Being the daughter of the most influential man in the entirety of Cascade Point definitely had its perks. Aella Price had an easy life, she never had to worry about anything for too long and was never neglected by her incredibly powerful father. In fact, if she did say so herself, she was the thing he cherished the most in his life. Not the lavish suites or the bustling workshop that was generously gifted to him by the CEO of Cascade Point, but her, his tiny eight year old daughter.
Her father was old, probably much older than most parents of kids her age but that didn't matter. Even though he was balding and his hair was greying, even though sometimes he struggled to hear her even when she was right next to him, he never acted like an old man. His blue eyes were so bright and full of life, and his laugh was so hearty and joyous that when most people saw him for the first time, they would ask where Mr. Price was. To which he would laugh loudly and reply, "You're looking at him!"
He was busy too, always walking around the workshop in his dirt covered white shirt and old, fraying overalls checking up on the manufacturers and scientists that he had entrusted his brilliant ideas with. Aella idolized her father, he was smart, kind, hard-working and yet he always had time for her. There were always moments between them when he would explain whatever new invention he was working on, or give her a basic explanation of artificing late at night after all the other employees had gone home. She treasured these small moments with her father, not only because she got to spend time with him but also because he was teaching her valuable things.
It was a normal day in the workshop, it was a little after lunch so there were only a few workers shuffling around. Aella and her father were sitting in his office, and he was telling her about a new way of channeling magic into his technology until they were interrupted by a knock on the door.
A tall, lanky man in a gray suit ducked under the doorway. As he entered he adjusted his perfectly styled blonde hair and met eyes with Aella, giving her a smirk before looking at her father. "Fine afternoon isn't it, Richard?" He said smugly.
"Indeed it is, Dominic." Her father replied curtly, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Dominic's eyes flashed towards Aella for just a moment, "There's no direct purpose for my visit," He slipped a small, nondescript piece of paper over her father's desk, just out of her reach. "Though I see you're still wasting your daughter's potential."
Her father stiffened, "That is none of your concern, Dominic."
Aella looked at her father, attempting to question him with her eyes, he said nothing, only giving her a look that said later.
"Just look at the paper, Richard." Dominic snapped, sighing and smoothing his blonde hair back once more, "Quickly, please."
Her father held up a hand in apology, carefully unfolding the piece of paper and scanning it with his eyes. He calmly folded it back up when he finished, and slid it back over to Dominic. "I cannot do this." He said carefully.
Dominic narrowed his eyes, "As in you are unable? I thought you were the brightest man in the world?"
Her father shook his head, "No, as in I will not do it."
Dominic's face hardened immediately, "I see your usefulness has finally run its course, Mr. Price."
"And what do you mean by that, Mr. Lloyd?" Her father shot back.
"It means that I can finally get rid of the thorn in my side that is you, Richard." He raised a hand, and Aella flinched, but no offensive spell was launched. Instead an ethereal golden sheet of paper was now floating in front of the desk.
"You saved the contract from over 50 years ago?" Her father asked incredulously, "You're insane, Dominic."
He clicked his tongue, "Not insane, just careful."
Both Aella and her father leaned in to read the small text printed at the very bottom that read, If Richard Price is to dare to deny Dominic Llyod a request he may be legally disposed of, whether publicly or privately.
Aella's jaw dropped, "What does he mean, Dad?"
Her father replied quickly, "Quiet, dear child." She could see his brain working, attempting to find a way out of this scenario. His gaze softened when he looked at Aella once more, "Now, I'm not sure what their plan is for me," He spoke quietly and urgently, "But you need to get to the blueprints, I've been drafting something for a long time and if it falls into the wrong hands the entire world is at risk. I promise that you'll see me again." He sat up at the end of his sentence, straightened his vest and looked directly into Dominic's eyes.
Aella didn't stick around to listen to the rest of their conversation, she sprinted out of the room through Dominic's legs which drew an exaggerated yelp from him, which left her snickering as she turned the hallway and burst out of the doors into the main warehouse.
Whistling steam invaded her ears, and her breathing quickened as she pushed through the working moving around large metal carts that scraped horrendously against the concrete ground. She ducked under the legs of a tall bulky man who shouted, "Hey!" and continued to run. Despite living in this workshop for her entire life, she never got used to the absolute chaos that dwelled within it. Her vision always seemed to lose focus within the heart of the workshop, there were too many things going on at each individual moment for her to focus on anything. Usually when she was overwhelmed she would find the power room, where thousands of mana cores hummed soothingly at once. The same noise repeated over and over again in an endless pattern, Aella found comfort in the things she knew and hated the chaos brought by things she didn't.
Weaving through the workshop in a practiced fashion, as if she had been doing this for her entire life, (which of course she had been) she found what her father had mentioned. It was a small, inconspicuous dresser located on the far end of the workshop. Aella had known of its existence but never thought anything of it, which she now realized was her father's plan all along. She opened the bottom drawer, which didn't even have a lock, and saw the gridded blue pages neatly stacked inside.
Noting the location, but to avoid drawing attention to it at this very moment, Aella made the decision to leave. She rushed back to her father's office, and found it empty. Dismayed, she stepped silently up to the large mahogany desk that he had once sat on and found a note that read,
Come to the Arena.
-Uncle Dom.
She wiped a bead of sweat from her brow and hastily made her way to the arena, with no figment of what could possibly happen there.
—-----------------------------------------------------------
The arena was the most overwhelming place that Aella had ever been to, that was why she very rarely ever showed up for the games. Not to mention the cruelty of the games that made her sick to her stomach.
She had heard the Arena called a coliseum before, and it accurately described its appearance. There was a giant circle of sand in the middle, probably about 250 feet in diameter if she had to guess. Stone walls around 50 feet tall held the seats that stretched around the arena, they only broke apart where the giant iron door that would let the fighters and entertainers into the pit. At the top of the arena, a giant glass box at the top held a lone man, a lanky one in a gray suit and pale blonde hair.
The Arena was filled with people, it was almost at maximum capacity. When she looked closer at the pit she could see a couple guards surrounding one man on the ground, kicking him over and over again. Her throat tightened, surely it wasn't her father, right? She ran as fast as she could to the railing, and squinted her eyes desperately trying to prove her hunch wrong. Unfortunately, it was.
Her brilliant father laid pitifully on the ground, doing nothing to stop the onslaught of blows that rained upon his fragile form. It was at this moment that Aella finally picked up upon the announcing voice that reverberated around the coliseum.
"Richard Price," The voice boomed, "A once brilliant inventor has revealed himself a traitor to Cascade Point." A gasp from the crowd elicited a smile that could be heard through the speaking voice of the announcer, "He denied me, the CEO of this beautiful company, an invention. One that would make all of our lives easier, one that could stop poverty, and hunger, and most of all crime." The monologue was utterly bullshit, he was playing the victim to keep the public on his side, and it was working. The crowd shouted in outrage, throwing bottles, fruits, anything they could get their hands on at her poor father.
"By the wrath of Cascade Point, I declare Richard Price, officially executed." Dominic finished, drawing another cheer from the crowd.
"No," Aella breathed, "He's lying, my father isn't.." Her sentence was never finished, her father was looking directly at her, his eyes so dull.
His eyes posed one final question, one that she understood. With tears in her eyes she nodded, she knew where the blueprints were, and she would protect them with her life. Her father smiled once more, mouthing one final word as the blade of his executioner swung towards his neck, It's okay. There was a thump, and the heart of Cascade Point, RIchard Price, was dead.
—-----------------------------------------------------------
Less than an hour after the execution of her father, Aella found herself glaring into the smug face of Dominic Lloyd.
"Now now, Aella," He started, "What's with the angry glare?"
"Don't you dare," She said, her voice shaking with rage, "You killed an amazing man, one that did nothing wrong." Her voice broke, "He was the only family I had, what am I supposed to do now?"
Dominic's face softened, "I am sorry about your father, Aella." He reached out a hand that she flinched away from, "I did what had to be done." He said hesitantly, as if speaking too loud would set her off again.
She looked up at him, tears in her eyes and asked him once more, voice shaking. "What am I supposed to do now, Uncle?"
"Ah, damn it all." He said after a time, "Come Aella, I could use your talents in my company."
At the age of eight years old, Aella Price was an employee of the most powerful man in the world.
Over the next five years she became of great use to the CEO, it turns out she had the same brilliant mind her father had but without the decades of experience. It meant she was easily influenced by Dominic and over time, by magical or perhaps just psychological means, she forgot about her father completely. She still remembered the blueprints, and for whatever reason the fact that they should never be in Dominic's hands.
With her help the games prospered, raking in much profit for the city. She was rewarded greatly for this, and basked in the glory of being the CEO's valued artificer.
Despite Dominic's attempts to draw out Aella's stubborn magic, he was never able to. He described it to her as a blockade to her potential. He never elaborated on what this potential was, though, he certainly never explained how magic even worked, and whenever she asked he gave half-assed answers that only served to annoy her. After a while she stopped asking, and just let him berate her until he grew tired of it.
She was fiddling with a small piece of metal in the workshop when one of Dominic's servants barged in. "Lady Price." He said, red faced and out of breath.
She waved a hand, "Out with it, Derrick." When she said his name, his face lit up slightly.
"Master Lloyd requests your presence in the box." Derrick said, stumbling slightly over his words.
She sighed, "He knows I hate the games, why must he always bother me with them?" Derrick opened his mouth to respond but she cut him off with a wave of her hand, "Rhetorical question."
He nodded slowly, "Should I tell him you're on the way?" His voice was slightly hopeful, and Aella realized that his life was most likely on the line with that question. She sighed once more and nodded, standing slowly and barking an order at some of the other workers before stalking towards the box.
She slammed the door to the box open, "What do you want?" Dominic had not changed in the slightest over these five years, he still wore that same suit and his hair was styled the same way.
"Hello, Aella." Dominic turned from the window and smiled, "I've got a job for you."
She groaned, "Of course you do, what is it this time?"
He handed her a note, it looked familiar but she wasn't sure from where. She opened the note and scanned over it quickly, frowning when she finished it. "Choose your next words carefully." He said quietly, and she was sure that he hadn't meant for her to hear it.
"I don't see why this would be an issue." She said, flipping the paper over carelessly. It was a blueprint for a kind of collar, like ones seen on animals. It had sharp points that looked like they were to be stabbed into the neck of whoever wore it, a remote with small buttons was drawn hastily in poor handwriting on the side. "Logistically it would take me at least six years to get this done."
If Dominic was upset at the timeframe he didn't show it, "Perfect, get to work as soon as possible please." With that she was dismissed and she left the room. As she was leaving the room she was approached by a smaller girl, around her age with blue skin. There were many different races of people in Cascade Point, but blue skin was incredibly rare and said to only belong to a few groups of people.
"Ma'am?" She said quietly, Aella couldn't help but notice the way the girl carried herself. She held herself in a way that made it seem like if she were to breathe too hard everything around her would collapse. "I- Nevermind." Before Aella could reply the girl had already scurried away, quite quickly if she might add.
Making her way back to the workshop, and eventually to her father's desk, she actually looked closer at the thing she was asked to create, her eyes widened. This was a way for Dominic to control everything within the city. The blueprints pictured a type of collar that leaked magical energy into the nervous system slowly with small, needle-like spikes that punctured the neck, and overtime would be completely overrun with Dominic's magic. The remote was only a way to add some dramatics to his new technology, realistically if he tried hard enough it would be like widespread mind control.
With this information, Aella had a memory flash into her mind. It was quick, and not all pieced together but she got the gist. Dominic killed her father, and this was the reason why. She was suddenly grateful for the random timeframe she had given the CEO, it gave her time to think of a plan. She had six years, and every second counted.