The Iron Forest: Ancestor's Legacy

No sun or moonlight reached the prison that held Sana. Impossible to tell if it was day or night, or if days had passed. She suffered constant hunger and thirst, desperate to sleep.

Screams echoed through the dark depths below Castle Gathal. She lost track of whether they came from Shayla or Amaya. Either way, her turn would come soon to endure the first of Lady Karmera’s lessons of purification.

Keys rattling sent chills across her body. Two guards, each bearing an arm of a woman, dragged the limp body across the floor before stuffing her into the cell beside Sana—Shayla made no movement or sound as the iron door closed.

Lady Karmera appeared, dressed in an all-black gown, looking proud. Her eyes met Sana’s. “And now the time has come for the daughter of Chief Baju to get her first lesson. I’ve been looking forward to this all day.” She turned away. “And I pray you don’t bore me like your friends did.”

The two guards flung open Sana’s door and grabbed her by the ankles. She kicked and flailed as they drug her through a long hall, dimly lit with torches hanging from old rusty sconces. They entered a room that shimmered with an eerie blue light.

“This is where you will receive your lessons.” Lady Karmera said. “I call it the Blue Room. But to you, it is a womb where you will experience the birth of a new life.”

Stone and ancient iron beams surrounded a rusted steel frame. Wires draping from the ceiling to the floor flickered and hummed.

The guards strapped her onto the frame with arms and legs outstretched; she was forced to hang upright. Rust scraped her back as she struggled. Soon warm piss flowed down her leg against the never ending cold and her struggling ceased.

Lady Karmera scoffed. “You’re almost as disgusting on the outside as you are on the inside.” Her voice was calm, almost gentle. “We can’t have you in this condition during your lessons.”

Sana tensed as a guard snatched a bucket.

Cold. So cold. She gasped from the water she was doused with; it sucked all the air from her lungs. Her body shivered, accentuating the pain in her joints. A second bucket, then a third—each splash made her colder, more numb.

“That’s better,” the high priestess said, swiping water off Sana’s hips. She drifted to the side, keeping her long black gown from touching a murky puddle.

Sana’s eyes followed the priestess who fiddled with a strange, boxed contraption. An ominousness blue light glowed from within, giving the room an eerie spectral hue.

“Do you know what this is?”

Sana remained silent.

Lady Karmera giggled. “Of course, you don’t. It contains the magic that gives the Reapers their power. It was given to us by a Shainxu wizard—before he died. I find it a very useful tool for… persuasion.” She caressed the machine before floating back towards Sana with a warm smile. “In order for you to serve Abaddon and the Chotukhan king, you must release yourself of your individuality. The lessons are simple. I’ll ask you questions, and you will answer. If you lie, then I will be forced to purify you. The only way to make the pain stop is to release your past self and be reborn.” The priestess leaned forward, close enough Sana could feel her breath against her cheek. “What is your name?”

The question caught her off guard. “Sana, daughter of Chief Baju of the Shankur.”

Lady Karmera tsked. “You’re lying.” She waved her hand, signaling for the remaining guard to pull a wooden lever.

The machine hummed, sending pain like nothing Sana felt before through her. Her back arched with every muscle contracting, as if they were tearing apart. Bolts of lightning flared all around her, brightening the room in a flashing blue light. She cried out in agony.

Lady Karmera’s smile returned. “Let’s try this again. What is your name?”

“Sana,” she said, struggling to breathe.

The priestess shook her head, her wicked smile growing. “Still lying.”

The machine hummed louder this time, amplifying what Sana figured was the worst pain imaginable. Her violent flailing tore the skin where leather bound her wrists and ankles to the steel frame. When it lifted, wisps of steam rose where water beaded on her body. Ancestors, please grant me the gift of death to release me from all this pain.

They didn’t.

“Again, you must be true to yourself and say what you believe deep down inside… What is your name?”

Sana struggled to think through a foggy mind. “I have no name. I am nobody.”

Lady Karmera crooned. “See! Once you realize the truth, the pain will stop. Like I said, it’s quite simple.”

Sana exhaled. Thoughts of her home and Ikesh became blurry, but she fought to keep her wits and not be broken.

“You’re smart and learn quick. Now for the next lesson.”

*****

Darkness and pain. The distinction between the two no longer mattered. Living in a chamber without light and screams of agony became Sana’s new reality. All concept of time dissipated into endless cycles of exhaustion and hunger. She throbbed everywhere—it never stopped. The cell made every joint feel like they twisted apart. Her stomach wretched. She reeked of her own piss and feces.

The rusted entry door to the holding cells creaked, sending Sana scurrying into the corner like an animal. Another lesson? Please, for Ancestor’s sake, not now, not again. Her heart pounded with anxiety. But no one entered. It was just the changing of the guards and not another trip to the Blue Room.

Sometimes Lady Karmera asked questions; other times, she remained silent. But always she inflicted pain, and Sana did everything in her power to fight even while she answered correctly. She thought of her village and remembered the snow-capped mountains to the west. She thought of her father, of her brother, of Ikesh, and of her mother. When the agony became too much, she imagined running a spear through Lady Karmera’s skull.

“Sana?”

“I’m here,” she responded without lifting her head from the hard stone that served as a pillow.

“Thank the Ancestors,” Shayla whispered. “I thought they left me in here alone.”

“Where’s Amaya?”

“Don’t know. Haven’t heard from her since her last lesson. Her coughing stopped, and she’s not responding when I call her. They must have taken her away.”

Sana paused to listen, but only heard a distant sound of water and her heart thumping in her ears. She wasn’t sure if she stopped hearing the Atani girl or if she stopped caring.

“How do you do it?” Shayla asked.

“Do what?”

“Stay strong.”

Sana chuckled, never considering herself strong since the attack at Saratan. “I try to go somewhere else when it hurts too much.”

“Me too.”

That made Sana smile. “Really? Where do you go?”

“It’s silly.”

“Please tell me.”

“There’s a waterfall close to my village that I went to when my father was busy attending to village matters… It’s the only time I met with the man I love.”

Sana closed her eyes and thought of the place she and Ikesh used to run off to. “Tell me about him.”

“Well, he’s dark and handsome with hair black as night. He has the purest of heart and strength, like a bear.”

“He sounds wonderful. What’s his name?”

“Rajin.”

The name warranted Sana to lift her head in surprise. “Ah, the blacksmith’s son.” She admired the coincidence that Shayla, too, had a love outside of nobility, who was also a warrior.

“You know him?”

“I do. He came to the village with your father a few times. Rajin and my Ikesh have been good friends for years. We used to go hunting together in the mountains for—”

The sound of weeping stopped her.

“Shayla. Are you okay?”

“I’m never going to see my village or Rajin again. We dreamed of growing old together and having children.” There was a shuffling sound. “Now I’m going to die here, alone.”

“No, you’re not!” Sana asserted. “You, me, and Amaya will get through this together and you shall see Rajin again, as I will see Ikesh. Don’t let these Chotukhan bastards break us.”

“How?”

“Live, Shayla. The only way to get through this is to live. They can’t keep us chained forever. I will find a way out of here. I promise.” She winced, knowing it was an empty promise. She had made a promise in the pit at Khalati and failed.

Iron keys jingled seconds before the opening of a lock sounded. Two guards entered with the silhouette of Lady Karmera close behind.

Sana’s heart sank, knowing another lesson was about to begin. The fear rested on whose turn was next.

They heading toward Amaya’s cell. Sana strained against her cell bars to see.

“This one’s dead, my priestess.”

A body flopped to the ground, causing a squeal from Shayla’s cell. Tears poured down Sana’s cheeks, leaving her breathless. Memories of Amaya, dressing up for the celebration in Saratan, and her fun-loving spirit flashed through her mind.

“Are you sure?” Lady Karmera asked.

“Sure, as my own two hands. She pissed and shit herself like they all do when death takes over. Can’t have been dead for long, judging by the fact she hasn’t gone stiff.”

Lady Karmera waved the guard away, moving aside as he drug Amaya out into the hall.

Sana cringed through her tears. Amaya grew from a royal lineage and should be put on a pyre for a proper send off to the ancestral world, not tossed out to be scavenged by animals. She wanted to scream, but there would be plenty of time for that during the next lesson.

The priestess rubbed her lips in thought. “This one,” she said, pointing to Shayla’s cell.

Shayla kicked against nothing as the guard drug her across the floor; Sana watched, feeling helpless.

“Take me!” she shouted. “Please, Lady Karmera. I’ll take the lesson for her.”

“Compassion.” The priestess laughed. “Very good, my dear, but today you will learn regret.”

Sounds of pain and agony reverberated for what felt like hours. At first, Shayla begged and pleaded, but the agonizing cries turned shallow—more mindless. Sana put her hands against her ears.

The screams tapered down to mumbles and then silence. Sana glanced where Amaya’s body once rested, thinking of how she succumbed to the pain. Please don’t let Shayla be next. She’s too good of a person to die this way. Sana was suddenly overcome with rage and hate. She was ready to fight.

The rusted steel door creaked open, startling her as it slammed behind the two guards dragging Shayla’s limp body. Sana caught a glimpse of burns across her back and arms.

She knew the time arrived. Another lesson. Once Shayla was stuffed in her cell, they wasted no time in grabbing Sana. Her fist clenched; arms poised to strike.

The door screeched open… and all the anticipation she gathered fizzled as she slumped to the cold stone floor. Her mind made physical demands that her body no longer possessed. Days, maybe weeks, of pain and torture snuffed out her strength.

One of the guards laughed, showing a mouth full of yellow teeth with black gaps where some had gone missing. “If I didn’t know better, I would think she was trying to run.”

“Nah,” the other guard said, snorting. “She was trying to give you a big, juicy kiss.”

The toothless guard leaned toward Sana, filling her face with his fowl breath. He gripped her jaw with his thick hands, forcing her to pucker. “Come on, my love. How about a nice one for your old pal?”

Sana moved closer and grabbed as much flesh as her teeth allowed. She felt them dig through his stubble into the meaty part of his cheek—he bellowed.

She fell back, trickles of blood running down her chin and the taste of iron on her tongue. There was a moment of satisfaction before the back of the guard’s hand appeared, sending new pain across her cheek.

“The bitch bit me.”

The other guard bellowed with fresh laughter, a hand holding his side. “Serves you right, you fool. These godless cunts are wilder than any beast you’ll find in the forest.”

Sana rolled over to see the guard’s fist coming towards her.

She came to, strapped to the steel frame, with Lady Karmera watching with an inpatient gaze.

“Are you awake, my dear?” Her arms were crossed over a sleeveless gown of black lace cut low from her shoulders to belt, leaving an ample amount of cleavage on display. Her hair pinned back with two crow’s wings spread behind her head like a crown, ready to take flight.

“It’s time for the second part of your lessons. Our homage to the gods is paid in the way of sacrifice. It pleases them and rewards us with a plentiful bounty.” She approached Sana and caressed her matted hair. “One of you must make an ultimate sacrifice to profess your loyalty. Then, and only then, will the pain stop.”

Sana looked straight into the priestess’ eyes. It will never stop. But deep down, her mind doubted that thought. She was standing at the edge of a precipice, tired and ready to give up.

Lady Karmera paced. “One of you must sacrifice the other in order for your painful purification to cease. Only through death can one of you live.” The priestess leaned in close and whispered, “If you want to get out of here, you must kill the other Shankur woman.”

Sana detected humor in the priestess’ voice, and she snapped, “Never. I’ll not kill Shayla.”

Lady Karmera nodded like she expected the answer. The blue glowing machine hummed, sending daggers of pain through every square inch of Sana’s body.

After the pain subsided, Lady Karmera leaned forward and caressed her face, speaking with a more seductive tone, “My dear, I don’t care which one of you sacrifices the other. Just remember, every cry of pain she endures is one step closer to killing you.” She slid her hand down across Sana’s arms. “You are stronger and should act before she does. Soon you will be weak and unable to defend yourself.”

Sana shook her head.

Lady Karmera looked disappointed, but not surprised. She gestured to a now familiar guard, signaling him to pull the wooden lever. This time, he grinned with a slight snicker.

The blue glowing machine didn’t hum but roared in a mix of crackling metal. The priestess’ face glowed with brilliant blue light, making her appear like an apparition of pure evil. Pain flowed across every bone.

Sana prayed for death. Ancestors… please.

Sometime later, she was being dragged across the stone. All ability, all function, ceased.

Sana waited for the comforting creak of her cell door, but a newer, less rusty one opened instead. Her face slammed against the floor as the guards dropped her. She laid there, motionless.

Through a dark haze, she saw Shayla fight against her turn for purification. Bile leaked from her mouth, complementing the scent of her burning hair.

Ikesh.

*****

Sana walked among the trees, smelling the rich cedar sap from spring’s new growth. Birds chirped their songs of life’s celebration to the tune of a flowing stream across moss-covered rocks.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” Ikesh greeted with a warm smile.

“I’m sorry. I had to go away for a while,” Sana said, but couldn’t remember where she went. She shrugged it off as not important since what matter most sat before her, on the remains of a fallen tree.

Ikesh pulled her close. “That’s alright, I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too.” She rubbed her face against his chest, seeing a flash of his dimples that always brightened her day.

He caressed her braids and gave a gentle kiss on her forehead. She bathed in the euphoria of being in his arms before moving to kiss him.

If I could, I would stop the moon and sun from setting to make this last forever.

“Sana,” Ikesh pushed her away with a gentle touch to gaze into her eyes.

“Ikesh.”

“I have a favor to ask.”

She nodded, waiting for him to continue.

“I want you to kill me.”

“What?”

“I… I can’t take any more of this pain. Please, if you love me, end my life. I beg you.”

Sana backed away to fall to her knees. “I-I don’t understand.”

Ikesh sat on the fallen tree, looking back with a sadness and despair she never witnessed before in the man who stood by her side since childhood. Her euphoria turned to pain, and the day’s bright light changed to darkness.

“Ikesh?” she called, but the man disappeared, leaving her alone, helpless, with nothing but fear and agony. “Ikesh, where are you? Please, I don’t know what to do. I need you.”

“Sana, can you hear me?” A woman’s raspy voice asked. “I can’t do this anymore. They want me to… Please free me from all this pain.”

The forest turned into a dark cell and green grass became hard stone. It differed from what she accustomed to; big enough for several people, but still not tall enough to stand.

In the corner sat a woman with her arms wrapped around her knees pressed against her chest. Torchlight from outside the cell gave off her form, but her bloodshot eyes seemed to glow an eerie pink through shadowy lines across her face. The woman who was once Shayla had left, leaving an empty shell, void of hope.

“What are you saying? You know I can’t do that… No… Never.” Sana slid upright with her back against the wall.

“Please, Sana. I’m scared.”

“I am too.”

“No, you don’t understand. While you were passed out, I watched you breathing, moaning.” Shayla moved closer, letting a little light show on her face. “For a minute, I wanted to do it—I had to do it. Lady Karmera said only through sacrifice would the pain stop.”

“What are you saying, Shayla? Please don’t let her get into your head. You have to fight it—be strong,”

Shayla gripped the sides of her head, looking up to the ceiling. “I can’t,” she cried, gazing back at Sana. “That’s why you have to do it. I figured out the way to defeat her is to sacrifice myself. Then the pain will stop, only in death—my death.”

“No. I won’t do it. I too want this all to end, but I’m not giving up as long as I have breath.” Tears streamed down Sana’s face.

Distant footsteps tapped from behind the wooden door leading to the Blue Room. That could only mean one thing, another lesson.

Shayla stared at Sana like a cornered animal with gnashed teeth. “Fine,” she growled. “My pain will end. You leave me no choice.”

Sana backed away and fought through her aching body to assume a defensive stance. “Please Shayla, don’t do this. I beg you.”

Shayla lunged, putting her weight against Sana. Screams echoed from the cell as they fought; Sana shouted pleas of persuasion, while Shayla cried out in desperation and anger.

It wasn’t lack of strength but reluctance that put Sana on her back. Shayla pinned her down with both hands wrapped around her neck.

“Please stop,” Sana said with a gasp.

But Shayla was all but gone, leaving a mad, snarling woman behind. Sana struggled, losing her ability to speak as two hands closed tighter.

Darkness enveloped Shayla’s face.

Sana reached for something—anything to stop her. Nothing but a dirt floor and a stone wall fell within her grasp. Her sight faded.

A loose stone dislodged from degrading mortar. She gripped it and swung. The stone felt solid against Shayla’s skull–She swung the stone again, and again, and again.

Blood sprayed across her face. The rock penetrated the hard skull, cutting into soft flesh.

She heard cheering from behind the steel bars.

Sana looked down. The stone dropped to the floor, splashing into a growing puddle of blood. Her hands glistened crimson in the hall’s torchlight.

She screamed, looking up at the Ancestors who abandoned her.

Sana, Princess of the Shankur, was gone.