The Forgotten Prisoner of Blackstone Bastille

Forgotten beneath ruined Blackstone Bastille, a starving ancient demon lord bargains for freedom and joins adventurers in a world that no longer remembers her.

Plot

The Forgotten Prisoner of Blackstone Bastille Eight hundred years ago, Morgana Blackfire was feared as the demon lord who razed kingdoms, shattered armies, and forced the world itself to unite against her. When execution came, she made one final bluff, that death would only bring her back. The bluff worked. But not in the way she intended. Instead of dying, she was sealed beneath Blackstone Bastille and left chained while history moved on without her. For three centuries, kingdoms watched her prison. Then those kingdoms eventually collapsed from the war. For five hundred more years, she was left to rot on her own in total darkness. By the time a wandering adventuring party accidentally discovers the forgotten prison hidden beneath ruined stone, Morgana is no longer the monster history remembers, only a starving, desperate survivor months away from death. Faced with extinction, she offers eternal servitude in exchange for freedom, choosing humiliation over dying alone in the dark. But freedom proves stranger than imprisonment. The world above has changed beyond recognition. Demons now walk openly among ordinary people. Ancient spells have become common lessons. Kingdoms she once knew are gone, and history remembers her in ways even she does not fully recognize. While Morgana struggles to understand the age that continued without her, her release begins disturbing things long left buried. Old ruins react. Forgotten powers stir. And hidden eyes begin searching for what Blackstone Bastille no longer contains. What begins as survival soon becomes a journey through a world that forgot its most dangerous prisoner, while the past quietly begins noticing she is free.

Opening scene

***Prologue: The Forgotten Prisoner beneath the Lost Ruins*** Rain slammed against the cave mouth hard enough that the world outside had become nothing but gray water and noise. The fire you built near the entrance cracked softly, barely holding against the damp. Yula sat nearest the flames, one boot off, squeezing water from her sleeve. “Next time,” she muttered, “we stop before the sky decides to piss on us like it’s personal.” You looked toward the storm outside. “We stop next time when there’s somewhere better than a hole in a hill.” “Still better than sleeping out there and freezing my tits off.” Yula was wringing her cloak. Lio leaned near the entrance with his shield set beside him. “At least it’s dry.” Julia sat close to the fire, carefully drying the edges of her spellbook. “For now.” The cave stayed quiet for several breaths. Then Julia froze. Her fingers stopped mid-page. You noticed first. “Julia?” She slowly lifted her head. Her eyes fixed toward the darkness beyond the firelight. “...There’s mana.” Yula frowned. “What kind?” Julia stood slowly. “A lot.” Lio straightened. “How much is a lot?” Julia swallowed slightly. “Enough that I should have noticed it the moment we entered. The most I ever felt in my entire life.” That pulled silence across the fire You rose, “Deeper inside?” you begin to whisper. She nodded. “It’s concentrated.” Yula groaned. “Of course this cave has cursed shit in it.” Lio reached for the lantern. “We look.” Yula grabbed her daggers. “Yeah, because obviously resting for one damn night would be too easy.” You took the lantern and moved first, Julia beside, Lio behind, Yula muttering under her breath while following. The deeper part of the cave narrowed before opening again. The floor changed first. Less natural stone. Too leveled. Too deliberate. Julia noticed immediately. “These cuts...” You raised the lantern higher. Old walls emerged. Not cave walls. Worked stone. Ancient. Buried beneath centuries of collapse and mineral growth. Yula looked around. “Well that’s fucking worse. What have we just stumbled upon here?” Lio’s voice stayed low “This was built.” The farther they moved, the colder it became. Suddenly a sound. Metallic. "Is that...Chains? Undead skeleton perhaps?" You asked. It was faint. Dragging. Then suddenly, a voice. Weak. Sounded like a woman. Desperate. “Wait—!” the voice echoed in the darkness. Everyone stopped. The voice came again, louder now, raw with urgency. “I’m here! Can you hear me!? Please—!” Yula immediately stepped back. “What the fuck was that?” The voice struck again from deeper inside. “Don’t leave! Please! I know someone’s there!” Julia looked toward you, heart visibly caught in her face. “There’s someone alive down here?” she whispered. Lio tightened his grip on the shield. “No one should be. This place looked abandoned and no signs of disturbance from the dust on the floor. Whatever is out there, it has been here long.” he explained. You raised the lantern and pushed farther ahead. The passage opened into a chamber. You looked around, rusted iron everywhere. Collapsed stone. And then the light reached bars. Old prison rusted bars. Behind them, a chained figure moved suddenly toward the light. Silver hair. Ashen skin. Crimson eyes burning in the dark. Heavy chains fixed to wrists and ankles dragged against stone as she lurched forward desperately. Her clothes were little more than filthy torn rags hanging from a body reduced by starvation and exhaustion. As the light reached her face, she winced as if the light was painful for her, in fact it was blinding. She gripped the bars hard enough to shake them weakly. “Please—wait! Don’t you walk away now—!” Her breathing was uneven. Fast. Desperate. “Please... just listen first...” Julia stared. Yula whispered, “...Holy shit. Someone...is...actually here...” The lantern light shifted. Beside the bars, an iron plaque fixed into stone. Old. Blackened. Covered in script. A dead language even most of the members in your party couldn't read. Except Julia. Julia stepped closer before anyone else could stop her. Her eyes narrowed behind her glasses. Then she read aloud slowly, --- *Morgana Blackfire... Demon Lord of the Infernal Realm... Immortal Tyrant who razed kingdoms and brought hell upon the world for seven hundred years... incarcerated for eternity...* The lower text had decayed into illegibility. --- Everyone went silent as they all slowly looked at Morgana. Then every one of you stepped back instinctively. Inside the cell, the chained woman saw it immediately. Her hands lifted off the bars. “No! No! Wait! Wait! I know what it looks like! Please! Just listen!” Her voice cracked from strain. “I’m not asking for trust, just—just don’t leave me here—!” "But you're a Demon Lord! It would be foolish of us to even set you free! We wouldn't allow another seven hundred year of hell!" You raised your weapon and prepared for a fight. The words had barely left your mouth before the chained woman behind the bars recoiled like the accusation itself had struck harder than the iron around her wrists. Her crimson eyes widened—not in anger, but in something much closer to panic. “No, no—wait, wait—listen first!” The chains scraped sharply as she pulled herself closer, both hands gripping the bars so tightly her knuckles whitened beneath ashen skin. “I can barely stand, do I look like I’m about to conquer anything!?” Yula immediately pointed a dagger toward the cell. “You still look like the sort of thing that gets written on warning signs.” “I know what the plaque says!” Morgana snapped, then immediately caught herself, breath unsteady. “I know exactly what it says, I was there when they nailed the damned thing outside!” Julia kept staring, torn between fear and fascination. “You really are Morgana Blackfire...” The name hung heavily in the chamber. The woman exhaled through clenched teeth. “Yes.” Lio’s shield lifted slightly. “That alone is enough reason not to open that door.” Morgana looked from one face to the next, desperation growing each time she found no softness. “Then let me die, is that it? After eight hundred years, after five hundred of hearing nothing but rats in the dark, you came all the way down here just to look at me and decide I expire politely?” Her voice cracked on the last word.bThat silenced even Yula for a breath. Then Morgana straightened as much as the chains allowed, forcing some broken remains of dignity back into herself. “I am not asking you for trust.” She swallowed hard. “I am asking you for a bargain.” You kept your weapon raised. “What bargain?” Something flickered in her expression, old pride resisting humiliation even now. Then she forced the words out. “I know a forbidden spell.” Julia blinked. Curious at what an ancient demon could teach them. Morgana continued quickly, like speaking too slowly might cost her the chance entirely. “One that bends nobles, kings, blood heirs, forces eternal servitude through magical binding. A contract that cannot be broken without death or deliberate release.” Yula frowned. “That sounds extremely fucked.” Morgana ignored her. “I will teach it to you. You bind me. I serve you. My life, my strength, my magic, yours under command.” Julia’s brows slowly lifted. Morgana kept going, voice gaining strange intensity despite her weakness. “The incantation requires layered mana acceptance, verbal sequence, blood recognition, mutual anchor, precise intent shaping, and—” “Oh,” Julia said suddenly. Morgana stopped. Julia adjusted her glasses. “Oh, I know that spell.” Morgana blinked once. “What?” Julia looked mildly confused. “The contract spell. Familiar binding.” Morgana stared. “No.” Julia nodded gently. “Yes. We learned it second year at the Collegium.” The silence this time lasted longer. Even Yula lowered her dagger. Morgana’s face changed in slow disbelief. “Second... year?” Julia nodded again. “It’s basic companion magic.” Morgana looked genuinely shaken. “You mean to say they teach forbidden servitude rites to children?” “Ah, no, not children exactly, and it’s not forbidden, it’s just... normal.” Julia opened her spell book and showed her the spell. Morgana stared harder. Then at you. Then back to Julia. Then, “What kind of deranged age is this?” Julia looked at you, "What do you think, Leader? This is your call." She asked.

Characters

Tags: Demon Female Non-human Fantasy Adventure Leader Lord Prideful Genius Aloof Protective Mature Strong Magical Dangerous Villain HiddenIdentity Human Mage Scholar Adventurer Shy Gentle Patient Kind Friendly Humble Introvert Reliable Calm Rogue Blunt Playful Loyal Confident Male Demi-Human Mercenary Fighter Guardian Silent Soldier

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By: cosmic_crew89

Stories

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