My family was among the first Draxorith taken by the Ascendancy, my wife and I along with our one child were sold to a Kar and transported to Obelix-Vent. They discovered our Silicon forms are unaffected by the plasmic energy released within the core of the planet. We are given a small subsistence of crystals to maintain our forms, but our child has grown weaker, so we nourish ourselves less and allow our child to grow. It is clear the Ascendancy views us not as fellow beings but as animals that can follow orders. At least I have my family, the Ascendancy has taken so much from us, but they have not yet taken that.
Each day I feel myself growing slightly weaker, feeling my form lose itself as though I am baking in starlight, eventually I will crack, unable to maintain. Each morning the low thrum of the planet's core reaches a crescendo and wakes us, we recognize its constant rhythms and adjust our lives to align with it. After months of digging through rocks for the Ascendancy we have found what they sought: a giant vein of Iridite. A tough ore that does not sing any song and resists our attempts at connection.
The Ascendancy now demands a quota of a container ship filled each 30 cycles, the ship arrives on the last cycle and collects the ore without ever setting foot on the planet, replacing our filled container with a nearly empty one, save our allotment of crystals, Fifty. Barely enough for two full grown Draxorith to last 30 cycles, again my wife and I must allot ourselves twenty to split, until the next shipment.
I look to my wife, knowing that we must do something or one of us will perish. I leave them tonight and head out in an attempt to locate a vein of crystals. I begin harmonizing with the surface, looking for any resonant response but I feel almost nothing in response, the Iridite resists my attempts to see beyond. I must get beneath the Iridite, I will attempt to sustain myself on what I can forage for the night.
I struggle for two cycles working myself to near exhaustion as stones begin to drop off me with each movement. But I finally hear a response to my songs, the core of the planet sings in tune with me as if responding to my song. It will take time to create a space large enough for me to fully resonate beyond, but this will allow us some small hope that we can find a food source.
Another container arrives with that same familiar marking, the crystal cube over the cracked world. This cycle's allotment of crystals has risen to fifty-three and included with it was a note that we cannot read. We set it aside and I proceed with my quest to make it through the iridite and reach the planet core. Maybe at least we can resonate with it and figure out what it needs.
Another five cycles pass until I am able to reach beyond, and there I find it. A growing vein of crystals, large enough to feed our family for generations. It seems that when the plasmic energy from the core reaches the Iridite it reacts in Aetherite gems. I grind it up and absorb it into my form, one small section contains enough nutrients to sustain my form for an entire day.
Another 25 cycles pass and we are able to gather enough of the crystals that we no longer need to worry about rationing our food, before the next ascendancy container arrives. The more the Ascendancy brings us containers the larger access we have to our vein of crystals. After years of work, we will be able to kick off the leash of the ascendancy and form a new society, the Draxorith of the Aetherite vein.
