Magic Evolution

Heavy footsteps echoed in a narrow, dark hallway, they were coming from the thick pair of leather boots of an imposing man who was walking mechanically to his destination; the only place where this hallway led... He was wearing a black uniform suitable for the arrival of the freezing temperatures of the winter; loose, padded pants, a very thick coat and a chapka that covered half of his forehead as well as his ears. On his left pectoral were two pieces of rectangular fabric sewn to his uniform. On one of them was written the words 'in pain you will find salvation' in russian and on the other a succession of numbers and letters indicating his ID number. At the level of his eyes, there were square plinths all along the hallway walls at regular intervals with small circular orbs encrusted in the middle, casting a faint white light. The light was barely intense enough to notice the purple color of the stone in which the hallway had been carved. When the guard saw that one of the orbs was flashing instead of providing sustained light like it was supposed to, he couldn't help but swear, "When are we going to change that shitty lighting?!" He walked over to the faulty orb and patted it stubbornly with one of his fingers, "Come on. Come on!" Of course, that wouldn't solve anything and wouldn't affect positively how the orb worked, but he continued anyway, as if he would solve the problem if he persevered. Instead, the orb eventually goes out, "s**t!" It wasn't the first time he and his colleagues had equipment issues and he was more than fed up. He promptly took out the metallic truncheon that was attached to his belt and lifted it above his head with a dexterous gesture, then he strike repeatedly the orb with all his might. *TING* *TING* *TING* He stopped when he was done venting his frustration and as he expected he hadn't damaged the structure of the orb, 'What those Mages bastards do isn't always working, but at least it's solid.' The guard sighed out of spite, then resumed his way to reach the end of the corridor, truncheon still in hand. For 2 years that he had been working here, from monday to friday, every morning, he took this same long corridor and yet he saw nothing monotonous about that. 'What value would have a pleasure if we don't have to wait to acquire it.' He thought while smiling creepily. When he saw the bars of a cell approximately 50 yards in front of him, he quickened his pace and tightened his grip on his truncheon with the perverse anticipation that he would soon be able to use it again against something that wouldn't be inanimate. The cell was too far from any source of light so when the guard came in front of it, what was inside wasn't visible. He turned his head to his right where there was a circular switch on the wall and pressed it with his beloved truncheon. Dozens of orbs similar to the one on the hallway walls lit up on the cell ceiling. The light highlighted a 60 square yard cubic detention cell hewn out of the stone, just like the hallway. Inside that cell were about fifty adult male prisoners in a miserable condition, they were lying on a floor covered in their own piss and feces and were piled on top of each other. They were also wearing uniforms, but it would be an understatement to say it was less suited to cold temperatures than the one of the guard. They didn't even have shoes, only pants and t-shirt of gray color made of a material so thin that being naked would protect them from the cold just as much. Besides, for the most part, their uniform was so torn that it wasn't far from it. They also all had the same gray collar hanging at their necks, on it was a red orb with a disturbing glow. Some prisoners awakened by the light were trying to get up not without difficulty, knowing only too well the fate of those who make the life of the guards difficult. The guard him had let go of his smile since he knew the prisoners could see him; that was one of his 'principles'. He always keep a neutral expression with the prisoners to convince them and to convince himself that anything he was going to do to them was solely their fault and not a consequence of his non-assumed sadistic tendencies.