A gatekeeper had been brought down in the city of Kuravanuluox, ruled by none other than Grand Magister Danna Ryl the One-Horned, Keybinder of the tower, chief of the Exinov and pinnacle of wizardry. Even more shocking, there had been a rebellion among the Nurabehn.
It had taken a full six months for word of these incidents to reach this deep into the countryside.
“The Keybinder is so lenient toward us Nurabehn, why would those fools go and rebel against her…?”
Sipping at his thin soup, Jiji listened idly to his father’s dinner-table grumblings. He and his family lived in a rural town far from Kuravanuluox. The “key” of the tower that oversaw their district was not kind to the Nurabehn, who grew crops, looked after livestock, and wove textiles to meet the Exinov’s demands, eking out a living with whatever was left over. It was a hardscrabble existence, and Jiji had never once eaten his fill. Their clothes were tattered and worn, and merchants never came to their village, so they got no news of the outside world─all the more reason that, when rumors of the sudden rebellion did finally reach them, it was all anyone could talk about.
“Heard today they’re creating a free district, not paying anything to the Exinov and not getting any protection from them, either. Stop and think about it for a minute, though, and anyone can see that no bunch of unprotected Nurabehn could ever do a thing like that.”
“Huh? The ones who rebelled are still alive?” Jiji looked up from his soup in surprise.
“Well, if they’re creating a free district, I s’pose they must be,” his father answered matter-of-factly.
“The Exinov let the rebels get away? What for?”
“Apparently some folks from a place called the Forbidden Land had something to do with it. But watch yourself, Jiji, you’re too trusting sometimes. This talk of a free district is all a load of bull. It’s just some tasty-looking bait to lure us in.”
“Lure us in for what?”
“To chop us up and use us as raw material for their sorcery. These Forbidden Landers don’t have fancy wizard devices like the protected ones do. They use old, terrible, barbaric sorcery.”
“But people are going to the free district even so?”
“Only the foolish ones. They’re scared of the Exinov’s mana drawing…even though it’s such a great honor! The whole thing’s a disgrace!” Jiji’s father was working up a head of steam. “Mana drawing’s a blessing for us unprotected folk. The family get a cash reward, and it’s not like the drawn ones die─their souls just become part of the Exinov. If they’re so damn scared, I’ll trade places with ’em in a heartbeat!”
Jiji glanced over at the portrait of his older sister hanging on the wall. It was finely detailed, having been made using a wizard device called a visage tracer, and had been given to Jiji’s family by the individual in charge of his sister’s mana drawing.
The Nurabehn whose mana was drawn were the pride of the village. Until recently only one or two were taken every few years, and their families were accorded a level of respect almost on par with the Exinov themselves. The respect of their fellow villagers could hardly fill their stomachs, but Jiji’s father seemed to have taken a liking to their admiration nonetheless. If nothing else, people would help them out in times of trouble. That would’ve been unthinkable before Jiji’s older sister was taken, no matter how desperately they had needed it.
Nobody had helped Jiji’s mother when she collapsed in the road; Jiji had found her lifeless body the next morning when he went out searching. Her remains were immediately taken to the city of the tower so that whatever mana was left could be extracted. Apparently his mother’s body contained more mana than the average Nurabehn─which was why Jiji’s sister was later chosen. At least, that’s what the one in charge of her mana drawing had said.
“Do you want to become one with the Exinov, Father?”
“’Course I do!” his father answered without hesitation.
Jiji had his doubts, though. If becoming one with the Exinov was such a noble thing, why was the role being granted to Nurabehn? Every other privilege belonged exclusively to the Ignas and Exinov, and all the Nurabehn’s other rights had been taken away. So why was this alone, the right to die for an Exinov, being granted to them as some kind of exalted favor?
Jiji knew his sister had cried the night before she was taken. She’d been terrified. He knew she had run to her boyfriend, that they had embraced, that her boyfriend had suggested they run away together─and he knew what his sister’s reply had been:
“If I don’t go, they’ll take Jiji instead.”
When he heard those words, Jiji was shaken to his core. He trembled with fear at the thought of having his mana drawn, becoming one with an Exinov, and never being able to think for himself or play with his friends ever again.
The adults told him he didn’t need to be scared. His father said it was a great honor. But in the portrait of his sister hanging on the wall, her eyes were red and puffy from crying. She had really been much prettier than she looked in the portrait, but the visage tracer kept that one moment so vividly fresh, a constant reminder that his sister had wept when they took her, that Jiji hadn’t just dreamt it all.
“A free district, huh…?”
Jiji stood, tidied up his cutlery, and grabbed his cloak. It was nothing more than some worn-out sheets he had sewn together, but the single extra layer was enough to keep him warm.
“What’s this now? Where you going?”
“Gil’s place. Says he’s got something important he wants to talk to me about.”
+++
Gil had been Jiji’s sister’s boyfriend. He was a big, strapping fellow, and even now that Jiji’s sister was gone, Gil looked out for him like he was his real brother.
“What is it that’s so important?” asked Jiji. “And why did we have to meet here…?”
They were in a hut on the outskirts of town with several other young Nurabehn.
“Apparently there’s going to be a mana drawing soon. A big one.”
“Huh?” Jiji froze in his tracks. “Well… Th-That’s a blessing…”
“You really think so?” Gil narrowed his eyes at Jiji’s words, clearly spoken in deference to the other people present. “From what I hear, they’re gonna draw the whole village.”
“What?!”
“Though they’ll send a few of us to the farm to breed for the Exinov─you’ve heard about that, right? That Zaza Ryl of the Twisted Horns is breeding Nurabehn as a source of mana?”
“I…I’ve heard about it… Or, well…”
“That’s why they took your sister.”
Gil’s eyes were burning with rage. The girl he loved had been taken to the farm─and at fifteen years of age, Jiji knew exactly what that meant. The grown-ups all said it was an honor, but an honor like that? They could keep it, as far as Jiji was concerned.
“What are you gonna do, Jiji?”
“Wh-What do you mean, ‘do’…?”
“I’m leaving the village. All of us are, right now.”
“Right now…?!”
“We won’t be fodder for the Exinov. We’re going to the free district.”
“Then, I’ll go and tell my dad I─”
“Don’t. Your old man’s a coward. We haven’t said a word to our families about this, either.”
“So you know where the free district is?”
“Yeah, we’ve got a guide. He’s been gathering Nurabehn from the other villages, too. We’ve been in contact for a good long while, slowly getting ready for this day─he’s the one that told us about the plan for the big mana draw in the first place.”
“But… I heard the free district folks use Nurabehn as raw materials for their sorcery…”
Gil scoffed. “I heard the same thing, so I asked our guide about it. Know what he said? ‘You should consider that as a possibility. But if you stay in this village, you will unquestionably die. Choose whichever path you like.’”
Choose.
The right to choose was so rarely granted to those born as Nurabehn. Choose your own path─that in and of itself was a terribly attractive prospect.
“You’re the last one I’m talking to about this. We’ve got enough food to include you. If you decide to come, me and you will be the first to set off. The others’ll come after, one at a time.”
What if I refuse? Jiji couldn’t get the question out. He was scared that just by asking, he would lose the right to go with them. He tried counting the things he would be leaving behind, but the list was short. The portrait of his sister was the only thing that gave him pause. If I take that, though, Dad might notice it’s gone. He thinks of mana drawing as such an honor─he’ll never be able to bear the thought that his own son has run away from the village.
“…I’ll go.”
Gil clapped him on the shoulder. “We’re off, then. Grab that pack.”