00||ALL OF RAVKA KNEW HER NAME

THE SHARP COLD stung her skin. With every breathe Anya took, her lungs felt like they were burning up, her lips dry. Water sloshed at her feet as it streamed down her face from a hole in the ceiling, her blood caked hands tightly bound together above her head.

"I...Ilya." a scrapped breath left her mouth as she eyes the figure of the durast tied up across her. No response came drom his unconscious form, the raven-haired turning her head. "Zhana?" The squaller on her left let out a groan, the Oryalen woman relieved for the sign of life. She looked around, her eyes scanning across the room spotting the remaining grisha of the inferni's battalion.

A thunderous number of boots seemed to run down the stairs, ominously alerting the young grisha woman. "Drüsje. At least one of you is awake." The few drüskelle walked towards her, one of them moving to grip her chin. Anya chucked her head forward, headbutting the man before a cruel chuckle escaped her lips. Another drüskelle stepped towards her, dealing a sucker punch to the raven-haired woman's stomache.

The few painful breaths she had taken left her lungs as she almost sagged to the ground. "Not so strong now you can't use your magic huh drüsje?" One of the heavy voices barked, amusementvery much present in his tone as he mocked her. "Untie me now and you'll see just how powerful I am you fucker." The Oryalen woman sneered, a deadly venom dripping from her words. The Fjerdan that held her chin laughed. "Mh. You know, I don't think I will." he started calmy. "Why? Because I know exactly how powerful you are...almost sankta."

It was like the words hit her like a train, knocking the wind out of her all over again. "You know, I never understood why they called people like you saint. But we see you for what you truly are. Drüsje. A witch. A monster." The inferni's eyes were downcast, squeezed shut as she let out a sigh when she heard the start of old, tell tale speech that was told to her many times before. The sudden soft whistling reached the inferni's ears as the drüskelle that had grabbed her chin, pinched it tightly once more.

A cold blade tapped against her cheek, the young grisha's eyes widening in horror. Her breathing became ragged, the tip of the dagger piercing her skin on the side of her head as a drop of blood flowed down. "Let's see how much of a true monster you are within." Another drüskelle had snuck up behind the young grisha woman, grabbing a fist full of her hair, yanking her head back.

As the drüskelle handling the dagger carved into her face, he created slashes from across her nose over her lips and either sides of her faces. A scream was ripped from Anya's throat as she howled in pain, blood drowning out her vision as everything started to turn red.

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With a startled gasp for air, the inferni awoke drenched in sweat. Rain poured down onto the deck, its rhythmic tapping lulling her out of the sleepless trance and back to reality. She whipped her brow, her finger tips softly skimming the scars. "A..Anya?" A voice stuttered across the room.

The raven-haired shot up, quickly dusting of her kefta, the fire emblems ripped off, and rushed to her friend weak form. The blonde tried to sit up, but only groaned in pain. "Zhana, calm down. You're hurt, so you better stay still until we find a healer." The Oryalen woman reprimanded the squaller, grabbing a cloth and wiping her friend's face, but her voice was so soft, almost soundless like a whisper.

Zhana smiled meekly, color draining from her face. "You..." she swallowed, her throat bobbing and her voice raspy. "You and I both know that I'm not gonna...make it." A line appeared between the inferni's brows, distraught with the blonde's words. "Don't you dare say that. We are going to make it, you hear me?" Zhana chuckled, the weak smile never leaving her face. "No one...came for us. To save us. Even after...after what they did to you..." the squaller's hand reached out to the young grisha woman's face but quickly retracted it, seeing the look in her eyes and feeling the power sap from her body.

"You saved yourself. If anyone will survive it's you." The blonde uttered, grasping her friend's hand with all the strength she could muster. Anya's lips quivered, tears welling up in her eyes. "It's not...your fault. It's theirs." Zhana whispered, pointing at a drüskelle sign on the wall. "I still can't believe you stole a fucking ship." The squaller laughed, coughing loudly. The raven-haired smiled, softly pushing the other woman back on the bed. "Sleep some more. I'm going to check if we're on course." She replied before closing the door behind her.

Cold wind swept up her as she looked out over the deck of the ship, before turning around and walking up the stairs to the wheel. "You're awake." A strong and loud voice resonated. "As awake as one can be from this heap of shit Ilya." The Oryalen woman joked as she patted his shoulder. "When they were taking us to the ice court, on the ship...I thought you were dead." The durast's eyes clouded over in darkness at her words. "It'll take a lot more then that, then them to kill me. How's Zhana?"

The inferni tucked her hands under her arms, trying to keep them warm as she looked out over the water. "She's not doing well. If we don't find a healer soon..." Ilya's knuckles turned white as he gripped the wheel, sucking in a sharp breathe. "It'll be fine."

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It began like whispering in the air. Winds that calmy whisped around started howling viciously like a pack of hungry wolves that were out for blood. Dark storm clouds gathering on the horizon as they quickly overtook everywhere the two grisha could see, icy rain clashing straight into their faces.

"Ilya! Can we make it through?" The young grisha woman asked, hands tightly grasping ropes as she tightened them, shouting over the sound of waves crashing against the hull. "I don't know! The storm blew us off course!" Lightning burst through the clouds, cracking open the sky like a slicing blade as thunder roared all around them.

The waves grew wilder, more violent and volatile as they started splashing down on the deck, drenching Anya and Ilya from head to toe as they stood stead fast at their posts. A deafening sound reached the raven-haired's ears, the door to the cabin bursting open as Zhana walked through, heavily leaning on the door frame with her arms stretched out. "What the hell are you doing? You're going to get yourself killed!" The Oryalen woman bellowed, running towards her friend and gripping her shoulders.

"As if you're not doing the fucking same!" The blonde screeched, setting a lumpy step forward. "At least this way I'll be helping!" She bit, her hands flying in a fury of movements to redirect the crude wind into the sail.

Another lightning bolt split the sky in two, hitting the water dangerous close. "If we can just-!" the durast started, another flash of light coming down and striking the mast. The crow's nest splintered to bits and pieces and the bottom of the mast started to crack, dangerously slanting over the two grisha women. Ilya dash from behind the steering wheel, motioning the mast upright. "Anya! To the wheel or we'll lose the control all together!" the man shrieked. Waves pushed against the ship once more, threatening to tip it over all together.

Zhana gasped for breath as she sacked to her knees painfully clutching her side. "Zhana!" Her friends called out, worry written across their faces. "Stay there! I'll be fi-" But just like that, an enormous wave bore into the side of the ship, clashing into the squaller and durast, dragging the blonde over the railing, into the water that was churning with a vicious pace as Ilya hung on for his life. "ZHANA! ILYA!" Anya's scream reverberated through the air.

The mast crashed down, taking the sails with as the storm's violent hands ripped the ship open like a carcass. The raven-haired flung from what was left of the ship as the ocean swallowed it whole. Her body hit the cold and turbulent water below, that seemed so desperate to pull her down. Salt water pricked her wounds and seemed to fill every corner her lungs. Stay alive. Stay alive. I refuse to let myself die out here. I won't! The Oryalen woman repeated in her mind, forcing her head to stay above the waves and stay afloat. "ILYA? ZHANA?"

No response was heard and no ligh could show her where they were. With all the might she had left in her tired body, the inferni hauled herself over to a wooden beam that was drifting among the chaos. "ILYA? ZHANA?" Again, nor a response or sound were given as the young grisha woman's body started to shiver.

Her eyes tried to peer as far as she could see, spotting the outlines of Ilya's body. Anya paddled through the harsh waves with haste, grabbing onto his hand. "Ilya, you're ok-" her breath hitched in her throat, the air snatched from her lungs once more as she saw how blue his lips had gotten, how pale his complexion, how his skin turned freezing cold or how she felt no pulse coming from his wrist. "N-NO!" She cried out.

The freezing chill wrapped around her, reaching every inch of her body. The beam that she was so desperately holding onto slipped from her roughed hands, her breathing becoming ragged as her exhausted body started to give in. Her worn-out eyes closed once more, a shaky breath leaving her lips as she slipped beneath the wave into the darkness of the sea, frowning at what she thought was a large and dark logging form, headed straight for her.

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So quite the prologue huh?
I developed this habit with
my newer books, where I put
memes at the end of the chapters
so enjoy!

I am still making more of them
but this is a start!
I hope you enjoyed this prologue!