Ever so slowly, Chase's eyelids began to creep upwards, the subtle lantern glow reminding him that he was conscious...
"My head..." He groaned, rolling over on his side only to realize that he could not.
A heavy blockage was keeping him in place, holding him to what both looked and felt like a bed of wooden beams.
He slowly turned his head with a wince, the low light in the room revealing the shackles around each wrist and ankle, all connected to a giant iron weight triple knotted through and below the bed.
Chase frowned, feeling all of the horrible wounds slowly reconnect with his nervous system.
The prison that he was being held within was quite cozy appearing compared to the one he had freed Gemini from...
There was a pile of straw in the corner of the room, with a toilet hole right next to it. Then there was a small faucet for water beside the "bed" that assumingly worked without flaws of course.
Chase winced again, before slamming the back of his head against the wooden surface.
All of the memories slowly flooded back...
He remembered his duel with Natalia of House Durangor... He recalled holding his own against her incredible wit when it came to battle... That was until...
'What was it?' He thought, racking his brain for answers.
"Ah..."
Within the sands of The Black Coliseum... Chase and Natalia had fought each other to a standstill... While Equan and Lizzy's fight had been a spectacle for the crowd to behold... The main battle had been one that only true warriors could comprehend...
A conversation held between blades...
Chase could understand it now...
All of Vallmora... Interconnected by the previous generations... A great war...
It all made so much sense now...
Although he had not received nearly enough answers to even made a dent in the mountain of questions... The outline of the puzzle had finally let itself become clear...
Which is why Chase had forfeited the battle... For the most part...
Realistically there indeed had been zero chance that Chase and Equan win their matchups... However, there had been a variable that many in the arena were not aware of...
That being the fact that both of these teams had been on the same side from the very beginning... It had never been about winning.
It had never even been about the Coliseum itself...
There had been one other reason why Chase had decided to come to Seh Jenah of all cities...
A destination beyond what any of the other members of Unity could understand...
Chase grit his teeth.
He was close...
A rhythmic shaking resonating from below the structure that held Chase...
Meaning that he had made it to the Octagon... The fortress at the center of Seh Jenah... A fortress that held the Court of Factions within it...
But more than that... Below the Octagon lie a hidden vault... Kept away from the power of the three families...
A vault placed by the true heir of Seh Jenah...
...
Several Months Ago...
...
Chase and Griffin stood side by side behind the alley of a tavern...
Griffin was mindlessly tuning his golden lute while Chase could only be enchanted by the stars above.
He had only just met Griffin... And his party members had been very insistent on the young bard joining their side. Chase; however, did not find much of a liking to the bard, and seen no reason to simply let a stranger join their tightly knit group.
After all, they had only just met him.
Which is why Griffin had asked him to come meet outside of said tavern...
With payment for tagging along with the likes of Unity...
"Wait... Could you repeat that...?" Chase asked, glancing at Griffin with a confused expression.
Griffin sighed, leaning back against the wet stone wall while he kicked his foot up on a cement block.
"I am the true heir of Seh Jenah... Just as you are the true heir of both Solis... As well as the entire continent of Vallmora..." Griffin said, rolling his eyes as if he were trying to convince an elderly man that humans could leave the planet and ascend into the the world above.
Chase frowned.
"Really?" He asked, waiting for Griffin to prove his royalty...
Griffin on the other hand, simply shook his head with a sad exhale.
"Long ago... I had been prepared to take the throne from King Phillip... Raised from birth to carry the royal status of a kingdom of many cultures... Taught many forms of swordsmanship and magic arts... And at the age of fourteen... My family and remaining royal guards... Waged a war on the three factions... And lost..." Griffin's eyes were dark under the moonlight, and his gaze was just as distant as the moon... Almost as if searching for something that wasn't there.
"But can I ask you this...?" Chase spoke up, returning his own gaze to the moon above.
Griffin nodded slowly with patience.
"Are you asking me to help you claim the throne...? Or are you asking for something else?" Chase's eyes mirrored the darkness within Griffin's for a split moment, seeking out something of his own just as much as Griffin.
Griffin frowned.
"I do not seek the throne. After the House of Harpy fell, I spent the rest of my childhood in the streets of Seh Jenah... But it was near adult-hood when I found my anchor to that city..." Griffin glanced at his lute, probably wondering if he should sing this part, but probably figured correctly that Chase would have been quick to leave.
"And what is that?" Chase asked, tilting his head.
"The princess of Seh Jenah... We had once made a promise to run away together..."
Griffin's eyes showed much restraint on the topic, a visible battle taking place within his own mind.
Chase sighed.
"What stopped you?"
Griffin grit his teeth.
"The Vex of Seh Jenah..."