"First, I would very much love to congratulate you on successfully hatching your Dinosaur and to officially welcome you to the institution that monitors all things Dinosaurs and Dino tamers… Welcome to Prehistoric Advent and her tamers programme…"
A round of applause followed suit from the new Dino Tamers.
"As you know, your journey here in the programme will place you in hierarchies depending on the Rank your Dinosaur falls into. And the higher the rank, the more resources will be provided to both you and your Dinosaur to facilitate its growth… we water promising plant…"
Her last statement was like a dagger, or moreover… a heat seeking missile that followed her gaze and landed straight at Levi's standing position.
She looked up from him and then around to register the expression of the other New Tamers.
"This is not to marginalize lower-ranked Dinosaurs and Tamers but to ensure that our resources are allocated wisely."
"Are you serious? It's not like the 'Resources' are limited, the second meteor is still oozing out magical energy as we speak and Prehistoric Advent mines that rock to distribute to all the sectors." Levi heard someone mutter, loud enough for a few others to hear but still very much silent that the woman didn't hear… or so he thought.
"For those unaware, my name is Tempest Wolfe, Governor of the Prehistoric Advent Academy otherwise known as the P.A.A. As you can see from the badge I have tagged to my liscence, I am a Diamond class tamer and my Dinosaur is a Special Grade, Level 5 Oviraptor."
Some whispers spread, murmuring about Tempest's achievements, Levi could pick out the gist of her illustrious career from the whispers, including hearing that she went undefeated in one of the Prehistoric Dinosaur Games.
"That's enough about me, Young Tamers. For you all at this stage, you are all Copper class tamers, distinguished only by the rank of your newly hatched Dinosaurs. For all of you; Special Grade, Grade one, Grade two, Grade three, all the way to…" she paused and made eye contact with Levi, eyeing him and his Velociraptor. "Grade Five…"
Levi held her gze, half expecting her to say something, but Tempest merely turned and resumed pacing.
"Therefore, you'll identify as Cooper Class, followed by the Rank of your Dinosaur. Your class will naturally increase as your beast matures and ascends in levels. The change in class will be automatically reflected on the licenses you'll soon receive."
"For example…" she turned to look at Darial Makeva who was posted up at the front of the que with his Pteranodon flapping its wings and flying in circles around his body.
"What's your name Young tamer?" she asked, tilting her head as she examined his Dinosaur.
"Darial Makeva, Governor Tempest!" he replied with all the enthusiasm in the world.
"Everyone this is Darial Makeva, Cooper Class Dino Tamer of a Special Grade, Level 1 Pteranodon— ShadowBeak…"
Tempest stated elegantly. The new dino tamers nodded their head in understanding, as she continued pacing up and down.
"Once you are given your license, you will be permitted to return to your homes for a maximum of one week, to take anything that has value to you… bid your beloved families goodbye, because you will not be seeing them in a while."
"After the week is over, you are to report to your designated Portal for your first Reaper assignment. They are all Copper class Portals, suitable for training newly recruited Portal Reapers like yourself, so I assure you that there's nothing to worry about."
"Upon clearing the Portal, Prehistoric Advent Academy officials will be waiting to transport you to Sector A, where the Prehistoric Advert Headquarters awaits."
She screeched to a halt and turned to face them. "Your days of being a mere citizen is now over. Whether you choose to be a Portal Reaper or not, owning a Dinosaur places a large responsibility on you. You are now assests to the government, to Prehistoric Advent and most importantly, defenders of earth for what we fear is to come".
"As we all know, this year we recorded a striking increase in the appearance of Portals… so we now know that whatever is sending these demonic creatures to Earth, they are getting serious… I suggest we do too, to protect what is left of mankind."
She let the silence shimmer. It became tense and grave, her words resonating with everyone in the room.
»»»«««
After Governor Tempeste left, four officials marched in, led by a stern captain. They organized the New Tamers into lines of four, disregarding Dinosaur ranks.
The Tamers walked orderly in these lines, muttering to themselves in excitement as they were led through the massive infastructure that looked very much like a solid sky scraper.
The more Levi took in, the more awestruck he became.
Despite the knowledge he now possessed, seeing human beings live in harmony with these ferocious beast, the technology they had developed from mining the second meteor, the use of magical energy that was taped by awakened prehistoric plants, everything had this advanced bio-magical technology tang to it that Levi was sure this civilization ran on 100% clean energy.
They passed through a high security gate where massive kinetic doors opened with a loud hiss, revealing a large open spaced area where humans and Dinosaurs working in harmony to create all soughts of combat gear for Portal Reapers.
Levis Velociraptor, now cluching tight on his right shoulder made a croaking whimper as it watched.
"You're alright buddy, you just gotta stick with me…" he muttered, giving it a little pat on the head.
Moments later, they stopped walking and the captain explained the order of events, the Tamers began to go through doors two at a time, to receive their licenses.
Levi waited patiently in line, as the SnatchClaw hung tightly on his shoulders. For some reason, he could not feel the weight of it bearing on him.
Each time a new set entered the license room, the line adjusted and Levi moved forward, careful to not destabilize the Dinosaur on his hsoulder.
"Let me have a word with you kid…"
Levi's head snapped up, noticing the back of the tall, red haired man in front of him.
"Huh?" a gasp of air escaped his lips.
The red haired man stood in a position adjacent to him without turning, his hands crossed behind his back trying to maintain that military posture.
"You intentionally bonded with an ordinary SnatchClaw. What do you think is going to happen to you in this line of work?"
Levi didn't reply instantly, he stayed quiet for a couple seconds as he recalled the information about the life of the Levi Quinn of this world.
"Hopefully to get a better life outside of picking scraps and reselling them for cheap Urns…" he finally said.
The man cracked his neck and hissed subtly, "So, you see this as a ticket to escaping the poorer sectors huh?"
He said nothing for while after that and Levi just stared ahead.
"Naturally, I would understand. But Prehistoric Advent isn't anything like you would expect. You might see that SnatchClaw as a ticket to a new life, but I'm here to tell you today that that life would even be mediocre compared to your colleagues with higher ranks. So, even if you do go through with this, will anything really change?"
"This work is extremely competitive, Ranks, power and potential mean everything… We only water promising plants, like Darial Makeva and the Sector E's Constable's Daughter… that's the kind of talent we are looking for. The growth of that Velociraptor is entirely in your hands as the resources for Dinosaur growth are prioritized to higher ranks, not for people… like you."
Levi looked down letting the weight of his words sink into his mind, "People like me…"
Finally, the man looked over his shoulder. "Don't go into this thinking its some kind of game. You're not and you cannot achieve anything with that fucking SnatchClaw… trust me those mysterious Portals aren't any joke, how are you going to protect yourself? What happens when there's a Portal Break and those Revenant creatures start pouring out feeding on our magic and flesh? You might as well take that SnatchClaw to a corn field."
The man cleared his throat and walked off, his outfit sweeping the floor and his Dinosaur which was still very much in its mid-progressive stages walked briskly behind him using its hind legs with loud thudding steps and its muscular tail sweeping the floor.
Meanwhile, Levi was infuriated by the lack of faith this complete stranger had in him. He wasn't facially angry, it was all inward and all he could do was stare at his Dinosaur's behind that had completely shielded the man from his view.
'Who the fuck do you think you are?' Levi thought.
He stood there for a couple more minutes, unable to get the man's words out of his mind. Then the door opened again. And he was directed to go in.
Entering the room, he searched around for the man, but somehow he was nowhere to be found. Instead, he caught a glimpse of Shawn Ferrel with her Dino Tamer licence that had been given to her. At the back of the licence, a small crystal like rock was imbedded within it.
This were directly mined from the second asteroid or were dug up all over the Earth after the impact scattered its nutrients throughout the globe.
This crystals embedded within the license was of utmost importance. As one would like to think, a fully developed and matured Dinosaur is likely to be bulky and take up a lot of space, regardless of its species. Dinosaurs obviously differ in weight and size based on their species but it is common knowledge that a fully Trynosaurus Rex would level a building if not tamed properly.
Therefore, to minimize damage and allow for free roaming of space, these crystal embedded at the back of the liscence were used as a way to retract the Dinosaurs into it and put them in a form of hybernation till whenever they are needed.
Its all about the Binding Vow between the Tamer and the Dinosaur, the magical energy within the rock and the Dinosaur and then a command. At the tamers command, the Dinosaur must retract or/and reveal its self from the hibernation crystal whenever its summoned.
They were also Hibernation devices for other uses, but the Dino Tamers had there's attached to their license for efficiency.
The room around Levi had this sterile efficiency of bio-futuristic registry. There were silver panels by the walls, and draped on it like veins were vines pulsating with that familiar energy from the second asteriod.
Levi stepped forward into his designated spot, a middle aged woman glanced up at him with a scanner tablet in her hand.
"Name?" she asked with a neutral expression and the tired gaze of someone who have been over worked.
Levi hesitated for a moment, before taking a deep breath, "Levi Quinn… I am Levi Quinn,"