Chapter Text
Oh shit I've gone blind...
Don't freak out...
Don't freak out...
Don't don't don't you do it..
WHY THE HOLY F U C K CAN'T I SEE
Why does this always happen to me? How am I supposed to live like this? I can already hear them now "Oh there goes that poor blind mute bastard Rinit" "Don't bully the invalid children, he's a cursed soul" "Rinit the dumb" "Rinit the blind" "Somebody light the poor soul a cigarette, so he doesn't catch himself on fire"
... A cigarette
That's what I need, a cigarette!
I'm sure I'll feel much better after a quick smoke. Where did I leave my pack?
In his search for a cigarette, and perhaps some sanity, Rinit came to a sudden realization.
I can't move my arms...
After internally screaming for what felt like an eternity he slowly calmed and tried to piece together whatever information he could about his current predicament. Where had he been last night? How had he ended up tied and blindfolded on a dirt floor? The answers seemed like they should be obvious, but the more Rinit thought the less information he had.
Last night... last night... last night I was...
I was what?
Fuckin drunk. Last night I was fucking drunk!
Well, that's not much help, is it? When am I not drunk?
Rinit considered this question for longer than a normal person would. It wasn't that Rinit was an alcoholic or that he was made of money and could afford to drink luxury wines and cocktails every day.
It was that low barrel drink was cheaper than food and cigarettes cheaper than low barrel drink. Many living in the slums of Tansian had adopted similar diets after the "cursed reaping season". He was not the only one living disfigured from the beast attacks, nor was he the only one who had to scrounge for food or resort to drink to survive.
He didn't feel sorry for himself and for his misfortune, but he often wondered why he had not died with his family. He knew that dying had no reason, so surely there must be reason to life. Still, he thought of his death often. It's not that he wanted to die but that life was unpredictable. If he had truly wanted to die, he would have joined the Tasian military as a sentinel guide.
Even without the testing Rinit knew he was a guide just as surely and as truly as he knew he was alive. They say that most guides inherently know long before the tests confirm their position.
Suddenly a thought occurred to him.
The rumors aren't true... right?
No matter how bad things got the High Council wouldn't stoop so low as to...
Being a man of few words Rinit often dealt with people treating him as if he were intellectually challenged instead of mute. At some point the sting of being ignored had worn off, and instead Rinit viewed the lack of attention as a blessing. He was often privy to information and rumors.
Half a year ago he had heard quite a strange rumor regarding the High Council. It was said that the High Council had grown increasingly desperate due to a lack of guides. At one-point guides were more abundant than sentinels, but many in recent years had been overworked and were at a high risk of coming down with the wasting sickness.
No matter what perks the High Council offered many were hesitant to volunteer for testing. Although in theory a volunteer position, once tested and registered as a guide one's fate is sealed. Because of the guiding shortage all registered guides must work as a Tasian Sentinel Guide for a minimum of three years... if they lasted that long. Many, including Rinit, had decided to live by the mantra "Why wither away on the front lines when you can die at home?".
It's said that the High Council had recently resorted to unsavory methods when recruiting and testing potential guides. Even resorting to scooping up drunks and vagrants for not necessarily "ethical" or "voluntary" testing.
Who am I kidding
Of course they would.
A little kidnapping is nothing to them compared to the risk of another "cursed reaping season"
Rinit heard the sound of metal crunching and twisting. Without warning he was lifted into the air and placed on a rough hard surface.
A chair... well it's better than the ground
Kidnapped
Definitely kidnapped