The murmur of an excited crowd overpowered all other noises near the place where the fate of common people changed—the Steps to Elysium. People enveloped the empty area, but only a steady stream got through the four gates in the fence that kept hope at bay.
A pair of Sovrans dressed in pristine white vestments guarded each entrance, their towering height making adults seem like children from afar. A dais forged of smooth stone stood directly below the torch, carved without adornments or useless garnish. Its beauty lay not in its form but in the hope it instilled in the residents of the mines.
Ascension.
Standing in the center of their homeland, Aiden saw more of the things he had forgotten in the hectic passage of the days spent in hunger. Walls of stone on all sides, asphyxiating like a prison, far too small for the number of people it sheltered.
The ceiling was not much higher than the Overseer Tower, a magnificent spire built by Sovrans that was off-limits to the common people. It’s no better than a cave. But better than the Gloom.
“Let’s go,” Dan urged for the tenth time.
“Not yet!” Irena snapped at him, her voice uncharacteristically stern. “Wait a little more.”
Even Aiden’s mother could lose her temper when provoked enough. She examined the crowd with pursed lips and a frown on her forehead, her hopeful smile gone.
“Mom, what’s wrong?” Aiden followed her gaze.
Irena's concern had become palpable when her eyes reached the dais.
Aiden did not take long to notice the number of Sovrans that guarded the place. It was almost as if they sought something, for only those who were sufficiently inspected at one of the four gates were allowed entrance to the square.
The line of thought froze in Aiden’s mind. The Sovrans knew about the gate. There was no need to guard all the gates with such vigor, to inspect every miner that passed through, unless they were looking for something. Someone.
The old Sovran.
Sweat formed on Aiden’s back as he contemplated the consequences of the white-robed men finding out about his involvement with the gate’s opening. They know about me? No. No, no, no. No way! But he could not be certain of that; nothing was guaranteed when the Sovrans touched the arcane and unleashed their magic.
“Abyss take me! Why so many?” Irena whispered a curse under her breath.
“Best we go back home,” Aiden suggested with a trembling voice.
“As if he can.” His mother scoffed. “You know damn well that’s not happening. Can’t give them a single reason to get heavy-handed. Not one, got it?” Irena looked at her sons, the warning clear.
Aiden did not need the reminder; only a fool would provoke the ire of a Sovran—every miner knew that. For the most part, Aiden was no fool. Don’t stand out, keep your head down, he said to himself on the way to the entrance, holding hands with his brother and mother so none of them drifted apart.
“State your names and assignment.” A stern, impatient voice made him jump to his feet.
“Irena Greystone, my lord. Coal refinement,” his mother said without delay, her firm grip making Aiden wince. “These two are my sons, Aiden and Daniel Greystone. Unassigned.”
The Sovran hummed to himself as he flipped through the pages of his clipboard, but Aiden only saw the longsword sheathed at the man’s belt. It was thin for its length, but the unadorned handle spoke of a weapon forged for a simple purpose. Keep us in check. He shivered just thinking about it.
“Greystone, reason for coming today?” The Sovran asked.
What? Aiden’s mouth dropped wide open. How about not getting murdered, you stupid bastard? None of the people gathered had any choice in attending today’s ceremony, not unless they wanted to test the sharpness of those swords.
“Interesting. Do you have anything to add, little ratling?” Black eyes turned to Aiden.
Aiden’s knees buckled as something immaterial slammed into his shoulders. It was heavy, as if he was carrying two bags of refined coal on each arm, but try as he might, he failed to see what pressed him down.
What the abyss!
“Look at me when I talk to you, ratling!” The Sovran’s voice boomed, but it failed to travel far in the crowd.
The people in line hesitated. Meddling in the business of the emissaries of Elysium was a death sentence, so they endured the naked abuse in silence and fear. But Aiden saw how knuckles turned white from tight, indignant grips all around him.
Aiden had to look at the Sovran, but he did not know if the man would take that as an offense, so he glanced up at his mother. Irena was pale, shock and hesitation making every muscle in her body tremble. The insurmountable pressure forced Aiden to take a knee.
“M-my… lord! My son didn’t say nothing. Please, we mean no disrespect—”
The Sovran raised his hand and slapped her in the face, sending a trail of blood splashing against the ground alongside a few teeth. It was dismissive, a normal backhanded slap with little emotion behind it, but Irena went limp.
"Mom!" Dan struggled, but Aiden clasped his hand.
Aiden stared at his mother, transfixed. Blood dripped from her mouth, and two yellow teeth stood out in the pool of red and saliva. The embers of rage within him grew hotter by the second; his trembling limbs steadied.
"Mercy, my lord," Aiden swallowed down his rage, for he knew it would do no good against one of them. It disgusted him to lower himself to the man who had struck his mother, but he had no choice. "I didn't mean to insult."
The Sovran smiled as if admiring a peculiar animal, something lesser than human. He was enjoying himself; there was no rhyme or reason behind his actions. He was merely bored, Aiden understood that, so he dropped to his knees, hating himself for forcing his younger brother to do the same.
“Mercy, please.” He locked eyes with the man, burning his features into memory.
“Is there a reason for your delay, Calandor?” A woman approached the Sovran.
Calandor. I’ll remember that.
"Nothing substantial, Psyker," Calandor hesitated, but his voice did not lose its annoyance. "Well, nothing yet. I was in the middle of interrogating the ratling about the unusual spikes in his heartbeat."
"All this spectacle for an abnormality in your bloodsense?" The air crackled under the weight of her voice.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
A veil of pressure, heavier than the previous one, fell on Aiden’s shoulders. Calandor’s face paled as his knees bent slightly. Sweat dripped down the side of his head. Aiden realized he was not the only one suffering the effects of the woman’s magic.
"I’m surrounded by idiots. What did I ever do to incur this fate, Maker?" She massaged her temples, making the golden strands of her hair shine under the torch’s light.
"The creature is but an infant. Did it ever occur to you it might be terrified just from the wanton use of your presence? Did that thought ever cross your mind, Calandor?"
Creature? You’re the creature!
Aiden stopped himself, fear making his stomach drop. He looked around for any evidence that they had heard his thoughts, but the Sovrans had already forgotten about his family’s presence.
They can’t hear me.
"You are correct, of course, Psyker. The pattern seemed akin to panic, and I thought perhaps the ratling had something to disclose about the gate. Clearly, I was wrong." Calandor bowed to the blonde woman.
She departed, ignoring the offered apology. "I swear, what did I ever do to deserve this?"
Her words gave Calandor a blush of embarrassment.
Aiden did not expect another Sovran to intervene on their behalf, but the indifference, the unnecessary cruelty, ate at his guts—it was an ingrained contempt that made common people doubt their worth. It reminded him of why every citizen of the district hated the Sovrans with a passion.
It reminded him of what they had done to his father.
"Move along now, ratlings. I do not have all day, and I do not look kindly on the delay you have caused me." Calandor waved them away.
Aiden and Dan helped Irena to her feet, escorting her closer to the Steps of Elysium. Her feet dragged across the stone in lethargic confusion. Aiden walked with a newfound coldness in his heart and a suffocating shame that made his impotence clear.
I didn’t do anything. Couldn’t do anything. Just imagining what his father would have thought about his inaction was enough to steal the innocent smile off his face.
Weak. A ratling.
"Could've been worse," Irena sighed.
“Ain’t that the truth?” A familiar voice approached. “Grit your teeth and move along; you’ll be just fine.”
All the miners had a tight bond forged under Sovran oppression, but Mel and Irena were different—they had been friends since childhood. That was no small feat with the Gloom Mines increased mortality rates that hung above their heads like an unsheathed blade.
“Mel,” Irena took a deep, ragged breath. “Seems like you’re in one piece.”
“Dear," Mel motioned to her husband, Tom. "Help her walk. Can’t have the boys getting tired.”
Tom approached with a dark frown, a snarl barely restrained between his teeth, but he did as she asked. Aunt Melissa whispered lies to Dan—the sort of things everybody told themselves to make reality easier to endure—trying to pull him from his wide-eyed paralysis.
It’s gonna be alright. Aiden mocked Melissa’s comforting words. Mommy is good now. He gritted his teeth. Lying was not comfort, not when it was the fruit of deeply ingrained indoctrination meant to make the common people believe they were lesser than human.
"That's a dangerous look you got, boy." Aiden did not know when Tom had stopped carrying his mother, for the man now walked beside him. "Cut that out right now." Calloused hands gripped Aiden’s shoulder, and his tone brooked no disagreement.
Aiden slapped the hand away. “After what they—”
"Shut up!" Tom silenced Aiden with a hand over his mouth, his grumpy expression shifting to fear as he pointed to his ear. Rage burned in his gaze, but shame and fear kept him still.
They can hear us. Aiden understood the message.
Provoke the crowd with cruel treatment and abuse of authority, then leave them to their own devices. It was a thinly veiled trap set by the people dressed in white. The Sovrans wanted them to voice their protests, for their ears were ready to listen.
Swallowing anger and the bitter taste of shame, Aiden kept his head low, knowing he could not hide the hatred on his face as well as Tom.
“Silence!” A voice thundered inside Aiden’s head.
It was louder than a pickaxe striking a vein of coal, commanding words that did not seem to traverse the air, but rather originate inside the mind itself.
“Know your place, ratlings,” the voice said.
The miners fell to their knees, unable to control their legs. Stand up! Aiden tried to shout, but not a single muscle responded to his command—another will wrested his freedom away.
Dan stared with terrified eyes at his brother. Gonna be alright, Dan. Aiden was glad he could not speak; the last thing he wanted to do was lie to his brother. This power defied all reason, birthed new legends, and surpassed old ones.
“Good day, citizens of the Catalyst District 99.” It was the woman called Psyker. “I, Estephannia Veron, will be conducting today’s Ascension."
If her name was not Psyker, then perhaps that had been a title. It was easy to understand; customs like that were uncommon in their district, but there was something Aiden could not wrap his head around.
How come she’s speaking with her mouth closed? He thought, bewildered by the feat that defied all common sense. It was unreal. Disconcerting.
"The Maker, in his eternal wisdom and benevolence, has declared!” She spoke in a hurry to get it over with. “May he reign for a thousand years more, and may we bask in the light of his protection.” Her eyes never rested on any of the kneeling miners.
Estephannia closed her eyes for a moment. Something fluttered in the air, a sense of unease, something that did not belong. When the Sovran opened her eyes, they shone golden like the torch itself, and all kneeling citizens stood up.
Get back to kneeling! Aiden roared. Something budged inside his head, his finger twitched, but the pressure that restrained his freedom tightened with renewed force.
“Praise be the Maker!” Aiden screamed at the top of his lungs, and so did everyone else besides the Sovrans. Shut up! “May we bask in the light of his protection.”
Shut up! Shut up!
“The Maker weaved the Haven from his flesh and power to shield us from the dangers of what lies beyond.” Estephannia frowned, her eyes narrowing, searching for something amidst the crowd. “Those unable to appreciate his sacrifice, who would risk our very existence, shall meet the fires of his wrath.”
“You serve as the cogs in the delicate structure we, Sovrans, direct. And I assure you that such devoutness has not—will not—escape his majesty’s notice.” The Sovran opened her arms, the previous threat still etched on her features.
Raising her head to gaze at the torch, she physically spoke for the first time. “Behold, for your reward has come. Be grateful for the honor it bestows upon your existence.”
The torch hummed, its light shifting from yellow to the feared blue color of runes. The brilliance condensed into tiny spheres that drifted down, as if accompanying the wind’s whimsical flows, and headed for each of the citizens waiting below.
The selection had started.
Here it comes. Please be us. Please be us!
The motes of blue, once feared for their forbidden nature, were now welcomed with an eagerness that nothing in the mines could evoke. They trailed down, drawn by something unseen, carried by an invisible hand, until one of them touched Aiden. It was cold enough to cause discomfort, but the prospects of what was promised suppressed the sensation.
“It is decided!” The Sovran sighed with relief. “Behold the chosen, those whose great honor it will be to step into Elysium!”
That fast? Aiden turned around to look at who they were—at the glow that shone in the corners of his eyes, but he froze in disbelief when his sight fell on Dan. Blue light emanated from his brother and mother as if they had become smaller versions of the torch.
Yes! Aiden looked at his hands but did not see the glow. Perhaps the selected could not see their own light.
“We did it!” Aiden shouted, all the hatred for the Sovrans forgotten in an instant, dissolved like a bad dream exposed to the light of a future in Elysium.
“I can’t believe this. We’re gonna ascend, you little brat!” Aiden hugged his brother, tousling his hair with excitement.
Irena did not join the embrace. She stood transfixed, a look of pure horror on her face.
“Come on, Mom!” Aiden beckoned with tears of joy in his eyes.
We’re gonna eat all the stuff we want! Elysium. I can’t believe this.
“No!” A scream strangled itself out of Irena’s throat.
Aiden expected to see happiness on her face, but confusion, horror, and finally pleading were all he witnessed.
“This has to be a mistake! Lords, please!” she cried.
Something was wrong, Aiden felt in his gut.
“Ai, why’re you not glowing?” Dan looked at him, puzzled.