1 MEETING

In this realm of enchantment, where every dawn births a symphony of possibilities, humans emerge into existence adorned with powers of a forgotten era. Each heartbeat echoes with the resonance of latent powers, an inheritance woven into the very fabric of their beings. Beneath the blue sky, individuals wield the elements like brushstrokes on the canvas of reality.

In this tapestry of existence, the mundane becomes miraculous as abilities dance on the fingertips of world born men. Telepathic tendrils weave between kindred souls, and arcane sparks manifest the unspoken desires of the heart. Radiant halos of luminescence surround those who channel the energies of creation, illuminating the path of men who are the architects of their own destiny.

In the embrace of this magical world, humanity discovers that within each breath lies the potential to shape reality, to transcend the ordinary and step into the extraordinary. With powers as diverse as the hues in a cosmic palette, they navigate a world where every whispered wish carries the weight of possibility and every heartbeat is a pulse in the symphony of limitless wonders. This is the world of Kian.

***

Chris walks along the street of Caldron bay as the rain hammers down upon him, Each drop sits on his skin like a puddle that will never leave, perfectly formed, perfectly cold. He feels the water steal his body heat just a tiny bit at a time. Perhaps once he would have sort shelter or warmth - but no longer. He has become accustomed to the elements, to the wind and chill. There is a coziness in his suffering. 

Chris Cardone the fourth son of an unremarkable family, born of a town to the west, lived, no survived through death, disease and decay, not much could be said about his family. His father a farmer and his mother a stay at home mom were the best things to have ever happened to him, they thought him what it was to be free, they thought him what it was to live! Even in the ramshackle of a house he lived in with his brother max and his sister Lia they managed on meagre money. On his birthdays his parents could never afford to get him anything new, but they gave him much more, hope. They'd tell him stories of the life he could live if he worked hard enough, if he went where nobody had stepped before, they'd tell him tales of courage of fear and of love, and every night he'd dream of his future. He'd think of what would come after not what came before, now he only dreamt of the past.

Forgive me father, mother. I despair.

Tears filled his eyes which he had to blink away. He had killed them hadn't he? 

His brother max now twenty lived up in the high city looking to get into law enforcement, his sister Lia went to the school of the powered and special looking to become a full fledged awakened . Chris at the age of eighteen was a criminal, the worst kind, who would do jobs for money, he walked with men he had met through his many struggles, violent men, troubled men, and the worst kind stupid men. He travelled with a gang who named themselves the Solar sell-swords who did odd jobs for money, from kidnap, to gathering information to murder they did it all. Their activities were completely shrouded in mystery as getting into contact was hard work and their numbers only totalled twelve of the most hardened men and women Chris had ever known. He knew nothing of any of their backgrounds or real lives, everything about the group was about business, the whole organisation was based on financial gain, secrecy was their creed. Today the boss Lucius he was called had summoned the members for a meeting of an urgent nature, they were to meet in an abandoned warehouse, in the corner of town.

a member has died

It was the logical conclusion as long as he had been in the group only one meeting like this occurred when Cray was killed just two months ago, Lucius gave no explanation of how he died he simply said "Cray has perished, I have no tolerance for weakness, a new member will be brought into the fold, dismissed." And that was that no more words were spared for Cray, Lucius was a man of directness no word, no step, no action was done if it wasted energy. A dangerous man was Lucius who possessed the ability to bend the weather to his will; rain, snow, lightning, or even the wind Lucius could control, the full extent of his ability nobody knew as he rarely ever demonstrated it.

Chris arrived in the cloak of night at a nondescript warehouse, a solitary entrance obscured by crates beckoned him inside, as he walk through the air hummed with an electric tension as he slipped through the dimly lit corridors, the scent of damp concrete and secrecy pervaded the space and the distant echo of footsteps blended with the low murmur of hushed conversations, eight members have already arrived, in the middle of the warehouse 12 wooden seats were set about, 5 were sitting; Purv, Wood, Jia, Baxter and Kyle the other three Ash, Walker and Rivel were standing around, chris promptly took his seat at one of the ends and waited for the other arrivals, melisma, and Charlie were the last to arrive.The boss arrived last. A low rumble announced the approach of his car. He confidently steps into the warehouse Dressed in impeccably tailored attire, every line and crease purposefully chosen, Lucius exuded an air of composed precision. His movements were measured, each step a deliberate stride toward an unseen objective. sharp eyes analysed the surroundings with a discerning gaze, revealing a mind constantly at work. A cascade of tousled hair framed his face The distant glow of a solitary cigarette illuminated his features, revealing a stoic expression. the assembled members simply waited for their boss to say his peace.

What power, how far can I go until I can possess such power.

He surveyed the group once more then he spoke "we've lost a member, Jeremiah is no more."

He said in a somber tone. Stunned silence encapsulated the room, truly it felt like nobody was breathing. The energy in the room shifted, it felt. colder.

"What the fuck!" Baxter Brude roared as he slammed his fist on the table. A towering figure in the room, his very presence commanded attention with his Broad shoulders and sturdy frame he was a force to be reckoned with. "What happened Lucius, Jeremiah was strong, that's a bad blow to us, to me, I had dealings with the guy for fucks sake" he spat.

Lucius pierced Baxter with his gaze, " yeh you see, he was in some big time shit, he was selling artificial powers in the black market, you know, the government caught on and sent some big boys from HQ."

"what the fuck" Baxter cried, everyone else clearly felt the same way even Chris couldn't believe what he'd heard, people were naturally born with powers since birth there was no limit to what powers someone could posses, however people who didn't get the powers they wanted or desired often looked to the black market where powers were created scientifically, usually in the form of a pill, most artificial powers lasted anywhere from a couple hours to a couple weeks, the side effects were often very messy, many could lose control and kill a lot of people as well as themselves in the process it had happened several times in the best, artificial powers were blacklisted by the government any attempt at selling or buying landed people with life sentences. It was a dangerous business the government didn't fuck around with.

"Yeah Baxter, I hope the dealings you had with him had nothing to do with selling artificial powers, or you're screwed, I'm hearing they sent two captains after him, rumour is they can't even find his remains." Lucius stared icily at Baxter clearly letting in known he wasn't fucking around.

"O-of course not." Baxter stammered.

"Good I want it to be known, I know we stay out of each others lives for our own safety, but now I'm going to settle a couple ground rules, firstly none of the funds you earn can be used for the usage of artificial powers because that can be traced back here and destroy our whole group, secondly no messing with the drug flux and thirdly no messing with the inquisition they don't take very lightly to getting one of their own injured, you guys understand?"

Everyone replied with a yes, it was pretty reasonable request Chris thought, it was rules that should've been known but clearly some people needed to be reminded.

"Great now I've already recruited a new member she'll arrive shortly."

"Hmm how intriguing, you work fast don't you Lucius." Purred melisma who sat In a tapestry of cultural elegance, Her eyes, deep pools of intrigue, reflected an enchanting allure, while her olive skin shined. The Cascading waves of obsidian hair framed a face adorned with intricate patterns of makeup, emphasizing the enchanting contours. 

"How strong is she." Baxter asked quizzically.

"Hmmm well she's taking Jeremiah's spot, number 6."

"So she's as strong as Jeremiah?" Baxter asked again 

"Yes, I tested her out, she's strong, maybe stronger anyway speaking of the devil." 

Chris shifted his gaze at the corridor in which a woman of average height slowly walked in surveying everyone with deep set eyes Ebony locks cascaded around a face adorned with features that told tales of both resilience and grace. "Hi I'm Sylvia, nice to meet you." She said her voice had a melodic cadence to it.

"Alright we're done here, missions will be posted soon so be on the lookout, Chris, Baxter, Rivel stay behind."

Once everyone cleared out Chris was left behind with baxter, Rivel, Lucius and Sylvia. "Firstly Chris I want you to work with Sylvia on a job tomorrow, our client is paying top dollar for this, since you guys are the youngest you'll fit like a glove. He wants you guys to infiltrate the college of arcane science, all the identification is sorted, you need to collect information about some professor named Redmond which is secondary to the primary purpose which is to get something called an Adaemus Rue not sure what it is but everything will be made clear in your brief which will be sent by email tonight, any questions?"

 "Yeah how long is this going for, I mean it could take considerable time, some of us have lived outside of this you know." Sylvie asked clearly not wanting to do the job.

Lucius smiled coldly" well as long as it takes, you can turn up to class anytime you want neither of you have to necessarily work together, of course the less time you're in school the more likely you're going to spend working on the mission, our client is paying 5 million for this job you know, you guys take 20 percent of the cut to share between yourselves that's 250k each, this is one of the biggest jobs we're gonna do so yeah, you might wanna put your other commitments on the back burner."

"Okay, fine I'm out of here, I'll see you tomorrow I guess, Chris right?"

"Yeah I'll be ready." Chris said.

I'll be ready for the worst and so should you Sylvia 

"Wait." Lucius stopped them in their track as they prepared to leave "you guys better stay vigilant in that school, whatever this client has got us doing if it turns into something bigger than you, bigger than us I want you guys to bail, I don't care how close you come to information or whatever this Rue thing is, if it's something that gets the inquisition involved, don't roll the dice bail."

His sudden words were etched with a sense of fear, which caused a tenseness in Chris that would not let his body move, the inquisition, the governments most powerful organisation, the group filled with mystery as well as having some of the strongest arcane uses know to man, the group that had set him on a course of villainy.

Bail? Sorry Lucius, I've done enough running the inquisition comes knocking I'll kill them.

as Chris walked a symphony of vengeance echoed in every step. Each footfall, a resonant note of retribution and justice!