Chapter seven:The cruel treatment of Mrs Carolina and her sons

Mrs Carolina and her seven sons endured unimaginable suffering at the hands of King Alexander Ephiphanes. For three weeks, they were subjected to intense torture, their bodies broken and bruised.

Finally, they were brought before the king, who sneered at them with contempt.He had to them beaten mercilessly as he tried to force the whereabouts of Drinain from them but could not succeed as even they themselves did not even know the whereabouts of Drinain.He then went ahead and presented them with a cruel ultimatum, which was that they abandon their Christian faith by eating pork meat, which was forbidden by their people.

The family stood firm, refusing to betray their beliefs. The eldest son, who spoke on behalf of the family, declared, "We would rather die than turn from our faith.".

The king's face turned red with rage. Enraged that they still refused to reveal Drinian's whereabouts, he ordered his men to inflict unspeakable torture upon them.

Huge pots and cauldrons were heated until they glowed red hot. The king's men then cut out the tongue of the eldest son, silencing his courageous voice. But that was only the beginning.

The king ordered his men to scalp the young man, cutting off his hands and feet while his mother and six brothers watched in horror. The agony was unbearable, and the family's cries echoed through the palace.

After the first son had been reduced to a helpless, breathing flesh, the king ordered his men to carry him and throw him into one of the huge pots. As the clouds of smoke streamed up from the pan, Mrs. Carolina and her six remaining sons encouraged themselves, despite their tears, with her telling them that God was not asleep and that He understood their sufferings.

After the first son had been confirmed dead, the soldiers amused themselves with the second son by tearing the hair and skin from his head. King Alexander asked him if he was ready to tell him the whereabouts of his cousin Drinian and also ready to turn away from his Christian faith, or did he want to end up like his elder brother.

The second son replied that he would never abandon God. King Alexander then gave orders to his men to torture him like they did the first son.

As the second son was about to die, he cried out at King Alexander, saying, "You butcher! You may kill us, but God Almighty, the King of the universe, will raise us up from the dead and give us eternal life, because we have obeyed His laws."

Next, the soldiers wasted no time in torturing the third son to the extent that when he was asked to stick out his tongue, he did so willingly. At his own point of death, he pointed his right hand at King Alexander and said bravely, "God gave me this body, but His laws and regulations mean more than my body, and I know God would give them back to me."

At this point, King Alexander was amazed that this family was ready to suffer because of their faith.

After his death, the soldiers turned their attention to the fourth son. The fourth son, like his brothers before him, endured the torture with courage and conviction. As he neared death, he looked King Alexander straight in the eye and declared, "I am glad to die at your hands, because I have the assurance that the Lord Almighty would raise me up from death. But as for you, King Alexander Ephiphanes, there's no chance of resurrection for you."

When the soldiers took the fifth son and began torturing him, he looked straight at King Alexander Ephiphanes with so much boldness squarely in the eyes than his late brothers and said to him"you have the power to do whatsoever you deem fit to do with me and my family because you have been given the authority by God even though you're just a mortal man like us.but do not think that God has abandoned me and my family and the people of Everia in general.you just wait and see how the omnipotent God would torture you and your entire generations".at his saying this, king Alexander raised his hand to his soldiers indicating that they should finish him up quickly.

Then the soldiers took the sixth son and began torturing him like they did the first five before him, but his dying words were: "Make no mistake. We are suffering from all these because of the sins we committed against God by abandoning our true worship of the Almighty God (he was talking about Everia in general) and that's why all these terrible things are happening to us. But don't think for a moment that you can avoid being punished by the Almighty for fighting against him."

After that, the king began to sweet-talk the last boy into abandoning his faith and even promised not to torture him like he did his late brothers. He even went as far as asking his mother, Mrs. Carolina, to talk to her son into sparing their lives by accepting to do as he says. But Mrs. Carolina only encouraged her son, being the last one and youngest, to follow his late brothers' footsteps, saying to him in whispers that King Alexander Ephiphanes has no true power at all and that God would surely punish him.

King Alexander thought that the boy's mother was convincing him and even added more promises of making him a royal official of his court and promised him a lavish lifestyle. But the boy paid no attention to him but instead told him: "King Alexander Ephiphanes, what are you waiting for? Here and now, I say to you that I refuse to obey your command of eating pork meat and turning from my true worship of God to your so-called Ramas. I don't need anything from you, as your riches and kingdom mean nothing to me, and neither do my mother here. So you can go ahead and kill me if you want. But do not forget that you can't escape God's punishment, as He will surely avenge us in full for all the things you did against His people in Everia."

King Alexander Ephiphanes' face turned beet red with rage as he listened to the young boy's defiant words. He couldn't believe that this mere child was refusing his offers and instead was boldly condemning him to God's punishment.

The king's anger boiled over, and he slammed his fist on the armrest of his throne. "Enough of this!" he bellowed. "Take this insolent boy and throw him into the same pot where his brothers were cooked!"

The soldiers moved to grab the boy, but Mrs. Carolina threw herself over him, shielding him with her body. "No!" she cried. "You'll have to kill me first!"

But the soldiers were too strong, and they pulled her away, dragging the young boy to his fate. As he was being led away, he looked back at his mother and smiled bravely. "Don't worry, Mother," he said. "I'll see you in heaven."

Last but not least, Mrs. Carolina was put to death after watching her seven sons being killed one after the other in front of her. In a final act of brutality, King Alexander Ephiphanes forcefully took advantage of her right there in his throne room and in the presence of his soldiers. (Mrs. Carolina was still young and in her early forties, having married her husband at the age of sixteen.) After he was done with her, he personally killed her with his own hands before ordering his men to cut her into pieces, just like they did with her seven sons.

And that was how Drinian lost his family. When the news of their death reached Everia, all the people of Langford mourned for them in deep sorrow.