1 Prolog

"We dont know much, as human beings, of our collective history. What we do know is that before this era there was no magic, no monsters, and humans were the dominant species of the world. We amassed knowledge and power beyond what we have now, but all of the power and knowledge humanity had gained was lost when they arose. Drakonians! Like the dragons of, at that time, myth they are beings of immeasurable power and knowledge, 19 in total emerged from the earth, sky, and sea. Every one larger than a mountain, the titanic gods of our world. Humanity had angered the world and the world fought back. A conflict rose, between the Drakonians and our ancestral humans. Next to nothing is know of how this conflict was fought but we do know that the land was torn asunder, fragmented and broken. We, as humanity, thought we lost everything, but in fact we gained more than we could have imagined. Magic! The power of the Drakonian gods we were destroyed by. Sadly there is a reaction to every action. When we gained magic, the world produced Monsters to keep us in check, and the forest dwelling Elven and mountain bourn Dwarf races appeared in our world. Each race believes that the world and her resources are their individual birth right. Humans as we were the first here and have a connection to all elements believe we are entitled to the world and her gifts. The Elves are blessed with an unlimited lifespan and thus believe the world has chosen them. Dwarves with their ability to create and summon 'know' they are the best fit. Monsters born of nature and magic feel this world to be their inheritance. Millenia have passed since this time, war ravages the world on all fronts and has from the beginning of this era. You are the chosen few of our village to represent the human race and protect us from the other races of the world." As the village elder finished the ritualistic summerization of their history she looked around the firepit with pride. The children were so caught up in her story they failed to realize that she had stopped talking. While the villagers woke from their concentrated stupor, the village elder gestured to the Academy sponsored mage to begin the second part of the annual ritual. The ceremony was held every year for those that had made it to the age of 8 the previous year. Of the villages 1000 residents 600 were children and around 90 had turned 8 the previous year. The mage called for the first child to come forward. The young blonde boy knelt before the mage and bowed his head. The mage then placed his hands upon the child's head and spoke a spell... nothing happened. disappointment filled the boys eyes and the elder couldn't help but feel pity for the little one. The ritual to become a mage had a very low success rate, but it was the only way to become a mage, everyone had to be tested. Everyone hoped to become a mage, they were the most respected l, powerful people in the world. 10 children went by with nothing more than disappointment, then on the 12th child, there was a forceful push that emerged for the young girls body who promptly passed out. This ment she was a conjuring mage. Conjuring magic was what most people thought when they said mage someone who performed long range magic, using complex spells and even diagrams. The other type of mage is an augmentor. Augmentors use magic in a middle to close range, focusing on speed and not power. The next child to pass out was the daughter of the blacksmith Bridget. She was an augmentor. The third kid to awake was a born lucky. He had mages for parents and was considered the most likable popular child in the village of that generation. After him there was nothing but failure after failure. Parents always hoped that their kid would awaken because that ment power in a world where the weak were disdained. Finally the last child came forward. This little boy caught the elders eye. She tried to recollect his name and fumbled for a moment. Then as if to save the elder from her personal frustration the Mage asked the boy his name. The reply came so soft they both almost missed it, "Abzol". "Well Abzol, you're the last one, let's make this count shall we?" the mage said with a kind smile. Abzol! that was the boys name. If the elder remembered right he was an orphan that insisted on earning his keep to survive. the village had never met his father and his mother had arrived in the village two nights before giving birth and promptly died a year and a half later falling ill. One elder decided to provide food for the little boy and help him stay out of the cold until he turned 5. After Abzul turned 5 decided to pay back the elder in any way he could. Sadly 4 months later the elder died in the middle of the night. Chosen as the elders inheritor Abzul was given the small home of the unnamed elder ,and the elders knife as a token of his becoming independent, a gift that was usually reserved for young adults who had left their parents home. Abzul refused the charity of anyone and always strove to earn his keep, and the villagers found it adorable so they went along with it and would send him on tasks about the area so he could pay for the materials he needed. Although there wasnt much he needed, he had a knife, an axe, and a home, as well as the skill to trap small animals kept him fed if only barely. Abzul knelt before the mage and bowed his head. Nobody expected him to become a mage, but when the mages incantation ended there was a force pushing out and a force pushing in. As the force faded the 8 year old boy fainted. The elder, being to first to recover went over to the lonely boy, as he had no family and few of any friends, and helped him up. After thanking her immensely he returned to the corner he had been sitting in. Neither he nor anybody else knew what it meant but they accepted as slight confusion and chose to believe the boy was an augmentor. 5 minutes later the 4 children were asked to return to the front of the stadium. This was the last part of the ritual. Awakening their elements. There were several elements that could be awoken but the most common were the 4 basic elements: Earth, Wind, Water, Fire. Then there were the other elements: Lightning, Magma, Gravity, Sound, Ice, Light, Darkness, and Healing. Bringing the 4 children's attention back to herself, the elder pulled out a clear orb. " this is the 'Hanzo' relic, to put it simply it tests your elemental aptitudes. Each one of you will cut your thumb and push a little mana into this relic, it will tell you what elements you are capable of using. The mage here will also be touching the 'Hanzo' relic to tell you what aptitudes you have." the children went in the order that they had awoken in. The first child was a light and water mage, Bridget was a fire mage, and the son of the local mage was a darkness and earth mage. Abzul walked up, cut his thumb and pressed it to the relic. After a few moments the mage looked surprised he then announced that Abzul had 3 elements air, lightning, and ice. To say people were surprised is an understatement, the more noble families in the village were outraged that some orphaned peasant had 3 elements and their child had none.