Evan awoke early. It was a stark contrast to the first time he left the inn, but this time it was a feeling of wrongness that woke him up. He wasn’t in danger or anything, it just felt very wrong to be sleeping instead of cultivating.

In fact, a small part of him wanted to cultivate inside his room instead of sleeping, but he quickly thrashed that part of him into silence. To do that was to invite disaster – what if he ended up absorbing some useless, unprocessed Substance into his soul? It made him shiver on the spot.

His room this time had a window, and through it he could see the earliest embers of dawn approaching, a curtain of gentle light slowly inching across the city. Starspire was divided into four sections, with the deeper ones being made up of far wealthier citizens and the innermost meant strictly for the leadership of the city. Additionally, further into the city it became more and more vertical as the area decreased and wealth rose.

In the sky he could see some shuttles moving to and from the ground, transferring cargo and passengers from off-world. It was beautiful, but the knowledge that it might be his last sight of the city for quite some time, if not forever, tainted the memory already.

Still, it was early enough that he had some extra time before they came to get him, so he went down to the common room and had some breakfast – a nice change of pace from before.

Pork seemed to be a popular choice at The Rare Tusk, and it was good. Was the food a result of the name, or the name a result of the food?

As he found himself a seat in the sleepy common room, he noticed David was up and about, serving meals, so while they couldn’t have any private, significant conversations they could at least greet each other. Evan’s attitude was much less mopey than it had been before, which seemed to tip David off to the fact that he had reconciled with his future.

“Hey David! Good morning – I meant to talk to you last night, but never got the chance. How has your week been since I left?” A smile graced Evan’s face – David had seemed to be of a good sort, a rarity.

He quashed the part of himself that wondered if David had forgotten him – that the friendship they had seemed to build was nothing special to David, or some ploy to learn something from him.

“Hey!” David’s face also broke out into a smile, and instantly he seemed more relieved than he had been before. “You seem to be doing better than before! I’m glad to hear it,” his work took him away from Evan, but before long he made his way back.

“Where did they take you? I had thought that they had already shipped you off to places unknown, or that they were training you somewhere inside the city.” He wouldn’t know about the cultivation he had been given, but hadn’t he read those same books?

“Ah, no. They were getting me ready for deployment, but I’m only back for a short while longer. They’re actually having me leave today.” He took a bite of his food, it was good. The answer was a little evasive, but he couldn’t help it.

He asked about the books – he hadn’t thoroughly read through them, it was only one afternoon so he had mostly skimmed and thumbed through the pages, only reading the bits he found useful or interesting. Could he have misinterpreted something?

“And yes, I am doing much better than before. You gave me a real scare last week with all your talk about the military, but after reading those books you lent me and some time to think, things don’t seem nearly as bad. The military seems a lot more… fair, than I had expected it to be.” He waited a moment, then added to that.

“That’s good for me – I’ve never been afraid of a little hard work.” Saying so, he felt a tinge of embarrassment. Rarely was he taken seriously when he said such things, for people only saw who he was, not who he would be.

What would a street kid, an orphan, know of hard work anyway? The thought helped him shove away the embarrassment as he smirked at the nonsense people seemed to believe.

David himself just grinned. “Well, I’m glad – you don’t seem the type resigned to your fate. I didn’t know what was in those books, haven’t ever been much of a reader and they seemed particularly boring.”

Stepping closer, David whispered as though he was sharing some big secret. “Between you and me, they always seemed more like propaganda than actual history books, don’t know why ma even bought them to begin with.”

Not much later, Evan headed back up the stairs with a full belly to take another shower. He had decided it was for the best that he made the most of it while he could, and David didn’t seem to have any issue with it when he asked.

It was a shame they didn’t get to talk much more than that, but duty called for both of them.

After his bath he just hung out in the common room, and by now things had picked up and there was no opportunity to speak with David. He did spot Alaina, Alex and Luke, but none of them seemed open to talking and he didn’t particularly want too either.

Luke, like himself, sat alone, while Alaina and Alex sat together. He wondered if any of them were leaving with him. Wouldn’t be long now until he found out, he supposed. How would they even be leaving? It wouldn’t be a coach, right? That seemed too… civilian to him.

The further outposts would present a dangerous journey, and only those closest to Starspire would be truly safe. He was headed towards a closer outpost, so a coach was possible, but he just couldn’t see it. Would he be made to walk? March?

That sounded terrible, but also a distinct possibility. According to the books, he was part of the civilian division, which meant that for the most part he was separated from the more military-like parts of the military, like physical training or the typical chain of command.

At least, that was how the books he read made it out to be, along with any of the crafters he had spoken to that had worked for the military – they were treated fairly well these days, so long as you discounted the inherent danger and low pay.

Well, “fairly well” to most people’s standards, anyway. The truly rich and successful crafters would no doubt have a very different definition of a decent standard of living than he would. He had heard tales – rumors, mostly – that in the second section, the average person lived in untold luxury.

The kind of luxury that included various sorts of Substance powered amenities – heated water, air conditioning, general appliances, and things such as fridges. Even Substance powered personal vehicles!

It was a level of opulence he couldn’t even fathom, but that everyone strived for – even though not many people believed it. To use Substance for anything but cultivation? A waste.

Evan could believe it though. The stronger the crafter, the more efficient they make use of any Substance. Typically, this wasn’t useful since every unit of intent was needed for deriving more power or control. For civilian purposes, though, it meant that a strong crafter could lay down formations in a way that wasn’t terribly expensive, so long as someone could actually afford a powerful crafters work and the needed Substance to set it up.

And if someone lived in the second section of the city, they had that kind of money.

He wondered if one day, he would be able to move into the second section of the city and enjoy such a life. Would he look back, recalling this day – the day he had to trudge to an outpost outside the city – and consider it the start to his rise to a glorious future?

He hoped so.

The thought caused him to ruefully shake his head; whatever happened, it would happen when it happened and not a moment before. It would do him no good to daydream about a future when he could work towards it instead – he had seen far too many other orphans do that, and it never worked out like they hoped.

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As breakfast came to a close while he was lost in his thoughts, someone showed up at the entrance of the inn. He had been keeping a close eye out for anyone with a certain bearing, and this man certainly possessed it.

His ride, or perhaps his guide, had finally shown. The man was short but well built, which somewhat surprised him – the military seemed larger than life to him, and to be able to look down on the person who would set him towards that future came as an unexpected shock – he was quite tall himself at nearly two meters, though he was quite thin, so looking down at others wasn’t unusual.

Despite his short stature, the man had a powerful look to him and a stern and serious expression. He looked disdainful of what he saw, and his eyes seemed to reflect an amount of experience and wisdom beyond his apparent age of just over forty years.

It wasn’t perfectly clear why Evan felt he looked powerful, but it was an impression he was certain of.

After only a few moments the man seemed to spot Evan, and seeing as Evan was already looking his way, he nodded as though in approval before waving him towards himself.

With only a small amount of reluctance Evan stood from where he sat and walked over, surprised that he was the only one – for some reason, he had expected the others to leave with him, even if none of them were joining the military like himself.

The man spoke. “Are you ready to leave?” His voice was curt, but it contained none of the stern disapproval he had encountered the last time he was leaving the inn. Not being late must have helped.

“Yes sir. May I ask how we will be leaving for the outpost?”

“You may. I will not be leaving with you, however. Instead, I will be escorting you to the gate where you will be introduced to your fellow civilians who will remain at the outpost with you. This will naturally include your instructor.

“As for traveling, everyone – including the combat division – will be traveling alongside the supply convoy headed towards the outpost. The convoy is made up of Substance-powered vehicles, and will have seating for those of the civilian division along with the officers of the combat division. It is a short journey and you will arrive before the sun has set.

“Does that answer your question?” During his explanation, Evan noticed that he didn’t like the treatment the civilian division received but seemed resigned to it. Another artifact of the change mentioned in the books he had read? He would take it.

He also felt a surge of excitement at the prospect of traveling in a Substance powered vehicle. They were fairly rare, and never stopped in the fourth section of the city, always heading inwards. He wouldn’t be surprised if they only stopped once they got to the second section but had no real idea.

It seemed crazy that the military had the funding to use something so luxurious, but maybe there was a good reason for it? He could understand for the further outposts, since the vehicles would require less maintenance than a horse drawn carriage, but for the closer outposts? Starspire was incredibly wealthy, but that seemed ridiculous.

Evidently his surprise and confusion must have shown on his face, as the grizzly middle-aged man smiled, pride evident in his voice as he spoke.

“Ha! Did you not expect the military to be able to afford simple powered transportation, boy? I can see it on your face, clear as day. Starspire is capable of more than that, too. You’re in good hands kid. Civilians have a much laxer place in the military, but whatever you put in, Starspire will give back twice over.”

The man, whom he still did not know the name of, seemed to hesitate a moment before continuing.

“Everything you might have heard about the military is out of date, kid. I know there are terrible rumors circulating in some places that joining the military as a civilian is a one-way trip out of the city, but that’s not true. There was some slight corruption about a hundred years back that got a lot of attention, but Starspire came down hard on that, and now things are very different. Better.

“So, whatever it is you heard, try to forget that and give us a chance, eh? I think you’ll find it’s a lot better than what others have made it out to be. It’s dangerous, yes, but that’s par for the course.”

His words of wisdom resonated with Evan, even though he understood on some level that of course this man, one of the first interactions recruits like himself, would sing the praises of the military.

He wanted to give the military a chance, and from what he had read in that book, it seemed like what the man said was true, minus a few embellishments. What other choice did he have other than to give them a chance? He had already saddled himself with them for years to come, and his only hope of walking away with any measure of success under his belt – if he walked away at all – was to work as hard as possible, securing both his life and future.

“I’ll certainly give it a chance, sir. I worked hard for this opportunity – I’m actually an orphan from the fourth section, and I have no plans of stopping anytime soon.” No reason not to try and score some brownie points, right? The man didn’t seem the type to despise someone from humble beginnings.

It seemed to work. He saw the man frown, but as though in sympathy rather than distain.

“Ah, well than you indeed know the value of hard work more than most. I know it must be tough, growing up as you did.” He paused, an awkward silence settling over them amongst the background noise of people eating and speaking.

“Let’s go. We’re taking a coach to the gate.” The man ventured, turning around and leaving as he did. Evan followed.

None of the other future crafters were even mentioned as they left, though he did notice Luke glance his way as he left.

It made him realize that, from what had been said before and none of them appearing to be enlisting as he was, that their talent in crafting was likely higher than his own – only those with high talent or special circumstances like himself would have been staying at The Rare Tusk, and even he had at least decent talent. They had also enjoyed some cultivation, which appeared to be sponsored like his own, despite not having enlisted.

He could have sworn that the cultivation was part of the package deal with him joining the military, but perhaps he misremembered? Or had misinterpreted? Were they just that much more talented than him? It was a sobering thought – he had thought himself rather special when his talent came to light, but there were always higher peaks.

As expected, there was a coach waiting for them outside. Evan climbed inside, just after the man himself. Inside there were two other youths like himself, both male. He must have been the last stop.

There was little conversation on the way to the gate – the other two… students? – had no interest in talking, seemingly resigned to a bitter fate. They must have felt like he did before having read those books, and if the other occupant had offered similar words of encouragement to them as he did to Evan, then that advice had failed to sway them. Even to Evan the advice had felt somewhat artificial.

Said person, their guide, attempted several times to start up a conversation, but nobody was particularly interested. Evan spoke with him the first few times, but their conversation would just go in circles, and eventually he tired of it. They were just very different people, with very different trajectories and goals for the future.

He figured it also had something to do with the fact that the entire time the man spoke, the other two gave him the stink-eye. It wasn’t effective on the man, who he decided to just refer to as Stiff internally, but it did make Evan visibly uncomfortable.

This trip was longer than the others he had taken, as they were headed all the way from the third section to the gate at the outskirts of the fourth, which gave him some time to think.

Mainly, he wondered why the other two students were so wound up and frustrated. They would have signed the contract, same as him, so it wasn’t as though they had been forced – there was no point for the military to do so. Their clothes were an obvious giveaway that they were from the fourth section, just as he was, but that seemed to do himself no favors with them. They seemed to resent him.

It wasn’t hard to figure out why – from how things had proceeded with where he was picked up and that he was the last stop before the gate, it was apparent that he had gotten a better deal than them, even if Stiff said nothing of the sort.

Just knowing why they resented him wasn’t enough, though. They acted as though they were death-row prisoners, off to the chopping block, when in reality their entire life was opening up before them. Even if their contract wasn’t quite as generous as the one Evan had signed, that didn’t change the basic way things would work in the military.

As long as they worked hard, they would walk away just as successful as himself.

Well, maybe not that successful. I am me, after all, and…

Ah. His talent was better, and that would never change. Talent was inborn, and meant that at the same level, they would never be able to compare to him without there being a massive gap in skill. A gap he would never let happen in the first place, of course.

Was it really that simple? People could be petty, but he had never resented someone for being more talented than himself. Jealous, maybe, but never resentful. Luke, Alex, and Alaina were a perfect example of this – he was a little jealous that he didn’t have the same level of talent, that they would have an easier start than himself, but it wasn’t something he would resent them for.

In a way, he even looked up to them. Not in an inspirational way – they were juniors just like himself – but as a peak that could be surpassed through skill and wealth. Talent wasn’t everything.

If their resentment was as simple as that, then they were fools. The best thing to do would have been to suck up to him, just as he had done with the crafters he sought out while growing up. People could be very generous, even in a world where the strong ruled by virtue of their wealth-derived power.

He wanted to lightly shake his head but refrained. There was no reason to antagonize them, and while he found their actions foolish, he couldn’t fault them. People lived and stayed in the fourth section for a reason, after all. It wasn’t easy to be successful enough to move inwards, and even among crafters it wasn’t guaranteed. Least of all to those who entered their fields without any backing or great talent.

Until he had read those books, he had felt somewhat discouraged himself, thinking he had been taken for a fool, so he could imagine the hopelessness they felt, at least a little.

And if they hadn’t been so obviously resentful, he might have felt open to sharing that.

He didn’t, though, and so the ride passed in silence until they arrived at the gate, even more bustling than usual. It was time to face the music.