cave and back to civilization."

"Yes, Master, please be so kind as to provide me with more material."

Abaddon nodded, and they both walked back to the campfire, where Aine was asleep. They sat around the campfire as Abaddon continued to think of a plan while the gremlin continued to knit. Now trapped in a cave with an endless onslaught of snow outside, they attempt to defy Obice's Barrier.

The barrier has gained a reputation for being the single most extreme weather event in this world. A blizzard that comes every few years and can last for months. A blizzard that weakens magic and traps all the people unlucky enough to be in the Obice Mountain Range at that time.

When the Barrier is in effect, it almost entirely cuts off Pulchra and Pauperis, as the mountain range is what separates the two regions. But there is one road-an underground road-that cuts inside one of the mountains. At each end of the tunnel is a guard post.

Unfortunately, the barrier came early this time. This will cause huge complications for both regions and has trapped Aine, Abaddon, and the gremlin.

This is the reason why the mountain range has been dubbed:

Obice, The Separator.