The Hydrians marching could be heard in the early hours before dawn. The unmistakable crunch of the metal boots ensured everyone in Farvel knew the Selection was upon them. Many families gathered and comforted each other as they listened to the soldiers prepare the testing ground. The soldiers set up their testing ground directly below the Vala tree, setting up a large tent with satin carpet for the captain to stand upon. Although many prayers wished time might stand still, the first rays of dawn crept through the cracks of doors and shone through windows. The sign of first light cues Elder Kan to wake the two children in preparation for the events to come. Elder Kan and Saki stared down at the two groggy children. Kato rubbed his eyes as he roused himself awake, and Rena brushed her hair.

“Come here, children.” Elder Kan beckoned toward the children with his hand, and they excitedly moved to stand before him. “Despite what you may believe… Today is not a joyous day. Today is not a day to celebrate. Instead, today will be one of the most dangerous days of your lives.” He said as he stared into each of the children’s eyes for a few seconds. “The Empire has never been kind to our people, nor any people or races other than those selected and brought up as Hydrians. Most Hydrian citizens are relatively harmless. However, mages of the Hydrian army like the Captain… They will not hesitate to hurt you if you step out of line. They do not consider you an equal under their god.” He paused as he watched the excitement in the children's eyes change to shock and then change to a look many of the adults in Farvel wore around the Hydrian mages - fear.

Kan looked towards his wife, who silently wiped her tears as she stared at the children and sighed.

“I have allowed you both to venerate the Hydrians that have come to town in the past. I, along with all the adults of our town, agreed that we wanted our newest generation to grow up free of the burden of the knowledge of what the Selection is so our children and grandchildren could grow up happily… I am so sorry that this is happening. You should have had more time.” Kan said with tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Grandpa…” Kato was the first to speak as he tightly grasped Rena’s hand. “What should we do?” He questioned. His fear had receded slightly, and now it was mixed with an equal blend of uncertainty.

“There are three rules that I need you both to promise you will follow. Rule number one; do not fight with the Hydrians. Rule number two; do not question the selection. Rule number three; do not run away. Not following any of these rules will only cause harm to everyone in the town. If either of you is selected, we will not be able to see you again for a long time, so promise that you will follow these rules.”

Kato and Rena made eye contact momentarily before saying simultaneously, “We promise.”

“That’s good… very good. Come and give us old birds a hug.” The two children ran into the outstretched arms of Kan and Saki and hugged them tightly. Saki sobbed openly now as she petted the head of Kato and rubbed the back of Rena, who were now both hugging her.

“It’s time. Let’s head to the town center.” Kan said.

Kan watched on, trembling slightly, before opening the front door for the group. Before them, a long line of families who had just had similar conversations slowly made their way down the road. At the town center, the soldiers had finished preparing. A large black and gold bedouin tent had been erected above the platform upon which the captain stood. Some soldiers stood in a circular formation around the square, holding their banners of the Hydrian Empire. The other soldiers herded the crowd into two groups; prospects and the older Unselected. At the entrance of the tent stood the massive figure of the Captain. Captain Darius stood with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. He watched the crowd squirm with anxiety until his soldiers had completely sorted each group and confirmed an accurate count of the number of prospects.

“Two hundred and thirteen prospects accounted for, Lord Darius.” A centurion wearing two golden bangles on his left arm approached and confirmed the count.

“Pity would have saved more time if they had given us a reason to purge this den of rats from existence,” Darius replied in an annoyed, uncaring manner before turning his attention toward the multitude of fearful eyes staring at him.

“Welcome, to the Selection!” He started and raised his arms in a grandiose manner. He reached towards an object to his side, draped in a satin black cloth that matched the carpet of Darius’s tent. As he pulled the cloth off, a large golden staff with five serpent heads, each with a jewel in the mouth of a serpent, was revealed. Darius stood proudly as he held the staff imposingly to his side.

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“What do you think is going to happen, Rena?” Kato whispered nervously.

“I don’t know, I thought it was our dream to be part of this, but after what Grandpa Kan said, I don’t know what to think,” Rena replied with a defeated tone.

“Well, no matter what, I hope we can stick together through all this.” Kato encouraged.

Their talking was interrupted by the shout from Captain Darius, enhancing his voice with magic to address the crowd.

“Normally, as dictated by Hydrian theology, I would test each of you individually and allow the Hydric scepter to taste your blood for qualifying attributes and magic. However, given the circumstances, I will conduct a honing ceremony instead. “Ovus Hydrae!” Darius shouted and suddenly slammed the bottom of the scepter onto the ground.

A large amount of shadowy mist-like magic streamed out from the mouths of the hydra heads. The mist moved quickly over the group of children causing some to cry out, frightened. Several large serpent skulls took shape above seventeen children from the over two hundred children gathered. Kato looked nervously toward Rena after noticing he had no mark above his head. Upon noticing her large amber eyes were transfixed on the shadowy serpent skull that had formed above her, his face filled with fear. Rena slowly returned her gaze to Kato as several soldiers started making their way toward them and the other children that had been selected.

“What’s happening!” Kato looked frantically for his grandfather, who he finally caught a glimpse of in the other group. Both of his grandparents looked deathly pale as they stared back.

The fear in Kato’s eyes spurred elder Kan into action as he rushed toward his grandson. Commotions had broken out in several other areas in the group as those with a skull formed above them were dragged towards the captain. Those in the way were brutally beaten or knocked out of the way. Two soldiers and a centurion approached Kato and Rena. The centurion grabbed Kato and forcefully threw him to the side while the other two soldiers grabbed Rena’s arms on either side and dragged her toward the Captain.

“Rena!” Kato shouted as he swiftly stood up and started chasing the soldiers.

“Incindi!” The centurion who had thrown him to the ground turned around and chanted as his armored right arm pulsed in a red glow. His fist reared back to punch his now red-hot gauntlet through the head of the agitator who dared interrupt the selection.

“No! Stop!” Kan screamed.

Kan had somehow closed the distance in the time it took for Kato to be thrown to the ground and for the soldier to begin casting his spell. And at that moment, he stood between Kato and the centurion. Looks of horror and screams came over the crowd as the centurion’s fist plunged through the center of Kan’s chest.

“Grandpa, No!” Kato and Rena cried out in unison, their eyes meeting as Rena was dragged away.

“Ka… To.” Kan muttered before coughing up a large amount of blood onto the dirt.

Kan reached toward Kato to touch his face, and then his body fell limp as the centurion ripped his arm out from the center of Kan’s chest. The centurion then turned and continued escorting Rena away with the other two soldiers. Saki screamed at the sight of Kan’s now limp, lifeless body. The other townsfolk became restless and tried to push their way through the guards. Some of the townsfolk even began attacking the guards. This gave Darius all the reason he needed to destroy the town suspected of harboring members of the revolutionaries.

“Finally,” Darius says as a hideous smirk crawls across his face. “Soldiers, the unselected children and physically fit, are to be rounded up and put into the slave train. As for the rest of these rats, kill them all!” He yelled as his voice boomed throughout the town center.

Darius, looking pleased with himself, left his tent to go with his group taking the seventeen selected children out of the town. After the order had been given, the town erupted into chaos. The Hydrian soldiers formed into two groups and began following the orders given by their captain. The soldiers rounding up the children began beating them and gathering them up with the rest of the caravan. As another group of soldiers began attacking the townsfolk, the younger townsfolk began forming in front of the elders and children. Soldiers began casting enhancement spells and cutting the townsfolk down as they screamed in terror. Still stunned by his grandpa's death, Kato tried to collect himself as the sounds of the screaming grew louder. He finally snapped from his shock and began searching desperately for his grandmother, and saw her running toward him. Kato was still very shocked but forced his body to move towards her with tears streaming from his eyes.

“Grandma!” Kato cried out.

He stumbled and tried to crawl toward Saki. The sound of metal footsteps approaching from behind him set off an alarm in Kato’s mind, and he tried to crawl away with all his might. "NO PLEASE!" He heard a feminine scream from behind. His final view was of Saki being surrounded by soldiers followed by a massive pain in the back of his head, causing him to fall unconscious.