Chapter 4 : Late Evening

Anton entered the dungeon and moved to stand directly in front of his prisoners. Neither one of the dark elves would raise their heads to actually look at him but by the increased tempo of their breathing, it was very clear that they were aware that he was there.

He had also noticed that their long ears had gone from a drooping stance to alert, and it was quite obvious that they were both now listening intently to every move he made.

Anton turned away from them and glanced around the room as he took note of each piece of furniture. He had already known which pieces he wanted but still went over what was available. He took one of the high-backed chairs and set it about ten feet or so in front of and in between the two dark elves. On either side of this chair he set up a slim, bedside table. Each of these two tables was placed directly in front of it’s own dark elf.

Satisfied with the simple set up, Anton left the room and quickly returned with a pitcher of water that had been imbued with a bottle of blue healing potion, and two tall glasses. He set these down on one of the tables and turned back to the dark elves.

Both of the dark elves had still refused to look at him or what he was doing. And at this point he was beginning to think it was possible that they were attempting to feign unconsciousness. Though if they were this effort was completely wasted as their ears betrayed them by slightly twitching back and forth as they followed his every move.

With a quiet sigh, Anton took his seat in front of them and waited.

Having had spent enough time among dark elves to have a fair understanding of their basic traits and mannerisms, Anton was familiar enough with them to know just how haughty yet dignified, proud yet courteous and avaricious yet elegant they all seemed to naturally be.

For the majority of people the way of thinking and worldviews of the dark elves were found to be very off putting, if not down right frightening, as they generally followed behavior patterns that were eerily similar to the sadistic, and conquest-hungry demons. Unlike the demons however, the dark elves had absolutely no interest in ruling over the world or it’s people as a whole, but instead only sought control at an individual by individual basis.

Their reputation as natural slavers was not a baseless stereotype, as the drive to dominate and control other living beings was a core element in their design as a race. For many of them living in the modern world, this need could be met by purchasing legal slaves, dominating willing, naturally submissive people and by keeping pet animals.

Some among them however would forgo what they considered to be societal chains and would magically enslave any and all that they choose. These actions were of course illegal on Terra and the offending dark elves would face prosecution for their crimes. This however did little to alleviate the stigma and fear from the general public. And these fears were again, not entirely baseless. Since for a dark elf, controlling the life of another sapient being was as natural an act as breathing, and in their views, there was little to no real difference between the rights of another person and those of a parakeet. For in the mind of a dark elf, both examples could make for an excellent pet.

One aspect of their reputation that Anton had found to be astonishingly false was that they were allegedly violent and abusive to those that they controlled. This was generally not the case. Although sadistic to the point that they delighted in causing pain, humiliation and fear, they were surprisingly playful in their cruelty and even while preforming acts of actual discipline they never sought to cause any permanent injury or damage. On the contrary, they were actually quite devoted to the upkeep, physical health and appearance of their chosen charges. This aspect of their behavior was more than likely due to their egotistical nature and innate desire to showcase their favored possessions to both each other and to the world at large. These desires would then manifest in an almost instinctual form of legitimate compassion. Regardless of where this behavior derived from though, it was still a universal trait nonetheless and was illustrated in a common saying among them that “Only a fool breaks their own toys and kills their own pets” and a “pet” or a “toy” is exactly what a person was likely to become if they ever found themselves in the hands of a dark elf.

Finding oneself in such a position was not necessarily an easy task however, and the vast majority of people in such a predicament did in all actuality truly deserve to be there.

Though the modern era was in essence a time of peace, violence, wanton destruction and illicit actions between and perpetrated by individuals, groups and even entire populations or species was and always would be an inevitable aspect of life.

And with such a vast array of sapient species inhabiting the planet as well as the outer realms, the artificial realms and the Void, there was realistically little to no way to safely accommodate such a multitude of different beings in any one form of prison facility for any extended length of time. At least not without said facility breaking down into what was essentially a slaughterhouse. Where larger, stronger, or those beings born with forms of natural weaponry, would inevitably injure, kill and even consume those that were tasked with guarding them, each other, and any fellow inmates that were smaller or weaker than themselves. As such, nearly all of the prison facilities that currently existed were designed to be little more than holding areas, whose only goal was to contain their given charges by whatever means were necessary.

These facilities would often be forced to resort to extreme measures in their efforts to accomplish this goal. And having to readily sacrifice the comfort, safety and mental well being of their inmates was considered an unfortunate but inevitable reality. Cruelty, through isolation, physical immobility, constant chemical sedation, manabinding and the removal of natural weapons through surgery, were all deemed regrettable but necessary practices. These and other factors often meant that most inmates would experience a sharp decline in both their physical and mental well being fairly quickly and very few would be capable of maintaining even a fair degree of health for any length of time beyond even a few months, let alone a year.

Creating a facility capable of complete segregation, and thus long term containment, was certainly possible but was in no way practical. As building, staffing and maintaining such large and complex facilities on the mass that they would be needed, was simply not cost effective for the majority of the world. Nor was it considered practical, or even possible, for most municipalities and governments to continuously cover the cost of feeding and maintaining the health and well being of such large and diverse groups. Especially when it was taken into account that some species facing life sentences would have lifespans that could number not only in decades, but in centuries or even millennia.

Another aspect that made such facilities impractical was that there was a wide host of beings that for one reason or another simply could not be contained within them. Species such as devils, sphinxes, phoenix, inari, demons, many of the draconians and so on and so forth, were simply too naturally powerful to even attempt to contain them safely in such environments. Or at least not without said beings having been first heavily modified to the point of mutilation. Other beings such as many of the voidlings, living spirits and undead, were intangible in their nature, and so too could not be easily contained by such facilities, if they could even be contained at all.

Other, far more practical, alternatives to imprisonment did exist and these included, but were not limited to, monetary debt, banishment to outer realms, execution, rehabilitation programs, and of course, enslavement.

Though the practice would always have it’s proponents, slavery, through binding curses, charms or enchantments, was considered a very necessary element of both modern society and civilization as a whole. As it had proven time and again to be a viable method to safely remove individuals that refused to or were, for one reason or another, deemed unfit or unable to remain a part of functional society and place them in controlled environments where they would have a much higher likelihood of maintaining a better quality of life than they would otherwise find in a pure prison setting.

Such a punishment which entailed the stripping of nearly all given rights, was rarely handed down for a first offense, with the exception of murder or the attempt there of, but was often utilized as a means to remove overly violent aggressors or repeat offenders who had shown an inability to uphold a moral standard that fell inline with the rest of civilization and would thus be facing an extended period of incarceration. This fate was no secret to the general population, and was openly touted as a deterrent to potential criminals.

Although the various states, countries, kingdoms and realms that made up all of Existence each had their own sets of laws and were free to hand down judgments on their offenders in whatever manner that they saw fit. An atmosphere of zero tolerance for unjustified violence and the majority of criminal activities was nearly universal. As was the practice of making examples of the guilty as this in of itself worked to discourage many would be aggressors. Though this mindset may at first appearance seem to be lacking in compassion it was without question considered absolutely necessary, as the world was populated with countless individuals who possessed the natural strength, abilities and power that made them all quite capable of taking lives or generating extreme levels of destruction at any given moment. For such individuals the incentive to behave morally and make the correct choices in their lives would often come down to the singular realization that if they didn’t maintain control of themselves, then someone else would happily do so for them.

Though stripped of their freedom and the majority of their rights, a global standard for those placed into slavery on Terra did exist. And a series of regulations were in place to alleviate the potential cruelty, abuse, neglect and exploitation of those enslaved.

All individuals who found themselves as slaves, regardless of where in the world they were made as such, would be entered into a global registry that would assign them a unique identification number and would maintain a record of their lives for the duration of their enslavement. Slaves recorded as such by this registry would be viewed as “Living Commodities” and could then be sold and traded freely across a global market where they could be purchased by individuals only, as non-individual entities such as municipalities, corporations, enterprises, laboratories, religious institutions or any other form of organization whether for profit or not, could not legally own slaves as this would be considered a form of exploitation.

Once a purchase was made a slave owner would then be in complete control of and wholly responsible, both financially and morally, for their given slave and would then be required to both provide proof of heath checks and pay all registration fees on an annual basis. They would also be free to bind their slave in any way that they saw fit. Though the majority would generally utilize one of the aforementioned curses, charms or enchantments.

Slaves bound in such a fashion would then become linked to their owners via their souls, in a pliable non-permanent way. And depending on the will of their owners, could have their minds “Locked Back” to varying degrees, where on one end of the spectrum they would have complete freewill and essentially be at a non-bound state, while on the other side of the extreme they could be reduced to a doll-like, nearly autonomous state where they would be incapable of any freewill at all. Regardless of where on this spectrum an enslaved individual fell they would still remain purely biological and would continue to require sustenance, shelter and upkeep. Slaves, as living biological beings, would still be subjected to the effects of fatigue, sickness, hunger, injury, environmental conditions, mental stress, hygiene and other natural urges and instincts. All negative aspects that they did not share with purely artificial beings.

Constructs such as golems, automatons and homunculi which could all be crafted to varying specifications, subsisted purely on mana and could be created in whatever numbers were needed, made the concept of using slaves as a labor force completely impractical and in no way cost effective. As such the vast majority of slaves were not and had never been, even historically, kept for such purposes, and if given jobs at all would more often than not be regulated to simple domestic roles such as servants, housekeepers, cooks and groundskeepers.

Slaves were of course also commonly kept and used for personal entertainment and pleasure as well. But this was not as all-inclusive as one would think and slaves were just as likely to be seen as bodyguards, personal assistants, live-in caretakers for the elderly, babysitters or even utilized as living elements in home defense. Added to this list were the many slaves that were kept simply for the novelty of keeping them, with such slaves existing as little more than companions for their owners.

Although the vast majority of slaves found themselves as such through their own illicit actions, it was entirely possible for any person to voluntarily enter into slavery if they so choose to. This was far from typical but was still common enough that it was not necessarily considered a taboo and many people would choose to do this to escape their various hardships, or to simply live as such under the care of another being. Those who entered into slavery willingly could simply become a slave outright or they could instead choose to sell themselves through a proxy agency that would allow them to choose their own owners via a veto system.

Surprisingly, there was actually a wide range of species that were naturally predisposed to such conditions and would often willingly enter into such a lifestyle. Beings such as brownies, the various species of cubi, nekomata, monuca, silkies, kikimora, gargoyles, nightgaunts and many more. Were all inclined to enlist the aid of such agencies in order to find a compatible and willing owner. These beings would then live their lives as little more than sapient pets that were completely reliant upon, and often infatuated with, their chosen owners.

This, as was said before, was of course in no way typical. As the vast majority of slaves were by and large of the criminal persuasion and as such were generally overtly aggressive and potentially violent beings that were often ill-disposed to even the idea of being under the control of another individual. This fairly common tendency made it necessary to treat most slaves with a certain amount of hesitation. And those that did not wish to lock away their slaves freewill and personality would often be forced to “Tame Down” their slaves through various methods.

One of these methods would be to subject their slaves to what was known as “Behavior Modification Training” and there were many owners who would enlist the aid of an experienced individual who could then administer this training and “Tame Down” their slaves for them.

And no single race had a better reputation for both taming and training other sapient beings than the natural slavers themselves, the dark elves. Two of whom were currently experiencing such a process first hand, though not quite from the perspectives that their kind were traditionally accustomed to.

It had now been just over two days ago that Anton had first locked the dark elves into their bondage. Two days at least without any food, water or interaction of any kind, save for the few instances in which the dark elves had each inevitably messed themselves and it had became necessary for them to cleaned. This had of course been a humiliating situation for them and Anton couldn’t help but to be amused by both their refusal to look at him as well their failed attempts to remain stoic and aloof throughout these experiences.

These instances aside though, the dark elves had been left completely alone and with nothing to sustain themselves beyond their own thoughts and will. And regardless of how strong willed these dark elves may be, their bodies would eventually begin to give out and betray them. All that was needed now was time and patience, two things that for the moment at least, Anton had in spades.

For the next several hours the dark elves proved out on their reputation of being stubborn, prideful creatures. But try as they might the subtle signs of cracking were there.

With the relentless and randomized stimulation from the sybians keeping all but the most fleeting slips of sleep at bay, their exhaustion was obvious. Both of the dark elves were currently slumped forward and were literally hanging from the chains attached to their shoulder harnesses. When they had first woken back up and found themselves locked into their bondage, they had fought fiercely against their bounds. Pulling against their chains, bucking atop the sybians, and screaming through their gags for hours and hours before finally breaking down to their fatigue. Their battle ultimately proving useless against the unyielding leather and metal that held them in place. Even now it was all too possible to believe that they left their heads to hang low out of fatigue rather than pride. Or at least it would be if it were not for the alertness of their ears, and the unmistakable essence of raw, unfiltered, boiling hatred that seemed to be emanating out from every single pore of their entire beings.