The Determining

Prolouge

With pavement and gravel covering the ground all through the city, we have no idea what grass is and have never heard of a blue sky. The air around us isn't clean, never before have we smelt fresh air. Tresdil is a place of perfection, or so says our commander, Forest Draigs.

Commander Draigs has been our leader ever since Tresdil has been standing on the ground. He says that only a true leader lives forever and can give others the power to live forever like himself, such as his counsel members. Draigs is strange to me, I wouldn't trust a guy who can live longer than anyone else.

Tresdil has buildings everywhere. They are high tech, metal, and seem to sprout out of the ground every day; filling the air with more smells of titanium and pollution. All areas are clustered with metal buildings, bland houses and blinding street lights.

We are placed in three different sections, we call branches, that are all different. Two of our sections are split. Making us all logically five branches, but we claim three. Three because that is how Commander Draigs wants us to be.

First, are the Scholars and Truths. The Scholars continue their school studies of anything. It seems they just learn to brag and tell others how to do things. Although, they run a lot of Tresdil under the authority of Draigs. The Truths are part of the justice in Tresdil. None of them can lie. No matter what the cost is they only tell the truth.

Second, are the Self-denials and Gentiles. The Self-denials put others ahead of themselves. They are like kind pushovers. The Gentiles are peace-makers. They grow our food and stay at peace with everyone.

Last, are the Protectors, who are the bravest of us all. They keep us from what lies outside the gates that keep us in Tresdil. Sometimes I wonder if they are really keeping us in not keeping something out.

In all we are; Scholars, Truths, Self-denials, Gentiles, and Protectors.

Only one area is different, Downtown. All the people who did not get any branch as a Determining result is sent there. This isn't a part of the branches, though it may seem. Actually Commander Draigs has a metaphor for Tresdil. He says that Tresdil is a tree, he is the trunk that holds us all together, each big branch on the tree represents one of the branches in Tresdil. The two branches that have the other branches have another big branch growing from them. The many leaves on the branches represent each citizen. He says that the people in Downtown are the fallen twigs and leaves, they fall from the lack of strength that is needed to survive and end up leaving the tree, unable to rejoin the full tree ever again.

Downtown is very run-down with collapsed buildings, no lights and the ground is cracked where many can fall in the deep trenches and die. It is dangerous. The people there are inhuman. There is a high chance of getting mugged in that area. The people who live in Downtown are what we all call the fallen ones or the exiled. Every person who lives there has a Big "E" in a ribbon-made circle, tattooed on their left shoulder to show they are exiled from failing their Determining.

The Determining is on the dreadful day of November thirteenth. It was designed to help us make the decision of what branch to join from a serious if tests. Our final result does not have to be our finial decision, it just tells us our result and recommends it. When we complete our Determining we also get a percentage. If a citizen gets lower than what Draigs wants of that year then that person is Exiled to Downtown right away. When a citizen turns sixteen, they have to take a test called the Determining. Only on some very rare occasions a fifteen year old takes it early. That is when the citizens birthday is the day after November 13th. I am one of those rare occasions.

I am Blaire Hadley.