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The sun rises from the mountainous strip, casting itself kindly over the village located on a green hill. The king star enlivens the beginning of the annual demonstration of prodigies.

The villagers wake up with the light. They prepare to receive the several dozens of tourists that are coming, and, more importantly, to encourage the prospectors who, arriving, will evaluate the works of the young promises of the village.

Parents help their children to lay the tarpaulins and set up the stands where they will show the works. A troop of employees hired by the mayor, bury wooden poles destined to hold ropes with pointed pennants, animal fat lamps, and floral cherry blossoms woven by the small hands of giggling girls instructed by grandmothers.

The villagers work hard to make their young men attractive to prospectors. If it's a smidgen, a single nudge that helps pick one of their own, would leave everyone satisfied and proud. Having someone from the village as a protégé of one of the prodigy villages would increase the fame of the settlement, and make them safer from the threats of the world. For the parents it would mean even more, nothing would make them walk with their heads held higher than seeing their children's work being recognized.

A baker boy plants a wooden table and on top of it displays two rows of freshly baked breads capable of catching one's breath and lessening fatigue. One of the first tourists, recently arrived from a neighboring village, takes one of the loaves, takes a bite of the spongy dough, and opens his eyes in surprise when his feet stop hurting and his forehead loses heat.

The merchants are looking for much more than a free trial, they want to meet through the work of their children families with whom it is worthwhile to make a medium or long-term contract. A merchant dressed in a tunic that accentuates his bell-shaped belly attacks the baker's parents with flattery to discover if others in his family possess similar or better gifts.

A shoemaker's apprentice shows off his new leather shoes on a wooden frame made for the occasion. He plants one foot on the right side, then the other, and with his hands outstretched sideways, climbs up the wall, earning a gasp of surprise from those watching. The boy, emboldened, continues his ascent. Places one foot on the roof of the frame, then the other, and as he is suspended upside down, his long hair falling under gravity, earns a round of applause that lasts until he breaks away and slams face first into the earth. His mother runs to comfort him and pick him up off the ground.

A girl with a nervous smile, she pats her cheeks and takes deep breaths to calm her troubled heart. She wears light, almost transparent silk garments, adorned with colored ribbons on the sleeves and bells on the bottom of her feet, her belly button is in the air. Without being a beauty, she makes up for what she lacks in beauty with a demonstration of her dancing abilities. Moves slowly with each leap and turn, as if she weighed as much as a feather. The ribbons follow her delicate movements, and on one side of her bare abdomen she proudly displays the mark of The Dancer, made up of curves intertwined in harmony.

The mark is the sign of the prodigious. The one that everyone awakens between 9 and 16 years of age, thus dictating the path to take in life.

The sun reaches its peak. The fair is getting livelier and livelier. Tourists move among the stalls, enjoying the food and the spectacle, congratulating the prodigious novices who, with each new demonstration and praise, lose their fear of showing their talents to strangers and show off with greater fluency.

Several merchants have already signed up the families of the most promising prodigies. Never know who will be the person to manufacture the next big rage in the big villages, and even if the youngster in question is taken by a prospector, there would still be the parents or siblings. That is why the friends of the trade always tried to sign contracts with the heads of the family, and the head in turn, tried not to commit himself too much in case a better contract came from a third party.

The appearance of the first prospector generated a great commotion.

The clouds appear, large, gibbous, snow-white, unique in that blue sky. From the white mantle appears a carriage with no pack animal or apparent driver, its silver wheels spinning in the breeze. The carriage is made of white wood and has on its sides the symbol of a marble cloud with lapis lazuli contours. The most knowledgeable tourists identify the symbol: The village of Neburia.

The carriage flies closely and noiselessly over the painted wooden roofs of the houses. It lands in the middle of the crowd, making a hole with its presence. The villagers, reading the general astonishment of the travelers, express their chest with the understanding that they are receiving the arrival of renowned characters.

Beyond the interest of finding favor with a seeker, what takes the breath away from most of them is the beauty of the seeker herself. A beauty capable of causing a war between two kingdoms.

The woman's face peers out from the carriage window. It has the pallor of the purest snow, and is framed by short, raven-winged black hair. The lips, pink and slender, from time to time she covers them by unfurling a gray fan with a spider's web design. The nose, a small button. The eyes are light blue, large and reaper, so distracting that it is hard to notice the coldness that dwells in them.

The carriage door opens without anyone, outside or inside, touching it. The seeker's robe is long, white and pristine, with a sash around her waist and shoulder, a garment that signals her status as a seeker, and holds a silver insignia with the symbol of Neburia pinned to the fabric. The woman slips out of the door and lets herself fall, but her feet never touch the ground. The silver thread sandals she wears, their soles surrounded by a circle of mist, suspend her about six inches above the grass. The green blades under each step of the lady are bathed by a light layer of cold frost.

No one suspects it, but a kick with those elegant sandals would turn the enemy's body to ice and make it burst into pieces. It is high-class footwear, precious and lethal, just like the owner.

Two other women emerge from the carriage, not as precious, but undoubtedly dignified and beautiful. They wear the same white tunic but without the sash, showing the symbol of Neburia embroidered on their clothes. Neither one of them wears a levite, instead they carry a spear on their shoulder and a sword at their waist respectively, weapons that mark them as guardians of the seeker.

The seeker advances escorted by her entourage, without smiling at anyone. Different men try to attract her attention, in the hope of making her fall in love. A prodigious warrior surpasses his own strength when he asks his brothers to add four more iron wheels to his bar, but the weight proves too much and, with a creak, the wooden bench that supports him breaks in two. His panicked brothers have to work together to remove the weights from his throat and save his life.

During the bad time the Neburian gave them a sidelong glance, and then, without changing her icy expression, went on her way. Such indifference spread uneasiness and insecurity among the boys. It was the visitors who shed some light on the matter, clarifying that in Neburia they only accept women.

It is strange that such a small and secluded village would receive a visit from a female seeker from Neburia, which is one of the ten large villages. Although it is also understandable, as there is fierce competition to find the best prospects. Each village fights to ensure its supremacy, and many times to find talent it is necessary to look in the most unexpected places.

In the end, only one girl is to the seeker's liking. With her web fan she points to the dancer and chooses her. The teen have five minutes to say goodbye to her family. Her moved parents, and her tearful little sisters, hug the girl goodbye as she climbs into the carriage, and flies off to a faraway place, full of promises and opportunities for the future...

And trials.