“Nayok, you need to get up now! I want to lock the door before leaving”, his mother shouted as she finished setting up his breakfast.

“I am Maa, I am”, Nayok got up, a little bleary eyed but in fine fettle. He had enjoyed a wonderful dinner last night after a long day of playing in good company. Best of all, there were many more days of this pleasant routine he could look forward to while the winter sun was a joy to run around in. This was so much more enjoyable than the work he had to do in the fields in the summer. But Nayok was a good boy, and he was happy to pitch in to do his share of work for the family in the growing season. Also, while working in the fields was tiring, it had some advantages of its own. Summer meant that he got to hang around with his uncle, and the village chief doted on his little nephew. Every child in the village was a little jealous of the attention he got since they all idolized the man who had been born in the Shudra caste and risen to become Kshatriya. Still, lazing around was better than working and even the work was not a terrible thing. All in all, Nayok was quite content with his lot in life at the moment, at least according to his twelve-year-old experience of life.

Nayok washed, had breakfast, and dressed in his outside clothes. After wishing his mother bye for the day, he ran off to join the kids of the other workers. After the day’s work was over, his mother would come to collect him from the communal playground. Father left early to work in the stables of the nobility; his Jagrut level earth attunement gave him enough strength and his connection with beasts was exemplary, ensuring that he could always be employed with animals. His mother was also Jagrut but attuned to water and much more strongly so – her youthful appearance, ability to heal and her literacy meant she was also easily employed as domestic help in noble households. Right now, she had landed a plum assignment as one of the personal attendants for a lady.

His parents had come to the capital city of Manipur to find work for the winter months where it was more comfortable and lucrative to be in the cold. The city was true to its name, a shining gem. It had only had its status as a capital for bit, but the current ruler of the Anga kingdom – the Sun King Karna, was a diligent ruler and it showed. It was well known that Karna’s life had begun as a Vaishya caste being the son of a chariot driver. Even though he had ascended to being acknowledged as a great Kshatriya and wielded the terrifying power of a Samsara lord, he still retained a decent understanding of what the lower castes suffered. Particularly in Manipur and generally in the Anga kingdom, Vaishyas and Shudras suffered less under the yoke of the noble Brahmans and Kshatriyas than anywhere else in the Swadesh continent. Karna ensured that much of his income went to enable better living and working conditions for the lower castes in his capital city and nobles did not get to outright abuse the commoners. There were a lot of snide remarks and some laughter among the nobility at his works initially and more than a few imprecations about the lawlessness that would erupt once the lower castes got above their station. Instead, in only a decade, Manipur had become renowned as the city of craft with many of the greatest craftspeople and workers of the human continent all flocking there. There might be some cities in the continents of the Naga or Pakshi people where some specialized crafts were practiced in greater depth. But you would be hard pressed to find a city with a more diverse selection of high-quality craft skills and goods right now across all three continents.

Today was a rather festive day in Manipur – the King was returning from a highly successful campaign on the eastern borders against Naga invaders. The streets were decorated, entertainers were on every corner and there were stalls distributing food to the masses. Guards and attendants from the palace were all over the city to ensure that no untoward incident marred this joyous day.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“I want to try the Ferris wheel next,” Nayok said. “No, the kebab rolls. Actually, let’s check out the mallakhamb performers.”

He was in a big market square with two of his friends, Trisha and Ritesh. Almost all of their usual gang of Shudra kids were here, split into smaller group, trying to take in as much of the generosity from the court as they possibly could.

Ritesh groaned and replied, “You know I don’t eat meat; I can’t stand the smell of all that grilling either and mallakhamb is boring.”

Trisha was looking a little green as she said, “I went a little too hard at the sweets stall, I don’t know when I’ll be ready eat anything again. Not sure about the Ferris wheel either.”

“You two can stand here and decide what to do next,” Nayok said and started running, “Let me just go and grab a roll quickly.”. Meat was expensive and therefore a rare treat for Nayok. He had decided to pretty much eat until he was actually sick.

As he ran down the side street where some of the food stalls had been set up, he started being followed by a couple. A thin man with a slight hunch and a rather statuesque woman, both of whom were dressed in the manner of minor nobility or wealthy Vaishyas. They followed him in a rather obvious manner but in the crowded streets today it was hardly noticeable. As Nayok stopped in front of the Kebab stall, they caught up to him.

“Hey kid,” the man said, “need a little help from you”

Nayok turned around and saw the couple behind him. The clothes suggested some wealth, and since they were visibly older, he was quite deferential. “How can I help you, sir?”

“We are going to open a new sweet shop around here, and we are handing out some samples. We’re looking for some opinions from some of our youngest customers as well. Want to help us out here?” the man replied.

“Uh…. you want me to try sweets?”

“That’s about it.”

“Sure,” Nayok brightened up. He thought they were going to ask him to carry something heavy or some such task. This was more than fine. “But can I get myself a roll first? I mean I’ll probably be able to give you a better opinion about sweets if I have something salty first.”

“No problem, go right ahead. My name is Rishi and this is Malini. We will wait for you here. I daresay the man may be ready with your order.”

As Nayok turned around and tried to reach the counter through the crowd, the woman rolled her eyes and murmured Rishi. “Does it have to be this kid? Seems like a bit of pig!”

“He has the right mix of attunements – pretty strong with water and a little earth. Impressive actually, for a Shudra kid. He is Dalit as yet, but he could open Ajna any day” He replied. “Do you want to go look for someone more suitable with the stars about to align?”

“Fine, but don’t blame me if he is not happy with the kid.”

“He is not an idiot, he will understand. Frankly, I might have chosen this kid even if we had more time. Anyways, let the kid enjoy a proper last meal…”

Their conversation stopped with Nayok’s return. “All right sir! Where is your shop?”

Rishi smiled, “We are a couple of lanes down, you can finish your roll on the way.”

As they walked out of the lane and started to walk down another, Nayok suddenly remembered “Wait sir, before we go, I need to tell my friends. They’re probably waiting for me”.

The two of them looked at each other, rather obviously displeased with the notion, before the woman responded. She grabbed hold of his hand and said “We’re not looking to feed the whole city here! If you can’t come with us than we will go look for someone else.” Nayok was a little taken aback at this sudden shift in tone and started to back away a little. But he found that he was held in place by Rishi placing his hands on his shoulders. Contrary to his appearance, he was quite strong, and his hands had a grip like iron bands. Even as he registered his surprise at the man’s strength, Nayok felt a bit woozy. As he started to falter a bit, he heard Rishi say, “Careful, the slightest external manifestation and some guard is almost certainly going to turn up.” “No need to worry, he’s just a kid. I’m almost done” Malini responded “pick him up now”.

Darkness crept into his vision and Nayok quickly lost his balance and almost fell. As he lost consciousness, he heard Rishi say “Damn, he didn’t finish it. I wanted him to have a proper last meal…”