The blue star Lutae burned from directly above the growing crowd. A hundred children stood in front of ten shining soldiers. Their armor reflected Lutae's light into the eyes of the children arrayed before them. Children squinted and shifted heavy bags of supplies. Except for one little girl.
She had dark brown hair that was bunched up into a huge bun atop her large head. Her skin was milky pale and dotted with light bruises and cuts. The overall appearance made it seem she blindly ran through a forest, pausing only to eat a few berries as her meal. The other children around her wore clothes that covered most of their bodies modestly. The loose layers of many different over and undersized items moved about her alarmingly on the small child.
The soldiers gathered into a neat circle at the front of the mob. Each of them reached into their bags and produced pouches of gold. These bags were handed to a man in golden armor. Five silver pieces mixed in with the gold flow of coins. "That's all the extra." A large fat man in light armor said.
"Sorry we had to split the gold into silver, they made a good deal for Cutie over there." A man standing next to the fat one said.
"My name is Cutlery!" Cutlery shouted over the crowd of kids. Many turned to look at her. "I can hear them.." She said quieter. Then she switched back to defiant. "What are you all looking at!" She said, her voice quickly raising. Her messy hair bun threatened detonation from the string that held it in place. The soldiers glanced at her and chuckled.
"Shes loud, that one. At least you got that deal on her. Good haul everyone. Lots of extra meat and coin this cycle." The golden armored man said.
"Sir, they're starting to shift about. Especially Cutie." A woman in the armor said quietly.
"You're right. We can count coins at the pink house while we spend it." The gold man said. "Alright listen up everyone." He yelled as he turned to face the crowd of children. A few of them jumped at the sudden sound of authority. "You're all gonna follow us the right to the tower! Lucky all of you! If you hadn't been picked today you likely would have never seen inside that royal place! You'll get some warm grub and a nice little room to stay in. Now, follow us!" He said to the crowd.
A loud set of clanks sounded off from the other soldiers. The golden man turned and lead the way. Slowly the large group of kids followed after him. Many lagged toward the back of the group. The soldiers spread out and around the group of children. They began to urge them forward. A few yelled and pushed the kids along. Others simply grunted and pointed. The group slowly picked up speed. Cutlery was near the front of the group. While others wore huge backpacks, she had stuffed her items under a tight bit of belt under her rags. Stuff was nice till you had to move, Cutlery thought.
Cutlery skimmed the crowd. The soldiers hadn't lied, they got a hundred more like her. Or at least, around her age. Looking ahead she saw the tower. It loomed over the buildings like a growth. The buildings surrounding it seemed to be trying to crawl up the hill it sat atop. The result was a sort of dull spiky zit. The tower was a monumental spiraling cylinder that had been 'thrust from the ground by the eternal himself!' or so the fairy tale went.
Cutlery wondered if any of his thrustings had been done in the pink houses, and the towering castle had just been a by-product. It would explain its chaotic nature. At least it looked big as fuck. Cutlery knew she always deserved a huge house, and The Eternal ones would have to do. Thrusted construction or not.
-
A junior parade of sniffling and anxious children passed through many streets of Zurkonia. Cutlery had looked into the eyes of somber-looking adults. They were standing in doorways, watching them walk by. Some waved at children in the crowd. Most just stopped where they stood, and watched.
Now they stood at the bottom of the giant stone zit. It thrusted in all its glory high above the children. The noon light slanted into early evening behind the tower. The soldiers marched them up a switchback road that weaved between the many buildings that sat beneath the tower. Cutlery, despite her many night adventures, lost her breath somewhere on the hill and she just couldn't find it anymore.
Leg quivering, Cutlery arrived at the base of the castle. Somewhere down the road, her breath remained lost. A sheer wall of stone stretched a hundred feet above them. No windows, walkways, balconies, or openings of any kind broke the grey wall for a hundred feet. But the ground beneath them had leveled out. Cutlery found her breath once more a few minutes later. It had been lying on the ground near an immense noble mansion that sat near the Castle's wall.
They rounded the castle for some minutes before the golden soldier at the front stopped them. Their path along the wall ended in a set of switchbacks down to some sort of gate in the castle wall. The switchbacks overlooked the rest of the city. Buildings hugged both mountains and sea. Innumerable small buildings gave off cooking fires. Windows sparkled like a stone sea in Lutae's light.
A gate was the only opening at the base of the castle. It was a semi-circle about four dozen feet wide. Large humanoid-shaped statues flanked the road outside the entrance. They were made of different mined materials like stone, crystal, or metal. All of them had five arms and no head. Instead of heads, they had blunt necks on the top of their shoulders. The arms of each statue held huge weapons. Some had shields the size of wagons that all five arms held aloft. Others had complex magical contraptions that the arms rested their hands on.
A line of wagons sat at the gates lip. Soldiers inspected wagons before they entered the castle. They appeared to be careful or slow, cause the line was long. The golden soldier let the group watch for a minute and enjoy the view. After consulting with a soldier the golden figure turned to them.
"We will be entering through here. If you have any magical items or weapons the statues will find them. Hand them to a soldier lest you be detained for treachery." The golden soldier said. The kids shifted. Magic items? Cutlery thought, no one can afford those things. Even a kitchen knife that couldn't dull would cost more than a month's stay at an inn! Yet, at least a half dozen kids began to move to soldiers and hand over twinkling trinkets from their bags and pockets.
Cutlery was joined by half the group's jaws hitting the floor as they watched this. She would understand if their parents had things, but the children! Murmurs went about the group.
"Didn't think any rich kids would get recruited." An older girl said.
"Maybe a family had an extra kid or two." One young boy remarked.
"Or their parents want them to do better than us by giving them tools." A half-elven girl said in a soft voice. Some of the group nodded at this. One kid spit at the girl's feet though. She didn't seem to notice. Cutlery enjoyed people who didn't notice spit. The golden soldier watched this process without comment. Once all the kids had fallen still again he spoke.
"Good good, we'll all head inside and get you set up with a bed and meal. Stay close." The golden soldier said. They began to walk down the road. A huge bronze statue nearby let out a spout of steam from its blunt head. Maybe that's a fart, Cutlery thought.
-
Inside the gate, defenses against siege mixed with the tastes of the rich. The children were led through the thin stone hallways and solid metal doors for several floors. Smells of cooking food, quickly moving carts of supplies, and entourages behind regal figures pushed past their mob. Slowly the hard fortress walls and stairs gave way to rugs and art.
They ascended nearly ten floors before stopping. The huge group clogged the stairs and took nearly five minutes just to all array themselves onto the final floor of their journey. The older kids grew impatient but the younger ones like Cutlery were grateful for the slow headway.
A heavy iron banded door was closed behind them as the final child came up the stairs. The rugs and art from before did not reach into this rough space. Iron-barred windows sat far above in hallways with towering thirty-foot ceilings. They walked through a dining hall of some sort. Long tables and benches took up the center. Openings showed kitchens with a dozen assorted servants and chefs. The golden soldier pulled to a stop at the far end of the room by another set of doors. The assembly stood next to the benches unsure of what to do.
"Find a seat, everyone." The golden soldier ordered. The sound of benches scraping on stone filled the dining hall. At first, the kids tried to sit far from each other, but it quickly became apparent they would be lucky to sit at all. Soldiers pulled some kids apart who began to push each other for seats next to their friends. The golden soldier surveyed it all and spoke up as the last kid was shoved down on the cold stone floor to sit.
"My name is General Haze. I will be your leader for your time in the Eternal One's service. Before we dig into it, you guys must be nervous. So I'll let you dig in." General Haze said. He clapped his golden gauntlets together once and servants began to come into the room with rolling carts covered in steaming food. Steamed potatoes, greens, and rice began to be put in front of the children.
The room filled with clanking and chatter as the mood immediately shifted from nervous to hungry. Haze smiled at his generosity as they dug in.
"I will now explain a few things about what is going to happen during your service." General Haze began. "Whoever sent you here has made the best decision of your life. Even those of you with noble backgrounds shall find your life will become much less tedious. As is known in Zurkonia, there are those with Slivers and those without." General Haze said.
"What is a sliver?" A small voice said through a mouthful. Several kids looked up to Haze for an answer. Older kids began to whisper to each other. Haze barely hid a smile. Cutlery was pretty sure he had done this before.
"A sliver is a piece of divinity," Haze said. He got up and began to walk toward the origin of the question. He found the source. It was a little girl with nub-like horns growing from her temples. Her skin was a deep blue. "Or should I say, it's something that when you have it, makes you into a hero as strong as the adventurers of old," Haze said in a voice that quietly carried throughout the room. "I will tell the story of the Eternal One for all to hear," Haze said.
He moved back to the front of the room and snapped his fingers. A soldier carried a chair from out of the kitchen for him. He took a seat in the chair with a sigh. A steaming cup of dark red liquid was brought shortly after. He took a sip and then leaned back. "You will be doing the Eternal One service here. You will enact his very will. In return, he will give you this sliver of divinity. I shall tell you the story of the one you will be serving." Haze said and paused for a sip of his drink. "It was a hundred lifetimes ago..."
