Chapter 2: Ekonet
Thunder bellowed in the distance. It was going to rain very soon. The air was tense with the energy of the storm, ready to burst at any moment, I could almost taste the clouds. The Keepers would be getting angry if I didn't make it back before the storm, so I would have to hurry. The dusty orange leaves of the Salib plant were difficult to find this time of rotation, but what the Keepers demand the Keepers will get. My back stung remembering the last time I disobeyed their orders. Bastards.
Gritting my teeth I scurried through the twisted roots of the forest, collecting as much as I could find as the storm drew closer. The thunder was getting closer, the rain nearly there as I circled back around to head towards the gate. It was a large iron gate surrounded by walls slicked in poison and guarded by the undead. As I entered and slipped the hood off my head one of the living soldiers yanked me to the side to scan the code tattooed on my neck. He almost seemed disappointed when the machine beeped in approval.
The Sanctuary seemed strangely active, buzzing about the corridors like a beehive in motion. Most of the other Selvei slaves were whispering together in groups, someone important was arriving today.
My bare feet stung against the warm stone floors, bruising my already tattered heels. The basket of requested foliage heavy in my hands. Luckily another Selvei was exiting the Healers room, and was kind enough to hold the door for my weighted hands. Mr. Grumrage was bent over his table as usual, hardly looking up at my entrance.
"What have you brought me Selvei." His voice was demeaning, serving as a blow to the stomach.
"The Salib and Moratue herbs you requested Sir Grumrage." He grunted in acknowledgement and typed into his directory tablet.
"What was your code again?"
"Selvei 75283 wing 3 section 45." My rehearsed response was almost robotic in my throat. It was disgusting.
"Name Xaxis?" He slurred the name into nearly nothing, making me sick to my stomach. How dare he sully a name that is not of his people.
"Correct Sir Grumrage." He completed his order fulfillment and waved me out the door, turning back to his table. I sighed in relief as I exited the door, taking a moment to rest before wandering back down the halls. Getting closer and closer to The Sanctuary center was like moving deeper into a sea. So many Selvei were grouping together to speak in whispers. I wandered close to a group I recognised from my section.
"Zhara," She turned to meet my greeting. "what's everyone buzzing about. You'd think the Emperor was visiting with this much excitement."
"Xaxis." She reached out to touch her hand to touch over the center of my chest. "Word tells of a special visitor today. Not the Emperor, however he should be treated as such. He is of the Others. A halfbreed, shunned from the veil and sent to earn his place as a Highlord here."
"One of the Others?" I scoffed. "They never come beyond the veil, and I've never heard of a halfbreed." She shrugged, just as confused as I was.
"Who is to say the truth of these words. We shall have to wait and see if he really is Other, or if it is a spun tale from a forgotten fantasy." Her smile was comforting, almost sending a motherly wash of comfort over me. "Go on now that you've completed your herb task. The Keepers will be deploying you soon along with everybody else."
"Thank you, Zhara." I returned her smile, bowing my head slightly before turning to walk away from her.
"Be cautious, Xaxis." She quickly formed into another face in the crowd, moving in the tides of people hurrying about the halls.
She was right. The moment I returned to my section I was ordered to change into serving garments and deploy in the Greeting Hall. Rarely was the hall ever used, but when it was all Selvei serving in it were given occasion appropriate garments.
Rushing to the hall, many called out their wishes of luck to me as I passed them. The Keepers were known to be quick to anger when guests visited, lashings were not unheard of if a Selvei was not perfect. The Greeting Halls first chamber was mostly empty but for the Keep Master and two other Selvei behind him. The room smelled of thick wax and polish, infiltrating my nostrils and nearly causing me to gag. I stood beside the other Selvei, tense and ready to run at any command. Several other Selvei arrived shortly after, readying themselves with heads bent low.
"You will all behave and have the utmost performance today, or you will all be sent down below to the racks." The Keep Master's voice was sharp, cutting through my mind as if it were butter. Being sent to the racks was no laughing matter. Some Selvei never made it back from there breathing. Several minutes passed before the grand doors opened and our guest was welcomed into The Sanctuary. His voice was musical against the polished walls, a strange difference to the Keep Masters dry tone. The doors closed behind him as he was shown our service.
"These Selvei will be serving us today. If any of the selection displease you we will have it removed immediately and replaced with a more adequate replacement. Now if you'll please follow me to the guests wings we will discuss your visit over dinner." Thunder cracked overhead as he stopped speaking, causing several Selvei to jump slightly. Luckily it was unnoticed by the Keep Master.
We followed with our heads bent down as the guest was lead through the halls of The Sanctuary. My feet stung against the freshly polished stone, causing my wounds to reopen and begin dripping blood once more. The dark redish liquid slowly trailing behind me.
As soon as we entered the dining area the Keep Master was barking orders at us to retrieve the food and wine from the kitchen and bring it back immediately. His voice changed from sour to sweet as he addressed the visitor, blabbing on about an arrangement. I ran quickly through the halls, retrieving platters of food and silently praying I was quicker than the Keep Masters anger. Once all the food was set and ready I was ordered to stand in line beside the table along with the others, waiting for orders. It was then that he noticed the footprints of blood on the floor. His rage overtook him, shaking him to his core. He threw a half eaten chicken leg at our line.
"Which one of you filthy forest rats dared to bleed in my presence!" He yelled, face turning red with anger. "Guards! Check this filth. Whichever one bleeds, throw in the racks." Dread quickly overcame me. The guards were striding over to us quickly, and one of the younger Selvei girls nearly started crying. If she cried, she'd be sent to the racks as well. It didn't have to be both of us. I stepped forward.
"My apologies Keep Master, it was me who bled upon the floor. If I dare come back from the racks, it will never happen again." The guards grabbed me from either side, and began escorting me out of the dining hall.
For a moment, I dared to look up at our guest. He was otherworldly. Shining skin against dark purple hair and brilliant blue eyes. Everything around him seemed to be shimmering, like he was from a dream. His eyes met mine and widened for a moment in shock. He stood abruptly.
"Wait." The guards stopped in confusion, looking from him to the Keep Master who seemed equally as confused. "Let him go. I will take care of the blood, there is no need to punish an already injured soul."
He stepped past the dumbfounded Keep Master towards me, reaching his hand out slowly. He pressed his thumb to my temple, sending a wave of heat through my body. I closed my eyes and nearly fell into him, dizziness clouding my head. He steadied me and when I opened my eyes again there was no more pain. The blood on the floor was gone and the guards had released me from their grip.
"There is no use for that one to stay here." The Keep Master fumed, readying his control pad to most likely terminate me from service. "You. Give me your identification code." I gave an apologetic look to the guest, trying my best not to look worried.
"Selvei 75283 wing 3-" A hand gently covered my mouth. His face remained calm, yet I could smell the anger on him.
"There is no need for that." He lowered his hand away from me and stepped closer to the Keep Master. "When I first arrived you told me I could have any one of your selection to call my own for when I depart to the next plant. I choose this one." The Keep Master was dumbfounded yet again, searching for any hint of a joke that wasn't there. "I'd like to retire now and converse with my new companion, if you would kindly show me the way." The word rolled off his tongue simply, but it struck a chord in my chest. Selvei weren't companions. We were no longer anything more than a race of servitudes. The Keep Master didn't respond, he couldn't find the right words. Quickly the visitor became impatient, turning to me instead. "I don't suppose you know the way?" I nodded, turning to lead him through the halls.
He didn't hesitate to follow. His footsteps were gentle, nearly silent. I didn't lift my head again. Other Selvei stared as I led him through the winding paths. They moved aside for us to pass then left trails of whispers behind us. This would certainly be something I would be confronted for later.
"Xaxis." The greeting caught my attention. I halted suddenly, turning towards the older man from my section. He was known to be one of the oldest in The Sanctuary. He reached out to touch my chest, as I reached out to do the same. "What has happened."
"Quixit. It's too long a story to explain now, I promise I'll tell the story later when there is more time." He gave me an empathetic look. "Until then Quixit."
"Protect yourself Xaxis." I turned away from him, continuing down the halls. All visitors were put into grand suites with lush gardens for their entertainment. A guest of high importance would be put in the center of The Sanctuary.
The door was tall and grand, with jewels lining the frame and delicate gold vines creeping up it. I opened it slowly, moving aside to let him enter first. He didn't move.
"Xaxis." Instinctively, my head raised and my hand moved forward for a greeting. Seeing the mistake I quickly snatched my hand back down as I lowered my head again. "That's your name?" I nodded slowly. The name didn't sound unnatural in his mouth, much unlike the slurred sound the Keepers made when saying it. "There's no need to keep bowing your head, we're companions now. Equals." I tilted my head up to face him.
His face was gentle, glowing skin complimented by a smiling face. He reached his hand out to touch the center of my chest in a Selvei greeting.
"My name is Lennox. You don't have to be afraid anymore. You are no longer a slave of the Keepers. If you wish you may leave and go about your own way once we depart the Sanctuary. You're free." I didn't know how to respond. No Selvei had been free in decades. There was no such thing as freedom anymore for us. He entered the room, beckoning me to follow.
He examined it slowly, the grand walls dripping in glittering stones and gold. He didn't seem impressed by them, let alone interested.
"Tell me about your people." He sat slowly on one of the many cushions, curiously searching my face. "What are the Selvei like."
"We've been servants for decades. No living Selvei remembers what it was like before that." He motioned for me to sit, urging me to continue speaking. "From stories passed down, I believe we used to be a forest dwelling people in the southern mountains. We were peaceful, and lived together with no conflict. Just existing alongside the world around us. But the rest of the world saw that as weak. They said we were nothing but mindless drones sitting on a mountain filled with riches. That we had no purpose but to die." His eyes flickered with anger. Not at me, but at the story I was telling. "When they brought their armies and weapons, we had nothing to fight back with. They killed most of our elders and adults, taking the rest of us into captivity. Those who dared to fight back were killed. Leaving the rest scared and obedient. Everyone alive now was born into slavery, and everyone who once knew freedom is dead."
"I see." His tone was flatter. "The people I was raised with. The Others. They never look beyond the Veil. They see this part of the world as poisoned, and I think now that they might be right." He met my eyes and softened a bit. "Whatever world where one race can enslave another truly is poisoned."
He reached into the sack he carried on his shoulder and pulled out a long dark blue scarf. It was patterned with glittering gold thread and adorned with crystal bells on the ends. Leaning forward, he wrapped it loosely around my neck. The fabric was unlike anything I'd felt before. Cool and soft.
"A gift from me to you. You can use it to hide that code on your neck. That and," He smiled slightly. "The color complements the dark purple of your skin." I huddled in the fabric, running my fingers along the patterned threading. He seemed satisfied with my response to it.
"Thank you." I started to relax slightly. He didn't seem to be a threat. He gave off a calming air around him. "Do you give out gifts to strangers often?" He laughed, loud and bright.
"No just you." His blue eyes twinkling like the sky itself. "It's not every day I come across someone like you."
"Someone like me?" He held out his hands, palms facing up.
"Put your hands on mine. I'll show you." Something was pulling me to trust him. His presence was filling the entire room in a calming energy.
"Why should I trust you, Lennox, half breed of the Others?" I reached out slowly to rest my hands on his. They were soft, and warm. He smiled brightly.
"Because I trust you, Xaxis, free Selvei of the Keepers." A rush of warm air swept over me, sending tingles down my back. The world around me echoed and faded, blurring into nothing.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone