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The Caravan swayed and bumped along the track with rickety creaking noises and everyone in the caravan bumped with it, the plodsteed's hooves clopping across the cobbled road. There were five children in all Jay'ell, Dazda, Montery, Jasper and Aiv. All of them had the same, slightly reflective bronze coulored skin and golden eyes of Kindleborn, a strange new race of humans who had started to appear over the last 20 years. All of them had been taken by Stirben, under the license of a, supposed, Ashclad; a division formed for the sole purpose of hunting down Kindleborn and taking them to be ?Extinguished?. They all had little to no memory of what their previous lives had been like as they had all been raised by Stirben and Suza from as young as they could remember.
Dazda moved to one of several barrels, that took up most of the room in the caravan, and fished through it for clothes Jay'ell could wear. Montery was reading a book, his bald head rocking backward and forward on his spindly neck as he sat, utterly engrossed. ?What've you got there?? Jay'ell asked, accepting the proffered jerkin and trousers Dazda handed him. Montery ignored him for a moment before, responding after his name was shouted at him a few times, ?This?? He asked in a small voice, holding up the book in his spidery hands, ?It's Cayde's Accounts. It's about how the Lunari were driven back from the Crescent mountains with the power of the Promethiun.?
?The Promethiun?? Jay'ell asked.
?Lunari!? Dazda exclaimed freezing in place and dropping cross-legged ready to listen.
?I thought it was forbidden to write about the Promethiun since the Devouring?? Jay'ell asked, talking over Dazda Montery's head turned from side to side as the two fought for attention. At 15 Montery was neither the oldest, nor the biggest but they all treated him as an oracle or font of knowledge. ?To answer your question Jay, it has BECOME forbidden to write about it in certain parts of the land but not to READ it. And to you Dazda yes, the mountain folk, lunari, they are in here?
?What does it say about the Lunari?? Aiv asked, her legs still hanging out the back of the caravan. ?It err, it says quite a lot,? Montery said nervously, his spidery fingers running over his shaved head as everyone's eyes trained on him. ?It says how they used their vast battle experience from long lives to set up crucial garrisons throughout the mountains. How they could use the power of the moon to transform and hunt man. But when?? He paused, unsure of what to say. ?With the great flame, the humans could drive them back. At night or day. I've not finished the book so there's more to read.?
Dazda flushed, ?I was only saying I'd like to see one.? Jay'ell swallowed a mouthful of his bread.
?Well maybe on a night we can run and hide in the mountains. Maybe one will turn up.?
?I didn't know you'd tried.? Aiv said as they all looked at each other.
?How far did you get?? Dazda asked, leaning forward intently, eyes wide.
He turned back to the plodsteed, ?So honestly. Keep reading books, keep dreaming, learn what you want about the world and live it in your head. Cause you sure as sunlight aren't going to see it for yourselves.? They all exchanged looks, a mix of defiance, hopelessness and frustration. ?Way to kill a mood,? Jay'ell said, sinking back against the hard wood and taking another bite of chewy bread. Aiv was still looking at Jasper. ?You only tried once?? She asked him, provocation in her tone. Jasper didn't answer, leaning forward to concentrate on his job. ?Sounds like you gave up pretty easily. There's more of us now, we could easily outstrip them surely??
?I've always thought about seeing Aushen one day.?
?Because we'll never make it across. Besides do you really think they're any different in the city??
?How do you know?? Aiv snapped, ?You've never been there.?
?Let's go. Now, let's just leave. Get out of here. Run.? He sat up as she began to march toward the feet of the mountain. ?You're serious, aren't you??
?Well, I'm going even if you're not.? True to her word she turned back toward the steep slope and made her way swiftly up it. Jay'ell turned his head and looked around. Dazda and Jasper were in the caravan, Stirben was asleep, Montery was asleep with a book on his face. ?Speth it,? he hissed, got up and ran after Aiv.
Catching up with her, they walked shoulder to shoulder panting like animals up the hill. The camp getting further and further away, the campfire a distant orange glow beneath them. The higher they got, the more the sparse trees thickened and grew against the slope creaking in the harsh wind. Suddenly, Aiv stopped, putting out a hand to stop Jay'ell. ?What?? She shushed him, her face a frozen mask of terror. Jay'ell looked where she was looking and saw why. A wolf stood its ground before them, not ten paces away. Its coat was glossy and grey, with black eyes like the night-sky itself It stood as a sentinel guardian to the mountain, its eyes fixed on the two kindleborn in front of it. ?Step back,? Aiv whispered, ?Really, really slowly.? Jay'ell did as he was told, keeping his eyes fixed on the wolf. It didn't move, watching them as they backed away reverently.
?It's not following us,? Jay'ell whispered to Aiv as they made it 20 paces away.
?We just wanted to get some air.? Aiv replied frostily making her way past the dishevelled woman.
?Shut your backchatting mouth. Selfish girl, don't you know what you two are worth? It's spething dangerous on these mountains, you could have been damaged!?
?So what if we were escaping?? Jay'ell said, courage absent from his voice, ?Could you blame us??
Suza raised an eyebrow in surprise at Jay'ell before leering at him. ?There are people in this part of the world, who would kill for an opportunity like yours! Travel, a job, regular meals, clothes, friends. And you have the ingratitude to try and ?Escape?? She babied the last word to rub salt into Jay'ell's already hurting pride. ?You have it good, boy. Don't forget it. You try and get away again, I'll hunt you down like a real Ashclad, and not spare you the bolt.?
?You just said we were valuable,? Aiv retorted. Suza pointed the cross bow at them, and even though there was no bolt in it, the two froze. ?We can always find more.?
The beauty of having someone to decide every little thing for you while you grow up becomes prejudicial in the city of Landow. Although Maressa may contest it, her life has been more than four times threatened by circumstances.
There's four core types of deciders in 2050, Landow: Conditioners, Logisticals, Knee-jerkers and Maximisers.
A Maximiser works their brain by exhausting every possible outcome linking any consequence ? good or bad, to their decision. In fewer words, Maressa catalogues them as overthinkers.
A Knee-jerker uses a system of decision-making that bases itself on luck; they've incorporated the way humans make small decisions into the way they make big, important ones. Maressa catalogues them as automatic thinkers.
A Logistical person is pretty self explanatory, they use logic to assess options and their benefits that may come while, also, crossing references to their previous criteria of needs. She calls them rational thinkers.
A Conditioner leaves their decision-making completely to external sources ? most of the time by use of conditions: If, Then. Maressa names them underthinkers.
If Maressa is being completely honest, she's certain that being a hundred percent only one of them is exactly what puts Landow in danger. But commodity and the fear of deciding makes people do and agree to weird things.
While growing up may have been easy because her parents were flexible and used every resource available including, but not limited to, spontaneity and sentimentalism, Maressa thinks of herself as being a Conditioner.
It's really a coward's way of decision-making ? it gives the person the excuse of faulting anything and everything except themselves. Maressa knows this, consciously thinks about this everytime she has to come to a judgment about any matter.
So, it's extremely surprising that she finds herself in the situation she's in, now.
?Girl, you better get out of here before anything else blows wrong.?
And she knows this, she has the instinctual feeling of having to leave, settled low in her gut. It's just?
?I can't? I,? Maressa looks around with wide eyes, sees nothing but water and flooded holes in the ground, ?my friends, they're down there, somewhere.?
The man has left already, probably made the right call, she thinks, even though Maressa knows his wife and kid are floating where her friends are, too.
Which is why, when they entered this store to look for resources for their houseboat, Maressa didn't think anything of the holes on the ground ? holes that looked like the ones caused by Military soldiers' explosions.
It's when various ones started to break and consequently dumping her friends in current waters, that she starts to freak out, a bit.
?Fuck.?
Maressa can feel her brain expanding, can sense it in the way she shivers that she's about to cross a line ? it works like this: she runs through the Big Four and walks consciously, very slowly and afraid, to what the Radows call Conflicters. Maressa names them as creative thinkers.
Anchoring herself to a secure spot above the hole, she dives in and swims to find Emver and Stara.
The Radicals of Landow, the Radows, decided that Conflicters shouldn't exist because they would disrupt Landow's system and make their residents vulnerable to attacks. Maressa doesn't understand this, she thinks that creative thinkers should be the one in charge exactly because of how their brains are wired to think. Radows seem to comprehend that the way it's wired, it's bound to put emotions and selfishness first.
Clearly, it isn't. This is the first time Maressa makes a decision that is entirely her own.
A month later, when Emver and Stara introduces another addition to the group, Maressa starts to think that being open-minded and giving way to gauge how she feels about whatever options she has, isn't so bad.
Yes, at times she feels like she could explode from the terrifying sentiment of deciding wrong and ultimately damning her entire life ahead but. It's worth it.
The second time she has to use her newly wired brain to make as big a decision as the life of her friends, it's when Radows trap them underground. They were searching for new, more spacious locations to make home when Damilia, the new member, shushes everyone to a stop.
?Did you hear that?? She asks.
?Radows or patrol?? Emver questions and looks around.
?If it's like this, then we shouldn't settle here,? Maressa whispers, ?let's keep going.?
That's when they're effectively surrounded by the guns of Radows
?We're not here to hurt anyone. Let us just Test every one of you and then we'll let you go.?
Maressa glances her eyes to Emver, knows that if she takes the Test, they'll be separated, knows that he thinks the same thing because he nods and points his eyes to his left.
?As you wish. I'll go first,? Emver speaks and Maressa situates herself last, behind Damilia.
When it gets to the newbie's turn, Maressa sees no way of escaping except if a distraction is created. She has to decide whether to chance her luck on the Test, create a distraction herself, try to escape and leave her friends to fetch for themselves or try to signal any of them to help.
When a Radow starts the test on her, Maressa knows what to do.
?A white board with gray corners and a black marker.?
?A black board with gray corners and a white marker.? Damilia speaks robotically.
?You want to leave, how do you leave??
Maressa pokes Damilia and the latter looks around.
?I leave by bike.?
?You want to sleep, where do you sleep??
Damilia looks around again.
?I sleep in the bunker.?
?You're diverted, how do you react??
Maressa pokes her again, hopes she gets the message because the Test is ending.
It's the second and last time Maressa decides for herself.
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