Shadow 3: The Shadow Takers [Part 1]

Ryikaria watched the world past by from the window of the carriage. Her mind continued to race with all the vivid images from what she had learned about The Pit from the other Shadow Takers. It didn’t surprise her to learn that many of the Shadow Takers were not of a noble heart. Many of them were as twisted and evil as they came. Murderers, thieves, rapist, child pedophiles, commoners, nobles, con-artists, doctors and various others types were all living together in a giant fortress that continued to stand the test of time.

She – along with her sister – had spent three long years training with Nercyil to the point that her mind had learned to block out most feelings of pain. In a way, she had become hollow while her sister had slowly grown to be more cheerful in her expressions. They had both changed but even with this change, the two of them still cared for each other.

During her studies, Ryikaria had managed to learn how to speak the language as well as understanding just what her noble family did. In total, there were nine noble families who each partook in the safety of world. Of those families only two of them ever stuck out from her mind, the Haryune and Pynn families. While she knew the daughter of the Haryune family, she had never spent much time interacting with her like Yiania did. Likewise, she had never once seen the son of the Pynn family but had felt if she could have met him, they would have been great friends – maybe even lovers.

Alongside the Pynn family, Ryikaria had learned that the Byalsheir family too had ties with the military side of what happen in The Pit. Looking at the golden hair clip that her father had given her bearing the emblem crest of the Byalsheir family. Looking over to her sister, she brushed back Yiania’s bangs.

“Sis? What are you doing?”

“Hold still.”

Pinning up Yiania’s bangs, Ryikaria smiled as she admired how her little sister looked.

“Figured that would look better on you then me. What do you think, Nercyil?”

Nercyil looked over to Yiania with an expressionless gaze.

“Don’t lose it. That is worth well-over six-thousand gold pieces.”

Yiania could only look surprised by the large sum that Nercyil had so causally stated.

“S-Six… thousand?”

“Guess you’re rich, dear sister.”

Ryikaria smiled as she placed her hand on her sister’s head.

“Don’t you want to keep it?”

“I think it’s better if you held onto it. Maybe one day give it to the man of your dreams or you know, girl,” Ryikaria said with a playful wink.

Several hours passed before the carriage had finally arrived at the gates of The Pit. A young girl stopped the carriage and made her way over to the carriage door.

“What is your business here?” the girl asked.

“Official,” Nercyil said as she showed the mark on her left wrist.

“I’m going to have to ask you to step out of the carriage.”

Nercyil sighed.

“Why can’t you guards ever just understand your jobs?” Nercyil asked in annoyed tone.

“Hold on Nercyil, I got this,” Yiania spoke as she exited the carriage.

Upon exiting the carriage, Yiania removed the hair clip and it in front of the girl’s face. In that moment, the girl’s face went from being serious to fear.

“That’s the—”

“That’s right! You know what this is. The Byalsheir family crest and I, Yiania Byalsheir, along with my older sister and maid have been sent by our father to inspect the various areas around these walls and see exactly how the coins are being used.”

Yiania had a stern expression on her face as she moved closer to the girl, forcing her back into the nearby stone wall.

“Perhaps, we need to cut the budget around here for guards around here who are too incompetent to know a member of one of the nine great noble families.”

“F-Forgive me, I-I didn’t—”

“You didn’t know because you were too stupid. Had you just let us past, we could have been on our way but no. I had to waste time explaining myself which was a hassle!”

“I… I…”

“As punishment for making us waste our precious time, you’ll take off that armour.”

“ But… But…”

“Off! Now!”

“R-Right…”

The girl appeared as if she was on the verge of tears as she quickly removed her armour, stripping down until she was in her linen brown under shirt, short skirt and boots.“Take it all off,” Yiania demanded with a sadistic smile.

“B-But—”

“If you don’t then I’ll take it off for you.”

Tears fell from the girl’s eyes as she removed her boots, socks and top, revealing to everyone that her chest was as flat as a board. With a bit of hesitation, she removed her skirt for everyone to see her white under garments.

“Now, may we past through the gate?”

“Y-Yes…”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you,” Yiania teased.

“ Yes! Please forgive me!”

Yiania smiled a cheerful expression as she headed back for the carriage.

“Maybe next time I’ll string you up naked. Keep that in mind, okay?”

Turning on the ball of her foot, Yiania winked playfully and giggled like a cheerful seven-year-old child. No one spoke a word as she entered back into the carriage. While the carriage continued to its destination, Ryikaria looked over to Yiania.

“ I don’t remember you being so sadistic.”

“Nor do I. Perhaps my training was a bit too intensive and as a result, you proceed to inflict humiliation upon those of weak statures.”

“You think?” Ryikaria joked.

“Anyway, the two of you will need to stay close to me at all times. If you wander off, I cannot guarantee your safety.”

“We’re aware, Nercyil. Just get us there and we will do the rest once we become Shadow Takers,” Ryikaria said with a smile.

“ And what if you die?”

“Then it looks like you will have wasted all those years of your life,” Yiania said with a playful wink.

After stopping at its destination in front of the gate that lead into The Pit, Nercyil looked over to Ryikaria and Yiania. The gate was about fifty metres in height and appeared sturdy and durable in its foundation. As the doors into The Pit opened, the sight of the grasslands was something so breathtaking that even Ryikaria found herself surprised by its beauty.

“This is beautiful,” Ryikaria spoke.

“And it will kill you if you’re not careful.”

Nercyil stepped forward and made her way for the town that sat in the distance.

“ Everything here in the first and second layers of The Pit are able to be self-sustainable. These towns are able to act as resting stops while we travel to the mouth of The Pit and act as trad ing post too.”

“Do the people that live in these towns know there is an outside world beyond the walls?” Ryikaria asked.

“Well, of course. They’re not prisoners, Ryikaria.”

“Maybe I’ll make a home out here when I retire.”

“You may be retiring earlier then you think.”

“I am aware of the ritual, Nercyil. Ingesting your blood, from all the information I could gather, would allow someone to become a Shadow Taker. This is assuming of course they don’t die, which by all accounts sounds as if the numbers are not in my favour,” Ryikaria said with a chuckle.

“And yet, you still continued to push forward and train with me.”

“We both did. Where Ryi-Ryi goes I will go,” Yiania said with a smile.