Another night had passed by. He had been hoping that Lianna would have come to get him, but no word had come from her yet. Soon, he promised himself. Soon.

In the early hours of the morning, he felt his wards begin to drain. The prison, true to rumour, began to terrorize and torture him. It hadn’t managed to yet, but he knew his magic wouldn’t hold up against it for another night.

God only knows what horrors would be unleashed on him if he wasn’t set free today. His deepest fears and insecurities, he guessed, but only the King probably knew. Terandriell spent most of the day trying to push them into the furthest darkest parts of his mind, away from anyone or anything that would be able to find and use them against him.

Nightfall was fast approaching, but Terandriell was unaware of what time it was. The day seemed to flash by quickly as he meditated, building his reserves and replenishing his wards.

The only disturbance had come from a young elf he didn’t recognize, dropping off more of that mouldy bland bread. Terandriell left it sitting in the corner of his cell before deciding better and eating it, trying to conserve energy as much as possible. Much to his body’s protest.

The wind whistled through the small barred window of the cave, the only sound as the world slowly turned darker. The sun had vanished beyond the treeline and he knew it wouldn’t be long now.

He was ready, having spent the whole day replenishing his defences. It was too late for anyone to get him out of here. His only chance for release would be to make it through to tomorrow. Hopefully, Lianna had a plan.

And then it began.

The world turned dark as the moon began to rise. A slight headache began to form as something, the prison he realized, began prodding at his mind.

A gentle touch, a lover’s touch.

Terandriell sat on the harsh, uneven ground, his eyes closed. Focused. Keeping his mind entirely blank.

He could sense the otherworldly presence around him. The prison felt like a living breathing thing. It felt slow, hungry. These cells hadn’t been used in hundreds of years. Perhaps the beast or whatever was parched, slowly becoming aware of its presence as a meal was finally being offered to it.

Terandriell was trying to restrain from prodding at it, to find out what it was. Curiosity always did get the best of him, but he couldn’t give in to his desires right now.

His lip trembled slightly as the creature felt like it was sniffing him out, tasting his fear, his very essence.

And then it lunged.

Slamming right into his mental barriers, he was sure the prison reverberated as the creature hissed. Terandriell jumped to his feet with his fists raised, ready to fight. The cave was in complete darkness, the window having vanished completely.

Food. The word echoed through his mind, but it was not his thought.

Terandriell lit a small spark from his finger, the flame flickering brightly but he couldn’t see a thing. No creature, no window, no cave walls. He pressed more power into the fire, willing it to grow, to consume the cave.

It took him a few more moments to realize his own body wasn’t even visible to him. He moved his hand, and the flame moved above where his arm should be, but nothing.

Terandriell gulped as the sweat began to drench him. The presence above him, around him, was enjoying it, savouring it.

A light appeared in the distance. It was too far. Terandriell took a step forward with his hand outstretched, and then another. No wall greeted him. Another few steps told him that something here was deeply wrong.

Come play.

Terandriell did, he ran. Ran for that small light in the infinite darkness. His legs not failing him as he pushed them to their limit. Faster than he had ever run before and faster still.

The presence was taunting him, running by his side towards the light.

The elf pressed even harder, propelling himself forward with fury. The creature smirked deep in his mind in response.

The light ahead didn’t appear to get any closer as he ran. He had been running for…he didn’t know how long. In the endless darkness, there were no tells of time. Nothing to judge the world by as he lost himself to the dark. It could have been seconds, minutes, or hours. Exhaustion gripped at him. Maybe this was the point of the light. A beacon of false hope to tire his body out enough that his mind might become vulnerable.

Terandriell slowed.

No fun. The creature said into his mind, dark talons scraping down his wards.

“What are you?” he panted, his body wanting nothing more than to drop to the floor.

Those talons ground across him again, searching, looking for a way to peer into the elf’s mind. Your reflection. Your salvation.

Terandriell shuddered. This couldn’t be real; the cave was too small for moving, least of all sprinting. It was all in his head, it must be. So, the elf decided to sit down, willing steel into his body, every part of him wanting to revolt against his will.

The creature hissed and backed off to whatever cesspit it came from as a beam of sunlight entered through the window, the rays illuminating the same cave he had been in for the last two days.

All night. He had been running all night. Terandriell had attempted to stand to look out the window. To see some semblance of normality. But his legs failed him, sharp pains pierced throughout his body when he tried to move, but it wouldn’t budge.

That was just one night. How long would this go on?

~

Just as the sun began to set, plunging the cave, or prison, into complete darkness, the door swung open once again. A guard strolled in first with a bright lantern, which initially blinded Terandriell. He walked with a slight limp even under his best attempts to conceal it. Terandriell was already assessing where to strike to send him falling. Another guard followed, and then Urgost strode in towering above them both.

Great, thought Terandriell, he has come to make amends.

“Terandriell,” said Urgost blandly like nothing had happened, “I shall release you on two conditions. One. You will rejoin the StormBlades. Two. You will swear to me, swear to me on the oaks of your parents that you will not mention anything about what we discussed, I do this for the love I bore your father and mother.” The King’s face was completely still, trying not to bask in his soon to be victory.

“No.” Retorted Terandriell. It was his fault they were dead, how dare he use them as an excuse? His face turning sour.

“What?” was the only word the King could utter, forcing himself to act surprised. Oh, he knew fine well that Terandriell would refuse.

“I said, No!” Terandriell shouted as a small spark illuminated his fingers.

Urgost noticed and simply scoffed, his eyebrows narrowed in silent rage at the threat. “Very well.” He gestured around the room. “It won’t be long till this place breaks you and then you can crawl back to me. I think the longest anyone has survived here has been four days. Let’s see how well you do.” He said, his cape whirling around him when he turned to leave. The guards following in his footsteps and once again, the door was slammed shut and locked behind them.

Terandriell’s rage was burning through him. Where was Lianna? She should have gotten him out by now. He began thinking through hundreds of possible outcomes. Perhaps he should have sent a message to his friends in the StormBlades. A backup plan so that things hadn’t gone this way. Maybe even agreeing to Urgost’s outlandish terms, for Terandriell hadn’t said anything about not leaving anyway.

How dare he? Terandriell raged. How dare he use his parents’ deaths like this? They had died working for him.

The first night here had been fine, the second was horrific. As the sun continued to descend over the horizon, it began to affect Terandriell more. He had started to feel more helpless. The walls seemed to close in around him every time he looked at them or up at the ceiling.

He stood, feeling his anger and despair bubble in the darkening cave. Minutes past as he stood looking out the bars of his prison into the surrounding forest. His hands turned sore and red as he gripped the cold metal bars trying to pry them apart. He had nothing better to do now that he was trapped here.

A small robin landed on the window, its green eyes flickering towards the elf. Its brown and red feathers were tinted with green also. Terandriell knew the bird, a friend here to give him a solution, an idea on how to escape.

Before he could do anything else, two words echoed in his mind.

Hello Sweetie.

It was back. Terandriell blinked in shock and the window was instantly gone.

Run for me, little elf.

Terandriell had other ideas. He threw his mind toward the creature. It recoiled and… multiplied?

Foolish, little, elf.

Each word came from a different direction, a different angle in the everlasting dark. Terandriell turned pale and reeled his power back in after realizing his mistake.

Why won’t you play?

Terandriell ignored it. He wasn’t sure if his eyes were closed or open, it was just the silence and that horrible voice, how long could this go on.

No one is coming for you.

Terandriell believed it. The talons pierced through his defences as he moved more of his power in front, to the area being attacked. It was failing, his wards splintering. He was sure he could hear the Robin squawking through the stone walls, giving him his last shred of hope as his defences folded. The creature smiled in the dark crevices of his mind.

The cave lit up, but he wasn’t standing in the cave any more. Looking up, Terandriell could see the star flecked night sky. Hundreds, thousands of little glittering lights above signalling his freedom. But no, it couldn’t be.

He could smell the pine needles of the surrounding trees, the small stream running beside him. He inhaled deeply, letting the scent fill his entire body. Relief spread across his features. Home, he was home.

“Terandriell, what’s wrong?” The voice was coming from inside the house, that familiar lovely voice.

He took a step towards the forge, noting that buildings were missing around it. It stood on its own a few hundred meters from the city. Terandriell walked inside and began heading upstairs, everything was out of place. Items that had been gone for a hundred years once again littered his house. A vase of fresh flowers sat beside the anvil, not that they would do anything to mask the stench. He knew what was happening, he gulped not ready for what he was about to face.

“Tell me what happened?” that soft voice spoke again.

The stairs creaked as he continued up them, a firm hand placed on the wall to keep his balance. The only indication of this not being real was that his legs were still aching tremendously. He was still in that damned cave. The creature had won and was now deep within his mind.

Terandriell stopped at the top of the landing, A soft green velvet rug greeting his feet as he curled his toes into it. He began to fortify certain parts of his mind, hoping to keep the creature at bay.

He tried to turn, to escape this memory or whatever it was. The only response was those dark talons scraping down him. He let out a low growl but refused to take any step forward.

Footsteps echoed towards him from the room just to his right and from around the door frame strode this beautiful elven woman. Her shimmering silver hair flowed down in waves below her shoulders and the same piercing blue eyes of Terandriell’s.

“Hello, T,” she said with a grin. She wore a light blue robe trimmed with a black floral design which was held together by a simple thin belt. Not that it mattered, she would have looked beautiful regardless of what she wore.

He wouldn’t move even though his defences began crumbling he wouldn’t give in.

A memory. Just a memory. Not real. He kept telling himself over and over.

Light fingers grasped his own as she pulled him forward into the room, her hand was delicate but laced with a threatened force. He let the woman guide him and inside he was greeted by himself, albeit a thirteen-year-old weeping version.

The grip on his arm became slack, enough for him to wrestle away from her. “You brought this upon yourself,” she said, her expression neutral.

“What?” he replied, narrowing his eyebrows.

“This.” She gestured to the younger version, which was still crying.

He didn’t know when he had moved, but the door of the room had closed behind him. Trapping him within the memory.

Terandriell’s mother looked at him, no love in her expression. “You were always an oddity. Now it’s even worse with this whole nature exclusion you have going on.”

Terandriell kept his face bland, not giving in to her taunting. This wasn’t real. His love of nature had only come about after her death. It was all a fabrication by the monster in his mind. But it looked so real. It felt so real.

“You do realize you will die alone. You have no one, you have nothing.”

He continued with that blank expression on his face, even though every word hit like a hammer on the anvil of his heart. All this coming from his mother, the first person in the entire world that was supposed to protect him.

His younger self stood up from its kneeling position, tears still streaming down his face as he pointed directly at Terandriell.

She walked over and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “He knows it. Just a shame he can’t do anything about it.”

“Stop it,” Terandriell growled.

She smiled, revealing her too straight teeth. “You know it’s true, T. Look at all that wasted life you’ve ‘lived’. And for what? You have no family left, you quit the StormBlades and have distanced yourself from them. You have no one.”

Terandriell felt the words hit home. It was nothing he hadn’t thought before. Darker nights had the same thoughts running through his mind. He turned to leave but was greeted by a door-less wall as he fumbled against it, trying to find a way out.

“No one,” came the echo of the voice from behind him. “Alone.”

Enough. He had had enough of this. His rage began to burn deep as he turned with as much speed as he could muster and sent a torrent of wind towards the woman. His mother. He sent her flying through the air, thudding against the wall and collapsing onto the ground below.

His younger self screamed as he ran towards her. Mum, mum, mum came the chant as he began to shake her. Hug her tightly. Anything to get her to wake up. The high-pitched crying started soon after that.

Dread clutched at Terandriell’s heart as he bent over and retched on a small toy sword. Not real, he pleaded with himself. Did he even believe that any more?

He had just killed his own mother.

By the time he recovered enough to get onto his feet, he was standing on a small stone trail in the middle of a dense forest. To his back, the woods cut off any route, the trees too condensed to pass through. He was wearing his white leather armour with the StormBlade’s logo.

Terandriell still felt ill, trying his best to stifle his emotions and stomach. He knew this trail and knew what was going to happen. He was not ready.

“I’m not playing your game any longer!” he bellowed at the air around him. “Get out of my mind!”

A hiss pierced the night around him. The ground in front of him began racing towards him. If he wasn’t going to walk the trail, then the trail would move to him. Terandriell fell to his knees, a sharp pain shooting his legs, but he barely noticed or cared any more.

He knew the two bodies lying on the bloody ground in front of him. His parents. Both killed by a rebel faction of elves. He averted his gaze, barely able to see clearly as the tears began to cloud his vision. His lip began to tremble and he sniffled softly.

Not real, he told himself again and again.

He fought against them as much as he could, but the tears wouldn’t be held back any more. Like a dam bursting, they flowed down his face. They were a mixture of anguish and anger. He missed his parents dearly, and he would kill this damned creature one way or another.

This was real. This happened.

“You did this.” He looked up to see a spirit of some sort. “You killed us.”

Terandriell wiped his tears away with a rough, shaky finger.

“Enough,” he said.

“You did this!”

“I said, enough!” He screamed as he released his remaining power, tearing the vision into pieces as the creature struggled to control the raw untameable power. The trees disappeared first, the road and grass soon after that. It was desperately trying to hold on to the vision of his parents but that too vanished. Terandriell once again found himself standing in the cave, having given every scrap of power to destroy the illusion before collapsing to the ground.