Chapter 4: Guilds

OmniOne Second Law: "My Creations Shall Stick Together, As Thou Are Stronger As A Collective. 

The first half of the hall is quite empty, with only a few people still at booths. Some orange overall newborns are at these booths and all of them are wearing orange colour armbands. 

They walk down towards their first booth. A person with a sharp face and long hair mans the booth. 

"Here at the Theatre Guild, we specialize in the performing arts. We have had many from our Guild go to other Guilds and…"

"Wow! This place sounds pretty cool. Performing arts sounds like fun." Kiran excitedly steps closer. 

"No red-ranks. Move on. The yellow-rank is more than welcome to stay!"

The man talking stops mid-sentence leering at Kiran, but forms a joyous smile for Garnett. Some of the newborns at the booth snicker at Kiran, and others glare at Garnett. 

"Uh…ha-ha. Sorry…" Kiran takes a few steps back before continuing to walk on.

"Sorry. Thank you." Garnett follows him.

"You can join there Garnett. You don't have to follow me you know?"

"Yeah I know, but I would not be here if it was not for you. So I will stay with you for now. Besides, performing arts does not sound like my thing."

"All right then! Guess you and I are sticking together for a bit!"

They keep walking, looking at all the other booths – too many for Kiran to count. Each one pushes him away, but they warmly welcome Garnett. They stay together as Kiran walks from booth to booth. 

They enter the second half of the long-large area. There are many more newborns here. The amount of red armbands starts to become apparent. 

"Kiran… is it me, or are these people really… aggressive?"

"No… not just you Garnett."

All the faces at the booth sneer, growl and degrade the red-ranks at their booths. 

A particular booth with more newborns than others attracts the 2 boys. This one stands out, as the person manning the booth has a face shape that doesn't seem normal.

"Does he almost look like… a dog? A Rottweiler? Wait… a lot of these people here, almost look like cute animals."

Kiran looks around, noting the other animal-like features that the people at the booths have. Most of them it's only their noses or ears that look different. The person attracting his attention is the Rottweiler with his loud voice. 

"Listen here all you useless junk. We have space for red ranks, but don't go thinking it's anything amazing. You've been here for hours and no one wants you. You are all worthless. These are your contracts." 

The red-rank newborns all receive papers in their hands which they read. Kiran briefly hears the booths around him also have the same type of speech.

Kiran thinks, "So I have to join one of these guilds? They all sound so…rude."

The Rottweiler growls, "If any of you have problems, you can always join the piece of s*** Harmony Guild, where every single member is a red rank, and has never produced anyone above red rank. There, you can all be with useless trash that will never amount to anything. Or you can join our guild, and possibly have a life." 

This threat is enough to make a lot of the red ranks sign their contracts. Kiran looks around at the other newborn red-ranks. Their faces are pale and their eyes dark. 

"They all seem so desperate…"

The Rottweiler man hands a contract to Kiran and Garnett. "Here. You two take it as well. A yellow-rank will be quite useful. You can take this contract."

Kiran reads the contract in front of him. It shows what his duties will be, how long he will work, and how much 'Creditation' he will receive. He glances over at Garnett's. He sees he has less work, fewer hours to work, and a much higher amount of 'Creditation'. 

Kiran sighs. "I guess I don't have another choice. All the others around me sound the same."

He stares at the paper. Reading each word slowly. "I don't have a choice. No one else will probably accept me as a red-rank… So I guess I have to sign." 

He is about to sign when he hears a loud voice burst. It comes from a booth that didn't catch Kiran's attention at all. It's too far to even see. 

"BUAHAHAHAHAHA. You sure are an interesting kid!"

"I said don't laugh at me! Let me go! I answered your questions!"

"KEEP IT DOWN YOU HARMONY SCUM!" shouts the Rottweiler man.

"AH SORRY!"

Kiran looks over to the man who shouted. He barely sees it, but he spots a rose symbol. He looks back down at his contract. 

"I think I'm okay. Thank you."

He hands it back to the man, who clearly shows his disgust. "This little punk! How can he-"

"Me too. Apologies."

Garnett hands his back as well.

"What! I even handed him a hefty increase. Tch! Enjoy your mediocre life! Can't expect newborns to understand the importance of Creditation." The Rottweiler man snarls. 

Kiran and Garnett move towards the sound. There is a booth far at the back made completely out of wood. The name "Harmony" is written in wooden letters. There are only 2 people at the booth. A tall man, and a newborn with brown hair and tan skin sitting on the floor. 

The man has a perfect 5'o clock shadow and short-thick black hair. He sports a beige brown coat, with a black undershirt and slightly lighter black trousers. His clothes are a bit dusty as well. 

The brown-haired boy, whose hair hangs slightly over his eyes and ears, yells at the man.

"I'm telling you to leave me alone!"

"Unfortunately kid, I can't. No other Guild wants you. So you're stuck with me!"

"I'll go alone!"

"No red rank is allowed alone. And Harmony receives all newborn red ranks unable to find Guilds. Sorry kid. "

"If you're so sorry wipe that smirk off of your face!"

"Hahaha! I can't! I'm just too happy! A newborn is coming with me!"

The brown-haired boy with tan skin scoffs and slumps into his knees. The man keeps laughing and sees Kiran and Garnett come closer.

"Whoa! A yellow-rank at my booth? Are you lost?"

"No. I'm just… following my friend."

"Oh! And you must be the friend then. How wholesome! A yellow-rank and a red-rank being friends."

Kiran smiles. "Yeah. My name is Kiran. And this is Garnett. I just- I don't know. I was just interested in your guild."

The man's smile grows wider.

"Well, I'll be! Someone is willingly curious about Harmony. Awesome! My name is Joseff, and I am the admissions officer of the Harmony Guild!"

The 'H' on the sign above loosens and falls off, hanging on only one leg.

Garnett looks at the sign.

"Harmony? The guild where everyone is red-rank… and stays red-rank?" 

"Yep! We are the only guild to be red-ranked for 15 years. We are famous!"

The boy sitting rolls his eyes.

"For the wrong reason."

"Any fame is good fame!"

The man lets out a hearty laugh again. 

"Why has no one ever increased their rank?" Kiran questions.

"Well, you see kid, we don't have any relations with other guilds! We don't trade. We don't form partnerships. We just, do our own thing!" 

Kiran stares down in thought. "This sounds… this sounds very similar to…"

"We are a family!" says Joseff. 

Kiran's eyes light up. Hearing these words, he feels a spark inside him.

"I'd like to join please!"

"All right! Welcome to the Guild!"

Garnett looks at Kiran and then back at Joseff. 

"Can I join too?"

Joseff's smile grows even wider, his teeth shining.

"Of course! Harmony would love a yellow-rank. But are you sure? Other guilds will provide you with more, uh, creditation than us! Buahahaha." 

"I am sure."

The brown-haired boy grabs his head and pulls his hair. 

"What? This yellow-rank is an absolute idiot. And this red-rank seems way too excited to be treated like dirt. Submissive crap."

Joseff turns to the brown-haired boy, whose eyes look like daggers piercing. 

"You too kid. Even with your attitude, I can see you have something burning inside you. Harmony is thankful to have you. What did you say your name was again? Easton right?"

"Hmph." Easton blows the hair out of his eyes. 

"Now, you 2 should go and get your ID cards. Don't lose it. There is a fine if you do. It's at the exit, which is just down the hall to the left. Tell them you're joining with Harmony. They won't question it! I'll meet you outside." Joseff points in the direction Kiran and Garnett have to go. 

Joseff ruffles Easton's hair. Easton immediately swats it away.

"You stay with me. I have a feeling you'd try to run off."

"#$%& off."

"BUAHAHAHA."

Garnett and Kiran walk off. 

"Well, he seems like a character."

"Yeah. He seems pretty funny."

"Funny? I would not say that Kiran. More like, chaotic."

"Maybe."

Kiran ponders, "What was his name? Easton? He seems like someone that the green-haired lady would've found interesting."

They get to the front desk. They just saw some people with orange bands leave with a box each. 

"Hi. Please hand me your contracts so I can create profiles for both of you."

"We don't have contracts."

"What guild are you two joining then?"

"Harmony," they both respond simultaneously.

"I see. Please give me a moment."

The man types at his desk. 

"Names and number."

"Kiran, 5334."

"Garnett, 5333."

2 small rectangular white cards pop out. 

"Here. Take these IDs. I unfortunately have nothing else for you two. May the OmniOne bless you both. Welcome to Arkodia."

Kiran and Garnett thank the man and walk out, exiting the Kura Guild main building. While walking out, Kiran looks at his ID card. He sees his name, his rank, his guild, and his ID number: 27750105334.