Lament of the Slave

Now I knew firsthand why the dogs didn't like fireworks, or at least why I didn't like the explosions. They hurt my ears. It rang so much in them I felt disoriented, scared. Fortunately, the ringing stopped in a moment. I guess thanks to my regeneration.

I looked to the left, on the next bed, wanting to ask Becca what had happened, but the healer wasn't there. The bed on which they treated her was empty, just bloodstains on the sheets as reminders of what happened.

Becca was probably already helping others who needed it.

"Tss!" I hissed in pain as another explosion occurred, my bed shaking like the rest of the room.

"Stay calm!" Marcus shouted aloud, drawing everyone's attention. "The Captain will take care of the threat outside. She has the best of us with her. Except for me, of course. Let's do what we have to do; take care of the wounded. We are healers; that's what we do."

Strangely enough, his words calmed people down and not just healers, guards, and me too.

Most of the infirmary patients consisted of unconscious intruders who had no idea about the surrounding situation. The guards stunned them for their own safety and the safety of others, depriving them of the opportunity to hear Marcus' words.

Right now, I envied them. I'd rather wake up when it's all over too.

"You better stay away from the windows!" Markus shouted, looking at me for a moment.

Why was he looking at me? Wait? Windows? I looked to my left, but there was a wall with the rest of the spear still stuck in it. Behind it, the bed stained with Becca's blood, and then the window. On the right side, on the other hand, there was a large window above the bedside table overlooking the barracks courtyard.

Shit, I cursed, getting out of bed right away.

"Damn, we need a stronger collar here!" one of the healers shouted, catching my attention.

The man on the bed was conscious, trying to get up, despite wearing a slave collar, but the guard prevented him from doing so. The healer tried to put the man to sleep, giving him orders, but nothing worked. I may have been really paranoid, but the man was looking at me with his piercing eyes, pointing at me, trying to reach me.

"Korra, the spear ..." Markus shouted, pointing behind me, but his words vanished in a deafening blast outside the infirmary, shattering the windows.

I was glad that I got out of bed on the left side, where there was a wall and not a window. Otherwise, besides ringing in my ears, I would now be covered with shards of glass.

What did Marcus say? The Spear? What...

Realizing what he was trying to tell me, I turned to the wall, where the tip of the spear that passed through my chest and slammed into the wall glowed with magical runes.

Shit!! I thought before I hurriedly formed a barrier in front of me, hoping it would protect me better from what was to come than it shielded me from the spear. The barrier had formed just seconds before, flames, thunder, and pain engulfed the world around me.

...

Judging by the pain I felt, I survived the blast.

However, I was frightened by my condition that I was in right now. I couldn't feel one of the wings. Pain accompanied my every breath, indicating broken ribs. My right leg hurt so much that I wanted to cry, but at least I didn't hear the annoying ringing in my ears that I heard after each explosion. I heard nothing at all.

Fearing what I would see, I opened my eyes, finding myself in the barracks' courtyard, among the rubble. The dust floating all around prevented me from seeing more, making breathing even more difficult.

I was scared, really scared. I had never seen an explosion with my own eyes, let alone take part in one. The explosions looked scary on TV; the reality was much worse. However, calling for help did not seem like a good idea to me when, for some reason, the intruders targeted me.

First, they stabbed me with a spear, then the man trying his best to get to me ... wait. Was he trying to reach me? Did he look at me or the spear? Was I wrong when I thought I was their target? Was I just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Twice? Considering that the intruders attacked the infirmary where I was, would it be three times? Coincidence? How does the saying go? Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is...what?

Calm down, Korra.

I focused really hard on calming my nerves with [Indomitable Will], averting the coming panic attack. After I calmed down a bit, the first thing I did was activate [Tail of Poison Empress]. Even though I was ready to lose a lot of mana, it still took my breath away, which this time was quite painful due to broken ribs. Feeling the glands on my tail filling with poison was strangely comforting. I needed to know that I had at least something to defend myself with right now.

Of course, there was still my shield, but I couldn't rely on it too much when the enemy was much stronger. After all, this skill was at a very low level, as was [Tail of Poison Empress]. I was well aware that my chances of surviving a clash with intruders were slim.

The chances of survival were even slimmer if I stayed where I was. That's why I tried to get up, my attempt ending with a swallowed cry and unspoken curses. I only managed to sit up, holding my right leg, which was wedged from the knee down under a large stone block.

Looking at the size of the stone, I wanted to curse the builder of the building. Couldn't he build it out of smaller blocks or bricks? After the initial shock, however, I realized where I was. A stone block that I could not move on Earth without tools was not such a big problem for me here on Eleaden. A lot of time has passed since I got here, and I've gotten stronger. Much stronger.

I wish I had something to bite into, but I didn't want to waste time looking for a piece of wood in the rubble. Instead, I prepared for the pain I knew would come after the stone block rolled and moved the stone block aside with all my might. A muffled cry of pain that I couldn't help but utter after loosening my leg marked my minor victory.

I gasped for breath, cursing my stupidity. My ribs were broken, or at least bruised, which caused me more pain when lifting the stone block than my trapped leg alone. Despite my worries about what my leg would look like, I still had it. It was covered in blood, thanks to a laceration on the calf, but no bones peered through the skin.

That did not rule out fractures, though. Now more than ever, I wished I had a skill that would allow me to scan my body. I needed to know what was wrong with me. Unfortunately, [Space Domain] only allowed me to perceive my surroundings, not what was going on in my body. Maybe at higher levels, it would be possible, which would be great, but right now, the scope of what I could perceive was very limited.

It reminded me of the skill I gained in the cellar that I never had the opportunity to try what it can do. The [Inner Perception] was a skill I gained after months of imprisonment, after I went through the fifth mutation. At that time, horns grew on my head.

I was terrified of what was happening to my body all these months, trying to figure out what had changed. How were the horns attached to my skull? What else has changed with my new ears? Because it wasn't just the look that changed. The wings had to be connected to my pelvis somehow. New muscles had to grow because I could move them. Even though it scared me, and I hated what was happening to my body, I tried to perceive what was happening to it. So I got this skill.

I should have thought about it more before I quickly replaced [Pain Resistance] with [Inner Perception]. So far, [Pain Resistance] has seemed completely useless to me, even though it has reached level eight. I was a little pissed that it didn't work as I had hoped, so I didn't hesitate to replace it just to realize how stupid I was. When I lost it, it was not a drastic change, but it was a change that I immediately felt, I could only imagine how much the pain would be reduced by the skill at higher levels, what new would level ten bring.

I could only lament over my decision later.

Thinking that having x-ray vision would be really cool, I used [Inner Perception], but the skill didn't work that way. As I quickly found out, its function was similar to the system. I also didn't see its announcement in front of me like a sheet of paper, but I could still read it in my mind. I could feel my body, its inner arrangement, though only roughly.

I could distinguish individual muscles, organs, bones, but that was all. It was enough for the purpose I required right now, though.

Shit, I cursed when I found out that my shinbone was broken and slightly shifted. To be sure, I checked the rest of my body, glad that my ribs weren't broken, just cracked, which didn't hurt any less. Even though I did not feel any pain in it, I was most affected by the loss of my right wing. I stared in shock at the charred stump of it.

What scared me even more than my missing limb was when I realized how much its loss struck me. I hated how my body looked now; I was a freak. So why did the loss of my wing hit me like I had lost my arm?

Get it together, Korra!! I scolded myself.

The whistling in my ears reminded me that my regeneration was working and [Never-Dying] was trying to repair my damaged body. I could only hope that my wing would eventually regrow.

Looking back at my broken leg, I tried internally to prepare for the bone straightening. I had no idea if it was necessary, but I didn't want to risk that my bone will grow back together in the position it was right now. It was quite possible that the skill would do it for me, but I never tested this possibility, which I now regretted. In my defense, who would deliberately break their own bones?

In one quick motion, I returned the broken shinbone to the correct position. I was ready for the pain, yet tears welled up in my eyes, running over my dusty cheeks while suppressed painful howl a escaped my throat. I wasn't proud of it but better than screaming.

I wish I could stand up immediately, but I didn't dare to put a strain on my leg right after straightening the bone. Instead, I looked around. Now that the dust had settled a little, I saw more.

I actually saw the gate I imagined the intruders had entered the barracks, but it was intact and closed, to my surprise. The intruders must have found another way in. What caught my eye was the building across the courtyard, though. There was no roof on it. I didn't remember how many floors the building had, so a floor might have been missing too. But that wasn't what caught my attention. There were flashes and figures moving upstairs in the building, fighting.

The noise of battle carried across the courtyard, penetrating the fading whistle in my ears. Fortunately for me, it seemed to me that the intruders were busy with the Captain and her guardsmen. Strangely I had seen no one else in the courtyard lit by burning buildings.

But if no one was here, then who caused the explosions outside the infirmary windows? Could it be the same people who fought Captain Rayden? At such a distance? In fact, I had no idea what was possible with magic. Maybe it was some fool lying under the rubble now below me.

Realizing what I was sitting on and what had happened a moment ago, I turned and looked up. The building's ground floor was fine, but there was an enormous hole in the wall of the first, second, and third floors. Unfortunately, I had no idea on which floor of the building the infirmary was located. When they carried me into it, I had other worries on my mind. I was hesitant to call for help, wondering who else might hear me, just to realize I didn't have to be the only one who ended up down here. The others didn't have to be as lucky as I was or have a skill to heal themselves.

Should I go look for them? My conscience shouted at me to go and find them. However, I hesitated, fearing more for myself than for them, justifying my hesitation with my state of health. My health improved rapidly, though. The shinbone was already growing together. The cracks in my ribs were gone, the lacerations were no longer bleeding, and the swellings were shrinking. It wasn't the miraculous speed with which my body healed when Helen healed me, but in a few minutes, I should be able to get to my feet.

Maybe I'll look for them after that?

That's what I told myself but didn't believe it. It was the work for rescuers, not victims, like me. I wished someone would come to my rescue. Where were the City Guards?

I looked up at the infirmary, hoping to see someone who could save me. But before I could focus on the figures on the second floor, voices entered my ears.

"So where is she?" the man asked, quite irritated.

"She must be in the rubbles," replied the other, whose voice was strangely familiar to me.

"I thought you knew her location. That's why we're here. To grab her and get the hell out of here!" said the first one and growled, "Are you telling me you don't know where she is?"

"I said the connection was weakening fast. The hussy recovered quicker than I expected." cursed the man, his words giving me shivers.

So far, I had only seen the two men as shadows on the other side of the courtyard rushing to me from the burning building where the Captain was fighting. Seeing their faces in the dark was beyond the ability of my eyes, even though they had changed.

The eyes were the third mutation I went through. After the previous experience, I was afraid of how much they would change, if I didn't grow more, or if I wouldn't lose my sight completely. However, the only thing that changed was the color of the iris. I didn't see better at night like cats, nor was my vision sharper. They were just normal eyes. I gained, however, access to some interesting skills that made that possible. I didn't have any of them now, and I saw no reason to change that.

Those intruders went in my direction. Sooner or later, they will be close enough for me to see their faces. But I would be stupid to think they wouldn't notice me here. If I could hear them and kind of see them, why couldn't they? Why should I wait for them here? Unfortunately, running away with a broken leg was not so easy. I still couldn't step on it, so the only option I had was to crawl on all fours through the rubble. It wasn't easy, but I tried.

"Fuck ..." hissed the man, mumbling something my ears didn't hear, but then asked, "Can't you use one of one of your fancy skills to find her?"

The pause was nerve-racking. I didn't want to draw even more attention to myself, so I stopped moving, waiting for the answer of a man whose voice terrified me.

"I still can't use them at full power," the man said, pissed he can't find me.

"Excuses! Just say you can't find her, "the man growled and looked at the other one, "What good is a mind mage to us, without his skills and magic?"

"It's not my fault. The bitch up there hit me with some kind of curse that is still suppressing my skills. Besides, her field ... her aura ... I've never met anyone like her," the man said thoughtfully.

"You mean the little captain up there," the other said, pointing behind them at the burning building.

"Who else," the mind mage snapped. "She was completely blocking the effects of my skills. It's like if she was ... fuck, we have to get out of here!!"

"Wow, that little captain scared you so much?" the man laughed but then nodded. "I admit she is good—even her bunch in armor. My men can hold them back for a while, thanks to the locals you've brought with us, but forget the Memory Orb."

The mage thought for a moment, pissed that they wouldn't get the Orb, but then nodded, "Let's find the hussy and get out!"

I was glad they were so fearful of Captain Rayden, but I'd rather that if she was here and could take care of the two. Because I had a bad feeling that the mind mage was a man I had already met and did not want to meet again. They approached quickly, making it impossible for me to escape. My crawling speed simply didn't allow me to escape, but I wished it did, not daring to guess what they wanted to do with me.

Where the hell were the guards?

I gave up the idea of running away. Instead, I looked around, searching for a place to hide. Hoping I could quickly find some hole where I could hide until the guards arrived, I found a woman, or rather I should say that she found me.

"Are you going somewhere, honey?" the woman asked me.

She was playing with a dagger in her hand, squatting on the stone block above me. At first glance, this woman was not part of the City Guards. When I looked at her class, my heart sank.

[Assasin: lvl ??]

Fuck!! Why does everyone have to be so much stronger than me?

The woman smirked at me, then quietly signaled with her hand to the approaching men that she had found me.