"Everyone!" the voice shouts out over the kingdom. "Everyone, ladies and gentlemen, please come to one of our biggest assemblages in years! Be sure to meet in front of the towers as soon as you may can!"

I stop pulling potatoes out of the cropland and stare up between the crooked houses. Knights and guards on powerful horses are trotting around, gaining peoples interest. One of them, a tall muscular man with his head high, has a horn pressed against his lips.

"Our leaders have an extremely big announcement!" the man shouts in a deep voice. "Come on, come on! Hurry up and get to the platform in front of the towers! Now people!"

Rubbing my dirty hands against the skirt of my dusty dress, I stand up and pull my hood over my head. Confused I stare after the horses as they ride away. The leaders haven't gathered the people in twelve years, since the new prince was born. Is there a new baby again? That can't be true, there's been no announcement of some sort; telling us that someone from one of the towers is pregnant.

"Kaaraleey? What was that?" Czakkeel comes up behind me and puts her hand on my hip. I look down at my baby sister and her chubby eight-year-old-face. I bring my hand up and stroke a dark curl behind her small ear.

"I don't really know, but I guess we should get going. Right?" I look back at my other two sisters. Three-year-old Tsaarikka is still sitting down by the buckets of potato, slowly pulling them out of the dirt with a stern expression on her small face. Teyylishh stands in the back corner, rubbing her freckly nose. Her bright corkscrew hair glowing orange in the warm afternoon light. She looks at me and shrugs in her typical fourteen-year-old behavior.

"Someone please pick up Tsaarikka, I'm going to write mom a letter saying we're going out for a while." I say and start moving to our brown wooden house. The panels are fading of colour and the windows are old and muddled. I open the big green door and step into the small entry hall, not bothering to take of my muddy shoes before I jog into the kitchen.

On the kitchen sofa lays mom, cuddled up into a small ball. Her eyes are closed and her breathing reveals that she is deep asleep. I pick up the homemade blanket from the floor and gently spread it over her, caressing her ginger hair that's been turning grey lately. Inside the drawer next to the sofa there is pieces of paper. We usually use them to write notes for each other to remember different things. I take one out and put it on the table.

Mom!
We are going to the towers. Our leaders wanted
to gather us for a big announcement. See you soon.
Love you

Giving mom a kiss on her forehead, I stroll out of the house and close the door after me. It's warm and green outside, more than usual. The sky is light blue and clear of clouds, and the big trees are filled with lime green leaves and bright red fruit. The air smells of road dust and farm animals, but it's a good smell. It smells like home.

"Kara!" Tsaarikka's sweet voice calls my name. I look around and find her to my left, together with my other siblings. Mr Aarkk, our neighbor, is with them. He rests comfortably on his big bulky horse, chewing on something that looks like a cut of leather. Attached to Ruula, his horse, is a large and slightly old carriage. Since the towers are built forty to sixty minutes away from us, by foot of course, Mr Aarkk is always nice enough to take us there by horse. Well, that is the few times we've actually had to go there.

"Come now!" says Czakkeel and starts climbing up the carriage. Teyylishh picks up Tsaarikka and starts climbing as well. I pull myself up and get seated beside Czakkeel, just as our ride jolts backwards and than begins its relatively smooth journey to the towers.

People are walking or riding all around us, all trying to get to the meeting area in time. Some wave at Mr Aarkk and some wave at me, I don't wave back. They probably knew my father, well, they did know my father. He was beloved by many, even the people who live in The Uukkurs. I guess they feel like they still know my family, but I don't even know their name, so why would I wave at them?

The road is bumpy and dusty, making me cough every other moment. Tsaarikka and Czakkeel laugh hysterically, jumping up and down while holding onto Teyylishh. She looks through them, at the houses and people and movement we've just passed by. Her unhappy green eyes taking it all in, millimeter by millimeter. I bend over and pull my youngest sisters down into a sitting position, too afraid of them falling out. Then I stroke my hand up Teyylishh's arm, letting her now I'm there. She flinches away and looks at me for a second, before turning her head in the opposite direction.

"You see that over there, kids?" Mr Aarkk points upwards and far. All of us gaze through the high rooftops and packed tree branches. It's hard to see, but if you look close enough, there are the three high white towers.

Czakkeel shrieks in excitement. "Yes! That's where the princesses live!"

The last time our family was there was four years ago, when there was a big festival going on. It was the biggest thing that'd happened in years. Everyone was there, from every district. I remember I loved it there. It was just before dad got sick and we were just one big happy family. Dad worked as a guard and mom as a teacher. I got to taste sugared apples for the first time, and Tey was happy and just as excited as me. Czakkeel was about Rikka's age and she was so sweet and soft.

Things will never be like that again. Not now, with dads death and moms hurt spine.

⧫⧫⧫

The horse carriage rolls in to The Uukkurs district of our kingdom. The houses are big and multi floored, with big doors and all kinds of flowers covering the yards. The road is covered with people, everyone trying to get closer to the towers. Mr Aarkk smacks his lips and lashes the whip against the ground below to scare people out of the way.

"Bastard lowks!" a women with a big curly hairdo and a fluffy dress scolds at us, anger spreading across her face. We aren't even lowks, those people are the ones who live in The Lowkkers; a place you really don't want to live in.

I look in head of us and see as people make a rushed path for our carriage along the road. Not to far away you can see the stairs leading up to the open ground of stone. Behind there is the railing protecting the Rulers ground from the people. And then there are the towers. They're bigger than I remember. One to the left; one in the middle; and one to the right; each of them connecting into a giant castle building. It glitters in the bright sunlight like million of diamonds. The windows are big and clear and surrounded by green vines and colourful flowers. And behind it, stands the tall stonewall, surrounding the kingdom.

Every tower has its own grand entrance. The Noble Tower is to the left. In there live the Eraabo; a group of people who take care of our rules. If I remember correctly there are three women and two men, and their kids, partners and parents of course.

In the middle there is The Grand Tower, the very main and most powerful tower. The Tenth live there. Those are some amazingly well respected and highly placed people. They're pretty much the ones who decide everything, though I don't really know exactly what it is that they decide. All I know is that ten adults and their families live there, and that you can't be born into a role of a Tenth, you simply must earn it by gaining the interest of the people and the other two towers.

And The Royal Tower is the one to the right. This is where the king and queen live. They have five children I think, and siblings and parents of course. Probably nieces and nephews, as well. When I was younger I couldn't figure out how the royal family could possibly grow, without any other princes or princesses. But my father told me that they usually arranged marriage between the different towers, especially since the grand tower always changes leaders. The Royal Tower focuses on the people and creating new and fun events, giving out prices and so on. Though I think I've only seen a royal family member once.

I'm brought out of my thoughts by a muddled voice. "I think I need to leave you here, kids! There's no room for Ruula and her carriage anymore, I'm afraid." Mr Aarkk says. His words almost drowning in all the other noise around us.

"Thank you sir!" Tsaarikka shouts and jumps of the carriage, so do Teyylishh and Czakkeel. I give him a quick smile and climb down, making sure to take my youngest siblings by their hands so not to lose them in the folk mass.

"Where are we going anyway?" Tey says in my ear to make sure she's heard.

I turn to her and take her face in my hands. "You see that open area back there, that's surrounded by guards?" I whisper back in her ear. "Lets get as close to it as possible. I guess the leaders are going to be there, making the announcement." I nod toward the mentioned place and Tey nods back at me, telling me she understands.

With Teyylishh in front of me, and Czakkeel and Tsaarikka in each of my hands, we begin moving forward through the packed crowd. People are everywhere, screaming and crying, laughing and pulling on each other. I have a way to stern grip around my sister's arms and I have to hurry not to lose Tey in the sea of human beings.

"Hey, Tey!" I yell as loud as my lungs can bear. "Tey, let's stay here!"

Teyylishh stops her steps and looks back at me. I'm panting from jogging and jumping amongst people.

"What did you say?" she says, squeezing closer to us.

"We should stay here. It's way to packed up there, plus, we're pretty close!"

"Okay!" she takes Tsaarikka from my grip and pulls her up in her arms. "So she can see something."

I follow her lead and lift Czakkeel up, seating her on my shoulders. She giggles wildly and puts her hands on my hood. She's pretty light for an eight-year-old, which is a little bit weird; since both Tey and me were pretty big and chubby as kids. Anyway, it's pretty convenient that she doesn't really weight anything right now, or else wouldn't be able to hold her up.

Out of the blue, people are screaming and clapping their hands, applauding. I stretch my body upwards as much as I may can and see that two people have entered the open area. It's a man and a woman, both wearing red clothing with black accessories. They're tall and dark with black silk hair, and they're so alike they must be siblings. I can't really recall any names or which tower they're from, but they both look really important. The woman has a scroll in her hands, and another one of those horns.

"Ladies and gentlemen of Kooraace!" she says firmly, and her honey voice guides itself through the horn, making the whole crowd go quite. "We are extremely thankful for your eyes and ears, just for this very afternoon! It is a very special day for all of us, indeed. Both young and old, from every district; The Uukkurs, The Ceekkers and The Lowkkers. You are all equally welcome to this very event."

Whispers spread across the people as she speaks. I make sure to listen carefully, not wanting to miss a single piece of information. Czakkeel's grip on my gray hood is tight.

"All of you might wonder why you were brought here in such a hurry? Well, it is a quite simple answer. I will let my brother here to my side, answer the question further." the woman says, giving the horn and the scroll to the man beside her. His eyes are big and they search the crowd after nothing specific, before he clears his throat and speaks.

"As my beautiful sister and fellow tenth on my side said; welcome!" his voice is just as smooth and strong as his sisters. "We are two of the tenths from The Grand Tower, and we are here today to show you something you could've never believed." he gives the props back to the woman and lengthens his posture. I watch with curiosity, and so it seems, does the whole folk mass.

"Watch and enjoy!"

The man stretches his arms to the side and ties his fists. First it's barely noticeable, but after a second or two, water starts soaking from his hands like waterfalls. The whole crowd gasps out of surprise and I can't help but to do the same.

"Oh my daughter!" Czakkeel breathes above me and pull her hands around my forehead. I hold her legs tightly to my chest.

The man opens his hands so his palms are up against the sky, and water is pouring out of them making big fountains. The fountains grows taller, first five feet, then twelve, and then so high that I can't even tell anymore. People are now screaming all around me, some are even on their way out of here, but I stand still, completely still. My feet are like glued to the stone-floored road, either out of fear or out of fascination, I don't even know.

As water starts dripping out of the man's ears and mouth I look away. The crowd is on fire; everyone is talking in unison, running around making others around them fall. It's chaos. I look at Teyylishh who's in front of me. She's turned around to look at me as well and her eyes are filled with confusion. Rikka is clinging onto her, fear written all over her face. This is the kind of thing you'd only read about in books.

"What is that?" Czakkeel screams. "Is he magic!"

As she says so, the tenth woman speaks again. "I am so sorry for the mixed emotions we brought you, we weren't excepting such a big reaction. Anyway, as you all saw, my brother has developed magical powers. So have all of us in the towers." She brings her hand out and it fades into nothingness, a blank canvas. Her arm totally disappears and blends in with the background.

I swallow I big chunk of air and bite my teeth together, hard, not believing my eyes. Czakkeel pats my head and starts moving to let me know she wants to go down. I awkwardly hold her back and arms as she manages to land on the ground without falling on her butt. As soon as she's regained her whole balance she flings her arms around my waist, holding me tight as if afraid I might disappear just like that woman's arm.

"Our king found some very old files, 700 years to be exact, hid in an old chest. How and when is not important." she continues, her voice breaking through the noise of the crowd. "The files contained of old testaments and facts, one of them being the history of magic and how it was practiced and induced. We have now made an exclusive offer to teenagers in the age between 16 and 17. The offer is very simple indeed; it's an offer to come to the towers and try to evolve your own magic."

The crowd goes dead silent, once again. I choke on nothing and stare at the red-dressed tenth lady, standing just a couple of meters in front of me. It feels like something is clawing at the inside of my chest. 16 and 17-year-olds. The words make me want to throw up.

"This is of course optional, and all up to you. Yes, only you. Your family members and the people around you have no say in this decision. However, we would all love to have you. So as a small bribe, I guess you could say, we are willing to give the family you leave behind a certain amount of money. We know a lot of you are struggling, especially those of you who live in The Uukkurs or The Ceekkers, and we want to help more than anything.

"We thought that a total of 70 000 Koodis would bring a slight ease to your family. You see, we don't just want you for nothing; we need you. Outside the great wall lingers all the horrific spirits and creatures we all know of, but one thing has happened. They've grown stronger, built up their forces and now they are becoming a very big threat for us, for whole Kooraace.

"The Tenths, The Eraabo and the royal family need you, as a reinforcement for our kingdom. If you are willing to say yes to this offer, then you will be provided by everything you need in the towers. You'll be able to get trained by people you could have never imagined meeting, and so much more. Guards will be visiting every house between seven and nine o'clock, be ready with your decision." she nods at the audience as a thank you, and then walks away. That's it.

My throat feels dry, and my temples are hammering against my skin. I zone out of reality and try to sort out everything the tenth just said, everything I saw. It is so extremely terrifying, yet so extremely fascinating.

"Kara?" Czakkeel hits my arm lightly and brings me out of my thoughts. "What are you going to do?"

"Lets go home." I say firmly and follow the lead of everyone around me. In the background I hear my sisters questions, feel their concerned and nervous touches. I ignore them all. I ignore everything around me. A lump has formed in my chest, like a swollen paper bag. It pumps and burns and my mind is spinning around like crazy, making my stomach sick.

What just happened? What did I see? A man controlling water and a woman making her arm invisible. That is not normal. That is not human.

"Kaaraleey watch out!" someone screams in the background and I immediately end my step, almost falling over by the abrupt motion. Less than a millisecond later a force of wind blows by me, together with a cloud of road dust. I cough and see the animal that's just soared by me; a big bulky horse with hooves smattering against the ground. Its rider clamping their legs against the horse, brown hair flying around their face.

"Stupid horse." I mutter, but instantly regret it. It wasn't the horse's fault. Stupid rider.

"Are you okay?" Tey comes up behind me. I give her a quick nod and take Rikka from her, pulling her against my chest.

"Lets go home." I repeat and then move my legs away from whatever just happened.

⧫⧫⧫

When we come home, the night is slowly creeping in, casting shadows in every corner. The sky is beautiful though, filled with a pink and yellow sunset.

Letting my sisters go do whatever they want, I take out some eggs and potatoes that we've grown ourselves. Mom is still sleeping, but she's moved over to her bed in the room next to the kitchen, at least. Her back will only get worse if she's lying down on hard material all day.

Outside Czakkeel and Tsaarikka are chasing each other, their smiles big and toothy, making the corners of my mouth tingle. They're jumping around in the tall lime green grass, hiding behind our apple trees. Rikka is peeking out from a bole, giggling with her hands over her mouth. Her big eyes are sparkling green in the dark pink light.

"Kaaraleey." Mom says behind me, I spin around and meet her tired brown eyes. "Do you want some help?"

"Mom, sit down!"

"Honey, I can stand on my feet. It's only good for me."

"Well, I'm not letting you help me." I say, turning back to cleaning the dirt off of the spuds.

"Honey, I talked to Tey ..."

"Yes?"

"She told me about the gathering you were on."

"Yes?" I say again, rather afraid of what she's going to say.

"Honey, you can't go. Not even for the money." Moms voice is sad, and it gives me a lump in my throat. I really don't want to talk about it. The thought of going makes me want to throw up. But I know I have to make a decision, a really hard decision.

"We need you here Kara, you're the one who holds this family together." She continues. "I know you're thinking of going, to help, to help us. But we're fine without the money. We really are. We make through every day. We're happy -"

"Yes, we do that, us kids. But not you mom!" a stinging feeling starts to sneak its way into my eyes. I rub them with the back of my hand. "If we got those 70 000 Koodis, we'd have enough to pay for your surgery!"

Breath in.

Breath out.

"Kaaraleey, don't go. I know you don't want to."

"I know that too. I - I don't want to go." I mutter. Trying to calm my shaking body by focusing on the running water, on the sound of muddled laughter from outside.

"I know honey, you don't have to." Mom gives me a worn-out pet on the shoulder, before I hear her footsteps fade away.

⧫⧫⧫

It's pitch black outside, except for the bluish light coming from the moon. Rikka is asleep, and you can hear her heavy snoring through the wall. Tey is somewhere upstairs, in her room probably, and Czakkeel is beside me. She is holding my hand while looking out of the dirty window, together with me.

We both know that they'll be coming soon. Knocking on our door.

I don't know why I'm so nervous. It's not like they're going to force me to go; besides, I've already made my decision.

I'm not going.

Not even for the money.

Not even to help mom.

Just as I expected, a load knock on the door makes the whole house go quite. My heart is in my throat for a second, and I squeeze Czakkeel's hand tightly. She rests her head against my shoulder.

Footsteps are heard and mom walks through the kitchen, into the hall. Her expression is nervous, almost afraid. The familiar sound of screeching door is heard as someone steps inside, except for now, the sound isn't homey; instead it's bloodcurdling. I hold my breath.

"Hello. You must be Ms. Rrah?" a woman's voice speaks.

"Yes I am. You must be one of the guards they sent out tonight."

"Well, do I look like anything but a guard?" the woman says with a salty tone. "Didn't think so. I believe you have a 16 years old daughter living here?

"How does she know who lives here?" my sister whispers in my ear.

"I don't know ... maybe, maybe they have some sort of document of it?"

The sound of the two adults fades away through the walls, as they're probably speaking with lower voices. Maybe to not wake Rikka up.

"We have already decided together." Moms voice is suddenly heard again.

"You told me that. I'm still going to have to meet your daughter, Ms."

"Why do you need to -"

"Either you will bring Miss Rrah over here, or I'll just have to come inside and look for her. Your choice." The guards voice is harsh and determined, sending a chill down my spine. What if she walks in here and just takes me with her? What if she won't take no for an answer?

"Kara?" moms limping body comes into the room we're sitting in, her eyes filled with worry. "Come with me please." I give Czakkeel one final squeeze and then help mom out to the hall.

In front of the green front door, stands the guard. Her armor is clean in silver and her hair is neatly tied up under her helmet. To my relief, she's not carrying any weapons. She eyes me up and down before speaking.

"You must be Kaaraleey Rrah?"

"Yes." I whimper, not sure what to say.

"I suppose you've been to the meeting, is that correct?"

"Yes ..."

"Then you probably know what's going on. I'm here to find out if you will follow me, and hundreds of others to the towers. It would be an honor."

My heart is pounding wildly in my chest. "I, I don't -"

"We will assist you with whatever is necessary; food, a place to sleep, clothing. You may bring one object from home, only if you show it to me first." Her face is wrinkled in a firm expression, like she's trying her best to seem serious.

"I -"

"You will get to learn how to develop the ikooraash inside of you -"

"The what inside of her?" Tey interrupts in the background. I crinkle my nose at her, as she's just revealed her eavesdropping on us.

The guard gives her an angry look. "The supernatural power you can evolve. Anyway, Kaaraleey, you know the drill. Now, please give me an answer, I don't have all night."

I look behind me and meet my mom's exhaustingly worried eyes, pleading me not to go.

"If, if I went with you ... how long would I be away for?"

"For about a year, now, answer please?"

My head is aching of thoughts and anxiety.

I'm not going.

I'm not going.

I'm not going.

No return. "I'm coming with you."   

a/n: Holy shit I am/was so nervous to post this! This is of course only first draft (LIKE SERIOUSLY ONLY FIRST DRAFT) so please don't judge my grammar mistakes thaaaat much. God, I'm so nervous.