Prison

Kronos swung wildly at Arai, desperate to hit her. The experienced Kitsune easily dodged his blows without trying to fight back. Instead, she looked at the surrounding crumpled and dirty trading arena they were in.

“ My, what a beautiful day,” she commented.

“ Cease your daydreaming!” roared a new voice. Thora ran past Kronos and fired several purple icicles from her palms at Arai, who shielded herself by tapping the ground with a palm and conjuring a mud wall.

“ Oh, come on!” Thora shouted, stomping a foot on the ground. Due to the enhanced perception his Ryuijin granted him, Kronos caught the slight smirk that flashed across the face of Arai. Damn! He thought. Using the power of his left eye, he was able to pull Thora towards him using Telekinesis. He locked his right eye on his brother and, using its ability, communicated a message telepathically.

“ Now!” Kronos yelled. His brother, understanding what he meant, conjured a wall of green fire just as Arai’s mud wall turned into shrapnel and flew toward the trio. However, because Kronos was distracted, Thora crashed into him, knocking him down. Cursing his ancestors and the ancestors that came before them, Thora sat up and glared at Kronos

“ So we’re pulling cheap shots now, Scale-Back?!”

“ If I wanted to fight you, I’d face you head-on! And don’t call me that!” Kronos snapped back. “ You were about to get bombarded with shrapnel!”

“ I didn’t need your help!”

“ We’re supposed to work together, Tumble- Tower!” Kronos felt the air around him get cold, mainly because A vortex of purple ice now sounded Thora.

“ What did you call me?” She asked, her voice low and dangerous.

“ Oh, did you not hear me, TumbleTower?” Kronos asked, narrowing his eyes as a vortex of white lightning surrounded him.

“ Tumble-Tower.” Before either of them

could make a move, a shadow fell upon them both. When they looked up, they saw a tidal wave made of mud descending upon them. A shrill shriek was all either of them could do to defend themselves before they were swallowed up. Acacius sighed and shook his head.

“ You two will never learn,” he told the two motionless Half-Breeds. Moans and groans were his response. He looked back at Arai and got into a stance. “ Looks like it’s just you and me, as usual.”

“ Maybe this will be the day you win,” Arai said. By the smirk, she didn’t think it would. Acacius rushed at Arai and tried to hit her, but just like his brother before him, he was unsuccessful. After a few moments of Arai effortlessly dodging his blows, Acacius put his plan in motion. Using the ability of his right Ryuijin, he created a clone behind Arai then lunged at her. As expected, she jumped away from him. Utilizing the ability of his left Ryuijin, he traded places with his clone. Then both he and the clone charged her simultaneously just as she landed on her feet. This time I got her!

The next thing he knew, he was on his back staring up at Arai's smiling face. His clone had dissipated after being defeated by Arai.

“ Okay, I think that’s enough for now,” she said, offering him a hand. Acacius sighed and accepted it; as he was being hauled to his feet, he swore to himself. I was so close! Both Kronos and Thora had gotten to their feet and looked annoyed Acacius had lost.

“ Well, that was well done, you three. You’ve certainly progressed since we’ve been here!” Arai chirped. They had been held in the royal prison camp for three moon cycles. Once they had arrived in the Sintar Dragon Tribe’s Imperial City of Tyraris. Once they arrived, they had been thrown into the prison camp by Calypso. According to legend, it had used to be a village belonging to a race of people forgotten to time before the dragons took it over. Once they had been admitted, Arai, Kronos, Acacius, and Thora had formed a tentative alliance out of necessity and trained daily together.

“ Kronos,” Arai said, looking at him. “ You got Thora out of the way of danger even though you two do not like each other. In all our training sessions, you’re always ensuring the other two are out of harm’s way. Even if it causes you to suffer as a result. It’s clear you value teamwork and camaraderie. But you’re too easily distracted. Had you not let Thora draw you into an argument, you and your brother could have teamed up. Being so easily riled up will cost you one day.” Kronos looked down at the ground and didn’t say anything.

“ In other words, you’re the weak link,” Thora told him smugly.

“ You have problems too,” Arai said. Before Thora could say anything, Arai rushed her and kneed her in the gut. Coughing, Thora collapsed on her knees.

“ What was that for?!” She demanded. Arai looked down at her, her big smile still on her face.

“ Thora. We’ve been friends for a while now. You are powerful; I dare say you are the strongest Half-Breed alive today. Perhaps strong enough to be promoted to Alpha someday. But your power causes you to be arrogant and disregard the other two. Keep doing that, and one day you’ll find yourself without help when you need it most.”

“ Hmph. Like that would ever happen,” Thora said, rising to her feet. Arai just shrugged and looked at Acacius.

“ As for you. Much like your brother, you are quite clever. And you are much more focused. But you are too predictable. You seem to have forgotten you’ve tried that clone technique on me before.” Acacius opened his mouth to object but stopped. Damn it, she’s right. Just then, the sound of a bell sounded, getting Arai’s attention.

“ Oh my, dinner already?” Arai asked. “ We better get going.” The four of them hurried out of the training hall and walked down a corridor. It was cramped, forcing Arai and Thora to lead the way, walking shoulder to shoulder, followed by Acacius and Kronos. They turned left at the end of the corridor and walked down a flight of cement stairs.

Kronos gagged as the foul stench of dinner invaded his nostrils. Why does the food here smell like corpses left to bake in the hot sun?! After walking down another corridor they walked through a white door to the mess hall. It was a sorry looking room, forth and cramped, just able to hold the population of six dozen prisoners if they all sat with shoulders touching. At present the mess hall was close to half full. They had two stone tables with benches that had seen better days, a singular window where sun could peek through on the left wall, and a serving area where a guard stood next to a pot, face twisted in disgust.

The four of them tensely walked to the serving area while scanning the area. Kronos wished he could use the perceptive poets of the Ryuijin but use of any power was forbidden outside of the training hall. Every time he went to the mess hall, Kromos expected someone to try and stab him. He had seen it done before for seemingly no reason.

An Abnormal from the Mozoga Orc Tribe had gotten stabbed in the throat by another prisoner just for stepping on his foot. Kronos had wanted to help but Acacius had held him back.

“ It’s not our problem. Don’t be a fool,” his brother had told him. Since then, Kronos had vowed to never lower his guard with the other prisoners. He accepted a bowl of white slip once he reached the serving area, nearly gagging again once he smelled the contents of the bowl. Turning away from the serving area, he found a spot at the first table where no one was around. He sat down and was soon joined by the others.

“ I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be staying here,” Thora said.

“I’ve told you before, attempting to escape would be pointless,” Acacius told her sternly. Thora gave him a withering look.

“ If you think I’m staying here, you’re as foolish as your brother,”

“ How is Kronos foolish? You’re the one who refuses to listen,” Acacius told her rolling his eyes.

“ And what do you plan to do about this?” Kronos added after flashing a look of gratitude to his brother. He touched a thin metal band around his neck all prisoners wore. It served to keep the prisoners from trying to escape. If anyone attempted to leave, the prison would start to constrict. The further the prisoner got from the prison, the more it would tighten until the prisoner choked to death.

“ I’ll find a way to cut it off,” Thora growled. “ I’ll be fine without you two. Unlike you, I’m not content to just sit around and respond to whatever happens to me.”

“ And how, pray tell, do you plan to get off the island? No one would be willing to aid you. And even if you did find a way off the island, the picture of every prisoner here is widely distributed throughout Ocrad. Even if you did manage to leave, you’d be hunted down before long,” Acacius said, narrowing his eyes.

“ I’ll steal a ship if need be!” Thora said, hee voice rising. “ I can’t stay here, don’t you get that?!” She looked towards Arai. “ You’ll come with me, won’t you? We can get out of here.” Arao stirred her slop with her spoon and opened her mouth to answer.

“-Bloody old fool!” Kronos turned his head to see a well-toned and tall man with olive skin, shaved angular head, and an eye patch over his left eye. His right green eye was glaring at a frail elderly man who was crouched on the floor, trembling. He had a thick red beard tied into a knot. He wore a gray armored robe, gloves, and gray wool boots. By his scent of ash and salt, Kronos could tell he was from Ivaura Hydra Tribe. It looks like someone got on Kabil’s bad side again.

“ When I tell you to hand your meal over, old man, you do as you’re told!” The Hydra snarled in a loud, boisterous voice, one used to being obeyed. Kronos looked down at his bowl, not wanting to get involved. Things like this were commonplace here; the best thing to do was ignore it. But his mind began to flashback.

Kronos was back in the streets of Zlona to an event fifteen years ago, when he was only five years old. He and Calypso were on their way to get bononokay, a sweet pastry with cream filling made into tiny pale brown balls, when they had noticed two high-ranking Sintar Dragon warriors assaulting an old man for not paying taxes.

“ Come on, Kronos, it has nothing to do with us,” a five-year-old Calypso urged, pulling at his sleeve. But Kronos couldn’t. The wrongness of it made bile rush up his thought. Clenching his fists, Kronos approached the two dragons.

“ Leave him alone, you big meanies!” Kronos shouted. His demand was only met with laughter and being shoved back by one of the warriors. Kronos fell back but stood up, charging at the two warriors, stomping on their feet. That warranted him a fierce strike across the face, chasing him to fall followed by a few stomps.

“ Stop it!” Kronos heard Calypso shriek. The two soldiers merely laughed as they kept kicking Kronos over and over again.

Without thinking, Kronos stood up and walked towards the commotion. He ignored the command from Acacius to sit back down and leave it be. He grabbed the Abnormal who had caused the disruption by the back of the neck, lifted him, and slammed him on his back. A hush fell over the onlooking Abnormals. Kronos offered the old man a hand to help him up, which the elder accepted gratefully.

“ Thanks lad!” He chirped. He had pale winkley skin, the top of his head bald, but the gray hair at the back of the head reached the middle of his back. His left eye was milky white, his right eye pale blue. He had only a few yellow teeth remaining and stood with a hunch in his back. For clothing, he wore a white shirt and brown pants made out of cowhide with open-toed sandals.

“ About time someone took care of Kabil,” the old man said with a wide smile. The man Kronos had planted was starting to get to his feet, swearing to tear Kronos apart when he got his hands on him. However, before he could take a step towards Kronos before the Half-Breed activated his Ryuijin and met his eyes, creating an illusion in his mind.

Kabil was standing in front of a mirror, staring at his reflection. At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then Kabil looked in horror as the skin on his face began to melt like wax. Kabil could only watch in horror as the skin from his body melted, forming puddles at his feet.

Kronos watched coldly as Kabil fell on his knees, clutching his head screaming. Kronos was about to leave when a loud commanding voice stopped him.

“ What’s going on here?” Kronos tensed as a large man made his way towards the commotion. He was tall, aged but not old, about 6ft 8, and broad-shouldered. He had a rectangular face, long, narrow jaw, and square chin. He had long silver hair and amber eyes. He wore a fine black silk cloak over a dark red vest covering a long-sleeved white shirt, white pants made out of cowhide, and black boots. His small ears had three golden rings embedded in them each.

The man had an air of authority about him and carried himself with grace and poise. This was the man who Calypso trusted to run her prison camp on her behalf, the warden, Agrippa. He came from a prominent family; generations of his ancestors had been influential politicians and judges, and he was no exception. Aside from running the prison, he was also in charge of all the labor camps the Sintar Dragon Tribe controlled. Noticing Kabil’s plight, he activated his own Ryuijin and looked at him. Instantly, the Hydra’s wails had ceased, and he was left convulsing on the floor.

“ You there. Half-Breed. What is your name?” Agrippa asked Kronos.

“ Kronos.” He broke through my illusion like it was nothing! Agrippa studied him for a while before speaking again.

“ Use of Tribal Traits, like your Ryuijin while not in the training arena, is strictly prohibited as you were made aware when you first arrived here. As punishment, you’ll be tied to a post in the courtyard for three days. Same as you,” he said, looking at the old man. “ You’ll be punished alongside him for being the cause of the commotion.” Kronos knew it would be pointless to protest, but the old man didn’t.

“ That’s not fair! I did nothing wrong!” Kronos winced as he waited to see Agrippa’s reaction.

“ Due to that outburst, you two will be serving your punishment with no food or water. And if you’re smart, you’ll not say another word.” With a wave of his hand, four Ishtar Dynasty soldiers walked in front of him. Knowing resistance would get him nowhere, Kronos let them tie his hands behind his back.

“ Move it!“ the soldier snapped, shoving him forward. Kronos bit his tongue to force a curse back down his throat as he headed for the door. He couldn’t help but see the shocked expressions on Arai and Acacius’ faces and the smug look on Thora’s. Once outside, he was led to a courtyard surrounded by gray stone barracks building prisoners slept in with two oak pillars standing in the middle. There were two working gardens to the east and west of the courtyard. Both Kronos and the old man were then tied to the pillars by their wrists. The sun bore down on them relentlessly, the intense heat already starting to affect them.

“ So it’s Kronos, right?“ the old man asked eagerly. Kronos said nothing in response, not wishing to talk to the one that got himself in this situation. That's not fair. He didn't ask me to get involved. I have only myself to blame for my current situation.

“ You’re a lot nicer than the last person I was tied to the poles with! My name’s Akki! I’m a treasure hunter by trade! I’ve been everywhere in this vast world of ours!” Kronos sighed, deciding he might as well indulge this old man.

“ What are you doing in here, Akki? No offense but you must be the oldest one here, and by the smell of you, you’re not an Abnormal.”

“ So you noticed, did you?” Akki asked, giving him a wide smile. “ I’m as human as they come! I was thrown in here twenty years ago for knowing things no one else knows. Things no one are allowed to know!”

“ Like what?” Kronos asked. He didn’t think this old man would tell himself anything exciting, but it was best to pass the time somehow.

“ I know the truth about Queen Hera!” The old man said.

“ What do you mean?” Kronos asked, his curiosity piqued. Akki looked around, making sure no one was around to overhear. As a precaution, he lowered his voice.

“ I know the truth about Queen Hera’s firstborn.”

“ You mean the missing heir?” Kronos asked. “ I remember when her newborn son was stolen in the middle of the night. Hera’s fury was fierce; many settlements were burnt down in her anger.”

“ Too bad that was all a sham to hide the truth!” Akki exclaimed. “ Queen Hera’s firstborn son was named Hephaestus. And he was a Half-Breed!” Kronos raised an eyebrow.

“ How could that be possible? King Zeus is a Pure-Blood.”

“ Oh, those two have never been faithful to each other. They both have had many bastards; of course, they kill them once they’re born.”

“ Uh-huh. And how do you know this?” Kronos asked, unconvinced. “ Why would Hera keep you alive if this was the truth?”

“ There’s a secret book that is enchanted to update every time a new member of the Royal household is born. That Acacius fellow was a member of the royal guard, he may know of it,” Akki said. Perhaps this old badger isn’t as crazy as I initially thought. Once I get untied,I’ll have to see if Acacius can confirm if this unlikely tale is accurate.

For the next three days, the two talked to pass the time. To Kronos, it didn’t seem to work. Each minute that passed felt like an eternity. It wasn’t long before the harsh heat got to both men. By the end of the second day, Kronos started to hallucinate due to the combination of no water and was forced to stand in the sunlight all day. By the middle of the third day, the only thing that allowed him to remain standing was that he was tied to the post. His tongue was swollen, his eyes were glazed over, and he was mumbling incoherently.

A splash of ice-cold water brought Kronos back to reality. Coughing and spluttering, he found himself on his back in the shade. Calypso tossed an empty bucket she was holding to the side.

“ Nice for you to join us again,” she said sarcastically.

“ Calypso,” Kronos choked. “ How awful to see you again. You’re looking horrible as always,” not considering her volatile anger. Calypso gritted her teeth and smacked Kronos upside the head as hard as she could.

“ Very funny!” Calypso snapped. “ Listen up! I’m taking you to the Northern Ice Fields.”

“ Why?” Kronos asked before coughing.

“ Let’s just say; you’re going to start repaying the debt you owe me for saving your worthless hide all those years ago.”