Prologue

//This one is a tad short. It's of poor quality since it's me trying to find my footing with this novel. Just give me time and I'll get better as I go.

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"Did you already lose sight of him?!"

"He's a slippery one. We haven't been able to pin him down and the storm is jamming our sensors. As it stands right now, we're effectively blind Sir!!"

"I don't care!! Fan out and find him!! If he escapes with the Plate, you already know the consequences for failure!!"

"Sir!"

The hail of bullet sized raindrops made it incredibly difficult to hear much of anything that wasn't above a spirited yell. Rainwater splashed roughly against the dense forest vegetation, drowning out everything. Sight, smell, sound. Every sense was rendered useless against the raging winds and unending sheets of cold liquid as it splattered against everything in its path. Lightning pierced the black sky, temporarily blinding those who happened to glanc at it, thunderous reverberations closely following each consecutive flash.

Still, despite the veritable hurricane, of which caused mass sensory deprivation and abhorrent spacial awareness for those caught within it, Nerogi Callivan was able to 'see' everything.

Hiding behind a large clump of mismatched bushes, meters away from the conversating individuals, the black-haired teen missed nothing. The sway of nearby branches, the words exchanged between the unknown men, how many people were in the vicinity.

He could "see" all of it.

And it confused him greatly.

Having only just woken up some half an hour prior, Nerogi was at a loss as to what was happening around him. Pursued by strangers with hostile intent, individuals who seemed to command different beasts with outlandish powers and abilities. Dealing with an intense storm that almost qualified as a natural disaster. Getting flashes of some other sense that only served to cause more disorientation, proving more harmful than helpful.

To top it all off, the youth had no recollection of anything prior to his awakening. Nothing of his past, his likes, dislikes, dreams, desires, goals.

Absolutely nothing.

The only thing he knew was his name and that he was being hunted down like an animal.

The moment Nerogi had opened his eyes, he had been on the run. Attacked without a second thought, the assailants had forced him to book a hasty retreat into the relative safety of the dark forest. Ordering around fantastical creatures, these same rogues relentlessly drove the black-haired individual deeper and deeper into the wet maze of sharp rocks and loose soil. It didn't matter what direction Nerogi took, the beast tamers would catch onto the chosen path within a few minutes and begin the hunt once again.

So far, the young man hadn't even had a chance to breath properly, let alone enough time to actually situate himself and piece things together.

Taking a deep breath, head tilted low to keep the water away from his mouth, Nerogi attempted to still his own rapidly beating heart.

After ensuring that he was sufficiently able, the youth darted from his hiding place.

Nerogi moved as fast as he could, no longer pussyfooting through the landscape.

Without hesitation, he clambered over a fallen tree and slid down an abnormally steep hill, shoe heels digging into the wet dirt in an attempt to control the descent. Mud coated the wounds and scratches obtained from his aggressors and their beasts, but he paid it no mind as he continued to make his way forward. The moment his feet touched the ground, he was once again on the move, doing his best to navigate the dark innards of the dangerous and unknown.

Branches pulled at his jeans, unseen roots caused numerous stumbles, and vines slapped him in the face, impeding his already defunct visual acuity. Nevertheless, he persisted, even when he felt like he wanted nothing more than to pass out or stop to take a quick breath. His legs never stopped moving, no matter how many times he took a nosedive or fell flat on his face.

It was only when a flash of the other "sense" spasmed uncontrollably, alerting him to no other entities in the area, that he finally stopped, plopping down behind a rotting tree stump.

Letting out jagged breaths, Nerogi did his best to get his head on straight and, for the first time since regaining consciousness, properly assess his situation.

(("Nerogi Callivan. 14 years old. Alive.")) The youth quickly gave himself a once over, pressing over every inch of his body with the tips of his fingers. (("Minor wounds along the arms and legs. Two lacerations along the right and center abdominal region. Burn marks on the lower left back. Overall, could be worse. Painful but not life threatening."))

Once the physical checkup was accomplished, the black-haired teen let out a slow and methodical breath, attempting to calm himself down.

From that point on, everything that happened needed to be handled with careful calculations in order to ensure optimal survival. As easy as it was to do, he could no longer trudge through the storm with no plan or common sense, like a chicken with its head cut off. If he wanted to live to see a proper sunrise, then he had to keep a cool and level head. The only thing panicking would do was cause him to falter on beneficial decision making.

Closing his crimson red hues, Nerogi began to break everything apart piece by piece. The world seemed to slow down, the rain drops coming to a near standstill.

The very moment his senses had resurfaced from whatever slumber he had been in, Nerogi had been carefully taking in and analyzing everything. Sight, sound, smell, taste, touch. Every experience was filed down and neatly organized, ready to he summoned the moment it needed to be recollection.

Nothing was forgotten. Ergo, the young man was able to use the data gathered immediately.

So, for starters, where was he and what was he doing there?

A forest. That part was immensely obvious. Having been chased through its confines for what felt like an eternity, it was pure foolishness to think otherwise.

It was the second part of the question that Nerogi couldn't quite figure out.

After opening his eyes back in the beginning, the youth had spent about a solid minute getting his barings, a sense of dizziness overcoming him. His senses were numbed at the time but he could still remember a number of things. Shouts and commanding tones, blasts of fire and streaks of yellow colored lightning, a feeling of heat emanating from within the pocket of his jeans.

Opening his eyes, the world once again returned to normal for the youth. Without a word, Nerogi reached into his pocket, the only pocket that hadn't been hacked and slashed during the assailants unfettered attacks.

Vwoom.

It was a metallic medallion of some kind, a six sided trapezoid that glowed with a murky purple color. Up until that point, Nerogi hadn felt anything unusual. However, now that it was resting within his palm, the object hummed with immense power, so much so that the youth wondered how he had ever missed it. The heat he had felt in the beginning was answered, though all it did was raise several more questions that lacked any explanation or even a plausible theory.

"I don't care!! Fan out and find him!! If he escapes with the Plate, you already know the consequences for failure!!"

Reaching out, the young amnesiac gently skimmed the surface of the medallion with his fingertips.

(("So this is the Plate they're looking for?")) Nerogi narrowed his hues in confusion, the mountain of questions rising as the seconds ticked on by. (("Going through a lot of trouble to get it. Willing to kill without a second thought. Begs the question, what do they need it for? What's its purpose? And how did I come to have it in the first place?"))

After looking at the surface of the Plate for a while longer, the teen stuffed it back into his pocket.

"Either way, I can't just throw it away." Nerogi heaved himself back onto his feet. "Not until I find out more information."

It was a gamble.

Judging by what one of the men said earlier, they were tracking him. By what means was anyone's guess, but even if it was because of the Plate, he was willing to take the risks that came with it.

"I have no information on this land. The odds aren't in my favor." Nerogi wiped water away from his chin with the back of his hand. "All I can do is pick a direction and hope for the best. My best bet is to put some distance between me and these beast tamers before the storm clears up."

Whish!!

Before Nerogi could utter another word, some sort of floating gas appeared before him, quite literally from thin air. Startled, the black haired teen fell backwards, once again landing on his ass, back against the rotting tree stump.

There was a weird sound, almost like laughing, emanating from the weirdly shaped mass as it circled around Nerogi. Hovering near the teens face, the creature got up close and personal with the youth, allowing him to finally see what had popped up in front of him.

"Gaaaass."