All Chapters of Rise from the Depths: Shackles of Qahara: Chapter 1
- Chapter 6
6 chapters
Chapter 1: The Polar Forest's Icy Breath
"Run, Karla! Don't you dare look back!"Caver screamed, his lungs on the verge of exploding. His cracked feet hammered the rocky ground of Moar with brutal force. Behind them, the thundering hooves of the Ogre and Elf warriors' iron-shod horses sounded like a storm ready to claim their lives. They were barely fifty meters away."Caver, my legs are giving out!" Karla panted, her face deathly pale beneath her tattered hood. She clutched a bundle of cloth tightly to her chest, where their months-old child slept, heavy with the effects of a sedative draught.Caver spotted the sharp, thorny thicket marking the border between the mine and the Polar Forest. It was their only way out. Without a second thought, he grabbed Karla’s shoulder and shoved her into the brambles."Ow! It hurts, Caver!" Karla whimpered as the black thorns scratched her arms."Hang in there, K! These thorns are better than an Ogre’s blade at our throats! Get in there, fast!" Caver pushed forward, his broad frame acting
Chapter 2: Meeting the Outcast
The tip of the arrow was pressed right against Caver’s Adam’s apple, as cold as the ice creeping up the cave walls. Caver’s breath came in gasps, steaming in the damp air, while his hand still gripped the handle of his mining axe as if it were a part of his very soul. In front of him, Lyra stood with a firm stance, her bow perfectly curved, ready to release death in a single blink."I told you not to move, so don't move," Lyra hissed. Her sharp eyes—one forest green, the other human gray—stared at Caver with unconcealed hatred. "Shift that axe even an inch, and your throat is going to be the landing spot for my arrow. Got it, Pit Monkey?""Please, stop! Please, don’t hurt him!" Karla suddenly slumped to the muddy cave floor, kneeling as she held her child tightly. Tears streamed down her cheeks, which were stained with mine dust. "We’re just trying to run! My baby needs a safe place, I beg you!"Lyra glanced at Karla briefly, her lip curling in a sneer. "Run? Everyone in Qahara wants
Chapter 3: Warmth Amidst the Storm
The hissing grew louder, like thousands of small snakes slithering over blocks of ice. Caver dropped into a stance, the muscles in his arms, thick with whip scars, tensing until his veins bulged."Get over here, you coward! Show your face!" Caver challenged, his raspy voice echoing against the cave's ceiling.Lyra suddenly stepped forward, her hand calmly lowering the tip of her own bow. "Hey, chill out, Slave. If you want to die, don't do it now—you're just being a nuisance to me."Lyra let out a short, piercing whistle. Instantly, the hissing vanished. The dark shadow at the cave's bend shrank, as if being sucked back into the rock crevices. "Oxa is a moody pet. She knows who smells like despair, and both of you reek of it right down to the bone.""We don't need a psychology lecture from you," Karla interrupted, clutching their child tightly. "My husband needs a place to sit. And I need hot water. Now."Lyra raised an eyebrow, impressed by Karla's boldness. "Fine, Elf. Follow me. Do
Chapter 4: Spies from the Capital
The red glow from the eastern horizon wasn’t just dawn light. It was the Blood Pulse, a pulse of dark magic splitting the polar sky with a haunting color, as if the very atmosphere of Qahara was bleeding."The seal's key...?" Lyra’s voice cracked amidst the howling wind growing wilder outside the hideout. "I thought Agrasuuman just wanted to wipe out the lower castes. Turns out his goal is way more insane.""Karla’s blood is a rare commodity, Lyra. Extremely rare," Caver gripped his axe handle until his knuckles turned white. He glanced at Karla, who looked pale in the corner of the tree trunk. "I don't care about the king or Agrasuuman. I don't give a damn about the Elven. I won’t let a single hair on my wife’s head be touched by that garbage ritual."Suddenly, the sound of unnatural wings flapping echoed from behind the thick layer of snow covering the entrance. It wasn't the sound of a biological bird. There was the sound of small gears grinding and the rhythmic clinking of metal.
Chapter 5: The Pirate Route
"Lower those iron pipes first; it'd be a shame if they went off because your hands are shaking," Jack smirked, not at all bothered by the steam rifle muzzles just inches from his nose.The lead Ogre soldier hissed, hot steam venting from the slits of his iron helm. "Escaped slaves. Human and Elven. Hand them over, or your head gets crushed.""Geez, so aggressive. Don't you see what's in the sky?" Jack pointed toward the red clouds pulsing ominously in the heavens.Agrasuuman's Blood Pulse ritual had begun to form the pattern of a giant eye. A sense of dread crawled over the skin of every living thing on the dock. Caver gripped Karla’s arm tightly, trying to stand even though his legs still felt heavy from the fall."Leo, we're out of time," Caver whispered softly. "Karla's Elven blood is being tracked."Leo gave a slight nod, his hand surreptitiously moving to the hilt of the sword hidden beneath his royal cloak. "Damn it, the magic sensors are getting stronger. Jack, are you going to
Chapter 6: A Deadly Joke on Deck
"No time to zone out, you idiot! Move, or we're gonna be roasted jerky!" Jack screamed, his voice nearly drowned out by the roar of explosions echoing from the Ogre patrol ship.Caver didn’t answer. He immediately grabbed Karla by the waist with one hand, while the other gripped the grimy rucksack filled with emergency supplies. Cold sweat mixed with ice trickled down his temples. Behind them, the black smoke that had been just thin wisps was now transforming into tall, faceless figures—shadow soldiers from the Blood Pulse ritual."Leo! Jump first!" Caver ordered.Leo, the former royal knight who now looked just as disheveled as the rest of them, performed a somersault over the ruined dock railing. His body landed on a pile of ropes on the deck of The Iron Crab."Caver, hurry up! The gap is getting wider!" Leo shouted, reaching out a hand.Jack’s large iron ship began to pull away, its steam engine let out a low roar, breaking the ice on the surface of the dark Qahara sea. Caver took