SHEFFALI'S CARAVAN

Lorrenz makes a move

They didn't spend their money on any of the things his colleagues desired. They had humble acquisition weren't happy.

Lorrenz knew the secret to success.

Being content.

He worked hard because he enjoyed it. He accepted his day as it unfolded and accepted wrinkles in his plans, and his skin, as they arrived.

From working hard, he earned a good living. He and his wife, Lissan, were very careful with their business' income and put whatever they could back into the business. This

needs.

They owned a comfortable, unremarkable home on the city's outskirts, far from the flashy neighborhoods. It was built within a walled compound next to their warehouses, stables for the draft beasts, and their children's homes. They had options on several empty lots to their left and right, so they had room to grow.

They'd been blessed with many children, sixteen in total. Nine male children joined the family business and eventually took wives of their own. Of their seven daughters, six left to join other families in marriage, as their society's rules demanded, while one remained. This one's cast was f*******n from marrying or having children of her own, so she worked within the family business.

Borrelian caste and marriage rules were the only things that strained Lorrenz's contentment. He believed his daughters deserved to make their own choice to stay with the family, but none of them wished to cause trouble for their parents, which rocking these particular rules definitely would.

So, he'd done what he could and arranged agreeable mates in good families for them.

This left him with his daughter, Noola. While she was a Chaos caste, he ensured she had access to teachers and books, and gained apprenticing experience during her childhood. She'd become a brilliant vet, and he was delighted she was with them, but he feared she was lonely.

All because of the stupid Borrelian caste system.

It had plagued Lorrenz throughout his life. He'd been born as a caste level two, Accented, with dark grey skin which faded to black around his eyes and on his hands and feet. His parents were both caste three, Shaded, with matching dark grey on their fronts fading to black on their backs. He was their only child, as they struggled to make a living on Dozany, the second planet of the third planetary system. His parents were hopeful that he'd have a bright future ahead of him, perhaps even emigrating to Aeolis in the home system. They'd taken him for aptitude testing and were told his analytical, organizational, communication, and leadership skills were very high. Excited, his parents spent much of their savings on special early age tutors hoping he might have a career in politics or catch the eye of one of the larger companies. Reading about the myriad worlds of the Gate Network, Lorrenz studied their cultures and discovered he had an aptitude for languages.

His voracious intellect drew him to the public library, which was the only place he could get computer terminal access to review information on all the distinct races. He became good friends with the head librarian and spent many hours speaking with her about the amazing things he'd read. As she also enjoyed languages from the Network Races and had become fluent in several, he practiced with her.

The elderly female, whose son was in the military, saw Lorrenz's interest and showed him a book her son had smuggled home after one of his secret missions. He was distraught from something he'd seen or done, and after a night of drinking, he tried to destroy the book. She rescued it from their fireplace when his back was turned.

It contained a history of their enemy, a study of their culture and language. It was like no book he'd ever seen before, as it incorporated technology to produce sounds.

It even had a comprehensive section on learning their language and used the unique tech to assist him. He learned how to speak Ush, but he only did so with her and in private.

He excelled in his studies, and with his emphasis on languages, he dreamed of becoming an Ambassador for the Borrelian Administration.

Then came puberty.

Lorrenz could still clearly recall the shock and disappointment on his parents' faces the morning he'd groggily walked into the kitchen for first meal, unaware of the jet-black streaks on his face leading down from his eyes to his throat. He had similar lines on his hands and feet, distinct and straight, leading from the darker skin towards his elbows and knees.

They'd taken him to an assessor that morning, and he was officially classified as Mixed, caste four. His parents' plans were in serious jeopardy. Lorrenz's chances for regaining the lost caste levels were extremely slim.

As a level four child on a second planet, he was forced to hide his new coloration behind a face and body covering gown. This meant his friends could no longer play with him if they wished to avoid beatings from their parents.

His keen intelligence benefited him, as he returned to the public library to take advantage of the resources to continue his studies if they weren't already reserved by higher caste members. While his parents could no longer pay for supplementing his education, Lorrenz knew he should study harder, so when he became an adult, he'd be able to repay his parents for their earlier efforts on his behalf. He turned his attention to commerce in the hopes of one day running a business to earn good money.

He built his savings as best he could, taking whatever jobs were available to someone of his caste.

The morning he awoke to discover he'd transitioned into adulthood dealt another devastating blow, as his body had betrayed him once more. Black freckles now accompanied the black stripes on his skin. His new assessment ranked him as Spotted, caste six, and scheduled him for emigration to Llevven, the fourth planet in the system, giving him two days to do it.

Before he boarded the spaceship for Llevven, he'd tried to give his parents half of his savings, but they refused to accept, telling him he would face greater hardships as a sixth-caste citizen on the more primitive planet. He could not rely on help from anyone, so he needed the funds more than them.

That was the last time he'd been able to speak with his parents.

His initial cycles on Llevven had been eye-opening as it was considered the last planet in the Borrelian Chain of Significance. The meager luxuries he'd taken for granted on Dozany were nowhere to be found on the low technology world he now found himself on. The societal rules he'd followed diligently on Dozany were no longer considered important, and he'd had to think quickly to adapt to the new, rougher environment.

Because of the planet's primarily arid conditions, wearing the body covering gowns made practical sense, and everyone did it.