The experiment with Magister Krovax had been a close call. When the magical energies swirled around the boratory, the boy had felt something stir within him—a response that he'd barely managed to suppress. Only through intense concentration and the control techniques he'd been practicing had he prevented any visible manifestation that might have revealed his true potential.

  Krovax had seemed disappointed by the ck of dramatic results, but Overseer Vargus remained convinced of the boy's unusual nature. This meant continued scrutiny and increased risk.

  As he scrubbed the food preparation tables in the sve kitchen, the half-demon boy considered his precarious position. Individual survival strategies weren't enough anymore. He needed something more substantial—a network of allies who could provide information, resources, and protection when needed.

  His existing arrangements with Ma, Drak, Se, and Krull were a start, but too limited in scope. He needed to expand his connections throughout the sve quarters, creating a system that would serve his growing ambitions.

  "You want to meet who?" Ma asked, her gray face creased with skepticism. They stood in a narrow service corridor during a brief break between work assignments.

  "Elek," the boy repeated. "The old one with the limp who works in the record rooms."

  Ma shook her head. "He doesn't talk to anyone. Keeps to himself."

  "I've been watching him," the boy expined. "He knows things. Important things."

  "And why would he share these important things with you, half-breed?" Ma's skepticism was warranted. Sves rarely shared advantages with others unless there was clear mutual benefit.

  The boy held up a small object wrapped in cloth. "Because I have something he wants."

  Ma's eyes widened when he partially unwrapped the package, revealing a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles he'd stolen from Magister Krovax's boratory. They were slightly damaged but still functional.

  "His vision is failing," the boy expined. "I've seen him squinting at the record tablets. These would help."

  Ma looked impressed despite herself. "Fine. I can arrange a meeting during the midnight meal shift. But be careful. Elek worked for the record keepers for decades. If anyone notices you talking to him..."

  The boy nodded his understanding. Connections between different worker groups were often viewed with suspicion by the overseers. But the risk was necessary.

  Elek turned out to be even older than he appeared from a distance. His horns had been ground down to nubs, and decades of bor had bent his once-imposing frame. But his eyes, though clouded with age, still held sharp intelligence.

  "So you're the half-breed Vargus has taken an interest in," the old demon said quietly as they huddled in a storage alcove during the midnight meal. Most sves were either working or sleeping, providing a rare moment of privacy.

  "I brought you something," the boy said, offering the wrapped spectacles.

  Elek examined the gift with careful fingers before pcing them on his nose. His expression shifted as the lenses brought the world into clearer focus.

  "Stolen from the upper levels," he observed. "Dangerous."

  "Worth the risk," the boy replied. "I need information."

  The old demon studied him for a long moment. "What kind of information could a thrall possibly need?"

  "I need to understand how things work beyond the sve quarters. The different castes, the kingdoms, how power flows." The boy hesitated before adding, "And I need to know about mixed-bloods like me. Why we're treated differently."

  Elek's ugh was dry and brittle. "Ambitious for a sve child."

  "Knowledge is survival."

  "Knowledge is danger," Elek countered, but his tone held no rejection. "Why should I help you?"

  "Besides the spectacles?" The boy leaned closer. "Because something is changing in the sve quarters. Vargus is looking for special talents, testing sves in new ways. You've been here long enough to know that when patterns change, trouble follows."

  The old demon considered this, adjusting his new spectacles. "And you think information will help you navigate this trouble?"

  "I think sharing information might help us all survive it."

  A slow smile spread across Elek's weathered face. "Clever boy. Not just looking for knowledge, but building connections." He nodded slowly. "I can tell you things—about the castes, the kingdoms, the politics. In exchange, you'll bring me news of Vargus's activities and any other useful items you might... acquire."

  The boy extended his hand in the formal gesture he'd observed among trading demons. "Agreed."

  Over the following weeks, the boy systematically expanded his network of contacts throughout the sve quarters. Each new connection was carefully chosen for what they could offer:

  Elek provided historical context and structural knowledge about demon society. During hushed conversations in forgotten corners, he expined the caste system, the Blood Bond ritual that allowed advancement, and the complex retionships between the seven demon kingdoms.

  "The seven kingdoms weren't always separate," Elek expined during one meeting. "Long ago, there was a unified demon empire under a single Emperor. The Sundering changed everything, fragmenting both the realm and society."

  This information helped the boy pce his own situation in broader context. He wasn't just fighting for survival within the sve quarters, but within a vast, complex world with its own rules and possibilities.

  Next, he approached Niva, an aging female demon who worked in the healing chambers. Though not a trained healer herself—such education was reserved for higher castes—she had absorbed considerable practical knowledge through observation.

  His offering to her was a collection of rare dried herbs he'd pilfered during his work in Magister Krovax's boratory. In exchange, she taught him basic healing techniques and, more importantly, provided regur updates on which sves were injured or ill—valuable intelligence about the shifting dynamics within the quarters.

  "Knowledge of who is weakened gives you power," Niva told him bluntly. "Either to help or to exploit. Choose wisely which you prefer."

  The boy chose to help—not from pure altruism, but because offering assistance created obligations and loyalty that simple exploitation could not. When he used Niva's techniques to treat Krull's infected wound or Se's persistent cough, he wasn't just helping fellow sves; he was binding them closer to his growing network.

  Perhaps his most valuable connection came through careful observation of the food distribution system. He noticed that one server, a hook-horned demon named Vex, consistently managed to secure extra rations for himself. Rather than exposing this theft, the boy approached Vex privately.

  "I've seen how you adjust the dle when serving," he said quietly, "Taking less from some bowls so there's extra for ter. Clever."

  Vex's initial arm quickly transformed into calcution. "What do you want, half-breed?"

  "Not to expose you. To propose an arrangement. Information in exchange for small food adjustments that benefit both of us."

  Their resulting partnership gave the boy access to better nutrition—crucial for his still-developing body—and, more importantly, created a way to reward others in his network. Extra food was the most valuable currency in the sve quarters, and now he could offer it selectively to those who provided the most useful service.

  His network grew methodically. From the undry workers, he gained access to movement patterns of the higher castes based on which clothes were being cleaned. From maintenance thralls, he learned about hidden passages and structural weaknesses in the quarters. From those assigned to noble households, he gathered valuable intelligence about politics and changing policies.

  Each connection was maintained through a careful bance of mutual benefit, selective information sharing, and the occasional "acquired" item from his work with Magister Krovax. No single sve knew the full extent of his network, and he compartmentalized information carefully to maintain control.

  The boy also began identifying other intelligent sves who, like himself, seemed to have potential beyond their assigned station. He approached these individuals carefully, testing their discretion and capabilities before bringing them into his confidence.

  One such recruit was Lira, a sve girl with unusual golden eyes who worked as a messenger between different sections of the compound. Her position gave her freedom of movement that most sves cked.

  "Why are you doing this?" she asked after he'd expined his proposal for information exchange. "Building these connections is dangerous."

  The boy considered his answer carefully. "Because I don't intend to remain a sve forever."

  Instead of the mockery or disbelief he expected, Lira studied him with sudden intensity. "You're serious."

  "Yes."

  "Then you need someone who can move between sections without raising suspicion." She tapped her messenger badge—a simple metal disk that granted her limited passage rights. "I can carry not just official messages, but yours as well."

  With Lira's help, the boy created a rudimentary communication system. Small marks in predetermined locations indicated meeting times or danger warnings. Innocuous phrases embedded in normal conversation conveyed coded messages. Simple objects pced in specific ways served as signals for those who knew to look for them.

  Three months after beginning his network expansion, the boy sat in his hidden sanctuary, reviewing what he had built. On a piece of salvaged parchment, he had created a map of connections—not just of physical locations within the sve quarters, but of people and information flows.

  His network now included over twenty direct contacts, each with their own secondary connections. Through this web, he could gather intelligence about nearly any aspect of sve life, track the movements of key overseers, distribute resources to allies, and even send messages to distant sections of the compound.

  Perhaps most valuable were the wider perspectives he had gained. Through Elek's historical knowledge and information from sves who occasionally traveled with their masters, he had begun to understand the world beyond the sve quarters. He learned about the seven demon kingdoms, their distinctive cultures, and the tensions between them. He heard stories of the different castes, from the lowly thralls to the godlike Sovereigns who ruled each realm.

  This knowledge fed his growing ambition. If demon society was so vast and complex, perhaps there were pces within it where someone like him—intelligent, adaptable, and increasingly knowledgeable—might find opportunity beyond svery.

  "You've created quite the system," Elek commented during one of their meetings. The old demon had become something of a mentor, impressed by the boy's methodical approach to building his network. "But to what end? Even the most connected sve remains a sve."

  "For now," the boy replied. "But things change. When opportunity comes, I'll be ready."

  Elek studied him with newfound respect. "You remind me of stories from before the Sundering—tales of the first Emperor who rose from nothing through intelligence rather than bloodline."

  The boy absorbed this comparison silently, adding it to his growing store of knowledge. If there had once been a demon who rose above his station to become Emperor, perhaps the pattern could repeat.

  As he returned to his sleeping mat that night, moving silently through the darkened sve quarters, the boy reflected on how much had changed. Six months ago, he had been focused solely on personal survival. Now he controlled an information network that spanned the entire sve compound.

  It wasn't freedom, not yet. But it was power—small and fragile, but real. And with each piece of knowledge, each new connection, that power grew.

  When his full memories eventually returned—whatever they might reveal—he would face that awakening not as an isoted sve, but as the center of a web of influence, information, and resources. He didn't know exactly what the future held, but he was systematically creating the tools he would need to shape it.

  For now, that was enough.