The transition from the earthy, mossy scent of the forest to the cloying, artificial sweetness of the city was jarring.
Aether was shoved into a cold, clinical room where the air was thick with the smell of heavy floral perfumes—a scent designed to mask the "stink" of nature.
Behind a desk made of polished, floating crystal sat the Receptionist; She was an Elf Scholar, her silver hair pulled back into a knot so tight it made her eyes look perpetually narrow and predatory.
To the Goblin girl who had just left, she had been all smiles and soft words.
But as her gaze landed on Aether's mud-stained tunic and his tear-streaked face, her expression curdled into one of pure disdain.
"Name," she snapped, pulling a piece of enchanted parchment toward her.
"A-Aether," the boy stammered, his voice small and trembling. He wiped his nose with his sleeve, a gesture that made the Elf's lip curl in disgust.
"Last name? Clan? Sector of origin?"
Aether blinked, his mind racing. "I... I don't know. My Papa just calls me Aether. We live in the woods."
SLAM!
The Elf's fist collided with the crystal desk, the sound echoing like a gunshot in the small room. Aether jumped.
"Do not waste my time with 'the woods,' you little stray!" she yelled, leaning over the desk until Aether could see the golden flecks in her pupils—a sign of her high Magical Spectrum. "Every creature on Sylvaris is registered. What is your biological designation? Who is your primary owner?"
"I'm not a stray!" Aether cried out, a flicker of his father's stubbornness sparking through his fear. "I'm a human! My Papa is Kael!"
The woman let out a sharp, jagged laugh. "Human. Right. The "Zero-tier" species." She began writing on the parchment with a quill that glowed with a faint blue light. "Designation: Human. Potential: Negligible."
She looked up at him, "Listen to me, boy. You are only here because the Laws of the Two Gods require it. You have no rights, no Spectrum, and no future. If you cannot answer basic registration questions, you will be sent to the labor camps instead of the classrooms. Do you understand?"
Aether felt a lump form in his throat. He missed the forest, missed the smell of mashed potatoes and the warmth of his mother's hug.
Here, everything was beautiful, but everything was sharp.
"I... I want to go home," he whispered.
"You don't have a home anymore," she said cruelly, sliding a heavy metal bracelet across the desk.
It was a Spectrum Limiter, used to track students. "Put this on. If you lose it, the guards will find you, and they won't be as 'kind' as I am."
As Aether reached for the cold metal, he noticed a small, glowing device on the corner of her desk—a Spectrum Measurer.
It was a glass orb filled with swirling white smoke.