Shadow Slave

Other the next five days, Sunny mostly stayed in his room while his shadow stealthily prowled around the castle, spying on people and learning their secrets.

Slowly, he began to understand the undercurrents that flowed beneath the seemingly peaceful surface of life in this pristine white fortress.

Of course, in reality, things weren't peaceful at all — and as far from pure as one could imagine. But that was to be expected from a place where hundreds of lost youths lived with no hope of ever finding their way back home, away from all the restraints of civilization.

He wasn't surprised at all. If anything, it was strange to see some semblance of law and order, no matter how detestable and revolting, persevere despite all the obstacles that stood in the way. Somehow, the inhabitants of the castle were able to coexist with each other in a fragile balance.

The system was cleverly built in a way that allowed the abused to dream of a better life and restrained the abusers from going too far. Better life meant winning Gunlaug's favor, while going too far meant losing it and being banished into the cold darkness of the outer settlement.

Both fear and hope were created and firmly grasped by the Bright Lord. Their mere existence kept people in their places. Sunny suspected that the same dynamic, just substituted for a different kind of reality, reigned in the slum outside of the castle walls.

The outer settlement seemed to exist separate from the castle, but in fact, both were simply parts of one large ecosystem.

the outside longed to be allowed inside, while people on the inside dreaded being exiled to the outside. Because the possibility of a better life — or a worse one — existed, they were distracted from the

created a closed cycle of exploitation and abuse that,

was nothing

course, Sunny wanted

were somewhere around five hundred Sleepers living in the ancient stronghold. However, not all of them shared the same status. There was a complex hierarchy in place, separating people into different castes. Some of these groups had a distinct place in

Gunlaug. They were Guards, Hunters, Pathfinders, Artisans, and Handmaidens. Ruling over them were five lieutenants who answered directly to the lord himself,

were in charge of guarding the stronghold and enforcing Gunlaug's laws. Just like Caster had said, they were near the bottom of the totem pole in

experience combat were few and far between. That was not to say that their job was not dangerous: every time a stray Nightmare Creature climbed the hill or attacked from above, it was their

no monster was anything less than terrifying and absolutely

was led by a morose giant of a man named Tessai, who was one of Gunlaug's most trusted lieutenants and perhaps the oldest Sleeper on

of Gunlaug's forces, each possessing a powerful combat Aspect, rich battle experience, and sharp wit to make use of

soon as the gates of the castle opened, one of the parties left the safety of the impregnable marble walls and ventured into the harrowing maze of the Dark City to hunt and kill Awakened creatures. It was thanks to their efforts that people in the ancient stronghold had food on their plates.

the lord, such as living in a room

that their lives were often the shortest. Despite all their experience and