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• 1 media/Syenite Rings.jpg media/Screen Shot 2020-11-20 at 11.24.39 AM.png media/Syenite Rings 1.png 2020-11-20T09:35:05-08:00 Power, Identity, and Oppression in Allia 128 Syenite and Alabaster's Journey in The Stillness plain 2020-12-02T18:51:24-08:00

  Syenite and Alabaster finally arrived in Allia after a long and strenuous journey, commissioned by the Fulcrum, to clear a large coral reef, obstructing ships' access to their land. During the trip, Syenite and Alabaster's relationship became increasingly more complex. Through a forced couplehood mandated by the Fulcrum, their courtship began with resentment. However, as they pushed forward, the personal dynamic began to evolve into a mutually exclusive friendship, where they slowly came to mentor and support one another. With every significant life changing encounter, their partnership continued to evolve, eventually creating an inseparable bond. Each life changing event along the way, transformed into what used to be a bitter partnership into a loving, yet untraditional intimate relationship, the closer they traveled to Allia.
  Both Alabaster and Syenite shared the same past. They both attended and trained as orogene students at the Fulcrum, where they learned to master the skill of orogene control and restraint, as methods in how best assimilate into society, undetected.  
  
  After their training was complete, they were fully equipped with the skill set needed to assimilate into society. However, they failed to realize that they were programmed, not skilled. By learning to disguise their identities and powers, they took an oath to bind themselves to society's restrictive social structure by allowing oppression to define their existence.

  The was one significant difference between Alabaster and Syenite's training was Alabaster's continued close tie to the Fulcrum, continuing to refine and further develop his skills, strengths, and orgogene powers. As he moved through the ranks, he finally earned the title of a "Ten Ringer," which was only awarded to the strongest and most experienced ororgens in society, which made him well-suited to mentor the young Syenite throughout their journey. 

  While traveling through The Stillness, Alabaster began to teach Syenite how to best harness her powers in the real world, outside of the Fulcrum's walls, through real-life situations, and more important, how to better disguise herself. Unfortunately, as they traveled closer to Allia, they traveled further away from their identities. Disguising one's identity and adopting methods of assimilation has weaved it's way into the everyday lives of Black and minority communites. Blending In and conforming to White America's standards of set behaviors and norms, are thought to reduce the risk of potential harm from society and law enforcement. By going through the motions and never allowing the world to see who you really are, will not stop the age old pattern of racism and oppression. Movements like Black Lives Matter, fueled by systematic racism, have made it their sole mission to drive awareness and educate America on their plight as a race and how they plan to overcome the racial discimination in the future.   

  Throughout their stay in Allia, Alabaster navigates both himself and Syenite through the most offensive and discriminatory acts with the utmost grace and restraint, even more so than civilized non-orogenes. His mastery of assimilation provides him access to similar privileges as his oppressors. He knows that things will work in his favor by appearing calm, refined, and non-confrontational. He revisits his training at the Fulcrum daily and knows through experience that if he obeyed the Guardians, passed their tests, and followed their rules, he would receive respect. If he disobeyed, he received physical and mental punishment. By staying within society's social structure, no harm will come to him or Syenite for the remainder of their stay.

  Once Syenite had unleashed the obelisk,she patiently waited for word from the Fulcrum on the next steps. She finally received a telegram commanding her to remain in Allia until further notice. The message made her nervous, as well as confused. The only thing she can infer is that the telegram might relate to her unexpected release the obelisk, in the open. She knows that her display of power might have threatened and potentially frightened the townspeople. The cryptic message and no further communications from the Fulcrum or the Guardians lent to a cause for concern. Had she overstepped her bounds? What were the repercussions? How can she explain that unleashing something so powerful was not her intention? She should have left well enough alone and not unearthed a power not meant to be understood by non-orogenes.

  Alabaster sternly warns her not to discuss the strange occurrence surrounding the mysterious obelisk with anyone. If asked, Alabaster insists that she explains the situation by saying she was trying to "just shift the strata and the thing popped up on its own, like a cork underwater; even our own people will believe that" (197). and that “It’s just another deadciv artifact that doesn’t make any sense; nobody will question you about it if you don’t give them a reason to. So don’t talk about it. Not even to me"(197). He knows that if the authorities learn about her powers, they will destroy her. The only viable solution was to hide and lie to avoid the harm that might be inevitable.
  
  This type of occurrence frequently happens in Black and minority communities. Surveillance is very real, and any misinterpretation of an event or incident might lead to harm or unfair incarceration based on false pretenses. Black and minority groups continuously live in fear, knowing that any one thing they do might be miscontrued and deemed unlawful by the police. After this heated and confusing discussion with Alabaster, she decides to take a walk, Alabaster insisting on joining her. As they walk towards the obelisk, he cannot help but notice something strange about its position in the sky. He immediately goes into character to not “let on” he or Syenite have any connection to the phenomenon, hinting that Syenite should go into character as well. Alabaster knows they cannot expose their identities and insists that she not look up at the obelisk again. Keep your head down, blend in, and pretend not to see the danger all around you. 

  As they continue to walk, Alabaster quietly explains to Syenite that her control over an obelisk is more powerful than any orogene has ever managed in nearly three thousand years. This power presents a large threat to the Guardians, whose sole job is to control the orogene's powers. The Guardian's power allows them to stop orogeny instantly; however, this is the least of their concerns at the moment. Alabaster explains that there are other Guardians unexplainably more strange than the rest, having unusual powers that prohibit them from being allowed or even in the proximity of untrained children. These Guardian's sole mission is to track down the most powerful orogenes, eliminate them, or transform them into node transmitters. It is imperative once again that he and Syenite not draw attention to themselves.

  Alabaster immediately notices an unusual man on the boardwalk, then suddenly realizes that he might be one of these unfamiliar Guardians. As they approach one another, he introduces himself as Edki Guardian Warrant. Suddenly, he attacks Alabaster, sinking a glassknife into his shoulder, instantly paralyzing him. He then turns to Syenite, using the same glassknife to stab her in the heart. Instead of dying, she is drawn away from earth,into the sky, and reared helpless as she enters the broken obelisk. Syenite immediately experiences excruciating pain and agony. Then suddenly, she is released and lands back on the boardwalk. When she looks up, she sees the Stone Eater at the core of the obelisk; then, it shatters in front of her.
  
  Encoded Text of this Scene 
  http://stratford.vucis.org/hhunsley/boilerplate/contents/Chapter%2014,%20finalized.xml                                                    
  
  Works Cited
  Jemisin, N. K. The Fifth Season: the Broken Earth. Orbit, 2015.