1. Mostima's Escape - Conviction

Mostima's POV:

The Northern Plain mines had been both a blessing and a curse for the Ursian empire since its inception. The mines had gone from one small despot to another, inciting a multitude of small wars until the government took control of the whole territory around it to prevent further conflict due to the bountiful treasures hidden underground. Besides the deposits of iron, copper, and dozens of other precious minerals were essential for the insatiable military expansion of the Ursian empire.

Despite being such heavenly sent resource for a growing nation, the empire found it hard to find willing citizens to go into the deepness of the caverns and extract its bountiful resources. At one point the government had conscripted citizens who eventually revolted against the rigorous working conditions in the mines. The noxious gases, lack of fresh air, and constant cave-ins proved that the northern caverns would not let go of its treasures without a battle.

Then at some point, some brilliant government official decided to kill two birds with one stone. Due to its tyrannical policies, not only towards foreign nations, but also with its own population, rebellions tended to arise left and right throughout the empire lands. As a way to deal with these insurgents, they used the Northern Plain Mines as a punishment for all of those who decided to protest against their government. Thus the Northern Plains Prison was born. This is the reason why you could find both nobles and commoners alike under the baleful glare of the guards, mining their lives away deep underground while risking their lives, since their lives were worth less than those of law-abiding citizens of Ursus.

Mostima knew all the propaganda that the Ursian government used to justify the existence of this pit of hell in which she had been incarcerated for the last fifteen months or so. This place was filled with so much misery and despair that could elicit nightmares to come to life. Its overly convoluted tunnels and caverns were the terror of those who had a claustrophobic disposition. For months at the beginning of her sentence, she had been afraid of any small tremor or noxious smell, thinking that this would be the end for her, that she would be buried alive and none of her loved ones would find out that she had been buried alive while digging for rocks in this frigid lands.

Finish Reading in DA: https://www.deviantart.com/zernasss/art/1-Mostima-s-Escape-Conviction-Start-1121416989