The Quadrants

Chapter 9

Without questioning his father, Titus got up from his seat and beckoned Rohan to follow. Rohan couldn't help but notice how passive Titus was at home. Not at all the confident, arrogant bully who strutted around the halls at school.

The boys waited in the yard for what seemed like an eternity before they were summoned back into the house.

"Look, Mr Blackwell," said Rohan when he re-entered the dining room, confronted by Dante's penetrating stare. "I've really got to get going now. My parents will be expecting me home."

Rohan saw the displeasure on the man's face at this suggestion, and it quickly discouraged him from voicing any further opposition.

"Take a seat, Rohan," said Julius, trying to sound reassuring as he pulled a chair out for him. Rohan sat on the edge of it. "We need to talk to you about a few things. When Titus told us about you, some of us weren't sure how true it was..." He shot a look in Dante's direction. "And so, thank you for coming here to clear that up." He hesitated a moment before going on. "It's difficult to explain all of this, so I suppose the best way is to just come straight out with it. If you're not following me, just ask. Ok?"

Rohan was relieved it was Julius who was taking charge now. He seemed nice, almost friendly, and Rohan didn't think his nerves could have withstood another conversation with Dante—he just looked like he wanted to murder everyone. Rohan took a deep breath and nodded, steeling himself for what was to come.

Clearing his throat, Julius began. "So, I understand Titus has told you something about the Quadrants." He rested his elbows on the table and leaned forwards on them.

Rohan nodded again.

"And the four cities?"

"Yes."

"Good. Well, that's a start." Julius clasped his hands in front of himself on the table. "So... to begin with, there weren't always the four cities. Once, a long time ago, there was just one city, called Unos. The people of Unos possessed a mix of the four powers... or gifts, you could call them. Some had two or three sets of gifts, some had four..." He hesitated, watching Rohan.

"The complete separation of our people took place over many generations," Julius continued. "Beginning with a struggle for leadership between four individuals in the Ministry of Unos. Their disputes escalated until eventually they took up occupancy in separate corners of the city. They each gained many followers, and over time, the four corners stopped mixing almost entirely, except within the ministry. This is when the Quadrants, as we know them today, were born. Even after the original antagonists were long dead and gone, and replaced by multiple successors, the people continued this way of life. They lived apart until, after many generations, their powers were eventually reduced, with each group coming to possess only a single gift."

Rohan sighed loudly. He felt uncomfortable being there, and didn't really want to hear about all this just at that moment. Maybe eventually, from Titus, but it was still all too strange, too... weird, so far removed from his own reality, plus, it was hard to relax under Dante's unceasing stare.

Julius eyed him off but kept going. "Early on, attempts were made by various groups within Unos to take over power from their neighbors, these being primarily led by demidiums. Demidiums are people who possess the powers of two Quadrants," he explained. "Back then, they were largely the leftovers from unity. The days of tryidiums and tetridiums—people with three and four gifts—were long gone. Demidiums were then the most powerful amongst the people of the Quadrants, but most people, and especially the ministers, felt threatened by them. Demidiums were eventually sought out, and officially detained. But everyone knew what the ministers were ultimately doing with them."