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21.42% Rising Dawn / Chapter 4: What a World

Chapter 4: What a World

Chirping birds and a dim ray of sunshine made its way into the rundown home. Groggily, Cyrus rubbed his tired eyes as he looked around the bedroom. His mother's soft arms and father's loud snoring brought a genuine smile that stretched from ear to ear.

Extricating his little body from his parents' grasp, he slipped out of the blankets with deft, ninja like movements. Cyrus already felt that today would be a good one as he tiptoed into the kitchen with a tired yawn.

Less than a minute later, a loud racket of pots clanking and water splashing accompanied Cyrus's endless chattering. "Finally, I can get out of this place! What if I run across an old man that teaches me a super powerful technique?! Oooo, wait, wait, what if I get a mysterious object that can help me tread on the path to immortality?! Or maybe a damsel in distress....on second thought... girls are kind of weird. Even Mom...."

"Cyrus, don't touch that or Kimhmmmm......".

Cyrus jumped a few feet in the air from the unexpected words coming from behind. Snapping his head back and training his watery eyes on the bed, he already felt the pain from an incoming spanking. But much to his relief and for the sake of his health, she was still sleeping soundly. That erratic heart beat settled down with only one thought running through his mind. "She definitely has some superpowers.....".

Despite the earlier experience, Cyrus was never one to refrain, and like a dehydrated man seeing an oasis, his thirst for adventure bubbled up uncontrollably. Just thinking about all the new and amazing things he would witness left him jittering from overwhelming excitement.

As Cyrus was in his own world, his parents awakened after hearing the early morning commotion. His mother, Angel, took over the kitchen like any other day and whipped up a quick breakfast for their early morning start.

"Alright Raymond, make sure to take care of Cyrus and don't let him wander off or you will be sleeping outside for a week!" Angel said.

Seeing how she was about to go on a rant, Raymond quickly agreed, as he continuously promised to keep one eye on him at all times. After a few minutes of endless oaths and promises, basically having Cyrus tied to his back, she finally stopped.

With a smile, loving hug, a kiss on Cyrus's forehead, and a flick on Raymond's, Angel departed and left the father and son in the house alone.

"You heard the boss. Stay close and don't go off on your own. It's not as great out there as you think, at least not where we live.....," a sighing Raymond said while looking at Cyrus.

However, to Cyrus, it was like the morning breeze, in one ear and out the other. Most of his focus was on how fast he could inhale this food to get on with the day. Seeing his words fall on deaf ears almost, Raymond's eye twitched before letting it go. 'He'll learn with time', he thought to himself. 30 minutes later, they cleaned up the dishes and headed out the door.

As a child, Cyrus had been outside before, but was limited to a few friendly neighbors his parents knew personally. Trusting people was a luxury in the Cranny. Murder, kidnapping, rape, heck, people were beaten over 2 week old stale bread. So after living here for a few years, even though he had been around a few places, it was not enough to satiate his curiosity.

Taking a glimpse at these unfamiliar sights, it was like the epitome of poverty in this area. Just like his house, every single building was made of that old clay, cracked and yellowed, with straw sticks that barely covered the roof. Being on the inside portion of a towering mountain system left little for vegetation in the environment. All one could see in the vicinity were giant rocks and more giants rocks. Looking down was even more depressing as you were greeted with a sickly yellow dirt that looked like it couldn't even grow weeds.

Having seen this already, it did little to dampen Cyrus's excitement for everything beyond the residential area.

Raymond picked Cyrus up and quietly whispered in his ear, "Listen, son. Today I will take you around the market area and show you a few important places you should remember in the future. After that, will visit a friend of mine that could teach you a thing or two about martial arts."

While speaking to him, Raymond picked up some dirt off the ground and rubbed a bit on his face, confusing Cyrus. I mean, he had just washed his face this morning with the little clean water remaining.

Seeing the perplexed expression, Raymond explained, "Cyrus, you're a good-looking kid. Sometimes children like you disappear around here. Whether the culprit is other humans or what we nicknamed them, meatheads, it's better to be safe than sorry."

Noticing his perturbed look, Cyrus could not help but ask, "Dad, what do those monsters look like?"

"Aye...." with an audible sigh he continued, "They are about the height of two full-grown men on top of each other (9-12ft). They got four pairs of eyes and 6 arms and horns on their heads. You know what..... you will see them later so just be patient."

Cyrus nodded his head in understanding before helping his dad rub in the dirt, just in case. If he said he was not nervous traveling outside earlier, that would be a total lie now after listening to all these scary things. Following the brief interlude, they continued towards the exit.

Walking through the winding streets for another 15 minutes, Cyrus surpassed the farthest he had ever gone. It was nothing new, but as they got further and further away from his house, more people seemed to trickle onto the main street.

He could vaguely see the path opening up after walking almost 2 miles. The sight left him deeply shocked him when they arrived. There were soaring ramparts that reached at least 30 ft in the air with watch towers and crude looking spikes mounted along the wall.

Having come to this open plaza, people, in a single file line, were searched and sorted out in a tight fenced off checking space. Outside of that place was a disorganized mob that pushed and pulled each other to get ahead.

Time was tight, and people had places to be. Arriving late to their assignments was a consequence that none of these humans could handle.

As his vision continued along that gated path, he finally understood why people organized in front of the giant gate. Standing nearby, monstrosities that almost resembled a mountain of muscles guarded the vicinity. These abominable creations seemed to have muscles on their eyelids. It was excessive to the point that muscles formed on their eyelids.

Despite thinking that, Cyrus felt his entire body shiver from head to toe as he gazed upon these pallid grey creatures. But like a lightning bolt striking his forehead, his thoughts paused, and he rapidly retracted his gazed after remembering his father's stern reminder. Little did he expect that simple passing glance had these guards, focused eyes, searching the crowd .

He could feel some type of searing intent lock on his tiny frame. But just as quickly, that feeling passed by, and Cyrus realized it did not know his location. A breath he had been unknowingly holding left him gasping for oxygen.

'That was way too close... I peeked for a few seconds at most!' Cyrus's trembling figure mirrored his worried thoughts. His dad did not seem to notice the change, so he calmed down and thought back to his previous instructions. 'I know father said not to look, but I didn't expect them to be that sensitive. No human could do anything remotely similar, that's for sure.'

Little did Cyrus know the reason behind why he could feel those gazes and just passed it off as something normal.

Raymond constantly pushed his way through until they reached the front. With his back bent, head bowed down, and hands held out in a servile manner, he handed over his identification to the meathead in charge of the registration area. The entire process was done with the utmost respect that it resembled groveling.

The slightest infringement on these meatheads' dignity could leave someone praying for an immediate death. So if it meant prostrating to pass, so be it.

It was a couple of minutes later that they were finished with the procedures. However, out of the corner of Cyrus's eye, he saw something he would never forget.

Eyes bulging in pain, a giant wooden spike impaled a man from the rear all the way to his mouth. Pieces of guts and flesh hung on the bloody end as they roasted under the blistering sun. If that was not enough, more of such sights decorated the road for a few hundred feet. Thousands of people hung high above with only low groans to accompany their misery.

Thinking he was dreaming, he closed his eyes and stuffed his face into the only comfort he knew, his father's chest. Raymond glanced at Cyrus before shaking his head internally. As a father, of course, Raymond hoped Cyrus would never have to witness this. Never the less, reality was always a bitter pill to swallow and children, especially here, needed to understand that.

Holding Cyrus tightly, Raymond walked out of the vicinity and made his way to a more lively area. Contrary to the formerly dreary atmosphere, a loud sound of hustle and bustle gradually grew louder.

Slave towns worked a bit differently than one would expect. The system was comparable to a normal kingdom, except the class restriction took away a lot more freedoms. Meatheads served as a standard noble class, the guards were their knights, and the humans peasants.

The entire group struggled on a day-to-day basis for survival. Their abysmal status only worsened conditions that even made normal city slums look good. Worst of all were the guards. Greed, lust, wrath, and any other evil they could think of was used to suppress their own race. As the pain only grew, a vicious cycle formed where previous victims grew up into a new generation of oppressors.

An obvious reflection of these tragic circumstances was easy to spot in the multiple restaurants and storefronts. Women, scantily dressed in a thin material, served a few guards in a decent tavern. Each time they were groped, those dead eyes would despair before being whisked away into a dark room.

Kidnapping children was rampant, and nobody would bother investigating. These girls drew an unlucky straw in life that subjected them to an endless hell. However, not everyone was a monster in human skin.

A generous store nearby did free shoe repairs for miners. If they handed in some of their old clothes, a decent fix was guaranteed. It might not seem important, but walking hours on end in a burning hot cave with no protections was beyond difficult.

Still, around 70% of the merchandise was different kinds of food with unknown origins. Some gangs, people with connections, and richer merchants monopolized the extra rations. The average family already considered 3-day-old burnt bread a premium. Fanatics drooling outside was a perfect example of how lucrative the business is.

Hearing the clamor on the street, Cyrus peaked outside of his little cacoon. The look on his face was a lot more reserved and alert compared to earlier. He was a lot more sober compared to his previous fantasies of a beautiful world.

Just like a child, though, he bounced back due to all the interesting new buildings. Dark brick buildings, two stories high, with dark wooden beams packed the streets. Chimneys pumped out dirty smoke and brought a fresh change to the dilapidated Cranny.

Seeing his mood relatively normal again, Raymond could not help but raise an eyebrow. Even for him, he still felt chilled whenever he passed the Field of Punishment. Living in this area for a while did not help to dull the shock and fear of disobeying.

Shaking himself out of his reverie, he saw a lender selling some relatively rare rock candy. Unlike normal candy, it was a type of rock that was found on the mountain. It came in very finite amounts but had a tremendous demand because of its sweet taste when sucked on.

Raymond decided to purchase some for Cyrus to try before haggling away with the shopkeeper. A few filled up spit buckets later, Cyrus had a piece of rock candy in his mouth and crescent eyes full of joy.

That cheerful smile was all Raymond needed to know his purchase was worthwhile. He took Cyrus on a tour of the market for a few more hours while watching as he gawked and exclaimed from all the new stuff.

Time passed, and Raymond considered heading to the next place. "Alright kiddo, listen up. We're going to my friend's house. This place is under the radar, so don't tell anyone, not even your mom, about this place. I need you to swear to me, alright?"

Cyrus immediately agreed once he noticed the seriousness in his father's tone. Turning towards the western road, they exited the main market street and headed towards the nicer homes.


next chapter

Chapter 5: Future

Meandering their way through the crowded streets, they found themselves in a higher end area of the market. You could just tell from the better dressed people and the armored human guards in the area. Even among slaves, there were differences in statuses.

What really caught Cyrus's eye were these human guards. When he was observing them he had that same type of uneasy, pressure like feeling he noticed from those giant demons. However, it was undoubtedly a lot weaker than before.

Turning to his dad, he asked his father, "Dad, are those guys powerful? They seem really scary."

"Yeah. That's what I want you to work towards in the future. These guys here are the lowest level of guards that keep order in the important human zones. I don't know much about them as they keep a tight lock on all that information." Cyrus's father replied.

He continued, saying, "Right now, though, I'm taking you to one of my guard acquaintances. He will hopefully be able to teach you a thing or two and increase your chances during the test."

Hearing that he had an opportunity to learn something new, Cyrus eye lit up with new found desire. He had witnessed those demons and intimidating look guards' powerful presence. Learning anything from them might allow him to reach the stars and fly freely through the heavens.

Already imagining those amazing possibilities, Cyrus had a dazed look as his cute baby face giggled in an idiotic manner.

"Ahh... I should have known this would happen" shaking his head, Raymond continued, "Earth to Cyrus you there?"

Gathering himself and looking back at his dad, he blushed in an embarrassed manner for getting distracted so easily. I mean, just a few hours ago he was mindful of even the rocks on the street, but now he found himself daydreaming after hearing where they were heading.

Raymond forgot how many times he sighed when talking to this son of his. To him, it really felt like he had multiple children when trying to keep up with Cyrus. Reminding himself to just go with the flow, he figured it would probably save him some hair in his old age.

While bantering with each other, they found themselves right outside a modest brick building. It was a simple two story building that had a few windows and a chimney on the top. Even the entrance had a small garden along the walkway, giving off a cozy vibe to pass-byres.

Cyrus almost mistakenly, like a naïve child, thought these nicer looking building they passed on the streets were palaces mentioned in stories by his father. Never having seen something so 'fancy' in his entire life, he was genuinely shocked. Even the streets in this area were noticeably up-kept gravel roads with no bumps or potholes.

To Cyrus, however, the best part was the absent of that god-awful smell. Living in a place where people could not bathe often, had no disposal options for waste, obviously multiplied into something banned by the heavens themselves. So comparing it to this nicer looking place was truly a mind opening one for the young kid.

But just as he was looking around, still in awe, the door opened up on the first knock after their arrival.

It was a big burly man that greeted them. He was a head taller than Raymond and was built like the side of his house. Seeing him almost reminded Cyrus of the 'meatheads', but the similarities stopped there. What stood out most was definitely that giant scar that went from his right side temple to the bottom left corner of his broken nose. It already made him look uglier than he already was, but the thick, gruff beard helped to hide the rest, sparing people from looking.

"John, its great to see you again" Raymond said, as he put down Cyrus and gave John a bear hug.

"Likewise. I see you brought the little guy out. Come on inside so we can talk." with the quick greeting out of the way, John ushered them into his home.

Looking around, it was sparsely furnished in a plain manner and nothing to write home about. The only thing of interest was a grotesque stuffed beast's head. Cyrus mainly recognized the giant tusks coming out of its mouth and the furry face that covered a majority of its face. After that he did not know what he was looking at and gave up analyzing it any further.

Josh led them to a guest area with two catches facing each other, surrounding a table that had tea and crackers for the guest to enjoy.

Raymond sat down and got right to the point of his visit saying "John, I know this was a little abrupt, but I was hoping you could help teach my son a thing or two about the guard test. I know you can't say much, but I think this little guy really has some talent!"

Cyrus could hear the tinge of nervousness in his father's voice putting him on edge as well. So with practiced ease, he pulled out every stop in his adorable arsenal. After being battle tested with his parents, his bread and butter of slightly watery eyes and pursed lips, it would usually work.

Josh's face immediately turned stern. Unlike Raymond, he knew the true face of this world and understood clearly how some punishments could end up far worse than just death.

With furrowed brows and a conflicted expression, Josh relented a bit and asked Raymond, "What exactly do you want to know? However, let me tell you, most of the information I can give you will be the bare minimum." There was a type of finality to his tone, like he would not budge no matter what.

In Raymond's opinion, his answer relieved almost 90% of his anxiety. He knew John, and if John said he could tell him something, it would definitely be at least somewhat useful.

"Don't worry John, we won't put you in a spot." Raymond said with a type of solemnity. Cyrus, on the other hand, thought his dad was being a little too serious with the topic but went along with it anyway.

"First off, we were wondering if you could teach Cyrus some basic combat moves to protect himself for the test."

Then leaning in to talk in a much lower tone, he continued, "I also heard that some kids don't co..." As he was just about to finish his sentence, a cough came out of John's mouth stopping him from speaking father. In a situation like this, some things were just better left unsaid.

Being interrupted mid-sentence, Raymond shut his mouth so fast he almost bit his tongue. Cyrus didn't know what they were so worried about being all hush-hush about some simple questions. Figuring he would not get the explanation he was waiting for, he decided to restrain his curiosity and listened attentively.

John regathered himself after contemplating inwardly, "Raymond... I can give him a basic martial arts manual of hand to hand combat and swordsmanship. Anything more and we would stat to be troublesome. You should understand some of the inner-workings of this place, so don't go telling anyone else about this. Understood?"

Seeing them nodding their heads, acknowledging their compliance, he continued before they could ask another question. "I figure you would want to know about the test, so I'll give you this bit of advice."

This time he turned to Cyrus and sternly said "Listen up kid. There are only three things you need to know and also the only things I can mention. First, don't trust anyone when you get in there. Two, follow every instruction to the letter no matter what they are." Stating that second rule even had John, this bold burly man, shivering a bit as if recalling something horrible.

Despite that, he continued on with the last rule "Finally, never reveal your full potential. Not only will they not appreciate it, they might kill you based on you being a future problem."

Hearing that the chances of dying from this test were pretty high, Cyrus's calm visage was out of John's expectations, for a kid. Even he had to appreciate this type of composure when relating it to the fact this kid was just turning 4 years old soon.

Now that both John and Raymond spoke, Cyrus figured he could ask his questions without worry now. "Ummm... Mr. John. Does the guard job let me live in one of these houses with my family?"

Hearing the innocent question, John's perpetual stone like expression softened into a slight smile, although ugly.

"Don't worry, although this place is bad they treat guards better because of certain missions we have to undertake"

Getting the conformation, that stifling feeling stuck in his chest disappeared and Cyrus' expression visibly improved. Raymond could not help but feel a little guilty that his child had to worry about taking care of his parents.

"Sigh..." he could not help feeling like he was useless but just as quickly as that thought came it passed and he said to Josh "Any chance you can help him get a better assignment if he passes?"

Josh just nodded his head and promised to do his best to look out for him. As most parents new, the guard program would last for 10 years with no outside contact. Knowing that, he could not help but ask for a bit of support for Cyrus.

With all the harder talks out of the way, Josh and Raymond started discussing lighter topics and the atmosphere instantly lightened with laughter ringing in the room.

Cyrus, on the other hand, was not that much interested in these talks about wet caves, and holy swords that seemed so interesting to adults. However, noticing the crackers and tea on the table, he helped himself to it like it was his own home.

"Hahahaha, John, I'm glad we came to talk but I think its time to take the kid back. Sadly, I still have work today and barely got this bit of time off for the month." Raymond said after talking for half an hour.

John to stood up and gave Raymond a hug before walking out of the room. On his way back in he brought two dingy looking books, and a crudely made wooden sword. In Cyrus's opinion, though, they were like his dreams coming to real life. Finally, he would be able to set forth on his path to flying like those heroes in the stories.

Before John could even offer them up, Cyrus moved in a whirlwind like fashion, snatching the items right under his nose. John, however, could only laugh at how excited the kid was and speculated that this kid might make something of himself in the future.

With their aim reached and a conclusion of a successful trip, Cyrus and Raymond made their way back home with a smile on their faces.


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