The sun creeps over a steep mountain, in the valley below next to a peaceful sea is the city of Esterstone. Not the largest, nor the smallest of cities but it held an important place in the Kingdom of Arathorn. It is ruled by a powerful clan of stonemancers, famous for their ability to delve deep into the where the most precious minerals rest.

Light shines through an old tatty curtain illuminating a boyish face. A young man sleeps peacefully on a cheap looking cot made from straw and old linen flour bags.

The sounds of a city waking up and getting to work started to make their way into his humble wooden shack.

Liam woke up slowly, wiping the sleep from his face as he got out of bed. He knows that he shouldn’t have drank that lost bottle of wine, but his best friend can be quite convincing.

He was one of the forgotten, born without the ability to connect with anything. Everybody he knew had a gift, they could control fire, metal, the very earth itself. Liam spends a few moments hoping that today will be the day he somehow finds the thing that resonates with his spirit.

Imagining himself as a powerful Firelord, somebody who had complete mastery over flame. Liam sighed to himself thinking that life isn’t fair. At least he has Oak, his best friend, a brawny Chloromancer. Without him he would have starved or been beaten to death long ago.

I would be happy with anything at this point Liam thinks to himself. He had tried everything that Oak could think of, all the metals and mineral he could get his hands on. Oak brought him endless objects, various living things, blood, water, ice, fire. Liam felt no connection to any of them.

Dragging himself out of his musings, Liam opened the door of his modest hut and walked outside. He catches his reflection on a barrel of rainwater before taking a few mouthfuls. Blue eyes and a tanned face from all his time spent outdoors looks back at him. Grabbing a few handfuls of berries from bush, Liam munched happily on the sweet red treats as he briskly walks toward the docks.

Hoping to get lucky and find a dockworker who would take pity and offer a few coppers for a morning’s labour. The streets are elegantly paved and lined with intricate rune workings. Apparently, it a bit easier to walk on, you could walk further and longer whilst traversing such roads.

Moving his way through the centre of the city, past the various stalls setting up their wares and goods for the festival. Liam nodded to a kind merchant who had taken pity on him a few times, offering him money or food for simple chores. A furry black and white badgerdog, held tightly in a leash sniffs the air in Liam’s direction, it strains against the owner who yanks the animal back.

Continuing to the edge of the market, Liam notices a smith placing his wares on display. A sparkling crystal dagger caught his eye, it might have been the morning sun, but Liam could swear it was glowing a dull yellow. Tiny characters could be seen etched into the blade and handguard.

The smith notices his attention “Took forever to get it just right, she’s a beauty, isn’t she?” says the smith with pride.

“I hope whoever buys it will appreciate the craftsmanship” Liam replies.

“And what exactly would a little street rat know about such things? the smith remarks scornfully. “I know a few things my father taught me before he went away” Liam replies sadly.

“I wouldn’t be bragging about what your traitor father taught you boy. Anyway, with a deaf spirit you are no good to anybody. Now feck off, I don’t want you hanging around here scaring off my customers.” replied the smith as he turned his back to Liam, unpacking a pair of gleaming swords.

Liam glances around, not seeing any potential buyers out and about this early. Well used to this type of treatment, he leaves the market. As he heads toward his destination his thoughts turn to his father.

__

His mother died in childbirth, leaving Arthur behind to raise his son alone.

Arthur was powerfully built man, as a talented storm-touched he was one of the first conscripted to the battlefield when the war started. Liam was just eight years old at the time.

He was one of the rare few who could generate lightning from his own power. There were many who could direct a strike or call a storm over a battlefield, but Arthur could summon it with just a few moments, striking the enemies before they could even blink.

At first it wasn’t too bad, his father would go away for weeks at a time, returning with entertaining stories from faraway lands. But every time he went away it took longer for his return. His eyes darkened over time, Liam would often find him staring blankly into a wall. Then one day he never came back, instead a stranger knocked on the door to their house. Without compassion he stated that Arthur was a traitor and executed after trying to kill his officer.

Liam didn’t believe a word of it, his father was honourable and kind. There is no way he would betray the empire. He wasn’t sure exactly what happened to his father, but he had vowed to find out one day.

He shakes the sad memories from his mind and scans the coast the harbour in front of him. A metalborn could be seen unloading a ship, his skin taking on a slight bronze colour as he enhanced his body with spiritual power.

A tall building of dull grey stone overlooks the docks, large arched windows gave an excellent bird’s eye view of everything happening below.

Avoiding eye contact with some burly sailors, he ducks past them and makes his way toward the tall building. A group of labourers rest against the stone exterior, waiting for some work to do. Liam avoids the heavy double doors and walks around to the side, into the back entrance where one of the harbour master’s assistants was bringing in a tray of food. He’s an awkward looking lanky fellow, but deceptively strong considering his build. He jumps slightly in surprise, almost dropping some of the stacked pastries as Liam calls out to him.

“Morning Fraz, busy today?” greets Liam.

“Stars and seas! kid, you scared me half to death.” He takes a second to neaten the pile of sugary snacks. “Yes, far too busy to be looking after a pup like you” replies Fraz with a smile. Undeterred by this Liam quickly asks, “Got any work for me?”

“Not today lad, sorry. Everything needs to be just perfect for the Festival.” He remarks in a mocking tone. “Ahh c’mon give me anything, I’ll even scrub the dishes again!” Liam pleads. “We have a rookie hydromancer to take care of that now, takes him about thirty minutes to clean the entire kitchen. Anyway, you know how those southerners feel about your kind. You’re a good kid, but most folk don’t like having you around.”

“Now run along lad, I’ve to get this to the officers upstairs” said Fraz, nodding to the tray of food.

Liam ignores the harsh words and bids Fraz farewell and starts to walk back into the city. He takes a shortcut through gap between two warehouses, after hopping over a few stacked crates he leaves the harbour area.

While walking through a narrow, winding path, Liam suddenly finds himself on the pavement.

“Careful there, freak, you’re going to ruin the ground with your dirty blood”

A small group of young teens a few steps in front of him.

Liam stands up quickly, blinking stars out of his eyes. Erin, Razer and Gurt, knowing that he couldn’t effectively fight back, they had often caused trouble for Liam in the past.

“I don’t want any trouble guys” says Liam, doing his best to keep his voice calm. The boys were a couple of years younger than him and in a fair one on one, maybe Liam could come out on top. But against all three he doubts this is going to end well for him.

“We don’t want any trouble either, just one small problem…. this is our alley, so you have to pay us if you want to pass through” The leader of the group, Erin, had a smirk on his face as he held out his hand, expecting to be paid.

Liam sighs at the cliché unfolding before him. His father had always told him that smartest fighters only battle when they need to. He starts to back away, as he does so the taller, fatter boy darted forward and grabs Liam’s wrist. He had some minor ability with the wind and could move faster than expected for one of his size. The large boy elbows Liam in the side and steps behind him, holding him in place.

A jagged stone hovers in the air, controlled from a few feet back by Razer, a short skinny looking boy. He has a cruel looking smile on his face and asks, “If the weird forgotten don’t wanna pay, I say we cut him up good.”

Liam struggles against Gurt’s hands, trying to get free. Unable to make any progress as Gurt is likely using wind mana to enhance his beefy grip. At this point Liam started to really panic, the stone knife quickly crosses the distance and slows down, inching closer to his throat. While doing his best to struggle and with cold fear in his veins, Liam knicks his heel backwards. He feels a squish and strikes gold. Gurt crumples to the floor with a groan, clutching at his groin.

Liam reaches forward and grabs the sharp stone. The knife struggles in his grip and bites into his unprotected hand, adrenaline dulls the pain, and he bends down and holding it against Gurt’s throat.

“Get the fuck away or I’ll do it, I swear I will!” he screams. Despite the seriousness of the moment, it looks almost comical. Liam’s medium height and wiry body holding the much larger boy captive.

Razer lowers his hands, releasing any control he held over the stone knife and takes a step back. Erin’s smile fades and he steps forward with a serious look on his face. “Whatever happens to him, I’m doing to do twice as bad to you.”

He reaches forward, moving his hand quicker than Liam could follow. A thin lance of conjured flame is suddenly in his hand, it crackles in the dark alley. Erin reaches back and cocks his arm, ready to launch the projectile at a moments notice.

The four boys jump when a loud voice interrupts them. “What’s going on here?” a deep voice questions from behind Liam.

Before Liam can even open his mouth, Erin has already let the flame bolt dissipate and launches into an explanation.

“We were just heading into the market to try and make ourselves useful when the freak here pulled a knife on Gurt, jumped at him from behind he did! “Liam quickly dropped the knife which had drawn a line of blood on the bigger teens neck. “He said he’s going to kill us and steal our spirit to fix his broken one” Erin said in a fearful voice.

As Gurt scrambles away, starting to cry in a pitiful display of acting the guard walks forward, standing over Liam.

He was easily over 6 feet tall, wearing casual clothing that offered little protection. Then again when you could turn your skin into iron, what more could armour provide. Liam looks up at the metal behemoth before him. He sees a hand blur, and everything goes dark.