20 History

"What? What is it?" June said, Trying his hardest to look at his Mark.

"Dad?... Are you okay? Have you seen that Mark before?" Alisa asked

Everyone was surprised by the way Harper reacted when he saw June's Mark.

"I have but only in books, I never thought that I would be seeing one in the flesh" Harper said in amazement.

"Okay? but there something else right? otherwise you wouldn't react like that, right?" June asked to no one in particular

"June, the Mark on your back is very special. In fact that Mark should not even be existing any more" Harper said. "Now it all makes perfect sense"

"Uhhh... Dad I think you kinda lost all of us" Caleb said

"The Mark on June's back is called 'The Leader' and there hasn't been a Leader for very long time, until now" Harper explained

When everyone looked more lost than before, Harper sigh and took his sit again.

"All off you, you have to listen very carefully. I think it's time for me to tell you the history of where Gifteds came from and what's our purpose." Harper said, becoming suddenly very serious.

June put back his shirt on and took a sit. Although Caleb and Alisa already knew the history, they still listened very intently because Harper always reminds them that every time they hear it, they will understand things that they didn't before.

"Gifted like me are called 'Guro' which in Tagalog or Filipino means 'Teacher'. We have a sacred duty to train and nurture young Gifted, and with that duty includes passing down the history of Gifted" Harper explained.

Everyone focused on Harper as he spoke.

"It started from the very beginning when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Upon their exile in the Garden, the earth became cursed and corrupted. The fallen angel Lucifer gave birth to shadows, who wreck havoc across God's creations. God cannot let this continue so He sent the Arch Angel Michael to earth and bestow upon twelve special human beings, Gifts to protect His creations. So Michael searched the earth for the twelve special human beings, six men and six women and they were the first Gifted called 'The Leader'" Harper said, giving emphasis on the word Leader while looking at June.

"The twelve dedicated their lives in protecting God's creations. The twelve mated with normal human beings and God blessed them with the second generation of Gifted." Harper pause for a moment to take a breath and then continued "The Earth became peaceful as it once was but it didn't last for long for we are still human beings and no matter what, we are still flawed, which the prince of darkness took advantage of. When it was time for the twelve to pass down their Gifts as Leaders to new worthy human beings..."

"Wait" Andrew interrupted "Why normal human beings? Why not their Gifted children?" Andrew asked

"Good question" Harper said "It is so to keep the Gifts pure. The Gifts were given to normal human beings so they are passed down the same way." Harper answered

Andrew nodded and continued to listen.

"The eleven obeyed and searched for their successors but one leader refuse to give up his power. He became very power hungry, greedy and prideful. He became drunk with the praises and affection given to him by both Gifted and normal human being, which led to the down fall of him.

The prince of darkness took this as an opportunity to rise again and destroy the Gifted. He convinced the Leader that he doesn't have to give up his power, that he doesn't have to obey God anymore. He said that he will make him the ruler of this world and give him power that will make him the most powerful Gifted on earth, and the only thing he asked in return is to destroy the Gifted.

Weak and foolish that he is, the Leader was easily tempted and joined the prince of darkness, corrupting and tainting his once pure blood into evil and darkness. And he was not the only one, with the fallen Leader and a third of the Gifted around the world also became corrupted, and as promised the fallen Leader and corrupted Gifted became more powerful. That was the first time when Gifted became Chaos" Harper said, his face grim

You can tell from the grim expression on everybody that the atmosphere in the room became really heavy and intense.

Harper continued, "The fallen Leader challenged the eleven remaining Leaders, which started the first war of Gifted against Chaos. The war lasted for three days but the eleven and the remaining Gifted were over powered since not only are the Chaos more powerful, they also had help from the Shadows. The Gifted suffered major losses, many lives were taken as they fought bravely. Seeing no other way to stop the fallen Leader and the corrupted, the eleven sacrificed themselves to imprison the fallen Leader and buried him in the deepest and darkest place in the ocean. The war may have ceased but that was no victory for the Gifted, for the Chaos still roamed this earth and Shadows continued to wreck havoc.

The remaining Gifted fled and hid across the earth, still fighting and protecting to best the of their abilities. They blended with normal human beings, and from there on the Gifted multiplied and grew in numbers once again." Harper picked up his bag and pull out a worn out looking book and opened it. When he found the page he was looking for he placed the book on the center table, He pointed at what looks like a family tree but with Marks. The four went and examined the page of the book carefully.

"The Gifted may have multiplied and grew in number but They kept mating with normal human beings and for that reason as the generations went on, the Gifts of the Gifted weren't as pure and powerful as they were before and the previous generations slowly fades away"

"Wow, that's... Really something" June said, letting out a huge breath while examining the contents of the book

"How did the remaining Gifted managed to survive, because from my experience those Shadow things wants us dead and they don't stop until we are. right?" Andrew asked, lifting his head from the book to look at Harper.

"Correct" Harper answered "but that was not the only problem, other Gifted became more and more tired and weak, so they joined the Chaos, which prove to be even more problematic for the Gifted. The Gifted are loosing hope and very much wanting to give up, the Gifted lost to much already, making their low morale and confidence more lower.

So the Archangel Michael created a sanctuary, blind to the outside world. It served as a place for the Gifted to gather and regain their strength and morale after battle battle. It also served as a home for the orphans, a place to nurture and train, a place of safety for all Gifted. It became the home of all Gifted they called Petra.

And for all the years that passed, Petra protected the Gifted" Harper said

"Why aren't you guys in Petra?" Andrew asked, making Caleb visibly wince and Alisa very still

"Let us just say that the once free home, was no more" Harper said

"What happened?" Andrew asked

"As the years went, the second war with the Chaos rose in the late 1600's. A very brave young Gifted rose and led the Gifted to war. Johanna was a great leader and led the Gifted to victory, but still a lot of Gifted life was lost, including Johanna's husband, which served as hard blow to the Gifted. Despite losing her husband, Johanna dedicated her life in making sure no Gifted life is wasted in war with the Chaos and Shadows ever again. Johanna was a humble, kind and strong leader, loved and respected by all. She made us Guros her advisers, she took heed in our knowledge and experience we gained from our lives.

Not long, The Chaos took their revenge on the Gifted when the third war raged in 1877. Johanna led the Gifted once again into battle. Both side fought fiercely and no one gave up, making the war last for months, but alas the Chaos has something so powerful that could beake down the Gifted completely. Johanna was in the front lines of the war, fighting fiercely. When it was clear the Gifted had the advantage, the Chaos finally revealed their secrete weapon. The Chaos tricked the Gifted by surrendering, and to show their good faith they brought out William, Johanna's Husband who they thought was already dead, as a peace offering. His hands were tied and his body full of lashes and bruises. Johanna falter and commanded her army of Gifted to stand down. Johanna approached William and as promised nobody made a move from both sides. Johanna's sister Zenayda tried to stop and reason with her but Johanna didn't listen, for what is the greatest thing that can weaken everyone?"

"Love" Andrew answered

"Correct" Harper nodded, "Love is powerful, it can build and it can also destroy and Love was what led to Johanna's downfall. She loved William so much that when she thought William died she was so crushed, but now to see that the love of her life was still alive, it gave her hope. Unfortunately the man she loved dearly was already gone. The Chaos brained washed William and made him a weapon against the Gifted. When Johanna was close enough to William, he stabbed her, instantly killing her.

William starred at his dead wife's body, emotionless. What William did stunned every Gifted soldier on the battle field which gave the Chaos the chance to attack while their morale is down. When it finally sunk to Zenayda that they have been tricked, sadness turned to rage and she channeled all that rage into every Chaos and Shadows in her path."

"What happened? Did they still won?" June asked

"Yes, they did." Harper answered, looking at everyone who is so engrossed and listening intently. "Despite being tricked by the Chaos, the Gifted still won but just like any battle they still suffered a major loss, including Johanna. Johanna's sister Zenayda took her sisters position and became the new leader of the Gifted. Zenayda blamed her sister for being too soft and letting her emotions got the best of her. So Zenayda swore that she would never fall in love and never follow in her sisters footsteps. Unlike her sister, Zenayda ruled with so much coldness. Everyone feared her, everyone followed what she commands, She made every Gifted submit to her, everything she says is final and irrevocable and anyone dared to opposes her is either executed or exiled from Petra." Harper, took his glass and sip, then continued" Then one day a very special Guro who was the oldest and wisest Guro of all, prophesied the future of all Gifted in her leadership, which only made Zenayda furious. She ordered the Guro to be killed and the rest of us exiled, which without the protection of Petra only made us free food for the Shadows and torture play things for the Chaos. It's a surprise I even survived this long but I wish I could say the same for my other Guro comrades who lost their lives in the hands of their fellow Gifted who refused to break their loyalty to Zenayda and in the hands of Shadows and Chaos alike. They all are the same!" Harper said calm, but there was hint of bitterness into his voice.

They were all silent for a moment, taking all the information in.

June scanned the open book again. Which only showed seven Generations.

"Question?" June said, not removing his eyes from the pages.

"Yes?" Harper said

"Why only seven?" June asked

"Seven what?" Harper asked, confused

"Generations? why only seven?" June said, waving his hand on the open book.

"From what I know, There are only seven generations of Gifted. And in our current time almost all Gifted revolved from Fifth Generation to the seventh, but there are a few rare Gifted to be in the four generation and even rarer in the Third" Harper explained.

"What about the second?" Alisa asked "We all know that the First is wiped out, so there is no chance a Leader exist in our time right now-'

"Except June" Caleb pointed out

"With the Exception of June" Alisa nodded, "Who by the way, I still can't believe is a Leader. But going back, is there still a second generation?"

"Well, Not that I know of. I mean I haven't even seen a fourth Generation at all in a very long time" Harper said

"What generation are you?" June asked looking at Harper.

Harper stood up and turned around. He lifted the hem of his shirt, showing his Mark on the small of his back. It looked like tribal cross.

"Dad is one of the very very few remaining third Generation" Alisa said while pointing at the Mark in the book that looks like the one on Harper.

"So you're one of the few ones.... huh?" June said

Harper nodded and took his sit again.

"How bout you guys?" Andrew asked Alisa and Caleb

"Alisa and Caleb are also Third generation" Harper said, pointing at the Mark in the book that looks like what Caleb and Alisa has.

"Hey, this looked exactly like Andrew's Mark" June said, pointing at the book

"Uhhhhh..... which one?" Caleb said.

"This one" June said, pointing at a faded Mark.

"Are you sure? Because that's in the second generation" Harper said

"I'm absolutely sure!" June exclaimed, "Here look" June pulled Andrew up and lifted his shirt.

And there is was "but? Wha-? how?....." Harper stuttered, His eyes wide.

"So June's a Leader and Andrew's a Second generation Gifted. This day sure is full of surprises" Caleb said, grinning at his Dad. Amused at his dad's reaction.

"But how is this all possible?" Alisa said

"I honestly don't know" Harper said, "but to see a Leader and Winter Monarch with my own two eyes is just... I don't even know how to describe it" Harper said, sounding very excited and happy.

"Winter what?" Andrew asked, confused

"Winter Monarchs, that's what Gifted with a Mark like yours are called" Harper said.

"It has a nice ring to it" Alisa said, smiling

"Really?" Andrew asked, the corner of his mouth lifting into a small smile.

"Really" Alisa said affectionately.

They took their sit and began talking, asked some simple questions and the mood in the room began to lift.

"Now that you know the History of The Gifted. You have to be very careful, keep a low profile and always stay together. If Zenayda learns about this, she will do anything in her power to take control on both you" Harper said, his voice very serious "I'm here to help in any way that I can, you know where to find me, okay?"

Both June and Andrew nodded.

And just right on Que Mrs. Summers entered the living room.

"Alright guys, lunch is ready" Then she was gone again

All of them stood, they chatted while they head to the Dinning room.