Caeus moved through the hustle and bustle of the Undercity, flicking out his bronze pocket watch with the large arrow pointing to the XII as if reminding him of his tardiness. Late, he was going to be late for his first day as auditor of the sacred texts! He ducked into the crowd, blinking away the smog and dust that seemed to permanently settle on the entire Undercity draped in every shade of gray imaginable. Tall rising factories and metal shops that dripped fumes, leaving an acrid smell in the air and on the tip of Caeus’ tongue. Mounds of rock separated them from the world above, and all the dangers that came with it.

His mother would be ashamed, ashamed that he was going to be late! Today of all days, the first day to the start of his new apprenticeship, and a prestigious one at that. He would get to handle the sacred texts, passed down from generations of curators that told the tale of the Two Sisters, of the founding of the two cities, Erebus where he lived. And the Cradle of the Gods, the massive city rising on top of the great mountain that was said to peak into the heavens themselves, inhabited by those who had been chosen for greatness. They were called Blessed, given wings and powers mortals could only dream of after they went through a trail that was said to shatter anyone unworthy.

Caeus checked his pocket watch again, absentmindedly flicking a piece of loose string off his fraying gray coat. He slipped the pocket watch back in. If he hurried, he might be able to make it… He picked up the pace, slipping past a group of women wearing long black skirts and a group of sweating men smoking outside their metal shop, their arms already slick from the sweat and heat of the forge.

The neutral city Concordia, situated just above the Undercity as well as the Cradle of the Gods itself depended on that metal, on these factories for everything. For their entire way of life. Weapons – longswords, the new pistols they’d been trying out against the Thiria. Even the gold and white armor that adorned the Blessed was made here.

Nearly everyone worked the factories. And he’d been given an opportunity to work somewhere else, to get away from the dredges of that life that smothered so many like his mother and father, and he was risking throwing it all away by being late on his first day... Something caught his eye, a large hulking shape moving through the crowd, adorned with gold and white armor, almost like…

A Blessed. He’d never seen one of the Blessed before, never been lucky enough. Gold and white armor, his head was adorned with a metal helmet of the same material that protected everything except his eyes just peeking through the helm. The crowd gave the Blessed a wide berth, some physically almost leaping out of the way – afraid to anger the Blessed. Whatever one was doing here, it couldn’t be good. They didn’t often deign to visit this city of ash and smoke without a very important reason, which often meant someone had done something bad enough to anger the Blessed themselves.

He was following a shorter form who was wearing a white and gold robe that clearly resembled the armor, if much different in form. A woman, he thought – although he could not see her face at this distance. Who could be important enough that it would warrant an Blessed escort? Caeus trailed them from a distance, a sinking feeling in his stomach as he realized they were heading in the same direction as him. Anyone who knew what was good for them would stay as far away from Blessed as possible.

He passed a metal factory, the clanging ringing out in his ears – he barely heard it – all his attention on the figures in front of him. No, it couldn’t be. They were going to the Great Library, yes – he was sure of it. Perhaps there was some book they needed, but what did they have that could rival what they had in the Cradle of the Gods? Surely their library was even greater, even more splendid that this?

Caeus glanced at the library spires, reaching high towards the cavernous ceiling above. Wrought black metal adorned the arching windows that lined every couple feet, looking out into the city. Not everyone was allowed in, but they walked past the guards at the gate who didn’t even look at them twice. Caeus wasn’t sure if that meant they had an invitation, or if it meant they were just too afraid to stop them.

Caeus walked past the two sharply dressed guards, in matching coats of black, brandishing pistols at their hips and short swords that would have done nothing against the giant that just marched past their gates. Caeus opened the library door mere moments after they had entered, heading straight for the head curator’s office.

He ran past the rows and rows of books lining the main entryway, pushing back towards the office tucked away in the very back of the library, his boots clapping on the stone floor. Caeus paused as he reached the curators door, swung slightly ajar. He put his hand on the wooden door, getting ready to open it when he heard voices. A deep, demanding voice spoke first. That had to be the angel. No one else would dare talk to the curator like that.

Caeus’ mouth went dry. What would they want with the head curator? It seemed too coincidental that they would appear on his first day starting as apprentice. Had he done something wrong, something big enough to warrant them coming down? He tried to press his ear to the door so he could actually hear what they were saying, but the door creaked when he put pressure on it, swinging open.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The young woman started to turn, her golden hood turning. He stumbled back, eager to not have someone from that place turn their eyes onto him ever, if he knew what good for him. But her gaze locked onto him before he could remove himself from the open door. She had clear green eyes, blonde hair that curled under the edge of her hood and that bronzed skin those from the up above were known for. Quite unlike his pale skin which had never seen the sun. Despite her garment, she didn’t have the famous armor of the Blessed. That meant she had to be young, as young as him or younger. Too young to have gone through the trial to get her armor and gain access to the godly powers those living in the Cradle of the Gods possessed.

He noticed something else with shock as he saw her, on the side of one of her eyes there was a tattoo of half of a golden sun, curving into her eyes. The sign of a seer. A seer? That made this day even weirder, what was she doing here?

“Hello Caeus.” The seers voice was just as lovely as the rest of her, she sounded amused – probably at the stupid expression he knew must be plastered over his face. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“Looking for me?” He asked, stuttering slightly on the last word. Stupid, he sounded so stupid! He noticed the head curators old pinched face glaring at him over the glasses perched over his nose, obviously displeased at whatever his brand new apprentice had done to warrant this attention. He had a sinking feeling he was going to set a record for the shortest curator apprenticeship in its long, storied history.

The Blessed shifted, causing Caeus to glance at him briefly. He looked remarkably ordinary, a gaunt face with bronzed almost reddish skin and simple brown eyes similar to Caeus’ own. If it weren’t for his large size and well – the armor, he could pass for a someone from the down below. Caeus took a step back unconsciously, wiping his palms on his pants and feeling the head curators office, stuffed to the brim with books and old ancient scrolls suddenly feeling extremely hot and cramped with not only an Blessed but a seer stuffed inside.

“Yes.” The seer said, glancing at the angel beside her. “As you know every year there are thirteen contestants chosen for the trial, the test that all Blessed must go through before gaining access to their power, before having the right to gain access to their angelic power.” The seer grabbed a lock of her blonde hair, twirling it slightly – a nervous gesture that seemed almost at odds with her confident voice.

“What you may not know, is that the senate chooses 7 of those contestants. And the seer chooses the other six.” She glanced at Caeus, surely she couldn’t mean… The head curator suddenly got down on one knee, as if just realizing what those marks meant.

“I didn’t realize we would be graced by your presence… Uhh..” The head curator started, as if unsure what to call her. The seer smiled.

“Please, just call me Mereum.” She turned back to Caeus. “Anyways, as I was saying – I am choosing you as one of the contestants.” Caeus’ heart jumped. No, it couldn’t be.

“This must be some kind of mistake.” He blurted. No one from the Undercity had been chosen to be part of the trials, not ever – something about their ‘tainted blood’ made them unworthy to be chosen, or not capable of accessing the angelic power passed down from the goddess who had founded the Cradle of the Gods, the younger sister.

“It’s not a mistake. I’ve seen something in you Caeus, you have the potential for greatness, if you pass the trial.” Something told Caeus she wasn’t talking about literally seeing him, she must mean her visions – possibilities of the future that Seers could see. But what exactly did he see in his future that made her shuck centuries of tradition? When he didn’t respond, she sighed. “Caeus, most of the contestants chosen by myself and the senate are from the Cradle of the Gods, children of Blessed. But trust me when I say that I don’t make mistakes, the visions do not lie.”

“And you chose me, of all people?”

“Among five others, yes.” She answered calmly, sounding almost bored. As if she hadn’t just told him he was going to be the first underworlder ever to be chosen for such an honor. “We will be joining the other contestants in Concordia.” The seer – Mereum crossed her arms.

Concordia was the neutral city, situated above ground directly above the lower city. It was one of only three bastions the humans had left. The rest of the world outside those safe walls was overtaken by monster Caeus could only dream of. Sphinxes, harpy’s, chimera’s, even cyclops’s.

Caeus shuddered, the full weight of what he was going to have to do hitting him. Not only was he going to have to go through this trial, whatever exactly that entailed – but to get to the Cradle of the Gods he was going to have to go out of the bounds of the Erebus, out of the bounds of Concordia. The Cradle of the Gods was at least a week’s walk away – and who knows what kind of monsters he would encounter between here and there. Caeus wondered if that was considered the first part of the trial, weeding out those who weren’t worthy to even reach the exulted city.

“It’s past time we leave this dreadful place.” Mereum said, more to the Blessed than to anyone else. Caeus winced. He didn’t like the way she said, this place. He imagined it must feel ugly, to someone like her who had grown up in splendor, but there could be a beauty to the city too, and the library itself was one place he could have seen himself actually being proud to work in, to be in. What kind of splendor had she grown up in that this was nothing to her?

Mereum turned to him. “We’ll give you an hour to say goodbye to your family and to get your affairs in order.” She said it so simply, like it was nothing – to leave everything he had ever known and come with them. Caeus opened his mouth, getting ready to ask if there was any way out of this, if he had any say in this. But one glance at the grim winged Blessed gave him his answer. He was coming with them to the neutral city, one way or another – his life was about to change.