New Wings

    Riya remembered the aching that echoed in her limbs amid the cheers of celebration. Through her very puffy eyes she could make out the desolate aftermath of a great battle. Any attempts to move were met with such great pain that she cried out.

    Her scream had gotten the attention of the victors, and she felt herself dragged up almost effortlessly. It took all she could muster to not scream when it felt her arm was tearing from her body.

    “Boss,” The henchman called, “I found a survivor. Not sure if she’s worth anything like this though.”

    Riya could only look on helplessly as a man fully clad in black approached her. The boss stared at her for a moment before removing the telltale mask of the Black Ravens for a closer look. A handsome but scarred face peered out. “I think I recognize her,” the leader of the Black Ravens’ mouth curled into a sneer, “It’s Scarlet Riya. She’s a known mercenary from these parts, although I’m not sure if she’ll be doing anything like that in the future with those broken limbs.”

Riya opened her mouth in protest, but all she managed to sputter out were choked out gasps. The Black Ravens leader replaced his mask and motioned for his henchman, “Take her with us, she might still be of value to us.”


    That was weeks ago. Or was it months ago? Riya had lost track of the number of days since she was captured. The days seemed to blur together, but the early days were the worst. Her first memories of being captured were wracked in fevered dreams as she languished in her cell with a broken body. When she finally broke out of her fever and could get a moment of clarity, she realized her limbs were missing. Her broken and mangled limbs were gone, replaced with crudely bandaged stumps.

    Riya didn’t cry, but she felt a profound sense of loss as she silently mourned her strong arms and muscular legs. The renowned mercenary Scarlet Riya was now as helpless as a log. Never again would she handle the grip of a sword or feel the crunch of earth beneath her feet. Riya tried to brush away a tear streaking down her face only to realize what remained of her arm was too short.

    Perhaps even crueler of being robbed of her limbs was her freedom. The iron shackles on her upper arms and legs were an ironic reminder of her status as prisoner in spite of her condition. Despite her body being only a fraction of what it used to be, Riya never felt her spirit waver. The fact that she was kept alive must have meant she was important, and she was willing to place all her hope on that.

    Even if she was important, Riya was treated no better than any other prisoner. Clothed with nothing but a rag and fed unrecognizable slop each meal, Riya clung on to the idea that there was still something meant for her, even in her crippled state.
The cell she was in was small enough that she could navigate it without much difficulty by crawling around clumsily. Without much to do, Riya would often let her thoughts wonder. Why had the Black Ravens, a paramilitary group that started a rebellion kept her for so long? Riya knew that as a mercenary her value was only what she could bring to the battlefield. Even her head wouldn’t be worth much of a bounty. Perhaps she was intended to be paraded as a trophy of conquest, a testament to the Black Ravens’ military victories? Riya shuddered at the thought of that. It didn’t seem too likely, but even the idea of being some kind of display puppet sent chills down her spine.

    In her dreams Riya would reflect on her battles in the past, her narrow victories, her daunting defeats. She missed the adrenaline, the action, and the sheer freedom. Riya would often wake up from her moments on the training ground to her cruel helpless reality. Perhaps even being cramped into such a tiny cell wouldn’t be that bad if she still had her limbs, her mercenary’s means of survival.


    Riya instinctively reached out her arm as she awoke, but there something was different this time. She felt. Riya felt the hard ground and her eyes immediately snapped awake. Her eyes traced the hand along the arm and then her own body. It seemed almost alien to her, not having a hand for so long.

    Riya’s heart was thumping in her chest as she quickly examined the rest of her body. She still had all of her limbs, though perhaps a bit more slender than she remembered. She flexed her fingers and toes, then her arms and legs. The movements felt slightly unnatural.

    Her trembling finger traced where her limbs used to end. Had it all been a horrible nightmare then? It would certainly make more sense to keep an able bodied prisoner than a useless cripple, but Riya couldn’t quite forget her memories of crawling with what was left of her limbs or even the sheer shock of when she woke to find them missing.

    “Scarlet Riya. Our leader would request a meeting.” It was the first time the guards in the dungeons had ever spoken to her. She tried to glean a hint of expression but the guard’s raven mask and tone betrayed nothing of the sort.

    Seeing as the guards were not responding to her healed body, Riya stood up somewhat unsteadily, leaning on the wall for support. “Understood,” she rasped out, her voice having fallen into disuse alongside her limbs.


    Riya tried not to let her senses be overwhelmed as she tried to take in every detail. The Black Ravens base seemed to be settled in the ruins of some old rampart. Her escorts were all garbed in black with the iconic mask of rebellion covering their faces. The spears pressed to her back ushered her into a large atrium.

    The leader of the Black Ravens turned to her as the guards saluted in attention. “Scarlet Riya,” the man extended a hand, “I am Corvo Nox, leader of the Black Ravens, but perhaps you already knew that?”

    Riya ignored the outstretched hand and instead stared at Corvo’s face. It was surprisingly young for all the hardships it had weathered. “What do you want with me?” Riya asked, “I don’t know why you kept me here for so long, but I don’t think you’ll let me just walk on out.”

    Corvo smirked. “Very true. I just wanted to, how shall we say, renegotiate your contract? I think we can both agree that your last job was very botched. So how about a new one? You can work for us this time.”

    “And if I refuse?”

    “Well if you refuse, there won’t be much use for you-”

    Riya reached out and grabbed the dagger dangling on the belt of the guard to her right. In a flash she had brought it to Corvo’s neck.

    If it were in the past, Riya was sure his head would be gone, but something was wrong this time. Did she hesitate? Was her movement too sluggish? Spears were pointing into her own neck now. If any of this surprised Corvo, he didn’t show it at all. Instead, a curious smile appeared on his face.

    “What’s wrong?” He taunted, “I thought a woman of your skill and conviction wouldn’t slip up in such a crucial moment.”

    Riya tried to force her hand just a bit farther but it wouldn’t move no matter how hard she willed it. She felt her shoulder trembling yet the rest of her arm had stopped moving like broken clockwork.

    “Drop it.” Commanded Corvo.

    To her surprise, Riya felt her fingers slacken and the dagger fall to the ground. It echoed in the silence. Corvo traced a finger along Riya’s arm. “Beautiful. Exquisite. It’s definitely well crafted. Being able to keep up with your speed means this was a good choice after all.”

    “What does that mean? What’s going on?” Riya’s voice quivered a bit as she asked.

    Corvo lifted Riya’s chin to face him. “Well, if you must know, I seem to have stumbled upon an injured little birdie the other day. I thought that if I gifted her new wings perhaps she would join my flock.” Riya’s eyes widened in shock. “I’d say you’re already one of us now.”

    Riya spat at Corvo but immediately felt a stinging sensation to her face. It was her own hand that had struck her. Even her legs had now betrayed her, locking her in place.

    Corvo’s eyes were cold now. “If you won’t accept my gifts, then perhaps you’ll die with them.”

    Riya stared helplessly as she watched her own hands move towards her neck. She felt the fingers wrapping around and tightening. She could feel the heartbeat furiously pumping beneath her fingertips as the flow of blood was slowly being cut off. Tighter and tighter still, her hands were squeezing with a force she didn’t know she had. The edges of Riya’s vision were starting to darken and blur...

    “I’ll do it…” Riya choked out.

    Immediately, she felt the grip around her neck loosening. Her hands that were strangling her were now resting on her chest as she gasped. “I’m a mercenary. I’ll take on the job you have.” Riya paused to take a deep breath before pressing her luck. “It’s just this job, so don’t expect anything in the future.”

    Riya got up slowly, not sure if suddenly one of her limbs would give way and not do what she wanted. She turned and walked away with as much confidence as she could muster with uncertain legs. She tried not to let Corvo’s laughing words ring too much in her ears as she left.

    “Fly out my little birdie. Consider these wings your advance payment!”