The Face of the Phoenix

The various items peppered the vast room. Most were in sight; however, some hid in the room's nooks and crannies—three hundred and thirty-three--the same as last year, the year before that, and the years before those.

Sarai made sure at least 20 times-- careful not to touch any of the items outside her affinity. The last thing to be placed was, of course, hers. She let the staff go as it carefully chose its place among the others.

Now that the last item was placed, she hoped she could rest easy knowing this year's Integration was ready.

****

This year's Preceptor was unusually small. The year they were born, the district experienced lower-than-average birthrates and a grisly famine. Despite that, Sarai's hopes couldn't be dashed for her first graduating Preceptor class. She consistently fantasized about how her children would specialize in fields that hadn't been chosen in years, how there would be little to no duplicates, and, most importantly, none of the children would be cursed.

She broke the rules. She loved them. As a guardian, she was supposed to protect their well-being, feed them, and adequately prepare them for Integration, but love them-- never.

She documented their natural interests for the last three years and pushed them to play just in case the calling never came. She hoped if they didn't feel compelled somehow, they would stumble on the right item. Because even the most curse-resistant child could only touch five incorrect items before perishing, most could only handle one or two. Her district did not care about the curse ones. For them, Integration Day was sport. Many bet how many would die and what specialties would be chosen the most. The bond between parent and child was severed three years ago when they were taken at birth. To many, their children were as familiar as strangers, loved conditionally upon a successful Integration. But she loved the sixty-six-- better than she even loved her own.

She felt confident about this year's Integration, except in the affinity of one. Most children whittled down their play interests by their second year, but Alina. She still played with all the children and the items. Alina was a particularly obstinate child, and she worried if her calling would actualize. Those who became cursed did not have a calling, which meant they were soulless. They weren't even allowed to have proper burials after the ceremony.

Sarai's thoughts were interrupted as the little ones began to toddle into the room. She knew that even with all her hope, whatever happened next was up to the Gods.

***

Unlike many of the dragons before, Nhil did not hate humans; he despised them. Although all dragons could take human form, he did so seldomly. He only did so if he could trick, torment, or terrorize humans in some way. His latest trick lasted for the last millennia in the district neighboring the forest. The humans long forgot the deal they had made with him. With a portion of his talent and affinity, they would live generation after generation, talented and prosperous; however, humans couldn't be imbued directly with dragon mana, so he siphoned it to 333 objects instead. In a child's third year, the item would call out to its natural affinity and amplify it; however, if the child chose an item nonaligned, it would overwhelm their body and curse them. Of course, the greed of the district overpowered their compassion for their own offspring, sneered Nhil. This was fine by him as more and more children became cursed the more the district became corrupted, ensuring the eventual demise of them all. To him, this was a long and entertaining game of cat and mouse, and it was almost time to catch his prey.

***

So far, most of her pupils had specialized. Sarai's heart swelled with pride. There were only two left. Thomas had touched one incorrect item. The dazed toddler stumbled about for a bit before landing on his actualization item. Alina just sat, not moving in any direction for hours.

"This is bad," Sarai thought as she nervously paced about.

The observers and her superiors began to become impatient. They had seen many children become cursed in previous years but never just sit.

If Alina didn't do something, she knew her superiors would.

" Alina, just play," Sarai called out.

For the past year, Sarai admonished Alina for her varied play. She isolated Alina in hopes that something would cling.

Alina began to walk from item to item; however, to everyone's bemusement, nothing happened.

As Sarai scanned the room's bewildered faces, she began to realize sitting was better than this.

****

After the child was able to consecutively touch 100 items, the elders determined that the child was not only soulless but, in fact, demonic and had no place in their society, but there was one place that she did.

****

They left the little girl at the edge of the forest when she was sound asleep. When the girl woke, she began to panickily wander, looking for the closest person to her family, Sarai. As she walked deeper into the forest, she saw the strangest man.

****

Nhihifoghr was said to be the most beautiful and benevolent of all dragons and men. In human form, his silver hair cascaded down his back. As a dragon, his scales were more luminescent than the sun. It was the mission of men to capture him and the mission of dragons to kill him.

One night as he was looking down from his perched stone, he saw the most interesting creature, and his heart immediately knew