Kazerus took Timo back to the sharecropper longhouse, where the slaves reside. The house is one elongated room, ceiling beams curved, and walls packed with sticks like a beaver dam. The center has an old hearth that is rarely cleaned, polluting the lodge with smoke and dust. Outside the house, the constant foot traffic renders the dirt bare, and leftover tools and firepits litter the premises.

That morning, Timo got whipped as an example to the others.

The next day, Larko The Jerk lit a section of the pumpkins on fire as a 'welcome back' gift. Timo drained water from another quadrant to quench it, killing off nascent corn stalks. But even though he doesn't use fire magic, he's the troublemaker and took the blame. Whipped for going missing, and whipped for trying to save the farm. He should've broken Larko's leg and left him burning in his own hell.

Finally, on a morning with no major incidents, Timo catches the supervisor, tugging on the sleeve. Before they head out to the beanfields, he asks, "Can I work for the butchers?"

Harcus scoffs. "No."

"Why not?"

"You’re assigned to my jurisdiction. Besides, you’re too young, and I will not tolerate deviant excuses." If an adult is unable to handle a mere 9-year-old, how would that look to the bossman?

Running away as usual, Timo hid in the wheat fields, pretending to be the Lead Architect of the Imperial Court, tasked to make an amazing maze for the citizens. He mowed a path, discovering a litter of wild piglets. The hog mother leapt into the air and snorted, commanding her piglets to disperse into the golden prairie.

The family got away except for one wobbly runt. Its clumsy movement excited him, and he reached over and plucked the piglet off the ground. It squealed louder and struggled to pry out of Timo's hand. Its precious fate was his.

He could go back to the others and show them the piglet. It was very cute, after all. Then he remembered, he overheard a group of farmers who always talked about exterminating hogs, as they were pests that ate crops.

Who were the pests in his life? All the stupid kids, like Lazy-Weed, who didn't understand the idea of mutual cooperation. Why was he always singled out?

He looked at the piglet. Should he show mercy? What is mercy?

If he released it now, the mother would reject it for wielding the scent of the enemy. It would be abandoned for being a liability to the family. What more cruelty was there than to let it die lonely?

Using both hands, Timo twisted the head and the body, wringing the piglet. Bruises formed all over the runt's torso. He held it until it became very still, then threw the corpse into the ground, and he rubbed the blood off his hands with soil and friction.

He went back to the others. Larko and the boys were working on breaking an empty lot. With their hoes, they drew giant military diagrams of imaginary battles, sowing seeds at the hard, endless dirt. They threw seed bullets at each other, going, "You’ve been hit with a critical shot! Your arm falls off!" Someone would retort, "My anti-focus barrier nullifies it!"

When they saw Timo, they sprayed the seeds at him, saying things like, "Sorcerer!" and "Dirtsucker!" Before Timo could breathe a word, everyone put up faces of disgust and ran away.

What's wrong with these kids? They gobble scraps of steak like starving coyotes, and lick gravy off their fingers. No one is innocent from the cycle of destruction.