Infernal SoulBond

1, The Findings

⟡ Ember ⟡
⟡

19 years later

I never understood the meaning of life, nor death. Life wasn't exciting to me, it was dark and lonely. It was the same daily routines stained into my brain, a never ending cycle of trying but never succeeding. Yet death didn't seem to make sense to me either, because you never cease to exist even after death. Your spirit and energy stay alive, floating around somewhere, trying to find a purpose. Which is exactly what I do now, while alive. It was a perpetual, everlasting life. I didn't know if I liked it or hated it. Some days I think I enjoy being alive, but then the days I can't seem to roll out of bed and I don't have as big of an appetite as I had the day before - those days make me rethink if I ever did enjoy surviving.

That's all this was, surviving. I wasn't living, I was trying to survive. Sometimes I wonder if the world above us had it easier, the SunSide. If the people who were blessed to live among the life, the sun and the stars, I wonder if they were happier than me. The UnderSide was as dark as it sounded. No life, no matter how hard we try. Several people belonging to my coven were Growers, sorcerers whose magic can only be used to create and nurture life. Yet they could only keep very few things alive, and only in very specific areas of the UnderSide. There were spots that we couldn't survive if we stepped, and we found that out the hard way. It's as if all life were rejected from parts of the land, nothing grew there, no oxygen, no light. We lost many people, those who like to take risks and those who don't want to live anymore. It was always a quick death.

We were sent here centuries ago, at least that's how the stories go. After a group of necromancers attempted to raise hell, all sorcerers were sent to an area under a mountain. It was as if the gods carved out a vast cave on the side of a cliff, for whatever reason - I don't know. It was 10 miles long, only 5 miles in width. It was a small area, for an entire species of people to be forced to live. Sometimes I wished I hadn't chickened out of setting foot in one of the lifeless nooks hidden along the mountain.

"Are you going to eat your potato or are you going keep staring at the rocks?" Renzo asked me. I blinked, dropping my foggy gaze to the hardly cooked potato on my slate slab. It didn't look ripe, it was still green in some areas. Was it ever ripe? I frowned, pushing it towards Renzo who took it with gratitude. His dirty blonde hair was short and shaggy, not cleaned or put together but truthfully it never was. Men were only allowed so many showers, children and women showered first. Our showers consisted of standing in a far corner of the cave in a small group with a bucket of water that we collected from a leak in the stones. I've never lived differently, but i've heard stories of endless water, endless blankets and warmth.

Every once in awhile, one of the realms from the SunSide would supply a few baskets of goods. Mainly pillows, blankets, knives. It was never a sufficient amount, nor was it ever worth the judgmental glares and whispers. They were the ones who banished us here and yet have the audacity to talk down on our lifestyles, as if we chose this. It was sickening and unfair. I think most people don't know about us, they think sorcerers don't exist. That's what I convince myself, because if people did know about our existence - why didn't anyone rescue us? Denial only works for so long.

A nudge in my shoulder. I hum in response, not finding the motivation to look at him. "Do you know what today is?" Renzo asks eagerly, nudging me again. His voice was always so cheerful and gentle, I didn't know how he did it. After a moment of me not answering, he grabs my chin between his thumb and index. He pulls my head to the side, his face was soft and concerned. I knew he wanted to ask me if I were okay, but he already knew the answer. Maybe that's why he didn't ask. "Do you not remember? Or were you not listening when your Mother told you."