- "I know what it's like to feel trapped like you do. Trust me. I do. It feels like there's no escape, and like the only way to live with yourself is to accept the way things are, no matter how cruel it may be. Like hoping for something better brings nothing but pain... But no darkness lasts forever, Gall. Even if you don't understand how it could ever leave, one day it will."
- ―Alexandra Lostra to Gall Gassasu
A Trapped Spider is a prequel story that provides depth into Gall Gassasu, a character that will appear in Meropos. It was written by Devour.[1]
Plot[]
After a failed attack executed by the Grey Phantoms, Gall Gassasu is left severely wounded and injured from the battle. While he cries out to his allies for help, his leader, Fergal Baladeva, chooses to leave him be and flee with his subordinates. Gall is captured by the Royal Guard of Justeco and brought towards Shane Goldburn, who immediately expresses sorrow for the fact that Gall is only a late adolescent yet he was raised to be the vicious killer he is now, much to Gall's chagrin.
The sympathizing Shane attempts to persuade Gall to voice out information by enlightening him of Fergal's true colors and how he had been abandoned to die by his allies. Gall, however, refuses to cooperate and struggles in blocking out those words. The Grey Phantom is left in the custody of the guards, but he succeeds to escape in a matter of hours using the Strings of Patience. Despite knowing he had been a tool and pawn for Fergal, Gall believes there is no other place for him in the world and that he is forever a weapon, so he spends days returning to the Grey Phantoms Hideout.
Upon his arrival, the weakened Gall is mercilessly interrogated by Fergal for possible treason, but Alexandra Lostra convinces him to take Gall under their watch. While being treated, Alexandra tries comforting the rather stubborn teenager by sharing her own experience of how she believed herself to be trapped in a single role in life without any other peaceful option, and promises him that he will eventually discover that is not the case.