Chapter 1
Dark Beginnings and Dark Places
I woke up slowly opening my eyelids. I felt a sharp pain on the back of my head that felt like someone had it in a vice. I could feel dry blood plastered on my face. I started to process my surroundings. I was sat down in a chair with my arms bound behind my back. Darkness reached for me with its tendril fingertips. I was engulfed and couldn't see anything around me.
Then I felt the cold stone floor and stale air in the room. I started to panic as I became more awake. How was I supposed to get out of here, what is this place, why am I shackled to a chair. I tried to kick my legs out but my ankles couldn't be lifted as they too were bound in place. The only sound that could be heard in the room was my heavy breaths as I tried to calm myself. I tried to recall what had happened before I lost consciousness but my head seared with pain when I tried to think rationally.
As I heard footsteps coming from my left that clicked across a stone floor outside the room I shivered. My eyes started to adjusted to the dark I could make out the slight silhouette of a door. Suddenly the sound of the footsteps stopped at what seemed to be the front of the door. I heard two people speaking.
The first one said "What is the colour of the night."
While the second replied "Sanguine my brother."
I felt a shocking chill at those words as if being dipped into ice water. I could hear the latch on the door slide open. As the door slowly opened streams light blinded my eyes. The hooded silhouette in the light from the doorway did not move but stayed there.
Standing with great stillness I hear the dark figure ask "Do you feel that chill down your spine, that feeling of dread. That is the gaze of Sithis upon you. You shall beg to become one with the void after I am finished with you".
The words rained like sheets of ice. Panic started to rise up in me to the point of bursting out of me. I wrestled the cuffs for dear life as the figure slowly walked towards me. It was the hopeless pull against the cling of the metal refusing to let go that despair started to set in. I felt its icy touch on my shoulder as it placed its hand on it with a tight grip. I tried to cry out for help but my voice was reduced to rasps in the stale air. Pulling with all my strength away from the darkness that embraced me wasn't enough.
The figure brandished out a dagger with a resounding ring. It let it glint in the light as it showed it too me. Slowly the icy touch of the blade touched my face as it drew it across my cheek. Cold sweat ran down me and onto the icy blade. The dark figure then took it away toying with my fear. The hood it was wearing obscured its face but I knew those eyes beneath it pierced straight into me pondering on what the inside of me looked like.
I started to breathe more rapidly as it put the blade against my arm. He pushed in and a sharp pain cutting itself along to my wrist. I felt hot blood pouring out over my arm its sickly texture running across my skin. The figure withdrew its blade and licked the blood off giving a hissing sound as it did. It pressed its hand against the gash and I screamed out in pain. It put more and more pressure on it and released.
Then it asked me a question "Where is the artefact" it paused and as I tried to answer it demanded "Answer me!" I didn't know what it was talking about.
Afraid that not knowing would result in my death but having no choice I said in a wavering voice "I-I d-don't remember a-a-anything p-p-lease leave m-m-e alone I haven’t do-". It seemed to get angered by this and quickly drew its blade again. I screamed out in a hoarse voice "Please somebody help me!". I continued shouting until the blade pierced my thigh in one sharp movement. I screamed and writhed in pain my thigh spewing with blood.
Then I heard a loud noise from above the dim room. It seemed to turn quickly at this drawing its dagger from my thigh. I screamed shrilly again. Then whatever that sound had been it ran out of the room. Soon I could feel a loss of consciousness as everything began to spin but I tried to hold on. A darkness enclosed from around my eyes as I saw a man running towards me. He shook me shouting at me. All I could hear was a loud ringing in my ears. The man started to unshackle me. The darkness around my eyes closed in and then darkness embraced me.