1

CORINE

I run through the frigid snow, and the man in white follows.
My eyes scan the ceiling above me as I try to recall what happened. I
warily move my head around to see what’s in this room, but there’s
nothing. Nothing but the bed I’m lying on. I hear nothing but my own
breath and the static that comes and goes. I’ve never seen this room
before. I wonder where in Marvona this is. Or if it’s even in Marvona.
The door opens.
I don’t know why, but my first instinct is to close my eyes, pretend I
were still sleeping.
The door closes and footsteps continuously grow louder as they
reach my right side, then they stop. Whoever it is, I can feel their
presence undoubtedly.
“Corine.”
The voice is cold, stern.
I open my eyes, and before they’re even fully open, I jump back.

1
 A Watcher.
He stands in his white armour and the mask on his face. Is it
recording?
“Where is this?” I ask, though I feel I know the answer now. My
voice is hoarse, as if I haven’t spoken in a while.
“Evorr.”
He looks away, and pulls out what appears to be a file.
“You are Corine, correct?”
I nod.
“It’s odd,” the Watcher says, turning the file to me. “It’s all empty.”
I don’t get a chance to take a clear look at it before he pulls it away
again, and I don’t think I would have wanted to look at it for too long.
“Well,” he says and heads over to open the door. “Follow me.”
I stand up and step out of the bed. The floor is surprisingly cold.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
He doesn’t look at me when answering the question. “I must take
you to King William.”
I freeze.
I want to ask him why, but I can’t.
Then he turns his head to look at me, and I immediately walk
towards him. I stare at him the whole way through the white hallways. I
want to ask him more questions, but I wouldn’t know how to word
them.
Then he stops.
He looks at me, and then at the doors ahead of us. I look at them too.
They’re as white as the walls, and taller and broader than any door I’ve
walked through before.
“Here we are,” he says. “King William is there, on the other side of
the door. He specifically requested that you would be there alone.”
I look back at the Watcher as he turns without saying another word.

2
 I look back at the doors.
Do I knock? Or do I just open them?
I place my hand on the right door, and I open it slowly. I am met
with sunlight as soon as I open the door. The entire wall facing me is one
large window with the strong sunlight beaming through. I can see two
white chairs in the middle of the substantial room, a man sitting in the
right one. King William.
I enter the room, and I close the door behind me.
He does not seem to react.
“Welcome.”
His voice is certain, but not cold at all.
“Please, do sit.”
He gestures towards the other chair, without looking over at me.
I walk over to the empty chair delicately, and I do not take my eyes
off him as I sit down.
Despite his 50 years of age, he does not look a day over 30. Every
single detail of his face looks like it was made specifically for it, and his
blonde, almost white, hair looks almost fake. His white shirt and
trousers look like they’ve never been worn before, but that seems to be
what all the clothing in Evorr look like.
He smiles.
“Corine.”
I don’t know what to say.
“I wanted to speak with you about why you’re here.”
He looks out the window.
“I had been thinking,” he begins. “About the planets. And the
people who live on them. I find it interesting that though we are all so
close and communication would be so simple, we refuse to have
anything to do with each other.” He goes silent for a moment. “Well,
some claim one race is superior, and therefore refuse any contact. And

3
when one person believes something and is loud enough, soon everyone
will believe it.” Then he looks at me. “But, you know this, don’t you?”
I nod, unsure of where this is going.
“Well,” he says, and adjusts himself in the seat, looking over at the
window again. This time, I do it as well. “I wanted to see if it were true. I
wasn’t sure how I would even find out. But now, I feel I have it.” He
looks over at me, but I don’t look back at him.
After a short silence, he continues, “I thought of doing an
experiment. It’s simple, really. I realised that the best way to see if any
race is superior is to have a member of each race go on a mission together
and face the obstacles that come with it. And based on the reactions of
the individuals, I will be able to see the results.”
I stare at him for a moment in silence. “Members of different races
going on a mission together?” I say, quieter than I had wanted it to
sound. “But that’s…that’s not allowed.”
“I am a king,” he says. “Anything I want to do is allowed.”
Then he turns to look out the window again.
“As the king of Evorr it would be very easy for me to go out and
claim that the Evorian race is the superior race without a single truth for
my claim. But that’s not what I want to do.”
He stands up, and though I’m unsure if I should do so as well, I
stand up.
“You are the individual I have chosen for Marvona.” He smiles. “I
will guarantee your safety throughout the whole mission. I want you to
trust me.”
I nod, slowly.
He looks at me for a moment.
“If you do this for me,” he says, softly, “I will do something for you
in return. I will give you something you’ve been searching for.”
I stare silently for a moment.

4
 “What?”
“Your father’s name.” He says it so softly it’s almost a whisper.
I feel my eyes widen.
“You know my father’s name?”
“I know your father.” He smiles. “A great man. Really.”
I open my mouth to say something, but I can’t find the words.
He places his hand on my shoulder.
“Do you trust me?”
I look out the window for a short moment, before looking back at
him. He looks at me patiently, with his free hand behind his back.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Then he turns and heads towards the door, and I follow. I follow
him down the hallway until we’re met with a much smaller door. He
looks at me before opening it. I am met with the sunlight again, and I
follow King William as he steps outside.
I stop when I see the ship.
“This is it,” King William says. “The ship you will be travelling on
for your mission.”
I look at him.
“Where are the others?” I ask. “From the other planets.”
“Inside the ship. You were the last to arrive.”
I want to ask him how exactly I did arrive as I still cannot remember
it, but he turns and walks towards the ship before I am able to ask the
question.
A man approaches us from behind the ship. His dark, wavy hair and
dark brown eyes have me wonder if he’s even Evorian. His gaze seems
cold when he meets King William’s
He says nothing, and turns to the ship. I don’t even know what he’s
checking, and I don’t ask.

5
 “That’s Matthew,” King William says, and I look over at him. “If any
of you need any help at any point, he is the one you’ll call.”
I look at Matthew. He doesn’t seem to be the person you’d call in
need of help.
“This is the final one,” King William says to Matthew. “Corine.
From Marvona.”
Matthew suddenly turns, and looks at me.
His gaze doesn’t feel cold anymore. But not necessarily warm either.
Just sorry.
“Good luck,” he says softly, his voice hoarse.
Then he looks at King William for a moment before turning and
walking away.
I look over at King William. He almost seems sad.
Then he walks over to me, putting his hand on my shoulder again.
He smiles.
“I know you can do this,” he says. “I believe in you.”
Then he pulls me in for a hug.
I don’t know what to do.
He pulls away, still smiling.
“Now get on board,” he says. “Everything you’ll need is there.”
I nod.
“Don’t worry,” he adds. “This is just a simple experiment. You’ll be
safe, as will the others. Everything will be fine.”
Then he turns and walks away.
Suddenly it feels colder.
I look up at the sky as the clouds begin to cover the sun, and the
wind grows stronger. I turn to face the ship, and I walk towards the
entrance. I open the door and step inside.

6
 I am met with a short hallway, and what appears to be rooms on each
side. The walls are white and some are covered in small buttons I don’t
go close to.
“Do not touch the wheel, Sutekar,” a man says in the space in which
the hallway eventually leads, though I do not see him.
“I was not going to,” a woman responds, her voice deep, and
impatient.
I walk over to the space, but I do not enter it right away.
“Then why were you standing next to it?” the man asks.
I can see him now. He is tall and blonde, and is speaking to a woman,
standing next to the wheel of the ship, and she is almost as tall as him,
but her hair is long and dark.
“I was just standing next to it,” she says. “I wasn’t doing anything. I
can’t stand in places now?”
“Well, I’m the pilot. This is my space. Get out.”
“Fine.”
She begins heading for the hallway, and she stops when she sees me.
The man looks up at me as well.
“Ah, Marvona,” he says. “Finally.”
The woman walks out of the room.
“You’re the mechanic,” the man says to me.
“Mechanic?” I repeat. “But I don’t know anything about that.”
He shrugs. “You’ll figure it out.”
Then he points to the woman walking down the hallway. “Sutekar is
the weapons-keeper, though she seems confused,” he says with a soft
laugh. “Arentha is the map-keeper, and Valoria is the medic.”
Then he starts walking down the hallway as well, and I don’t know
what else to do then to follow him.

7
 “Now that you’re here I suppose we can start,” he says, without
looking back at me. “As soon as we get the first instruction from William
we’re good to go.”
He stops when we’ve reached what I can only assume to be the main
room. It looks better than I had expected, even for an Evorian ship. The
couch and table placed in it make it look more like somebody’s home
rather than a travel ship.
The dark-haired woman sits on the couch with a man looking
straight to the ground, and another man sits on one of the chairs by the
table.
“What’s your name?” he asks.
I look at him.
“Corine.”
He nods.
“I’m Victor. From Valoria.”
The dark-haired woman sighs before looking at me. “My name’s
Alaria and I’m from Sutekar,” she says quickly.
The man sitting next to her looks at me for a short moment, but
then looks down again. “Henry. Arentha,” he says quietly.
The tall, blonde man walks to the hallway and looks over at
something on the wall.
“James Archer. From Evorr, of course.”
I nod.
Then he looks back at us.
“We got a message.”
Victor stands up. “What does it say?”
He walks back over to us.
“The first stop is Marvona.” He looks over at me. “How exciting,” he
says and smiles, though there is mockery all over it.

8
 “Arentha,” James says and points at Henry. “Come. Bring your
map.”
Henry gets up with a small device in his hand and follows James to
the other side of the hallway.
Alaria stands up and her and Victor walk up to separate walls,
pressing on different buttons.
“What do I do?” I ask.
“Just hope it will be over soon, I guess,” Alaria says.
I nod as the ship takes flight.