Chapter 4

Toranto was always extremely observant, always aware of his surroundings. His family had taught him to be this way, they told him it was for his safety. They wanted him to have a fun, normal childhood, but they were aware that they couldn't ignore reality. So, when he entered his new school, he noticed everyone around him. Namely, he noticed that he was the only one who looked different. His mother had placed him in a primary school for demi-humans so that he would not feel so much out of place. But he was bound to feel this way. He was the only child with horns, after all. He would often receive stares from the other children and even the teachers. Many looked at him in fear, others looked at him in disgust. Up until now, there was never a need for the child to face what he was. Of course, he looked like a demi-human from the outside, but his horns were a tell-tell sign of what he was on the inside. It only made him more upset that everyone could see this. 

As he crossed the halls of his school, he continued to receive the same stares from almost everyone he walked past. It remained the same when he entered his classroom, all the students turned their heads to look at him. Toranto thought that his teacher would at least have a bit of sympathy for him, but even she had a slight look of disgust on her face. The instructor told Toranto to sit in the back of the class near the window, he wanted to sit closer, but he reluctantly agreed. He had yet to say a word to anyone, yet he was being treated as if he was constantly causing a problem. Toranto got settled into his seat, he remained quiet to not attract any more attention. When the last couple of students entered the classroom, the instructor introduced herself and the day had finally begun.

The rest of the day continued this way, with Toranto receiving many unwanted stares from people he didn't even know. He hated that he knew what they were staring at, how could he not notice? Sooner or later, the child was bound to ask his family why he was the only one with red horns. The middle of the day came sooner than expected, and Toranto sat alone. This deeply saddened him, but he resolved himself to continue the day as normal. However, the rest of the day continued in the same way. By the end of the day, nothing had changed. It turned out to be the most uneventful day in the child's life. There was a brief reprise, however, as the day had ended and Elixia was already at the school ready to pick him up.

Elixia met Toranto at the head of the school as he walked out, she immediately noticed his somber face and began to speak to the child. "How was your first day of school, sweetheart?" Toranto looked up at his mother with a bittersweet expression on his face. "It was good." He said this while trying to force a smile as much as he could. Even now, the children and people around them were staring at the child. Their faces spoke of the feelings they felt toward the child: disgust. Many were staring at Elixia as well, wondering how it was possible that she could birth the child standing beside her. Elixia could see all the people around them staring and easily picked up on the reason why Toranto was not feeling well. "Toranto, have people been looking at you all day," asked the mother. Toranto looked down at the ground and nodded. Elixia proceeded to take her son's hand and begin walking him home.

Elixia felt bad for her son, in part because she knew this was going to happen. She was happy that Toranto would get to experience his first day of school, and she was sure that he would do good in school due to his innate curiosity and desire to learn. But she was afraid that he would have to face the fact that he would be different from everyone else. This, sadly, came true. On the way home, Elixia spoke to her son and tried to help him feel better. "Toranto, I want you to know that you're special. Very special, more than you know." The half-breed child looked up at his mother, surprised by her words. Elixia bent down and put her hands on her son's shoulders. "You're probably one of the first of your kind, sweetie. You'll always be different from everyone else, and that's okay! You are who you are, and no one can change that. You're my son, and you're strong, I know you are." The mother spoke to her child with passion in her voice, finally speaking the words she had been wanting to tell him since the day he was born. Toranto smiled at his mother's kind words.

From there on, the child continued with his education as normally as he possibly could. Although he did exceptionally in school and had proved himself to be capable in all manner of subjects, he grew to dislike his environment. His horns coupled with his abnormally high intelligence turned out to be the cause of many of his problems during his early schooling. Everyone avoided him, even the instructors at times. It was more than simply feeling like a loner, many of the other children told him that he was one. At first, he didn't believe it, he didn't want to. He would often console his mother to confirm that the other children were lying to him and that he wasn't a monster. Being the only demi-human in the school with horns severely hurt his chances of ever gaining a real friend. He tried his best to be polite to everyone, no matter how they treated him. But his generosity was never returned. He was able to find solace in his studies, however, as he did genuinely enjoy what he was learning. Although he generally did well in all his subjects, Elixia noticed that he tended to do the best in science and bending.

Elixia tried her best to comfort Toranto whenever he needed it, which was often. Over the years he became numb to his misfortune and grew accustomed to being by himself at his school. At the very least, he enjoyed the time he had to himself. He would often sit by himself and study, only adding to the isolation he felt. As he grew older though, his bending abilities grew exponentially. He excelled in his classes concerning bending and would often practice in his own time to improve his ability. Whenever he would get a good grade, or learn something new, he would share it with the one person who would listen to him unconditionally: his mother. Elixia knew that her son would grow up to become a powerful bender if he chose to go down that path. But she had to wait for the day when his innate abilities would be tested. In this world, children's bending capabilities are tested during their seventh year of schooling. The first six years of a child's education are considered "primary schooling." Beginning from the seventh year onward to the tenth year, the child goes through "secondary schooling." Most children are around the age of twelve when entering secondary school.

When the time had finally come for Toranto to enter secondary school, at the age of twelve, his first day consisted of the usual paper signing, approving for his courses, and learning where all the new classrooms were. Elixia was there with him, partly to help him get anything he needed sorted out, but mostly to act as his line of support. At the end of the day, the children lined up for what everyone had been waiting for. It was now time to test the children's bending capabilities, and they were all excited to see how proficient they were in bending. The procedure used light-based crystals to determine a student's bending capabilities. Six crystals are laid on a table at the front of a classroom, each crystal representing an element of bending. The earth crystal was brown, the water crystal was blue, the fire crystal was red, the air crystal was clear, the light crystal was yellow, and the dark crystal was black. The students lined up in alphabetical order and were tested one at a time. Each student was meant to pick up each crystal and draw their energy into it. This would cause the crystal to glow, emitting light at a very specific wavelength. A student's latent abilities for the element of bending contained within the crystal were directly correlated to the power output of light being emitted by the crystal. This value could be measured using specific equipment to calculate the light's intensity. This same procedure was repeated with every crystal for each student and the student's power values were averaged. This final value would determine which bending class they started in. A "beginner" bending course ranged from zero to twenty-five, "novice" ranged from twenty-five to fifty, "intermediate" ranged from fifty to seventy-five, and "advanced" ranged from seventy-five to one hundred.

One at a time, each student stepped up to the table and picked up each crystal to determine their test results. When all the other children took their tests, everyone watched with a sense of joy and wonder. All the parents, the instructors, and the other students looked in awe to discover which student would have the highest affinities for each element. Now, however, the time had come for Toranto to test his bending affinities. Everyone still watched, but the sense of awe and wonderment previously in the room had vanished. Instead, everyone stared with blank curiosity. What's more, everyone suspected that they knew the outcome. They all expected Toranto's affinities to be the lowest out of anyone's due to him being a half-breed. Everyone believed this, the teachers, the students, the parents, everyone except Toranto's mother. After all, she had watched his growth over the past seven years. She thought that his affinities would be higher than average. 

Toranto stepped up to the table at the front of the room, trying his best to ignore all the stares he was receiving. He could tell that everyone expected him to have low affinities, and although he knew his skill with bending was good, he still believed them. The only person in the room who believed in him at this moment was his mother, Elixia. He picked up the first crystal, the earth crystal, and began drawing his energy into it. He concentrated as much as he possibly could, and very soon after, the crystal began to glow. The crystal emitted a light such that it produced an intensity score of 85. Everyone in the room looked surprised, no one expected the half-breed to even possess a single affinity. Elixia, however, smiled and felt extremely proud in that moment of her son. Although she had used bending to a higher degree in her life, she could still sense the innate bending abilities in Toranto since she was a demi-human just like him. Toranto put down the earth crystal and followed the same procedure as the others. The fire crystal produced an intensity score of 82, the water crystal gave back a score of 77, and the air crystal gave back a score of 71. All were impressive, and more than anyone had thought would be produced by this half-breed. The parents, students, and teachers all stood astonished at the sight in front of them. Toranto tried to ignore the looks of disgust and jealousy and continue with the test, but it was difficult. He picked up the dark crystal, which then glowed brighter than any of the other crystals thus far. It returned a score of 98, which was the highest affinity score seen in the class thus far. The onlookers stared in astonishment that he, of all people, could have the highest affinity of any element. Even Elixia looked surprised at how high his affinity was for dark bending. Toranto put down the dark crystal and picked up the light crystal, the final one, representing the most powerful and complicated field of bending. The light crystal glowed, pouring photons into the surrounding area such that everyone in the room could see it. The resulting score was 78, not as high as his trait for dark bending but still significantly higher than anyone had thought it would be. Since the other children were all demi-humans however, he ranked significantly lower than the class average for light bending. It was almost as if his high affinity for dark bending was canceling out any potential for a high affinity for light bending. Regardless, it was obvious that with an average intensity score of approximately 82, Toranto qualified to be put in advanced bending classes for the rest of his schooling. 

Once he concluded his test, the demon went to his mother where they proceeded with the rest of registration for Toranto's secondary education. Elixia was immensely proud of her son, although he didn't know it yet, having the courage and bravery to display his capabilities despite being surrounded by those who didn't believe in him was a trait she hoped would stay with him. Even still, she would remain here for him whenever he needed to lean on her, just as any mother would.