I woke up restless. The same nightmare of my attempted murder. Soaked in sweat and a hitched breath The coffin suddenly felt more comfortable than this bed for I felt as if it held me hostage. Prisoned in its tenderness and scent. It reminds me of the hospital. The scent. The ambience. The lack of understanding in every turn.

Too much for a young mind to handle. Too painful for a grown one to remember.

Too busy catching my breath, late did I notice the girl standing at the edge of the bed. The only reason I even noticed her is because the light bounced off the earrings she wore. Crystal clear tear drops held in gold.

“Hello?” Why do I sound unsure? Should I reply goodbye then? She’s just standing there.

“Hello. My name is Uma under Princess Arianne’s wing. I am here to prepare you today, as you have an audience with Princess Adrianne. The Princess placed emphasis on the notion that we must make haste. Nests are being formed in every part of Gemmas and we must exterminate them before they house or awaken offspring of ruin.” She said a lot of things. But I barely understood a thing. Nests. What about nests? Do they have that big of a bird problem?

Am I part of the problem?

“Oh… Okay. That’s…” What should I say? “Thank you?” That is not enough gratitude dumbass. “What exactly are we going to do today?"

“The princess, the priest, the scholars and the heroes will orient you on your purpose and how to survive in the world. Your training comes first, to see how adequate you are in swordsmanship, defence, toxophilite, or healing. It is public knowledge but the thorny princess will teach you better.” The thorny princess?

“Who’s the Thorny Princess?”

“Princess Adrianne Adelie Ember. Thorny as she is sharp witted. A very intelligent woman with a…” she mutters something under her breath and avoids my gaze. She lightly shakes her head and turns back to me. “Shall we get you set, sir hero?” Sir hero… Oh yeah, I’m supposed to save something.

“Yeah. Can’t keep a royal waiting.”

Fairly quick preparation. A very uncomfortable one too as they all laid hands on me. I thought teardrop Uma was the only one who’ll be assisting me but a troop of maids came marching into the designated bathroom and started scrubbing, soaping and rinsing me. Even in parts I insisted I can handle on my own, but no.

I hated every moment of it.

They all dressed me, fed me and lightly pushed me forward whenever I hesitated my way. I don’t even know where we’re supposed to be going so I’m sorry that I don’t know where to go. But somehow we ended up in a small office, I was pushed in with a; “Good luck.”  The most remarkable thing about it aside from the numerous books on the tiny shelf was the string of glistening stones decorating each wall like Christmas lights from back home.

The thorny princess had her usual scowl on her face. The expression that scares me out of my wits end.

“Punctual, not in the slightest.” she remarked, rolling her eyes.

“I did not know there was a schedule.” It’s true. I knew the agenda but not when or where everything was going to happen. They should plan these things better. Better yet they should have a clock.

“Was Uma with you?”

“She was but-” She scoffs, effectively cutting me off. Rude. I think the Thorny princess is not just an homage to her intellect. She seems like a bitch. And I’ve only met her yesterday. I shouldn’t judge her quickly. That’s rude.

“Then you must know. Uma is one of the most competent and thorough maids in this palace.” THOROUGH? SHE WAS PRETTY VAGUE LAST I HEARD. “No bother. We must begin the brief orientation. I had to fight Arianne to let me have you first before she sucked all the life out of you comparable to the works of the nefarious crow.”

Nefarious crow. Evil bird? Huh. Crows hold grudges. And they go in herds. So it must be a big bird problem.

“Sit.” She motioned, not even waiting for me as she got comfortable. I comply and watch her take a book and open it on a dog eared page. “Now. We do not have all day, so I will begin with an introduction. I am Princess Adriane Adelie Ember, the first born child of Father Emperor King Russet Ember. We are the descendants of Saint Rubaine Crystallis Ember and Lumens Flaris Ember. The protectors and healers of Gemmas.” Introductions.

“My name is…” She pinches all her fingers in front of my face, effectively stunning me.  And interrupting me. How rude. She is a thorny princess. She’s so prickly. Is it fair to judge her now? No. Yes. No. That is rude. But yes, it is justified. Or I don’t know.

“700 Sols ago, there existed a being that ate away at life. A mortal cannot remain in its vicinity at risk of losing their life. A being that took the form of a crow. He corrupted doves, a symbol of great union and ruined them to be his medium.” The Princess opens a scroll and shows me a portrait of the most horrific mutant I’ve ever seen. A skull of a bird that forms half of his head, but it doesn’t seem to be covering anything underneath… Instead it blended with its skin and his jaw sported sharp and blackened teeth, folding into an eerily tooth grin. His pale skin stood out in the midst of the dark and dreary feathers that covered his every surface. A collar of bones protrude out of his neck curving inwards towards his face and everything from his torso down blended into nothingness. The ink just scattered on the paper. He looks like he’d eat me. It looks oddly and eerily familiar.

“He is Corvus Desol Briar. Nobody knows of his origins, there just came a day that he appeared and declared a cleansing of all life was overdue. He successfully took over the North, after 7 eclipses life has not returned to the North and even several patches throughout Gemmas due to the mortals he ruined to serve as his generals that made nests.” Nests? Are they literal birds? What exactly are we talking about here? “Coincidentally, there are 7 generals. In present times, 1 is known to be active yet docile for now, and the rest are occasionally spotted with no hostility coming from them. But the nests are gathering twigs, the number is getting alarming more specifically for General Fami. A general known for its excessive hunger and has the most nests built around Gemmas. Their influence causes famish to wash upon the people. No matter how much they eat… or even what they eat, they can never have their fill; they eventually die from starvation.”

I don’t know what to say to that… Eating anything and everything only to die hungry. That’s such an unnatural way to die. That’s scary.

“That is who you will pursue with the 4 heroes. You must exterminate General Fami’s current incarnation and break apart their most active nest… That is arguably the most useful information you’ll need moving forward of the situation at hand.” It is? I have questions! I don’t know what they are yet but I have to know more. “Now I will discuss Lustrous Julias.” Don’t discuss that part yet. Go back to the bird and the nests and the generals. Do they have lieutenants? Why are they collecting twigs? What does all this mean?

“Lustrous Julias is a system that activated upon the death of Saint Rubaine. She spent 10 years perfecting it but the idea of readily available and accessible means of the input and profile of the world has long been drafted in her books. It is a shame that she died before she could see it. In the beginning it served as a place to keep memories, eventually it evolved into a system that greatly assists us today. Nobody in Gemmas is not written into Lustrous Julias, from the moment you are born you are registered. In the next sol shine, we will register you into the system.” She closes the book she has in front of her and stands up without another word. I think we’re done. But why are we done? How are we done? That’s it? That can’t be it. Can it be it? Do I need to know anything more? No. Yes. YES I DO.

“Are we done?” No. We can’t possibly be done right, that is simply senseless and that can’t be enough inform-

“We are.” NO I STILL DON’T GET IT!

“No but… what exactly does the system do now? Why is it such an integral part of your society?”

“Did you not get what I said?”

YOU DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING. “No… not really. Sorry.”

“Lustrous Julias is our life, it encases every memory, tinge of knowledge, skills, abilities and more. It is a means of communication. It gives us a report on ourselves when we forget who we are. And it is a model that keeps us safe. It was created and blessed by Saint Rubaine. This was her life.” I don’t even know what to compare it to. This is like some AI crap.

“Can you show me… Lustrous Julias? Or is it just a telepathic thing that-”

Without even letting me finish, she pulled back her sleeve and revealed a gem embedded into her wrist. I’ve seen so many of them at that ball I fell into, all stuck in different places. They glimmer and glisten in the smallest rays of light. Capturing my eye and taking away each thought. The princess curls her fingers to a fist and a small holographic, blindingly yellow window pops out. It looks so similar to the resume I used to send out. A picture on the top right corner, carrying all her sharp features and blondiness. The hard look in her blue eyes. She’s angry. Although the rest of her face doesn’t carry the expression. Something tells me she’s angry.

[Name: Edriane Adeli Ember]

[Age: 22]

Edriane… With an E. Huh. Who would’ve thought. And 22 years old. I’m older by 4 years. Who would’ve thought. Damn. I’m getting old. But ageing is beautiful. I love being old.

[Status: Alive]

Evidently. I’d be terrified if she’s dead. Zombies are creepy.

[Status: Cannot be determined.]

Another Status? What is that for?

[Class: Scholar]

[Affinity: Fire]

[Skills: -]

[Health: Pristine]

Woah. It’s a self report. But what exactly is Class? Affinity? Skills? Health? Health is probably just health but what’s going on with everything else?

“This is Lustrous Julias. Whatever is shown here can change depending on the individual. I can keep my information private. But I am willing to show you everything so you have an idea. This is just the base information, if you request the Lustrous Julias to show you more it will comply.” She says, inching closer to give me a better look. “Lustrous Julias, reveal skill packs in fire affinity.” she commands, the window changes almost immediately and the empty section of her skill suddenly has…

[Sparks]

[Ember]

“I don’t have many skill packs in the fire affinity, I made up with my lack of abilities in my own wit. These are the most common skill packs that involve fires. Sparks has three abilities under it, Ignite, Spark and Fuel. The Ember skill pack is one that is passed down in the Ember bloodline and to those that became Saint Rubaine’s and her daughter’s Harmon and Delana’s disciples. It carries the unique ability of immunity to the heat and viciousness of flames. Although Gemmas and everyone in it has protection from their own ability and affinity, others may still harm you. My fire can hurt another one who is affiliated with fire. The Ember skills prevent any damage done to our family. And it allows us to control other people’s fire which is not possible for other affinities as no skill has equated to Ember. My sister takes advantage of this skill a lot. Just so you know.” Why do I have to know that?

“Why is that important? She's training you. And when she’s training you, she will hurt you.” She'll do what? “I’ll apologise in advance for that.” SHE’LL DO WHAT? WHY WOULD SHE DO THAT. HURT ME? WHAT’D I DO?

“And class… It’s very likely or probably, you will be classified as a Hero… As my sister and the other 3 are. Your affinity is a different matter however. We’ll have to test which ones you best bode with. Since you’re from another world we are hoping for the chance that you are versatile in all affinities. Especially since most major affinities are occupied in the hero sector.”

“Versatile like I can work with all affinities?” Please say yes. Please say yes. PLEASE. SAY. YES. Because if I’m versatile then I’m… what am I? ADAPTABLE. YES I AM ADAPTABLE. BEING ADAPTABLE IS GREAT. How is being adaptable great…. IT JUST IS. YES! IT JUST IS.

“Correct.” YES. ADAPTABLE! “Any more questions?” OH I DO.

“Why do you have stones embedded into your bodies? Swamp Head had one on his forehead.” I shouldn’t have added the last part. Idiot. That wasn’t relevant. But he looks like a unicorn missing his horns.

“It is our life. Lustrous Julias reports a general sense of damage, ranging from Pristine, Average, Sickly, At Risk. These stones show a more physical reaction to what state of health we are in. The brighter and cleaner aspect indicates we are in pristine health. Dullness indicates illness. Pair that with scratches, it will indicate light injuries. Cracks in it indicate grave injuries. Completely shattered to bits means death, but you’ll see the body first and know their dead so the shattered remains of their gem is a hassle more than anything.”

“What if somebody scratches it or dulls it or cracks it or shatters it?” I should’ve made that question shorter but I’ve already asked.

“Highly unlikely. They’re harder than they look. Although it is possible to inflict violence on it and tarnish it in any way, it’ll take quite a bit of effort.”

“Can people die from shattering their gem?”

“Core.” Huh? “They’re called our Cores. And yes, there have been reports of death amongst Gemma from the shattering and ruination of their cores. But like I stated, it takes too much effort.”

Damn. What kind of effort though? Would that be a weird question?

A silence befalls us both, the princess simply continues tidying up while leaving me to my own vices.

Can I still ask questions? I’m gonna ask questions.

“Okay… Then… Why is the Crow just… terrorising you? What does he want?”

“I don’t have an answer to that. Nobody knows what he wants or why he has returned. Our priority is the safety and lives of all Gemmas.”

“How long do you think this is going to take?”