Chapter 18: Chapter 17 – The Grind

Spies from the alliance and divine scrying showed that the mage-king was actually no king at all. In fact, he was seen to be more of a Steward and Servant of the people and was in fact chosen by the majority of them which was a concept that was so alien and foreign to the members of the alliance. The system of government was seen as preposterous for who would ever in their right mind allow the common man to dictate the rules of power above their station?

- On the Cataclysm by an unknown Quassian Scholar circa 103 AC

Dark things had plagued my dreams, stalking me throughout my imagination. Dark sharp things that pierced, stabbed, or bludgeoned as they laughed cruelly. Dark tentacled things whispered raspy sweet promises as they caressed my cheek, before wrapping around my neck and wringing the life out of me as they plunged down my throat. Several times I had awoken during the night, limbs flailing against invisible assailants before finally slipping into a deeper slumber.

A worker inadvertently banging against my wooden pallet raised me from the last vestiges of my troubled sleep. The slaves moved in silence, like well-trained soldiers about to embark on a dawn raid. Looking out at the open wooden entrance, still dark before the first light of rosy dawn, I saw that they had begun to arrange themselves into passably neat columns and rows under the watchful eyes of our overseers. I hurriedly followed suit, not wishing to draw the ire of our masters, or the promised pain of my new collar. As I got up, I noticed a few of the insect-like creatures with double thoraxes and large mandibles that I had seen before scuttle into safety from the stampede of humanity into various holes and corners. There was at least one positive; as I started to make my way outside I noticed that despite my disturbed sleep, I had fully regenerated all of my status points.

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