The Eternal War Kasarewang
Man vs Kasarewang

Adi brought them a white marble box-shaped building to the left of the Drestha City square. From far away, he had seen the queue of Kasarewang children outside the building. The children with colorful hair came in droves. One adult instructor supervised about twenty Kasarewang children. Every one of the Kasarewang children, wearing free clothes, but on the right arm they are tied one ribbon in red, yellow, and others. On the ribbon, there is a different symbol in each color. Without having to explain, Harsa realized that the children were school students. He can guess mainly from how those kids called their instructor as ‘guru’.

“Kak, we don't need to have any qualifications right?” ask Harsa to be worried.

“No.” Adi shakes. “Everyone can take this test, kok.”

Harsa watched the Kasarewang children carefully. This was the first time he had seen so many kasarewang in one place. When compared to the archive building in his city, the Kasarewang Ministry building is not impressive at all. In fact, it seems inadequate to load all the children who sign up today. There were about a dozen children waiting in front of the government building.

“Wow. This news, everything offline?” ask Aster see the long queue.

“Offline?” Adi turned around asking with a confused look.

“Outside network.” Harsa said it. “Kak Adi does not understand English.”

Adi kept shaking. “I still don't understand.”

“That is, Brother. Register Use internet, use computer, or hp.” Harsa continued to explain, but Adi still looked at her in confusion. He shook his head. “Well, I've read in the dictionary what the internet is, but I still don't understand. How can you write in that glass layer without magic I don't understand.”

Harsa was at a loss for words. “If told to explain the technical anyway, I also. Uh. Programming sak.”

Adi shook his head. “If I could explain, you must have turned the electrical element into a light element, right?”

“Yes. Less is more like that.” At that time Harsa was only aware, the manipulation of physis might look like magic, but for Kasarewang, the daily life of humans must also be confusing half-dead.

They began to enter the ministry building after lunch hour had passed. Harsa begins to realize that they will not be able to rest because Kasarewang does not stop for lunch. They work while being constant in terms of absorbing physis. Fortunately the queue process was not too long because there were several counters serving the application.

“Should be children whose one school is registered by their teacher only.” Harsa's comments saw the inefficiency of the registration process.

“Yeah, but here you also have to take one by one his physis for making the citizenship stamp.” Adi said.

Adi couldn't answer that question. “Maybe... for the sake of security? It's just one day anyway. Kasarewang children are also happy because they do not need to learn.”

Ohh.. That's where the problem is. Thought Harsa. “’Iya, true too. Kasarewang got ‘forever’.”

It takes time for Adi to understand what Harsa means.

Now that they have found the key to improving their hearing ability, Harsa can hear what people are talking about around her. Not far from where they were waiting in line, some Kasarewang children were chatting among them.

“I feel really surprised by the same testing system as kayak gini. Why should our practice work together? What if I'm a test group with an incompetent and weak child?” ask one of them. “Then can be the same friends themselves anyway okay, but if the same is unknown? Keep them peberatin?”

“Well, hopefully that doesn't happen.” Respond to another child. “Indeed to worry anyway.”

“See, tuh at the back. Kids who don't have ribbons. They don't mean school, do they? From them, I don't feel the physi. Especially the female. Are they disabled?”

The defect? Harsa furrowed and looked at Aster with an unpleasant face. He remembered his own father, who could not open Kai anymore because his vase was destroyed. He just realized, for Kasarewang, people who cannot magic must be considered disabled. Moreover, many systems from the Karasarwang community that need a physis. Such a simple activity as opening the apartment door. In addition, the response from his friends was quite terrible. They even laughed mockingly.

“They are so weird. His way of speaking is also funny. Very flat.” Add another one.

“Hei! They can hear your dissent, you know.” Rebuke their teacher. “They're not weird, they're human. I can tell from one time see.”

“What? What are humans doing here?” Said another child surprised. “Do they want to kidnap Kasarewang again?”

The loud voice of the child was heard all over the room. The other children start to notice Harsa and Aster. The atmosphere in the room was starting to feel bad.

“Stupid, you're too paranoid. There's your teacher here, you're not gonna do anything. She's alone anyway.”

The teacher's words made the atmosphere of the room calmer, but Harsa still felt hurt. The teacher's words seemed to justify the assumption that Aster had no good intentions. Harsa looked at her friend's face that changed from excited, to tired, shocked, and finally pale. He then turned to Adi who was going to tell him the same words as before.

“No, not all Kasarewang like that.”

“I know, Brother Adi and papa are not like that.” Answer Harsa directly. “You okay, Ter?” ask Harsa to worry. Aster has not said a single word.

“Hmm, yes. Guess.” He was silent for a moment. “Yeah, maybe this is the first time I feel hesitant to learn magic.” Acutely. “But it's been so far. I can't back off. But I understand where that thought came from. Me, people like Adit are real, right? I also feel bad for you hearing Adit's words back then.”

Harsa thought that was the end of the bad taste when they applied for the standardization exam, but things got worse when she got to one of the counters.

Harsa took out a pen to start filling out the form she had to fill out, but the officer stopped her. “What is it?!”

“Eh, pen?”

“Sorry, may I fill in.” Ask Adi. He looked at Harsa with an apologetic gaze, “Sorry I don't think there will be any problems like this.”

“What problems?” ask Harsa.

Adi picked up a small glass block mixed with wood carvings from the counter table. “I forgot to explain to you, Kasareang wrote this. Uhh, the equivalent of the name may be.. The word burner? In essence, we put here the physis with the form of a word that wants to be written, and at the end of the glass will heat up according to our wishes. Usually Kasarewang learns to form words with physis in Kata Burner at school, so I didn't teach you.”

Adi continued to explain while exemplifying. At the end of the glass city, the glass heated up until it was brightly lit, before Adi stuck the beam onto the paper, burning the paper in the form of the name ‘Harsa’ in Kasarewang. Meanwhile, Harsa looked at the other people, they all filled out the documents with those stamps.

“Why can't I fill up with a pen?” harsa asked embarrassedly because she had to be helped to fill out the form while the other children did not. Adi was talking to him in Kasarewang, so he replied in Kasarewang.

“Because it's ink, stupid. Ink is used only to legalize documents with your citizenship stamp.” The officer said unfriendly.

Harsa was frustrated. He's not stupid, he just doesn't know any of it. After all, the ink in the pen has no physis or spell. Unlike the citizenship stamp that can store the physis, the ink in the questioner will not be used to track it.

“Remember, later if the test is written really, can not be helped you know.”

“Ya.” Answer Harsa. That means I have to learn to use the word burner in addition to all the other lessons.

After filling out a form asking for his name, parents, decrees, and age, Harsa was asked to put his physique on a special agate that would be a way to identify him later. Either during the exam or to make the stamp.

After Harsa's turn, Adi helps Aster fill out the form. However, the officer stopped Adi. “He's human, isn't he?”

“Ya.”

“Are you crazy? You want this human to be a citizen of Drestha?.” Continue the officer.

Adi's forehead is wrinkled. “What's the problem? Wasn't there a case where humans lived in Drestha before?”

“But they don't have our citizenship! They are just residents! He will play a role in our policy selection if he passes this exam!” The officer said annoyed. “They are strangers! What if someone is already one with formskitter and acts as a spy?”

“Please, I guarantee ninety-nine percent of the human population does not know what formskitter and Kasarewang.” are Harsa said desperately.

“Then what? There is no rule that does not allow him to take this test’kan?!” Adi's tone has gone up.

The officer was forced to accept Aster's form. After that the three of them returned home in a bad mood. Different from Adi and Harsa who are upset, Aster seems only anxious and afraid.

“Is it really okay for me to take this exam?” ask Aster before calling the online taxi to go home.

“No problem. If there are too many Kasarewang who are worried about humans, the regulation of this test has been replaced from when. I know some Kasarewang who is actually interested in humans.” Adi said soothingly.

“Iya, including sister’kan?” Temptation of Harsa with hidden intent.

Adi sighed. “Serah.”

Finally, Harsa laughed and melted their mood, although Aster did not understand why Harsa laughed.

“How about, about the burner of the word.” Said Aster worried.

“I'll buy it soon for you to practice.” Adi's Promise. “Do not panic. Seeing how fast you master magic, it must be easy for you to use that tool.”

Aster nodding. “Still, In.”

“Focus only on your exams.” Adi's Advice. “Particularly you Harsa.”

Harsa sighed. “Ya, I know.”