V

The prison corridor was dark. Six sets of feet could be heard. There we walked, Vayn and I before two warrior guards, both armed with rifles. Behind the gun-wielding capturers were two mages, both holding staffs made of wood. The prison was erected from stone, therefore there weren't any windows, so only a few candles provided illumination.

"Centarian technology, always generations ahead of everyone else," Vayn remarked, eying the soldier's guns as they led us through the prison. Upon being captured, the soldiers tied our wrists together. "How, pray, do they work? Let me guess... they use fire magistones now don't they? I heard tell they attempted to use other materials, how foolish..."

"No talking," the guard behind him said, poking Vayn in the back with his rifle.

"What are magistones?" I asked under my breath.

"Stones imbued with Vapor. After a long time of exposure to the Vapor spewed forth by the Earth itself, they absorb some of the excess magic of the Vapor, giving them powerful properties," Vayn explained very quietly. I lowered my head, once again overcome with hopelessness. I heard explosions and clanging come from outside the prison walls. At least those sounds distracted me from the spine-chilling groans and moans from the shadow covered cells.

"Such a lovely chorus," Vayn remarked sarcastically. I noticed that he was attempting to grab something in his sleeve...

"Heh, you'll join them soon enough!" He grinned, thrusting the gun into Vayn's back. The guard shoved hard enough to push him over. As he stood up, I noticed that he had something in his fist. We continued our march through the prison after this and Vayn finally shut up. He drew in a quiet breath and exhaled slowly on a piece of rock. It shone a soft blue, and the ropes binding Vayn's hands turned to ice. Magistone...I understand...

"I have a question..." Vayn began. The ice broke into tiny shards as Vayn separated his wrists. He spun around, dropping low to the ground. My ally swung his legs under his captor's, tripping the guard behind him easily. He grabbed his rifle and pointed it at the mage that was behind that guard, who was beginning to channel his Vapor. I used his distraction to incapacitate my captor with a strong kick to the groin. He fell like a ton of bricks. Vayn untied the ropes binding my hands, and I quickly grabbed my guard's gun. I didn't bother threatening the mage, I just smashed him in the head with my recently acquired weapon.

"I like it, swift and simple," he said, beating his mage to a bloody pulp before he could cast his spell. Once the mage fell over into unconsciousness Vayn ceased his assault. He starting frisking the unconscious body, tossing me their staff. "Could be useful," he muttered. I felt powerful as I held the staff in my hand, it was a long wooden stick with a gnarled top, carved with runes at the tip. Vayn had found what he was looking for, a ring of keys. He and I grabbed our stolen belongings before he took off down the hall.

"Wait for me!" I called to him, but he kept running down the hallway, and soon I couldn't even hear his footsteps anymore. Left behind, I decided the best course of action would be to find Altair. The guards were already beginning to stir, so I didn't have time to dilly-dally. But it was near impossible to see and I was in an unfamiliar place. I'm not especially fond of the dark either...

As I passed a cell, I looked upon it's owner; most of the men and women were shadows of who they looked like they once were. However, by some lucky star, I finally came upon a room with a skinny, long, black haired boy. He was sitting with his head in his knees.

"Altair?" I asked. The boy looked up, startled by the sudden sound.

"Cassie?!" He cried, rising to his feet.

"You were lying to me then, weren't you, Brandon?" I said, and now that the truth was staring me in the face, I was a little hurt.

"I'm sorry. You know I shouldn't even be alive..." He said, turning away. I noticed his hands and feet were shackled, and the chains were connected to the wall.

"We don't have time for this right now, I'm not dying down here." I explained, and I began to examine the lock on Altair's door. Maybe smashing it would work? There weren't any bricks lying around, nothing for me to hit it with other than my staff. I really didn't think a flimsy piece of wood would do much against a lock like this...

"Where did you come by that staff?" He asked, interrupting my train of thought.

"Took it from a guard..." I responded quickly.

"So what are you waiting for? Blast the bloody door down!" Altair demanded.

I looked at him with irritation, "How do you propose I do that?"

Altair groaned, "Channel your Vapor through the staff and at the bloody door!"

Oh yeah... I searched my mind for that power I had felt whilst holding the staff, and found it in abundance. I tried to lead it down into my chest, and through that, to my arm and hand. The staff pulsed as it greedily drank my Vapor. I pointed it toward the door and tried to release the power in the staff.

"Be careful of the..."

It was too late, I had let the burst of Vapor free, and it beat against the lock with a powerful force. However, I was thrown back against the other wall and hit my head. I was seeing stars but I knew that time was short and we had to get moving.

"...Recoil." Altair sighed, shaking his head. I hadn't just blown the lock, the entire door was a mess of splinters. I ran over to him and looked at his bonds. He looked at me fearfully and sarcastically said, "This time, can you use a little more power?"

Now that I had felt the power of Vapor, I put a substantially less amount of it into my hands (better than trusting my aim and accidentally blowing Altair's arms off) and let it sail into his shackles. With a clank and thud, they melted off his hands and fell to the floor. He rubbed his wrists and then looked at me. He was still weak from his ordeal before, and I wondered how well he could walk.

"Can you run?" I asked, but seeing him limp over to the door pretty much answered my question for me.

"No, they did something to me, I can barely walk. Can you carry me on your back?" He suggested.

"Ummmmm...I don't think I can..." I responded. Altair looked really light, but still too heavy for me to carry.

"Here, just get down. I have an idea." I followed his instructions, and he got behind me. He placed his hands on my shoulders, and I felt a wonderful sensation, making me feel much stronger. Altair now looked like I could carry him in my arms.

I stood up, and grabbed Altair's legs. He was holding my staff in one hand, and holding onto me with the other. The guards had made quick time, and had caught up with us in the time it took to get Altair free.

"Don't just stand there, RUN!" Altair ordered, and I followed. I took off down the hall, guards at our heels. Altair had decided to use some of his own magic to slow them down. After a ball of fire narrowly missed us, Altair just decided to bring down the entire ceiling on them. With a groan, the ceiling above our pursuers just seemed to give in, and their path was blocked. I didn't waste any time staring, I just ran as fast as I could.

We came to a fork in the corridor, and on one side, we heard the eching voice of a man shouting orders, "They're this way! Get them!"

"That's Aes, part of Centaria's elite Arbiter Squad. It would be best to avoid him, he would kill us in our current condition." Altair explained, as if I felt like running toward them. Let's just say I decided not to run that way. I ran down the other hallway, my adrenaline beginning to pump as well as Altair's spell beginning to wear off. We came upon a staircase and swiftly descended. However, at the bottom of the stairs were two figures with guns pointed straight at us.

"Don't hurt her! It's me, Prince Altair!" Altair said from behind me. The soldiers stepped closer, and in the light I realized they were part of the resistance movement.

"My Lord!" They said in unison. I couldn't handle it anymore, I had to set Altair down.

"Arbitor Aes is not far behind us," my companion explained.

"Worry not, my liege, as the exit to the prison is not far down this hall. We shall hold off Aes whilst you make your escape!" One of them said. It was hard to differentiate them, as they both wore the same outfit, complete with masks. I took Altair's hand and we stumbled toward the exit, while the soldiers drew swords and ascended the stairs. I heard clanging and banging, but at the end, I heard a pair of screams. I chose not to imagine what fate had befallen the pair. Finally, as we turned a corner, there came a bright light. We had made it outside!

Around us were the fallen bodies of many, some clad in the brown uniforms the resistance had been wearing, some in armor emboldened with a crest. Swords and arrows and every other type of weapon imaginable lie everywhere. Altair stopped to pick up a sword and sheath. The grass was stained red, and so did a river right in front of us.

"This is terrible!" I said, looking at the devastation.

"This is the ugly side of war. It's not all patriotism and glamour." Altair explained, hooking the sheath on his belt. I noticed his face was devoid of any emotion. Then I heard the sound of rattling chain mail. We both turned around to see a man. His face was covered by a gleaming helmet, his body covered in a mix of plate and chain mail. He had a scythe in his left hand and his armor was covered in blood.

"Arbitor Aes." Altair said, grabbing my hand. We backed away from him.

"Altair, you know you have a meeting with the gallows, and I'm sure you would hate to miss it." Aes said, his voice sounded muffled and metallic from the helmet. We took another step backward. He took one forward. In this condition, we couldn't win.

"I don't intend to die like that," Altair responded, taking another step away from Aes.

"Well, I can oblige your wishes and end your lives where you stand," Aes said. His scythe's blade was glowing red. Altair grabbed hold of me and tossed the both of us into the river, barely avoiding Aes's Vapor blast. The current was strong, and I couldn't keep myself conscious as we were dragged down the river and away from our deaths.