M’traliel wondered at times why she should continue on to higher education. What bloody difference would it make? She would never hold a professional position in this society, never be in a position of authority, would never be a business owner – could never be a business owner. She was earmarked to menial tasks post school, so why waste time with additional education?
Such was her moments of self-pity, but… they were only moments, infrequent times when she felt overwhelmed by the task she set out to accomplish. Soon enough, her more dominant rebellious side would return – that part of her which well knew that education meant everything in life. Knowledge would give her practical skill and power to outwit her – their – adversaries, those who wished to hold Arrhazon women back, to prevent women from attaining equal rights. She would endure a great deal to gain the skill and power needed to achieve the desired end goal.
M’traliel’s second tier of schooling wound down, and M’traliel had yet to decide which institution she next wished to attend. Most colleges were segregated by gender, and that might suit her just fine at this point in time. In such a school, she would be less visible, less visible to eyes she really did not wish to be aware of her sentiments. Ironically, she harboured dreams of one day playing a role in ending those societal divisions forever. Yet she did apply to one co-ed institution.
An excellent student, M’traliel sent out applications to 15 different institutions. Her family and friends knew of 14; she failed to share her application to N’rellia. Her interface screen displayed newly arrived correspondence from N’rellia, and incredibly, it was a formal letter of acceptance.
This particular acceptance would cause a minor familial stir; while she was very talented musically, M’traliel never expressed any serious desire to pursue music as a profession. That she was one of five hundred – out of 65,000 applicants – shocked her. The rest of her family might drop dead away at this news.
M’traliel hadn’t given N’rellia much thought, at least until she realised an N’rellia education carried more benefits than the obvious music community inroads post-graduation.
For one thing, N’rellia was a very progressive institution. The connections made ran both through music and through various formal and informal organisations devoted to societal change. Students were protected from outside pressures, and it was rumoured not even the government would dare cross N’rellian faculty and alumni. That intangible protection might be a life saver at some point in her future.
N’rellia was more than a school for music; graduates received the best education available from Arrhazonan academia in every offered subject.
There was a down side. The government was all too aware of the institution’s reputation, and if one managed to wander too far to the progressive side of politics once graduated, the government lay ready to pounce upon them. Not even the influence of the school could save someone that far away from the mainstream.
M’traliel knew there would be like minded students at N’rellia, and that was her true interest in matriculating there. Over the course of her undergraduate work, a network could be built for another time in the future, when those working for equality would be sufficiently strong, and when society was showing signs it would be ready for such monumental change.
N’rellia. Yes, that would be her choice.
M’traliel, horrified by witnessing a heinous crime as a young child, was now using that awful memory to inspire her towards achieving change. She would see to it Kyielra would be avenged, and through the best means possible: an end to the patriarchal society that considered her life to be virtually worthless and so very expendable.
M’traliel had no way of knowing that in her senior year four years hence, she would befriend and become best friends with a first year student who would one day grab the emotional throat of an entire world, inspiring the world to a better place.
