Anandriel wiped the last of the dust from his face with the back of his hand and stood still, waiting for the boy to answer. The boy, stood frozen, staring at him in horror.
"You... you're a Stoneless," Nurdi whispered, his voice trembling.
"What?" Anandriel frowned, confused. "What does that even mean?"
But the boy didn't respond. His eyes widened further, and suddenly, he screamed, "Stoneless! Stoneless! Stoneless!" His voice echoed through the quiet night, the sound cutting through the empty streets. Before Anandriel could react, the boy turned and ran toward the cave they'd just escaped from, his small legs moving as fast as they could carry him while still shouting "Stoneless".
"Hey!" Anandriel shouted after him, but the boy was already running back towards the cave.
From the cave entrance, the guards emerged, drawn by the boy's shouts. As soon as they caught sight of Anandriel face, they stopped dead in their tracks. The fear in their eyes was unmistakable. Without a word, they turned and bolted back into the cave, just as quickly as the boy while also screaming "Stoneless".
Anandriel stood alone in the dim light, utterly confused.
He quickly ran after the boy, catching up to him near the edge of the cave entrance. The boy had stopped, crouching behind a rock, trembling. Before he could try running again, Anandriel grabbed his arm, pulling him up.
"Calm down," he said firmly. "What's a Stoneless? Why are you acting like this?"
The boy struggled for a moment, but when he realized Anandriel wasn't going to hurt him, he stopped and slumped against the rock, panting. His wide eyes darted between the cave and Anandriel.
"Stoneless..." the boy whispered, still trying to catch his breath. "You are not born of stone."
"Not born of stone? What do you mean by that?" Anandriel asked in frustration. He was getting of all the cryptic answers.
He pointed shakily at Anandriel's face. "Your skin... you are not of stone"
Anandriel blinked and glanced down at himself. The boy reply confused him, what's with this people and stone? The dust from the mine had coated his skin when he first woke up in this strange world, but now, after cleaning off at the well, the grey dust was gone, revealing his rosy complexion. He realized now that they must have mistaken him for one of their own when his skin was covered in grey dust from the mine and the dim light in the mine. He had thought that it was the reason he was called an outcast.
He let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his white hair. "That damnable system didn't tell me anything," he muttered angrily under his breath, cursing the vague instructions it had given him before. "All it said was to find some Karmic Manual in Torrhen Archive"
The boy, still shaken, looked up. "Torrhen Archive?"
"Torrhen Archive, you know the place?"
The boy nodded quickly. "Yes... it's one of the Scholar Library, the place where knowledge of Vel'Kora is stored."
Anandriel glanced back toward the city, his mind racing. He was starting to piece things together now. The system had thrown him into this world, and these Velkorans seemed to think he was something called a Stoneless. And from the way everyone was reacting, the Stoneless were clearly feared.
"Why are the Stoneless so dangerous?" Anandriel asked, looking at the boy.
He hesitated before answering, his voice hushed. "The warriors and scholars say the Stoneless destroyed the ninth caste."
Anandriel's frown deepened. "The ninth caste?"
The boy nodded. "There used to be nine castes in Vel'Kora, the ninth caste was the most powerful. They could sing to the stones and control them. They were the shaman caste, but the Stoneless destroyed the shamans hundreds of years ago."
Anandriel let out a long breath, trying to process this. "This Stoneless destroyed people?"
"Yes," The boy whispered his eyes wide with fear as he almost started running again. "The scholars said the shamans were the bridge between the people and the Stone Mother. They could do things no one else could. But after the Stoneless came, everything changed."
Anandriel's thoughts were spinning. He had no idea what the system had thrown him into, he had thought that he would just appear in a place filled with books, find the one he was looking for, and then he would be transported back to his world, but this world and his situation was far more complex than he'd realized.
Shaking off the overwhelming thoughts, he turned back to the boy. "What's your name?"
The boy blinked, surprised by the question. "Nurdi."
Anandriel nodded. "Nurdi, can you tell me more about this world?"
Nurdi hesitated for a moment but then nodded. He was calmer now, though his fear hadn't completely faded. "Stone mother!" The boy exclaimed "It's really true, you Stoneless are truly from another world."
"We are born from the Mother Stone; the great stone in the sky" the boy said as he cupped his hands towards the sky.
Anandriel looked up at the sky, what he thought was a moon in the dark night was actually a big great stone that was emitting a pale light; it was just like a bigger version of the stone been mined.
So, it seemed that this world society and the people seemed to revolve around the Mother Stone, and their belief in being born from it.His earlier thoughts that he'd somehow been transported to another side of A'naim now seemed foolish; his was a totally different place.
Once again, Anandriel wondered what kind of power had brought him here. What kind of artifact could transport someone from one world to another? This situation made him to remember his dream of clans who send their disciples and family to train and get resources from other worlds. For the first time, he began to believe that the dreams he usually have wasn't just a dream and that it must be real.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized how little he understood the system. It was clear he needed to be cautious, to figure out its motives before trusting it completely.
Nurdi, oblivious to Anandriel's internal turmoil, continued speaking. "there are eight caste based on your birth, skill and even physical appearance. Once you enter a caste it is very rare to change your caste. Your caste is chosen at the becoming ceremony at the age of ten. I am from the scholar caste…at least I was" the boy concluded sadly.
The Warrior Caste, known as the Stone Guardians, is perhaps the most revered among us. These individuals are often larger, stronger, and agile than the rest of us. Their stature is not merely a coincidence; it is believed they are favored by the Stone Mother herself." Nurdi continued as his eyes shined with reverence for the stone mother "Warriors are tasked with protecting our lands and upholding our traditions. They carry the honor of our people on their broad shoulders."
"Then there are the Scholars, they are the knowledge keepers," he said, his tone shifting to one of admiration. "While all Velkorans are intelligent in their own right, Scholars stand apart with their exceptional wisdom and insight. They guide us in matters of knowledge and philosophy, often engaging in spirited debates with the Warriors over who is more favored by stone mother."
Nurdi leaned closer, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret. "You see, there is an ongoing tension between these two castes. The Warriors seek supremacy through strength, while the Scholars argue that true power lies in knowledge.
Next, he introduced the Merchant Caste, known as the Tradeweavers. It is said that they are more powerful than both the scholar and warrior caste, because of their wealth, connections and favors which they are owed. They trading goods, services that sustain our communities-and even secrets. However, they often face disdain from others due to their perceived lower status. "The supervisor of the mine is from the merchant caste"
"We also have the Hunter Caste also called Fangbearers, the start as herders of animals at a young age, while simultaneously training as hunters, any one that passes the test at age fifteen becomes an hunters, if they fail, they stay as an herder till the next five years when they can try again" he explained enthusiastically. "They are agile, stealthy individuals who understands animals."
"My father said that the warrior caste once tried to make a fangbearer caste a part of them with the argument that since the hunters shared similarities with the warriors, then the stone mother must have cut them from the same stone. But everyone knows that the warrior caste was just using that as an excuse to increase their caste and to gain control over more resources."
"Then there are the Farming Caste also known as the Earthwardens. These are the closest to the stone mother since the disappearance of the Shaman Caste. Stone is from the earth and they understand the earth. The are part of the mid-level caste."
"The Servant Caste known as the Lifebearers are dedicated servants within our society—those who support families and communities with unwavering loyalty. They are born to serve and of course they are paid for their service."
"And then," he said quietly, almost hesitantly, "there are the Slave Caste, also known as the Fatebound." "This caste was created as a punishment. It consists of the family of those who did terrible things; they and their children would become slave"
"The Warrior, Scholar and destroyed Shaman Caste are the high level castes. The merchant caste is said by some to be high level, but it's generally acceptable that they are between the high and mid-level castes. Hunter and Farming castes are mid-level castes. While the Servants and Slave Caste are low-level castes."
"The politics between castes can be quite intricate, there are always whispers of discontent—especially between Warriors and Scholars vying for influence over decisions that affect us all."
He concluded with a deep breath filled with pride and reverence for his people's traditions. "In Vel'kora, we live under the watchful eye of the Stone Mother, bound by duty to our castes yet united in our worship of her light above us."
"And the outcasts?" Anandriel asked curiously.
Nurdi's answered carefully. "They are the eight caste, lower than the slaves and said to be shaped by the stone mother on a day of anger. They are different, they have some differnces in their physical appearances that do not look like any of the castes. In the mine we initially mistook you for an outcast because of your black eyes."
"Also there are those outcasts that look like others, but they are trying to overthrow the caste system. It is sad that they are the most dangerous ones. Outcasts are not allowed in any city, though I have heard that they have a city of their own, but everyone knows that it must be a lie. How can any place function without the order of the caste system? Though my father says that they are not that bad"
Anandriel's mind raced as he took in all the information. Vel'Kora was a rigid society, where everyone had a place, and stepping outside that place meant becoming an outcast. But the Stoneless seems to be outside that, it was comforting to know that there might-were-be humans in this world but it was also distressing when he considered the reaction of Nurdi and their pursuers. Maybe he could use the fear to his advantage tom get what he wants.
"Even the miners here know so much about the world?" Anandriel asked, raising an eyebrow at Nurdi's extensive knowledge.
Nurdi puffed up with pride. "My father's a scholar. He told me everything I know."
At the mention of his father, Nurdi's face crumpled, and he looked away, his expression filled with sadness.
Anandriel noticed the shift but didn't press him. Instead, he focused on what Nurdi had shared. The politics between the castes were clearly delicate. The warrior caste ruled by strength, but the scholar caste seemed to hold power through knowledge. It was also obvious that the merchant caste must have some level of power in order to handle all the trade of the kingdom.
The lower castes, like the lifebearer caste and the fatebound caste, were treated as tools for the higher castes. But it was impossible for society to function without these caste, so, how did the higher castes suppress them? He wondered if the story of mother stone was real. Of course he wouldn't ask the boy that. The boy had obviously been brainwashed to believe in the caste system, even a small village like Windrest seems to proof that the caste system wasn't the only method of organization.
Once Nurdi finished his explanation, the whole explanation had taken just like a quarter of an hour. Anandriel stood quietly for a moment, processing everything. This world was more complicated than he had imagined. He couldn't afford to take anything lightly here.
Suddenly, they heard the noise of people coming from the mouth of the mine.
"Let's go. We can't outside the city again because you would need to pass the gate to enter the city once again in order to get to Torrhen Archive, and it would be impossible once people finds out that you are Stoneless" Nurdi turned towards the mouth of another tunnel that was dotting the small mountain and gestured that they would have to enter it. "We have to pass another tunnel to enter the city, close to the archive"