The Bloodied Depths

The Bloodied Depths is the fifth chapter of Tales of Sheol'gotha:  Shadow of the Abaddon.

Synopsis
Valon, having been given the option between entering the prisons in solitude, or amongst the other prisoners, selected solitary confinement at Palus' suggestion. It is a decision which he finds himself growingly lamenting owing to the limitations of the small cell which serves only to stifle his anger. The situation is made worse by the sounds of other inmates being tormented, presumably by the jailors, who Valon suspects to be sadists responsible for terrible acts such as butchering their charges.

His thoughts focus greatly around his family and their lack of involvement, whether it was in stopping him from committing the act, failing to stand up for themselves, or most damningly for being absent at this time. He fearfully listens out, his hours punctuated by screams of torment from all around him, and as footsteps approach he shrinks back into silence, hoping to go unheard. When one such group approaches he remains still, only to discover that the person arriving is Settir who had come to visit him and find out what had happened.

She is quick to inform him that Shozir died as a result of the duel and that Valon does not look good in public at the moment. She chides his responses and brands him irresponsible in the way he approached the matter, pointing out to him that his actions were having far more damning consequences than anyone's words ever had. Settir leaves briefly, returning with Haebin who slightly resents that Valon assumes that he's someone else. He explains that he found Palus in the throes of passion with General Narighae rather than helping Valon. When Valon complains Palus alerts him to both his presence and his promotion to general.

Valon immediately takes the initiative to start thinking about possibilities regarding the promotion, and is subsequently silenced by Haebin who suggests the prisons a bad place for plotting a coup. The two leave him behind with Settir, and Valon admits to his exhaustion, informing her that he's going to sleep. He barely settles, however, when a commotion outside sees him dragged out and away from the cell in a fit of chaos. He suspects the shifter siblings, but is in no position to fight back as he is beaten and dragged away. He is thrown into a room with a demon with unnatural eyes who pins him against a wall, and a second demon makes his presence known as he slices Valon's arm open. The demon reaches into the wound carefully, and despite Valon's attempts at fighting him succeeds in tearing the bone from the limb.

Valon loses consciousness, awakening to find a group of them gathered to watch him. He is branded over and over with a burning piece of metal and is stabbed twice more - once in the crotch, and once in the left eye. He falls into darkness, finding himself suddenly back in his cell and waking from a nightmare, bearing the paranoia of the experience close at hand and left wondering how much he had imagined, and whether Settir had ever been in the prisons.

Trivia
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