Dust and Ashes

Twenty-one year old Stephan Loche was born into the native minority of New Shedrelle, a once humble, coastal village, now a booming, industrial city, but he fled at age thirteen-after an extensive training program, mandatory for Shedrellites, that ultimately broke Stephan-with nothing but the clothing on his back and resentment in his heart. It was hard living on the streets. And for eight years, he managed to distance himself far, far from the rest of the Shedrellites -'Sheddies' for short- with close calls here and there, of course. But nothing now could ever compare to before.
Desperation. Civil war. Persecution.
'Sheddies' have begun to be put to death based solely on the accusations of a man by the name of Henry Adams, a well-known politician. As disgust and conflict boiled across New Shedrelle, Stephan began to realize that abandoning his blood was the worst thing he could have ever done.