Stay down.

    The mental command had force enough to pin Tais to the flooring, his fear-stricken body too limp to resist. Above him he heard the gentle thrum of the airship, the swift and steady pops of its cannons, and the bone-shaking impact of light upon the water cruiser. He heard Huna, too, her cries muffled by exhaustion and mental fatigue. Her own blasts came less often now, though still steady.

   Steady and sure, thought Tais. Everything here works like machinery. All measured. All scheduled. Nothing abnormal or unexpected. Except me.

    The last thought brought grim determination to the youth, and he stood on wobbly legs and positioned himself behind Huna, arms flailing for balance.

How do I make fire with my hands?

    Tais was getting better with the art of telepathy, a skill that took most almost a year to acquire and exert without speech.

You can't.

    Huna's own reply was short, a swift staccato between her blasts.

Why not?

Because you are not Delkora.

Well I tamed that bloody beast for you and your father, so I must have some greater talent. Or do I have to discover it for myself?This is this just another test, isn't it?

    Silence was his only answer from Huna, though the hovering airship was more than happy to lend its reply.

Pop. Pop.

    The lasers fell mercilessly upon the small floating cruiser, the proverbial fish in a barrel. The barrage knocked the pair to the decking, Huna giving a cry as she fell. Tais uttered none. He was beginning to become accustomed to falling.

    From the ground, Tais looked into Huna's eyes. He saw fear there. Genuine, cold, fear.

    It can't be a test. The Director would never do this to his daughter, would he?

    Huna stared back into Tais' eyes, the two having a wordless exchange that didn't even take place on the telepathic level. Both nodded. Both stood together, Tais off to Huna's side; together against the airship.

    Tais quickly picked up on the rhythm of the guns, hoping that maybe it would be able to help him do something. Anything. Huna needed him, and he would do all he could for her.

    Even if this is just another test. The thought didn't seem to bother Tais this time, but rather sent waves of cool confidence coursing through his body. Is this what it is to love someone?

    He shook the thought off, and concentrated on the task at hand. Mimicking Huna, he wove his hands in the intricate patterns she traced. They were also full of form and measure in their delicacy, thought, planning, and repetition apart in each movement. He used the echoes of the guns as a metronome, a measure in which to set his swift gestures.

    Come on. Fire. Fire. Please?

    Nothing. His hands fell back to his sides in frustration, warmed only from the fires blazing around him.

Pop. Pop.

    Wait. An epiphany hit Tais, a sudden realization that brought a smile to his face. Huna is right. I am not Delkora, I am not a piece of clockwork. I am Tais, and I am erratic like the earth and stone I grew with.

    With that notion in mind, Tais did what seemed right and natural to him. His arms weaved their own pattern, a living pattern that changed and never repeated, a strict contrast to the uniformity around him. His eyes fluttered shut, he felt lost in his motions.

What are you doing?

Improvising.

You shall kill us both, for sure!

    Tais ignored her concern and continued to will flame into his hands.

    Then he felt something. Almost like pin-pricks, but running down his spine, flaring out his limbs. His eyes widened, pupils dilated. He started to fall backwards, the world turning black around him.

I warned you, Tais.

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From the hopeless trenches of the slave world, one man begins to hope, and from this hope, there blooms a freedom in his mind. The Delkori cannot enslave his mind...His mind is free. And soon, discovering the true potential of this freedom of mind, he escapes the slave world and moves through the mysterious and shifty other world to discover the true workings behind it all...
With deceitful voices in his mind, and traps at every corner that test his physical and mental powers until he is left stumbling, he grips his will power and continues on through it all...trying to find the light.
DUN DUN DUN..

Info for Authors:
The social hierarchy:
The order of the Delko from what I think is the highest to lowest goes as follows: Delkora, Delkorei, Delkori, Klendo.
The Klendo are the workers, the slaves, they work in the trenches and know only of the trenches.
The Delkori supervise the Klendo.
The Delkora include Huna, Vewwe and their "father". They are Mancers of varying degrees.
Above them are a few others. The Viscount Director has a degree of power over what goes on, but Huna's father could easily be doing things behind his back. Also, there is a man who is called the Surgeon who has a lot of power.

Tais's background is still unknown, but he was raised as a slave as an experiment, even when he has the mental powers of a Mancer. Huna's father was conducting this experiment and others on Tais...but then the Surgeon offered him a deal and he secretly took it. So now the experiments are much crueler and scarier and run by the Surgeon himself...and that was what changed Salla.

updated Jul 29 by olius_brightwell