From the earth, your hope

Loud bells ripped Kyra from her uneasy sleep. Dawn was just breaking over the horizon, and the ground was chilled with the promise of the coming winter. She quickly jumped out of bed and made her way to the bathroom, more akin to an outhouse, where she was surprised to find an old cracked mirror. She locked eyes with herself, stunned. In the mirror was not the Kyra she knew, but someone entirely different. Most noticeably, her once pale blue eyes were now two different colors; one eye a rich brown and the other a striking silver. Her deep brown locks were long and unkempt, and she looked young- she couldn't have been older than sixteen.

Kyra quickly washed her face, thinking of her home and her old life. Would things ever be the same? She stepped outside to see the others already lining up at the mines, groggy and with empty stomachs. She joined in the line, surprisingly optimistic. If her eyes showed her the ore's location before, she could use it to her advantage to stockpile enough to buy her own freedom, plus the freedom of her two new friends and the guard who had saved her life.

New pickaxe in hand, she descended into the depths of the mine once again. Her hand traced the wall as she walked through, showing her a few of the same silvery ore as yesterday, called rhodial, plus a few lesser ores; a dull coppery ore called fellial, and iron. What caught her attention, however, was a small translucent red gemstone not far from where she walked. She had gotten a quick rundown of the basic ores from Terra, and knew enough to know that this gem- a qi stone- was worth a bit more than the ores- it could net her as much as 20 copper coins; a far cry from the hundreds of silver pieces it would sell for to line her owner's pockets. Terra had told her that mages used them to power spells, something Kyra was skeptical about. If this world was full of magic, why did slavery exist? And why could no one here use it?

She raised her pickaxe and swung down, aiming for the gem. It was quite far into the wall, and based on yesterday Kyra estimated it would take most of the day to mine out. She would have to skip lunch in order to make sure no one else got to it first. It would be exhausting, but she was determined to change this life. Each swing of the pickaxe shook Kyra to her core, she still hadn't fully recovered from yesterday, but she pushed herself as hard as she could.

Hours had passed and the time for lunch had come and gone. She paused to rest her arms whenever the guard had her back turned, but her muscles screamed out at her to stop altogether. The gem was so close now; a few good hits and it would finally break free from the earth. She glanced around her, checking to make sure no one was watching her. The man from yesterday was nowhere to be seen- likely enjoying the day off. One last swing and the gem shone through the rock-glowing with magic energy. Kyra quickly covered it with her hand, ready to call the guard, when she felt the gem humming against her hand.

A surge of energy rushed through her, revitalizing her and bringing relief to her sore body. As she exhaled, sparks flew out on her breath before flickering away.

"That was strange," she thought, but it wasn't unwelcome.

"Over here!" Kyra shouted, grabbing the attention of the guard. He spotted her and started in her direction. Now that he had seen, she let go of the gem to be surprised with a lackluster gem, there was no longer a light emanating from it.

"It's a dud." The guard spoke gruffly. "You called me over for an empty qi stone?" he huffed and walked away. Bard watched him go before shuffling over and frowning at the stone.

"Sorry kid," he spoke softly, "you've been working on that all day huh? You might be lucky to get one or two extra copper for it. Better than nothing, right?" He patted Kyra's back as she slumped against the wall, defeated.

"It's alright kid, just imagine an extra meal tonight, or lunch tomorrow, or maybe even some scrap from the blacksmith."

Her eyes lit up as he said this. Blacksmith? It would be a chance to learn more about the ores and which were most valuable. She sprung up, full of energy from the gem. She pried the gem from the rocks and followed Bard out of the tunnels as the bells started to ring, plopping the gem down on the table for her pay. Two coins for her days work, and two for the now empty qi stone. She sat down with her food, a watery soup this time, and thought about her situation. As far as she was concerned, things weren't really all that different from her life before- she had rented a tiny apartment in the city and saved every penny in order to eat. She worked long days to support herself, but even then she was on the verge of financial ruin.

"At least the food used to be better," she thought, grimacing at her soup. One thing Kyra never gave up was hope- hope that she could turn things around, hope that in this life she would someday live in comfort, and the blacksmith was the next step in her goals.

She gulped down what was left in her bowl and made her way through the camp, guided by some workers towards a small stone hut. Smoke billowed from the chimney and the clang of metal could be heard even from a distance. The smell of soot and metal hit her nose as she walked through the shabby wooden door, and inside she saw a large gruff man holding tongs with heated iron in the furnace, before pulling it out and quickly bringing it to a makeshift anvil, striking it with a hammer over and over to shape it. Kyra watched, mesmerized, for what seemed like an hour before he plunged the piece into a barrel of liquid to rapidly cool it. He turned towards the door.

"Are you gonna keep letting the draft in or are you coming in?" He asked, sternly. She shuffled inside, awkwardly closing the door behind her. She didn't think it mattered all that much; the walls were full of small holes, as was the roof.

"I was hoping you could teach me about metals," She inquired, looking about at the various ores lining crooked shelves.

"Nothing comes for free around here, not even knowledge." He said, studying her.

"Is this enough?" She held up the two copper coins she gained from the qi stone.

He nearly roared with laughter. "You've got some stones, kid, I'll give you that."

He sighed and pretended to wipe away a tear.

"Come back early tomorrow morning, I need some help around here. And-" He grabbed the coins from her hand, "I'll take those, as a fee for becoming my apprentice.

Apprentice? She thought. All she wanted was to know about the ores, she didn't have time to be a an apprentice when a mine with endless potential awaited.

"Look, I don't-" She was cut off by his stern look.

"Be here at dawn, don't be late." He said, turning back to his work.

Kyra sighed, it seemed she didn't have much of a choice. She knew there were other jobs besides mining she could take and still earn her wage, but she'd much rather be somewhere her new eyesight would be useful to her. Defeated, she trudged back to the tents to settle down for the night, resting up to start a new day as a blacksmith's apprentice.