✴

She ate half of her vegetables and hid the rest under the floorboards in her home, wrapped in several layers of clothing to protect it from the silt. It was a small house, located between Grand Avenue and Erebat River. The place was dirty and the dry wood gave off a distinctly rotten smell. Thia didn't mind though, as she spent very few of her waking hours at home.

Despite being shaded for most of the day, Seoradel was extremely hot. During mid-day, when the sun cast its searing rays deep into the Boroughs, most people either stayed inside or rested in the shade. Not Thia—instead, she walked down to the river for a quick drink and to wash her face.

Erebat River originated in the mountains and flowed down through Seoradel's western half, meandering through the High Ward and the Boroughs respectively, before reaching the Barren Plains where it discharged into Lake Atinis. The river was the city's only source of clean water, and she mused on how it was probably the only luxury shared equally between Ascendant and Lowborn. When she thought about it closer though, she realized that the Boroughs lay downstream from the High Ward—so what the Lowborn received was technically leftovers. Figures, she thought to herself, strangely amused.

She drank deep and splashed some of the cool water on herself. The river was small and youthful—more like a stream really—and it burbled down between the houses where it disappeared from sight. The streets were almost empty now and the atmosphere might have been peaceful, were it not for the whining winds which still raged against the outer wall and could be heard from all the way over where she was now sitting. She could see clearly the streaks of dust blowing over the edge of the wall, scattering the sunlight and taking on the appearance of an ethereal waterfall, showering the Boroughs in an endless cascade of dirt.

Thia retreated into the shade of the buildings and made her way to Amica's place, taking small detours to stay in the shade as much as possible. When she arrived, the water on her glistening skin had already evaporated and been replaced with a thin layer of sweat. She knocked on the door, causing a cloud of dust to puff out from within its various crevices. It unlocked with a click and creaked open, revealing Amica in a thin, white dress. She had her hair up as usual, but individual strands had come undone and were sticking to her face.

"Come in," she said with exhaustion, then retreated to the table in the middle of the room and sat down. Books lay strewn about, covering the workspace. Amica reached for a spray bottle and dosed herself with a sprinkle of water. As Thia joined her, she received an unexpected spray herself. She recoiled in surprise, but the sensation was quite pleasant. She took a seat opposite Amica.

"I've been trying to obtain literature on the Sight," Amica said, "but I'm afraid there's not much available. Most knowledge on the subject is forbidden. Why don't you start by telling me what you already know?"

"Not much," Thia admitted. "Only that it's a power given to the Ascendant. I also know that some Ascendant are supposed to be more powerful than others. Like the Sovereign—he holds the highest position in Seoradel because he's the most powerful, right?"

"Yes, and because being powerful with the Sight is associated with high moral purity," Amica interjected.

"Right," Thia muttered. She wasn't entirely convinced about that part.

"But do you know what the Sight actually does?"

"Not really, I mean... the other day, it seemed to warn me of danger."

Amica smiled knowingly. "You're not far off at all. The Sight allows one to see a few moments into the future. What you experienced was a premonition."

Thia thought about it for a moment. It seemed to fit with her memory of the previous night: she had known the attack was coming because she had already seen it in her mind.

Amica held up a closed fist in front of her. Thia wrinkled her brow questioningly.

"I'm going to hold up a number of fingers in a moment. Try to focus on my hand and predict how many."

Thia looked at Amica's hand. She felt silly just sitting there, staring at it—then she squinted her eyes and tried to imagine what would happen. She thought she could feel something—when she considered the future it was almost like a door had opened in her mind. Standing on the threshold of the door, she felt that if she wanted to, she could push forward and go through it. She tried doing so—and at that moment Amica's fist appeared in her mind. The image of her hand was changing rapidly between various states: each holding up a different set of fingers. It shifted so quickly that the hand became an indistinguishable blur. She felt nauseated by the barrage of impressions, but held on to the vision, trying to make sense of what she saw. Suddenly, the vision converged into the image of an open palm and a sharp pain appeared on her left cheek. Thia's attention immediately returned to the present. Amica had slapped her in the face.

✴ ✴

"Ow," Thia moaned, rubbing her cheek. She could feel the skin reddening where Amica had struck her. It pulsated with warmth.

"This is the first lesson," Amica said matter-of-factly. "Focusing too hard on the future can cause you to lose sight of the present. You need to divide your attention wisely to take full advantage of your ability."

"Couldn't you just have sprayed water on me again?" Thia complained.

"Hmm, I didn't think of that." Amica blushed slightly. "Guess I got a little carried away, huh?"

Thia chuckled. Amica was usually so calm and collected. Seeing her this uninhibited was a welcome change of pace, even if it meant getting slapped in the face.

"Shouldn't I have been able to predict the slap though?" Thia wondered. "Actually, the Sight seemed completely useless. I could hardly see your hand at all."

"Ah, that relates to the second lesson." Amica mused. "You were planning on telling me your prediction, I presume?"

"Well... yeah, of course," she answered, puzzled.

Amica smiled again. "The problem is, doing so would have changed my mind about which fingers to hold up. Actually, just seeing you sit there trying to make sense of it eventually made me want to... well, you know what happened. The lesson is: if you allow your knowledge of the future to influence the present, your premonition will inevitably change in response."

"Oh... I think I understand," Thia said slowly. "Let me try again."

Amica held up her fist and Thia tried imagining the future once more. Indeed, once she had decided not to tell Amica her prediction, the vision of her hand appeared clearly. She only just allowed the vision to seep in before quickly retreating from it, and watched as Amica proceeded to hold up two fingers, just like Thia had seen that she would.

"Amazing," she said. "But... if I can't act on what I've seen, what's the use?"

"You can act on it," Amica responded, "just not in a way that changes my behaviour, assuming you want the premonition to come true. Alternatively, you can try to deliberately change the outcome, but if you decide to do so while still using the Sight—the vision will become nonsensical. It's an interesting conundrum."

"This is more complicated than I thought," Thia sighed, "but I guess it makes sense. The other day, I was barely able to dodge my attacker in time. I suppose my actions never had time to influence his behaviour, which is why the premonition held true?"

"That sounds reasonable," Amica responded.

"Guess I got pretty lucky."

"I would say so."

Thia contemplated this for a moment, then pressed on: "What else can you tell me about the Sight?"

"That's unfortunately the extent of my knowledge," Amica answered. "Like I said, the intricacies of the Sight is a heavily guarded secret. I suppose the ability is not that useful for doing research, so people of my profession are mostly kept in the dark. Even the High Guard is only instructed regarding the Sight insofar as it relates to combat, or so I've heard."

"Well, thank you for telling me as much as you have," Thia said. "I know you're not supposed to."

"Of course," Amica said. "You know, I've always disagreed with the way the Sovereign controls information. A hungry mind is a precious thing. It should be nourished, not starved. I'm actually glad your ability has provided an excuse for me to open up to you." She looked at Thia with a thoughtful expression. "From now on, feel free to ask me anything you want."

Thia hesitated. After a few moments, she worked up the courage to form the question which had immediately come to mind:

"How... how come the Ascendant don't do more for the Lowborn?"

"What do you mean?"

Thia squirmed. She had known Amica for a few months and had found her to be a reliable person. But questioning her regarding her life as Ascendant made Thia deeply uncomfortable. Partly because Lowborn simply wasn't supposed to know these things, but also because it reminded her of what Amica really was. One of them.

"I mean..." she continued, "you've grown up as Lowborn."

"Yes?"

"So you obviously know what life in the Boroughs is like. You've lived it."

"Ah," an understanding came over Amica's face. "You're wondering why the Ascendant allows the Lowborn to endure such terrible conditions?"

"Well... yes!" some of Thia's hesitation was replaced with sudden frustration and anger. Hearing Amica parrot her own thoughts out loud made them seem so obvious. Why should she squirm to ask for an explanation from her? She was in the right, after all. If anyone deserved to squirm, it was—

"I'm sorry," Amica responded, "but the answer is probably not very satisfying. The truth is that the Ascendant aren't the monolith that Lowborn tend to imagine them to be. In fact, the first thing that happens once you ascend is a compartmentalization into one of various classes."

Thia cocked her head.

"We are initially ranked according to our natural ability with the Sight," Amica continued, noticing Thia's confusion, "then we are assigned into a class based on other qualifying factors. I, for instance, am a Lower Ascendant, meaning that my ability with the Sight is weak. I also have a strong affinity for learning. Hence I was assigned to be a researcher. This is why my knowledge on the Sight is limited—that information is mainly restricted to other classes. In fact, all knowledge is deliberately controlled so that each class only has access to the specific information they need to perform their duties."

"So... you don't really know why Lowborn are treated the way they are?"

"I'm afraid not, but it's more than that Thia. Many of us are horrified by the way Seoradel is governed, whatever the reasons may be, but we're too fragmented to change anything. Other Ascendant may have lost sight of where they came from, but I suspect many more deliberately force themselves to ignore the Lowborn's suffering, because they can't function in their designated role otherwise."

Thia felt conflicted. She appreciated Amica's sincerity, but what she had said seemed to Thia like weak excuses. You still live like an Ascendant, she thought. Just look at all the things in this house. How can someone surround themselves with so many luxuries while pretending to care about the impoverished Lowborn around her? Thia said none of this, however. Instead she got up, thanked her friend for her help and was on her way.

✴ ✴ ✴

Barely out the door, Thia was nearly run into by someone sprinting down the street. The figure wore a hooded cloak, dark brown with emerald embroidery along the seams, and were being chased by four High Guards carrying spears. The guards had discarded their armor, for reasons which were obvious upon first glance. Large sweat stains soaked the doublets worn by the men and women running after the hooded figure. The sun was only just beginning to lower behind the mountains and the temperature was still quite high, meaning that the traditional Seoran armor must have been roasting the guards alive, sprinting or not. Thia coughed from the dust that was spewed into the air as the group passed, then her curiosity took over and she decided to follow them.

She soon noticed that the guards had started to slow down, and she had to be careful to keep her distance as to not draw attention to herself. They looked exhausted, but judging by the posture of the figure they were chasing that one wasn't tired at all. Still, the guards weren't falling behind for some reason. It's like they're being baited, she thought. The hooded figure ducked into an alley and the guards followed, panting furiously. Thia stopped by the corner and peeked around it. The figure had reached a dead end and the guards were drawing closer.

"Stop... and... surrender!" a guardswoman yelled between gasping breaths.

As if in response, five windows at the second level of the surrounding buildings suddenly slammed open, revealing dark figures in each of them. They wore hooded cloaks which—unlike the runner's—were rugged and plain, and wielded shortbows with arrows nocked, pointing down at the surprised guards.

"Stop... stop this!" another guard exclaimed. "Lower your bows, for heaven's—"

The archers let loose and arrows rained down on the group of unarmored guards. For any other group it would have meant certain death, but these were Seoran High Guards. Ascendant. They avoided the arrows with casual indifference, only stepping aside at the very last moment, even allowing some arrows to graze their clothing. A symphony of thuds and clanks sounded, as the arrows missed their intended targets and buried themselves deep in wood or bounced off of cobblestones. When the second barrage came, the guards started to move in on the hooded figure at the end of the alley, twirling and stepping lightly around most of the incoming projectiles—blocking the rest using their spears.

Thia had seen the impressive feats of the High Guard before, but she now observed them in an entirely new light. They must be using the Sight to predict where the arrows are going to land, she thought, but... they make it seem so effortless. She could see them doing it now: as the arrows were fired, each guard would use the Sight to glean the projectiles' positions a fraction of a second into the future, then use minimal movement to avoid them just in time. Even using the Sight, it would require insane reaction speed.

Another barrage was fired, but this time the arrows came in a sequence. The first few arrows still missed, but the last two hit one guard straight in his chest. He had triggered the Sight too early, Thia realized, and seen the arrows headed for his comrades but not the ones aimed at himself. It was a clever faint—one that could have only been planned by someone familiar with how the Sight worked.

The guards paused, stunned at the sight of their fallen companion, then started to retreat out of the alley. Another arrow found its way to one of the guard's thighs, but she was able to limp out of there alive. Thia moved away swiftly, so that she wouldn't be caught observing the altercation. Once the guards were gone, she peered back into the alley just in time to see the mysterious figure disappear through an open window on the ground floor.

What in heaven's name had that been about?