The Legend of the Five Emperors

-Somewhere in the countryside of Switzerland-

A small town could be seen emitting a subtle sense of serenity around it, with its townsfolk doing about their daily jobs living a carefree life. Striking mountains and sterile lakes occupy one corner of the town border showcasing its natural beauty.

In the middle of town, a conspicuous residential institution stands at two-storey tall. A sign is nailed to the front of the building labelled, "Rainbow Orphanage". Children between the age of 5-10 are seen playing around in the playground with their laughter ringing in the vicinity.

On the second floor of the orphanage, a boy about the age of 15 is walking towards his designated room. Standing right before the door, his ears perked up and he could hear some shuffling noises behind the door.

'These guys...are definitely stupid'

The boy sniggered in his thoughts as he slowly opened the door. He could see a rusty metal bucket placed on top of the door with a rope attached to it. Pretending to not notice the bucket balancing shakily on top of the door, he pushed open the door and walked right into the trap.

"HAHAHA, BITCH! GOTCHA!"

The boy saw the rope being pulled, resulting in the bucket being toppled over onto him. As if he had already rehearsed the action countless times, he quickly side-stepped and the bucket fell into the floor, soaking it wet. With an impassive look, he stared at the three masterminds in the room.

"Awww man, not again. How do you always figure it out, Asif?! " One of the three young boys exclaimed in annoyance.

Asif or Asif Vizier, the third eldest of the five oldest orphans living in the orphanage. He is a creative and a smart boy for his age, but can also be very violent and a bit grumpy. He has a black bowl hair cut adorned on his head and a twinkling pair of black colored eyes. Physically, he has a fine build for his age with a mild beige skin and a cheeky tiny scar on his cheek.

"Algo, Ash. Are you two in on with his stupid antics?" Asif questioned the other two accomplices.

"You think I'd join him with this?" Algo responded while shoving a potato ball into his mouth.

Algo or Algo Killian, the eldest of the five orphans by 2 months, is remarkably friendly and extremely lazy. He has short black hair, a pair of hungry ebony eyes with walnut skin. His enormous love for food has awarded him a chubby body. He and Asif share the same height.

"My bad. I always forget that you're busy with food."

Algo nodded with his mouth stuffed full. Asif then turned towards Ash with a raised eyebrow and awaited his response.

"Hehe..." Ash raised his right hand behind his head, and lightly giggled.

Ash or Ash Frudae, the second eldest of the five orphans, is energetic and extremely considerate depending on the situation but is also moderately shy to random strangers apart from his best friends. He has long charcoal hair covering his forehead. His skin tone is tanned and his face is enhanced with a pair of round bronze colored piercing eyes. He is slightly taller than both Algo and Asif by two inches.

*Sigh*

"Judging from the half-assed attempt, I knew it was you two behind this." Asif sighed.

"Fuck you too, and did you think it was over??" Ray smirked with an evil look on his face.

Ray or Ray Angelo, the youngest of the five orphans, is awfully mischievous but cares for his best friends a lot. He is slightly shy to strangers and his trust is hard to earn. He has unkempt curly brown hair with loose strings of hair sliding down his forehead, his pair of eyes embellished with a hazel tone, and a fair skin tone. He is slightly shorter than Asif and Algo by one inch with a slender figure.

"Huh?" Asif was confused and saw Ray wasn't staring at him, he was looking at someone behind him.

Behind him stood a tall boy holding a big bucket of water in his arms. The tall boy is Bryan Pine, the fourth eldest of the five orphans, is bold and playful. He has a short messy brown hair and a pair of sparkling dark brown eyes landscaped with a cool sandy skin tone. He stands tall at 6 foot otherwise exuding an impish quality.

Asif turned his head around and saw Bryan grinning deviously.

"Oh for fucks sake..."

"Drink this bitch!" Bryan shouted, giving no time for Asif to respond. Bryan gave a low shout before mercilessly thrusting the bucket of water at Asif.

*Splash*

""HAHAHAHAHA!""

The four laughed out loudly and giggled at Asif, currently drenched in water.

"Call me stupid or whatever but we got you good! HAHAHA...HA....HA...." Ray smugly pointed at Asif but then he saw him slowly turn his body around to face and Ray knew he was about to get beautifully thrashed.

*Drip drip*

"H-Hey Asif, let's talk about this, it was just a harmless prank. It's part of nature's cycle. I mean, it's normal to get wet."

*Drip drip*

Asif slowly walked towards Ray ignoring the rest because he knew it was him who thought of the stupid prank.

"Guys, will ya help me here?" Ray sent a pleading look to the other three for help while Asif was inching closer and closer.

"I'll pray for you, don't worry." Algo closed his palms and prayed. Bryan just sent him a good luck thumbs up.

"Why don't ya fight him back?" Ash advised him.

"Are you stupid?!" Ray shot him a stupid look. The other four huddled up together and scooted away to a corner.

*Drip drip*

The sound of the water dripping got exceptionally close, sounding like a ticking bomb in Ray's head. Asif was about to deliver his fists when he heard a gentle throaty cough, interrupting the attention of the five orphans.

A middle aged man stood at the door with his hands behind his back. A kind gentle look plastered his face as he looked at the five orphans in the room.

"Sup, Old man Reid" Bryan greeted him along with the rest.

The middle aged man or Old man Reid is the manager of the Rainbow Orphanage, Waylon Reid, who brought the five boys into the orphanage and took care of them.

"Now children, Ray is the youngest, so take it easy on him, Asif." A deep amiable voice emanated from him. Asif nodded at the man, the only man he respected from the bottom of his heart, flipped off Ray before turning his head away.

"And Ray, you should stop focusing on the pranks and instead help your brothers with the chores."

"Aye aye, old man." Ray playfully smiled with a mock salute.

'This brat...' Waylon shook his head.

"Alright kids, I've come here to notify you about something. It is something pertaining to an important matter but before I tell you anything. Clean yourselves up, freshen up, eat dinner and meet me at my office at 10. Don't be late!" Waylon instructed the five orphans.

"Something important..?" Ash muttered and the others had looks of confusion on their faces.

"And I expect everyone to come." Waylon said this, directing at Algo since he is lazy and dislike any forms of meetings.

"Yes yes, I'll come this time, old man." Algo responded rather lazily.

"Who knows, after you come to the meeting, maybe you'll stop being lazy." Waylon grinned.

"Pffft! Yeah, right. What a joke!" Rey snorted.

"Hmph!" Algo resumed his eating. Soon, Old man Reid left everyone to freshen up and get ready for the meeting tonight.

"I wonder what he has to say to us." Ray pondered aloud.

"There's no point in thinking about this." Asif replied.

"Asif's right, we'll find out later tonight. Come on, let's get ready." Bryan said. They all nodded and left to get ready. Ray thought he could quietly sneak out of the room but he couldn't move as he felt a hand firmly grasp his shoulders.

"You thought I'd forget about you?" Asif smirked evilly.

"A-Asif, mercy please?" Ray shuddered and pleaded.

"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

-A few hours later-

Waylon Reid is seen sitting in his office waiting for the five kids to come over. The office gives off a distinct otherworldly vibe permeating a sense of calm and serenity.

*Sigh*

"It's about time, huh." Old man Reid could be seen holding exactly five documents. Old man Reid sighed again and prayed in his heart dearly for the kids.

After some time, he could hear someone knock on the office door. He put away the documents and a look of determination flashed his eyes.

"Come in."

One by one, the five orphans entered the office and stood behind the desk waiting for what Old man Reid has to say

"I know you kids are eager to know what the important matter is but before I say anything, what do you kids know about magic?"

After several seconds of silence.

"What the fuck are you on, old man?" Ray seriously questioned.

"Are you gonna tell us a kid's story?" Algo asked.

*Cough cough*

"You kids are.....never mind. What if I tell you that magic is real?" Old man Reid coughed lightly.

"Then I'll say you gotta share some of that good stuff with us." Bryan said. The others snickered loudly.

"Shut up, punk. Aargh, instead of slowly easing it for you kids, how about I just show it to you?" Old man Reid smiled.

Waylon stood up from his chair and walked in front of the kids as they huddled up together with curious and mocking eyes. He raised his hand and flickers of ember poured out from his palm, creating a small flame flickering in existence.

After a few seconds of sheer astonishment.

"Uhhhhh...." Ray was shocked speechless.

"What the fuck!" Ash exclaimed.

"W-W-Wha..." Bryan was flabbergasted

"Am I dreaming? I defin-" Algo rubbed his eyes furiously.

Asif pinched Algo and himself to see if they were having a wonderful dream but they gasped in pain, reeling in shock. It's like a whole new world opened up for them, leaving them bare and amazed.

Old man Reid smirked looking at their reactions, it was understandable as he expressed the same emotions when he first found out about Magic. He made the small flame disappear and went back to sit on his chair. Looking at the still stunned kids, he snapped his fingers, bringing the 5 boys out of their stupor.

"Before you ask or say anything, Yes, magic is very much real or to be more precise, Elemental Magic. What I did was something very trivial. I simply conjured a small flame using the Elemental energy present everywhere around us. Only people who have awakened their talent can utilize the Elemental energy."

Giving some time for the kids to digest the information, he continued, "The process of awakening helps us gain knowledge of a person's Elemental Aptitude Grade and Elemental Affinity. Through these two aspects, a person can cultivate the elemental energy around us and can effectively use Elemental Magic. I'll tell you more about it later but first, if you kids have any questions, feel free to ask me."

Still digesting the said information, taking a deep breath to calm down his rapidly beating heart, Asif asked, "When did this Elemental Energy come into existence?"

"Good question and as for the answer to your question, we do not have a concrete answer. 10 years ago, a few people could sense that they could absorb some kind of energy into their body, discovering something incredible. Since then, researches have been conducted about the elemental energy and we have found that at the prime age of 15, the body is in the perfect state to be awakened otherwise if done before the age of 15, results would not be accurate."

"Old man, What are Elemental Aptitude Grades?" Bryan asked.

"Elemental Aptitude measures a person's potential on how fast he or she can sense and cultivate the Elemental energy. The aptitude only applies to your body until you have reached a certain realm. The grades for how the Elemental Aptitudes are determined are Green, Orange, Red, Blue, Purple, and finally Gold from lowest to the highest grade respectively. Obtaining a blue and above grade are considered to be very rare."

"Wait, what about Elemental Affinity?" Bryan asked again with his hand on his chin.

"The flame I made a few minutes ago is linked to my Elemental Affinity with Fire. When a person is in the process of awakening, their body shines with the color of the element they're most compatible with because of the specific elemental energy they attract. Now what are the different Elements? There are 10 elements that come under three categories being the Primary Elements, Unique Elements and lastly, the Legendary Elements."

"Woah..." Ash muttered.

Old man Reid chuckled and continued, "The Primary Elements are Water, Wind, Earth and Fire. The Unique Elements are Metal, Ice, Lightning, Light and Darkness. And the Legendary Elements consist of two elements being Space and Time. It is extremely common for people to be compatible only with a single element."

"Old man Reid, what if we were compatible with two elements?" Bryan asked.

"Yeah yeah, what about more than two?" Ray asked excitedly.

"Heh. So far, Earth has only produced three Elemental Magicians with two elements. So, the chances of awakening more than two elements? It's extremely unlikely."