#alore

Avizon thought he knew pain. He thought they were well acquainted considering how much he went through daily, but nothing in his entire life had prepared him for this level of pain, the heavy, unmoving, agonising burning. He felt he’d lost the strength days beforehand to scream. Halve was a cruel bastard! Using not one but two star leeches on him- leeches that fed not just on blood, but magic. 

They'd left him powerless, barely even alive, hanging on just enough to be able to produce more magic, to be a host to these parasites. He'd heard them described as perfect agony, but that didn't even come close to explaining the icy cold pain. He could feel their teeth, the huge barbs buried deep in his body. They were living death, sapping away at a victim's life force until they became the person's life force. He guessed they were already at that stage.

Every day, he thought he was at his limit, but they pushed him even further. Unconsciousness couldn't come to him for long enough and death didn't want him. There was nothing but the suffering, the void of pain. Everything hurt, and that was a strange sensation to understand. No matter what part of his body he thought about, it hurt, not just his joints, not just skin, or muscle, or bone. It was his every nerve. If he moved, one pain was relieved, but another flared up.

It was difficult to breathe being tied as he was. Left on his knees, fallen onto his side with his arms above his head, numb, dislocated, and as far as he was concerned utterly destroyed. He remembered the feeling of his fingers breaking one by one. He remembered being pinned down and choked for hours and hours. His dry throat was still painful from it. 

Every breath stung, even as weak as it was, and the gag tied tight between his teeth did not help. He remembered the feeling of men beating him, kicking his ribs until they caved, he remembered his panic when they first brought the leeches out, how he screamed and begged and struggled. He shuddered and tried to forget about the fact they were still on him, sucking out his life force. He wished he had it in him to just cry, but he was broken beyond tears.

He’d lost track of the days, of the injuries, fever raged a war across his body at the cost of the sharpness of his mind. So little made sense to him anymore, so little mattered. He'd lost Ro. There was nothing left to fight for. Orrien probably hated him for not being strong enough, which also hurt to think about. Orrien had been the closest thing he had to a father, a parent. Now there was nothing but pain, suffering. He didn’t know if Halve intended to kill him, or just keep him alive long enough to break him and turn him into a mindless monster. He feared losing himself more than death...

He barely heard the door open, but he braced for even more pain. He tried not to whimper, to plead. There was only silence, or at least in his mind there was. His body acted of its own accord, flinching, groaning. Heavy footsteps marched towards him, the soft noise of a knife leaving its sheath. He shuddered, more pain, more and more and more. Was it ever going to stop?!

The blindfold kept him in hideous apprehension as he waited to see who it was, what they would do to him. He didn’t have to wait long. They grabbed his hair and yanked his head up. He winced as the pain flared up in his back. He felt long fingernails scrape against his scalp.

"Hello again, you little rat," a female voice hissed. He'd have sworn if he had the strength. Not her. Please not her. Erionna took so much pleasure in hurting him, she knew how to really make him hurt. He felt the stinging pain of the blade digging into the inside of his arm. It hurt, but it could have been so much worse. The knife was sharp, which made it better for him, cleaner- and he knew it was a knife. He’d suffered enough under the feel of a blade to recognise it. He tried to block it out, but groans still left his torn throat. That only got worse when she grabbed him by his broken jaw.

"You dared strike me?! Do you really think you deserve so much as a second of mercy?"

Avizon didn't answer. He couldn't understand what she was even saying, he didn't have the energy to try to process it. It didn't matter. Nothing he would say or do would change this. Nothing she said mattered to him. He wished he’d had the strength to just kill her and her father.

He was lost to indistinct thoughts, to heavy eyes, but he didn’t get to rest in the dullness, not while she was here. She dug the blade in deeper, pressing it deeper into his skin until she got the reaction she wanted, when she pried a scream out of his cracked, blue lips, until he managed to scrape up the energy to jolt, but the chains only bit deeper into his infected wrists. Tears escaped him as she dragged the blade down his tricep.

He heard a bang, he managed to guess that it was the door. More enemies, perhaps. He heard a scream, felt a gust of magic in the air, felt the pain stop, or at least die off into a constant throb. Where had she gone? The waiting was almost worse than the pain and he started to panic. What was she planning? Where was she?!

Suddenly there were hands on him and he yelped in fear, barely managing to throw himself back as hands came too close to his throat. He whined as best he could with the gag. It only made him choke and retch. He trembled.

"No, no, no- Rest easy, lad. It's Orrien. I've got you. I. I'm going to get you out of here. Shhhh, it’s me."

He wasn't sure if hearing that was a relief or not. It took him a few moments to process it, to realise Orrien was really here. His prayers had been answered. But it meant Orrien could stare at his body, the branding on the inside of his arm, the whip marks that completely covered his back and removed skin- the aftermath of a flogging. The wounds were deep and angry. Infection raged across his body. 

His arms and legs were littered with scratches, cuts, and burns. He'd lost a lot of weight too. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d drank anything. His broken jaw throbbed and his arms were wrapped tight in agony. He knew there was more, but everything was blurring together, it was getting hard to remember the long list of injuries.

Orrien hushed him gently and put his hand on his cheek. The suddenness made Avizon flinch away. “I’m sorry. Trust me… It’s all going to be alright… Let’s get that gag out.” He hesitated before very carefully taking it away. Avizon whined as best he was able as Orrien eased his mouth open after so biting down on the material for so long. Orrien supported his jaw where he was able until it was gone. Avizon closed his eyes tight as he carefully spat on the floor, letting it slip down his chin and onto his chest. His breathing was so painfully raspy. “W.where… E.Er-” “Dealt with. You’re not going to get hurt by her anymore. Rest, lad. Don’t speak. I will deal with everything.”

Orrien eased off the blindfold, for now just moving it up his forehead. Dark unseeing eyes looked through him. The pain was just too much for him to acknowledge. He was hiding in his own mind, He was defeated, broken in spirit and body. He felt like he was nothing but ash.

"'lease…" he slurred.

"Don't speak," Orrien repeated. "Focus on your breathing. I'm here to save you," Orrien promised him. He stroked his hair and took a moment to assess the damage. He carefully ran his hand down his spine and gradually over the rest of his body, feeling it with his power. He soon grimaced as he discovered so many injuries.

"Your arms… Seven realms, I hope they haven't started healing… This will hurt, Avi, I won't lie, but there's no way to avoid it. I have to lower them.” “N.no more,” he rasped, with new tears forming in his eyes. “N.not… y.you too… I. I thought… wouldn’t… s.see you again...” Orrien reluctantly moved his hands away from Avizon’s hair and stood to get to the chains. “I'm so sorry I wasn't able to bring any herbs… I’m so sorry, Avi. I took too long. I’ve failed you, but I am here now. I can make this better. You have to trust me, Avi. Please, trust me." 

The only words Avizon was really able to focus on was that this would hurt. He didn’t want to hurt anymore. He felt so broken beyond repair. Halve had destroyed him from the outside, and Ro’s death had destroyed him from within. But he could feel Orrien’s guilt. He’d already failed Ro. It wasn’t fair that he had to suffer more because of him.

All the same, he couldn’t endure any more. He couldn’t take it, he couldn’t do this. “Please,” he slurred. But they both knew Orrien didn’t have a choice. "I'll be as careful as I can, I know, lad, I'm sorry. A little more pain and then it'll all be over. A little more and you'll be free. I’ll take you away from here."

Avizon started very weakly struggling. He didn’t care if he was promised freedom. What was the point without Ro anyway? He couldn’t take anymore. He just couldn’t. He yearned for rest. Orrien knew what had to be done. He used his powers to keep him frozen in place, supported until he could get the shackles off his battered infected wrists. He gagged at the sight, at hearing Avizon's whine.

It was a strange sensation to have his wrists out of the irons after so long. Now Orrien could only begin to lower them with extreme care. Pain exploded in his arms, sending white-hot spasms down his arms and over his back. It was enough to draw a scream from him, raw and soul-wrenching. He pleaded with what little strength he had. “S.stop, O.Orrien-” Orrien hushed him gently as he worked, and really there was little else he could do for him. He had to get him out of here and this was the only way. Tears streamed down Avizon’s face, clearing a path through the blood to show bruised skin. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t breathe!

But finally, his arms were down by his side, and Avizon was left a panting wheezing mess on the floor. He coughed and choked on blood, but coughing disturbed his broken ribs. Orrien knelt beside him and kept him sitting upright. There was no direction in which he could comfortably lie, not until his shoulders were mended and the leeches gone. Avizon pressed his head against Orrien’s chest and groaned. For the first time in weeks, he’d been held, comforted, given the chance to hope. Orrien held him close, using his arms to shield him from the cruel world in which he lived. “I’m sorry, but it’s done. I’ve got you, lad. Hold on. I’m here...”

“Father...” he murmured. In his mind, he’d said more, said he was like a father to him, but his fever was too fierce. He wouldn’t even remember saying it. Orrien pulled him closer. “Oh, lad… My poor boy, I am sorry. I am so sorry. But you’re safe, I’m here... Shhhh, don’t talk anymore, save your strength. You’ll feel better soon. Let’s go.” 

Orrien was just about to teleport him away when he heard someone rushing towards the door. It was none other than Halve. Avizon could feel himself trying to shrink away. He curled up as best he was able. Fear paralysed him. He couldn’t endure any more of this. He just couldn’t. He whined, the best he could do to beg. Orrien held him closer and ran his thumb back and forth for added comfort and reassurance. “I’ve got you,” he mumbled, holding him close. Avizon felt more protected than he expected.

“You have no right to be here,” Halve growled. Then his gaze looked up, he froze for a moment. “Erionna!” “Nor do you have the right to call yourself human, neither does she. You are monsters, the worst kind of evil. I hope you get everything that ought to be coming to you,” Orrien snarled.

Halve barked out the order for the guards that followed him to attack, but Orrien didn’t engage. Avizon clamped his eyes shut, feeling a cool breeze as Orrien teleported him away, to get Avizon as far away from this hell as possible. 

*Break*

Orrien had used more energy than he’d wanted to in getting Avizon to safety. He’d need so much more power than he anticipated to heal him. They materialised in a location known by very few people. Though people knew of its name, no one had found where it was. How could they? A simple cave entrance hidden in a small cliffside, protected by magic, deep in a forest that led to their stronghold: The Spire of Miracles.

Orrien appeared in the courtyard of the fortress, cradling Avizon's body from where they still sat. He didn’t doubt the surrounding dimness was better for Avizon’s eyes. The only light came from the glowing blue fire torches that filled the darkness of the cave. Avizon’s consciousness was fading from feeling so much magic suddenly around him. To go from feeling nothing to the power of some of the most powerful sorcerers in the land.

Azeera and Zena had waited in the courtyard for him. They hurled out gasps and exclamations of shock, seeing the state of him. Avizon turned his head away in shame, hiding in Orrien's shoulder. He didn’t have the energy for this, Orrien knew that much.

Orrien cradled his head close, giving him the comfort he so desperately needed, mumbling reassurances. One of the sorcerers, Zena, knelt by him and put her hand on Avizon's chest. She was a quiet young lady from the south, with dark skin and a beautiful spirit. She was good at sensing things, and listening to the things that did not have voices. She could even speak to animals.

Avizon wheezed as she tried to sense how much magic he had left. She took her hand away sharply, wiping it on her dress as if it would rid her of the pain she felt. "Too much," she mumbled, backing away. "Far too much…"

Azeera took over and knelt down by their side and looked at the blindfold that was still on Avizon's forehead. "I'm going to reach for your head and cover your eyes again. Don't be afraid. All will be well." He carefully slid it back down. "The magic will be too bright for your eyes if you have been without light for too long. I doubt you want to see the wounds you carry. These…" he looked down at the star leeches. "Need to be our first priority. These wounds won't heal until they're gone. It won’t be easy, I fear they’ve tapped into his life force… Go to sleep, Avizon, we will watch over you." “N.no...” he groaned.

Avizon went deathly still in Orrien’s grip now his vision had been taken from him, like how an animal might. Orrien hushed him gently, despite grimacing at the sight of the leeches. "We need Rhix, is he here?"

"Aye. He's getting ready for the two of you. Alore and Rikora are there too, ready to help. Let me take you both. You need to save your power."

Orrien nodded, holding onto Avizon while Azeera whisked them up to where the others had a stone table waiting in a room full of shelves and bookcases. Hopefully, Rhix’s powers of containment would help save him. Orrien could only hope. He could not lose this boy.

Rhix swore out loud at the sight of Avizon’s weak body. Orrien and Azeera worked together to pick him up and ease him onto it. The runes on the table helped to ease the pain of those on it, but still, Azeera hurried to get him some medicine made of blue kisses, a small flower that was difficult to harvest. Those would hopefully dull most of the pain. Avizon refused to lay down, he was too afraid, too sore, and so Orrien could only hold him and keep him sitting upright, letting him rest his head on his shoulder.

Orrien helped Avizon to drink some water while Rhix inspected the leeches. He was a young man, optimistic and bright. His hair and skin were pure white, but his eyes held an iridescent shimmer. They were usually so full of magic and joy but now they looked dull and heavy with concern.

"They've been snuggled down for far too long. We will have to be so careful… In truth, I’ve never done anything like this before,” Rhix admitted.

“The first one isn’t the biggest problem, it’s the second,” Orrien explained. “The first one we remove will try to take all the energy it can, but the second leech should actually be enough to keep some energy in him. They’ll compete, so we should take the weakest one away first. For the second one… well, that’s where it will be difficult.”

“I might be able to protect him, my power should be enough to keep him alive,” Rikora suggested. “If I protect what energy and magic he has left?” She was a tall woman with short red hair with a small tattoo under her eye of a wing. She was a fiercely loyal friend, and right now, her talents of protection magic were going to be sorely needed. “That should work," Orrien confirmed.

“I'll have to try to keep him alive until we can get the second one removed and then it will probably take several of us to get some magic into his body… I knew Halve was harsh, but this…" Rhix shuddered.

Orrien put his hand on Avizon's hot forehead. "This is worse than ever before. I'm not certain of what happened…"

He looked at Rhix who was reaching for the leech on his stomach with one hand and had a knife in the other. "For Avizon's sake, this has to be quick. I will need you to lend me your power, Azeera, can you go and get Zena? I think we’ll manage without Ignium-” “N...no more… l.let me die… please… j.just...” Avizon’s words faded off and he whimpered.

Orrien hushed him softly. He was not going to lose this boy, not when he was so close to freedom, to recovering and having a chance of happiness, even if he had lost Ro. Azeera did as he was asked, and with six out of eight sorcerers surrounding the table, Rhix was able to set to work. 

He grabbed the fat beast by its bulging body and held it still while he carefully used the knife to pry its teeth out of his skin as he slowly pulled it away. Avizon screamed as the leech dug its remaining teeth in, all the more determined to cling on. Rhix strained, abandoning the knife to produce fire to force the leech away through pain, but it meant Avizon hurt too. Rhix did his best to not touch Avizon’s skin. Orrien held him down carefully, minding his battered arms. Avizon pressed his face harder against Orrien and sobbed. The others held him still as best they could without hurting him more.

Orrien cradled his head and let him scream and cry. He'd seen this treatment before and the fact Avizon was still conscious was a surprise. Even with the pain medication, these leeches were pure evil. But finally, Rhix was able to force it away from Avizon's body and threw it down on the floor. A blast of fire and it was dead.

Avizon fell back limp in Orrien’s arms, barely clinging onto consciousness, convulsing in his grip. He looked down at the awful festering wound on Avizon's gut. The deep stab wound left behind by the leeches massive spike on the inside of its mouth, and the five groups of teeth shaped in a way that looked quite like a star, hence their name.

"Infected," Orrien mumbled, "But that's no surprise."

"Now the hard part. Everyone get ready. Once it is out, lend me your power, and I will transfer it." Orrien carefully put his hand on Avizon’s forehead. “Sleep.”

The process repeated again, but this time Avizon did not stir. Orrien slowly began to ease healing energy into him as the leech came further and further away, healing wounds that should have been fatal. Rhix finally got the creature out, stunned at the size of the barb on the end of the spike.

They quickly began giving him magic, helping to return Avizon's life energy. Rhix passed the magic onto Orrien to turn it into healing magic. They did everything they could to ensure he survived. But despite it all, by the time they finished, Avizon was not fully healed. Replacing the missing magic and healing the internal wounds had taken up most of their resources. He still had broken bones, he was still beaten and painfully thin and weak. Fever still raged. Orrien tensed his jaw. Those damned leeches!

Orrien still held him close, kissing the tip of the boy's sleeping head. "I will mend the rest myself manually. Thank you, for all agreeing to help. I couldn't lose him too.”

"He's one of us, we couldn't have left him behind," Azeera said. "I'm only sorry I couldn't do more. If you’ll let me, I’m well trained in healing and stitching wounds." Orrien nodded and lay Avizon down on his back for now and began to tend to the wounds. They’d stopped bleeding at least, so he had time.