The two young brothers ended up staying hidden within that cargo hold for two whole months, completely unaware of where this ship may have been heading. When they inevitably ran out of food and water after only 4 days on the ship, they were forced to survive by catching rats and scraping off barnacles that had grown within the ship's hull. They were forced to drink rain water that would drip through cracks in the wood. It was a miserable experience for the two boys. They endured wretched storms that sent them smashing into barrels and crates. They narrowly avoided being spotted by members of the ship's crew on numerous occasions. The only thing that kept them going was the thought of seeing their father once again. All the while, the boy blamed himself for their situation. His shame and guilt continued to grow day by day. If not for his younger brother, the boy may have very well given up. But he was determined to get his younger brother to safety, and reunite with their father at any cost. Unfortunately, after all that they went through, all that they had persevered… On the day the ship landed at its destination, the boys were discovered.
A group of sailors came barging into the ships cargo hold and began hauling out all of the barrels and crates of supplies. Eventually, the boys no longer had anything to hide behind and were violently apprehended by the sailors. Stowaways were considered criminals in the eyes of sailors, and even though they were just children, it made no difference to them. The brothers were beaten relentlessly within an inch of their lives and were then taken into the port of their arrival. There they were handed over to the local guard, and then placed in cells until their punishment had been determined. After a few days locked away, the boys grew restless and began thinking of ways they could escape this wretched confinement. Eventually, the youngest brother was able to loosen a pin on the door of the cell and it caused it to collapse forward on the spot. It happened to cause a very loud crash which drew the attention of the guards immediately. The boys were then beaten violently again. And now, they not only faced charges of being stowaways but also for trying to escape confinement as well. Unbeknownst to the children, they did not even know the area in which they had landed. That area happened to be a port town on the eastern coast of Cashmere. Back then, Cashmere was a very strict and cruel kingdom… The way in which they punished those who tried to enter their land without permission, was none other than death. The boys were eventually taken with a group of other prisoners to a specific location. The group consisted of men, women, and children just like themselves. Not all of them could really be considered "criminals." Some were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. Others were captured purely because they were of another race. It was truly turbulent times within the world… They were made to walk for miles on their bare feet in the scorching sun while chained together in heavy and rough shackles. A few even died along the way. Their destination… was the Black Swamp. As the boy was dragged along to this place, all he could think about was his father. He thought to himself, "Where are you? Aren't you going to save us? I'm sorry father. I'm sorry for getting us into this mess. Please just come get us. Please save us." Those thoughts replayed in his mind on a perpetual loop. Both he and his little brother were scared. They eventually made it to the Black Swamp, and they were ordered to line up, one by one. The guards who brought them there were the sadistic type. They made all of the prisoners draw straws to decide the order of the line. The last in the line was the boy, with his younger brother in front of him. Neither of them knew what was about to happen, until it was too late. The guards announced to all of them, "You have all been found guilty of crimes against the kingdom of Cashmere. As such you will be punished in accordance with the laws under the Emperor, Ludicious Merecash. You will all be given the opportunity to speak your mind. Speak now or forever hold your peace." Atleast, that was what the guards had stated. When the first prisoner in line was brought forward towards the edge of a cliff, they immediately began calling out, "WAIT!? NO!! PLEASE! ANYTHING BU-…" Before they could even finish speaking, one of the guards kicked them forward over the cliff's edge. All of the prisoners looked ahead in fear and shock at what they had just witnessed. All of the guards however, began laughing and pointing as they looked down over the cliff. The boy's little brother looked back at him with terror in his eyes, "Do we deserve this brother?" He said with tears streaming down his face. The boy couldn't even respond, as the shame and guilt was completely consuming him. To see his little brother in this state, was the greatest misfortune he could have endured. That was what he believed, until one by one each prisoner was thrown from the cliff into an unknown death… Leaving only the two brothers standing. By that time, they could now clearly see what lay before them below the cliff. It was a massive expanse of black boiling pools, and just below the cliff they stood upon was an even larger black pool. No, rather it appeared as a black lake, where they could clearly see a tar coated hand reaching out, then sinking never to be seen again. The little brother was crying hysterically in fear for what was about to happen to him. That was when one of the guards spoke up, "It looks like it's your lucky day boy. We didn't tell you before, but whoever draws the last lot gets to live heh heh. Too bad for this little one though, his luck has run out." Then all of the guards roared in a cruel and wicked laughter. The boy screamed out, "NOO! YOU CANT DO THIS!! TAKE ME INSTEAD!!!!" To stop his hysteric screaming, one of the guards struck the boy in his stomach so hard that he vomited what fluids he had left in his body. He nearly passed out, but held on with what strength he had left. The boy reached out his hand towards his little brother, and the guards grabbed the little boy and picked him up by his arms. The boy heard only one last thing uttered by his little brother, "Cal, Father…" In a weak and desperate voice. The guards threw him over the cliff. The boy, in desperation, broke free of the guards hold on him. With tears flowing from his face, he ran to the edge of the cliff… And jumped in after his little brother.
As he described it, when he plummeted into the black lake everything around him went into a blur. His body became enveloped in the thick and burning substance that even entered his throat. Even still, while experiencing the most excruciating pain imaginable that boy reached around him until he felt the distinct shape of his little brother's body. He grabbed hold of that shape in the burning and suffocating darkness, and began moving in a way that shouldn't have been possible. In those moments of complete despair and pain, the boy found a strength within himself all for the sake of saving his little brother. Through the endless torture of the burning, black lake, the boy pushed with his legs over and over again moving forward little by little. He could not see, he could not breathe, and every part of his body had already been scorched beyond repair. He did not stop. As he held his little brother in his arms for what seemed like an eternity, somehow in what can only be described as a miracle, the boy reached the outer edge of the black lake. With only the strength of his will left within his tar coated and burnt up body, the boy broke free of the grasp of the black lake and pulled his little brother out. At the other end of the immense tar pit, far from where they had entered, laid the bodies of two young boys. There only remained one very small, insignificant sliver of life left within the boy, as his body was now completely consumed by the tar. From that moment, everything in the world seemed to stop.
With the boy's display of utter determination and strength beyond that of any normal person, he had broken free of the black lake's clutches of death. Through this miracle… A God was able to descend onto the world.
The lake of boiling tar began to sway and move unlike it ever had before. Large spires of flowing tar began reaching out of the lake. One after another they shot up into the sky, conjoining, twisting, clashing, and forming into something much greater. The spirit of the boiling black, the God of Tar had found someone worthy. What formed out of the mass of the twisting streams of tar could only be described as something close to three giant, black serpents. A vivid and ominous voice rang out to the boy, whose life literally hung by a single thread.
"I will not allow a will of such magnitude… To burn out in this world. A child of great strength has appeared before me… You are a survivor, a struggler, a mortal who has pushed beyond death… I applaud you. Though your brother is beyond saving… He shall act as the catalyst that will give you strength in this life. He shall be the source of this blessing, carry him with you always…Your time is not over yet."
The boy was able to hear these words only faintly, as he continued to descend into the darkness of death. But as the light of his consciousness faded into the void, he felt what was left of his burnt up body… Begin to melt away.
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End Ivan.