Excerpt: The Untouchables: a Beginning

Rillen was in turmoil, torn asunder by a rift within the hearts of its very people. From the seats of the Council down into the dealings in the darkest alley. Everyone would be affected by the things at stake, but no one felt they were being heard out. Least of all the Untouchables.
Given a name and a status merely for being born without the Gift, the Untouchables found themselves little more than cattle within society. Given no voice nor chance at making something of their lives, they were assigned duties and a path to the future. No matter their mind nor skill nor how loud they might cry, their thoughts went unheard. Those that felt for them were stricken to silence.
Within the capital, tensions grew and people feared to speak, lest they be stricken down. The Council was closed in talks and the streets were often empty. No vendors hawked their fares and no children played at their games. They were quiet days, when even the cat-like people, the Carrat, who often acted as messengers and traders had moved on for the time being. Decisions had to be made and everyone held their breath as they awaited the outcome.
The Untouchables' numbers had been growing for some time, at a rate far quicker than they should be. Evil had stained the land and they were to blame. The old methods of keeping them in line had failed as growing numbers had given them courage and a strength previously unknown. Even without the powers of their forsaken families that was held over their heads with each dawning day, they had found ways to compete and make better for themelves.
From what little they had they began to form the beginnings of technology. Just the basics to help them provide for their families and to try to prove that they were not the cattle they were treated as and they deserved better than the hovels they were forced to occupy.
In the beginning, little was thought of this behavior for so long as they fufilled their duties as maids, chefs, and other such positions, it was alright. If a small tool aided them in better serving their superiors, than so be it. It was allowed, but it bred and grew into something that soon had become uncontainable. The voiceless had selected themselves a voice. A man to speak for them and make their desires known. Jorrell was the son of a noble family who held powerful roots within Carth, the capital. A family who often had a member (even distant) on the council of the Chosen Ones.
They began with small gatherings in squares, speaking of their plight to the common people. They began to gather supporters: those who saw that these people were little different than they. Soon followers came from the Temples and the noble families. This is when the Council took notice. This is when the Council realized that their source of control had begun to slip. They had to make a move; no longer could this threat be ignored.
It came down with a thundering cry: these Untouchables that tried to move above their station were to be cast even lower. They would no longer be able to hold even the least of jobs, nor find berth in the smallest of homes. They were to become faceless and unknowable. Should anyone acknowledge one, they would be placed within chains and cast into the dungeons beneath the Council's chambers. These faceless beings would be lower than the bugs that plagued within the summers.
Jorrell and his people did not stand for it. They continued to fight and continued to speak for themselves. Their plight was heard and despite the risks, people offered them food and shelter. The justice could not contain it and the Council feared the sickness upon their culture would spread from the borders of Carth, throughout Rillen. Word had already spread, but they could not risk support growing in the further cities as well.
The Chosen Ones made their decision known across the land, effective immediately: the Untouchables, to a head, were to be cast out. None living would be allowed to remain, to cleanse the good people of Rillen of their filth. If the gods had not found them worthy of their Gift, then they would not be welcome within the borders. The armies of Rillen were sent to sweep the land, flushing out all Untouchables and sending them south. To the Wastes.
Thought to be a vast desert, it was decided that should the gods take pity upon them, than they may survive.