I explained just about everything I could all the way up to when I was struck by a light at the Arch of Bane. I told them about the skeletons, how I could feel the presence of bones now and even about Raven. Their reaction? Henry literally sat up straight for the first time in days when I was telling him my story. Both Henry and Bastien may have gotten lockjaw after how wide their mouths were gaping open. I seriously had to hold myself back from laughing. They just looked so dumb with that look on their faces. "Y-you were there when the gate opened??" Bastien asked astonishingly. "A-and not only were you there when it opened… but you say your sister was pulled in… and your friend went missing?" Questioned Henry. "How is that possible!? They both said far too loudly. "SHHHHH, you idiots! You know better than I do to stay quiet." "Yeah… you're right I'm sorry Ivan. Bastien, let's keep our voices down from now on." Bastien gave Henry a vigorous nod, clearly trying to hold in the shock from this conversation. "So… Do you guys have any idea what my blessing might be?" After explaining the extent of my understanding of this power, both Henry and Bastien looked at each other knowingly and began to nod their heads in agreement. They were silent for a long moment and then looked back at me and said, "yeah we got nothing." I was beginning to think these boneheads made me explain all of that for no reason. But then Henry brought up something he thought may be related to my ability. "Well, the two of us may not be able to verify who your patron god is, but there is one way that you could find out." Henry said with a grin. "Please tell me! The only hint I have gotten so far is to look for someone named Nightingale." After I said that, Henry monetarily opened his mouth like he was surprised but then shut it just as fast. "Dammit Ivan, that's exactly what I was about to say! You gotta go see a bestower. They would definitely be able to tell you who your patron god is." Bastien seemed to be on the same wave link as me, as we both said, "What the heck is a bestower?" Henry smacked his hands against his cheeks in response. "Seriously you guys? Do you really not know anything about this world? Sheesh, fine I will explain. Nightingale Strange, that's the person you must be looking for. He is one of three bestowers that exist in our world. The other two are Fable and Soledad Strange. The three of them are siblings, literally everyone knows this. They are incredibly well known across the kingdoms and have been around for ages. Now you may be wondering, how is that possible? What is a bestower? The three of them are what you would call conduits for the gods. They basically have a direct channel of power that comes from the divine realm and they are meant to help us in the absence of the gods. They are like a fail safe if something really bad happens in the world and divine blessings can't save us. Because of that direct link, they are able to live very very long lives and have been helping different kingdoms around the world for centuries. If there is anyone in the world who could help you Ivan, it would definitely be one of them. They might even be able to help you find the friends you're looking for." "Do you happen to know where these bestowers might be….?" I asked doubtfully. "Yes and no. It is well known that the bestower named Fable has resided in the kingdom of Morland for quite some time. His sister Soledad has been rumored to be aligned with a newly formed kingdom called Pan that is located on the peninsula of Vearn." (I did recall reading something about a place called Pan not too long ago). "Then there's the last sibling, Nightingale. He is considered extremely elusive and it is never known where he may be or where he might show up. However, it is assumed that he follows the path of dark energy within our world." I wasn't exactly sure what Henry meant with that last statement, but it really seemed like he was highly knowledgeable about things going on in the world. I had just spent the better part of four long and tiring years trying to find information that could help me find my friends. In that time I may not have figured out anything useful, but it led me to people who are now helping find all the answers I've been yearning for. "Henry, could you please explain the part where you mentioned dark energy?" Bastien was sitting there listening as if he's also never heard any of this information.
"Yes. I'll try and explain this more thoroughly. Let's begin with the root of it all, the Gods… It is completely unknown what the intentions of the gods are. This is mainly because this mortal world in which we live has been disconnected from the heavenly realm for hundreds of years now. That doesn't mean we haven't had help from the gods, as blessings have still existed for quite some time. The only difference is that the gods simply haven't been present in our world. The reason for this isn't entirely clear to us, but rumors say it was because of a catastrophic war that took place a long time ago. The main link the world has had to the heavenly realm is the bestowers that I was just talking about. However, ever since those gates opened… people across the world have been gaining blessings at an unprecedented rate. My guess is that because of whatever was released from those gates, the gods are scared. It is pretty clear at this point that something horrible is happening in the world, especially based on our current circumstances. The main point i'd like to make is that based on the actions of the gods from the past, everything they have done is in order to maintain an equilibrium between the energies of light and dark. It's not to say that one is good and one is bad, that is entirely a misconception. It's simply a fact that there are both dark and light energies that exist within our world. However, it is true that many blessings with an affinity for dark energy lead to corruption where the term "curse" originally comes from. The reason for this is because many blessings with a dark affinity are extremely powerful and volatile. When someone is unable to handle the extent of that power, they become consumed by it and usually the outcome is never good. That's not to say the same isn't possible for someone with an affinity for light energy. If someone's will power, or what some refer to as "life energy" something that stems from our own souls is not strong enough to handle a blessing from the gods, corruption will occur." As Henry spoke about this, it made me begin to wonder if the anger I was feeling was really just my own inability to sustain whatever this power was inside of me…Was I headed for corruption? I needed to think about this matter further. "So that brings me back to Nightingale Strange." Henry continued. "That man specializes in dark energy and dealing with curses. It is said that he has already extinguished many sources of dark energy in the world, but nothing is certain." I was perplexed by most of Henry's words. But I did have one question that was bugging me. "Henry, you said that there's no good or bad when it comes to light and dark energies. But if that is the case, why are there horrible people like Silas, Benegan, and Parro who clearly have blessings from gods with the intentions of harming people? If the gods want balance, why would they be willingly supporting people who are trying to disrupt this world?…"
Before Henry could say anything, we suddenly heard someone's voice outside of the door. "My my my, you think I'm a horrible person huh?" Bastien immediately shot up from where he was sitting, "SHIT! Were we being too loud!?" Henry quickly started backing away towards the back wall. I could tell the other two were afraid, but I stood my ground and clenched my fists prepared to face whoever this was. The door opened, and it was not a person I was expecting to see. It was Silas… the bastard with the blackout blessing. "Soooo, ya really think I'm that bad huh? Well I don't blame you, this place does have quite the awful stench after all. And there's all these little bums running around… yuck." Silas said with an arrogant look on his face. "What the hell do you want from us?" I said with a fiery stare. "Woah there kid, no need for hostility. I was simply passing by after making another drop when suddenly my ears started burning. I could tell someone was talking about me, and what do you know! I found the kid who managed to wake up from my black out. There's a first for everything I suppose." "What do you mean by a drop? You mean you brought more children here?!" I questioned with anger. Silas simply raised an eyebrow at me and scoffed. "I will do whatever it is that pays. Remember this always kid, money talks. What do I care about some random kids? I am simply a tool bought and used. If you want to blame someone for your situation, then try the person who paid me to do it. It's not like I enjoy this kind of work after all, it's a bit unsightly to be a kidnapper wouldn't you agree? Or maybe you could blame yourself if you so choose. You were weak enough to be caught after all." Silas said with his hands in the air, and a nonchalant shrug. His indifference towards us and his own actions were infuriating. "Of course we were weak!" I yelled at him. "We are just kids! What were you expecting us to do? Especially against someone who can knock us out with a touch! You're not even acknowledging the fact that you willingly took us!" My anger was again, beginning to take over. I could feel my body getting hotter. My fists were clenched so hard that I could feel blood dripping from my palms. "Listen kid, I'm not the only person in the world in this kind of business and I certainly won't be the last. That kind of self deprecating attitude won't get you anywhere. However, I am not what you think I am. Sure, I may be motivated by money, but I'm not in the business of killing children. If you really think of yourselves as so weak, then you certainly won't survive the next time you gather around that nasty pit. Let me give you a word of advice as a simple gesture of apologies, though I can tell you'd much rather fight me right here and now. Don't take my words lightly, if you ever want to leave this place… your only shot is to make your move with more kids like yourselves. If only one, your plan is done. Make it three and your plan may be. But make it five, and your plan will thrive. Understand? You've got 6 months until then, give it your best shot. Well then, I'll be on my way now. Hope to see you again soon, ya giant white haired runt." As Silas finished speaking, he simply grinned and shut the door behind him. I couldn't figure out what that horrible man was thinking. "What the heck was that about!?" Questioned Bastien. He had a shocked and worried look on his face. I could see that despite the cold temperature of this room, both Bastien and Henry were sweating as if they had just expended all of their energy. I looked at both of them and said, "Guys… I hate that man, and I hate this place. But if I have to endure this a bit longer so that we can escape from here, then I am willing to do whatever it takes. I don't trust Silas a single bit… but he is right as much as I hate saying it. We can't just stay here defeated. I know it may sound impossible, but if we can bide our time and get stronger… I think it would be possible to escape from here." Bastien looked like he wasn't sure what to say. Henry let out a huge sigh. "Ivan, I know that you're right. But look at me… I'm missing an arm, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to see again. As much as I want to help you, I feel as though my fate is resigned to die in this place." As Henry looked down towards the floor, I could see tears dripping down from underneath the cloth over his eyes. Bastien finally said something after hearing Henry falter, "Henry… I don't ever want to hear those words from you again." He said with a hint of Anger. "It was you who helped me make it in this awful place to begin with. You helped Ivan and many of us kids survive here… without you, so many of us would have just given up and died. I don't ever want to see this helpless side of you, not the person I have looked up to for so long now. Henry, if it's you… I know that many of the other kids here will listen and help us in our cause. You're underestimating how strong you are despite your injuries, and you're underestimating how badly we all want to escape this hell." Bastien was resolute in his words and I was sure he would reach Henry. "….Dammit all. Alright." Henry said while wiping away his tears. "If we're going to do this, then we need to start gathering other children immediately. We won't be able to speak with other children when we're near the endless pit. There would be far too many guards and we could end up getting killed by that psychopath Nelson. We'll have to approach them in the halls, even when they are changing. It won't matter if we get lost as long as we can enter either another person's cell or an empty one. On top of that, we can't just stay as we are. During the day we need to train and become stronger otherwise I don't think we would stand a chance." "You don't have to worry about that." Said Bastien with a devious grin. "I am gonna turn this one into a monster." He said while looking right at me. "Huh? What do you mean by that??" I asked. "Well, I happen to be highly skilled in a fight. I've had to fight many of the soldiers here as training once they realized my blessing. In fact they would make me fight continuously for days on end trying to test the limits of what I could do. The truth is that I've nearly died multiple times because of it. But I have gained an insurmountable advantage over all of the guards here. I know how they fight and how strong they are. I'm gonna teach you everything I possibly can Ivan. Honestly, I know that Henry would be a better instructor for you… but I promise I won't let you down." "Well… okay Bastien, I will trust you. But I just have one really important question. How are we supposed to do all of this and avoid doing the labor in that cavern? Aren't they going to come find us and make us work?" Henry responded first. "That's already been settled Ivan. You landed a blow on Chester. If you walked out into the cavern you'd be able to join the training squad immediately. Then if you can beat one of the stronger kids they will let you train on your own and you won't have to worry about anyone coming to look for you anymore." "I'm sorry guys, but that doesn't make sense. I just head butted that stupid chubby guy. What is so impressive about that?" Bastien immediately scoffed and said, "BRO. Chester is easily the fastest guy in this place. You saw it yourself, it looks like he appears one second and then shows up somewhere else the next. That's entirely speed. I admit he isn't much to look at, but supposedly his blessing is called, follow the leader. We're unsure of what his power truly entails, but what is known is that he is extremely quick and can appear behind people in an instant. Personally I think it's a body enhancement type ability considering his speed is so fast and silent that it's almost impossible to notice him. That's why he's one of Parro's top men." Henry chimed in, "knowing the upper echelons abilities will also be important if we want to make this work. If we understand our enemies powers then we may be able to come up with some contingencies in order to avoid fatal situations. We currently have some understanding of Chester's abilities, and Nelson is an absolute expert in throwing those needles with pin-point accuracy. Among the people we have seen with Parro, there is one more person who we must be wary of… and it's actually another kid." "There's a kid who is actually working for Parro?" I was shocked to hear that. I really didn't think anyone here would actually go along with Parro's plans. Henry and Bastien both looked angry. "Yes." Said Bastien. "There's one kid that we know of so far that has enlisted themselves into Parro's ranks. When he first got here he was just a weak good for nothing like the rest of us. But now… He is not someone you want to run into. He certainly lacks any type of fighting prowess, but his blessing is fearsome to say the least." "What exactly is his blessings…?" I asked. Henry stood up and walked over to a wall. He gently placed his hand on the stone and looked back at me. "Ivan, you… have you ever seen any other living things in this place besides the children and the guards?" I was confused by his question. "Wouldn't that be expected tho? Since this is like one giant cave right?" "You would think that," Henry said. "However, most caves are actually teaming with life. You'd see plants or small creatures, maybe even fungus. But here in this place, there are no signs of life other than the people being kept down here. The reason for that is because of that kid's ability." The implications of Henry's words were definitely ominous. "Henry, just spit it out. What can that Kid do?" "Well…. He can control and enhance insects. It may sound pretty insignificant, but you'd be wrong. It's rather rare to be able to control any type of life through a blessing. But not only that, he is able to strengthen them through a certain means. Basically, by controlling the insects in this place and allowing them to consume everything else in here, they have grown to unprecedented sizes. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he had already started feeding some of the kids to his pets…" What an awful ability, can that even be called a blessing? Just the thought of innocent kids being fed to… No, I can't think about that. Even if he was also a victim here, he is no longer someone that can be saved. "I understand, Henry… he is not someone we should try and interfere with. He made his choice. But I think there's a glaring issue we really need to discuss, what is Parro's Blessing?" Both Bastien and Henry looked stumped. Bastien was the first to speak, "In all honesty Ivan, I don't think any of us really know what his Blessing is. We have some theories but nothing concrete. I think that's why we haven't really been addressing it. The only thing we can really take into consideration, is that he is a person that has subjugated multiple powerful blessed individuals who treat him as their master. He may be blind, but there is something about him that is completely dangerous." After all of this talking about blessings, I knew right away that I was at a clear disadvantage due to my lack of knowledge. I know that these guys have already taught me a lot, but this has reaffirmed the fact that I really do need the help of someone like this Nightingale character. Perhaps if I had known more about this power inside of me, I could have prevented this situation to begin with. But at the same time, now that I am here and I have witnessed such atrocities… I have to save the kids here. "Parro's ability doesn't matter for now, so there's no point in dwelling on it. What matters is that we are going to make this plan a success no matter what. We can figure out more of the details over time, but for now let's focus on getting stronger. Agreed?!" I spoke my words with pure determination, and I know that the other two could feel it. Both Bastien and Henry smiled and threw their fists in the air. "You got it!" They said proudly in unison.
That was how it started. Within the 6 month time frame we were given, we truly made the most of what we had. Despite grueling "training" that was given to us by random guards, (which primarily consisted of physical beatings and hard labor), we managed to attain food and water each day as we routinely practiced fighting inside the cells. We endured all of this while hiding our true strengths. If we were found out, then our escape plan could fail before we even set it in motion. We tried to change cells regularly, that way we couldn't be found too easily. Not a single time did Nelson or anyone else stumble upon the cells we practiced in. Bastien regularly taught me different types of fighting skills, but what seems to clique with my body type is a kind of punching technique. I could throw heavy blows that easily knocked down Bastien. He even stated that he's never been hit so hard by any of the guards in this place. He also taught me different types of submission holds and ways to fight multiple opponents at once. Truly Bastien was a master of his craft, I never would have expected him to be so skilled. Additionally, Henry began exercising and practicing different methods of sensing things around him as his eyes had not fully recovered. At some point Henry had simply given up on if his eyes would ever heal, and instead learned to sense something called life energy. He stated that even if he couldn't see, he could at the very least sense the presence of opponents or people near him and that was enough. I was deeply impressed by his determination, though I never did understand how he could see other people's energy. Unfortunately, I never really developed my ability any further during that time. No matter how hard I tried, it felt like I was missing a crucial piece of the puzzle when it came to activating or using it. The best I could do was sense various bones that seemed stagnated beneath the stone floors we walked on. The mysteries of this blessing I had obtained really seemed far from ever giving me any real answers. While we continued to train, we ended up recruiting only about 3 other kids besides ourselves towards our cause. This was far from what we expected. The truth was that most of the kids here were scared, emaciated, and covered in bruises from horrible beatings. Most of them had lost their will to fight, or even continue living for some. I had seen it happen at least twice now, when a kid with hollow eyes would walk towards the giant pit… and just let themselves fall in. When this would happen, the guards would simply snicker and say "welp there goes another one." It was sickening, but we could not do anything to prevent it. Just watching this made my blood boil. The rage inside me continued to grow each day, yet I held it in. I held it in as much as I could, with plans to use the eventual eruption of anger to absolutely demolish the heinous people in this place. I used the anger to fuel me when I trained with Bastien and Henry. I used the anger to keep moving forward despite never knowing if the next day would be my last. Eventually, we had made it to the end of our 6 months. It was the hardest time I had endured in my life aside from having Oli and Sid taken away from me. After experiencing all of this, my resolve to find them had become exponentially greater… and I swore to never let what has happened to all of us, ever happen to any kids again. I needed to destroy this place, and permanently extinguish the wills of anyone who was a part of creating this cavern of nightmares.
Among the three kids we had recruited, there was a small cute girl with silvery hair named Kimo who had a blessing that involved manifesting a weapon. Apparently the weapons she could manifest all had special abilities and conditions that she had yet to figure out. She told me that if she holds hands with someone she can even summon a weapon that suits them the best. What an interesting ability? The other two kids were named Lillez and Dune. Lillez had a blessing called static cling that allowed her to generate some kind of electrical field around her body. By using this on objects she could make things stick together or even stick herself to a wall if she so chose. She could also release a static charge that really hurts if you get zapped with it (Bastien told me this from experience.) The unfortunate part of her blessing was that her violet colored hair had turned into a huge puffy ball of static and gave her quite the interesting appearance. Dune was an odd fellow, but a good kid nonetheless. He didn't really talk much, if at all. He usually would just nod his head in response to things, but I would see him smile now and then. I later found out that he didn't talk for a very good reason… His blessing wasn't exactly clear to us, but It seemed to have something to do with the ground. Whenever we would ask about it, he would nod his head vigorously and smack the floor with his hands. I still had much to learn about Dune, but I was happy to have him on our side. We needed all the help we could get, and unfortunately having only six of us in total didn't give us much of an advantage. However, through the months that we spent together we all became much closer. At times it felt very nostalgic and reminded me of pleasant memories with my friends. Oli and Sid would love these guys. Someday they'll get to meet them, I know it.
When the day of our plan finally approached, we gathered together the night before in order to go over the details. In reality, the plan was simple…but very risky. As it stands, we only know of one way to get out of this prison and that is through the carved doorway that we have seen the man Parro Ash take when he arrives and leaves the cavern area. This was verified by Henry, as he had only ever seen this doorway used when the guards hauled in the crates of bottles containing children caught by Benegans blessing. With this being our only means of escape, the best outcome for us would be to turn all of the other children in our favor. We were only able to truly recruit three other kids… this was not going to work. We could have certainly attempted to escape with just the six of us, and perhaps the odds of escaping would have increased with fewer people trying to use the doorway to escape. However… I was not about to leave all of these kids here to rot in this place while I roamed free above them. No… There was absolutely no way I could do that. The others agreed with me on this. Even if we were the only kids brave enough to try something, we were obligated to use that courage to help them too. When the time came for all of us to gather around the bottomless pit, we needed to incite the rest of the children. The only way we could do this was by not only displaying our strength, but also giving the other kids hope and courage to stand up for themselves. We would first challenge the one person who has instilled the most fear into the children, that would be Nelson. We would absolutely crush him in a way that would shock the other kids. With that, we would rid the kids of a huge amount of fear and anxiety they may feel towards that man. In truth, some may even revel in his pain. Then, once Nelson has been subdued, we would use Kimo's ability to arm the kids with weapons. She wouldn't be able to summon any specifically powerful weapons. However, she would be able to produce at least 10 basic swords or daggers that could then be utilized for the next 30 minutes. We anticipated that the kids would be hesitant to take up the swords against Parro, but with a few powerful and meaningful words from both Henry and Bastien… we felt we could ignite the fire in the kids and give them strength to move. The fact was, we didn't need all of the kids to immediately take up arms. Instead, as soon as just one child picked up a blade… it would create a domino effect and all of the other kids would begin to gain courage as well. Once we are able to rally the group of kids to our cause, that is when the real fight begins. We would need to take action quickly and secure the doorway as soon as possible. It would be a tough battle, but we did not need to fully defeat Parro. Really we just needed to hinder or prevent him from using whatever blessing he may have. That is what my role was. When the time came, I would face Parro head on and hold him or whoever else back for as long as I could. Then once I knew everyone was clear, I would make a run to the passageway with everyone else. Bastien also volunteered to stay back and fight with me. This definitely felt reassuring, as I knew just how skilled Bastien was when it came to fighting. He also would be the ideal person for any type of drawn out fight. As soon as we were able to break away from whoever we were facing and make it to the passageway, we would need to block the entrance to prevent anyone from following us. The best course of action we could take in this regard, would be to collapse the tunnel. The idea behind this was to utilize one of Kimo's weapons as a sort of lightning rod by sticking it straight into the ceiling of the doorway. Linez would then utilize her blessing by releasing a static charge she has been building up over the last few months. With this release of energy we would be able to damage the roof of the cavern passageway and hopefully cause a cave in. This plan was not entirely sound, but it was truly the best we could do while considering the circumstances. Unfortunately due to Linez's blessing, many different objects had been randomly sticking to her via the static cling. She even had someone else's dirty underwear stuck to her back one day… I managed to sneakily take it off without her noticing. She would've freaked if she knew. However, she knew that her blessing was a crucial part of the plan. She spent months gradually building up more and more static charge within herself so that she could be useful in a very pivotal moment. Truly we may not have secured many people on our side, but we definitely gained faithful and trustworthy friends. When thinking about it this way, it made me realize that Silas was wrong to begin with. You don't need many people in order to accomplish something. Instead, the quality of the people you surround yourself with is what really makes all the difference. I felt it in my heart that we would be able to escape this place.