“Let’s start with basic information,” Captain Bhati said. Another soldier, who Nev had not seen before, was stationed at a desk with a pen, ink, and paper.
Nev was seated in a wooden chair in the captain’s office. He’d been given an ankle length cream colored tunic that the healer referred to as a thawb. Anxiety knotted his gut every bit as much as his non-traditional biology.
Bhati continued. “Name?”
“Nev.”
“Surname?”
“I don’t have one.”
“You’re a slave?” Bhati asked.
“No, well, sort of. I am the property of the mage Kustaa. He created me.”
“What purpose do you serve the mage?”
“I am an energy source, free of gender bias, to be used to fuel some of his spell working.” Nev tried to answer as honestly as he could.
“Why did you leave him?”
“I was going to be sacrificed to provide
