The 'Immortals'

And so, Atlas worked every day in the store of the old shop owner. He found out from Caleb that the shop owner was called Old Thorne. After a while, Atlas started to interact more and more with Caleb.

Atlas learned that Caleb was the son of a school teacher, but because his father drank a lot they didn't have a lot of money. So Caleb was able to join Old Thorne's shop and earn himself a bit.

Time went quick and before he knew it, Atlas worked already over two months in the shop. ''Can you close the shop when you leave, Atlas ?'' asked Caleb. ''Yes, you can go on your date, Caleb'' said Atlas while laughing. ''It's not a date...''murmured Caleb and he quickly left.

'Old Thorne said that he had a few books in the back that i could read' thought Atlas. Atlas went to the back of the shop and opened the door. After he stepped into the room he could see a space that was quite big. Rows and rows filled with books, medicine and other things.

Atlas quickly went to the book section and started scrolling through the books. He had already read quite a few books these last two months, but he was still far from finishing them all. He now had a good idea of the world he lived in.

The world seemed to consist of four continents. The western continent consisted of three countries called; Alton, the Dynasty and the Merchants republic. The Kingdom of Alton was created thanks to a rebellion against the Dynasty. So they were rivals. The Merchant Republic is the newest country that has risen. Before, there were thirteen states. But thanks to the threat of Alton and the Dynasty, the states banded together and created a new country. The western continent is protected thanks to a mountain range in the east.

While recalling what he had read already, Atlas was still searching for books to read. He wanted a book about the other continents, or even about the dynasty and merchant republic. So, he read title after title: 'The Eastern Mountain', 'Seas in the Western Continent', 'Forests in Alton Kingdom', 'Strange events in Alton kingdom', 'Politics between Alton and the Dynasty'... ''Hmmm''. Atlas went a few books back and picked an almost black book that seemed pretty tattered. 'Strange events in Alton ?' he thought.

He opened the book and saw that the writing in it was quite exquisite. He turned a page and started reading: ''In the long history of Alton Kingdom, quite a few events occurred that cannot be explained. For instance, the town of Blackwood was a thriving city with a population of a few thousand people. But in one night, the city was reduced to ash. Only a few persons survived it, but their accounts were quite strange. They talked about a person who, according to their description, had a giant fireball in his hand and threw it at another person. The other one used, according to them, lightning and the two destroyed the town. The only reason they survived was because they were chopping wood in the forest and when returning saw the two destroying the city.''

Atlas was looking startled at the context in the book. He kept on reading and with every page he read his frown became deeper and deeper. After he read the last page, he blankly looked in front of him, and only after a while did he realize that he was sweating. ' If the things in the book a true...' he thought fearfully. He shook his head, returned the book to the place it was at and closed the door behind him.

After he entered home, Atlas wanted to go to his room upstairs. But he saw his father sitting in the living room so he went up to him and started chatting with him. After a long talk Atlas asked his father: ''Father, have you ever heard of people destroying a city with the flip of a hand?''. His father's eyes stared sharply at him. ''Did you read this in a book?'' Morgan asked. So, Atlas recounted everything he read in the book.

After Atlas finished, Morgan stared at Atlas for a longtime. Morgan eventually sighed and started talking. ''When i was still in the army there was a war, between Alton Kingdom and the Dynasty, that was more brutal and more terrible than any other. Thousands of people died every day. The population was starving and when a lot of the men were killed, the king decided to use childeren and women. This went on for years. At some point we didn't even know what we were fighting for anymore. It was the same every day. But one day it all suddenly changed. The two countries reached a truce and everyone could return home. At first, i didn't understand why the countries would make peace all of a sudden. So, later that day the lieutenant i was under took me with him to a dinner he had with the general he was under. During the dinner, i learned the reason for the truce. Earlier that day, the generals met up with their chief. They were shocked to hear that the war was done. They had invested a lot of resources in it, you see. So when they started complaining and saying that they could defeat the Dynasty, the chief interrupted and told them that the immortals ordered so. You need to understand this Atlas. The world's strongest powers are not the countries. No, the strongest power in the world are the so called immortals.''.

Morgan looked at Atlas, who was in shock. Morgan kept on talking: ''These so called immortals can reduce cities to pulp and are only known by the nobles. They do not care about us, so the war that killed tens of thousands of people went on for years. But after they saw that the population of us was getting lower and lower, they decided to stop it. Why ? Because there are a few persons whom are able to become immortal as well. If almost everyone was dead, it would mean that less and less people could join them. So that's why they decided to interfere.''.

Atlas looked in a daze at his father. 'So the things i read are true' he thought. Atlas asked: ''But how do they choose who can join them?''. Morgan was deep in thought before he answered: ''That i don't know. But what i do know is that every year there is talk among travelers who come to River city. They say that in Bell City a special test is conducted. Those who pass the test are taken by mysterious men and they do not return. It's being held in the castle of the duke. It is likely that the person who shows up is an Immortal, but almost no one passes the test.'' concludes Morgan.

Morgan said to Atlas: ''When you have enough money, i will send you to Bell City to study. Maybe you have a chance to see the Immortal. Well, it's late already. Go to bed.'' and with that Atlas went to his room.

Atlas layed on his bed and stared at the roof. He said to himself: ''If i can go to Bell City, i will definitely try to take the test.''. And with that he fell asleep.