A frail young man around the age of 17 with bloody skin, chains wrapped tight around his torso, wrists, and neck — hammered a glowing red rod with bleeding and trembling hands.
As Riven hammered, he let his eyes dart around.
Unfinished blades and half-shaped pauldrons sat stacked on carts, waiting to become weapons for hands that weren't bleeding.
At the edges, thick stone walls rose dark with age and the smoke's heat. Above them stood a line of figures — red pupils, eyebrows of solid bone, bows drawn as they watched.
As Riven looked around him, he saw a man briefly stop hammering. Not out of defiance but simply out of exhaustion.
But the Vrekhars didn't care… An arrow pierced the man's heart causing him to fall to the ground lifelessly with a loud thud.
The scent of iron filled the air but Riven's expression remained unchanged. He had grown numb to death after spending months as a slave.
So he sighed and continued working…
But just then he heard the loud sound of the bell ringing. He raised an eyebrow as he looked above him.
The sun was starting to set.
"Night still hasn't fallen."
The bell signaled the end of the work for the day. It usually rang 2-3 hours before dawn when it was time to work again. And now it rang long before dawn. Riven didn't believe it was out of mercy. Something was different today.
As he was lost in his own thoughts, a high-pitched voice echoed throughout the field.
"Humans return to your cells right now!!"
Riven turned and saw armored Vrekhars advancing on them, carrying whips in their hands.
But they didn't need to…
Everyone rushed towards their cells with a relieved look on their faces. He did the same.
A few minutes later, Riven stood before a large structure — dozens of cells lined behind sturdy bars, each bar having a gap between them.
The cells were already opened so he walked towards his cell with a grim expression and crawled inside.
A horrible smell assaulted his nose, mere seconds after entering and the cell automatically locked itself.
He leaned against the hard wall and closed his eyes but he discreetly kept the corner of one of his eyes open, locked on in front of him.
He watched the soldiers leave their posts one by one, after most of the slaves had fallen asleep.
A few minutes later, no one remained to guard them. This was unusual… very unusual.
Riven fell into deep thought.
"Maybe they are patrolling the area?"
There was only one way to find out… That was to wait.
Riven waited as minutes turned into hours but no one returned. So he opened his eyes as by now he was certain that they weren't coming back. Then he took out something from his torn clothes, stared at it as his expression hardened.
"Tonight is the time then."
A key rested on Riven's hand as he put the key in the lock of his collar and twisted it around. The collar snapped open and fell along with chains spilling from his body — the whole mass hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
He crawled forward and extended his hand through the gap between the bars, put the keys into the lock, and twisted it around.
The lock opened with a loud clank. He pushed the door and stepped outside, his eyes darting around.
He stood under the open sky, unsupervised and not shackled by the chains for the first time in months.
But only he was free… The countless others weren't.
He turned around, facing the countless cells where a human slave was imprisoned then he looked at the key in his hand.
It was a copy of the slavemaster's master key that he had crafted a few months ago in secret — capable of unlocking every cell and shackle in the compound.
So he could free all humans with this key. But should he?
Riven thought for a moment, walked towards one of the cells, and threw the key inside.
Then he turned around and ran away from the cells as fast as his legs allowed with only one goal.
That was to escape this hellhole.
But there was one problem… He had no idea where the exit was.
He fell into deep thought, outlining the entire camp based on the information he had gathered over the last few months.
As far as he remembered, there was a large gate used to move supplies out which was north of where he was.
Maybe that was the exit?
He made a sharp turn north and ran. He wove past benches cluttered with materials and half-finished weapons.
After some time, he stood before a colossal wall — strange glowing markings etched across its surface, a gate set into its center.
He had finally reached the gate but there was one problem.
The gate was closed with no way to reach the other side. Worse, he had no idea how to open it.
Riven stared at it for some time, thinking about what to do.
"I can climb the walls to reach the other side…"
But the problem was that the wall's surface was smooth. There was no crack or anything that he could use to climb up.
He started to look around him and mumble.
"There's always a way. I just have to find it."
As he looked around, his gaze paused on the box and arrows on a cargo near the gate.
He walked towards it, grabbed the bow, and loaded it with an arrow with trembling hands.
Riven closed his eyes, took a deep breath, pointed the arrow towards the wall, carefully locking on it, and fired.
The metal tip of the arrow hit the wall with a loud thud and lodged itself in the wall. Satisfied, he repeated this process until there was a line of arrows going all the way up to the top of the walls.
Riven put his feet on the arrow but when he did… The tip of the arrow pierced his feet, making him bleed and staining the arrow with blood.
He gritted his teeth and continued climbing but when he put his feet on the last arrow… it snapped in two.
But before Riven fell, he held onto the edge of the top of the wall and pulled himself to the top.
He lay on the top of the wall for a moment, catching his breath before he stood up. He walked towards the other end of the wall and became mesmerized by what he saw.
An open area stretched ahead, packed with equipment of war and ringed by tall mountains — their peaks close enough to feel deliberate.
At the far end, a large gate stood open.
Riven was sure that if he went through the gate, he would be free. Now, he just had to descend and head towards it. But before he could do so, he heard a voice that sent a chill down his spine. His head snapped right — face darkened.
An armored Vrekhar was closing fast, dozens of meters out, shouting something in a language he didn't understand.
But he was certain of one thing.
"Escape is the only way of survival."
He looked around for an escape route — and spotted it. A large minaret-like structure stood, just a few dozen meters away from him.
Moreover, its door was wide open. If he entered it and closed it, he would have some time to think about what to do.
So without wasting his breath, he rushed towards it as the Vrekhar rapidly closed in on him.
He suddenly fell to the ground. A heartbeat of pause — then fire tore through his thigh and he understood. Riven's gaze dropped — an arrow buried deep in his leg, blood spreading fast across the ground.
He tried to move. Pain locked him in place and the footsteps were getting louder. He turned around, and they were closing in. Riven gritted his teeth, forced himself upright, and sprinted towards the door.
By the time he reached the structure, the Vrekhar were just meters behind him.
He continued moving towards it and entered the structure. The moment he did, he noticed a locking mechanism.
So he slammed the door shut and locked it.
A heartbeat later, the Vrekhar soldier banged on the door and Riven knew he had to act fast.
Riven looked ahead and spotted a large spiral staircase. He climbed the spiral staircase, blood trailing down his leg — each step driving the arrow deeper.
A few minutes later, he reached the top and there was a door but he wasn't sure if it was open or closed. He pushed through the door — and a brilliant golden light blinded him.
He didn't know what caused it but he felt like something was calling him, eager to reunite with him. When the light cleared and his vision returned, he looked straight ahead.
A small circular golden glowing object enclosed by a dome of transparent glass rested on a table.
Riven's eyes narrowed - only a single word escaped his mouth.
"Sacred Seed"