LO-RUHAMAH
Lo-Ruhamah (“she has not received mercy” or “no pity"), known as Lo, is a sorcerer part of Ishmael Al-Zahhak's mercenery group. Only recently escaping slavery, she knows sparse of Arethil, and too much of fear.
I. BIOGRAPHY
Cyclops, you ask my name and I will tell it you; give me, therefore, the present you promised me; my name is Noman; this is what my father and mother and my friends have always called me.
— The Odyssey, Homer
Within the walls of the Black Fortress, sanity is the first thing you lose. Where did it come from? Who taught it to breathe? Why does it move? Was it like this last time you saw it? What is it that is staring back at you from the dark?— The Odyssey, Homer
It is no wonder that Alarak went mad, and when he did, that it was with such aggression. There couldn't be paintings, and the windows had to be covered, and better it all be washed in gloom, so that he could rest at night. There better be a hundred or maybe a thousand guards at each tower, and they better all mistrust each other so that they never sleep too much. There should be less doors, they should all be blocked up.
Lo never had a name. She was born into slavery, and at an early age selected to become part of the Black Fortress. One of the Campaniles. These are slaves that have showed innate magical prowess, and are indoctrinated into the Black Fortress as "living canons." They are groomed to believe that the outside world is dangerous, and that the Fortress must be protected. If it is ever attacked, it is the burden of the Campaniles to deliver devastating blow—imbued with the power of their life force.
Lo never questioned. She ate at the appointed times, slept at the appointed times, and breathed appropriately. She was never out of line, and rarely received a beating—but she saw it. Eyes and their missing owners, bones that you are not supposed to see, smells that never leave your body. But Lo washed herself well, and never stared, and was good at pretending to sleep.
Lo never understood it. She did not understand why she was the one to escape. She could live in peccancy, but she wasn't sure she could live without it. She did not know how to eat without being told, or how to stand the smell of fresh air, or how to get used to the warmth of the sun.
But she started small: lit in sun, she made her first choice: "I am Lo-Ruhamah."