Out of Character:
Closed.


Many years ago...

The first time you come to Ettermire, you keep your eyes to yourself. Your fear makes you watch your feet, your back, anything that makes you think they're not looking at you. But they are. They're burning holes into the back of your head. You stay close to the people you came with, you don't wander off the path you're given. Your concern over your own safety trumps that of your curiosity for these strange black structures all over the city. The steam that rises out of them, making you think that the whole place is just one huge set of armor that's on fire. Even the streets are straight, makes you feel like you're walking on glass.

The second time, you notice them. You catch a glimpse of one of the drow. They're still staring at you, but now you stare back for an equal display of foreign hatred. It gives you power. You remember why you're here, what you're supposed to do. No longer is your only impulse to just leave as fast as you can.

After the fourth time, you realize that you're not the one scared of them. They're scared of you.

It was Rayse's third year in the academy. Of course, his name wasn't actually Rayse. It was Trent Loryn Junior. But, between him and his best friend Vincent, it was Rayse. There were two types of kids in the academy: The ones who cared about their career and the ones that didn't. Vincent was the former, while Rayse the latter. Although only one type of kid got into the damn thing in the first place: The rich. All the poor kids of Salvar go to boot camp a little later in their teenage years, but the rich kids go to the academy where they start as officers. It's not unusual in the Salvar military to be outranked by someone half your age.

Since the Ettermire-Knife's Edge train was established a year ago, somebody in charge decided it was a good idea to get rich academy kids experience with drow. Up until the train was built, the average Salvaran's perception of drow was based on stories by traders coming from the Kachuckian border. Now, they were damn near everywhere. Since they only dealt with the higher-ups anytime one was seen in Knife's Edge, they gained a sort of illusive status among the populace. But to the military people coming to perform government duties in Ettermire, they knew the truth. They knew what it was like to become pariahs everywhere they go in the city. They knew that it was likely the same feeling that drow felt in Knife's Edge.

This trip, Rayse was accompanied by at least a dozen officers from a real military base and a few students like himself, including Vincent, who was coming here for his third time. The two were thick as thieves, often playing pranks on their underclassmen. Vincent was a strange kid, because while he teased and bullied the same as everyone, he refused to participate in the little academy smuggling ring that Rayse conducted with another friend, Robert.

The contingent was on a fairly important assignment this trip. Some sort of rare magical tribal kid was caught and the maniacs back in Knife's Edge decided that they wanted her. Alerar was quick to offer gifts to foster their relationship, so they arranged a secure transfer of the prisoner. All of the men from Salvar wore red grenadier jackets with black sashes across them, some more decorated than others. The academy kids also wore them, although they were not officially graduated into the army yet.

Right now, Rayse was marching in formation down one of the streets of Ettermire. The pure flat ground allowed them to march in unison, and at their sides were the tall square buildings of Ettermire. They were black structures, built several stories tall although only the first couple floors were in use. The drow say that they made the foundation from steel, but it was a hard pill for a Salvaran to swallow. Nonetheless, the streets were surrounded by these tall structures, with alleys between them so thin that from the center of the street it looked like you were surrounded by two black walls. Even the ground was dark, the flat stone mixed with bits of metal. It was sunset already, giving the buildings a strange glow like they were reflecting a huge fire somewhere far away. To first-timers in Ettermire, they were terrifying. The streets were cleared out for this contingent, with drow standing at the sides and glaring.

Rayse and Vincent were in the back of the group, walking in lockstep with wandering eyes. In front of them were a few more soldiers that surrounded the prisoner, and then a couple more at the front leading the way. The whole formation looked like a snake that just swallowed a rabbit whole. They could see the barefoot prisoner in front of them, and it was a young child.

The kid wore what looked like rags; probably her old clothes before they were torn up getting captured. She had chains around her arms and legs, but the kicker was she looked no older than 8 years of age. She had long black hair that went down everywhere, reaching down to the small of her back. Her long bangs covered her bright blue eyes, and on her bruised and dirty face was an expressionless look. The kid looked like she shut herself off from the world.

"The hell is up with this, man?" Rayse whispered to Vincent. "Why are we escorting some little kid?"

Vincent replied in whisper, "I heard some of the higher-ups talking about it. Apparently her tribe is like, pure magi or something. Like she was just born being able to do all kinds of crazy shit."

"That's fucked up." Salvarans had a bit of prejudice against magi. They stopped talking when an officer in front of them looked back for a moment, and then continued his march.