Marccus' iron boots made an annoying clanking sound every time he took a step. At first, I thought his armor was from the medieval ages. But, the more I looked at it, it seemed oddly high tech. There were a few wires built into the armor itself. Still, it had a very traditional and honorable feel to it. The whole place was like that. The hallways were elegant and traditional but had touches of advanced technology. It was if the whole place was a strange oxymoron.

The noisy silence was getting old and my questions started burning wholes in my mind. I still knew nothing about this crazy high-low tech place. Marccus did not seem like the type I should be asking questions, but my options were pretty limited. "So, uh... Marccus...""Yes?""What is an Image?" "You are.""I know you are but what am I?" I giggled like a six-year-old. He didn't think it was funny. I cleared my throat, either humor didn't work on him or he didn't understand the joke. My guess was a bit of both. "Care to elaborate?"

"I think you call it humans. Image of God." He stopped and looked me in the eyes. "You were made in the image of God, so we call you Images. It is our job to protect your kind, to keep the order." His statement brought up more questions than it answered. It was almost a nice thing for him to say though. I was beginning to think that maybe he wasn't always mean, he just was awkward.

We turned the corner and in front of us was a giant door made of what looked like steel and gold. It looked impossibly heavy. "The Image, Adri, is awaiting counsel." He said loudly... to the door. There was no way anyone on the inside was going to be able to hear him. But, after a few moments, the door slowly swung open.

Inside a group of around twelve people stood talking in hushed tones. As soon as Marccus and I entered the room, it fell silent. The people were in all kinds of crazy clothes. A few were in armor, one or two were in leather trench coats, one had wires on his face and one had a kimono on. What was this place?

A woman wearing armor that looked a lot like the knights' but had a golden crest on it emerged from the crowd. Marccus instantly took a knee and dragged me to my knees with him. "Ouch! Bloodloss, remember!" In response, he sent me a glare more deadly than his grip. I shut my trap.

"My queen, this is the Image Adri." He said, sending a wave of whispers through the crowd. The queen was the only one who stayed silent. She looked at me closely. She had a light smile on her face but her eyes told a different story. She was wearing a helmet like the others, but I could see her silver hair through it. Whether it was the silver hair or her gaze, I knew this was a woman respected for her wisdom.

A cold minute passed before she spoke, "Welcome to The Core, Adri." She was calm and collected, with a soothing voice. "I'm sure you have a ton of questions, and I wish we could answer them for you, but we do not have much time. We need to begin battle training you, a war is coming and you will be at the forefront. I am sorry to force you to do this, but we need you."

I didn't even know what to say. Man, this had to be a nightmare, I thought, I just got here, I don't want to fight for or with these people! Why the heck would they ask me to anyway? There seems to be no lack of soldiers! I cleared my throat. I wanted to be careful with my words but my mind was running a million miles an hour. "With all due respect, Ma'am, you seem to have plenty of able bodies and I would really like to go home to uh... the um... surface land of Texas. Could you possibly send me there? I think there has been an accident." I could have sworn I heard Marccus groan, but even the peanut gallery was quiet. It was an awkward silence, at least for me, and seemed to last a lifetime.

Finally, a woman in a kimono stepped forward, "Perhaps she is right. After all, our people will likely not-" The queen's hand suddenly raised, silencing the woman.

"Texans are very hardy images!" A short, skinny but oddly tan man spoke up. I had not noticed him at all before now. He pushed his bottle-cap glasses up before speaking again, "I imagine she would be a very good fighter. Images from Texas, known as Texans, skillfully wield large guns. Most images recognize them for it! That and their poor skills at operating motor vehicles." Every time he said Texas it seemed like his pronunciation got worse. It sounded like Tex-ann or Tex-sass. He wasn't wrong though. Texans were bad drivers. Not me, of course! Plus, we sure do like our guns.

The queen's eye's narrowed at the man. He didn't care. "Ah, the surface expert. When did you arrive?"

"Only a moment ago, my queen." He gave a curt bow. "My apologies for not coming sooner, I was very engrossed in my studies." He was rubbing his hands together constantly. I did not like or trust him.

"Of course you were," She said, it didn't seem like he was particularly fond of him either. "I think it best to keep her here. Let her fight, perhaps take her to Jijan. They are having a fighting festival soon, yes? Show her off a little." He pushed up his glasses again, his gaze resting uncomfortably on me. "Of course, I would not mind if she stayed here. I have so many questions." He rubbed his hands together more feverishly. Yep, I definitely did not like him.

The queen sighed and turned her gaze to the woman in a kimono, "Jijan's fighting festival is coming up, isn't it? What do you think of Mortemer's idea?"

"Jijan is a strange way to pronounce Texas. I think Texas will have its annual gun show soon, I think I should go there. That is similar to a fighting festival." I said quickly. Maybe if I annoyed them enough they would see it wasn't worth keeping me around. Besides, there were gun shows in Texas almost every day, so I wasn't lying. My comment was ignored. My opinion didn't seem to matter much and my annoyance tactic didn't seem to be working either.

The woman in the kimono rubbed her temple and was silent for a long moment. "I still think sending her home is best." The queen gruffly shook her head. Apparently my freedom was no longer an option. Kimono girl sighed before continuing, "I think it is unwise to take her so close to the graveyard if... if the rumors are true. If not, the fighting festival would be an enjoyable way to prepare her. Besides, our people would enjoy having an image around. Few have seen one before. It would boost morale to get to know what we are protecting." The woman gave me a soft smile. I think she was my favorite so far, she seemed nice enough. Plus, I appreciated her pushing for me to go home.

There was a SWOOSH as the queen turned away from me, a silver and gold cape flowing dramatically behind her.  "It is settled then! She shall train with Marccus and Mei for three days to prepare for the fighting festival. Then she will go to Jijan and be a guest of honor. Where she will behave with respect and intelligence to remind us what we are fighting for."

"And what you are fighting for is...?" I said while Marccus dragged me out of the chamber.