Vukani awoke in a cell filled with an impermeable darkness. A green light faintly glowed above his head where his hands were cuffed together by two cuffs made of a mixture of polished wood and metal, held together by an invisible force. Much of the technology made around Oudhal was made from something called Living Wood. Even the city itself was made this way. The engineers built their metal structures into the tree at the heart of the Garden. The tree WAS Almanel, and this signature Living Wood was commonplace throughout Oudhal and especially in Almanel.
A few meters away stood Zyanya; he could just barely make out her face in the darkness. A faint light glimmered past Zyanya, another prisoner or perhaps more of his crew. Vukani pulled with all his might, kicking the wall in a vain attempt to free himself. He knew he wouldn't be able to break free but it provided him some much needed venting. "Damn it! Damn it all!" he yelled.
"Zyanya, are you there?" he asked at a more reasonable tone. "Well, I have to say I didn't see this coming. I don't know how, but it looks like that bastard is in charge. Either he won the election for the seat at the head of council or he declared martial law. Either way, we have to get out of here and find Gavril. He is, or was, the head councilman. Maybe he can shed some light on our situation." He paused to think.
“Seriously, he is a homicidal maniac. How the hell did he get control?” Vukani continued to wander. “Listen, Zyanya, if he questions you, try to be discrete. As delusional as he is, I doubt he will let us go if he knows we are headed towards Epilon, considered he thinks we are enemy spies.”
A blinding light suddenly shone down on Zyanya and a couple of guards emerged from the darkness. The green lights on her cuffs began to pulsate and her body fell limp and into the arms of the guards. Though conscious, her body was paralyzed. She found herself unable to move or speak and even breathing became a laborious task. Once Vukani’s eyes adjusted to the light, he saw Zyanya being dragged away. “Wait, she doesn’t know anything! I’m the leader, take me!” he tried to reason but to no avail.
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Zyanya was escorted down several hallways into a small white room with a table and two chairs. Her vision began to blur as she was unable to blink due to her paralysis. After sitting her down, the guards disconnected her cuffs and then connected them to indents on the table. The blinking green light became solid and Zyanya finally regained control of her body, though her hands were fastened tightly to the table. A man dressed in an officer’s uniform, the man from the air pad, stood before her. “Welcome Miss Istar. It is a pleasure to meet you. Would you like some tea?” a guard brought in a tea set and the officer began to pour tea into two cups. The guard left through a door that was flushed with the wall and imperceptible once closed.
The commander continued. “I am very peculiar about my tea. I have it imported directly from Imperstar. You just can’t beat the minty flavor from the herbs grown by you Imunan. That being said, you do have an advantage, given that it only grows in cold, high-altitude places. Surely you must be thirsty! Roughing up my men so badly must’ve been exhausting. Perhaps the flavor will remind you of home. I do hope you find it to your liking.” The commander set a steaming cup of tea in front of Zyanya. The smell was strikingly strong, a sign of the quality of the tea. It was just like the tea Zyanya would have access to at home. “Go on, don’t be shy.” The commander urged as he began ship his own cup of tea, looking out of a large window on the opposite side of the room, with his back faced towards Zyanya.
Despite his offer, the cuffs on Zyanya refused to budge. Instead, the tea sat in front of her blowing steam into her face while the commander stood in silence, waiting.
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Aleksandra, Demos, and Vel found themselves together in a large empty room made of a white crystalline substance, lit up by two lights resembling some sort of floor. Like Demos and Zyanya, they each had cuffs on, though they did not seem to be active at the moment. Guarding the only exit were two armored guards with stun batons.
Aleksandra began to pace in front of the two guards, both thinking out loud and trying to question the guards. “I think I remember that guy. What was his name? I think it started with a P or maybe an M. I know the council elections were set to take place, but… Such horrible timing…” She looked over at Demos and Vel. “I was here two weeks ago. Everything was fine. Chancellor Milev was expected to win the elections by a landslide… What gives?” she went back to her pacing in silence. The guards to shared in the silence. Despite having visors covering their eyes, it seemed like they were staring intently into the souls of everyone in the room. “Petras. Commander Petras was his name.” Aleksandra concluded after a while in thought.
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