Until today.
Sapha had snuck into the market square, had cloaked herself in shadows, and in the half-darkness of Dronish, lit only by the sliver of moon that remained. Standing in the long lines of those waiting for their daily replenishment from the sacred mineraline crystals was the tall, slender form of Cletia, her mother. Her primary gift: Sapha had no need of the crystals, her energy was replenished with simple nourishment from the fungi that grew around her cave outside Arotia. She’d only ventured into the square to keep a close eye on her one friend. Marl was a youngling, ten and one year. He shared the caves with her, and made the journey once a week into the city for his nourishment.
Sapha was invisible to all at the moment, although seeing her mother had caused her to almost lose control of her cloaking energy, her second ability. She could use the shadows and camouflage herself. Sapha could only be grateful for the fact her large source of power inside was somehow hidden from the Drones. They would hunt her down and drain her. She had enough power to nourish the city of Arotia for many half-moons.
Sapha did not remember Dronish when it was filled with the sun’s warmth and five moons. It was long ago that the gluttonous nature of her people had consumed the sun and all but a sliver of one moon’s energy. Those dead rocks still littered their sky, but could not be seen in the darkness. She wouldn’t even start on the cold. Luckily, between their layers of skin and muscle, they had a thin coating of fat dense enough it kept them from freezing to death.
Marl was at the start of the line now. Seven guards surrounded the mineraline stone before him. It was black, glittering in the dim light. Sapha lurked closer as he opened his mouth and his throttle, or sucker, emerged. Unraveling from where it rested inside his throat, the snakelike extension’s end attached to the crystal, and as he absorbed the energy, Sapha was still amazed to see the changes in her friend. His skeletal frame filled out slightly, flesh actually encasing bone instead of just skin. His scaled and cracked hide filled back in, and even glistened with some protective oils again. All drones had lithe frames, but now Marl stopped swaying and stood strong and tall. His large, single eye – which was one of the many differences between Sapha and the rest of the drones – cleared of yellow and turned back to blood red. He looked so much healthier. If only they could take this nourishment more than once a week.
According to the market gossip, they were about to extend the waiting period between feedings again. Many wouldn’t survive this. In the end, once a week was only just allowing some to endure. One more day would be their death. Marl would be fine though, she secretly fed him energy during his trance state – not enough that it was noticeable, but enough that he would always survive.
Suddenly shouts could be heard, more than one voice and more than one language. Sapha drifted away from the crowds, hugging the side of a building where she could observe without anyone accidentally bumping into her. She was cloaked but still corporeal. Marl was off to the side as well, so he should be safe enough from whatever disturbance was coming. A male burst into view, tall and thin like the rest but plumped out a bit more. He was one of the high priest’s men. Kan, the priest, was the leader of Arotia, and his contingent always seemed to be a little more nourished than the average inhabitant.
“Sound the alarm, a group approaches our city. Guard the walls and hide the mineralines.”
Just like that, the guards snatched up the precious life-giving crystals and were gone, their dark forms disappearing back into the palatial structure where the priest, his harem, and the men were holed up praying for redemption, or whatever they were calling it. Those who had still been in line, waiting for their small sliver of energy, cried out. Their shrieks and wails were testament to the pain and hunger plaguing the world. Sapha lost sight of her mother in the chaos, which left her with an uneasy churning in her stomach. It was sad that this was what their world had been reduced to.