The world was as beautiful as it was ugly. As were humans.

The society was vastly technological but the technology was not advanced. For a civilization that could entirely survive on their own, very little external help was required. Evolution was not defined and people's abilities changed and moulded into something new every day. Adaptability was a skill that everyone vied for. The society was divided between the overly opulent ones and the ones that served beneath.

The power distribution was restricted and the society was socially imbalanced. Revolutions were spoken of and written in stories. Sometimes even sung about. But children were not taught this in schools. The prided free speech in the city of Arestria was nothing but a facade and many paid with their lives for accessing this right. Patriarchy was rampant and an unequal power shift leaned towards the male population. Those of us that could break free... chose to do so.

Wing... wings were the pride and joy of many. The ability of flight gave one a tactical advantage in battle. The capacity to look at the world from above the clouds gives a sense of god complex to the men. Aristocrats and businessmen alike were blessed abundantly with this and a superior sense of ego. They flaunted and thrived of this.

Ageas we called them. The rich, the masters, the ones being served to, the high borns, the inborns and the arrogant. The low born were rarely blessed with these abilities. If one were... his birth was scrutinised and shamed. They were tossed into the world of the haughty to be picked apart. If ever blessed with these abilities, keep your head low and hope that they do not notice.

Hunters were synonymous with Cavaliers. The soldiers. The ones that guarded the borders, the towers and everything inside it. Strong, sharp with a sense of duty to the city. Sometimes it was the highest bidder. They served the lordships and the ladies and their generations to come by. Their sense of loyalty was innate which made them perfect soldiers. They were sought after by everyone and were engaged in struggles that were not their own.

Wild... some were wild. They lived off of danger and adventure. Where the wind called... they went. Where the oceans were deep, they thrived. Some could tame beasts, others could break boulders, some could hunt undetected and some very rare souls could shatter earth. Directed in the wrong direction, they brought about disasters and wars.

For some reason most of the Interprids wore glasses. The stereotypical, short, white-coated humans with spectacles. Kept their heads down and threw themselves into the lifelong pursuit for knowledge. Their ability to see things that no one else will notice made them valuable allies... sometimes valuable spies. They were made up of the majority of the population and lived everywhere. They were made up of some of the most intelligent beings and brought chaos with them if provoked.

The girl next door could communicate with flora. She could bring back the dead plants to life, she could make the flowers bloom and the birds sing again. The Interprids were looked down on but without them, the city would fall and the society as we know it would perish. Some could make water out of thin air... an ability that was primarily used by explorers. They were scientists, bakers, writers, teachers, cooks, plumbers etc. etc. Yet they were ignored.

Ageas, Cavaliers and Interprids. If there was ever a time when humans existed without abilities, no one knew when. But the only thing that they all knew was a human cannot live without his/ her abilities. Historians say that sometimes aeons ego, there could’ve been people who were normal. Children who were born normal.

None of those survived.

Or this could be nothing other than conspiracy theories and fables made up by some crazy old man.

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The click-clack of the shoes could be heard resonating off the metal walls. The walk was sharp and with purpose. Something was being dragged along the floor... by someone. Some definitely heavy, the steps of the person dragging the heavy load was slow. But the gait of the woman stayed even and quick. The smell was getting stronger by the day and he could not determine what it was...

Was it sulphur?

He had lost track of the days and the nights. The days passed by slowly in confinement with nothing to do. The first few days he had screamed until his throat felt raw. The next few days he had cried, begged and apologised for reasons he didn’t even know, only in the hopes that they would release him. They fed him regularly and he was given bathroom privileges,, but he was not given any liberty of bathing or cleaning himself. He had two guards following him around every time they let him out for bathroom privileges.

It was dehumanising to be in bare minimum conditions humanly possible. He had felt humiliated and stripped off of his dignity.

The worst part of it all was the waiting. He was hoping for physical torture or even murder. But none of that happened. They put him in a cage, in a hole somewhere and let him do things to himself. They waited for him to break by doing absolutely nothing… No one spoke to him, not even the guards. He knows that he would break. And soon. He would give them anything and everything now.

That’s when he heard the noise that would haunt him forever.

The click-clack was distinct. It definitely sounded like a person’s steps but they were not boots. Distinct… it was decisive but not haphazard. Quick but not hurried. The sharp tone of the sound sent chills up his spine and made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. A familiar mammalian response to danger.

There are times when your eyes do not see danger or when you do not know that you are in danger. But the human brain, being such a fascinating organ, senses fears in ways that the conscious being does not understand. It stars in the head and spreads to the body. Your pupils dilate, heart rate and pressure increase, adrenaline shoots up and your breathing accelerates. Your body goes on auto-drive mode to fight or flight. Flight response won in his case.

He hurriedly backed into the corner of his meagre cell and held his breath.

The heavy creaking of the food felt like nails on a chalkboard. It rattled his already sensitive nerves and pulled his palms up to cover his ears. He kept his eyes wide open to see who it was.