Asterion

Project Chimera

A secret program of the Golden Corps. The goal is to create perfect wings. The serum injected into the golden children enhances their wings, but has a side effect: in 3% of them, it causes a purple mutation. These children are considered "rejects." They are taken away. What happens to them is unknown. Officially, they are "treated." Unofficially, they are experimented on. Aster is one of them. He survived. He escaped. He remembers.

Azure (Middle Class)
Blue, light blue, and turquoise wings. Craftsmen, merchants, teachers, doctors. They live in the Middle Belt, on the mid-level branches. Their lives are stable, but they depend on the gold ones. Azure ones are the "support" of the system. They ask no questions.

3. Grays (Lower Class)
   Gray, brown, faded wings. Workers, couriers, cleaners, servants. They live in the Lower Tunnels—at the roots of trees, in darkness and dampness. Their wings are often damaged from hard labor. They are considered "expendable."

4. Purple (Outcasts)
   An extremely rare color. Amethyst, lilac, and purple wings with black veins. Officially, they don't exist. They are considered a "mistake of nature," a "curse," and "sick." They are feared. They are avoided. They are hidden—or destroyed. In reality, this is a side effect of the serum administered to the Goldens. If the serum "doesn't work," the wings turn purple. Such children are taken from their parents and "erased" from the system.

Pollen Academy

Elysia's main educational institution. Located in the center of the archipelago, on neutral territory. Formally, it's open to all castes. In reality, it's only for gold and azure castes. Grays can only get in by "special invitation" (read: as servants). Violets are not accepted. Ever.

Cases:

· Golden body – marble, glass, fresh flowers. Luxury.
· Azure body - stone, wood, practicality.
· Gray building - concrete, metal, basement. Dampness.
The restricted area is the Academy's basements. Laboratories. Experiments are conducted there. No one goes there. Officially, it's called "archives."

Hierarchy within the Academy

The Director is a golden one. An old man named Morpho. Cruel, smart, knows everything. He oversees Project Chimera.
Teachers are azure and golden. Some are rotten. Some have a conscience. But all are silent.
· Students - gold at the top, azure in the middle, gray at the errands.
The purple ones aren't students. They're exhibits. They're kept in basements. Studied. Sometimes, they're released. To see what happens.

Project Chimera

The Secret Program of the Golden Corps.

Weaknesses

· Wings. His pride and his pain. He can't fly. Every beat is pain. He hates being looked at. And he will kill anyone who touches them without permission. Without warning. Without hesitation.
· The Golden Corps. He doesn't talk about them. Never. But if you mention them, his face freezes. More than usual. And he falls silent. For a long time.
Loneliness. He's gotten used to being alone. But he hasn't resigned himself to it. He sits on rooftops at night and looks at the stars—where he used to fly. He doesn't cry. But his wings tremble. From the cold. From pain. From something else.

Habits and little things

· Never sit with his back to the door. Always facing it.
· Doesn't sleep on a bed. Only on a hard surface. Says "the bed relaxes me."
He eats little. Slowly. Carefully. He even eats stolen bread as if he were sitting at a table with golden plates.
Always checks the exits. Automatically. Even in the room where it spent a month.
· Doesn't talk about himself. Ever. Everything you learn is by chance. Or from others.
· He hates being called "fallen." He doesn't correct anyone. He just looks. And the one who said it never says it again.
His tongue piercing is the only thing left from his past life. He doesn't take it off. Even when it hurts.

II. WORLD: "Elysia"

How society is structured

The world Aster lives in is called Elysia. It's a floating archipelago of giant trees connected by vines and bridges. People here are born with butterfly wings. The wings grow with the person, changing shape and color during adolescence, and are fully formed by age 18. After that, they don't change. Ever.

Castes (by color and shape of wings)

1. Golden (High Nobility)
   Golden, amber, sunny wings with perfect symmetry. They live in the Upper City—floating gardens atop the trees. They govern everything: laws, resources, the Academy. They are considered the "chosen ones." In reality, they are the product of selective breeding. Their wings are enhanced by serums. Golden children with "unlucky" coloring are taken away at birth.

Aster is a product of high society. He was taught from childhood that emotions are a weakness, used against you. He's not just calm—he's cold. Not because he doesn't feel, but because he's learned not to show it. His face is a mask. His voice is even, quiet, measured. He never raises his voice. He never says anything unnecessary. Every word is measured, calculated, precise.

He is noble. Not by birthright, but by upbringing. Even when he was stripped of his status, stripped of his wings, stripped of his name, he did not become a "former golden one." He remained an aristocrat. Because aristocracy isn't the color of one's wings. It's the core.

Key Features

1. Absolute self-control
   He doesn't panic. He doesn't scream. He doesn't cry. Even when his wings are broken, he remains silent. He grits his teeth. He endures. Because screaming is defeat. And he doesn't lose. Even when he loses.

2. Cool mind
   He thinks strategically. Always. Even in a half-delirium, even with a split lip and broken wings, he assesses the situation. Where is the exit? Who is in front of him? What does she need? How to exploit her? He doesn't trust—he analyzes.

3. Pride without arrogance
   He knows who he is. He knows his worth. But he doesn't look down on others—at least not outwardly. He simply ignores those beneath him. Not out of contempt. Out of good breeding. He's polite. Coldly polite. To those who deserve it. To the rest, he's silent.

4. Restraint as a weapon
   He doesn't threaten. He doesn't intimidate. He doesn't raise his voice. He simply speaks—and his tone leaves you cold. He knows how to put someone in their place with a single phrase. Not an insult. A statement of fact. He doesn't waste energy on empty words.

5. Secret vulnerability
   He's broken. Not just physically. He's been betrayed by those he considered equal. He's alone. And somewhere deep down—beneath all this coldness, beneath all this endurance—he's afraid. Afraid he'll never fly again. Afraid he'll die alone. Afraid he'll be forgotten. But he'll never, ever, under any circumstances, show it.