• Graded • First Lessons

Kirei begins her training as a slave

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Kirei Qe'Azour
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25th Vhalar, 710


"Up! Time to get up!"

Kirei was already fully awake, and she jumped to her feet before the Avriel master who was walking up and down the row of worn sleeping mats could give her a swift kick for disobedience. As a kid of the streets of Lowtown, she was used to waking up both early, and instantly. She moved swiftly as she got dressed, and prepared herself for her day. Her speed must have pleased the Avriel master that had been sent to wake them, because he did not strike her for daring to dodge his punishing kick. Since she had come to this horrible place, she had seen others given such treatment, so she knew that trying to avoid it was a risk. And yet which was the worst disobedience? Dodging the kick to wake her up, or lazing about long enough to be kicked? It seemed, that she had made the right choice this time.

The last several trials had flown by in a blur for Kirei. The pain of her brand was a constant reminder of her changed circumstances, and she fought against the pain the way she fought against everything that tried to overcome her. She would survive this, as she had survived everything else she had lived through. And she would grow stronger for it. She kept telling herself that during the long, agonizing task of squatting down and cleaning the cobweb filled, dirt encrusted corners of the entire slave barracks with nothing more than a small pail of water, and her fingers. As the newest child in her group, and one of only two who had not been born into slavery, she had been commanded to do the task alone while the others watched in silence. They, of course had to wait until she was finished before they could eat.

Breakfast involved waiting in a seemingly endless line to receive a tiny portion of nearly inedible gruel. It was hard to believe, but she had actually eaten better food on the streets before she had been captured. The one thing this slop had going for it was that she had been given a portion each morning so far. She didn't have to wonder if she was going to starve to death before she managed to get her next meal.

Once breakfast was finished, tasks were assigned, and the slaves dispersed. Kirei and the group she slept with were held back. Their task was to clear away all of the dishes, wash them, and then polish them until they shone like new. The small group of girls each took as many dishes as they dared carry, and headed into the kitchen to begin. Some were punished harshly for "laziness" when they only picked up a few dishes. Kirei was one of these. One of the masters yanked her aside, screamed at her as he pointed out her error, then hit her as hard as he could with his cane seventy five times before giving her a rough shove, and ordering her back to her task. Others were punished even more harshly for taking too many dishes at once, though, so there appeared to be no right way to clear the dishes. And when one girl dared to accidentally drop a dish, she was whipped for the crime.

When the tables had been cleared, the dishes still had to be washed. With no direction as to how the masters wanted it done, Kirei hesitantly picked up a plate, and dunked it into the sink filled with soapy water. The water was scalding hot, and she cried out in pain when it burned her hands. This earned her another "lesson" about the value of working in silence no matter what the circumstances, and not drawing attention to herself. The punishment for her failure was for the master overseeing them to hold her hands in the scalding hot water for several agonizingly long bits before allowing her to go back to her task. By the time she was finished, her hands were burned, and blistered from the heat.
word count: 685
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Kirei Qe'Azour
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Kirei thought that they would be given yet another task once they had finished cleaning the dishes, but the master overseeing them ordered them to remain where they were.

"It is painfully obvious that none of you have what it takes to be a bodyguard, or to entertain your future masters in the arena. None of you are fighters, so we must find a role that suits you pathetic worthless weaklings better. Perhaps some of you might learn to be somewhat useful to your masters in the kitchen. That is what I am here to find out today. Though judging by the unbelievably poor job you did with the simple task of cleaning up a few dishes, I fear I may be wasting my time. And if I am, you will be punished for your failure."

Kirei shuddered inwardly at the thought of yet another punishment this trial, but she was careful to hide her dread.

"It is a simple fact that everyone must eat. Even worthless slaves such as yourselves need food in order to live long enough to please your masters. Someone must be the one to prepare that food. And perhaps, just perhaps...if I am not wasting my time as I fear, some few of you might show some skill in this area. So pay attention! You will be tested at the end of this lesson, and if any one of you fails, none of you will eat for a week!"

Kirei and the others were directed to kneel in front on the now empty sinks. When they were all in their proper positions, the lesson began.

"Cooking is the art of preparing food to be eaten, often by applying heat to it. Just about anyone can cook. Producing something edible as a result is where the need for skill comes in. You don't want to poison your future masters by mistake, after all. As for producing something that is worthy of your masters...something that they might actually enjoy...well. Let's see if any of you can produce something edible, first. And you have a lot to learn before I let any of you worthless creatures anywhere near any food."

The master glared at them all to see if they were paying attention. But when he couldn't catch anyone whose attention was wandering off, he went back to his lecture.

"There are many different ways of cooking food, but they can be separated into three main types. These types are dry heat, moist heat, and combination cooking. Dry heat cooking methods are those that utilize air or fat in order to cook the food. Broiling, roasting, grilling, baking, sauteing, pan-frying and deep-fat frying are all examples of dry heat cooking methods."

Kirei struggled to understand what their master was trying to teach them. But he was speaking in Dehasin, a language she had only started learning a few trials ago. And while she was able to pick up languages quickly, that was no where near enough time to do more than pick up a handful of words. Fortunately one of the girls in her group who was like her, a slave that had been captured rather than born into slavery, saw her difficulties. They both spoke Xanthea fluently, so the girl began translating what their master told them as quietly as she could. Kirei gave her a grateful look as she did her best to memorize words she was being taught.

"Moist heat cooking methods involve the use of water or stock to cook the food. Some examples of this method are poaching, boiling, simmering, and steaming. The third main method of cooking is combination cooking. Combination cooking involves using both dry and moist heat cooking methods. Methods that use combination cooking include braising, stewing and pot-roasting."

Kirei tried to memorize the names of all of the different cooking methods she was being taught, while trying to keep track of which method was an example of which type of cooking. Her task was made more difficult by not knowing much of the language that the master was teaching them in. Fortunately, her fellow slave was willing to translate for her. The risk to both of them was severe if they were caught at it, but then again, so was the risk of punishment if she failed the test at the end of their lesson. The entire group would be punished if even one of them failed, and it was impossible to say which risk was worse.
word count: 757
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Kirei Qe'Azour
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The master continued talking for a while, and Kirei did her best to learn. In the back of her mind, she wondered why she called the man "the master" even in the safety of her own thoughts. It wasn't as if he could read her mind, and know what she was thinking. After a few bits, she realized that it was a safety mechanism. If she thought if the man as one thing, but called him something else, there was always the chance that in a moment of stress, or anger, she might call him the wrong thing. Kirei didn't even want to know what the punishment would be for calling one of the slave trainers anything other than master would be. And she certainly didn't want to risk being punished for something as stupid as a slip of the tongue. It was far easier to adapt to what was required of her. Besides...the man might not be her master, but he did have complete power over her. No one would so much as bat an eye if he lashed out and killed her for saying, or doing the wrong thing. So really...was calling him a master so far from the truth?

Kirei's attention was brought quickly back to the task at hand when the master began snapping out questions, and pointing to the slave girls at random as he decided who he wanted an answer from. When it was her turn, the master demanded to know what the three main types of cooking methods were. Kirei spoke slowly, and hesitantly. She knew what the answer was, but it was hard to find the right words to say. And she knew that she was mispronouncing them badly by the dark scowl on the master's face. He ground out a second question, this time demanding that she name all of the cooking methods that used dry heat.

Once again, her answer was painfully slow, and mangled. But at least, it wasn't wrong. That didn't stop the master from lashing out, and slapping her across the face with enough force to draw blood as he screamed at her to learn how to "talk properly." Kirei bit back the urge to retort that maybe she would if they gave her longer than two trials to learn how to speak the language she was now expected to use despite never even having heard of it until she arrived in this city of the damned. But self preservation stopped her. Even if she somehow managed to survive the punishment that would be hers for saying such a thing, she would long for death in order to escape the pain she'd be in. Instead, she simply bowed her head, silently accepting the rebuke as a slave was supposed to. Finally, the "class" was dismissed, and they were split up as they were given their next tasks for the trial.
word count: 493
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Navyri
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Oh, I do like to bedside the sea side.

This thread was a lot of fun to read and flowed very well. I liked seeing a slave being played out and I think you did a great job with it. Kirei has a great survivalist mentality, and while it feels like perhaps she's learning a new language a bit too fast, I can understand due to her circumstances. It didn't take away from the story for me, and I am eager to read more of your work.
Kirei Qe'Azour

Skill Points

Collaboration - 10XP
These points may NOT be used for magic.

Skill Knowledge

Cooking: is the art of preparing food to be eaten, often by applying heat to it
Cooking: Dry heat cooking methods utilize air or fat to heat the food that is being cooked. Such methods include broiling, roasting, grilling, baking, sauteing, pan-frying and deep-fat frying.
Cooking: Moist heat cooking methods involve the use of water or stock. Such methods include poaching, boiling, simmering, and steaming.
Cooking: Combination cooking involves using both dry and moist heat cooking methods. Such methods include braising, stewing and pot-roasting.
Dehasin: names for cooking techniques
Endurance: Fighting through the pain makes you stronger.

Non-Skill Knowledge

Kirei: is used to waking up early
Kirei: becomes fully alert instantly upon waking
Kirei: tends to pick up languages quickly

Other

Loot: N/A
Fame: +1 Successfully completing your slave lesson
Injuries: N/A

word count: 244
"At last. It has been too long since I have walked the face of this world. Too long have I been locked there, awaiting my champion to release me. My champion... This is you, daughter of Audrae. You have, whether knowingly or not, released me from my self imprisonment, and are here to fulfill the destiny I have seen written in the tapestry of nature. You, daughter of Audrae's daughter, will be my foothold in this world." - Belaera to The Nightingale, after the 600 arc imprisonment
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