Oh, hi. Don't mind me, I'm just a commoner. I'm too young for my assignment, only 19, but I feel way too old to still be at home. I'm glad, though. My parents are cool, and my brother's wonderful. He still lives at home. He's a mason, but he was set back emotionally when Astra, his girlfriend, disappeared a couple of years ago. It was rough on all of us. Astra was always like a breath of fresh air.

      And, by the gods, do we need fresh air.

      This place is so oppressive. I try not to let it get me down, for Peter 's sake, and Julia 's, but it's hard. It's beautiful - green, lush, vegetation, graceful wildlife, and the most natural, most beautiful city you've ever seen. But it's rotten on the inside. The government is corrupt almost beyond redemption (now I'm starting to sound like Julia and Mathieu) and nobody's really happy. This place is officially known as Evelon - the land of the sunrise. But to the undergrounders, it's known as lavinicae - the broken promise.

      I don't mean to sound like Julia. Jules is my best friend, but we don't always see eye to eye. Sometimes I think the only reason she's a part of any of this is because she needs to push away from her parents. Julia has everything. She can do whatever she wants, go wherever she wants, pick what she does with her time, choose her own occupation. And she has Antonio And the attention of every male in Evelon. What does she have to complain about? .

      But I don't mean to sound so down on Jules, either. She's my best friend and I love her to death.

      Okay, I admit it. I'm jealous of Julia because she's thinner than me, and she's popular and beautiful in that mysterious way, and she's so rich. By the way, I'm 19. Jules is only 17. Antonio is 24 - even old than Peter, but he still goes after Jules. Oh, well.