The classes she had been forced to attend should be renamed to daycare. The teacher in charge of classes was more interested in singing and arts instead of reading and writing. The alphabet song was included in the songs they were forced to sing every day.
There was useful information that she was able to learn as well. They referred to this world as Zogara and the country we were in was referred to as the Chromatic Dominion. Rather than having a king or an emperor, we had a Council of Eight. The council consisted of eight ancient nobles from each of the colors.
Each color was ranked based on where it appeared in the rainbow. When she brought up that black and white were not on the rainbow, she was reprimanded for interrupting. She never did get an explanation of why black was on the top and white was at the bottom. It was just “the way things are.”
There were three tiers of ranks. Nobles were at the top and the least numerous. They were in charge of different areas or different groups of people. You can usually tell what a noble was in charge of based on the color of their robes. If their robes were more ornate, they were higher ranked. Nobles did not marry. They had harems that they could visit or if they were ranked high enough personal harems.
The second and most numerous tier was called the citizens. This tier consisted of every able-handed body that was following the rules and meeting quotas. Violet’s parents and by extension her, were part of the citizen tier of people.
The last tier of people was the servants. There were a few ways to become a servant. If you were rebellious and spoke out about the color system, you were silenced and placed in a servant's role. If you did not make your quota too many times, you could be punished temporarily with a sentence of servitude. The other way mentioned to become a servant was to insult a noble and have them assign it to you. If they refused to work when they were assigned to be a servant, then they were sent to do hard labor in dangerous mines. Life expectancy in the criminal mines was very low.
Black was reserved for those who spread propaganda or were in charge of large areas. She likened those propaganda spreaders to the clergy. They were highly respected. Some highly trained guards wore black armor but they were always attached to a noble house.
Doctors and Enforcers were assigned red as their color. Doctors were highly respected and able to dictate to nobles when it came to matters of health. The catch to that is if the decision was contested, another doctor would be brought in for a second opinion. If the first doctor was found wrong, they would be punished. Enforcers were what she thought of as the police force of this world. They were unattached to nobles but tasked with enforcing rules on the populous.
Orange was worn by teachers and those who kept an accounting of what is happening. Usually, teachers would only be offered to children aged twelve and up. She was able to overhear that the pair of teachers assigned here were here because of a punishment. They were just unlucky enough to not be affected by the barrier sickness so they had to stay on assignment longer.
Those that kept an accounting were harder to explain. The Chromatic Dominion did not use money of any sort. If there was a need for something, it would be provided. The only reason that she could find as to why this worked was nobody was going hungry no matter their rank or station in life. The accountants were in charge of counting productivity. If a craftsperson was not meeting their quota, it was their job to report it.
Yellow was reserved for researchers, scribes, and high-level crafters. Researchers were assigned to develop new ways of doing things as well as decode works of the past that were found. Scribes were used to help spread propaganda through writing. They also hand-copied current books for distribution. The high-level crafters were the jewelers, alchemists, and engravers.
Once you got to green, the professions got more numerous. This group of people made life easier or better in some physical way. Builders, plumbers, cooks, and innkeepers were the examples given in class. There were more that fit in this category but she was informed when they attended proper school they would learn more.
Those that wore blue typically made life easier in a different way. They were the entertainers and artists of the dominion. Unsanctioned writing was not allowed. There were no books for romance or fantasy that could legally be found in the dominion.
Purple was the backbone of the dominion. They were the farmers, foresters, weavers, miners (in safe mines), and any other physically demanding profession needed for everyday life. This group of people was not treated as lesser. It was of the general opinion that nobody wanted to work that hard, but those who did work that hard were respected by the other citizens.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
All children wear white until they are placed in a profession at the age of sixteen. It was a rather impractical color to place a child in. Dirt and grass stains were the bane of parents everywhere.
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She turned six years old a few days before she made the next illusion threshold. Trying to decide which aspect she would go for was a difficult task. The aspects left for her to excavate were Dazzle, Fear, Hypnotize, Enchant, and Contracts. Enchant and Contracts were quickly eliminated as options for her. She did not have access to any materials that were not closely monitored. The workshops underneath the research facility only had tools in the work areas. There were no raw or finished products in that area at all.
That left her Dazzle, Fear, and Hypnotize to choose from. Of those three, Fear and Hypnotize would require a willing (or unwilling) person for her to practice her aspect to gain synchronization. Torturing Sky with those two aspects would be cruel. She considered him her closest friend and did not want to use him as a test subject for such things. The only other aspect left to her that she could practice on her own was Dazzle. She could practice casting that spell in her room when she was alone at night. The door blocked all light from escaping and giving her game away.
Getting to the mural room using the underground hallways was easy for them this time around. With Dazzle being the last of the “super easy” aspects to uncover, she received a good bonus when she was able to quickly excavate it.
Excavation integrity calculating…
100%
Congratulations, with your attention to detail and speed, a bonus of 10% synchronization has been added to this aspect at the start for a total of 11%
To return for more aspects, you must have a total of 40% synchronization for illusion.
[Magic]
Type
%
Aspect
Illusion
33%
Illusion
100%
Disguise Self
Illusion
100%
Decoy
Illusion
56%
Cloaking
Illusion
30%
Shadow Blade
Illusion
11%
Dazzle
She decided that she would wait to come back until she was at 50% synchronization for Illusion. The reasoning being, the aspects left for her to obtain required test subjects or outside supplies that she did not have access to. She felt it was not worth the risk of possibly being caught missing from her room when she didn't need another aspect to get to 50% overall in Illusion.
Jade was sitting in her room when Violet returned from getting her latest aspect. She had to hold in a scream when she noticed the green-haired girl sitting on her bed.
“Where were you? I couldn't find you or Sky.”
Looking down, Violet mumbled, “I went to explore with Sky.”
“You should have taken me too!”
“We were afraid you would tell your parents about it.”
“What's wrong with that? Mommy said I shouldn't keep secrets from my family” Jade replied raising her voice slightly.
“If they find out we will get in trouble and not be allowed to do it anymore. You don't want that do you?”
“FINE! I won't tell. Will you bring me with you next time?”
“I think we can do that. You should come over after the adults go to sleep. Sky comes over and we talk a lot.” Violet compromised. She figured it would be quite a while before she needed to head back to the mural room and it would be a good way to test if Jade could keep a secret.
“Did you hear the news?” Jade asked.
“News about what?”
“Mom said they found a whole room full of enchanted objects. She said most don't work anymore because they ran out of mana or something but it was such a good find that everyone is going to be rewarded!”