RAVEN STORY - (KILIAN)

I was alone. In one corner, there was a low cage in which a person was crouching. Naked and frozen with terror. Impassive. The look in their eyes was unclear; I couldn't explain it then, and I still can't.

Until then, I didn't know how I would ever get out of there. It was all so alien to me,

but one thing was clear: if these beings found me, I would meet my end here.

Everything around me was so surreal. Unreal, yet somehow real.

So what was I supposed to do? Go back? Lie down in my box and wait? Wait for what? What did these beings want from us? I felt like I was at the top of the menu, and damn it, we all were, every single one of us in this damned box.

But I was so unpalatable; they would break their teeth on me.

From that point on, I realized that even this intermediate step wouldn't protect me from the beings. It was almost laughable; what could a wall like this stand with? A human fist? Sure, but not the fist of one of these creatures.

So far, no one had noticed that I was no longer in my box. That was good, because it gave me a good head start and allowed me to hide. Because one thing was clear: this thing, this thingy, would eventually land again, and that was my chance.

I searched more and more for a safe hiding place, and I found one.

I looked around my hiding place. Yes, I had found one in the passage. It was well hidden, narrow, and low, so I could only crawl. And that's what I did. I crept forward; no one would get in here so easily. What I quickly discovered was that this shaft connected many rooms. And soon I had figured out where each room was.

I spent a lot of time in these shafts, finding sleep there and devising my plan for what to do next. I hardly thought about food, suppressing the thought; only my thirst troubled me. Often my mouth was as dry as the Sahara, my tongue swollen. So I had to do something about it.

As I mentioned before, I knew my way around a bit. I knew where the food was. But I didn't dare touch it. It was what I had learned in the camp: do with what you have.

Time passed, how many days, I couldn't say. At some point, I lost all sense of time. All around me was steel.

This gave me plenty of time to think, many thoughts for which there were no answers. But I wanted answers, and I knew I would get them eventually.

This time of waiting always brought me back to my true goal. Why I endured all of this. Why I couldn't give up. Not until I had an answer to my most important question. In those moments, a deep stillness settled over my mind. I sank back into memories. I saw the precious moments, moments I hoped I would never forget.

I thought I heard a voice in the corridor calling me. That he needed my help. That he was stuck somewhere and on his own. Yes, just like me right now. I clenched my fists and whispered. "Kilian, I will find you, I will find out what happened to you, and if anyone has wronged you, I will avenge you. I will pay everyone back." I swear this to myself in those moments. Because my brother had walked this path before me. Why did I know that back then? It was a feeling, an impulse. It made my blood rush through my veins. We had always been together, grown up together. He was my life. He was my brother.

In those moments, I awoke, briefly disoriented, caught between dream and waking. I whispered... Kilian, where are you?

But just when you think you have everything under control, something comes along, and that's how it was back then... It threw all my plans into disarray.

It happened sometime later, what time of day? Who cares in a moment like that? The whole thing started moving strangely. It jolted me out of my half-sleep. I tried to grab onto something, but it kept jerking. There were noises, shouts, roars. In a language I didn't understand, had never heard before. But what worried me most was the smell of smoke.

LARA CITY

I remember that moment so vividly, as if it happened just yesterday.

I had to get out of that passage because it would mean the end for me. I climbed out quickly, forgetting the worry of being found, of being discovered. I assumed other things had more priorities than me.

I slide out of the shaft and into the passage. I tried to find a foothold, but something grabbed me, and I lost my footing. The impact was hard as my back hit the ceiling. It was almost the same moment when I heard a loud bang, an explosion. A tearing sound, something shattering.

The tremors...The men seemed to understand what I wanted. He then stepped forward and separated the men. It was the captain; the men's respect made it clear. He slowly approached, spoke to me, and explained where I was. He told me I should let the man go, or there would be no food that day, and nobody would like that. He also assured me that nobody would hurt me. Otherwise, they would have left me at sea.

To cut a long story short, because I don't think what happened next was of any real interest.

So I had to decide: trust him orgo back to sea. Since the latter wasn't an option, I chose the former. Trusting him was, and still is, such a complicated thing for me, but sometimes you have to take a leap of faith.

So there I was on the pirate ship "Nimble Sleen," working in the galley for the first week and quickly getting to know my surroundings. The men didn't hold my behavior against me; in fact, they showed a kind of respect. My skin healed quickly, thanks to one of the men.

So the days passed, and I began to learn the language and understand where I was. BRAT. I had never heard of it.

OLNI CITY

Should I tell them that I came from another world? No, they wouldn't have understood. Only the captain occasionally drew me to him, asking me things related to Earth.

And over time, we became friends. I trusted him more and more until one night I told him everything—my whole story, why I fought so hard. It was a clear night; the stars and three moons gave off an unnatural light. Mist lay on the still water. Only the lapping of the water could be heard. When I finished telling my story, my speech folded.

I needed a moment to collect myself. When I was able to take it all in again, the captain placed his hand on my shoulder. He said he hoped I'd stay on board because, as a pirate, I'd have a much better chance of finding out anything, since we anchored in many places. He also explained how unlikely it was that I'd ever find him. But he liked my tenacity and appreciated everything I'd done to get this far.

by RAVEN (killian)