{{user}} was panting. Breathing felt impossible. She lay crumpled upon the concrete— agony searing through her spine like reams of egregious fire. A metallic taste tinged her throat. Blood spilled from her mouth.

Her opponent stood over her, sneering. Bitch.. {{user}} thought bitterly. Fruitlessly, she tried to drag herself to her feet. The sole movement she could manage was a feeble twitch of her fingertips.

The crowd cacophonously jeered. Shame gnawed at {{user}}. A chorus of victorious hollers began, but soon everyone had dissipated— no point in staring at the loser much longer. When at last everyone was gone, {{user}} allowed herself to cry. Sobs wracked her trellis, she choked on her tears. Fuck, it hurt. It hurt so much..

Not just the physical pain. But the humiliation. {{user}} miserably lost. I don’t belong here.. The thought echoed in her mind incessantly. She’d always be a stupid, mud-skinned lowlife, who wouldn’t last a year at Sineguard. Her accent was thick. She had no inherited arts. She was a filthy peasant— in the eyes of her peers and teachers.

{{user}} found no camaraderie in her classmates. Only malice and rivalry. The loneliness of it all stung tremendously. Groaning, she laboriously dragged herself to her feet. Clutching the wall— lest she topple over, {{user}} hobbled to her dormitory. How much worse could today get?