While lying in my cell, I am forcibly woken up by the guards who are screaming, “GET UP!” Hearing his words, I jump from my sleeping position and run out the door of my cell. I am then guided te area filled with people, where I am then given a pte so I collect my food for the day.
Finally, I get to eat. Last night all I did was wish for some food, and now my wishes have been made through. While thinking ba st night, I wonder how I made it bay cell. I thought I saw something inhuman carry me, but no one should have done something like that here.
“Hurry up, get your food, or I will eat the rest.”
Hearing the shouting of the guard serving the food, I run over so I get some. When I get there, the guard puts a yellowish goop into my bowl. It smells rancid, but I doubt anything will e from pining about it. I might as well sit down to eat.
Sitting on the floor with my back against a wall, I devour my food nonstop. Not g about either the taste or smell, I eat relentlessly until someone says, “Hello, sir may I sit beside you.”
I look up and say, “Old man, you are lookier today.”
“Well, only thanks to you. I got some sleep and food for the first time in a while. With all my heart, I thank you.”
“It was no problem for a person like me. You should make it just easy. You don’t want to die before seeing your daughter.”
The old man looks sorrowful, saying, “I’d like to see her again. Though I am pretty sure she wouldn’t remember me.”
“I doubt that, kids have a special instinct regarding our parents. As long as you loved her until you separated, I am sure she remembers you. I haven’t fotten my parent’s faces at all.”
“Thanks for that. Also, why do you keep calling me old man I am just thirty-five.”
Looking at him, shocked says, “Huh.”
“What do you mean, thirty-Five, this man who looks older than Oren is telling me he is youhan Sequoia. “You shouldn’t lie to kids, old man.”
“I am not lying.”
“Whatever, old man,” as the old man was about to retort what I said, I see something familiar walk into the hall. With a long scaley tail, two horns and pletely rown hair, it is undoubtedly the person I saw yesterday.
I didn’t get a good look at him st time, but now I see scales on his face. Getting a good look has firmed it for me. Without a doubt, this man is a dragon.
Orb told me about the super rare species, not due to their volume but accessibility. They all never leave the ti and kill all humans who e to their nd on sight, so most people never get a ce to see them, but here I am with one directly in my presence, and I even rode on his back though in human form. I will brag about this to Orb and Maple the ime I see them.
I stare directly at the dragon in the room. I am pletely dumbfouhat I stop eating.
As he opens his mouth to eat, grumble rockets throughout the area. The dragon boy, without aation, goes over to give his food to the person who lost trol of their hunger.
“Old man, you believe what he just did.”
“Oh, that’s normal for Cyrus. He always does things like that.”
“But doesn’t he o eat? Well, I guess I wouldn’t want to eat this shit.”
“I have only seen him eat on the st five years. All the time, he is just handing his food away or mining. Unlike us, he mine day in and day out without getting tired. I am pretty sure he only sleeps twice st year.”
Orb did tell me that when dragons are in human form, everything about them is super pressed. I guess despite hold skinny he looks, he probably has more muscle mass than all of us put together.
“Also, don’t insult the food here. It has kept healthy and going for the st five years.”
“Whatever, old man, I don’t have time to waste talking to an old hoot like you I am going to go over there and befriend that dragon,” After a while, we make eye tact. I then start walking up to him, which causes him to shake nonstop.
As I am something, I hear, “All right, lunchtime is et ready to start your day.”
Hearing their voice, the man immediately starts walking away. You assholes, you ruined my dream of making friends with a dragon. I promise I will never five any of you.
With that, we are sent to go miil we reach our quota, which was more thaerday by ara cart. As I finish, I start walking bay cell. And when I get there, I see a rge number of people, including the old man walking to my cell I ask him, “What are you doing here.”
“It seems they bought ane amount of sves, so they are trying to make the best use of space, and thus we all have to stay together.”
So, after hearing this, we all head into my cell, and without a doubt, ohing I say is that it is cramped.
While sitting in my over-packed cell, I say to the old man, “Do you know where they take the other sves? Because all of the people I was sold with are o be found.”
“There are multiple levels to this mirong or troublesome people tend to be put at the bottom, so if they start ag up, they won’t be able to escape instantly.”
So, the reason I ut here is because I am seen as a non-threat, I feel a this realisation.
After this, there is a long silence. Oh god, this reminds me of the silehat followed whenever people talk to me about my dead parents it is made worse by how gloomy this cell is, so to spice things up, I say to the old man, “Hey tell me where you are from.”
“Why?”
“Stop questioning me and just say it?”
“Since I am not opposed, I might as well tell you, I happen to be from a very prosperous city called Arendaia though it is probably better known for its i, the eternal spider. It was a try only known for the silk the spider produced, but due to the Animus family, it had grown to be one of the biggest trade tries in the world I have immense pride in it. Where are you from.”
I probably should tell them where I am from, but it is not like our existence is a secret anymore, and they will never find out way into the vilge, so “I guess I am from Fimbulwinter.” When I say this, people start givirange looks.
“Then the old man says, “Oh, you mean the area around Fimbulwinter, isn’t that a rather dangerous pce to live, I heard that mountains wonderbeasts often wander out of the mountain and attack people.”
“No, your misuanding me, I e from inside Fimbulwinter, my vilge is in Fimbulwinter.”
“That’s impossible, that endless blizzard freezing everything, there is no way you could have lived there it is, without a doubt, the harshest p the p.”
“It is not like we lived there without issues. I believe the founders of our vilge had an incredibly tough time, and many of them died off, leaving only a rather small pertage of them, but they survived. I believe our founder Magnolia also helped find us an ideal space to live in.”
I hear someone chime in and say, “Do you mean Magnolia, the stist who disappeared turies ago!” As I try to respond, the woman goes oedly saying, “He pletely revolutionised agriculture and medical teology at the time, they say he was a student of the founder of the Celestial vision,” interrupting me again she says.
“There have been tless theories as to what has happeo him, but if he somehow found a way to live in Fimbulwinter, it would make sense how he was able to disappear out of the worlds reach.”
As the girl in front of me finishes her rant, she has an embarrassed expression as everyoares at her she says, “I am sorry, I really like history, so I might have lost myself, my name is Bel.”
Letting out a ugh at her enthusiasm, I say, “It is ok. I am pretty sure you just surprised everyoh all your energy.”
“But to think you’re from Fimbluwinter, I wouldn’t have guessed it.”
“To be ho, I don’t get what’s so great about it. It simply is just a bunch of snow. You’re not missing much. But if you wao tell you about it, I will as long as you tell me about your homes as well,” and just like that, everyoarts talking nonstop.
We all share where we all came from.
“Sky Dust.”
“Braoneia.”
“.”
“Elenito.”
Just like the members of my vilge did during times of distress, we shared stories to alleviate all our stress and worries. I told them about Orb, his legacy, Willow the 2nd and all the other wild animals.
Apparently, some of them found Maple being strung up abuse, I don’t know why. Over this one long talk, I got to know everyone, and they did to me as well.
“I haven’t said this yet, but my name is Willow.”
“I haveher, but my name is Quant.” The old man says.
“Quant is a weird name.”
“Don’t make fun of it, you brat. Still, it is o be called by that has been almost five years since I have been called that.
With The mood dampening by those words from Quant, we all remember the situation where none of us is saving anytime soon.
Someone says, “I heard the dragon boy has been here for twelve years. Does this mean we’re going to be here for that long too?”
“Most people don’t live that long here.”
As the mood tio drop, I say, “Maybe we could escape.”
“Willow, quiet down. We don’t know who is listening,” Quant says to me.
“I will, but this may be an option. The first day, when I was overw myself, the guards left me alone, I might be able to sneak out during that time.”
“No, you won’t, that is a trap they set to check if anyone has any rebellious motive. The guards are positio certain points, and if they catch you, they will punish you severely. All the people who e back from that punishment are either broken or submissive, but they are the ones who e baot everyone is so lucky, so don’t think about it.”
“Well, see, but there must be something” while I sit there thinking, I rack my brain for an answer. How do I do to get out? I doubt we could brute force it, so the only solution would be to get in good with the guards, but their all crazy, so that won’t work. There must be something to think about what you have seen and heard.
“Quant, I have a question.”
“Ask away.”
“It is normal for many sves to be bought all of a sudden like what just happened?”
“No, not really. The only time a huge amount of sves have ever been bought was when an explosion deeper in the mines. It killed over half the sves, so they bought many new ohey never really bring in new sves because the ones without a reason to keep w tend to die fast.”
“Have there been any explosions as of te?”
“Not ohe crystal is s that if one of them exploded, you would hear it from anywhere in the mine.”
“Another question is there any way to meet up with people here?”
“The only way that is possible is during lunch times. But since most people finish their work and go to eat at different times, it is tough to meet certain people.”
Well, that expins why I didn’t see anyone from my vilge at lunchtime. “What do you think are the limits of the as the guards will take against us.”
“The guards will rarely i with us unless we are causing a problem that would impact are or others’ work.”
Still, this has given me what I needed. “Hey, everyone, I have a vague idea of a pn, but I need some help putting it together.”
I look at the faces of everyone, and they don’t look eager, but Quant says. “I don’t feel like doing anything that will get my daughter hurt, but it won’t hurt to listen.”
So, upon telling them my initial idea, they perk up a bit, but I am told it has some holes. Though we talk over my opinion with all of us something
Away a while, I say to them, “This could work. Everyohanks you for the thought.”
“Though this pn’s success solely relies on you, and if you rat us out, we will all be punished.”
“Don’t worry about that. I would sooner bite my tongue, so let’s have a little hope and try ahrough this.” And with that, we put our pn in motion.
