What is one without a purpose? Barer than bare, poorer than poor. We have a purpose once. We just ignored it to being forgotten. Oh what a great sin we did.

Crystal had heard of a tale obscured to a rumor. Spoken in hushed tones and bowed heads, the tale was never discussed in public yet every ear knows of it. It was a tale of the Grand Consul's breach of duty.

Depending in whose perspective, Shadow was either dragging or leading her. She was being forced and this was an abduction but they walked the streets in normal paces. Her body had blurred and so was Shadow's. They were unseen through unmindful eyes as if part of the darkness.

"Your gift," Shadow said. "Powerful. It is powerful. Air, iron, graphite. What else? Ah we did see you produce gold five cycles ago." He puffed a chuckle. "Be careful with that. You may end up toppling the economy. Human economy anyway."

They've been watching her. And so her undesired encounter with the Sentinel earlier was not the moment they discovered her being a Deviant.

"Highness please..."

"Highness?" Shadow bent a look at her. He was old yet had a face still brimming of confidence. "No, Crystal. I am not a Councilor anymore. And I have severed every connection I have with that man on top of the tower. Address me as sire as what the humans do."

"Sire..." She forced despite her trembling mouth. "I will keep this a secret. Let me go. I will quit the Council and live a normal life. Yes, like one of those wandering Gifteds. Please."

"She is afraid sire." The Sentinel said, walking beside them.

"An insightful assessment Breeze. Yes. Wonderful. Of course she is. We abducted her and you were too rough earlier." Shadow caned the Sentinel lightly on the head. "And you've been drooling over her. Remember that I can see your sticky looks."

"She's a pretty thing."

"Fiddle my thoughts with your shallow reasons one more time." Shadow nudged the Sentinel's arm with his cane. "Do it. Try my patience."

"Alright sire. Won't happen again."

A patrol of Sentinels presented to their front after turning a corner. The empty street was filled only with the heavy thumps of their boots. Four, Crystal counted. All armored an spears prepared.

"You are going to scream right?" Shadow sighed. "And run. I don't consider it to be a good idea."

The Sentinels neared. Two against four would be a tilting disadvantage for Shadow and the lecher. And Shadow's gift didn't seem to be as useful as the Sentinels' in a fight. Crystal prepared, every step closer sped her heartbeat.

"Help me!" She struggled from Shadow's grasp. Thankfully Shadow let go of her. Bending forward, she ran.

"Help!" She reached the Sentinels, hands tied behind and gift muffled. The Sentinels were quick to grab her and present spears. Their eyes glowed silver as their gifts of strength and speed showed.

She huddled behind. A battle loomed. Shadow and Breeze were still hidden. Perhaps they had given up? No. Impossible thoughts swayed her from sense. Shadow was not known to give up.

The blurry figure of two men showed a few paces to the front. They strode, calmly, boots soft on the street. Shadow was smiling.

The four Sentinels upped their spears. They balled their hands onto their chests.

"Pleasant evening boys." Shadow said.

"Pleasant evening Shadow," said one of the Sentinels. He looked at Crystal and then back at Shadow. "She's the Deviant? She's young sire."

"And pretty" Breeze winked at her.

No. Crystal stepped back. These Sentinels... No.

"I did tell you shouting wouldn't be a good idea." Shadow gripped her arm again. Their figures became akin to smoke. They resumed the walk with the four Sentinels following them now. Crystal had lost hope if she even had it in the first place.

"What do you want from me?" She asked, voice squeaky to fear.

"We want you to join us. The Resistance desires you."

"Fine. I will join you."

"Lie. You are not thinking about joining us. You just want to escape."

"No sire. I actually have grown to love your ideals. The Resistance. We must topple the Grand Consul so that we can be free."

Shadow's subsequent chuckle was repeated by the Sentinels.

"She is young. Forgive her." Shadow said.

"Oh I have forgiven her already." Breeze added.

"So" Shadow ruffled her hair. "Young woman, according to your words, you have grown in agreement with the ideals of the Resistance. Might you be kind to remind us what these ideals are?"

"Freedom. For the Grand Consul oppresses. And justice. Because he led an attack against the humans. He must pay for his crimes."

"Oh no she's beginning to bland into sounding like one of those actors in plays." Shadow ruffled her hair again. "No matter. You are are correct. Freedom and justice. But I can recognize your hollow tone. You neither care about freedom nor justice. You only care about power. Strength."

Crystal's fear was shrouded in irritation. Shadow seemed to talk too casually about her as if he knew. As if he understood.

He doesn't. What did he do anyway? He fled and joined forces with the humans. A traitor. Once he was the Grand Consul's sin, a reminder that even the Grand Consul errs. Despite being a Deviant, Shadow was raised by the Grand Consul as a son. Other Deviants were executed after birth. But Shadow? No. He lived a pleasant life. And yet he ran and betrayed their kind.

He doesn't know anything. He doesn't know how difficult it was hiding being a Deviant, how one small mistake would reveal her true gift. Crystal spent most nights worrying whether Sentinels would just suddenly burst into her room and take her wherever they take Deviants. To the grave probably.

"Only power is true sire. Freedom? I would rather live in shackles rather than not living at all. Justice? Fool's talk. Justice is revenge in a kinder form."

"Maybe because you have never tasted true freedom and justice at all. Tell me Crystal, have you felt wind against your face? Have you bathed in sunlight too pleasant for words? Have you seen the stars, the moon, the wide world outside the constraints of this mountain?"

"Poisons for the mind sire. You talk of the outside world as if it is a perfect place. I will not speak about its perfection for I know nothing about it." She looked around, the rock structures meeting her with familiarity. "But this is my world. Ninev. Where the top is not what you call the sky. Where the light comes not from the thing you call the sun. You aim to persuade me with sweet promises. But my opinion remains that freedom is a distraction. Justice, even more so."

They turned an alley and slipped past a broken wall. A crawl later and they were in a ruined building. Rubble heaped on what was the structure's first story. Many structures in Ninev suffered the same rubbling, some due to age while other because of the Resistance's sabotage.

The tall structures surrounding the ruin hid the broken rocks. Crystal didn't even expect seeing a ruin here. Shadow let go of her arm though it was too late to run now. Too dangerous, as her eyes scanned the Sentinels.

Shadow cleared an area of stones. Beneath was what seemed to be a passage on the ground. He pulled the cover and the whole passage was revealed.

They went down. The stony stairs were smooth. Lamps illuminated their long descent. The path broke into several directions and it felt like a maze. It was indeed a maze.

"I bet you are committing the way down to your memory." Shadow said.

"As what a captive should do."

"You are not our captive Crystal. A guest."

"A guest tied and stripped of use of gift?"

"A dangerous guest. You must understand that your gift is lethal."

The stairs ended in a wooden door after descending for a long time. Crystal could barely believe that a tunnel system as complex as this rested below Ninev.

Shadow tapped his cane on the door, the rhythm was apparently a code. An aged man opened. His silky robe dropped to his ankles. On his neck hung a necklace not of the red stone but of gold.

"She's a Deviant?"

"And apparently a Councilor. She got the position today." Shadow nudged her inside. The room, or rather hall, was gigantic. The ceiling was a dome three stories high, paned with glasses. Round tables draped with red cloths arranged in one side, seats carved from wood prepared around them. The floor itself was also made of slick wood planks. Crystal had never seen such an amount of wood in one place.

It smelled nice, something sweet and juicy wafted in her nose. She guessed it was the candles in the glass chandeliers. As if drawn to beauty, she walk deeper. There were drawings hung on the side with colors she didn't knew existed. The things in there were strange. Crystal stopped and stared at one of the drawings.

"The battle of Khirman Plains." Shadow said. "It was the last battle between Wismar and the Union. I was there that day. You see those men?" He pointed at men on top of beasts bearing spears. "The charge of the Rooster Legion broke the Wismarines."

"And those spiky things below are weapons?"

"Grasses. Hardly a weapon though they can be irritating sometimes. They cover a large portion of the land outside, growing without stop. Horses, goats and other beasts devour them though thank the Omniscient for that."

"Horses?"

"Those beasts the men are riding. They are like our beasts though they are different. More... well, horsey."

"So these horses eat food readily growing from the ground? Forgive my doubts but that is absurd."

"Right? I also thought so. How can they be so blessed? We struggle growing our food but their food just sprouts from the ground like nothing."

Crystal caressed the drawing. It was rough to her fingers and not painted with charcoal but with some thick substance. "I know what you are doing. Showing me this grandness. Grasses. Horses. Everything here. Are these things supposed to entice me in turning into a traitor too?"

"The tongue has sharpened I see."

"Seeing that my lies wouldn't get past your learned ears, I think honesty would be best."

Shadow led her to a table where that robed man sat beside. The Sentinels remained outside and she wondered if she could threaten the two old men.

Crystal abandoned the thought. That wouldn't be wise. Shadow was not a fool to lower his guard. There must be a trap somewhere.

"This is Escanor" Shadow introduced the man in robe, patting Escanor's back.

"A commoner's name." Crystal said.

"A human's name. Escanor is not one of us. But his elusiveness in a gift enough." Shadow said.

Escanor opened his palm to her. There were rings in each of his fingers, all made of gold. "Shake my hand."

"Shake your hand?"

"A custom we have. I can see how this seems odd to you. But it is a form of courtesy."

If only I am here for courtesy. And my hands are tied. Would they risk letting me go for the sake of some strange custom?

The bite of the string on her wrist loosened. She looked back and Shadow had cut her loose. Crystal blinked a few times before realizing that she can now use her gift.

She jumped away and aimed both palms toward Escanor and Shadow. The smoke coiled and turned into iron spikes. They hovered in the air, listening to her will. A single command would propel the spikes toward the two.

"Let me out" Crystal demanded, easing back. "Let me out or these spikes would tatter your bodies."

Escanor leaned back. "I told you this would happen Shadow."

Shadow slung his foot on the table. He removed his hat, laying it gently. He pointed his cane at her. "Now that is bad manners Crystal. Bad manners. We invite you into this lovely place and you bare your gift against us."

"Please. I just want to go back."

Shadow snapped his finger. Slowly, figures of people appeared all of a sudden. They wore strange outfits. The females were in long blooming skirts of colors and the males were in buttoned coats. They were chatting, eating. Some were dancing with the music. Music. Crystal looked beyond the open space where the people danced. Instruments of strings were being played. The music was delicate- refined- unlike the music she knew.

Everyone disregarded the three of them as if they were air. As if this was a dream. Crystal flinched when a dancing couple passed through her as if she was smoke. Coldness crept to Crystal's spine. Dreamweaver. This is a Dreamweaver's gift. The tunnel, the Sentinels, the paintings, this hall- all lies. Deceits.

She sat back. Strangely she was calmer now. "Since when?"

"Since that alley. Breeze didn't knock you out. It was a Dreamweaver's dust." Shadow said.

"Let me out."

"Soon. Dusts cannot last forever. And we need to talk first."

"What do you want from me? Really?" Her head drooped. "I am a Deviant, yes I admit that. But I cannot help you. I am not even a Councilor yet."

Shadow spread his arms, cane held by his right. "You know what this is Crystal? This is a memory. Mine. This place is the Grand Hall of Holm and this happening right now is a ball. The humans have too much that we don't and I want our people to experience this too. There are too many things our people lack, too much beauty missed. I want to rescue them from ignorance, from darkness, from the shadows."

"Many have dreamed of that. But the Grand Consul is too powerful. He controls everything. The only way to live is to follow his rules. What do you want me to do anyway?"

"Information." Shadow slid a red stone on the table. "The red stone mines had long been an area we lack information about. You are to become Marble's assistant. We want you to be our eyes."

"Execution awaits me if I do that."

"Execution awaits you if you don't. Your secret of being a Deviant means death. Once my father had been lenient toward me but he doesn't look kindly on Deviants now. Only we know about your secret and one word from us would reveal it. You mean to attain rank but even of you become one of the Fifteen, it wouldn't matter. The Grand Consul would execute you anyway."

Perfect. She was doomed. Trapped. They had her. Her dream of pulling herself on top of the Council was now shattered. She was to become a traitor. It was not that loyalty is pulling her down. She didn't fancy being loyal to anything except to herself. But being a part of the Resistance was an ugly situation, far more dangerous than what she was comfortable with. Nevertheless her being a Deviant, as what Shadow said, meant certain death.

"Nod if you agree." Shadow said as cover to her silence.

Crystal nodded weakly. "I will be your little spy."

"Don't look so gloomy. You will not get caught. Breeze will be guarding you from harm. Always."

"Or watching me."

"True. We can't have you betraying us or lazing around or lying."

"I agreed. You should at least let me out of here now."

"Before that..." Escanor slid a book on her side of the table. The dark cover was etched with marks unfamiliar to her. "The monarchs of the Union want you to have this. A present. You'll find a physical copy once you've awaken from this dream."

Crystal flipped the cover. The language was strange. "I can't read human language." She slid the book back.

"We have similar language and writing. Both written and verbal." Escanor paused. "Strangely. Anyway, this is a journal of someone named Ashkara. One of your kind. The monarchs of the Union have been trying to translate it for two decades. And so we are providing a copy to every member of the Resistance."

Great. A membership badge. Just great.

Crystal let the journal sat atop the table. "What else?"

"We are finished actually." Shadow said. "You want to wake up or would you like to stay here a little longer?"

The place seemed nice. She cannot blame Shadow for wishing that one day the Ninevans would experience the splendid world outside. Watching handsome men in fine clothes and beautiful women in dresses dance, chat and eat- the bleakness of Ninev was highlighted.

But whatever Ninev is, was her world. Here the Grand Consul reigned supreme. The Resistance were fools for thinking that they could stand against the Council. Soon they would all die and she with them.

No. She wouldn't die. She would find a way like always. And this beauty Shadow has shown her was a distraction.

"Return me." Crystal said. "Now"

Shadow smiled and Shadow snapped. Everything was dark until she opened her eyes. She was back in that dark alley again, slumped on the side.

Was it all a dream? Did she just slipped and hit her head? She hoped that was the case.

But the book on her lap told of a different story. Crystal rested her head. It had been a tiring day.