Leviathan Castle was famous for housing some of the most dangerous mages on the continent. Aside from being located 5000 feet in the air, the ground beneath was nothing but a sea of sand. The high altitude made breathing made it hard to breathe. It also cuts off the natural flow of magic in the air.
Two wardens made their way to the last cell on the 2nd floor. The closer they got to their destination, the wetter the floors got. There was a big commotion in the prison. It wasn't every day the chief warden took the time off to stroll the prison.
One of the wardens flipped through the file he had in his hands. He was terrified for his life. Aside from the prison being poorly lit and creepy, strange sounds echoed everywhere they went. He was not forgetting the hundreds of prisoners.
"Just out of curiosity, why are we here?" one of the wardens asked nervously.
"We are here for that man on the file, Alexander A Reid." The Chief warden answered in a calm tone. "The King of Samar wants to see him."
The warden continued flipping through the file as they walked but, something caught his attention.
"Did he do everything on this list?" he turned to his partner again.
"You can say he was involved in most of the incidents… but everything written there is all true."
"The orphanage?"
"Yes." The chief warden answered, feeling annoyed by the questions.
"The Valentia Massacre? and the Dynasty invasion?" he asked flipping the page and was shocked by the results.
"What part of everything written there is all true don't you understand?" The Chief warden answered with rage.
They continued down the hallway until they reached a huge metal door. The wardens couldn't help but be terrified of what was on the other side.
"Last question Chief… did he assassinate the Prince of Navarh and the Princess of Samar?" the warden asked, accidentally dropping the file.
"That's a sensitive subject," The Chief warden answered. "But yes, he assassinated the both of them." He continued with a nervous smile on his face.
"Why wasn't he executed? Why keep him alive?"
"It's because his too valuable. With war around the corner, mages like him are needed to win."
The two wardens position themselves in front of the door. They begin to unlock the door with a spell. The sound of the metal crashing echoed inside. When they finally opened the door, a small amount of water came rushing out. They made their way inside the wet prison cell but were shocked to find out the cell was empty.
The Chief warden couldn't help but panic. The one person they were searching for was nowhere to be seen.
"Shit… where the hell is he?
"Do you think he escaped, Chief?"
"No, that's impossible. Nobody can escape the Leviathan castle." The Chief replied as he panicked about the situation.
The Chief warden was lost for words. The idea of someone escaping prison was unheard of. Even if a person could survive the 5000-foot drop, which was impossible even with the use of magic. They would still die long before they reach civilization.
The Chief couldn't make sense of the situation before him. He was not expecting Alexander to be missing. In the heat of things, something caught the attention of the other warden. He found a letter under a book. The letter had an image of a magic circle, with the words 'see you later' underneath. He called out to the Chief, who felt defeated after traveling for 5 days to fetch Alexander.
"Chief, look at this." He said holding up the letter. "Doesn't this look like a gate spell?"
The Chief snatched the letter to have a better look. He examined the letter and found it to have a salty scent to it.
"Let's go… he is long gone." the Chief concluded as he walked out of the cell. "We have to inform the General about Alexander's escape."
***
A day before his escape, Alexander was serving time in prison. On that day, he received mail as usual. His mail usually consisted of a bunch of letters and a few books about magic and history. For 3 years, reading books helped him pass the time. Any letters he got usually contained major news articles and a piece of paper attached to them. Aside from knowing what was happening outside the prison, the newspaper articles contained secret messages. The paper that was attached had random numbers written on it.
Alexander would spend hours deciphering the messages. Most of the secret messages are from a girl named Katherine. She was his only contact outside Leviathan Castle he trusted.
The secret message read: 'I left you a gift. As the second sun rises, we will go fishing. Hope to see you soon, and don't forget to hold your breath.'
Alexander opened another letter and inside there was a magic circle. At first, he was puzzled by the letter. He spent a few hours flipping through the pages of a magic book. He was trying to figure out the magic circle but ultimately failed.
***
In the early hours of the Alexander jumped out of bed and took the letter.
"I'm such an idiot. It was right in front of me!", Alexander shouted.
He placed it on the floor and waited for something to happen. As the second sun rose, the magic circle on the letter started to glow. Alexander couldn't help but smile. His smile was short-lived because he felt something was off.
Water shot violently out from the letter. The force from the water almost blasted his head off. Luckily for him, he managed to dodge at the last second. As his cell was filling up, he cursed Katherine before getting sucked into the letter.
Alexander found himself underwater. He was not prepared for a situation like that. He had no choice but to swim up toward the surface. Luckily for him, he managed to reach the surface before he could run out of air. Alexander couldn't help but laugh at his situation.
He looked around to find that the mainland was a few kilometers away. Behind him, Leviathan Castle floated in the air. The prison looked like a spec of dirt in the sky. Even though he was exhausted, he had to swim to the mainland. It took Alexander over an hour for his feet to touch the ground again. He barely managed to crawl onto the beach before collapsing.
***
Alexander slowly woke up that night. He looked around and found himself in a small room. The candlelight gently filled one side of the room. Alexander scanned the room only to find a woman standing at the door.
"Look who's up. So, how are you feeling?" she asked placing her hand on his forehead.
"Where am I?"
"You're in my home. My husband found you passed out on the beach."
"Where am I?" he asked again.
"This is my home." The woman replied, letting out a small laugh. "I already told you--"
"What kingdom is this?" Alexander interrupted.
"This is the Kingdom of Samar."
The answer freighted him. Out of all the places, the Kingdom of Samar was the worst place he could have ended up in. When news of his escape reaches the King, he would definitely be executed. He tried to scramble out of bed but immediately fell flat on his face. The woman quickly came to his aid, scolding him in the process.
For the first time, the woman noticed the scars on his back. She did her best to ignore them and proceeded to lay him back on the bed. She explained to Alexander that he needed to rest. Alexander was not having it. It hasn't been a day since he escaped prison, he still had to escape the Kingdom.
"You need to relax." She said, trying to stop him from leaving.
"I'm sorry, but I need to go. If I stay any longer--"
"I know you're in trouble," she interrupted. "You were in prison, weren't you?"
"How do you know that?"
"You weren't naked when you got here. Your prison clothes are over there." She explained, pointing to a table in the corner.
She placed a tray filled with food and medicine it on his lap. She instructed him to eat before he took the medicine. Alexander looked at the food, and his first thought was to throw it away. He thought the food was poisoned. He was left with no choice but to eat. It also took the growling from his stomach to convince him. As he was eating the woman stood up and introduced herself.
"Alexander, allow me to myself. My name is Audrey."
"It's nice to meet you."
Alexander didn't hesitate. He jumped out of bed and created some distance. A band of light appeared on his forearm.
"Now tell me… how do know my name?" He asked as lightning began to form in his hand.