They kept him alone, locked up, and in the dark all day and night.
They made sure he had no contact with people, no freedom of movement. They fed him disgusting liquid food, filtered in through tubes in the mask-like muzzle strapped to his face. They wanted him to beg for freedom, to scream out to be released. They wanted the champion to break, so they used tactics that would’ve broken them.
They could never fathom his strength.
Ae’dron stirred at the sound of his prison doors opening. He knew who had entered his chambers from the scent alone, and his body tensed with anger. King Khoma soon stood before the wildkin with only four guards accompanying him. Two of them held a scrawny human prisoner with a bag over his head whom Ae’dron knew to be the mage he’d fought earlier. The other two walked to the cage doors and opened them, then proceeded to start unshackling the lion and removing his muzzle. Ae’dron resisted the urge to butcher the two just to prove a point, only because he knew it would’ve amused Khoma.
“What do you want?” He snarled.
Khoma raised an eyebrow, disgusted at the disrespect. “Mm. Address me again, properly this time.” He leaned back and folded his fingers together as he looked up at the wildkin. His smile was aggravating.
Ae’dron repeated, “What. Do. You. Wa-“
“Kneel.” Khoma commanded, and the heavy impact of Ae’dron’s knees hitting the ground broadened his grin. “You will bow your head, and you will speak properly.” The king demanded. Ae’dron’s body shuddered as he tried to resist the command. Thin lights pulsed through Khoma’s crown as he forced his will over the wildkin, but Ae’dron’s head did not bow, even as his body twitched and grimaced. He glared right into Khoma’s eyes.
Khoma smacked the proud lion in the face.
“Fine, then stay like that.” Khoma hissed, slapping him again. “You have disrespected me for the second time this week,” Another slap.
“and I,” Slap.
“will,” Smack.
“not,” Slap.
“have,” Smack.
“it!” Slap.
The hitting went on for several minutes, until Khoma’s large hands were hurting and his arm was sore. The anger Khoma was venting may have seemed overblown, but the ruler was not used to anyone or anything ever defying him; and he absolutely hated it. The king beat on the defiant slave over and over until his head finally bowed…
But it never did.
Nor did it bruise, Ae’dron stared defiantly into Khoma’s eyes. “Are you done? I’m hungry.”
Khoma’s expression contorted with rage, and Ae’dron would’ve smirked if the leo wasn’t working so hard just to keep his head up. Khoma never took his eyes off the captive as he held his hand out to one of his guards. “Give me your mace.” Ae’dron’s eyes narrowed as he watched the exchange. He glared as glee overcame Khoma’s face and glared even as the first swing caught him right in the ear.
The heavy mace was easily capable of smashing rocks and bending metal bars. It smashed into his jaw next. Then the top of his head, then forehead. It crushed his nose and slammed into one eye before swinging to horizontally, hitting him directly in the teeth. Khoma vented his frustration until he was too tired to hold the mace. Panting, he returned the bloody weapon to his horrified guard. Sayra, standing beside him, immediately went to work cleaning the mess off the king’s hands.
Ae’dron’s eyes were closed, his face a bloody mess.
His jaw broken. His body shuddered.
But he did not bow his head.
“Do it now,” King Khoma commanded, and before Ae’dron realized what was happening the guards clicked a new control collar onto his neck. The lion roared loud enough to rattle the entire room and began to shapeshift into his primal state,
“Bow your head.” Khoma commanded. The collar enhanced the order beyond Ae’dron’s will to resist and the wildkin found himself kneeling with his forehead slamming into the ground. He was absolutely outraged, and his continued roaring showed it. “Shut your mouth,” The king’s order made Ae’dron’s jaws clamp shut so fast he bit his tongue. He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t lift his head, he couldn’t stop bowing.
“Mm, finally.” Khoma smiled. “Now what should I do with you? What use is there for a former champion?” The king asked outloud, though he seemed to be talking to himself. Ae’dron couldn’t help but snarl, Khoma raised an eyebrow again as he spoke answers to the muted lion’s thoughts. “Yes, FORMER. Did you think such disrespect would go unpunished? I’ve tolerated your insubordination for too long because the crowd loved you, but the people have grown bored with Ae’dron the Titan and frankly, so have I.”
“My people want something new, something interesting.” He motioned for the other two guards to bring Xoph over, and he removed the covering off the human’s head. Xoph was covered in bandage wraps and still delirious from his surgery. Ilyak had advised against anything other than bedrest for the former mage, but Khoma’s curiosity and impatience were a much higher priority. It took Xoph a moment to understand where he was as he was pushed into the cell with Ae’dron. Seeing his brother in such ragged conditions both pained and angered the mage, a surge of energy welled inside of him only for his eyes and mouth to spark painfully from the antimagic blocks.
“Gah!” Xoph staggered backwards, but the guards pushed him back inside. Any ideas the human had of fighting back were washed away with another wave of dizziness. He looked from Ae’dron to the king, confused. “I-I don’t understand. Why am I here?”
“My lord.” One of the guards interrupted.
“Huh?” Xoph blinked.
“Why am I here… my lord?” The guard repeated angrily, drawing his mace out. Xophorys stared at him entirely unamused, then looked back to Khoma. “Please, I-“
The king spoke as if Xoph hadn’t. “How do you know him?” He asked. Xoph knew that he should’ve seen the question coming, but he didn’t. He responded hesitantly. “I-… I know him the same way everyone else does. It’s Ae’dron the Titan, EVERYONE knows of King Khoma’s greatest champion.” Xoph wasn’t lieing, even if he was clearly not telling the whole truth.
Khoma stared silently, his uncompromising gaze prompting Xoph to continue.
Xophorys felt the urge throw up all over himself right there. It was a small victory that he didn’t. “And… A-And in my studies at Caelumpeak- that most highly-respected grand academy for developing champions, home of Sir Eamon Varise the Realmwalker, preservers of the Eudic Rings, with sub-branches in Shadarrin, and Jiran and alliances across the known-“
“Get to the point.” Khoma deadpanned. Xophorys was trying to remind him of his prestigious background as if the king should be worried about some sort of retaliation. The king wasn’t worried about anything. Ever.
Xophorys continued, “Uh, right. In Caelumpeak we… Um.” He’d already forgotten where he was going with that. He was babbling, nervous. Deflecting. A sudden spike of pain arced through his body and Xoph toppled when one of the guards struck him in the leg, yelling “Don’t waste our lord’s time, fool!” He tried to protest, but that got him hit again “Don’t talk back! Say ‘yes, my lord!'” the guard demanded. Khoma smiled when Xoph responded with “What?!” which prompted another strike. While that was going on, Khoma asked the same question to Ae’dron. “How do you know this mage?”
Ae’dron could feel the king’s question free him of his inability to speak, but his response wasn’t very satisfying albeit honest. “I don’t. I was gunna eat him till you stopped me.” The wildkin said dispassionately. Xoph was being brought back to his feet when his blood ran cold at the king’s next words, “Mm. Lets see how true that really is.” A yellow glow began to fill the room as Khoma’s crown activated. Xoph winced, physically feeling the king pry into his memories.
King Khoma was surprised to see how deep the Xoph’s memories of Ae’dron really went. The trail of history these two shared spanned over a decade and started in a place far hundreds of miles away from Valmun.
The continental region known as Jiran was a paradise of flora and fauna. It wasn’t uncommon for plantlife to grow over 900 meters, and the myriad of mystifying ecosystems gave birth to many creatures so large that humans seemed like insects. Certain parts of the land were host to elemental superstorms too powerful for anyone to be able to live there, but the crystals collected from those areas were used for crafting weapons and armor.
Humans needed all the advantages they could get. Unlike in other regions, their species were near the bottom of the Jiranian food chain. While the land was home to all varieties of races, it was the giants, the elves, and the wildkin that were the dominant species; it was their actions that often had the greatest impact on the continent. When the giants began to expand their reach, they grew more aggressive in claiming territory. Their attacks shattered the peace that had been established in Jiran, destroyed entire kingdoms, and irreversibly changed life for Xophorys, Ae’dron, and many others. There was some distortion, and Khoma couldn’t yet dig deep enough to see how the two had first met, but he ended up discovering so much more...