In the beatdown town of Lorendale situated amidst the Northern plains bordering the Mistic Forests, a young boy scurried through the streets with remarkable speed.
He weaved through the crowds and stalls with trained precision, fast enough to not be noticed but slow enough to scout out his surroundings. His flexible hands and dexterous fingers moved as if they had a mind of their own. An apple from a stall, a pouch of coins from a passerby.
This was how he survived in the dog eat dog streets. This was his daily routine that he carried out faithfully. He had done it enough times to not get caught, because he knew the repercussions when he did. it was a lesson he learned the hard way.
After buying himself some watered down stew at old man Henry's street stall he made his way to his usual spot at the town square where he spent most of his days observing the busy streets and bidding his time.
Taking a bite from the juicy and luscious fruit he had acquired, Daniel reached into his pockets to take out a not so big bag of coins he had been tirelessly 'working' to collect. He poured the contents onto his ragged shirt on his lap and started counting the musty ivory coins he had been saving up.
For the past few weeks he had been putting some money aside with a certain goal in mind and he had finally reached his goal. One by one he counted until he reached 150 small dimes. This was the amount needed for the upcoming appraisal that would be happening today.
Ever since Dan had turned twelve years old just a few days ago, he had been looking forward to the annual appraisal ceremony that happened all across the country.
Once a child reached the appropriate age which was 12, they would undergo the sprit appraisal at the temples to determine whether they had an a affinity with the spirits and awaken their mana.
In this world, where mana filled the air and spirits roamed the lands, humans, demi humans, elves, dragons, demons and all other sentient species had adapted over the centuries to sense the mana and summon the said spirits. Those who could do this were said to be at the pinnacle of existence and could wield unimaginable strengths. They could make fire appear from thin air and form blades of ice that could cut through steel. They could soar the sky and explore the deep oceans. They ventured into dungeons and conquered them. They ruled the lands and their will could shape earth.
This was what Danny was dreaming to become. One of the wielders of this power that could make other praise him and ardor him. To finally avenge his mother's unjust death and uncover the mysteries around her murder. Something that had been gnawing at him from the fateful night that he vividly remembers and has nightmares about.
Why was she killed? Who was the man covered in flames that took his only family and orphaned him? Why her? Why did he leave him alive? To suffer in this world that preyed on the weak like him? He had to know why he lived the past 3 years alone and in agony. He had to kill the man himself and watch as his life faded from his eyes the same way his mother's had. All his fantasies of making the murderer scream in agony played in his mind over and over as a creepy and dark smile formed on his face. His eyes covered by his dark hair were ominous and dreary as he reveled in his dark thoughts.
But it wasn't that simple. The chances of awakening were slim. In every appraisal ceremony that were held, only a handful of humans awaken. And even then fewer are able to truly harness their capabilities and use them to become true awakened. It is said only one out of every thousand awaken. And among them only one out of every a hundred awakened became true spirit holders and gain true power by contracting a powerful spirit.
This however did not deter Danny from his path. He had to awaken and he knew he would. He had to. Every cell in his being screamed to him that this was his path. And not in a metaphorical way.
Danny was a special child since birth. In the world called Synactellia only two known races were born with the ability to instinctively sense and perceive the mana and the different energies in the world, Spirits which inhabited the mana filled dimensions known as the spirit realm and the dragons which were only a known myth, mentioned in tales and bedtime stories told by children to scare them to sleep.
Despite this, from his earliest memories of childhood, Danny had always felt a certain connection to the mana around him. His eyes could pick up the softest glows of particles whenever he concentrated enough. His skin felt the most subtle shifts as knights or awakened walked past. Even though he couldn't directly affect the mana or interact with the ethereal energy, he knew his being was attuned to the mana unlike any other human. His mother had refused to tell him the reason behind his unique disposition. In fact she had been very adamant and insistent on him hiding this special talent of his. Always nagging him and making him swear to never tell a soul about it.
As Danny grew up and came to properly learn of the world of the awakened, he came to understand of the gravity of his condition. If anyone were to find out about it, the curiosity of humans was not something he was ready to bear. He would be captured and studied by awakened scholars. His body would be used as a specimen for humans to learn and evolve with. Just the thought of that happening sent chills through his bones enforcing his mother's words to go to the grave with this secret.
After finishing his semblance of a meal and confirming the coins he had, returning them to his sort of secure pocket, he started to formulate how he would reach the temple for the appraisal that was happening in a few hours. He had cut it close by saving up the money before the big day. If he was to miss today's appraisal, he would have to wait another whole year to get the opportunity again. He was tired of waiting and it was his time to take hold of his destiny and change his fate if it even existed in the first place.
In Lorendale, the spirit temple was situated at the very center of the city, right next to the ducal household in charge of the lands. Most cities in the human Empire were founded around spirit temples hence they were the central points of all cities and human civilizations everywhere. And this was where Danny was headed to take his first steps into a world that was not ready for his arrival.
A world that would one day come to remember the day of his fateful awakening. The awakening of an entity that would bring gods to their knees and empires to ruin.