Chapter 2: Evaluation

“Do you know why we’re here?” The village was infamous for its hatred of the yearly evaluation. So much so that every year there was at least one family who would flee far before the dispatched platoon would make it to their village, and luckily it seems they had made it in time before another one would get away. None of the soldiers could ever blame the kids. They were clueless about what was happening and only learned the facts after returning with the soldiers to the royal capital, but the adult’s disillusioned nonsense was getting out of hand for the soldiers and becoming too much to deal with.

“Are you here to take me away?” Ariella asked. Her question sounded innocent, but she simply wanted answers.

“We’re here to evaluate your growth,” the soldier answered. “And depending on how well you do, you might have to come back with us to the capital.”

“And what happens when I go there?”

“You’ll be enrolled in a school specialized for the gifted where you’ll learn all about the world, achieve an education on par with nobility, and harness your strengths.”

Ariella’s eyes twinkled at the man’s words. Everything he said was exactly what she wished for, especially learning about the world. She was curious about what was beyond her village. While the constant rain was annoying, and sometimes the downpour was too much, she was quite positive there weren’t as many deaths compared to other parts of the world, and she wanted to learn why and hopefully stop it.

“Can I go?” She asked eagerly.

Her parents looked horrified by her response, but were too scared to say anything. While the soldiers didn’t show hostility to the kids, they didn’t shy away from the parents. The place was a vicious cycle, and no matter how often the soldiers explained in detail what they did, they never believed them.

“It will depend on your evaluation.”

“What do I need to do?”

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing difficult.” The soldier stood up and signaled a soldier in the back, standing in the rain, to come forward. “You just need to place your hands on this orb.”

The wet soldier walked forward and leaned down in front of Ariella, delicately holding a large crystal orb.

“That’s all?” She expected something more. Something more practical. Maybe a test of her knowledge, or a race to see how fast she was, and while the orb glistened in the rain and looked quite pretty, Ariella couldn’t help but tilt her head in confusion.

“That’s all,” the soldier reassured her. “It will tell us everything we need.”

Ariella looked back at her parents, then at the orb. “I just touch it?”

The soldier nodded.

The sudden chance to see the outside world came with a sense of worry. Scared that she wouldn’t make the cut and worried that if she did, what would happen to her parents? It wasn’t as if they treated her poorly. In fact, they gave her everything she could ask for. Ariella loved her parents, but some things they said, especially her father, didn’t sit right with her. Although she was only eight, barely a kid, she couldn’t for the life of her see the make-believe gods as anything but tyrants, and to her humans deserved justice, and something within her burned- yearned to deliver it and sitting around in a village that prayed for the rain to continue and treated Leviathan as a God wasn’t cutting it.

“Alright,” Ariella puffed her cheeks, hovered her hands over the orb, and after preparing herself for the outcome, she placed them directly on it.

A warm tingling feeling immediately prickled the palms of her hands as a light glowed brightly. The soldiers looked with awe, all except the one who held the orb. He had seen his fair share of geniuses in the past fifty years while being the evaluator, so he was prepared for the unexpected, including the current one.

“That should be go-“

“No,” the older soldier said. “It’s not done yet.” He was confident in his evaluation, and the others didn’t dare to question it.

The orb grew brighter and brighter, and soon enough blinded the entire house with a dazzling white. The soldiers squinted their eyes in desperation to see the outcome. What they were experiencing was a once in a lifetime… no, century experience, and they wanted to see it through.

“What was that?” A soldier asked from the back.

A loud cracking sound echoed in the house, followed by another, then another until it drowned out their voices.

“Dalton, what’s happening!”

“Our future!” Dalton responded with glee. “Just wait and see.“

The orb cracked once more before exploding, shattering into thousands of pieces. The light snapped out of existence, and everything came to a standstill. Silence hovered over their heads while Ariella’s face filled with worry that she had done something wrong.

“I-I’m sorry,” she said as tears surged from her eyes.

“It’s ok,” Dalton said. “In fact, it’s an amazing thing, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“He’s right,” the soldier who spoke to her earlier said. “Although it was unexpected, we have a backup orb in case anything happened to the first one, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Does that mean I passed?” Ariella wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

“With flying colors,” the soldier smiled. “Dalton, do you mind grabbing the other orb? We still need a few more kids to evaluate.”

“Of course,” Dalton rushed back to their camp, and the other soldier took his place.

“I apologize for not mentioning it earlier, but my name is Noah. You passed the test with ease, which means,” Noah directed her attention to her parents. They were watching quietly, just as shell-shocked as the soldiers themselves. They knew Ariella was gifted, but not nearly as much as it seemed. “You’ll have to say goodbye to your parents.”

“Will I be able to see them again?” Ariella asked, her worries stemming from the kids who never returned.

“Of course. Every year for a month, parents are allowed to come to the school and see their children. Also, if you do well enough in school, you can be given a day pass to go out in the city. You can’t leave until you graduate, but you could meet up with whoever you want, and if anything, you can even write letters.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Then I want to go.” Her eyes flared with determination. “But even then,” she looked back at her parents.

“I’ve brought the spare orb,” Dalton interrupted.

“Good, we’ll finish evaluating the rest of the kids before nightfall.” Noah turned back to Ariella. “We will be leaving tomorrow morning. Until then, we’ll have a soldier guard you until then, and when it’s time, he’ll take you to our camp to leave. But before that, do you mind if I talk to your parents real quick?”

Ariella nodded and slipped into her room.

After making sure the door shut behind her, Noah spoke to the two of them. “Contrary to popular belief in this village, we don’t rip your children away from you for all eternity. What I said earlier was the truth. You can even send letters to her, and you’re more than welcome to move to the capital if you want to be closer to your daughter.”

“I don’t think that would be possible,” Cyrus said. “Our livelihood relies on my farm. If we don’t have that, then I’m not sure how we’ll get by.”

“That’s fine. I’m simply telling you your options. While moving to the capital can be difficult, we make exceptions for the parents of the gifted. With that said, I encourage you to come every year for at least a week to visit her. We haven’t seen a single parent from this village come.”

Unable to deny Lyla’s pleading eyes, Cyrus agreed.

“Perfect. First-year parents can visit twice during the first year. The first month is in three months after the beginning of the semester, and the second time is during the lighter season of rain. You may come by whenever you want during that month or stay the entire length of visiting. It’s up to the two of you.”

“Where would we stay?”

“The school will provide everything for you, including a place to stay and food. You don’t need to worry about anything other than traveling, but if you’re struggling, then things can be arranged if you reach out. Now then,” Noah called over a knight. “This one will stay with you until tomorrow. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you why.”

“We understand,” Cyrus said.

“While I may not be a teacher, I can assure you Ariella will be a remarkable student, so hold your head high. She’ll end up doing amazing things in the future.”

“We knew from the moment she was born,” Lyla forced a smile.

Noah smiled back. “Please enjoy the rest of the day with her, and please remember to visit and write letters.”

“I’ll visit every year,” Lyla said.

“Good.”