Reflection; Turning the Page

It started with the death of the girl, Jen.

It had taken months for the sleen, Mathor holding the leash, to find her. She was in Port Kar at one point, Besnit (or was it Harfax?) at another. The intrigue involved in having to put the sleen on that girl's heels is a little fantastic, and better served as a story for another time. The important component of that thread is the sleen, tenacious bitch that she was (and still is), found her and conducted her home. Then, something like a Passage Hand later, she was dead. The circumstances are not important. She was only a slave, so no investigation was conducted. I cremated her in the cul-de-sac in which my Anbar District domicile is now the sole residence. A few wondered at what I was thinking for taking the time to give the girl any sort of send off at all, but it was what it was - a turning point. I am not ashamed to admit I mourned the loss. Both the girl and my ability to see to her safety. I dedicated myself to work after that, allowing the hired men, Mathor and Darwin, to tend the business of taverns and whores.

Asked to be a voice of the people, I accepted. I have always been that, just never in an 'official capacity.' Magistrates are generally Scribes, but how could a Scribe, one of the five high, represent the people of the lower castes? I have every confidence that there are impartial and right-minded fellows in the Blue ranks, but this is an age of elitism and class separation. Such decency these days is difficult to find. I swallowed my pride and stepped into public life and politics. I think I did some good, and very nearly became a martyr for the cause - but I knew the risks going into it. I love my City. My City. Spilling my blood at the Founder's Feet, however, was another turning point - another unexpected twist.

I did not anticipate selling so many of them off or, indeed, any of them. Women are truly inspiring things. I won't go deeply into snowflake metaphors, but there is truth to it. We expect much the same thing out of the slaves we own and out of slaves in general, absolute obedience & exquisite beauty, but each strives for those twin maxims in her own fashion. Some are soft, sensitive, and eager-to-please, like Sana. Others are vibrant, audacious, and hungry to be dominated, like Portia. Still others are like Elise - serene, thoughtful, and deeper than Thassa. Sana, I assume, thrives in the Pool of the Northern Forests at the Capacian Baths. Portia, I am told, did not stay long in the Municipal Pens, having been selected for purchase by a private owner. Elise, as of this morning, wears the collar of the first girl at the Braided Whip Tavern in the Teiban Sul District. I sold most of my investment in that establishment to my business partners, retaining a minority stake.

Another turning point.

Later this afternoon, I will purchase the girl, Tupita, who serves as slave-scribe to the Magistrate of the People. After that, I will see to her manumission and pay for her passage to the city of her birth - wherever that might be. If it turns out she was born of Cos, I will do my best not to beat her and immediately re-enslave her - rather I will see that she is returned safely and given enough money to start her life anew. She is a lovely girl with incredible potentiality, but her true love lies in the theories of accountancy and mathematics. She may decide in years to come that she longs for the collar. I will afford her the opportunity to come to such a conclusion on her own. After she is safely sent on her way, I will turn in my keys and resign my post as Magistrate of the People. I will still be a voice for the people, as my Caste dictates I must, but politics have left me too jaded to continue in that capacity.

I need to see the world again, feel the grass of the fields beneath my feet; share the kettle of a peasant off a lonely stretch of highway; interact with the men of different cities. The traveling a citizen does outside the wide, white walls of Glorious Ar cannot help but reaffirm for him that he resides in the world's finest city. Perhaps I will walk for a Passage Hand, or maybe a year. One thing is certain. I will always return.