The Road to Grimoria

  Time lost its meaning inside the darkness of the carriage. To pass the endless hours, Samantha spoke, her voice a low rumble beneath the creaking wheels.

  “According to what our parents used to say… a long time ago, in Nebulon, the continent of the Elves… there were three great Elven Kings. They were constantly at war with each other.”

  Isaac listened intently, resting his head against the cold iron bars.

  “Of these three,” Sam continued, “one was different. They say he was so powerful that even the feared Ancestral Dragons respected him. Respected him enough to allow him to marry a daughter of the Supreme King, the Fire Ancestral Dragon, Yamato.”

  “I also heard,” Elana chimed in, her eyes wide with wonder, “that he had a unique power… one that no one, not even the Supreme Entities, possessed.”

  Isaac felt a strange tug at the back of his mind, but he pushed it away.

  Sam chuckled bitterly. “That part is just a rumor, Elana. It’s impossible for anyone to be stronger than the Supreme Entities. Anyway… continuing. One day, the other Kings conspired. They joined forces against the powerful King… killed him… and expelled Princess Aiko from the kingdom.”

  Isaac felt a sharp pang in his chest at the name Aiko, though he didn’t know why.

  “Since that day,” Sam sighed, “the world has never been the same. Nebulon gained total power, conquering more territories by force. They killed innocents, and slavery returned. The world is in chaos. And the Dragons, who should be our protectors… they remain silent in their domain of Valoon, saying nothing.”

  She looked at Isaac with serious eyes.

  “Feralium, the land of the terrestrial beasts and the largest city on the planet, fell. The Grimorians went to war with us and conquered most of the lands. So, the advice I give you is… be careful with these Elves. None of them are trustworthy. Believe me, Isaac.”

  “I understand,” Isaac nodded slowly. “I’ll remember that when I run into one.”

  (Some time later)

  Later that evening, the guards arrived again. They threw another bucket of rotting slop onto the floor and laughed as they walked away.

  Sam and Elana rushed to it, hunger overriding dignity.

  “Isaac… come,” Sam offered. “I left this part for you.”

  “No, thank you… I’ll pass,” Isaac said, his stomach churning at the smell.

  “Wait, Sam,” Elana interrupted.

  She took a chunk of the solid food from the bucket. Moving carefully so the guards wouldn’t see, she held it near the heat of a torch flickering just outside the bars. The meat sizzled slightly.

  “Humans don’t eat raw food,” Elana whispered, blowing on the heated morsel. “Here, Isaac. Eat.”

  Isaac looked at the food. It was still unappealing, but the gesture warmed him more than the fire could.

  “How do you know so much about humans?” he asked, taking the food and forcing himself to eat.

  “Earth was the favorite planet to visit,” Elana smiled sadly. “Most of the customs here… clothes, food, laws, culture… were copied from Earth before it was destroyed. Over time, things were lost… few people today even know how to speak the Human language.”

  Isaac chewed slowly, swallowing hard.

  “Thank you… both of you.”

  (Some time later)

  Isaac fell into a fitful sleep. He woke up startled in the middle of the night. Sam and Elana were huddled close to him for warmth. He adjusted the blanket to cover them better and stared at the ceiling, his mind racing.

  We need to get out of here.

  Suddenly, the heavy door of the adjacent cage creaked open. Isaac froze.

  Through the gaps in the bars, he saw two guards dragging a female prisoner out. They were laughing. The woman was struggling weakly. They dragged her behind a heavy wooden door at the end of the corridor.

  Isaac gripped the bars, his knuckles turning white, but he couldn’t do anything.

  Hours later, he woke up again with a jolt.

  Sam and Elana were already awake, eating quietly.

  “Come, Isaac… I saved some for you,” Elana whispered.

  Isaac ignored the food. He looked across the aisle to the other cage.

  The prisoner was back. She was lying on the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling, tears silently pooling in her ears.

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  “Hey…” Isaac whispered, trying to get her attention. “Are you okay? What happened last night?”

  The woman slowly turned her head. Isaac recoiled.

  Her face was a mask of bruises. Her lip was split. But it was her eyes that haunted him — they were dead, devoid of hope. She shifted her hips in pain, and Isaac saw her hand come away from between her legs, stained with fresh blood.

  She grabbed a rag to clean herself, then turned her back to him, curling into a fetal position.

  Isaac sat back, breathless. The horror of it slammed into him. This wasn’t a story. This was hell.

  “Isaac?” Elana asked, offering him the heated food. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

  Isaac looked at the food, then at the two beast-girls who were looking at him for protection.

  “I am,” he lied. His voice was hard as steel. “We need to get out of here.”

  “There is no way, Isaac,” Sam shook her head. “These guards are from the Special Forces. They are trained in all magical elements. Besides… General Straus and Commander Alisha are the most powerful warriors in Grimoria. Even without this collar… I might not be able to defeat the two of them.”

  Isaac looked at Sam, then at Elana.

  “I’ll think of something,” he said, his eyes burning with a dark resolve. “But we are getting out of this together. I promise.”

  Sam and Elana looked at the determination in the human’s face. For the first time in a long time, they felt a flicker of hope.

  “Okay,” Sam nodded. “We will be ready when you give the order.”

  (Some time later)

  The carriage rattled on. Inside, the three prisoners huddled together, whispering plans of attack, looking for weak points. Samantha was impressed by Isaac’s tactical mind.

  Suddenly, the carriage stopped. The doors burst open.

  A guard drove a fist into Isaac’s stomach. He crumpled to his knees, gasping for air.

  Before he could recover, Commander Alisha stepped inside, a cruel smile on her lips. She spoke in that sharp, alien tongue, pointing at Sam and Elana.

  Isaac tried to stand, to shield them.

  “Don’t…”

  THUD.

  Alisha’s boot connected with his face, sending him crashing back to the floor, dazed. He reached out a trembling hand toward the girls. They were crying, clinging to each other.

  Guards dragged Isaac out of the cage like a sack of potatoes. They threw him into the mud, stripped him of his rags, and doused him with freezing water from a trough. They scrubbed him roughly, mocking his nakedness, punching him whenever he tried to resist.

  Finally, they dragged him — clean but battered — into a luxurious tent-like room inside the fortress they had arrived at. They chained his hands to the headboard of a large bed.

  Laughing, they left him there alone in the dark.

  “Samantha…? Elana…?” Isaac whispered to the empty room.

  The Commander’s Chamber

  The door clicked open.

  Alisha entered. She was wearing only sheer, silk lingerie. She lit a candle, the flame dancing in her eyes. She locked the door and crawled onto the bed, moving over him like a spider.

  She leaned in, kissing his neck. Isaac flinched.

  “Can you… understand me?” she whispered against his skin.

  Isaac froze. He looked into her eyes. She smiled.

  “It was hard… to learn this forgotten language in such a short time…” she purred, tracing a finger down his chest. “The language of the Huma… Human… Ah, sorry. I am still getting used to it.”

  “Where are Samantha and Elana?” Isaac’s voice was cold.

  “I don’t know who those are…” She straddled him. “How about we pick up where we left off? I am quite wet…”

  She reached down, caressing him. Isaac struggled against the chains, his mind racing.

  Suddenly, a scream pierced the night air.

  “NOOO! PLEASE!”

  It was Samantha.

  Isaac stopped breathing.

  “Samantha…”

  He pulled at the chains. The metal groaned.

  Alisha slapped him hard across the face. She grabbed his chin, digging her nails in.

  “Forget everything and everyone…” she hissed. “You will exist solely to satisfy me. Do you hear me, filth?”

  Something inside Isaac broke.

  His eyes didn’t just glow red — they burned like dying stars.

  “I said…”

  He ripped his right hand free, snapping the thick iron chain as if it were paper. Alisha’s eyes widened in shock. Before she could move, his hand closed around her throat.

  “…LET ME GO!”

  He didn’t just choke her; he threw her. Alisha flew across the room, smashing into the stone wall with a sickening crunch. She slumped to the floor, unconscious.

  Isaac ripped the other cuff free. He grabbed a pair of pants from a chair, pulling them on.

  Voices outside.

  BOOM.

  Isaac kicked the heavy oak door off its hinges. It flew into the hallway, crushing two guards instantly.

  A third guard drew his sword, terrified. Isaac moved. It was a blur. He grabbed the guard by the jaw and squeezed. The skull shattered.

  The red glow faded slightly from his eyes. He ran to the cells.

  “Help us!” other prisoners cried.

  Isaac didn’t hesitate. He ripped the iron doors off their hinges with bare hands.

  “Go! Run!”

  Chaos erupted. Prisoners flooded the hallways. Isaac plowed through the guards like a juggernaut, tossing them aside.

  He reached a reinforced door. He smelled it — blood and fear.

  He tore the door down.

  Inside, a guard was naked, standing over Samantha. She was shackled to the wall, naked and sobbing.

  The guard turned, confused. Isaac didn’t stop. He grabbed the man by the neck and threw him through the wall.

  He knelt beside Sam.

  “I’ve got you.”

  He snapped the shackles. She collapsed into his arms, shaking uncontrollably.

  “Thank you, Isaac… but we need to find Elana… fast… please…”

  “Wait.”

  Isaac saw the collar around her neck. The Collar of Silence.

  He placed his hands on it. The metal grew hot. With a grunt of exertion, he twisted. The magical metal snapped.

  Sam looked at him in awe. Her magic returned instantly. Her eyes turned feral, her nails elongated into claws.

  “Let’s go,” she growled.

  She rushed into the hallway, a blur of fur and rage, tearing through the remaining guards. Isaac followed, watching her back.

  “One room left,” Sam panted, blood dripping from her claws.

  They reached the heavy double doors at the end of the corridor. Isaac punched the lock, shattering the mechanism. He kicked the doors open.

  The sight stopped them cold.

  General Straus was standing there, buttoning his pants. On the floor lay Elana. She was unconscious. Blood foamed at her mouth. Her clothes were torn to shreds.

  Sam screamed, a sound of pure heartbreak. She lunged at the General, claws ready to kill.

  Straus sneered, reaching for his heavy sword.

  Isaac stepped in front of Sam. He caught her arm.

  “Wait.”

  His voice was terrifyingly calm. But when he looked up, his eyes weren’t just red. They were on fire.

  Dark clouds began to form inside the room, swirling around the ceiling. The air smelled of ozone. Sparks of electricity danced across Isaac’s skin.

  Straus stepped back, fear finally dawning on his face.

  Isaac roared. It wasn’t a human scream; it was the sound of a god’s wrath.

  The shockwave knocked Sam and Straus to the ground.

  Isaac’s skin became translucent. His skeleton began to glow with blinding blue light.

  “DIE!”

  He reached out.

  CRACK-BOOM!

  A massive bolt of lightning descended from the impossible clouds, striking General Straus directly. There was no scream. The General simply disintegrated, turned to ash in a millisecond.

  The explosion blew the roof off the fortress.

  Silence fell.

  Isaac stood there for a second, smoke rising from his body. Then, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed into the darkness.