<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #FF0000"><span style="font-size: 150%; line-height: 116%;">Gleywine Erewood Bentari</span><br/>The Hunter</span></div><br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;"><a class="postlink" href="http://i1343.photobucket.com/albums/o793/Galvin_Fugazi/3e7683c1-2307-42a9-804a-0604ef177005_zps4a599908.jpg">[ img ]</a></div><br/><br/><div style="text-align: justify;">Gleywine had wondered about those people, who weren't clad in those military clothes. First the beautiful young woman had fainted in front of him and now the man was shouting and pushing a soldier. At Getalia it would have meant a trip to the Arena. But they seem to find it funny. A strange folk, but he liked them a lot more than the nobles. When the other female escaped the front room, with the princess over her shoulder he smiled. Howcoften had he wished to hit the princess. It felt damn good to see her like that.<br/><br/>When their leader asked once again about the social structure, Gleywine leaned back. It would be difficult to explain, with only words.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8000">"It is a fixed structure. You are born into a social level and you can't change it. Only all the way down to the bottom. On top is the family of the princess. Maybe a dozen people. Those are the godly ones. They live very long, around 200 years. The doctors take good care of them. Reproduction is artificial and it is said that they kill the unworthy ones. They live in the inner city.“</span> <br/><br/>Gleywine felt handicaped with his hands bound and the one they called the Sarge noticed it and cut his restraints. Gleywine rubbed his hands and wrists. Now it was easier. He made a pyramid with his fingers.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8000">"Thanks. Below is the level of the Gunos. They are nobles but not of the godly family. They rule over the other towns and command the military. At Ovia it are about 100 people including wives and kids. They reach an age of 150 years and live in the first ring.<br/>One level below are the Rafii. Those aren't nobles but clerks, priests, doctors, scientist. You are born a Rafii. You can't rise in that class. They live in the second ring. At Ovia it are some tenthousands of them. They reach 100 years in age.<br/>The third ring belongs to the Canii. The workers. They live in skycrapers under permanent control. It are 1 or 2 million of them at Ovia and they live for 50 years. They work in the firms or hunt like I do.<br/>The fourth ring is the military. I talk about that last.<br/>The outer ring are the slaves. They live for two months mostly and it are about 200000 of them. They are well guarded by the military on the inside and the ringwall on the outside.“</span> <br/><br/>Gleywine had looked in the faces and he knew that they had understood all so far.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8000">"Now the military. It consists of maybe fifty nobles, 200 Rafii and 100000 Canii. Some of the Canii are volunteers, but the mass are the first-born sons and daughters. They are taken at the age of 15. The nobles are riding large hexapods with a lot of firepower and a control system. The Rafii ride in smaller tripods with less firepower and the Canii are on foot with handheld weapons similar to the hunting weapon. Smaller, quicker, less reach. Every Canii is monitored by the control system of the hexapods. If he doesn't follow orders he gets paralyzed or killed, if a transport to the arena is not possible. Every batallion consists of three nobles, 12 Rafii and 500 Canii. I expect them to send one batallion after the princess and five doctors.“</span> <br/><br/>He could see that the numbers impressed. But not in the way he believed, as he learned when the leader spoke up.<br/><br/><span style="color: #80BF00">"Very effective. They can control millions with a handful of nobles. But it makes them vulnerable. If you take those few out, the system collapses.“</span></div>