49 Castor

After Corytheius pointed him out, Castor walked towards the door and gestured for me to leave first. We exited Corytheius's room and began walking through the compound.

Castor was one of the few G'eth in the village I truly respected. He was the Chief Warrior who was in charge of all warriors in the village. His dedication to the village was unwavering and his personal strength was the greatest among all the villages warriors.

However, it wasn't his strength that allowed him to lead the warriors. It was his character. He always lead the charge in battle and would even perform menial tasks if it helped his fellow warriors. He was a large part of the reason the Grootslang was confined to the caves. While unable to kill it, Castor was able to lead the warriors in forcing it to retreat into the caves. He was also the first person to accept me into the warriors and never mistreated me because of the origin of my abilities.

Castor looked at me with concern as we walked.

"Valerian, you have spent a lot of time around humans lately correct?"

I nodded, "After meeting Troy I went with him to the Black Lion Village in the plain in the north. "

"So I've heard."

He paused for a moment then continued, "From what I understand, G'eth aren't treated particularly well there. I heard about the village popping up a few months ago. A few of the warriors I sent came back with information about it."

He rubbed his head, "They didn't get much, but they said humans use a lot of abnormal things that we've never seen before."

I began to worry. Why is Castor asking me this and acting like he wished he was somewhere else?

"Yes. Troy explained a lot of it to me. The world they came from was... different than Agartha."

Almost as if it pained him Castor said, "I'v heard that too. You... need to see something. I know you think highly of humans, but their arrival is causing a lot of changes to Agartha. I wish things could be different, but protecting the village is my priority."

The tone of Castor's voice and the look on face hinted at a hidden meaning in his words. The core in my chest tightened. When a G'eth's mental state is disturbed the sun energy in its core can fluctuate erratically. The core will tighten as a natural response to calm the energy down.

While talking, Castor had lead me to a restricted area of the elder's compound. We had just came to stop in front of a stairway that was tucked away at an odd angle at the end of a passageway. The angle of the entrance was slanted which made it hard to see from the hallway we came from. The few times I had been in the restricted area I hadn't noticed this was here.

Castor was gesturing for me to enter as his words faded to silence. I involuntarily hesitated before entering. What is this? Why is Castor acting so weird, like he knows something bad will happen? Does this have something to do with the explosion or me? My core tightened even more.

The stairway spiraled downwards. Darkness enveloped us at first, but it was quickly banished by sun stones that were placed at intervals in holders along the wall.

After a few tenuous minutes of a spiraling descent the steps ceased and flat ground spread out. Large metal doors menacingly loomed in front of me, a large G'eth stoically stood at their side. Castor nodded towards him. He plunged his arm into the ground, the doors creaked as they opened revealing a dimly lit spacious cavern.

Castor entered and I tentatively followed, the large G'eth returned to his stoic stance. Castor walked over to an area at the edge of the cavern were the light from the sun stones barely reached. As I neared I could hear shallow ragged breathing. In my nervousness my mind went in fifty different directions trying to figure out what that sound could be.

However, nothing prepared me for what I saw next. My body trembled as I quickly averted my gaze, but the image was already imprinted in my mind.

On the wall was a human bound and devoid of clothes. The roots of an ancient Zerden tree, renowned for it's hardness, wrapped around the human's wrist, ankles, and waist. While startling, that alone would not have provoked my reaction. What truly horrified me was the state of his body.

The pure and just image that I had of Castor, Corytheius, and by extension all G'eth leaders, was instantly shattered. I knew some G'eth could be heartless. I hadn't forgotten that the Grand Elder's were originally going to let me die and that some villagers had treated me with disdain. However, I understood their reasons for making those decisions. I didn't blame them, I understood the threat my existence posed. I still believed in their desire for justice, in their passion for life.

But this... this is too much... this is too... sadistic... too... cruel.

I looked at Castor, "Why? How could doing something like this protect the village?"

Castor looked ashamed as he responded, "Valerian, you are still young, you haven't seen the realities of life beyond this village. Did you honestly think peace could be preserved without bloodshed, without violence? I didn't want to do this, I had to. Sometimes sacrifice is necessary."

"This isn't a sacrifice, this is... this is... heinous ," I shakily pointed toward the human, inadvertently taking another look.

In-bedded in his flesh were Razarac vines. They were growing in and out of numerous areas of his body. His skin bulged in places roots were growing underneath. Areas all over his body leaked blood as the Razarac vines entered and exited his flesh. Parts of his face and body distorted as the plant slowly dissolved and ripped him apart. His ragged breathing the only sign of life.

The Razarac is a particularly vicious plant that is normally seen growing in battlefields after large battles. They dissolve and absorb the flesh of the corpses they grow on. They have razor sharp leaves that could easily slice into a brown steeled bear, much less human flesh.

Razarac vines grow in necrotic tissue. It could not naturally grow in a living human body. That coupled with their various stages of growth painted me a clear picture of what had happened. A G'eth had inserted Razarac seeds into his body and accelerated their growth at varying speeds.

Killing him I could understand. If he was a threat to the village I wouldn't hesitate to kill him myself. Anyone who harmed innocent lives deserved to die, just not like this, never like this. He was tortured. Tortured in the most terrifying, sadistic way possible.

I glared at Castor, on the verge of losing control, my anger at the cruelty of it all bubbling over.

"How could you do this? If he caused the explosion killing him was enough!"

I was near delirious with rage, I couldn't fathom it. Castor's lack of an answer broke my last attempt at control.

I screamed, "WHAT PURPOSE COULD THIS SERVE? HOW DOES THIS BENEFIT ANYONE?"

My shouts seemed to echo around us.

Castor had a sympathetic look on his face, "I understand how you are feeling. I know that you can't comprehend it now, but you have to,"

"AHHHHHHH!"

A horrific scream erupted without warning. The pain and terror expressed in that sound was so profound it could freeze souls.