I was a little surprised to see my mother as I entered the cell. Usually, she would be gone off to the commons area by the time I get back. But I suppose it does make a little sense, I am back a whole heck of a lot earlier after all. She looks rather surprised to see me as well.

[Well, you certainly are back early,] she said, but something was off. She seemed a little fidgety for some reason. [Finished the slave training early today I see,] she said, sounding like she was trying to sound more confident in what she was saying that she was actually feeling.

[Slave training?] I replied, the question and confusion in my voice obvious, and this caused her to glare at me with displeasure.

[Hmph. I guess the guards haven't told you about that while they were giving you the rest of your lessons then,] she scoffed. [Yes, gnomes like you are raised as slaves for the church. That is the entire purpose of the gnome rituals and training program. Even though it's the role of criminals to give birth to you, the ability of the elves to give birth to gnomes is the entire reason why we are given the position we have within the demon races.]

[You are an entire race of slaves. Elite high-class slaves, but slaves none the less. You are powerful, Terlu, so I imagine you will be given power and authority, but you will have no choice but to live the life that is chosen for you by others. The authority you will be given will be authority to carry out the will of the high priest. Nothing more and nothing less.]

Slaves with authority? I mean, I had heard a little about that sort of thing. There were systems of slavery in the past, like Joseph in the bible who was sold into Egyptian slavery by his brothers and got given authority to essentially run things at the Pharaoh's palace. Maybe they have something like that going on in this world here?

But, still, slaves? We are an entire race of slaves? I don't really know what to even do with this information my mother just dropped on me. First off, is what she's saying even right?

[Well then, did something happen?] my mother asked. [You are back early, and I overheard there was someone here to see you today.]

[Umm... Ehdust said she was an acolyte from the church,] I told her as I considered what this meant with the information my mother just told me. If that lady is an acolyte, it would also mean she's a slave working directly for the church like mother just said, right? I thought I was starting to understand how things worked down here, but everything just got a whole hell of a lot more complicated with this information.

[So, what did she want?] mother asked.

[Umm... she said something about me starting the program early. Ehdust says they will probably send someone for me by tomorrow,] I told her.

[What?!] she shouts and looks at me like a deer caught in the headlights. [Seriously?!] she says and begins pacing the room. [Damn it! That's way too soon!] she mutters as she starts making ovoid circles around the moderately sized cell.

This is the first time I'd ever seen her like this. In fact, normally she's rather hostile to me. I'd half expected her to be happy I was going to be leaving and getting out of her hair. But, contrary to my expectations, she seemed somehow... I don't know, I guess upset would be the best word, but I couldn't identify the exact flavor of upset that she was. It sorta seemed like she was afraid for some reason.

After pacing the room with the nervous fear practically radiating off her body, she suddenly gets a very serious look on her face and marches right up to me and kneels down to look me dead in the eye.

[Listen Terlu,] she says, [you need to be very obedient to those in superior position to you, do you understand?] she asks. [The church has a ritual that is used to rob a gnome of free will. It will cause you to become incapable of disobeying the order of anyone with authority over you. If they don't think you will be obedient, they will use this ritual to place you under this curse. you do not want this, right?]

WHAT?! They have something like that? Can such a thing seriously exist? This is a magic world, but still, that sort of thing exists?

[Uhh... no...] I say. That's about all I can manage to get out, just that confused squeak of an answer after having been hit by one bombshell after then ext by my mother.

[Well then, just don't give them any reason to think you will be disobedient,] she said. [The ritual is not easy to do. They will not use it if they think you are obedient anyway. So, don't give them a reason to use it. Just do everything they say, do you understand me?] She grabs onto my shoulders and squeezes as she looks intensely into my eyes while she finishes up her sentence with all the fervor of an insane woman.

In the face of such intensity, all I can do is just nod my head and let out a feeble little [uhh... yeah] in response.

She continues to stare at me with a great deal of intensity. I've never seen her like this in my entire life. She's always been distant and cold to me, but it seems like the moment she heard I was going to join what they referred to as "the program," she just suddenly became an entirely different person.

I couldn't take the intensity and looked down to the side. As though that were some kind of signal, she stood up to her full height and the distance seemed to make me feel the pressure of her gaze a little less, even though she was still staring down at me, and she let out a sigh.

[Well, I do hope you understand, Terlu,] she said. [You have always been smart and done what adults tell you to do, huh? Well, just keep doing that and you'll be fine. No matter what, you have to stay obedient. Don't let them suspect you won't cooperate with them. You do not want them to use that ritual, do you understand? You have to remember this, Terlu!]

[Y... yeah! I know,] I reply.

Seriously, what happened to my mother? This is all so unusual for her. It seems almost like... she's actually suddenly worried about me. I was sure she only saw me as some kind of massive eyesore all my life, but I guess it's not really possible for a mother to simply not care about their own child at all.

But, still. Always doing what adults tell me? What bullshit. Maybe in this life, but before when I lived on Earth I'm pretty sure I was quite the handfull. The only reason I mind myself in this world is because it was pretty clear it would be stupid to defy authority here. these guys really mean business.

Fantastic. Going by how the guards have been treating me, I'd really thought maybe I would have a chance to cut loose sometime soon here when they released me from this camp, but it sounds like it's only going to get worse.

***

It didn't wind up taking very long for the people coming to get me to make their arrangements. In fact, it was the very next day I was woken up and told by Ehdust that someone from the program had come to get me.

I wondered for a moment if maybe I should bring the stone slab I routinely use as a bed/toy box, but I figure there will be a number of stones readily available for me to manipulate as I please wherever I'm going. It's supposed to be a training program, after all.

All that leaves left is my mother then. I look over to her, hesitating to leave the room. What exactly is going to happen with her after I leave? I've never really had a good relationship with her. That concern she showed for me last night was the first time she'd ever really shown me anything that could be considered positive emotion.

She never hurt me, of course. But then, I have often wondered if the only reason for that is because the guards here consider me the "product" and her just expendable. I imagine she'd be harshly punished by the guards if she ever raised a hand to me. So, instead, she'd always been cold. But still, she is my mother. After seeing she did have some bare hint of something that looked like love for me, it made me wonder what could happen if we had more time together. Why does it have to only be when I'm leaving that she cracks that harsh shell of hers?

Noticing my gaze, my mother glares up at me. [What are you looking at?] she snaps. [Don't leave the overseer waiting. Get out into the hall and greet them.]

Her gaze had a stern fire in it, but I could feel the barest scraps of concern in it. It was the glare of a disciplinarian, one who is trying to get a child to take the course of action that will help them avoid trouble in life. She is telling me to do what is best considering my current situation.

I gulp and nod at her, then step out into the hall. Waiting for me there is a young looking gnome man. It is hard to gauge gnome ages, considering our full adult height is about the same as that of a ten year old human child, but the guards here show it's very easy to tell one is an adult when they hit their middle age years.

This man seemed younger than that though, I could not tell if he was a teen or someone in his twenties, or at least the gnome equivalent to those ages. I have no idea how long my race lives or how slowly they age. He had what would be considered full adult height for a gnome, but he looked for all the world like he could easily pass for said human ten year old if someone unfamiliar with gnomes were to look at him.

He was wearing a red hat and red vest, but the hat looked to be of considerably better design than those of the guards. The vest, meanwhile, seemed to be of lower quality and made with less material than the woman who had come here to test me. It is my understanding that, among gnomes, the amount of red you wear and how well made said red material is serves as some kind if indicator of your social status.

The red material the gnomes wear is apparently woven from some kind of special material that boosts magical power, and it takes some work to procure the material, so it is given out sparingly and only to those who have proven their worth.

[Overseer, this is Terlu,] Ehdust introduces me with a slight nodding bow of his head that he never fully raises from, keeping his eyes on the ground with hunched shoulders as he steps back and away, gesturing toward me in a presenting manner.

[So, this is the kid, is he?] the young man says and sighs. [Well, all the formalities are in place now. I guess we can just leave. Common kid,] he says and then approaches me before suddenly stopping half way and looking down the hall toward the nearest guards.

[Hey! You all! Relinquish your hold on the area. We'll be heading for the gnome area straight from here!] he yelled, and then resumed his approach.

Straight from here? He doesn't seriously mean... straight through the floor?

I could already sense the shift in the earth mana below me, and as soon as the man had a hold on my shoulder the stones started shifting away below my feet. Without the slightest bit of ceremony, I was suddenly leaving the place I'd spent this entire second life since my rebirth, not even a full minute after meeting the guy who was taking me away.