PZ

Project ZEAL

Scene 3 - Baptism by Fire (Leebot)

Royal Prison of Zeal
Time Unknown

The first thing she noticed was the cold, metal bed. For the first few moments, she didn't suspect anything -- it was normal for the mind to take a few seconds to come back to reality after a deep sleep. When her mind failed to register anything, she started to grow concerned. Her eyes shot open, and she looked around.

At first, all she noticed was a pale, red glow. As her eyes adjusted, she realized that the glow seemed to be coming from the entirety of the wall in front of her. It appeared to be the only light source in the room, not that there was much to see. The entirety of the room seemed to consist of the bed and a hole in the corner -- presumably for relieving herself.

Where am I? she asked herself. No answer was forthcoming, so she decided to go back a step further. What was I doing before I fell asleep? Still nothing. She tried to remember anything, but her mind refused to cooperate. Who am I? What's my name? No use.

I must have amnesia, she realized. Wait! I knew the term! This means I still have some knowledge. I can speak this language, at least. What's it called? English. Okay, I have no memory, but I still have my knowledge. Is this common for amnesia? This was a pointless question, as she couldn't remember any other case of amnesia.

I don't know. Let's go over what I do know. I have no long-term memory, but I remember waking up and looking around, so my short-term memory is working. I have a knowledge of English, so maybe my knowledge is intact. What else can the brain do? Acquired skills and reflexes! But, what skills should I have? Damnit, this is pointless if I can't remember what I'm supposed to know how to do!

By this point, her vision had cleared to the point that she could see that the glowing wall was, in fact, slightly transparent. On the other side, she saw what appeared to be a hallway. She got out of her bed and approached the wall. She tentatively reached a hand forward to touch it. Before her hand reached the wall, she started to feel some force resisting her. As hard as she tried, she couldn't get through.

After her third try to push through, she noticed some writing on her arm. The first two parts were in English alphanumericals. A number, "33," hyphen, the letter "T," and another hyphen. The last symbol took her a few seconds to place. It was a letter from an ancient language -- Sigma. Is this their way of labeling me? She wondered idly. How dehumanizing! Still, it's not as if I have anything else to call myself... "33-T-Sigma." Too unwieldy. "Sigma." It'll do.

Sigma sat back on the bed and waited for someone to come.

Later, she would wish she'd been left alone. A guard had come eventually. He'd done something which caused the red wall to disappear, and then he'd grabbed Sigma and dragged her to another room, where a foreboding man was waiting. She'd been strapped down to a chair, and asked a barrage of questions. Why was she in Giant's Claw? Who was she working for? What did she know about the Council? She protested that she didn't know anything, but every time she responded this way, the man would find a way to cause her pain. At first, he would simply slap her. As the interrogation wore on, he started punching at her solar plexus, forcing her to gasp for breath. Eventually, the interrogator gave up, and she was sent back to her room, crying uncontrollably.

The next day, Sigma was brought back to the torture chamber, as she'd come to think of it. This time, her torturer was joined by a handsome man in a pink subfusc. This man talked to her in a surprisingly gentle manner, while still trying to get answers from her. She felt herself compelled to answer, but she had no answers to give. He kept asking her questions, occasionally muttering a chant of some sort. Sigma started to get the impression that he was casting some sort of spell, but she was never given enough time to ponder this prospect before she was distracted by his questions. This process continued throughout the whole day, until the man eventually gave up. After he'd left, her torturer took the opportunity to slug her a couple of times before she was brought back to her room.

The third day was similar to the second, except instead of a man in a pink subfusc, Sigma was questioned by a beautiful woman wearing a red subfusc. After another failed interrogation, she was sent back to her room. The fourth day found her with the same woman. It was at this point that the woman started to utilize her own brand of torture. Whenever Sigma couldn't answer a question, which was, unfortunately, every time, the woman would launch a minor magical attack against her. Sigma would be alternately burned, frozen, and shocked from the barrage of spells. When she couldn't take any more, the woman would cast a spell to heal Sigma's wounds, only to start all over again.

This process continued for countless days, until Sigma was sure she couldn't take anymore. She was questioned once more, and once more protested that she couldn't remember anything. The woman stepped back, muttered a few words, and shot off a ball of fire at Sigma. Sigma reflexively closed her eyes, praying to any gods that may be listening to have mercy on her. When the blast of fire never came, it seemed that her wish had been granted. She cautiously opened her eyes, only to see the fireball streak in front of her. As she watched, it circled out of her vision, and past it again and again. Eventually, it burned itself out, sparing her its impact. Her reprieve was only temporary, however. The woman cursed and launched another fireball at her. This one found its target, and her torture began again.

Events like this started occurring more frequently during her torture sessions. It was not uncommon for one of the woman's spells to miss its mark or simply fail. Ice spells would cause icicles to form in the air beside Sigma and fall harmlessly to the ground. Lightning spells would cause electricity to arc harmless around Sigma and into the wall behind her. At one point, a fireball launched at Sigma circled around behind her and came back to hit the woman. After this event, Sigma's questioner was replaced by another woman; Sigma believed the first woman had had enough and refused to participate any more.

This second woman gave up after one day of unanswered questions and deflected spells. The third woman to come wore a dark blue subfusc and barely bothered with questions. Her spells had more success, and included some spells which felt to Sigma as if they were eating away at her very life, plunging her into eternal darkness. Eventually, as the mage prepared to cast one of her most fearsome spells, something in Sigma snapped. She shouted out a furious "NO!!!" The spell misfired in its caster's hands. As Sigma watched, it appeared as if a hole were torn in space. The mage and the torturer were sucked into the void; Sigma was saved only by virtue of her restraints. Then, the hole closed up as if it had never existed, erasing Sigma's two torturers from existence.

Sigma was sent back to her room after this incident. Stunned, she could do nothing but fall to sleep as the prison guards ran a tight vigil over her. The next day, she was once again removed from her cell, but was taken in a different direction this time. She asked the guard what was going to happen to her, but all he would say was that she was more trouble than she was worth. She was thrown onto a strange platform, the guard threw a switch, and her world went black.

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