Ten years ago

  Edge of the Northern Solarian jungle

  Withdrawing his weapon, Damien dodged a spear slash to the face. He countered by stabbing at his opponent's midsection, which was deftly parried, unbalancing and leaving him wide open for his opponent who stepped in closer.

  Damien panicked and tried a desperate attack with his unarmed left hand, which was casually batted aside, leaving him completely wide open.

  In an act of pure cruelty, his opponent deprived him of his footing, sweeping Damien's legs off of him with a swift kick. He landed flat on his back with a grunt and a sharp release of air, courtesy of the wind getting knocked out of him. Desperately trying to salvage his situation, he moved to get back up and froze when the tip of a spear suddenly appeared just a few inches from his brow.

  Damien looked up at the grinning face behind the spear and then sighed. "You win, again."

  "Not for much longer," Keilan said as he withdrew his weapon. "You keep improving at an alarming rate. Soon enough, I'll be the one on my back."

  "I'm not so sure about that. You're also improving at a fast rate, too."

  "Not as fast as you. Eventually, you're going to surpass me in sheer speed and strength," Keilan said. "We are already equally matched in speed as it is. When you unlock your Root Meridian, I bet you'll easily catch up and eventually surpass my strength."

  "Hey, you forget you'll also be unlocking your Meridian at the same time, so that puts us on equal scales. Besides, you know very well that speed and strength fall before skill. No matter how strong I get, I bet you'll still be the better spearman."

  "He's right, you know, Keilan. Damien might be the stronger fighter, but you're more skilled," another voice pitched in as Elias stepped forward. "As for you, Damien. You keep improving at such an outstanding rate, so much so that I believe that in a few months or a year, you might likely surpass me," he chuckled.

  Elias had been the hunter who'd saved Damien from the jaws of a wild cat in the jungle, saving him from a slow, painful death. He was also Keilan's father.

  Damien had discovered an interest in the spear arts just from watching Keilan and his father train every day for weeks. Elias had noticed his interest and had invited him to join, and like a fish to water, hr had quickly taken to wielding the spear. In a few short months, through diligent and constant training, he had almost caught up to Keilan, having learned what took the other boy years to master.

  "I can't wait to witness the level of skill you'll achieve in a few short years," Elias said wistfully before he straightened. "That's enough for today, however. You two should go wash up and get some food. If you need me, I'll be at the tavern."

  He paused and looked at both boys. "Keilan, I know you enjoy beating up Damien and watching him lie helpless on the ground, but sometimes, try to lend him a helping hand." He pointed at Damien who was still on the ground, having forgotten to get up.

  Keilan chuckled and bent down, grabbing Damien by the collar and pulling him up, chuckling some more as Damien grumbled and dusted off the sand from his body.

  "We should go take our baths, I'm really hungry," Keilan said, his stomach grumbling loudly just in time.

  They waved goodbye to Elias and then walked into the house.

  The house wasn't too large. It contained three bedrooms and a sitting room, with a comfortable kitchen. Bathrooms and toilets were in each room, which helped immensely against the horror of bathroom traffic.

  There was a yard both at the front and back of the house, with the one at the back used for training.

  They both walked in through the back door, freezing just as their path was hijacked by the aroma coming in from the kitchen. Like wolves to a kill, they followed the smell, stepping into the kitchen to find Mara busy with the end touches of a salivating, soon-to-be-done meal.

  Keilan's mum noticed them before they could do more than sniff deeply, and she scowled, waving a giant stainless spoon at them. "Out, both of you! Go get cleaned up, immediately! I won't have dirt dragged into my kitchen!"

  "But maaa! We're so hungryyy," Keilan whined and Damien nodded mutely beside him. "Could we have just a tiny bit, an appetizer. Pleaseeee."

  "Quit whining and go freshen up. The smell oozing off the both of you is beginning to overwhelm me," She waved them away while covering her nose. "Look at Damien, he's already leaving to go take his bath. First come, first serve."

  Keilan turned around, only to see that Damien had vanished. He made to pursue, but by then he was already running for their shared room.

  "Betrayer!" Keilan shouted as he raised after him. "Wait up, I need to tell you something."

  Like Damien was going to believe such tricks. "Tell me when I'm done eating."

  By the time Keilan got into the room, Damien had already gotten into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

  "I'll get you for that! You hear me!? I'll get youuuu, even if it's the last thing I do!"

  "Oh, I hear you, alright!" Damien shouted back. "Keep shouting and maybe I'll hear you better!"

  Ever since he had agreed to stay with them, the Elasons had taken good care of him and treated him like one of their own. He and Keilan had quickly gotten along with each other, with the other boy taking it as his duty to hang out with Damien all the time, which made them almost inseparable.

  Apparently, finding a boy his age whom he actually liked was rare. Damien never understood what it was that made Keilan dislike the other village boys, and even after multiple attempts to weasel the answer out of his mouth, the other boy had remained tight-lipped.

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  They did almost everything together, from training with the spear to learning how to hunt. The parents even knew them well enough to send them on errands together. Even the villagers had begun to call them twins.

  Damien never figured out his age, so he had taken the age of fifteen as his official age since, from what other people had said, he looked like a fifteen-year-old.

  Freshly cleaned up, he opened the door, whistling to a joyful tune with a smile on his face. Keilan stood on the other side, hands folded across his chest with a towel tied around his waist.

  "You can go take your bath now," Damien said as he walked past, grinning.

  "I'll get you back for that," he said as he stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

  "I'll still get to eat before you, though!" Damien snickered and mimed licking his lips, loudly enough for the other boy to hear.

  His response came when the bathroom door cracked open and Keilan's underwear came flying out, almost hitting Damien if not for his quick reflexes.

  "You have such terrible aim," He laughed as the other boy slammed the door back shut.

  When Damien had accepted to stay, Keilan had requested that they share the same room, which had then led to a little bit of rearranging.

  They had taken away the big-sized bed in the middle of their room and had replaced it with two comfortable single-person beds, placing them both on each end of the room, with double windows between them.

  The large wardrobe had then been moved to the wall facing the room's entrance, with the reading table placed opposite their beds.

  Damien pulled a black shirt paired with black pants from the wardrobe, pulling them on as he moved towards the mirror hanging over the reading table.

  A few days after he had arrived, he had begun to grow hair, and shocking everyone but him, it was grey. At the start, they had been worried about him and had even called in healer Salem to take a look at him, fearing he had come down with a wasting sickness that was turning his hair grey.

  The Healer had also been worried about the prospect of a young child having a wasting sickness. She had checked him thoroughly, both through magical means and others, after which she had proclaimed him free of every form of sickness and disease, which they also found odd but did not question. Over the months, he had taken care to prevent his hair from reaching his shoulders and to prevent his vision from being obscured. Keilan would have a field day with him.

  When he finished combing his hair, he made his way towards the kitchen.

  The food was already served when he arrived. Rice with cut vegetables placed on top, combined with the wafting aroma of a large slice of expertly fried meat arranged at the side.

  Damien did not pause, he rushed to his seat and began digging into his food.

  "Slow down there, or you might choke," Mara warned, stepping into the kitchen.

  Damien's lips twisted regretfully as he took the advice, ignoring his stomach as it urged him to dig into the food with abandon, with his nose supporting it.

  "The food is delicious," he complimented. "I don't like vegetables, but this one doesn't taste like the other."

  "Thank you, and the reason it doesn't is that it was fried. I also mixed some spices into it, too," she replied.

  "What are they?"

  "Assist me in the kitchen and I'll teach you," She replied, looking at him with a knowing smile.

  Damien scrunched his face, which made Mara laugh out loud.

  "What are you two talking about?" Keilan asked, walking into the room.

  "Damien wants to know my secret ingredients for the vegetables but doesn't want to learn how to cook," she answered, eyeing Keilan head to toe.

  "Did you actually take your bath, or did you just douse yourself and call it bathing?" Damien said, a smile creeping up his face.

  Keilan side-eyed him, silently telling him to shut up. Damien's smile only widened.

  "Of course I took my bath," Keilan said, trying to put on an innocent face. Mara saw through it. "You can smell the scent of soap on my body."

  "Aside from the aroma of the food, the only smell entering my nose is the smell of an unwashed body," Damien's smile was turning into a full-blown laugh.

  Keilan glared at him, which made Damien burst out laughing. The other boy turned to his mother with an innocent face and tried to smile sweetly. She didn't buy it.

  "Don't for one minute think I believe you, but you can eat your food. Afterward, you'll help me with the dishes, deal?"

  Keilan quickly agreed, taking his seat on the chair beside Damien.

  They were already way into their food when another person stepped in.

  "Mother! Look what father got for me," She showed her mother a little female doll made with threaded cloth and long patchy strands of hair that made it more of a source of nightmare than one of joy. Though Damien was wise enough not to point that out.

  Leira was Keilan's younger sister at the age of seven. She had long, wavy brown hair with black eyes, just like her mother, unlike Keilan who took his blonde hair from his father.

  She had this innocent face and a cute smile that made her instantly likable, unlike Keilan who looked like he was up to no good whenever he tried the look.

  "I'm pretty sure Dad made that and then told you he bought it," Keilan said, falling into the cesspool of destruction Damien had so deftly avoided. "No wonder it looks like a horrible monster."

  "Keilan!" Both Damien and Mara scolded at the same time. Mara tried to calm Leira before she got angry while giving Keilan the silent look, warning him not to escalate things further. Damien just sat there, covering his mouth and trying to hold back laughter.

  Leira gave Keilan a look which was supposed to be intimidating but it just made her look cuter.

  "You wouldn't know monstrous if it looked you right in the face," she said "I've seen how you act around the mayor's daughter."

  Keilan's laugh died with a strangle, which made Damien burst out again laughing till tears began streaming out of his eyes.

  Leira sat on her chair with a triumphant look. Mara tried to stay neutral, but Damien saw the mirth in her eyes.

  "Enough of that. Keilan, stop taunting your sister. And Leira, don't imply such things about another person," she said, looking at them until they both nodded in agreement.

  They got back to their food. When they were done, Leira said. "I saw Borvin boasting about how he was going to choose a fire aspect during the affinity ceremony."

  "His funeral," Keilan said. "When he eventually burns himself, at least it'll teach everyone a lesson not to let a dumb overgrown bully play with fire."

  "Language," Mara scolded. "Besides, you don't chose your affinity so much as unlock it."

  "What do you mean?" Damien asked.

  "It isn't certain yet, but it is believed all affinities are acquired from birth, or at least when you begin developing character. They are as much a part of you as the organs in your body. An awakening ceremony is simply a means to bright them forth."

  "I want a flower affinity," Leira said.

  "There's no such thing as a flower affinity you du–," He stopped at the look Mara gave him, swallowing and then chosing a much safe path. "Besides, you can't pick any affinity this early, you still have years to go before your affinity ceremony comes,"

  "Can't I do it now?" Leira turned to her mother with a pleading look.

  "I'm sorry, baby, but you can't do yours now," Mara said, rubbing Leira's head affectionately. "You'll have to wait till your body can safely withstand energy before you think of participating in an affinity ceremony."

  Leira nodded, a determined look on her face. "I'll wait till I'm old enough to take in energy, and then I'll get the flower affinity," She looked around the table challengingly, daring anybody to refute her claim.

  Nobody dared.

  "Alright, finish your food. Keilan, don't bother running, you'll be helping me with the dishes," She looked at Keilan who wore a guilty expression on his face.

  "Mum, can I help too?" Leira said, a smile on her face.

  "Yes you can, honey," Mara returned the smile.

  Leira's smile widened.

  Damien quickly finished his food and joined them in washing the dishes. Leira demanded to be allowed to wash too, to which she was obliged. Mara eventually had to rewash everything she did.

  When they were done, Mara went on to the market to get the ingredients for dinner, leaving Damien and Keilan to the mercy of the younger Leira.