4 Arc 1: Part 3b

Gem Mechanica: The act of using a gem to harness elemental power consumes the gem over time during use. Elements include water, air, fire, and earth.

A Girl of eight was walking behind a woman in a lab coat. Her arms were cuffed together, and her legs were chained to seven other kids behind her. They walked down the stone paved road, to a big complex in the distance. Passerbyers observed, and some chimed in.

"You bastards murdered my ancestors." said a townsman.

"You ruined this country," said another.

The Girl took these statements as facts. It was true to her. Her green eyes meant she was a beast. A savage. She spent her entire youth learning to read a language no other human on the planet could read to keep her from learning of the outside world. She was taught her eyes made her kin to the devil, an elven man who prevented the human race to liberate the world. On the streets reigned posters of a man called, Dorkza. His image on the poster showed a big head with a big black beard and a bald head with three stray hairs sticking from the top. Some of the men in the crowd tried to imitate his look. Dorkza, through his ideology, united the Dorks in a time of national crisis. The Dormoorians were taking land every week, until only a sliver of land remained. He promised a thriving city, and a life of peace. His promises came true in the end. Dormoor had agreed to get a monthly offering to seize their raids. The Dork capital, Dorko, thrived with booming businesses, tourist attractions, and a stable government. He insisted that the problems the country faced was because of humans with green eyes were undercover elves, serving to destroy the human race so Elves from the far east could invade and take over.

Now, this Girl walked through these streets with shamed yelled down at her. She did not flinch. That's not what beasts do, and after all, she was told she was one her entire life. When they arrived, a massive complex was before them. Over the walls was a building that raised no taller than other buildings the Girl has seen on the road. Still, these were one of the first buildings she's ever seen. Before, she was stuck in a white room, reading books about how her sins, and that if she wants the Gem God's forgiveness, she must behave. Something was odd about the building in front of her though. The buildings were the same color, but this one was missing the same gray, shiny rectangular boxes that spread out amongst the building's walls. The wall on the outside was made of brick, but at the top, a casing of barbwire to keep the commoners out. No one inside has ever thought to escape, so no one ever did. She read tales that some beasts were allowed to live a normal life, if they had been smart enough to obey, and to obey well.

Two of the guards escorting the group, opened the large wooden gate in front of them. A gravel pathway sandwiched by bright green grass and small trees that shook from the wind. The walk to the complex was three minutes long, and when they arrived, a short gray haired man was waiting. He was old enough that his face began to shag. Corter was written on his badge stitched to his leather armor. The Girl in the lab coat moved from the front of the line, to the side of the old man, now facing toward the line on the gravel. She was five foot five and Corter was five foot flat. Corter used a cane to support himself. That cane was a foot and a half shorter than him, as it towered from the floor, to under his breast.

"These are the eight, I promised to deliver," she said. Her voice and the way she said it made it clear she thought of the children as objects. She handed her over a paper on a wooden board, with a string attached to a pen. "Sign here, Corter."

He signed it. "These better be profitable," he grunted. His voice was worse to hear than his face to look. "The one in front looks like she will break first."

The Girl in front remained silent. Her green eyes looked down with her head. She looked thin in contrast to all the kids around her. She was fed the same amount of food as everyone else, but her body wouldn't let her fatten up. Her hair was longer than the other girls in the line as well. It waved black. No one was allowed to cut their hair. A beast who gets a haircut, is a beast trying to blend in, so said Dorkza, fifty years ago when he was alive.

"In…" Corter said. The Girl stays still, unaware of what he commanded. Corter used his cane to strike the gravel. It generated a dust storm that blinded and suffocated the Girl in front. "DID MY ORDERS GO UNFOLLOWED?" He screamed. After a second, she recovered and lead the group of eight inside. She saw a massive room. Far away, she could see what looked like the same tables she ate on when she studied. From there, to where she was now, she saw an empty void. On the walls were bunk beds that ranged only two feet apart from each other that ran all the way down on each wall. There must have been at least a hundred beds that could host two hundred people. Between the beds, and before the cafeteria, the floors were marked with loads of circles, each with an eight foot diameter. The circle in the middle was the only one with words inside. It wrote worthy. Corter led the line along the wall until they stopped half way through the room.

"Where you are standing now is your bed for the rest of your life, got it?" he asked. The line nodded. "Good, now we are freeing you not because we trust you, but because we have the strength to kill each and every one of you if you try something you shouldn't."

Their chains unlocked. They were free to walk around. Corter instructed them to eat at the cafeteria with the others. Since they were new, they started at the end of the line. In front were a hundred and sixty other children ranging from eight to eighteen. What happens after eighteen. She thought, but didn't dare to ask.