The Guard and Red Veins
Megan Dement
Dr. G.S. Lewis
CSDY 3323
December 11th 2012
Land of the Redeemed
There are only three prisons in the teeming city of Nikoau. Baolict Prison: for those who commit crimes of disloyalty or treachery. Shamua Prison: for those who commit crimes of thievery. Nolodao Prison: for those who commit violent crimes and harm the sanctity of the body and mind.
Nolodao is the place where Yyusuk, the son of the Devil, calls home. Yyusuk didn’t remember any other place except Nolodao, nor did he remember having any possessions, relationships or any other lifestyle. The only people he ever saw were the guards and the only people he ever talked to were the inmates. He knew and learned only what they had told him, and what they had told him was little.
The first thing Yyusuk learned of was his name. From the beginning of his memory, he remembered the inmates calling him Devil Son. When he asked them as a child what a devil was, he was told it was the ruler of all evil and the one who caused all suffering. Asking them why they called him such a name produced no answer to quell his curiosity. They would respond in riddles or give him no answer at all. The guards however, called him by another name whenever they took him from his cell: Yyusuk. He couldn’t ask them why they called him that name lest he be punished. He had made that mistake once in his life and it was not worth repeating. Thankfully he preferred the name Yyusuk more than Devil Son so he accepted his title without contemplation or pursuit.
Yyusuk sat on the floor of his cell in his preferred spot, his back against the icy stone wall and facing the cell door. Outside of his cell was a lone torch perched on the corridor wall facing his cell door, its light creeping through the metal bars and coming short of his feet by a few inches. The edges of the bar’s shadows wavered on the ground, mimicking the flame that fluttered with each sudden touch of air. He sat with his knees bent, drawn to his
Dr. G.S. Lewis
CSDY 3323
December 11th 2012
Land of the Redeemed
There are only three prisons in the teeming city of Nikoau. Baolict Prison: for those who commit crimes of disloyalty or treachery. Shamua Prison: for those who commit crimes of thievery. Nolodao Prison: for those who commit violent crimes and harm the sanctity of the body and mind.
Nolodao is the place where Yyusuk, the son of the Devil, calls home. Yyusuk didn’t remember any other place except Nolodao, nor did he remember having any possessions, relationships or any other lifestyle. The only people he ever saw were the guards and the only people he ever talked to were the inmates. He knew and learned only what they had told him, and what they had told him was little.
The first thing Yyusuk learned of was his name. From the beginning of his memory, he remembered the inmates calling him Devil Son. When he asked them as a child what a devil was, he was told it was the ruler of all evil and the one who caused all suffering. Asking them why they called him such a name produced no answer to quell his curiosity. They would respond in riddles or give him no answer at all. The guards however, called him by another name whenever they took him from his cell: Yyusuk. He couldn’t ask them why they called him that name lest he be punished. He had made that mistake once in his life and it was not worth repeating. Thankfully he preferred the name Yyusuk more than Devil Son so he accepted his title without contemplation or pursuit.
Yyusuk sat on the floor of his cell in his preferred spot, his back against the icy stone wall and facing the cell door. Outside of his cell was a lone torch perched on the corridor wall facing his cell door, its light creeping through the metal bars and coming short of his feet by a few inches. The edges of the bar’s shadows wavered on the ground, mimicking the flame that fluttered with each sudden touch of air. He sat with his knees bent, drawn to his