Paramythi I: City of Glass

Upon reaching the base and settling inside away from the cold winds of dawn, Elias and his fellow band of recruits were led down a course of corridors – where Tovi disappeared at some point with Kaira – and took an elevator up to a darkly lit floor of the craft.

It was dim in a way that provided warmth and comfort instead of the usual dreariness people might find within a dim room. The walls were a glossy exterior of polished chestnut wood with matching floorboards. Orange candles with bright flames were littered along the walls and upon the long dining table in the middle of the room were fruits, meats, cheeses and an assortment of drinks.

The sight was almost too much for Elias to handle and his relief to sit down on one of the many dining chairs was perhaps exaggerated when he sighed long and hard, sliding down against the back of the surprisingly comfortable woodwork.

“While you refresh yourselves in here, we will be preparing the interview rooms where you will either be interviewed by our chairwoman, Ciiria, or the captain himself,” Quincy announced, speaking at a louder volume to ensure that the recruits were listening as they scurried around the table and found seats far away from each other. “First I will need to take a register of all your names, after that you will be called up and taken to the next room where your interview will take place.”

The door behind Quincy slid open and Tovi walked through. His auburn-coloured hair complemented the warm, cosiness of the room and his chest rose softly with a content of his own, mimicking the aura around him and thus putting Elias and the others at ease. Additionally, the lack of Kaira’s presence softened the air, which granted a fair first impression on Tovi for being reliable, albeit undetectable.

“Let’s start with you…” Quincy motioned towards the Faeman whilst tapping his fingers against the small device he had pulled out from his pocket. In seconds, a set of holographic images came to life and flickered, resonating in a position akin to a spider diagram. “I just need a quick bio, sorry.” Flashing the weakest smile he could muster, Quincy began tapping the pictures in the air and brought up a search engine.

“Okay, ah, my name is Helios Artemis.” Smiling warily around the table, the young man waved his hand and sank back into his chair. “I’m seventeen and, as you can tell, I’m a Fae.”

“Nice to meet you,” Quincy remarked, bringing up Helios’ profile upon his hologram and wrote the pieces of information down beneath his smiling picture. “Next.”

Helios turned his attention towards the redhead sitting just a few chairs away to his right. Elias followed Helios’ gaze and soon everyone within the room had their patience and focus on the unreadable recruit.

“Way to put me on the spot,” the redhead grunted under their breath. “My name’s Riyo Midas. Also seventeen. I’m a descendent of the Allawo…except, human blood runs thicker through my veins than that of my ancestors.” Glaring daggers at Helios, Riyo crossed their arms over their chest and they stared up towards the unlit chandelier with uninteresting taste.

“Excuse me…?” The Sylvannix girl, who had been trying to calm Kaira before, raised her hand above her head and smiled nervously upon reflex when everyone turned their eyes on her. “I, well, I…just wanted to know what the Allawo were. I don’t mean to sound rude, though!”

Quincy chuckled and waved his free hand through the air. “No, no. Not to worry. After your interviews, we’ll be lecturing you all on the different kinds of races out there. Since Emvolo’s city is still rather strict on its rules on who comes in and who goes out, it’s more than understandable if you’ve never even heard of some of our Unit’s races.” As he wrote up Riyo’s bio, Quincy answered the girl’s question nonetheless.

“The Allawo are estimated to have originated from the forests and caves around the tenth kingdom, Amaltheia. Their noticeable features range depending on their chosen environment, though most of them are known to have what we call ‘moon eyes’, which simply means their entire eyeball is white; yet this turned slack when their counterparts, the Avolaki, took the trait of moon eyes for their own identity and the Allowa’s eyes turned more...human, to fit in. Their other notable features are their impish characteristics and the black veins running down their cheeks; above all, they are known for their androgynous appearance due to them having no physical gender. They reproduce… well, differently to us. But there’s no need to get into that end of the topic.” Smirking, Quincy raised his eyes. “Any more questions before I continue?”

Helios raised his hand. “So, on average, are humans and Sylvannix the most common group within the Rebellion?” Tipping his head back over his chair caused the tufts of his chestnut hair to fall back and make his colourful eyes appear wider. “I mean, since the Rebellion managed to bend the rules and Capitol decided to let the Sylvannix into the city years ago.”

“Plausible statement, Helios.” Quincy agreed. “But, I think you’ll be surprised to find that the Rebellion only has one Sylvannix within their ranks. The majority of us here are either humans or Faemen, like yourself.”

“Woah, really?!” Helios beamed. “That’s so cool. So, what about Allowa, are there many here?”

“There’s a few. Not many.” Quincy admitted. “But we’re ever-growing, and we try not to overthrow averages too much. We should just be thankful for who we have, regardless of who they are. So, now for the introduction of our possible second Sylvannix.”

Tucking her curly dark locks of hair behind her ears, the girl in question gave a little bow-tilt of her head. “My name is Eris Crysanthe. I am sixteen…and I am a Sylvannix, which we all know.” She forced a small laugh filled with uncertainty and folded her arms over the polished surface of the table, hoping terribly that the red burn in her cheeks was not as apparent as she felt it was.

“Wonderful name,” Quincy commented. “Nearly done...” Mumbling, he scratched the skin around his stitched temple and looked up with kind eyes. “Young sir, what’s your name?”

“Hm…?” Elias felt his heart jump up into his throat despite having all the time in the world to ready himself for being put in the spotlight. His hands clasped tightly together from beneath the table and he cleared his throat to prolong the sound of his voice being lifted into the air. “My name is Elias Kara. I’m sixteen and I-I’m human.”

“Nice to meet you, Elias.” Said Quincy. “I’m looking forward to working with you all—Oh, wait, sorry, I’m forgetting someone. The young lady in the back.”

Elias blinked dubiously. Could his moment truly be over just like that? The anxiousness that had been building up in the pit of his stomach seemed all for nothing; which only began to rebuild itself all over again when he followed everyone else’s gaze over to see the girl with the blonde hair and serious eyes.

“Human. Eighteen.” Came the slow reply, “my name is Psykhe.”

Quincy started writing up the new profile and paused midway. He was not oblivious to the tense atmosphere which was beginning to emanate from Psykhe. Nonetheless, he forced a smile and raised his head, playing the gullible card for everyone to believe. “Your last name? Surely you have one. It’s rather custom among humans, after all.”

Psykhe’s shoulders visibly tensed. She glanced away from Quincy and focused elsewhere for a long period of time. Only once the tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife, she parted her lips and said only one name which had no effect on Elias or the other recruits, but a rather strong impact on Quincy and Tovi; “Trezla.”

Quincy, stricken with a shock that dared to urge itself to the surface, did his utmost to hold back his inner voice and swallowed down the bundle of nerves in his throat. His mouth felt dry when he spoke – using a calm, easy tone of voice — and filled in the additional information on Psykhe’s bio. “Do you have many family members down here, Miss Trezla?”

Elias frowned. He had hoped that knowing the identity of Psykhe’s character would have eased the aura she seemed to put up like a shield. So why was Quincy using her last name to address her after being so informal with the rest of us

Glancing towards her, Elias could only name the odd one or two things he could see which may make her appear a little off. Maybe she was a little scary... But asides that, nothing!

“Not really,” Psykhe replied. Her eyes had returned to Quincy’s misleading expression of calm and she lowered her arms to tug up her leg and rest her knee against the table with her heel digging into the seat’s edge comfortably. “My brother was my legal guardian until he was sent to prison six years ago. Why do you ask?”

Pretending the monitors in front of him were of much more importance, Quincy turned his gaze away from Psykhe and hurriedly copied her bio and sent the file to Zyki for analysing.

“Just making chitchat.” Came Quincy’s reply, and before anyone could see or catch on to what he was doing, he shot the group a wide smile and dismissed the holograms. “Now that the introductions are over, I’ll go and see if the captain and chairwoman are ready to interview you all.”

Tovi followed Quincy out of the door – which was left open ajar as if to make the occupants within feel less like they were being confined and had some handful of freedom – and the five fell into a silence with no intentions to speak up or reach out to grab the food and drinks on offer; lest they were willing to display greed as a first impression.

Elias felt terribly uncomfortable and shifted in his seat, causing it to creak loudly against the floor and echo throughout the wide room. It was humiliating and only got even more humiliating when everyone looked his way for making the noise in the first place.

“Ugh…sorry…?” Elias squeaked.

Helios was the first to crack a smile of any kind and rocked back in his chair, mimicking the same creaking sound. “No worries!” He beamed, arms stretching above his head with a struggled stiffness. “Man, sitting in that pub all night was real tiring. It kinda makes up for the hayride I took to get here.”

“You came here by hayride?” Elias said. The topic was hardly one of major intellect, but it was at least something to break the silence with. “What’s that like?”

“Agh, I guess it wasn’t that bad. Kinda bumpy, I guess? And since I came from the border of Minoas, I got to sleep through most of the ride.” With a wide smile, Helios propped his elbows on the table and reached for the fruit in front of him, broke off a grape, and tossed it into his mouth. “It was a funny story really, mainly since Riyo was hitching the hayride at the time, too!”

“Don’t address me as if you know me.” Riyo scoffed. “That ride was mine to begin with in the first place. I didn’t know you were going to the Rebellion sign-in, too. It’s mere coincidence that you and I are sitting here together.”

“Hey, don’t be so harsh, Ri!! I’m just making conversation. Besides, I didn’t even know your name until now, so how could I know you?” Helios grinned. He looked away from Riyo and sat back in his chair after sneaking another handful of grapes. “Where did you come from...Elias, was it?”

“Yeah, that’s me.” Elias nodded. He was able to breathe now without fear of choking on the enclosed tension and slacked his shoulders. “I live just outside of Tentrail with my sisters, up in the forest.”

“How many sisters you got?” Helios continued flashing his charismatic skills and lessened the tension with every word. He even took a small plate and started stacking it with food, thus urging Elias to do the same and Riyo took to nibbling on a piece of bread. “They older or younger?”

“I have three; Maxa, Nino and Pepi. They’re all older than me.” Pausing in order to savour the delicacies on display, Elias felt his cheeks burn and tongue positively water at such exquisite tastes. “…what about you? Any family?”

Helios shook his head and swallowed down the mouthful he was feasting upon. “Not really. Got my cousin and uncle, at least. The old guy took me in years ago.” Cutting out a few pieces of cheese and meat, the Faeman smirked and kicked back in his chair to look over at Riyo. “You got any family?”

It took a moment to pass before Riyo registered that they were being spoken to. “Hm?” Eyes wide, their head turned and the outlines of their iris and pupils went wide beneath the creamy foam of blue hues. “Oh, right…” turning away from the pair, Riyo took another piece of bread from a nearby basket and crossed their legs beneath the table. “No. I don’t.”

“Oh, sorry.” Helios pulled a face, masking his obvious guilt in a nervous grin and tipped his chair back to try the conversation again. “How about this…Elias here is from Emvolo, I live around Minoas, do any of you guys live in Dioscuri? It would be kinda cool if we came from the Kingdoms in order.”

Eris pursed her lips and shook her head. “I don’t…” She looked genuinely sad to be discarded from Helios’ game so soon and forced a smile in order to hide such a weak impression. “I was born in Dike, but I’ve been living in a small village between Emvolo and Minoas since my family moved this way.”

“Woah, Dike’s a real long way. Is it loads different like people say it is?” Helios grinned.

Eris, taken aback by the whole bundle of attention, looked down to the table’s surface and smiled as she spoke. “It is quite different, yes. I hardly remember it, though I can recall the lack of technology and advanced methods they use here in Emvolo. Like, they have actually cars and flashy things up in Capitol and even Tentrail has some impressive pieces of technology. Dike worked on its own power source through the heat from the sun and the water in the lakes, instead.” Lifting her head, Eris turned the conversation to Psykhe. “So…where are you from?”

Chewing on an apple, Psykhe had to reply with her eyes until she swallowed and cleared her throat; highly aware that all eyes would be on her now. “Local. I’ve lived in Emvolo since I can remember, tucked outside Capitol's city square.” She turned her serious eyes onto Elias and raised her chin. “Elias and I used to go to school together.”

“How sweet.” Eris giggled. “I guess the two of you have been planning on joining the Rebellion for years together, huh? That’s really neat!”

Psykhe watched Elias’ paling expression with a quirk to her lips and lowered her head, focusing on the apple within her palm once more. “We never spoke. Different grades; different classes. I guess you could call it coincidence, like Midas said.” Shrugging, Psykhe returned to chewing on her apple and closed the topic of herself like a book.

Helios was eager to close the gap on any awkward silences and shifted forward, a topic in mind, when the door opened up and Kane stood in full view. His blue eyes were intense, even under the low glow of candlelight and his chest expanded when he inhaled to call out for the first interview.

“Elias Kara.”

Just like that; Elias rose from his seat and walked over towards the captain. He was unable to express his feelings and withheld his excitement as he followed Kane out of the room and down the small corridor to another room. It was smaller than the previous room with a low table and two armchairs either side of the polished, chestnut furniture. There was a bitter scent of coffee which swirled around the duo as they stepped on through the automatic sliding door and sat down. With a window directly across from the door, Elias was reminded how early it was in the day and squinted his eyes against the blue, shining colours flowing in the sky.

“Would you happen to be related to the same Kara family that works down at the city’s docks?” Kane’s words were given in casual, mellow tones. He seemed easy to break the ice and slide comfortably against the comforts of his armchair with a small sigh. “…a Maxa Kara is in charge of the business down there now, I believe.”

“Yes.” Blurting the word, Elias felt his cheeks turn red and he cleared his throat. “I mean, yes. She’s my oldest sister. She…ugh, doesn’t really like the Rebellion all that much.”

“I remember.” Nodded Kane. “She was quite intent on dismissing me and my Rebels from helping her sort out the losses she had taken after we had her previous boss removed. We’re used to that kind of thing. It’s something you need to remember; even if people say they hate the Rebellion, they’re actually just putting up a false front to protect themselves from our enemies.” Pausing, Kane glanced over Elias and inhaled deeply. “And considering you’re her baby brother, she was probably trying to protect you, also.”

“I don’t know about that…” Admitted Elias. “Ever since I could remember, she has always told me how much she dislikes the Rebellion; and this was long before I decided I wanted to join up. It’s embarrassing, really. I’ve been waiting for this day for years and yet…I was unable to protect those people back at the pub.”

“It wasn’t your place to fight, Elias.” Kane was stern in his statement, as was his stiff jaw and narrowed eyes. “It was ours. If you had gone up against Capitol’s Prowlers in the condition you’re in now, with no experience on how to take one down and no previous encounter with their deadly reflexes, then you would not be sitting here today and I would have had to go to your house and tell your sister how, under my responsibility, you had died.”

Losing the seriousness in his features, the man sat back and reached for Elias’ file sitting on the table; freshly printed out thanks to Quincy. “Now, that would have given her every right to dislike Capitol and the Rebellion, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes, sir…” Elias whispered, gingerly plucking his birth certificate from his pocket. Syra had been the Rebel who told him to hand over the piece of information during his interview. It was numbing to recall her face smiling at him now. "Here you are, sir."

If Kane felt even the slightest bit guilty for coming down so hard on the kid, he barely showed it as he continued with the interview; or rather started the interview.

“Your name is Elias Kara, you’re sixteen and your species is human. Have you lived in Emvolo all your life?”

“I have. But we only live outside of the lower-classed part of the City, Tentrail, in the forest on the hill behind Cork and Bottle's pub. Just me and my sisters.” Elias replied, hoping the detail he provided was not too much or too little.

“Do you have any previous relations to the Rebellion or Capitol? Were your parents involved in any way?” As he spoke, Kane wrote down the details and additional notes on a spare slip of paper which he paper-clipped to Elias’ file, securing their connection. “Were their deaths at all related to either party?”

“No.” Said Elias almost too harshly. With a puff of his chest, the boy sunk back into his seat and looked down. “My father died from a terrible illness which rendered him unable to move for the final few years of his life. My mother, she..." a pause, "she died a long time ago.”

Kane had halted his hand at this point. He seemed disconnected for a handful of seconds as he checked over Elias’ profile and all that he had written during their short talk. Lips pulled back against his teeth, an expression which often accompanied a deep thinker, which caused a surge of anxieties to run down Elias’ spine. A silence this long often led to a bad outcome; possibly even a flat-out ‘no’, and Elias would have to go home without having gained anything.

“So, Elias,” Kane eventually started. He dropped the profile down onto the table, discarded the pen along with it, and propped his elbows on his knees to look at the boy in person, rather than his picture on paper. “Your sister has always been straight with her hatred towards the Rebellion, you have no previous encounters with us or Capitol-relations, nor do you claim to have a personal grudge to avenge towards Capitol’s acts… So, why do you want to be a part of my resistance?”

A speech. That was probably the kind of thing Kane was expecting. Alas, even if he had been waiting for this day for most of his life, Elias had never really thought of any great speeches or announcements to make for good impressions. He knew why he wanted to join the Rebellion and he knew that Maxa would never approve of such a decision for as long as they lived. Families fought. Countries fought. Was there any difference? Elias had never been able to see past the fighting in the world for as long as he lived.

His father had lost the fight to live; Elias would never surrender like that.

“I want to die in a world I was happy to live in.” Elias said. “I don’t want to die knowing that I could have changed the world to something better. Everyone deserves at least that kind of chance.”

Kane was, to say the least, more than impressed with such a deep collection of words; yet he did well not to openly show it as he said, “Elias Kara, I expect to see great things from you in the next year, and I highly hope you’re as enthusiastic about training as you are about joining us.”

“Yes, sir!” Exclaimed Elias. If he were not so overcome with baffled emotions of awe and gratitude, he would have burst into tears from sheer happiness. “Thank you so much!”

“I should be thanking you,” Kane countered and stood from his chair. His long legs carried him to the other side of the room and he opened up the door to the hallway, his other hand extending for Elias to take with a high ounce of respect he offered every other recruit. “Just don’t make me regret my decision.”

“I won’t, sir.” Elias practically jumped to his feet and shook the captain’s hand with a strong grip and wide smile. “I really won’t…!”

Kane’s relaxed features were almost comical in contrast to Elias’ buzzing aura. With no other words and a stiff nod, he excused the boy and went to collect his next recruit for interviewing, thus leaving Elias to walk out of the room and down the corridor. There were no longer tangled nerves or tense muscles building his stride as he moved. He felt like he could skip or jump the rest of the way!

“Elias Kara.”

Halting in his steps, Elias reluctantly looked back over his shoulder to address the person who had called for him down the end of the corridor. There was really no need to look upon her face to see who it was. Elias had been able to identify her from her tone of choice and was forced to pull a nervous little smile when he locked gazes with her.

Psykhe smiled back. She started down the corridor, brushing past Elias with a swift motion almost ghost-like, and turned her head to look at him and glance over his shorter, weaker visage with a detailed leer much like a bird of prey.

“It’ll be nice to see such a familiar face over the next year.” Shoving her hands into her pockets, Psykhe lost all interest in Elias and started down the hall yet again. She had but one thing to call over her shoulder before totally vanishing from sight and it echoed along the walls around them until it died. “Congratulations.”