13 YEARS AGO

Growing up with Uncle Shou had its advantages. His masterful understanding of technology led him to a title and rank few could achieve, Creator. To be a Creator of Insight meant that you were one of the few allowed to invent.

The Insight of the Republic was in charge of all technological advances, covering many things. Because of this, there was a Creator who oversaw all of the work being done in a particular area.

Tai, Uncle’s close friend, was the Creator of medicine. He oversaw all advancements within the field and nothing was designed or created without his say-so. Somsak was the Creator of aero-tech, which encompassed anything that was used to transport. There were 16 departments total, each with its respected Creator at the helm, but Uncle Shuo had the best of them all - weaponry for Might.

At the time I hadn’t appreciated how awesome that was. He was the brilliant mind behind much of the tech that was used to protect the city. All the guns, blades, armor, even the repelling gear that troops used to drop from carrier ships - it was all from his incredible mind.

Uncle Shou was widely regarded as one of the greatest Creators in history. Because of this, Atilio and I wanted for nothing. From the time we arrived and all throughout our education, we were treated with respect and sometimes reverence simply because Shou was someone of great importance not only to Insight but to all of Capital City.

But even with all that freedom, we were still in Insight, which means it was Insight ideals that ruled our lives and guided the expectations of what we should achieve. Everything around us was geared towards creating technological thinkers, not warriors for Might, judges for Fate, not even craftsmen for Yield or Fortitude.

While Atilio took to our math and science-focused education like a fish to water, I was less talented in such areas of study. I enjoyed learning about science, but it was a passing interest at best. I had no desire to waste the rest of my life studying it. So I attended my classes as was required and did the bare minimum to get by.

Most of my schooling was like that, much to Uncle’s dismay. I was by far the worst student at the Insight Academy and I know he’d thought of sending me to another branch where I might do better, but I’d always insisted on staying in Insight. I didn’t want to be separated from what family I had left.

And so my training progressed at a snail's pace. Every day was another long slog through material that I didn’t really understand. Every day but Wednesday.

When the final lecture on Wednesday came to a close, I perked up in excitement while the rest of the class slouched back in their seats and groaned. The next class was the best of the day and we were learning about the founding of the Republic, which was incredibly interesting.

A tall, lean man walked to the front of our lecture hall. Compared to the other halls it was the most intimate, comprised of 50 or so chairs in a tiered semi-circle. He wore a crisp, cream shirt with a seven-pointed star on a golden flag. Every time I saw it I couldn't help but smile. It was my secret piece of home, Fate.

Adão, was our history teacher and a scholar from Fate. While the rest of the group thought it was a waste of time to learn about the Republic’s history, it was the only class I actually cared enough to pay attention to.

Scholar Adão, cleared his throat as a projection of the world appeared in the space between us. Most of the map was covered in a solid shade of blue, the ocean that comprised almost 90% of the world’s surface. There was only one large landmass. The rest were islands, both large and small, scattered around the globe. Some of the larger islands still had civilizations but they were not associated with the Republic.

The sizable landmass was our home, the entirety of it was the Republic. It was once a desert, but with all the changes the Earth underwent, it became a paradise.

“Last week, we left off just before the great changes took place that led us to where we are today.” Scholar Adão pushed his glasses up his nose with one long finger and peered out at the glassy-eyed stares of the rest of the students. His eyes met mine and we shared a small conspiratory smile.

“As you should remember more than half of the world’s population lived along the coastlines. It made sense, water is the source of life and the oceans were the way out into the world.”

Digital renderings of various old-world cities filled the walls of the room - Rome, New York, and other places I didn’t yet know the names of. They were beautiful and primitive. There were buildings made of rock composites called bricks and some were only a few stories tall. None of them had hover technology.

If they had, they wouldn’t be underwater.

The images on the walls began to change into how these cities looked now. All of them underwater, most of them gone or covered in sea plants and teaming with fish. The most famous was the Statue of Liberty, still green but with algae. That was always used to show the Earth-that-was in promotional materials as a reminder for us to take better care of the world than our forefathers.

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“More than 500 years ago, there were places like London, New York, and Johannesburg. But the tides rose, the weather became extreme and violent, and the world fell into chaos. As if the Earth was telling us we were no longer welcome, cities were swallowed by the seas, wildfires destroyed swaths of lands, droughts followed by monsoons starved and then buried populations under the rain.”

The globe morphed from Earth-that-was into what we know today. I watch as the sphere undergoes rapid changes; whole landmasses disappear beneath the sea, the desert becomes fertile land and islands spring up from nothing. There is much less land than there was before, but all of it is now lush and green.

On the walls, the images of the broken, desolate cities disappear and are replaced with the 7-pointed star that represents the Collective Republic of Free States. The room goes dark, the globe is gone too. Only the star illuminates the space.

“Humanity should have been lost. But we were saved by a few like-minded individuals who knew that through collective strength we would prosper. The Collective Republic of Free States was created. Who can tell me how the Republic was formed?” Scholar Adão asks the silent, dark room.

This I knew. I stretched my arm as high as possible. I never raised my hand in the rest of my classes, but history was my chance to shine. The scholar looked around the room and chuckled. “Anyone other than Zorione, for a change.”

I knew he meant it as a joke but I couldn’t hide my embarrassment as my cheeks flushed and I snatched my hand back. Scholar Adão pinched the bridge of his nose, presumably to lecture us again about the importance of the Republic's history and how we all needed to be more engaged with our past in order to better our future. Insight was all about the future, after all.

But, before he got to castigate us, a voice from the back of the room answered. Everyone turned in their chairs to see who it was, but the person was haloed in light as they stood in the doorway outside the dark classroom. Their features were impossible to distinguish.

“Nations whose lands had been devastated by the earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters banded together into what we now call the Free Nation States.”

Scholar Adão smiled and tilted his head in deference, signaling that the person should continue. This struck me as odd. Adão was from Fate and would not defer to an Insight branch member in regard to the history of the Republic. Record-keeping was Fate’s work.

I turned back to the shadowy figure by the door as they continued speaking. “One such example would be what became the Might branch. This was an amalgam of the West of Europe with past countries like Ireland, England, Germany, and Sweden. In the years before the disasters, these countries had developed great armies and military proficiency as a means of defense in ever-changing and dangerous times. It was their greatest strength.”

By this point Scholar Adão looked positively gleeful, which only furthered my confusion. He was normally annoyed when an Insight member interrupted his classes, more so when they acted as if they knew more than he.

“Excellent! Does anyone know another example?”

I hesitantly raised my hand again, wondering if he would call on me or not.

“Yes, Zorione?”

“The remains of Japan, Korea, Mongolia, China, and other small Eastern countries also came together to form the Insight branch.”

“Very good.” Scholar Adão smiled encouragingly at me before looking back at the stranger in the back. He gestured to the podium beside him, “Why don’t you come down and address the class? Your knowledge in these matters exceeds my own.”

Knowing more than Scholar Adão? No, it was impossible for that person to be an Insight member, now I was absolutely sure of it.

A young man walked around the edge of the classroom and down the tiers. As he reached our teacher, he held out a hand, which Scholar Adão shook with enthusiasm.

The young man was striking, with soft brown hair, light brown eyes, and a sharp nose and chin. He looked like he was around the same age as Beñat, which sent a spike of pain through my heart. I tried not to think about my older brothers anymore since Uncle Shou said that we had been expressly forbidden to have contact with them, though Uncle would not say why.

“Thank you, Scholar Adão, but I am still very much a novice.” The young man turned to face the class, all of whom were staring at him, their interests piqued. It wasn't often that strangers joined our class, especially ones that were from another branch.

He, like the scholar, had the emblem of Fate on the breast of his gray coat. I could have guessed he was from Fate through Scholar Adão’s behavior but the collar of his coat caught my eye the most - it was gold. Only the highest ranks members of a branch had silver or golden collars on their uniforms.

Most of the rest of the class was vying for his attention by asking questions as if they were suddenly interested in history. I guessed it didn’t hurt that he was also older and handsome.

One student in the back called out, “how did all those countries come together if they were so far apart?”

I rolled my eyes. That was common knowledge. But, the young man nodded in acknowledgment of the question and answered, “Well, the land didn’t disappear overnight. So as the Free Nations struggled to survive, they also continued to move inland. All the Free Nations of Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa eventually ended up quite close together.”

I looked around, wondering if anyone else was curious about why an elite Fate member was in our classroom. No one seemed concerned by this unexpected turn of events. They were all too enamored with having his attention on them. My gaze shifted back to the visitor and noticed that he was looking right at me.

“And what became of the Free Nation States, Ms. Zorione?” His voice was deep and warm. For a moment I was started that he knew my name but then remembered that the Scholar had just said it.

I cleared my throat and recited almost word for word from one of Scholar Adão’s previous lectures. “Though they were stronger as the Nation States than what they had been before, it was still not enough. The leaders of the different States came together to find a solution to their collective problem. It was agreed that they would work far better as one unified system than separately.”

Behind the stranger, Scholar Adão nodded that I should continue. The young man made no move to stop me either.

I licked my lips nervously but kept going. “When joining together they each brought something special, something unique, to the Republic. Like the Free Nation State that became Might; they brought their military expertise. Or Insight, with technological development. This created the system that we still use today, Scholar...,” I paused, waiting for the man to introduce himself. From my time living in Fate, I knew all the great houses' names. I would know him if he was someone important.

“Ander Verdugo,” he replied with a bright smile.

Verdugo. The ruling family of the Fate.