Have you ever looked at the sun and thought to yourself: I am so lucky. I can see sunlight, breath the air around it, and feel it caress every pore of my face. Have you ever thought what it would be like to have the sun; light, ripped away from you at a moments notice?

It is the year 406E, on the planet of Ravir. The prisons of the city of Skaarth have been growing and growing in number for years, and the city has no plans to create any more, or to expand existing prisons. Why should they? They can simply exile the worst of the scum to the Pit. Ah, the Pit. A dreadful place. Some of the local city-folk say that it is a door into Hell itself. Others say it isn't even real, and that they kill the prisoners and pile them up into a single grave. Regardless of whether it is true, the prisoners are told this: Whoever gets launched into the one-hundred thousand foot Pit will have to climb back up, until they finally see the light of day. They will face trial after trial in the dungeons of an old prison, until they can somehow make it out alive. At that moment, they will be free. No one knows if anyone has ever escaped the Pit. Perhaps those who have made it keep quiet for fear of being thrown into prison once again. Whatever the reason, the Pit is a frightening mystery, of which the very unlucky few have set eyes upon.

Now, a man and a woman will lock eyes in a prison room, for they have both just been designated for the Pit, along with about fifty other unlucky prisoners. Only time will tell if they even have a chance at survival, or if they have been just sentenced to death.

---

"Why should I have to come with you? It's 3 in the morning, blessed Thorntas..." This was the grumble of a half-asleep Olivia Jolene Mason; A petty thief with a love for shiny valuables. The only thing she loved more than the shine of coins or jewels was her own jokes. "Ugh..." She continued to grumble, as the look on the guards eyes said he didn't plan to let her return to her slumber.
She rubbed the morning crust off her eyes that had begun to form, and then she attempted to kick of her sheets. She struggled to get untangled from her blankets; she had been in such a deep sleep, that her blankets had started to hug her. She somehow got her feet on the floor, her blanket billowing down to the floor next to her. "Gosh, of all the lousy nights you pick the one where I actually fall asleep?"
She motioned for the guard to turn around so she could change into her prison uniform. Those black and white stripes were hideous, but she had gotten to used to them at this point so she forgot what a fashion disaster they were. "No, that won't be necessary, cretin. It will only be for a moment."
"Well," Olivia said, "Alright then. Whatever floats your boat Mr. Clunky-boots!" Olivia giggled at her joke about the guards armor. She then let the guard tie her arms behind her back. She was ready to go, but the guard hadn't pushed her forward yet. She turned to look at him, and he was looking at his boots! Olivia snorted and cackled, while the red-faced guard pushed her along like he had retained her respect.
They walked through the halls until the guard brought her to the familiar meeting room. She noticed that many other prisoners were already there, and she was forced to kneel in front of a podium with all the rest. She felt like a guillotine was going to chop all of their heads off any second.
"Hello, all!" A suspiciously cheerful voice mused. "And welcome to the Pit briefing session!"
Olivia gulped.

The cell doors rattle as the guard rapped his torch on it. "Wakey wakey, you get to come with me," the guard said playfully. Octavius Dolorrance got up from his bed. "Slept good huh? Surprise ya?" Bintos, Octavius's personal guard, asked. Octavius looked up with a blank look, "Yep, you woke me, very nice." Bintos saw his face and knew that Octavius was awake the second he started to walk up to his cell. "Whatever, you scum. Was hoping I was going to get before you die, but today was my last chance. Go to the wall and put your hands where I can see them. Once I let you out go to the other guard in the other room. Don't bother trying to escape, there isn't a way out in here."

Octavius got this special treatment and personal guard because of his crimes; murder, assassinations, theft, and more. He's been in prison for only two weeks before the officials of Skaarth decided keeping him in a conventional prison cell was too costly and risky. He served time many times and many times he escaped as well. Octavius is very skillful with his craft: killing. Bintos is, too say the least, a bully. He's lazy and abuses many prisoners and even other lower guards, so when Octavius slit his throat he believed he did the world a favor. He followed the last words of Bintos and went to the other guard. "Where's Bintos?" The newer guard asks. "I dunno, probably went to catch a nap before he pushes me around some more. Anyways lets go," Octavius answers. "Yeah seems like him," the guard muttered, "alright come." The two go to a meeting hall leaving Bintos on Octavius' old bed.

Olivia couldn't believe her ears. Me? In the Pit? No way! There has to be some mistake. Olivia spoke up at this moment. "I believe there has to be some mistake. I'm just a petty thief! I surely don't deserve th--"
"The prison has reviewed your history here at the prison," The smiling man at the podium interrupted, his grin faltering slightly, "And we have determined that your cell could be better used for more petty criminals. After all, you did attempt to steal the first lady's prized jewels, Ms. Mason." The man's face looked grim. "Do NOT speak out again, unless you would rather be executed by one of out trusty fellows at the door."
Olivia turned and saw two huge brutes with batons guarding the door to the meeting hall. They would beat me to death? Savages, all of them. I like to think I'm a high class thief, thank you very much. Olivia closed her eyes and hung her head as the man regained his grin, and cleared his throat.
"As I was saying, you have all been chosen for the Pit. Oh, come now, don't look so depressed. If any of you were serving lifetime or extended sentences, this is a real opportunity for you! Chin up, children!" It was at this moment that a prisoner came waltzing into the meeting hall, as if he owned the place. He had only a single guard accompanying him, and he kneeled in front of the podium by himself.
"Well now, what a lovely choice for the Pit, officers." The man at the podium chortled. "You all will be transferred first thing in the morning. At 6:00 a guard will come back to retrieve you from your cells. I would take the time between now and your initiation to pray if you have any ounce of remorse, you wretches." And with that, the stocky man in a suit hopped off the podium, showing how short he truly was. He wore an extremely tall top hat to make himself appear taller. Olivia would have laughed, had she not just been damned to Hell.
She glanced back to the man who had so casually kneeled in front of the podium, to find she had locked eyes with him. She quickly looked at the ground. She realized with a shock who he was: Octavius Dolorrance, Master Assassin. He had murdered the High Overseer the same day she had stolen the First Lady's jeweled necklace. The only reason she was caught was because she had found the body and screamed, alerting the nearby guards. The only reason they didn't pin her for the murder was because Octavius had left his mark on the body, though she had no idea what that exactly was. She looked back at him and hated him. He was the reason she was here. And she hoped he died first.

Octavius entered the meeting hall as many eyes caught him. He looked at everyone in the room Five looks of dislike, 10 looks of hate, four wanted to kill me, amusing. He recognized 15 people, set for the pit with him. Three men he saw in one job, the son of one of his past target, two widows, one widower, one he used to work with, four guests at a party, two targets he never got around to, and a petty thief that posed as a guest on another job. The rest were people he's never seen before thought they seemed to know him. The thief seem to oddly hate Octavius though he wondered why. He never pointed her out while she stole from the First Lady as attention was not something he seeked.

The man on the podium then made a remark, something about a good choice. Octavius didn't like this man and decided he will kill him when he escapes. He knows he will escape, he always does, not even this pit will stop him. Some doubt sinks in his mind though and decided alliances will have to be made if he wishes to escape from something as mysterious as the pit. He scans the room for potential teammates. Obviously none of the ones that want to kill him are candidates so he ignores those. A buff man catches his eye first, he likes that he seems he can hold is own, but seems headstrong and rash. He probably can't control him. He looks over to his old business partner and remembers he's quite the backstabber and kind of a weak fellow. He'll betray him as soon as there is someone better, not really anyone he wants to work with again. His name was Theyrone.

Octavius then sees the thief, he never caught her name but, he saw her skills at the party. She was talented, though not really sure how a pickpocket can help him in the pit. There is also the fact that she gave him a hating look. Why? He has done nothing to her. No one seemed like a good ally, but in desperate times you never know.

"All right now! Get up, prisoners!" The leader of the guard personnel resounded. The guards all stood at attention as the prisoners all struggled up from their kneeling positions, with their arms still tied behind their backs. "You heard the man! 6:00!" And with that, the prisoners were pushed and prodded all the way back to their cells. Some of the prisoners were in silent shock, others were hysterical. The only two with strange emotions were the assassin and the thief. And the thief was angry.

Olivia was shoved into her cell by Mr. Clunky Boots. "Not so smart now, are we honey?" The guard said, and smiled a victorious grin before he chortled and shook his head. Olivia was in no mood for this. When the guard wasn't looking, she stuck her slender foot through the bars and tripped him.
"Oops!" Olivia coo-ed, "I suppose I'm really not that smart! My mistake, officer!" She batted her eyes for sarcastic effect, as the guard lifted himself from the cold prison floor and dusted filth off of his uniform. "Dumb bitch!" He yelled, and spat at her before clunking angrily down the hall.
Olivia couldn't even laugh this time. She got up from the floor and looked into her grime covered, broken mirror. The pit huh? Is this how it ends for me? Olivia looked at her freckled face, and felt as if she was looking at someone else. Poor girl. Young and about to die. A shame. She paused that thought. Who would think it was a shame that she died? Would anyone? She thought back to her family, her mother who died while starving herself so her children could eat, her father, working himself to death in the Yakrium mines even in his old age trying to buy a loaf of bread, and her sister --
She looked at herself in the eyes through the mirror. Her sister who somehow romanced a rich man and is now living a fairy tale somewhere in Brett. My sisters there, and I'm here in a penitentiary getting ready to kiss my life of crime goodbye. She had always been envious of her sisters good fortune but, not like this.

At least my sister gets to live.
She closed her eyes, then shook her head. No tears today: she had work to do.

If Olivia was going to survive the pit, she would need as many supplies as she can carry. First she grabbed all of her uniforms and folded them as compactly as possible. Then, she grabbed her father's mining helmet which they had let her keep as her single item. Lastly, she took the tiny flask of mead she had been saving for a rainy day and stuck it in her pack, along with some pillow cases. She then wrapped these things into a blanket, which she then wrapped around the tiny bit of rope that had been used to tie her arms back. She then tied the rope across her shoulder and chest, with the blanket serving as a makeshift rucksack. Hey, I should at least get points for being resourceful. She thought to herself. She peered at the clock next to her bed. It was 4:30.
Olivia's final step was to make a tiny belt. She looks around for something suitable, and found her extra pair of boots that they used when breaking apart rocks with picks in the courtyard. She reached under her mattress and found her trusty shank. Then, she cut the boots into tiny strips that she could use for manufacturing a tool belt. Somehow she was able to tie these together and make a belt, with additional loops of leather to hang things from. She slipped her shank into the breast pocket of her uniform, then looked at the time.
It was 6: which meant it was showtime.

"What the fuck is this!?" A guard yelled seeing Bintos's body. "Sorry, didn't think I'd be coming back quite yet," Octavius said. "Jeez, I mean I didn't like the guy but... Anyways we're going to move you. We'd execute you, but you're already good as dead." Five more guards came and tied Octavius up and was lead to a new cell with sticks. Once he got to the cell they cut him loose, locked the door tight, and scuttled out fast.

Still missed my shivs I guess. Octavius thought as he played with the one in his mouth with his tongue. He grabbed his sheets and wrapped them around his body under his clothes. He sat down and looked at his ring, one of the things he was allowed to keep. It was golden holding a circular plate with diamonds around it. He popped open the ring revealing a thin sheet with cyanide in it.

Who knows what's in the pit. This might be better, but then again it's not like me. Octavius closed the ring. Both parents dead or alive somewhere and maybe siblings as well. He could've killed them for all he knows. All he does know is the art of killing. Grown up with it when he was young by his master and adoptive father. He was suppose to take over and be the heir of She-ari-arte, but Octavius never cared much for teaching people what he knew. He ran and became a freelance assassin, made quite the name of himself. Octavius looked up from his ring, it was six.

A large gaping hole in the ground. A pit so deep that it is but a giant black spot in a grey wasteland. The area around the pit is dying and devoid of life, the ground looking as if it was made of ground up bones rather than dry dirt and gravel. The most desolate place in Ravir, the outskirts of Skaarth known oxymoronically as the Botania Wastes, had an eery breeze blowing throughout it; The soldier's flags that were tied to their polearms, were blowing slowly as if to signify the end. The soldiers stood at perfect attention, watching. They were waiting for the signal from the Dignus Master General.
"Well, well." The weathered soldier senior had a low and gravelly voice, devoid of compassion. He spoke with hardly any inflection or change of tone; his voice barely being heard above the whistling breeze of death. His back was raised taut, with a single hand resting upon his obtrusively-large and garnished blade. His left hand was carrying a helmet resembling the face of a bat. "It would seem we have another snack for Melidius." He said the name of the grim usurper as if he were feeding a well-behaved pet. The soldiers standing at attention looked confused about whether it was a joke. They decided to go the middle route and fake stifling a chortle or two.
"Now, then." The Dignus Master General looked at the prisoners, then raised a gaudily armored right arm. "Guide the prisoner's to the edge, men."
Without Olivia realizing it, a row of soldiers had been standing behind them, preventing any hope of escape. The herded them forward, until all of their toes were hanging off the edge. Olivia gulped and closed her eyes. She felt faint after not seeing the bottom, and knew if she blacked out now she would fall off the edge and die. She felt a cold sweat beginning to form in the suspense.
Outside of her concentration, a gruff voice barked: "Let 'em fly!"
Olivia's eyes were forced open as she was kicked from the side of the cliff into the deep expanse of the Pit. She knew the only way she would survive would be to slow her fall, so she attempted to make her way to the edge of the Pit. Once close, she dragged the bottoms of her boots on the side of the walls to slow her falling speed. Once she had slowed a bit, she whipped out her shank and slammed it between the cracks of bricks on the side of the wall.
"Whew!" She breathed a sigh of relief, and dug her left fingers into the cracks as well.
"That was--" Out of nowhere the poorly made shank broke. She then was dangling by one hand. She quickly found foothold and prepared herself mentally for the rock-climb down.

---

Down, and down, and down she went, climbing slowly but surely to the bottom. Her limbs were shaking, and she was parched, but she kept going. Suddenly, she heard a noise above her, and it was the sound...of someone falling.
She attempted to dodge, the body, but to no avail. The man startled her, loosening her grip and she came stumbling after him, landing right on top of him.
"Whoever you are, you're dead! I'm going to use you to lighten my fall you stupid oaf!"
She held onto him for dear life as they plummeted, not realizing it was the assassin that landed her here in the first place.

Octavius jumped before he was pushed off and immediately grabbed on the ledge. The guards attempted to stab his fingers, but he dodged all attempts at his digits.
"Hm another fighter?" The Dignus Master General walked over to Octavius. "look either way you die, I'd rather you died this way because this was the order." He put his face closer. "Come on, make it easier will you?:
Suddenly Octavius shoved his shank right at the General's face. The General barley had to to catch the blade at the palm of his hand.
"FUCK!" He bellowed, "KILL HIM!" before anyone could do anything Octavius smirked and said, "Just wanted to give you a goodbye present, hold on to it for me, I'll be back for it" and then dropped in the abyss. He fell and then started to slide on the wall to slow his fall. Octavius noticed someone below him and let himself free fall to so the person can cushion his landing.

The duo dropped to the bottom with a...splash. Somehow, they both managed to fall into a basin below, with others' bodies crumpled and bloody surrounding them. Maggots and other parasites climbed over the new bodies, feasting upon the piles of flesh.

The smell was unbearable. Olivia puked over the side of the basin, before turning to the person she was going to use to cushion her fall. "Hey, no hard feelin's--" She started, before realizing in the dim light of the torches that this person was that blasted assassin. "You!" She started, and stood up out of the rancid water in shivering fury. "You're the reason I'm even down here you sick bastard! If you hadn't assassinated the king the day I was going to plan out my biggest heist, none of this would have happened!" She was about to leap out of the basin, but she realized that stepping into a pit full of parasites would probably lead to a slow death.

Olivia decided that the only course of action was to suck up her pride, and to make amends. She hated the thought but if either of them were to get away from the landfill of bodies they found themselves in, they needed to work together. She turned back to the confused assassin.

"Alright lookit." She sighed. "If we're going to get out of this, we need to...work together..."She grumbled the last bit as if she were taking medicine. "We can't very well walk to that door over there," She said as she gestured to a door to the north, "As we'll be infected by maggots, or worse. So let's just attempt to scoot this basin here over there. That way, no one dies slowly of a terrible disease, and maybe both of us can make it out of here. Deal?" She extended one stern hand in truce.