1 Gifted

[Timeline:

Okinawa, Japan August 8th 2025:

The appearance of the first Gifted human appeared.

When this phenomenon first started, humans feared those who were 'transcending mortal limits' and they were hunted down, killed, imprisoned, tortured, and/or experimented on. Most of the time, all of the above.

July 15th 2038:

The Deity known as Odin spoke to the fearful humans. He told them that they had bestowed gifts, and convinced them of their, the deities, good intentions after many months of deliberations and miracles performed.

2043:

The first gate appeared on Earth.

Calais, France December 20th 2043:

The 'Gate' broke, releasing unknown creatures that nearly destroyed the town.

The local Gifted killed the creatures, but the incident left a lasting impression on humanity. 'Gates' manifested all over the world.

2044:

Guilds were established in America, England, France, Japan, China, Russia, Germany and Italy. Each named after a Deity. Odin in England, Loki in Germany, Thor in France, Freyja in Italy, Osiris in China, Anubis in Russia, Hestia in Japan, and Zeus in America.

2047:

Gifted started being used for capital gains.

November 22nd 2047:

The guilds began a rebellion against their governments.

2048:

Governments retaliated with hostile attacks against Gifted and the Governments suffered huge casualties in capitals.

September 10th 2048:

Negotiations with guilds were conducted in government favor. The Guilds demand independence from government rule. The negotiations ultimately fail.

2049:

Society began to crumble rapidly.

April 17th 2049:

Guilds finally achieved independence from Government reign and gain diplomatic clearance. They granted certain privileges to members and given the rights to persecute their own.

2056:

Europe Established a Major Guild, The Norse Guild by combining the Four Main Guilds.

America also established a Major Guild called The Olympian Guild, replacing the Zeus guild.

Japan's Hestia Guild is also established as a Major Guild.

Russia and China Estsblished a Single major guild split between the two as seperate branches called The Pyramid Guild.

2066:

Gates were a common occurrence and became the main job for Gifted and Guilds as precious resources could be found in Gates, thus Mining was established within Guilds and trade became common between them, the Markets, Citizens, as well as a few Governments.

2071:

A new minable stone mineral was discovered in the Gates. The stones discovered to be solidified mana and was dubbed Mana Stone.

2072:

The mana stone was found to be a stable and renewable source of energy provided from the gates, replacing most fossil fueled power sources.

2073:

The Mana stone became the top priority for guilds as well as the creatures which proved to be useful as food and materials." Lewis listened to his history teacher read out of the history book.

"Yo, Lewis! It's your birthday today ain't it?" Marcos approached Lewis and slapped him on the back in a friendly manner. Lewis remained silent, not even bothering to look at Marcos, but shifted his body away from the overly friendly teen.

Lewis was a little on the thin side and stood at around 5 foot 11 inches. He had short black hair, grey eyes and a handsome face.

"Come on man, lighten up, you can't stay silent forever. Besides, you're turning sixteen, The Gifting Year. As soon as its determined what, and how many, gifts you recieve, you won't have to worry about being ruled by the government, assuming you get gifted." Marco's continued to speak to Lewis.

'Just go away already.'

"Lewis Bright, you've been requested in the Examination Room, again Lewis Bright, please proceed to the Examination Room." Lewis was paged on the PA system. Lewis sighed, stood up and walked out of the classroom. He headed down the corridor, down the stairs and towards the Examination Room.

A short line of other students were lined up outside of the Examination Room when he arrived five minutes later.

"Lewis! Hey, you know we sent out memos for all the October fourths' sixteenth birthday students to be here yesterday right? It's an important day for you guys today. Its Gifting Day for you, that only happens once." Mr. Brunswick clapped Lewis on the shoulder and smiled. Lewis looked at the hand on his shoulder and shook it off as he continued passed to join the others in line.

"Hahaha, still don't like attention I see, very well." Mr. Brunswick finally walked away and entered his office across the corridor, giving up for the moment.

"Oh man, I'm so excited. What Deities Gifted me? How many? Will I be mostly Norse? I don't know!" One student exclaimed excitedly.

"NEXT!" Someone screamed from inside. A student exited the room, his face has a huge smile on it. He immediately ran off with his slip of paper with his gifts and tiers, laughing joyfully.

"H-hey Lewis. So today's your birthday huh? Ah, mine isn't though, I, uhm, actually got Gifted early." The student ahead of Lewis stated. Lewis stared back blankly at the girl in response. She wore a black oversized hoodie with the hood up. She was also looking slightly down, obscuring her face. Blonde hair was all that could be distinguished.

'Who are you?'

"NEXT!" Came the scream. The girl scurried inside as she was next in line. Inside the room was a Gift Calculator, a machine made by humans with great help from the Deities. It was able to determine how many Deities had gifted a human, which ones decided to gift them, and the Tier of the gift given. Tiers were determined by the color of the iris:

Tier 1- Bronze

Tier 2- Yellow

Tier 3- Gold

Tier 4- Pink

Tier 5- Silver

Tier 6- Blue

Tier 7- Green

Tier 8- Red

Tier 9- Violet

The Deity was determined by their personal mark within the pupil.

Standing next to the machine was an older woman, in her mid thirties, the operator.

"NEXT!" The woman screamed. Two students were permitted at a time, to push examinations through faster. Lewis stepped inside and began to watch the mysterious girl go through the process.

"Name?" The woman asked, her voice was surprisingly soft and comforting, despite having such a harsh yell.

"Tiffany Blake." Tifany responded with a quiver.

"Today isn't your birthday sweetheart. So why are you here?" The woman inquired softly.

"I believe I've been gifted early." Tiffany answered, surprisingly quite proudly, going against the nature Lewis had already assumed upon the girl.

"Very well, look into that visor and don't blink." The woman, whose name was actually Christine, told her. Tiffany did as she was told and stared into the visor. Christine hit a switch on the machine, and a few moments of silence ensued. The screen began to list color and symbols.

"You were indeed correct Miss Blake. You have been gifted early, with very good gifts. It seems you are mostly in favor of the Norse Deities. Well, good luck Miss Blake, I'm sure you will be very successful as well as accepted wherever you may go." Christine smiled as she gave Tiffany her examination papers.

"Thank you. Good luck Lewis." Tiffany whispered as she rushed past Lewis.

"Step on up young man and state your name for me." Christine told Lewis. Lewis stepped up to the machine, but didnt speak. He only looked at the list in Christine's hand. His name was the last and only name not checked off. Christine noticed his gaze and sighed.

"It doesnt matter if I already know your name, I need the confirmation from you." Christine explained. Lewis reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Opening it and pulling his ID card out.

"Verbal Confirmation Lewis. Come on, I'm sure you've been through these conversations before." Christine was beginning to become flustered.

"Lewis Bright." Lewis finally answered as he put his ID and wallet back in his pocket.

"Okay, now look into the visor and don't blink." Christine instructed. Lewis did as he was told and stared, unblinkingly, into the instructed visor. Christine hit the switch and silence ensued, for awhile. Nothing popped on screen, and the examination ended.

"Well, you weren't Gifted, today. Come back tomorrow, sometimes a person wont be gifted until later, but, with the lack of any activity, no beep no clatter, no message saying undetermined, I'm afraid you just might not be gifted. Good luck Mr. Bright." Christine handed Lewis his examination papers, and Lewis left the room.

"Good." Lewis stated as he walked back to his class, his papers in hand.

***

The bell rang, finally signaling the end of the school day. Lewis exited the classroom and headed for his locker. Students pushed and shoved, trying to get out of school faster. Random conversations, shouting, and overall ruckus filled the halls.

Lewis avoided all problems while attempting to reach his locker. Once there, he threw his books in said locker and slammed it closed. He stuffed his papers into his pocket and headed for the exit.

***

Lewis hated buses, and his foster mom was too busy to pick him up, so that left him with his only option of walking. It was a long walk from the school to his house but, Lewis enjoyed the solitude of the walks, preferring it even.

Lewis set off at a leisurely pace while looking at the usual sights and listening to the usual sounds. Petting the same cat on the same ledge at the same house... Getting lost in his thoughts.

Before he knew it, night had snuck up on him, the night air, came with a sense of relief for Lewis. It cleared his mind, but, it also meant he was beyond late, and he didn't want to incur any long talks, or cause worry.

Lewis began to run, but stopped when he heard a scream.

"Stop squirming brat!" A gruff voice barked. Lewis turned his head towards the alley he was just passing, and saw a scene only seen in bad television. A bunch of thugs were wrestling a girl into a van.

Lewis was just going to use his phone and call the police, give them information, and then move on. But, when he saw who the thugs were wrestling into their van, his legs moved on their own. He dropped his phone, his eyes turned green and the symbol of a raven appeared within his right pupil.

He shot off like a wild bolt, his speed and strength seemingly several times more than normal. He, accidentally, slammed into the van and crushed the front end, whilst also causing the entire vehicle to move backwards.

"Holy shit! What the Fuck!" The thugs scrambled, and one drew his pistol. Lewis pulled himself from within the now twisted front end and looked right at the Thug with the drawn pistol. His eyes narrowed in confusion at the sight of the gun.

'Who even uses those anymore?'

"Fuck you!" The thug screamed as he fired his weapon. Fortunately, Lewis saw the paths and dodged to the side, rushing upto the thug and giving him a hard right cross.

The force of his punch shattered the thugs jaw and sent him through a fence with a resounding crash, debris flew from where the thug impacted. The other thugs ran away in terror, and Lewis stared at his hands as if he'd just discovered them.

"Oh no, no, no, no! Why?" Lewis shook his head. He couldn't be Gifted, he was determined to not be Gifted.

"Lewis? Are you really Lewis?" The girl on the ground asked, she was crying. Lewis looked down at her, the girl was Tiffany Blake.

Lewis, an unassuming kid by nature, out of pure impulse, risked his life to save this girl. What was his reason? Why would he do that?

Lewis didn't have an answer, but he knew his life was about to become way more complicated than it was now, and he could kiss his solitary life good bye.

The foreboding chill from the realization that this was only just beginning, fully dawned upon Lewis.