Silence settled between us again.
Rash had just finished telling me how he arrived here, and some parts of his story had surprised me.
We both kept looking forward, pretending to watch the guards at the entrance. But in truth, neither of us was paying attention to them.
Rash remained quiet after finishing his story. It felt as if he was giving me time—time to digest what he had said, or perhaps time to tell my own.
He didn't push me and simply waited.
Either for me to speak…or to change the topic.
But my mind was still occupied with his story.
About the way he described Labet.
I had always assumed there were at least some cities there. But from what he said, Labet seemed to be nothing but sand and beasts. People wandering the desert as nomads. Caravans moving from one place to another in search of somewhere to survive.
It was something completely foreign to me.
On Earth, there had been cities.
In Elandor, too.
I only ever knew civilization. Houses and streets were the norm for me.
To think that this world held an entire continent where people lived only as wandering nomads was shocking.
But that wasn't the only thing that shocked me.
The way he got his name...
I didn't know if everyone in Labet received their names like that.
And I didn't want to ask.
But that story made me understand what he meant when he talked about being greedy.
That was how people lived in Labet.
A place where people used others to survive.
But that part made me understand what he had meant by being greedy. It was just the way they lived in Labet.
People who used others for their own survival.
A place where people had nothing—and fought for everything.
Their lives were a constant battlefield.
Even a child who wanted something as simple as a name had to kill to receive one.
Another thought crossed my mind.
How many people had carried the name Rash before him?
Ten?
Maybe twenty?
How many people had killed each other for that name…only for it to end up here in Drakoria with this teen?
My thoughts spun for a while before slowly settling.
I parted my lips. The words felt heavy, as if stones were lodged in my throat.
My voice came out cold, detached.
"I was born into a noble family in the Empire of Elandor."
As if I were telling someone else's story.
Rash's head twitched slightly.
For a moment, it seemed like he wanted to turn toward me. But he stopped himself and kept staring forward.
I continued.
"My parents died when I was born. My uncle took their position and ruled the estate. He took me in, and I grew up with his children as if they were my siblings."
"Our estate was large, and my uncle held an important position as a Marquis of the Empire. As nobles, we never had problems with food or money. My childhood was peaceful. When I was old enough, an instructor began teaching me swordsmanship. It was nothing special, just the basic forms. To be honest, I was happy. Everything was peaceful, but then…"
I paused and drew in a breath.
My tone, which had been calm, grew colder with every word.
"Everything changed."
"I awakened when I was twelve. Everyone celebrated it. No. Everyone except one person—my older brother. I never understood why…but he hated me. At first, nothing happened, not until the banquet."
"The banquet was a party to celebrate my uncle's and aunt's anniversary and our yearly winter banquet in one. Many nobles attended, even the Duke. At first, it was enjoyable, I even danced with the Duke's daughter."
"That was until the doors burst open."
I paused for a moment, taking a breath.
"My brother entered the hall with a couple of guards and a maid behind him. The maid had bruises, and her clothes were torn. She looked like she had been beaten."
I clenched my hands into the sand.
"And in front of all those people…I was accused of assault and rape."
My grip tightened.
"A heavy crime."
"I hadn't done it. When the accusation was made, I tried to explain myself, to tell the truth. But no one listened. The guards seized my arms and dragged me out of the hall. Every single person watched me with cold eyes. No one helped me."
"I was imprisoned beneath our estate. The next day, they brought me out and sent me to the capital in chains. When we arrived, I was dragged directly into the tribunal hall. At first, I believed justice would prevail. I thought if I told the truth…I would be freed."
"That hope didn't last long."
"One witness after another was brought forward, and I was accused of crimes I had never even heard of. Every time I tried to defend myself, I was silenced. No one wanted to listen. When the witnesses finished, I was finally allowed to speak. But even that was a farce. Everything I said was dismissed. In the end, they declared there was no need to hear more. There were already enough witnesses."
"I was guilty."
"My brother sneered from the audience. My uncle looked at me with cold eyes. The magistrates laughed. The nobles watching looked at me with nothing but disdain. Then, when they were about to announce my sentence…"
"A noble girl spoke up."
"The same girl I had danced with earlier. She spoke about justice. She said it was wrong for me to die. That I should live like the people I had supposedly harmed."
"From that moment on, everything changed."
"The nobles agreed with her. Her father, the Duke, supported her. The magistrates accepted it. And they delivered my sentence."
I paused briefly.
"I became a slave."
"The guards dragged me away, and I was imprisoned underground. My uncle visited me afterward. That was when I learned the truth."
"My older brother had planned everything with my uncle's help. I still don't know why. Jealousy. Hate. But it didn't matter. They did it. The next day, I was thrown into a carriage, and they brought me to a ruined city. And there…"
"I was sold as a slave."
From there, my voice steadied again, calm and detached.
"The news spread quickly. A noble son who assaulted commoners. The slavers heard about it and took their anger out on me. I was tortured and beaten every day. That was when they gave me the shackles. I was bound by my wrists, ankles, and neck, and whenever I resisted, the shackles tightened, biting into my skin. That torture lasted several days before I was thrown into another carriage."
"We traveled through the winter. Through snow and freezing winds. Eventually, we reached another city, and I was sold again. The stay there didn't last long, soon we were herded onto ships. Hundreds of people packed into a cramped hall beneath the deck. At first, the conditions weren't terrible. We received food and water, but the cold was a problem. But that didn't matter long."
"Soon, the water changed, as well as the guards on that ship. We were beaten, tortured, and starved. The slaves changed as well. People became beasts. They preyed on each other."
"It was hell."
"I don't even know how…but I survived."
"Eventually, that hell ended, and we arrived in Drakoria. There we were thrown into carriages again. The cold gnawed at my body. Hunger followed. Soon, we reached another city."
"I was sold again."
"For a short while, we had food, and we could sleep peacefully. But the next day, we were moved again. We left the city through an underground passage, then marched through the winter. With only thin clothing, my body froze. Dozens of people collapsed beside me, never standing up again. For days we traveled—until we reached a mountain."
"A gate opened, and inside I was sold again. But that didn't matter to me. It was warm, and I received food. That was enough for me. The next day it began."
"The Blooding."
"A new event, they said. We were forced to kill each other in an arena like beasts. Days passed. The number of teens shrank. Until only one remained."
"Me."
"I was the sole survivor. But as soon as the Blooding ended…another group of teens arrived. And it all began again."
I finished the story of my life as if it belonged to someone else.
"Like that… I survived here for more than a year."