Paradise, A story set in my world of Teir Options

[redsrock]

Here is the link to: Redsrocks Other Stories


The following is a story set in my world of Teir, and more specifically, the northeastern continent of Kazkaydia. I hope you enjoy it.

Paradise

Chapter One: Sweet Redemption

Escaping hadn’t been easy, and if it weren’t for my Domen claws we never would have gotten out to begin with. The Avlarians sure do go above and beyond to ensure that we Domen don’t escape their slave-pens. And it seemed like it took forever to cut through the rope that was keeping the iron cage lifted. Once I was finally able to cut through, the gate fell down and about two-hundred of us ran out of the pen. That was a whole three days ago. And now I’m still fighting through the snowy forests southward.

As for the exact number of survivors following our hectic midnight break out, I have no idea, for I had lead the pack springing out of the small Avlarian town as fast as my old legs could carry me. In two months I’ll be fifty years old…I think. And now, as I sit in a snow-covered tree that looms high above the even snowier ground, only two of my fellow Domen still follow me. The others were either captured or killed, and I pray to Shaol it was the latter.

“Azril, do you see any of them?” said one of my companions from behind, Razlo.

“Hush, fool! Do you want them to hear us?” I said in a stern whisper. “I don’t see any of them right now, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not there. Just be patient, Razlo! We move when I say we move!”

That certainly hushed him up, but I did feel a bit of remorse. Razlo had been a good friend of mine ever since we both met each other in the Avlarian slave camp some thirteen years ago, and to yell at him was…strange, to say the least. He was a good twenty or twenty-something years younger than me, and I felt as if I was acting like a father to him. But I had to be firm, or else risk the chance of being captured or killed. And if any of those two were to happen, again I pray to Shaol it be the latter.

Suddenly I heard movements from down below. We were relatively high above the ground, but I was still able to see down below clear enough to make out what was moving around, thanks to my keen sense of sight. (That was one good thing about being a Doman. Even as you aged, your senses never dropped in effectiveness) The sun was slowly starting to rise, meaning Shenzai was breathing once again, its rays offering a bit of light to help us along the way to Ibisaro, Ibisarian territory. According to a group of Domen slaves that had arrived at the Avlarian slave-camp nearly a month or so ago, the Ibisarians in Ibisaro were housing runaway Domen slaves. After this was learned we began planning our escape from the Avlarian slave-camp in Klor. Ibisarians housing Dome slaves was only a rumor, yes, but it was a rumor worth acting upon.

“Did you hear that?” My other companion, Jariic, asked; he only in his early teens. I quickly hushed him up by holding a finger to my mouth and giving him a scowl.

Down below a figure stepped out from behind a bush, and following that figure were two others. By the light-looking grey robes with a red diamond in the middle they were wearing, I knew they were Avlarian slavers. The scum had followed our trail after all. I still couldn’t believe how they could wear such little clothing in such frigid cold. Granted, the southeastern region of Klout wasn’t nearly as cold as the most northeastern parts. But still, it was cold enough for snow, so it was cold enough for me. I had always assumed that the Avlarians’ skin had developed a tolerance to the bitter cold, and that’s why they didn’t have to wear a lot of clothing. We Domen have a natural fur coat, yes, but I still wished I was wearing some kind of manmade coat. Even the ugly ones the Avlarians sometimes wore during the harsher blizzards that plague the land during the middle part of Aktel, what we Domen refer to as winter.

“Shh…” I said to my two companions. “We wait for them to head back north, and then we’ll move out. Stay here, I’m going to get a closer look.”

I was about to climb down the branches, but Razlo grabbed my arm forcefully from behind before I could do so. “And what if they catch you, Azril? This is not a good idea. Why must you get a closer look anyway?”

I turned back to him and whispered, “Because I have my reasons. Stay here and do not come down. If something is to happen, continue on without me, and remember to keep following the Ailic River.”

And then I left without giving either of them a chance to respond.

Climbing down the branches was harder than I expected it to be. ‘Course, climbing trees in general was harder than I expected as well. As a child I used to climb trees with my friends constantly. After that day when I was captured, however, it all changed. It was all hard labor after that. Two days ago, the day we all escaped from Klor, marked the first day I had climbed a tree since I had been turned into a slave to work for the Avlarian army, and more specifically the army based in the Vericor Sector of Klout. And though Razlo, Jariic and I had been traveling through the trees of the forest since we escaped, my old age has kept me back from getting used to things as they once were. Forty-something years will do that to you. I’m actually surprised I’ve lasted this long. Then again…maybe I’m not almost fifty to begin with…

As I crept down the tree-branches little by little I did my best not to slip and cause a sound that might give away my position, and doing so was much easier said than done. It was dangerous enough because the limbs were wet from the mostly-melted snow, but some of the branches were even frozen. I avoided those branches of course. Still, it was very dangerous, and I was starting to think that perhaps I shouldn’t have left my position to begin with.

“They can’t be too far,” said one of the men, the one who had stepped out of the bush first. I was hanging above them, fairly close to them now, only about ten yards high.

“I doubt it,” one of others from behind said. “They’re probably in the Yonderland now, Duric. Domen are fasts creatures.”

“Yes, Rechi, but one of them was an older fella’. I could see it in his limp. It was a slight limp, but a limp nonetheless. I wouldn’t be surprised if they stopped to rest. Keep an eye out for them.”

Close, but not quite. I didn’t have a limp, and the only reason it had looked as if I was limping back in the small town was because I had stubbed my toe one something hard while escaping.

The three turned around and started to continue along the snow-covered path, and once they were underneath me I sprang into action just as I had planned all along, for I knew they’d catch up with us sooner or later. I jumped from my position and landed on top of the leader of the trio, latching onto his shoulders with my claw-hands and bringing him to the ground. I quickly swiped at the Avlarian’s throat with my razor-sharp six inch nails, slitting his throat. The two men watched in horror as their leader began to gargle, struggling to stay alive. Then one of the other two, the one who had spoken, charged at me with an axe that looked as sharp as my nails. But he was as clumsy as most Avlarian warriors were, and I easily dodged his charge by rolling to the right at the last second as he brought his axe done. The axe-head hit the ground and was momentarily stuck. While the opportunity displayed itself I ran up behind him and dug my nails through his neck, leaving him to gargle on the ground as well.

And as the two dying men struggled to breathe even though they knew it was of no use, the last remaining Avlarian stood where he had been the entire time, his body shaking and his hands shaking even more. He was obviously scared, and I enjoyed that immensely.

“Please…leave me alone!” he yelled as I began to walk towards him. He fumbled for his own axe but dropped it because his hands were shaking so violently. He tried to grab for it on the ground, but I ran over and clawed across his right cheek, causing him to fall back several feet as I bent down and tossed the axe several yards behind me and out of reach for the last remaining Avlarian. And as he lay there, he held his hands up in surrender. “Just leave…I swear I won’t follow you!”

Tears were now beginning to fall down his hairy face, but I didn’t care. Tears and frightful emotion only made the scene more pleasurable. He and his people had killed and abused hundreds of my kind, and for unforgivable reasons at that. He deserved whatever I decided to give him, and no less.

By this time the other two Avlarians had finally passed away, ascending to whatever false afterlife they believed in, to whatever ridiculous false Gods and Goddesses they worshipped. The man that laid on the ground in front of me was about the do the same thing, but I would make him suffer. Slitting the other two’s throat was getting off easy. But just as I was above to begin, I was grabbed from behind, again by Razlo.

“What in the name of Shenzai are you doing?” He asked, looking at me as if I were crazy.

“I told you to stay up in the tree!”

“I was, until you decided to give away our hiding spot! Why did you do that?”

“They were going to find us eventually! It’s better to kill them now before they catch us later. This is for our own good, Razlo. Get back up into the tree with Jariic!”

But apparently that comment was worthless, for that’s when I realized Jariic was standing right behind Razlo, looking rather guilty for disobeying my orders. I was no official leader of anything like that, but I always felt leadership was an important tool.

“Zeg’reh!” I cursed loudly, my hands tightening with anger. “Get back up in the-“

Suddenly I stopped talking as I felt a hot, sharp pain go through my calcaneal tendon. I fell to the ground helplessly and found that the Avlarian had cut me with a dagger. Screaming in agony, I clawed once more at him, this time for the hand that was carrying the dagger. I knocked the dagger aside and then lunged from the seat of my bottom, pouncing on top of the Avlarian. With the adrenaline I was having I was able to hold the man’s two hands down above his head with my left hand, and then using my free right hand I dug into his eyes with my middle and index fingers. The man shouted in sheer anguish, trying his best to get free of my grip, but it was no use. I wasn’t budging.

When I ceased in digging into his eyes and brought my hand from his face, his eyeballs were still inside of their sockets, but it was hard to tell from all the blood that was pouring down his mouth and chin. Regardless, it was obvious he could see no more, for he was now crawling through the snow aimlessly, waiving his hands in random directions and screaming words that made no sense.

As I was walked towards him, now with his dropped dagger in my hand, this time Jariic grabbed me from behind. “Leave him be, Azril! He’s suffering enough! Let’s just leave before his yelling attracts more of them!”

I looked at Jariic with a surprised expression, for it was quite strange to see him so emotional. He was a quiet one, that much was certain. And I suppose it was because of him that I decided to end the fun. “One more moment,” I said sternly, and continued towards the Avlarian that could no longer see me. I stood above him and then sat down on his chest, and he was a position where he could not strike me with his hands or kicked me with his legs. I opened his mouth by pulling down forcefully on his bottom lip with my long nails, and then I brought down the dagger and shoved it down his throat. I then got up and stood beside his body and watched his suffer and struggle. And I smiled, maybe even chuckled. I’m not quite sure. It was certainly enjoyable to see him go through such pain… the type of pain my own people have suffered through for almost three hundred years now. Redemption was a sweet thing.

Behind me, Razlo and Jariic were gawking at me as if I were a monster, there pointed ears pointing straight in the air just as all Domen’s do when they feel something is bad. I’ll openly admit that my actions were somewhat questionable, but at the same time they were justifiable as well. It was the least I could do for the Domen that had died needlessly at the hands of the Avlarians. If it weren’t for Jariic’s sudden outbreak of disapproval I would have went even further.

“I…I can’t even begin to believe what just happened. Are…are you insane?” Razlo asked me.

“Insane? No...not even close. Insane is enslaving an entire race of people because of something that happened three hundred years ago. Insane is cutting off a Doman’s tongue just for the fun of it, and then shoving the tongue down that Doman’s throat. Insane is you in front of me, complaining because I am avenging the pointless deaths of so many Domen before us.”

My speech was started to become slurred because of the anger that was boiling inside of my veins. I couldn’t fathom why Razlo was so disapproving of my actions. If anything, I’d expect him to join in. Then again…he was always one to question rebellious activities. According to him, we Domen were supposed to “accept our role in the world of Teir.” I didn’t believe that nonsense of course, and neither most of us back at the slave-camp. It’s actually hard to believe that we’ve come to be such good friends, given that fact that we tend to disagree with one another. But, as I think I’ve heard before, opposites attract.

“This…this is just crazy, Azril! Look what you did the poor man! He was following orders! How do you know he really wants to see us imprisoned?”

“It doesn’t matter, Razlo! He’s part of them, so he’s one of them! I can’t believe you’re arguing this! What about your brother? He was killed just weeks ago by these…scum! And you’re still going to stand here and lecture that my actions are horrible?”

“He has a point, Razlo,” Jariic said. I was very happy for him to have taken my side. “The Avlarians do deserve what they get.”

“You too, huh?” Razlo exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. “Fine! I don’t care. Let’s just get out of here before more of them come!”

The two continued southward towards Ibisaro, following the plan all of us back in Klorr had originally thought up. And I followed close behind, the blood under my nails and all over my hands having finally dried because of the frigid coldness.

[redsrock]

Chapter Two: A Distant Memory?

As soon as I took my first step from the battle-scene I immediately dropped the ground, shaking with pain and clutching my lower ankle from behind. The adrenaline had apparently worn off and I was feeling the stinging pain from the wound that the Avlarian slaver had given me. The snow and cold did help a bit I suppose, for the chilliness helped cool the pain. Though as I looked at my lower ankle, I knew it was a fairly serious injury.

“Jigleer!” I cursed loudly, probably a bit too loudly. Razlo and Jariic ran over to my side, both inspecting the wound with sickened expressions. “Here, you two, carry me behind those bushes over there so we’re not in the open. Hurry, before more Avlarians show up!”

The two of them picked me up with ease, both of them a good thirty or so pounds heavier than I, and carried me behind a set of snow-covered bushes that almost resembled small trees because of their size. They started to lay me down but Razlo’s hands slipped, and I hit the back of my head violently on the ground. Things were dizzy, and then I looked up to see Razlo himself kneeling over my body.

“Sorry, Azril,” he said, though I doubted the sincerity of his tone.

“Sorry isn’t going to rid my head of this knot,” I said sourly, feeling my head and already noticing a bump forming where my head had hit. Lucky for me the one-foot layer of snow helped to break my fall, or else I could have been knocked out. I had certainly lost enough blood from the wound for that to have happened.

“Yes, well…if you had listened to me to begin with none of this would have happened, and we would have been able to travel through the trees. Not any longer, though. Not with you injury here.”

I ignored the comment, mostly because I wasn’t in the mood to argue. That would undoubtedly come at a later time. “Jariic,” I said, now starting to feel dizzy from something other than my fall, “Go check the Avlarians’ bodies and see if they’re carrying some kind of towel to wrap my ankle with. I’m losing a lot of blood right now.”

Jariic sprinted off to check on the dead bodies, and I that’s when I noticed Razlo was staring me down with an expression I wasn’t quite able to interpret. “Something the matter?” I asked him impatiently.

“Yes, your actions back there,” he snapped, and I think more rudely than he wanted to be. “Why in the world would you do something so foolish, Azril? Out of selfish wants?”

I sighed heavily and closed my eyes, now feeling a headache coming on to accompany the dizziness. “No, Razlo. I already explained this. They would have caught up with us eventually, and I thought it would be better to get rid of them while he still had the element of surprise. The Avlarians don’t take kindly to runaway slaves. You’ve seen what happens to those they recapture, Razlo. Most escapees are tortured, and only the lucky few are killed.”

Razlo shook his head, and then sat down on a large rock after wiping the snow away first. “I still don’t agree with it, and I definitely don’t agree with how you handled the situation. Killing them is one thing, but…” He didn’t continue for several seconds, but rather stared into the ground. And even when he continued to speak, he still didn’t look me in the eyes. “When you stuck your claws into the slaver’s eyes, I was speechless. As was Jariic. And then when you… when you shoved the dagger through that same slaver’s throat, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. You didn’t have to be so…brutal. I’ve never seen you like that before, Azril. What came over you?”

“Nothing came over me, other than the satisfaction that I was doing a favor to those Domen who have been needlessly killed over the years. And-“

“But that’s exactly what I’m talking about!” He interrupted, now standing up with his hands in the air, his eyes glaring into mine as if I were some kind of monstrosity that he did not understand. “You actually enjoyed shoving that dagger into the man’s throat. I saw you smiling, and I swear to the Sun God Shenzai that you even chuckled as well. It’s just…it’s just strange to see you act in such a horrific way.”

“What you think and what I think are two totally different things,” I said, now sitting up against a tree-trunk behind me. “You believe that our place in Teir is as slaves, for that is the only thing you’ve ever known. You’ve been a slave your entire life, correct?”

“Yes, but I was stationed in the west before I met you.”

“I was stationed in the northeast before I met you, but that’s irrelevant. What I am trying to get through your head is that the only reason you believe slavery is our destiny and role in life is because slavery is the only thing you’ve ever known. You’ve never felt freedom, so you automatically think this is all we’re supposed to have. Because that is reassuring to you, and you don’t have to ponder on what we could have, and what we deserve to have. And that I do not understand, Razlo. I cannot even begin understand why you believe we are supposed to be slaves and nothing else!”

“Because…because I…” he stopped, shook his head and again, and then sighed once more while sitting back down on the rock. “I don’t know, Azril, but I do know we weren’t put on Teir to brutally and harshly slaughter people. Avenging past Domens’ deaths is one thing, yes, but I still think you took it too far. Two wrongs don’t make a right! Shaol said this in the Book of Wrae!”

“I am tired of hearing about Shaol, for that is what you have held dear to you ever since I met you! Where has Shaol been this entire this time of suffering and distress? And have you heard that Shaol wills our life of slavery? Can you answer me that?”

“He doesn’t will our life of slavery in itself, but rather he believes that we are to ‘ride the violent waves of despair, and ride them until the waves are no more. For even the tallest waves must eventually come to an end’. Surely you’ve heard that verse before. And besides, it isn’t slavery he spoke of. It was all anguishes in general. Life is not fair, Azril, and if we want to succeed and flourish we must take the bad along the good.”

“See…I don’t agree with that outlook whatsoever. Why should we just accept what we don’t actually have to?”

I could easily tell I was starting to get through to Razlo, for he didn’t respond at all this time. I was getting to him. Slowly, of course, but progress was progress. He didn’t want to give up on what he had been believing in throughout his entire life, but I think he was starting to realize that perhaps we didn’t actually have to be slaves after all. But maybe I’m wrong. Perhaps he was fed up with the arguing just as I was.

Suddenly Jariic finally returned, holding a torn piece of clothing. “I…I tore off a piece of clothing from one of the men’s pants.”

“That’ll do, Jariic. Thank you. Now, wrap it up tightly and tie it in a knot so we can finally get moving again.

We traveled along the Ailic River for the rest of the day not stopping even once, keeping on the side of the path behind shrubbery to keep away from the open path. As we walked the air get warmer and warmer, though still a bit too cold for my taste. At least the snow was lessening, which was a good thing. Sooner or later we’d have to stop and sleep and I didn’t want to sleep in the snow. I was hoping that we’d find an old abandoned cabin to stay in. Unfortunately, after walking along the river for the rest of the day, my wishes were not answered.

The good thing was that apparently we were out of range for the Avlarian hunters, for he had seen no signs of them along the way. Either that or they figured another slave camp would capture us and find the standard black tattoo stamped into the middle of our back, where there was little to no hair for some odd reason. The tattoo was a normal procedure for all slaves to have, so that the different slave camps and counties would be able to tell the difference between individual runaway slaves.

Either way, I was glad to have gotten away from the madness; away from the torture and abuse, and now towards something actually worth living for. The days of slavery had been growing tiresome for me; albeit a large part of that was because I knew we would be breaking out soon. After the day in which we made plans to escape, it was harder to get to sleep more and more each night, as the anxiety had almost been too much for me to wait.

“Can we finally stop, please?” Razlo asked, panting even. “Jariic and I are so tired, and we know you are too, Azril. Your limp is getting worse by the minute. Don’t you think a few hours of rest would do you some good?”

I stopped in my tracks, at the top of a large hill. We weren’t really that far from the slave-camp really, but likely over the county-line and into Pavlor County, the most southern county in Klout. The sun was long gone by now, replaced by its nighttime counterpart, Heirkalai. The cool air was blowing across our bodies with great speed, and I really didn’t feel like sleeping outside in the cold.

“Could we at least walk a bit longer, to see if we can find a cave or burrow to sleep in? It’s awfully cold to be lying on the wet ground if we don’t have to.” The snow was only a few inches deep where we were at, but that only made the ground muddier and nastier.

They both nodded reluctantly, and we pushed onward, me and my limping leg leading the way.




We found the cave some ten minutes later, maybe even less. It was certainly a tiny space, barely big enough for the three of us to fit. ‘Course, this was because of a tunnel leading onward that was blocked off by collapsed rock and other debris, or else we would have traveled deeper into the cave, perhaps even use it as a sort of base. That kind of thing sounded good in my head at least.

I’ll admit now that we had actually escaped the grasps of the Avlarians and their heartless slave-camp, I wasn’t sure what to do next. Traveling to Ibisaro was the obvious and ultimate objective, but I was smart enough to know there’d be obstacles along the way. Things such as what would we eat, what would we wear when our little clothing was no longer wearable? And then other problems such as shelter and evading the many more slave-camps that rested in Pavlor County. Those would be things to worry about once we ran into them I suppose, because it wasn’t worth stressing out of events problems that haven’t even occurred yet.

“Hey, look at this!” Razlo suddenly shouted, startling me so much that I jumped out of fright and nearly banged my head against the roof of the small cave.

Jariic and I walked over to see what the matter was, and once I saw it I realized Razlo was so excited. On the wall in front of us were Domen and Avlarian numbers and letters mixed together. It looked to be written in a white paint-like substance, but it was hard to tell because it was somewhat faded out.

“Do you know what this is?” Razlo asked excitingly. “It’s a secret code runaway slaves use to communicate with one another!”

I started to look at him with clueless expression, for I didn’t believe in that theory. But as I took a closer look at the symbols displayed on the wall, the more and more it actually started to make since. The way the numbers and letters were scattered about certainly fit the descriptions of stories we all had heard back at the slave camp in Klor. ‘Course, no one knew where the stories had originally originated, but still…some things were worth believing in.

“Maybe…I don’t know, Razlo. Looh and Jahk’ren did actually escape a few years back. Remember that?”

“Yes, I do. You think this could be theirs?”

“Maybe…I…I really don’t know.”

I seriously doubted it, for I had assumed the two were had been killed shortly after escaping. But again, here we were, alive and still running. And also, like I said earlier, some things are just worth believing in.

“Can you tell what it says?” Jariic asked, towards no one in particular really.

“No. Can you read it, Razlo?”

“No, unfortunately not. I wish I could though. This…this is absolutely fascinating!”

It was fascinating, to say the least. But for me personally it was for a different reason. I cared not what the coding said and what it all actually meant, but I cared about Looh and Jahk’ren. They had been fairly good friends of mine, especially Looh. To even have the slightest hope that they were alive was…well… it was warming, to say the least.

After the three of us were finished gawking at the wall, we laid down on the cold, rocky, uneven floor and attempted to fall asleep. Jariic and Razlo both fell asleep within the first twenty minutes or so, but I wasn’t as lucky. Everything time I closed my eyes I started to think about Looh and Jahk’ren; Looh and his crazy stories, Jahk’ren and it his warming smiling and ability to make even the angriest person happy. I missed those two so dearly now, for I had forgotten about them long ago. Perhaps we’d find them somewhere. Could something so doubtful happen? I wasn’t sure about that, just as I wasn’t sure what was going to happen the next day, or even the day after that. But it didn’t matter. We’d find away. We had to.

And then I slept, with my tears and aching heart keeping me company.