The axe of revenge

The room is unfamiliar. I don’t know how I got here. What is this place? My gaze flies around the dark and cold space I’ve been awakened. Through the paint yellow light, coming from somewhere I cannot locate at the moment, I see dark stone walls and engraved surfaces.

Strong pain crushes like a wave to my skull from within. Have I been injured? I feel numb and painful, in more parts than just my head. If yes, then I cannot locate the source of it as my whole body feels uncomfortably stretched.

I narrow my eyes, in the hope of seeing something more, to get a hint of my surroundings. The image of the wall closest to me on my left gets visible the more I adjust to the low light. The mural gets clearer somehow, I cannot explain.

There’s a picture of a giant structure in the centre, surrounded by a number of turrets in many levels and different sizes. Golden lines adorn decorations of flags and various coats of arms, hanging from large pillars in the building’s façade. When I meet the symbol floating in the space above it, everything suddenly becomes clear.

Three drops of water form a triangle, with spiky lines emerging from the spaces between them and intercepting in the middle of the triangle. I’m in the castle of Yovidia.

I make a move to get closer to the mural, but my body doesn’t respond to my will. Pain strikes again, this time coming from my palms and feet. The only things I can move are my eyes and my neck but not to the full extent. With the side of my eyes, I can pick something wrapped around my biceps. I’m restrained. But I cannot feel anything. My mind is still foggy and trying to gather my power isn’t successful.

Why am I inside the Yovidian castle, most importantly, how did I find myself down here? The numbness and pain slowly retreat from my head, a pleasant feeling that gets me gradually back to normal. The banging pulse of my temples isn’t tormenting me anymore.

Maybe... if I can call the sands of time of Oodan, I can get my answers.

I want to give it some time, but how much do I really have?

Another attempt to see more. This time my neck is more flexible and I can stretch it forward to see the rest of my body. I am attached to a leaning surface – the angle of the room could have been a hint but my mind isn’t working properly yet to spot it right away. My thighs are covered with restraints too.

If I could lift my head, maybe I can see…

There it is. The source of the faint yellow light. It’s coming from what’s left of four figures, who probably were standing near each of my limps. The remains are only arms of different appearance and size, their fingertips piercing my flesh and infusing some kind of substance into my system, that gives the light to my prison. Those remains look… familiar. Like I’ve known them. Or better, fought them.

I call the sands of time of Oodan once more, hoping the power I have regained would be enough for such a basic spell for someone like me. But I don’t see anything happening. As I was searching for an alternative, I got caught off guard when I felt something pinning me back to the surface I was lying with crushing brutality.

The room vanishes. My surroundings transform into a whirlpool as time goes backwards to my command. Shapes change one after another, with increasing speed as the time goes back to my last clear memory. The movement is making me dizzy. I have lost precious life force for such a trip but I can’t do otherwise.

I need to know.

Suddenly the rapid motion stops followed by gentle movement the next moment. The river of colours passing before me starts taking shape, giving me the perspective of location. This scenery is my everything. It is impossible, even for the strongest manipulating spell or the grey prime stone to erase it from my mind.

Xarvax. My homeland.

A former oasis in the middle of vast lands covered by large dunes and hidden treasures in every corner, Xarvax is the capital of the Tomuta region. The region formed when Konnure – the goddess of power, unleashed her wrath through the Bloody Mountain’s eruption, giving the breath of life in this part of the world.

I find myself standing outside the capital’s walls by the main entrance. Bright purple ribbons decorate the arches of the perimeter. Dark red banners with the symbol of the Tomuta race – a gigantic scimitar rising above the Bloody Mountain, showing our fierce spirit and the sacred volcano where all Tomuta came from.

I remember this day. It was the day when the letter from Yovidia arrived. When the royal couple invited me to attend the inauguration of the Champions. And banned me from becoming one, under the pretext that my race was too violent to receive a blessing from the goddess of wisdom, Sikanwi.

The anger of this day fuelled my body with boiling heat. Watching the state of abjection they left us, makes my soul scream in agony.

 When the negotiations concluded and the alliance was formed, bringing all regions under the wing of Yovidia, it was the start of a chain of events that left us on the brink of extinction.

The appearance of Vromu, undead–like creatures that infested our warehouses with resources was the start. The people had more than faith in me. As the only female born from the dried lava of the Bloody Mountain, I was confirming our ancestors’ scripts once more for the past century. My people gave me the honour to rule them, and all I did was for their best.

I entered the alliance for the sake of our region. We were known for our weapons and battle skills, but not even our sharpest blades could meet the toxic existence of Vromu. I thought we could handle the situation but soon they were outside the capital’s walls.

I left my pride aside and reached out to Yovidia for help. And all I received were promises they never kept. And after all, Tomuta did for the kingdom of Yovidia, they tossed us aside.

Life in Xarvax became a nightmare. People were suffering, and our resources were tightly controlled to ensure only the necessary were used. I could see fear in their eyes, and that was breaking my heart every single day.

In a time of desperate need, I went up the Bloody Mountain, through tunnels below the city where Vromu could not reach. The shadows found me, and for many days and nights were testing me. I kept my faith in Konnure, but…

Nine days passed and no sign of Konnure. The goddess had forsaken us. So, I pledged my allegiance to the shadows.

Noga, a powerful demon from the time the goddesses first stepped foot in this world found me, giving me power and abilities to strike all my enemies and emerge victorious. I came back to the Xarvax and unleashed my fury on Vromu and any other threat that dared to step in our way.

Tomuta gradually regained their confidence. Finally, I witnessed them getting back to their glory. Now, it was time to set some things right. The hourglass with the sand of time appears and the scenery vanishes into thin air before another location jumps out of my memory bank.

This time, I find myself in the Yovidian castle’s square. The whole place is packed with people. It’s the day of the inauguration of the Champions. I stand in a corner, hidden under a plain dark cloak not to draw any curious eyes on me. In front of the giant fountain at the centre of the square, there’s a platform. On it, the royal couple, accompanied by the Champions coming from the other four regions, the Wika, the Zako, the Varii and the Ghera.

I watch from a distance, the king and queen of Yovidia, the grand hypocrites. They seem lost in the bliss of their success. Drunk from the crowd’s cheered reaction when they announced the Champions and with that, the regions' complete submission to the goddess of wisdom, who like Konnure, never showed any signs recently.

Watching the royals causes bile to rise to my throat. However, things soon are about to change. This is the day Tomuta showed them what they’re made of.

The hourglass of Oodan appears once more, shape-shifting my surroundings. There’s very little sand left in it, which means that soon I’ll find myself back in the present.

I get by surprise when I find myself in the same room I know I remain imprisoned. This time, however, I watch the scene unfold as a spectator. All four champions are there with me. We dodge and strike as in a fighting choreography. Strange… how easily friends turn into foes. I gave many fights beside them, watching each other’s back. And now… this.

Curiosity rises in me as I watch myself forming the move set to draw power from the shadows and unleash my attack from the ground. My breath cuts short when I witness all four Champions charging towards me in unison. Their cores glow with yellow light, getting brighter as they approach the strike.

In a blink of an eye, they grab my limbs. I twist and turn, trying to get away from their grip. As they capture me, they dig their claws into my flesh, infusing the yellow substance flowing in theirs. Like a paralysing poison, I watch in terror as my body becomes rigid in a matter of seconds. The Champions freeze too, transforming into four statues with their grip still on me, fully glowing with the same yellow light that transfers into my body.

The hourglass appears, this time empty. I feel like something drags me in space and time until I get back to the present and my place before the spell is activated. What’s left from the Champions is only parts of their arms, holding me with the matter of the goddess of wisdom, sealing me down here.

How long did it take them to decompose to that extent? I must have been in this crypt for decades, or even more. Though luck is on my side. The more they vanish, the more the sealing power fades with them. Patience, I mentally comfort myself.

Someday, I’ll be free. And the axe of my revenge will fall on all who defied me.