I was born in Bridgegarde, a place that is a statement before a city. Bridegarde stands on a continent that is surrounded by the Voidmountains, a fierce set of mountains that denies any entry. And if you manage to get past those indestructible mountains, the whole continent is an endless abyss called Darkfall. Yet it was us, the powerless diamonds, who conquered that continent.

When the Diamond arrived, humans were afraid of those who got tricked and accepted the gem. Humans massively outnumbered the diamonds so they banished diamonds by tasking them with survival on that dark continent. Their lifespan stolen and exiled from their society, diamonds were at rock bottom. They were angry at everything and everyone including themselves. This shared resentment gave them the power and unity they desperately needed to accomplish this impossible feat.

Diamonds tried digging when they first arrived at the mountain skirts. During these efforts, they realized that the Voidmountains had an unknown special property. After a piece of stone touched the diamond on their chest, it revealed its true form. It wasn’t indestructible like before, instead it obeyed their command. This was the first victory of diamonds and many would consider it their most important one still.

Using their newfound ability to manipulate this pitch-black material, which they called Gemrock, diamonds built a bridge between the two continents. It took them two silverapple harvests long to complete this massive structure. The bridge was essential for them to carry materials from the main continent but it was more than that. It was a monument of their triumph.

Diamonds gained momentum with each small achievement they reached. They built their city above the dark depths of Darkfall in a time that surprised them. When the building of Bridgegarde was completed, diamonds still hadn't figured out how to manage or run a city. But their comradery was strong enough for them to live in peace until they could figure it out.

My mother told me these parts of Bridgegarde’s history over and over again. She was a unique historian. While other historians were focusing on the events of the past, she would always seek connections between seemingly unrelated events. The “Everything in Gemsoil is deeply connected.” theory of hers is ingrained in me even though I don’t completely believe in it.

She genuinely cared for people no matter their gem. Naturally, I was the same way until the incident. The incident that took my parents in the blink of an eye. I still remember every detail of that day because it made me a different person. Not only did I lose my parents, but it also changed how I perceived our world. In both metaphorical and literal ways.

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We went out that day, our small family of three. My father was an artisan and loved watching others like him so we were going to a performance. Though I told you about the history of Bridgegarde, its current state was a lot different than its start. Bridgegarde is now a city of conflict and chaos. The center of a quarrel between different gems and different minds. Everyone had an idea of how the city should be and they tried to force that upon each other.

Fights among the streets are common in Bridgegarde and we were stuck in the middle of a big one. It was a conflict between a catseye, ruby and an alexandrite who tried to stop them. Catseye’s body morphed and grew hardened scales to protect itself from the endless stream of flames coming from the ruby. The scales grew wider as the fire roared through the streets of Bridgegarde.

All it took from the ruby to lose control was a single moment of weakness, a second of lost focus. Rubies controlled their gemcraft with their mental and physical states. Stronger gemcraft took heavy tolls and needed the utmost concentration. Uncontrolled anger like this always led to catastrophe.

Wild flames swallowed everyone on that street one by one. When it was our turn, it felt like time had stopped. The red flames coming down upon us looked much different during that single moment. I could see a wave that ebbed and flowed deeply buried inside it. But time didn’t wait for me to think. The flames descended on us. While my parents drowned in the wave of flames, my instincts made me move with it. I directed the flow of it to give it a new direction.

It was over in a few seconds. The ruby got handled by the Gemsoil Protection Force along with the catseye. When the initial shock was over, the silent streets got overwhelmed by horrified and panicked screams. Those who were unfortunate to be struck by the flames were turned into ash. The flames were intense enough to not leave any corpses behind.

I was still standing, alone and processing the event. Anything after that doesn’t matter now. I could see the waves inside gemcraft from that point on and that was it. I couldn’t make it rain or move at speeds beyond human capacity. For quite some time I didn’t even know how to manipulate those waves as I did at the incident.

My parents were saving gold to move out of Bridgegarde. They admired Miragepalace and its dustbowl of a continent so they wanted to continue their lives there. It was more than enough to last me for at least six thunderbird migration cycles. I tried to continue my life in our family house but it was too hard for me to be there, let alone stay in that cursed city.

And so I left, visions of flames clouding my sight.