The Force of Magic Ep. 2

Episode 2: Perin

So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

The Book of Ecclesiastes 2:17

Perin Ryda was only 14 when the Dominion conquered her city. Everyone fled within the walls of Serta, hoping that the Dominion army would be unable to pierce the defenses. They held out for more than 2 weeks, until the Guild of the Helm arrived, escorted by their Dark Brotherhood. At first, the strange men in the long dark robes merely walked around the city, out of reach of any arrow or sling. That day there was no attempt made on the walls, only this quiet examination.

The people of Serta hoped that the Dominion would decide that their city wasn’t worth the effort and move on, but in its history that was never their nature. Rather, they were known for unrelenting progress across the continent. Serta was one of the last free towns on the edge of the Wilderness of Thorns, an impenetrably dense wood with no forest floor, only bushes of black briars that seemed to need no sunlight to spread and thrive.

That night, on a night with only a sliver of moon behind the clouds, members of the Brotherhood came away from their camp, closer to the wall, pushing a strange contraption that looked like a catapult. The defenders heard an odd sound and saw dark shapes, hurtling towards their walls. They heard the crash as what sounded like barrels smashed into several sections of the wall and they could smell a strange, ill smell emanating from a liquid that was left behind after the barrels had burst. The defenders fired a few arrows towards the device, but it seemed to be shielded somehow.

Shortly after, sparks of fire blazed in the night, as they could see what looked like torches scattered sporadically behind the lines. These embers moved closer and then began flying through the air, towards Serta. The soldiers of Serta realized that they were fire arrows, but the trajectory was too low, headed into the walls, not over them. But as soon as the fire made contact with any of the liquid from the barrels, a raging, blinding light shone from the side of their fortress. The men on the battlements tried to shield their eyes as they peered over the edge, but to no avail, it was too bright.

The bright light continued to burn, as the Dominion forces started their drums of war and the defenders could hear sounds of cheers coming from their enemies. Within a few minutes, cries of shock and despair were heard from below by the soldiers. The very stone of the walls was melting, becoming hot as magma and running into the town. Perin was huddled with her family in a makeshift shelter in the city square when she heard screams from the wall as a few soldiers were caught in the fire.

This was soon followed by a great crash that sounded like the end of the world as one whole section of the city wall collapsed with nothing left to support it. She heard a roar of cheers from the Dominion forces outside and her father sent her to hide with her mother and sister. Not that it mattered in the end. Serta was defended by a few soldiers joined by farmers and tradesmen like her father. They depended on the wall to protect them, but the wall was gone.

The Dominion forces killed many that day, and Perin assumed her father was one of them, as she never saw him again. The survivors were enslaved, left to serve the Dominion force left behind to hold Serta. They lined Perin up with her mother and younger sister and many others who survived, mostly women and children. A gruff hairy man from among the soldiers began selecting girls from the line. Great weeping broke out as these girls were separated from their loved ones.

Perin and her sister tried to stand behind her mom, hoping to disappear. The hairy man grabbed Perin and yanked her out and to the ground.

“You’ll do nicely, go with the others,” he said, gesturing to where the other girls were being sent out towards the city wall. Perin’s mother went to grab her and pull her back and the hairy man stepped forward and brought his heavy, armored glove down on her head, crumpling her to the ground. Perin’s sister fell to her mother’s side, trying to shake her back to her senses, but she was unconscious. Soldiers came to drag Perin away with the others as both Perin and her sister sobbed uncontrollably. The last image she saw of them was of Perin’s sister laying on her mother, as she continued to weep.

Perin and the others were loaded into a cart with a metal cage mounted on top and eventually locked up when the last girl was loaded onto it. There were 12 in all. Perin guessed they were all within the age of 13-18, all in deep despair. The cart was a part of a small caravan that headed out, away from Serta. Perin had never traveled any more than a few miles from home, and had no idea where they might be headed.

That night, 3 of the older girls were taken from their cage and led off into the dark. Perin could hear their screams as she and the others huddled together. Every night, new girls were chosen and it was on the third night that they came for her. She had never even kissed a boy, but the others chosen before her gave her an idea of what to expect. One advised them not to resist, but Perin fought the soldiers with all her strength, so they beat her before they used her. When they dragged her back to the cage, she was in a coma-like state and some of the other girls showed her kindness by redressing her in her tattered clothes.

Days later, they arrived at a great keep and were divided once again. Perin and 2 others of the younger girls were taken into the keep, away from the others. There an elderly matron named June saw to them, washing them up in a hot tub, treating their wounds and giving them new clothes and food to eat. She explained that they would be servants here at the keep and if they did what they were told, they would be cared for. After the nightmare of the fall of Serta and their journey, the simple life of a servant girl sounded impossibly normal.

Perin worked in the kitchen at first, where she learned from the others that they were in Darkholm Keep, the home of the Guild of the Helm. Perin knew them as magic users, and had seen the fear in the other villagers when they heard that the Guild and the Dark Brotherhood had joined the battle at Serta. She saw some of them as she took care of her duties, but was glad to have a job that kept her away from most of them. She had no desire to be around any of the men at the Keep.

June was firm, but kind and Perin found if she paid careful attention to what she was told and followed the instructions, it went well with her. She slept in a small room off the kitchen with 3 other girls, 2 of which had traveled with her there and endured the same nightmare. They never spoke of their journey, though one day one of the girls became very ill. June took her away and she didn’t come back. When Perin inquired about whether she was okay, June finally relented and admitted that the girl was pregnant and would be serving the Dominion in another capacity now. Perin wondered what that meant.

Months later, Perin was given the job of delivering some food to another part of the Keep. She climbed the stairs to a high tower and found 3 members of the Guild sitting around a long table covered with papers and various glass containers in a variety of strange shapes. She quickly delivered the food and departed. Something about these men felt very wrong, but in quite a different way than the soldiers who hurt her.

Several times a week, she was given this task and no one ever gave her any notice until one day when she came and found one man alone, still waiting for the others. He watched her closely as she carefully placed the tray on the far empty end of the table, as she had before.

“What’s your name, girl?” he said.

“Perin”

“Where are you from?”

“Serta”

“And how old are you, Perin from Serta?”

“I’m just 14”

Perin waited a few seconds to see if he asked her anything else and then bowed before quickly departing, glad to be safely out the door. This man made her skin crawl and his voice had reminded her of a snake.

The next day, she went about her morning chores normally, but mid-morning June came to her, a concerned look on her face.

“What happened yesterday, in the tower?” June asked.

“Nothing, a man spoke to me, that is all.”

“That man is Karven, the Lord of this Keep and Chief of the Guild and God help you child, he’s taken an interest in you.”

“Me, why?”

“I don’t know, but he has requested for you to be brought to his laboratory at dusk this evening.”