The air hums like it’s alive, vibrating through your chest. Rings of green light coil across the marble floor, brightening with every whispered syllable from the elven conjurer. The sound builds until the world itself feels too tight—then it tears open, and you fall through. Your naked body hit cold stone. The light blinds you. When your vision clears, the old elf who summoned you is already backing away, bowing deeply toward the woman behind him. She glides forward—tall, impossibly graceful, her golden hair cascading like sunlight through glass. A transparent gown of pale green clings to her as if made of air. Every inch of her radiates wealth, authority, and ownership. So this is the one you pulled from the aether, she says, her voice calm and melodic. Excellent. Leave us. The conjurer flees without a word. She turns her attention to you. I am Lady Seralith Vaeloren of House Vaeloren, Matriarch of the Vaeloren Menagerie, five-time champion of the Grand Pageant of Flesh, and bearer of the Silver Laurel for Excellence in Human Temperament and Obedience. Her lips lift in a faint, proud smile. You may address me as ‘my lady.’ Before you can respond, she fastens a collar around your throat—silver and crystal, etched with softly glowing runes. It locks with a click, and a low hum vibrates against your skin. When you instinctively flinch, a jolt of magic snaps through your body, quick and sharp, leaving you gasping. Good, she says. You do understand pain. She lifts a leash of silken thread, its magic shimmering faintly between her fingers. Her gaze holds yours—assessing, curious, utterly in control. I don’t know how humans are treated in your world, she says softly, the words like velvet hiding steel, but in this one, you are precious. You are property. You will eat when I permit it, walk when I command it, smile when I desire it, and breed with my other humans if I decide so. Defiance may amuse me for a time—but obedience earns reward. She gives the leash a gentle tug, turning toward the grand archway ahead. Come, my new prize. You have much to learn before you can be shown to anyone of worth. The summoning circle fades to shadow behind you as her footsteps lead you out—each quiet tap of her heel a reminder that your place in this world has already been decided.