prologue

SOPHIE STARED UP AT THE HUGE STAGE, watching the Councillors while wringing her hands so tightly that her skin was becoming ghostly white. The Councillors looked to be about as stressed and nervous as she was - and it was only worrying her more.

It had only been a couple of weeks since the Neverseen had declared war on the Lost Cities and things were starting to amp up quickly. Too quickly. Even Sophie was worried. The Councillors were (obviously), too.

At first they'd tried to ignore the fact that they'd been threatened with the acts of war. They told people there was nothing to worry about and that, just a precaution, everyone should stay in their homes until further notice. Sophie wasn't buying the whole "we're fine" act and was majorly concerned. Her eyelashes suffered those couple of weeks.

Then, one day, they got a scroll at their door telling them there was to be an announcement in Eternlia. Sophie knew right then and there that something was up. She expected the Councillors to keep it secret, but all was answered when she found another scroll waiting the following morning.

And her heart leapt into her throat with the delivered news.

The Neverseen had killed someone.

Murdered.

Granted, Sophie hadn't personally known the person. But she still felt the presence of stinging, salty tears in her eyes.

They slaughtered a five-year-old girl, for heavens sake.

Squished in between the immense amount of elves, she grew paranoid and hot and sticky, continuously tearing out her eyelashes mercilessly. When she finally got a hold of herself and was terrified she had no more eyelashes, she settled for chewing on the tips of her fingernails.

Her heart studded to a complete stop temporarily for a split second when the Councillors - in their regal garb - strode gracefully forward on the stage, their bodyguards right beside them. Emery held up his hands silencing the buzz of the crowd. Finally, it quieted to a point where it didn't sound like they were all trapped in a hornets nest.

Emery rambled on abut thanking everyone for coming at such a stressful time, but that there was no reason to be concerned.

Sophie had to snort to herself at that - a child had just been. . . She couldn't even bear to finish the horrible thought. She couldn't even compare to what the parents were feeling, she sickeningly realized.

Emery gave his greatest condolences to the family who lost their little girl and Sophie felt like she was going to throw up when she heard the mother sobbing so much that the husband had to escort her gently away from the crowd of staring people. He was whispering things in her ear, at least from what Sophie could she. And the woman continued to nod back but still, she wept.

Sophie averted her misty eyes from the heart-wrenching scene, not wanting to put more pressure on the young couple than they had. They were going through a loss right now and the last thing they needed was one more elf - even out of the thousands or millions of others - staring at them. Emery called the attention back to him and once he had every pair of blue eyes (and one brown) in the packed square, he cleared his throat.

"And let us continue on to the final announcement." He paused as if he were adding a dramatic effect, but all it did was make Sophie's insides squirm and her eyebrows furrow angrily. She rubbed the knot of enraged emotions under her rib, wondering if it would be okay for her to inflict on a Councilor just to get him to spit out the words. "We have come to the final decision that we will be regrouping and. . . in the simplest form of words, 'fanning out'."

The crowd began to roar with conversations and worried questions, all wondering what they meant. Emery kept his patience in-tact and waited for the deafening noise to calm down. "We will be splitting you all into groups and for safety, separating you all to separate cities.' The crowd began to start shooting and yelling things Sophie couldn't understand, because all she knew was that it was rambunctious and thundering. Her eardrums were in pain. Emery decided to just shout above the protests. "We understand your concern, but we urge you to listen! Your city groups will be decided by a form of testing, consisting of the same test the Waywards of Exillium had to endure."

Sophie cringed, remembering the Arch of Dividing.

"However, the test will not be exactly the same and will be given in a more efficient way that does not consist of you hanging upside down." He smiled lightly as he said it, like he expected people to laugh. "Those who have already endured the Arch of Dividing and were given a hemisphere, you do not have to participate in this, for you have already been sectioned off." Sophie released the breath she'd been holding, glad to not have to go through that – or even something similar – again.

"There will be four cities – the Ambi District, the Left Region, the Right Sector, and the Talentless Quarter."

Sophie's brows furrowed and the crowd seemed displeased as well. First of all, she'd be away from all her friends and quite possibly her parents, and that didn't really run in her list of Things I Look Forward To Being Forced To Participate In.

Emery continued without care of the blaring, heavy shouting. "Four Councilors will be assigned to each city. This is mandatory, so I resist you not struggle."

With that declaration, the Councilors appeared to be done, as they turned and began filing off the stage. Sophie jumped up. "WAIT!" she screamed, much to her surprise. She turned red when a multitude of elves turned and looked at her.

She pushed through the crowd to the stage, surprised when the Councilors paused to listen. She had to catch her breath before she asked, "Why?"

Emery nodded slowly and raised his hands, silencing the crowd. His voice boomed as he requested, "Could you repeat that?"

She knew somewhere in the crowd her friends were gawking at her. "W-Why?" she repeated, slightly louder.

Emery paced a little on the stage as he replied, "We believe that it will be safer this way. The Neverseen won't be able to accomplish anything such as a mass murdering or even a fire that would kill thousands. This way we will be sectored off and less easy to-"

"So we let them kill us off one by one?" Sophie screeched, blushing harder when she came to the realization she had just blabbered that.

A couple people in the audience agreed.

"No."

"Then what?!" another person asked.

Emery's eyes flashed to the rest of the Councilors before he turned back to the audience. His mouth opened several times before he simply said, "Testing will be held tomorrow throughout the day in any open building. You will be sectioned off and moved to your city by the weekend."

(A/N:) Just... no