Prologue

“Once upon a time, there was a man who emerged from the shadows of Erebos, the Dark Forest. This should have been impossible as the forest would always find a way of killing anyone who had dared set foot in it, so it made no sense how this man was able to simply just walk out. He walked, bare-footed, in rags, towards the Kingdom of Jincole.

This man looked no cleaner than a peasant, no stronger than a child, yet, as he walked, there was an overwhelming presence. Everyone in the Kingdom had felt it. The sheer power radiating off of this individual was astonishing. Anyone who saw him immediately fell to their knees and bowed; however, this was against their will. No one knew who the man was, but they did know that one wrong move would result in certain death. All the people of Jincole cleared a path for the man to walk through.

Eventually, after hours of walking, he was at the palace in which the King of Jincole resided. Inside the palace, the King was fearful. He was scared for his life. He knew that this presence was nothing normal and it seemed that was also aware of who this person was. The man outside the palace then proceeded to walk towards the guards and with a swift motion, he knocked them out. His movements were quick, seemingly faster than a blink of an eye. Archers who were standing on top of the palace walls shot arrows at him, but his skin turned to diamond and the arrows bounced off of him.

 He walked and walked, knocking out every guard in his path, whether it was by punching them so hard that their bodies shook even in their armor, or if it was using telekinesis to slam them against the walls. Once the man had arrived at the throne room, he immediately knocked out the guards in the room and looked towards the King.

All that anyone outside the palace could hear was the screaming of the king who had been butchered by this man. The individual walked out onto the large balcony of the palace and looked down at all the people of the kingdom. The man declared himself the new King of Jincole and with little protest from the people, he began his reign.

Years upon years had passed since this incident in which this man had earned a title for himself other than King. The people of Jincole and other kingdoms as well, called him the Dunamis. This title was a testament to his power and potential to grow to even further heights. Using his power, he brought about changes in society, most for the better, some for the worse.

Overall, his reign was the most successful and influential reign in all of human history. Finally, in his last moments, on his death bed, he summoned the heads of the 6 main families in the kingdom. Almost the entire kingdom was made up of these families, that is enough to show you how large they were. The Dunamis bestowed the families each with a specific set of his powers. The Yenard family was given the power of the mind; the Gormeel family was given the power of strength; the Filnine family was given the power of speed; the Dilcon family was given the power of endurance/regeneration; the Jernok family was given the power of durability; and the Lowpil family was given the power of nature.

As the Dunamis carried out this final action, he uttered the words, “My death is not eternal, I will return one day, and I will retake my throne.” After his death, the people of Jincole started to host elections to decide the Kings and Queens of the Kingdom. Time went by and the powers that the people of Jincole were given had been integrated into their everyday lives. What this man did caused severe changes to our Kingdom as a whole and shaped who we are as a people, today. That is the history of Jincole and the origin of our powers. Thank you for listening to my presentation.” I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding as had I just finished my presentation.

Presenting in front of a lot of people made me really nervous so I was surprised at how well I had done. My teacher, Mrs. Edwards congratulated me, “Wonderful presentation, Elio. You pass.” I nodded happily and sat back down in my seat. I then thought, I can’t wait for high school.

Power book of the 6 Families of Jincole

Part 1: Filnine

The Filnines were blessed with powers relating to speed by the Dunamis. In order to deal with the fast movement, a common trait among Filnines is increased perception. This helps them to see better in the dark, predict the movements of others and process everything around them while moving at high speeds. Below, you will see a list of the different powers available to a Filnine and a brief description of the nature of that power:

* Instant Acceleration- This grants the user the ability to accelerate to great speeds from a stand still almost instantly. The speed at which the user travels is reliant on fitness and age.

* Rapid Vibration- A constant surge of energy within the user causes his/her body to vibrate rapidly. It is a difficult power to use and live with but once mastered, it becomes extremely efficient in combat.

* Velocity Increase- A user with this ability can increase the velocity of any external object simply by touching it; however, they are not able to increase their own speed. Like rapid vibration, this is a difficult power to master and is hard to live with but once mastered, makes the individual a deadly force in battle.

* Time Skip- This is the rarest ability to manifest within a Filnine and one of the most powerful. The user is able to skip forward in time by a few seconds or milliseconds, depending on the individual’s mastery.

* Portal Creation- The user is able to create portals in any place that they have been to or have seen. Larger portals use up more energy while smaller portals use less.

* Kinetic Boost- As the user moves around, Kinetic energy is generated and once the threshold for kinetic energy has been maxed out, the individual is able to use this as a temporary boost in speed. The kinetic energy threshold can be expanded through constant use. The more kinetic energy stored up, the longer and more powerful the boost is.

* Zero Resistance- The user is able to move at their maximum potential as air resistance and drag don’t apply to them. Although this power is seemingly less impressive than the others, it requires almost no training and is the easiest to live with and master.

* Lightning Speed- Surges of lightning pulsate throughout the user, allowing them to move at incredible speeds. If used to its full potential, this power can grant the user light speed movement.

* Enhanced Speed- This is the most common power amongst all of the Filnine abilities. As the name suggests, it grants the user Superhuman levels of speed. It is one of the easiest powers to master, only second to Zero Resistance

Chapter 1

          “ELIO DONAVON HERALD FILNINE! GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!” I was jolted awake by the booming voice of my angry mother. I looked at the clock Oh no... I slept in! And to make matters worse, I’m going to be late on my FIRST day at my new school. I fussed, “Why did I have to sleep in today of all days?” Immediately after this, I jumped out of bed and started to dash around my room like a mosquito. I was in one place, then suddenly I was in another and then I was in another place again. I knew that I had to get ready quickly because my mom called me by my full name, ancient family name included. She was pissed, super pissed. I had no time to waste so I ran to the bathroom and got ready as fast as I possibly could.

After a few minutes, I was hopping down the stairs, putting on my shoes and blazer. My mother stood in front of the door in an apron with a pot in her hand. She glared at me then warned, “If you ever sleep in on an important day like this ever again, you won’t be waking up.” I gulped and nodded nervously. Obviously, this was an empty threat, my mom just liked to go overboard sometimes. “Yes, mom, I understand.” I replied. As I walked through the door, she put a sandwich in my hands and looked away. “You didn’t have breakfast” she said, and I retorted saying, “I guess your not as angry as you seem.” I felt the pan she was holding slam into my butt, and I was thrown out the door. I probably shouldn’t have said that. “Sorry mom! Won’t happen again!” I yelled as I rushed off to go to school. Upon arriving at school, I saw giant gates with the name of the school on top of them, Harindon High.

Whack! A powerful pat on the back sent me flying to the wall next to the gate but I was able to stop before I hit it. A muscular boy rushed up to me, so I was preparing to fight, only to see him drop to his knees and bow his head. “I am so, so, so sorry! I just wanted to greet you but then I lost control of my strength and I accidentally hit you with a lot of force. Again, I am so, so sorry. Please forgive me!” The boy was almost to the point of crying, a bit much, right? Anyhow, I helped him up and patted his shoulder. “It’s okay, I’m fine. Apology accepted” The boy’s eyes lit up and he hugged me. I was being crushed, “Can’t breathe, can’t breathe!” I shouted, so he let me go. “Oh, sorry” He chuckled nervously. “I’m Jacob, by the way. What’s your name?” he asked, I said, “Elio, now let’s get inside before we are even more late.” He replied, “That’s probably a good idea.”

After a long and boring assembly, we were able to finally make it to class. Jacob and I walked through the door marked 1 room 27. Some students were sitting on desks, a few of them were talking to each other and some were just minding their own business while sitting in their respective seats. “Elio, you know anyone in here?” Jacob nudged me on my shoulder. “Nope, not a single person.” I responded. We both sighed and walked in, sitting at the very edge of the classroom. I sat in front of Jacob because he’d most likely block my view if I sat behind him. That guy is really big, trust me. Suddenly, a girl walks up to us and sits on my table. “Hey boys, especially you, Elio.” She looked at me flirtatiously, but I was really confused, bewildered even. Why was a girl suddenly flirting with me? “Uhh, who are you? And how do you know my name?” I asked. She answered sarcastically, “You really don’t remember me? I’m hurt.”

I looked at her for another moment and then my eyes widened, “Maria?”  she was a childhood friend of mine, Maria. She looks different, when she was younger, she had shorter hair and obviously, she looked much younger. But now...Woah there! Don’t check your  friend out Elio.  I had to stop myself and look away. “The one and only. Oh, and who’s this muscle man behind you?” I regained my bearings, “This is Jacob. Jacob, meet Maria.” He nodded and shook her hand. I then looked towards her. “How were you able to recognise me?” I asked. With a giggle she responded, “How could I forget this red hair?” She said this while playing with my hair which I somewhat enjoyed. “Or those bright orange eyes? You stick out like a sore thumb, El.” I smirked, “Well, I try.” She laughed and we started talking, reacquainting ourselves with each other.

A few moments later, the teacher stepped in to the class, so everyone had to go to their seats. Maria decided to sit right in front of me. The teacher started to speak, “Good morning class, I am Mr. Gordon and I’ll be your class teacher for this year. I would like for everyone to say their name, including the ancient family name, and tell the class 3 things about yourself.” Ugh, the one thing I hate about first days. A boy in the front stood up. “My name is Ronald Woods Yenard. I love to get my schoolwork done quickly and accurately, I am a great leader, and I am usually the smartest in the room.” He sat down. Mr. Gordon sighed, “Of course he’s a Yenard...Next.” The girl behind him stands up “I’m Nina Coveira Lowpil. I try my best to be nice to everyone around me, I like to take care of animals and I’m good at gathering people to work together.” Nina sat back down calmly. The teacher noded and some other children introduce themselves. I spaced out for a good amount of the other students until I heard a strange buzzing noise. I looked at the student and saw them vibrating violently. Wait...I know this guy. I didn’t notice him before or maybe he wasn’t in the class yet, but this he’s a Filnine like me. He’s one of my neighbours. I barely talk to him though. “H-H-Hey E-E-E-E-Everbody! I-I-I-I’m A-A-Aaron V-V-Viper F-F-F-F-Filnine. I” Mr. Gordon interrupts “Stop. You can sit.” Aaron responded, “B-B-B-But” Mr. Gordon shakes his head. Aaron sighs in defeat and sits back down.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The class introductions continued and the last three people to go were Maria, Jacob and I. Maria then stood up, “I’m Maria Williams Jernok. I like sparring, I can get people to do what I want pretty easily, and I like reconnecting with my old friends.” Somehow, I felt that was directed towards me, probably because she winked at me afterwards. It was my time to go so I got up and said what I had to say so I could get it over with, “My name is Elio Herald Filnine. I like helping people, I’m pretty talkative once you get to know me and I am not afraid to get my hands dirty in order to get something done. Take that as you will.” I made sure to make the last part sound gritty and dark. Cool, right? Gives me an edgy vibe. The last one to go is Jacob, “Hello, good morning. I’m Jacob Bridge Gormeel; I like to meet new people, I’m really strong and I love hugs.” Mr. Gordon nodded and Jacob sat back down. “I assume that was everyone. So, let’s get to the lesson on the creation of Jincole.” Seriously dude? On the first day? This is going to be one tiring year.

A few hours later, after the morning classes, Jacob Maria and I walked down the hall and we see 3 people surrounding Aaron who was backing away slowly in fright. I can’t just let this slide. “I’m gonna help him.” I felt Maria grab my hand and yank me backwards, “Umm, no you’re not. My older cousin is one of those guys and he’ll literally kill you.” Excuse me? I’m not just gonna sit back and watch a classmate be beat up. I pulled my hand away from her and appeared in front of the bullies. “Who do you guys think you are? Scram, skedaddle, levitate on out of here.” I looked back to see Aaron gone, so  I was alone and was most likely going to have to 1v3 these guys. I cursed under my breath and then looked up at them with a piercing gaze. “What did I tell you? Go!” The boys start to laugh. Wait, are they laughing at me? Yep, they’re laughing. “I guess our target just shifted, boys.” Maria’s cousin said as his skin turned into emerald. I sighed, “What have I gotten myself into?”

To Be Continued

Chapter 2

I saw an emerald fist coming towards me, so I had to think quickly, one of my many talents. The next moment I was on the other side of the hallway and... Wait, you are probably wondering what my power is. Well, I am able to accelerate to high speeds from a standstill. You know the phrase,0 to 100? Yeah, think of it like that. Oops, let me not take up too much time, back to the fight. “I’d advise you to try and aim at me next time. It seems that shiny green fist of yours is in the wall instead of in my face, “Maria was shaking her head and had her face in her palm. “He’s not changed at all since we were kids.” Jacob looks towards the scene, “I don’t like fighting, but I have to help him.” Maria groans, “Not you too. Fine, I’ll try and get us out of this mess.”

As that conversation went on, I was dodging hits from Maria’s cousin but then a vine wrapped around me, holding me in place. That’s just great, isn’t it? I coughed up blood as I felt that hit from emerald boy, “D-Damn. You hit hard.” My vision is getting blurry, this is bad. Right before I got punched again, I heard a crashing sound. My eyes refocused to see Jacob standing in front of me. He had just punched that older boy into the wall and was now fighting off the one with vine powers. Maria walked over to her cousin, “Terry, you need to stop doing this.” He grunted, “Shut up, Maria.” She became slightly annoyed, “Terry, if you hurt any of my friends again, I’ll tell aunty about your grades in school which you go through so much trouble to hide from her.” “You wouldn’t dare,” he glared at her. “I would, actually, so stop this and get to the cafeteria so you can eat lunch like a civilised person, please?” She looked at him pleadingly. He eventually gave in and grunts, “Fine. But if he gets in my way again, I’ll pound him into oblivion. Let’s go boys!”

I had one pinned down when I heard Terry’s voice. It seems that Jacob heard him too as he stopped fighting the other one. I got off of the boy and let him leave with Terry and the other one. “I should probably get to the infirmary.” I coughed up more blood and grip my stomach. Maria looked at me and rushed over to help me walk. “I’ll take you there. You seriously need to know when to just ignore something.” I respond, “If I had just ignored this, Aaron would have been hurt much worse than I am right now.” Maria chuckles, “You have not changed at all; always trying to be the hero.” Jacob walked with us to the infirmary, and we talk about what had just happened. After a while, I walked out to see Maria and Jacob waiting for me. Jacob was the first to speak, “Were they able to fix you up?” “Yeah, I got some bandages around my torso and also a lollipop so that’s a bonus” Maria giggles, “They’re seriously giving lollipops out at this age? Wow.” I mean, I understood what she was saying, but I’m not complaining. I stuck the lollipop in my mouth and made my way to the cafeteria with the two.

In the cafeteria, as we were eating lunch, Aaron came to sit at our table, and he looked guilty. “H-H-H-Hey g-g-g-guys I-I a-a-am r-r-r-really s-s-sorry f-f-f-for r-r-running a-a-a-away a-a-and l-l-l-leaving y-y-you th-th-there.” I felt sorry for him, he was being bullied and now he thinks he has to apologise for trying to get away. “It’s fine, Aaron. You just wanted to escape, which I helped you do. You have no reason to apolo-,” Maria interrupted, “Uhh, yes, he does. He left you and you got injured. If we hadn’t stepped in, who knows what could have happened?” Aaron looks down and says softly, “I-I-I-I’m s-s-sorry” Okay, this is just sad. His confidence levels are so low. I gave Maria a look and then looked back at Aaron. “How about you come over to my house this evening and I teach you some self defence? I won’t always be there to save you.” Aaron looked up at me with a bright smile on his face, at least I thought so, kind of hard to tell.

That evening, Aaron and I stood in my backyard. “My first question is, why are you always vibrating? It sure is inconvenient huh?” he answered, “Y-Y-Yes, v-v-very.” I tried to come up with a solution, “Is there anyway that you can try and control the vibration?” He got into a relaxed stance, “I-I-I’ll t-t-try.” He slowed down and was eventually completely still, but he was sweating, “This is really hard. I don’t think I can keep still for much longer.” He started to vibrate again. “So, you can stop, but it’s really tiring? We can work with that. This sounds like something exercise and training can fix. I want you to try and stop yourself from vibrating again and hold still for as long as possible.” Aaron nodded and did what I told him to do. He’s able to hold still for about 2 minutes before he has to stop. “Again” I said to him; he did it again. Afterwards I told him to do it yet another time and I kept telling him to do so until it got dark. “You should go back inside now, Aaron. We’ve made some progress.” He gave me a thumbs up and walked to his house which was right next to mine. When I got back inside, I saw my mother reading the newspaper with a grim look on her face. She said quietly, “Oh no...”

To Be Continued

Author’s Note

Hey, you may be wondering, “Richard, what happens if someone’s parents are from two different families?” Well, don’t be alarmed. I have the answer to your question. Just read the scenario below:

Francis: Mom!

Francis’ mom: Yes honey?

Francis: You are a Filnine right?

Francis’ mom: Yes, that’s right.

Francis: So why do I have regeneration like the Dilcons?

Francis’ mom: That’s simple, dear. Your father is a Dilcon and his genes are dominant so you have his family powers.

Francis: Okay, but I still have increased perception like a Filnine. How does that make sense?

Francis’ mom: Anyone that has Filnine blood will have increased perception. It doesn’t matter if it is dominant or not. This is the same for all the other ancient families of course.

Francis: Wow...Thanks for explaining mom!

Francis’ mom: No problem sweetie. Now, how about we go and get some ice cream?

Francis: Sounds amazing! Let’s go. Now!

Francis’ mom: Okay, okay! Calm down!

.

See you next chapter

Chapter 3

Mom looks really worried. What is she reading?  I thought. Letting my curiosity take over, I appeared behind her. “Hey mom, what’s wrong?” I asked. “Oh, this is terrible, El.” She replied while tearing up. Okay, now what could she possibly be reading? “What is it?” I asked again. She answered me this time, “It says here that multiple people received packages at the same time and when they were opened, there were human body parts in each one.” WHAT!?!?!?!? She continued, “It gets worse, it seems that all these people were related, and it was actually one of their family members who was murdered.” Okay, that is excessive. She continued again, “That’s not all.” THERE’S MORE?!?!? “In the right arm of the victim, some words were carved out, they were ‘This is only the Beginning.’

When I got back to school the next day, Jacob wasn’t there. I poked Maria’s shoulder during class, and she tilted her head towards me then whispered, “What is it?” I replied, whispering as well, “Do you know why Jacob isn’t here today?” She gave me a quick glance, “You seriously don’t know?” No, I don’t Maria, that’s why I’m asking. Like why else would I ask? I simply shook my head. “Jacob’s older brother was killed, and his family was sent his arm with a message on it.” No way... That was Jacob’s family?! Big guy must be devastated. “Oh my gosh.” I replied. The teacher, Mrs. Holten looked at me and Maria and said, “Stop corresponding in my class, you two. Be quiet and pay attention.” I rolled my eyes and just looked up at the board, paying attention like she had asked.

During the lunch period, I was sitting with Aaron and Maria. “W-W-Wait, i-i-i-it w-w-was J-J-J-Jacob’s f-f-family w-w-who g-g-got s-sent th-the b-b-b-body p-p-parts?” Aaron asked, looking shocked, well, maybe, you can really never tell with that guy. “Got that right” I said. Maria spoke next, “What I’m really curious about is who did it? Surely, the police should have found him by now because he literally sent out packages.” “But no one has found him?” I asked. “Nope, he didn’t leave a trace, not even any fingerprints.” Creepy right? Man is randomly murdered and there is 0 evidence to show who did it. It seems like the police may need some help...Wait! We can help! I voiced my idea, “How about we help to catch this guy so he can get the punishment he deserves?” Maria stared at me in disbelief.

She blinked multiple times before responding, “Absolutely not! Are you insane?! We can’t just try and find him! He’s a murderer! A gruesome one too!” I retorted, “It’s for Jacob.” She gently grabbed my hand and scooted closer to me then gave me a pleading look, “Please, Elio...” Damn, that’s hard to refuse; however, I am strong! “Your tricks won’t work on me Maria. I stand by my decision.” She gave me a sly look and moved her hand up my arm, “Who said they were tricks?”   “Nope, stop right there, if you aren’t coming with me, then I’ll get to the bottom of this myself!”

That evening, Maria, Aaron and I go to Jacob’s house. “I can’t believe you convinced me to come. Usually, I’m the one who wins these arguments with others.” Maria complained. “Well, I can be pretty convincing when I want to be.” I winked at her, and she turns her head the other way. I couldn’t really tell if she was embarrassed or annoyed, but did I care? No. “J-J-Just t-to b-b-be c-c-clear, I-I d-d-d-didn’t w-w-want t-t-to b-b-be h-h-here” Aaron chimed in. “Oh, be quiet Aaron, practise not vibrating while we walk, okay?” Aaron cowered down and started practising like I told him to.

We finally arrived at Jacob’s house, and it was gigantic. Everything about it: the doors, the windows, the gates, the garden, everything. “Hm, must be compensating for something” Maria says quietly but I heard her and elbowed her in the arm. “Don’t make jokes like that.” I rang the bell outside the gates to the house, no, to the estate. A maid came to answer us. “Hello, children, what brings you here?” “We’d like to speak with Jacob, please” I replied. “Please state your names” The lady requested as she scrutinized us. “I’m Elio, this is Maria and that is Aaron.” The lady’s gaze became softer she chuckled, “Oh, Elio! Jacob speaks about you all the time, as of late. Please, come right in.”

A few moments later, we were sitting on a couch in front of Jacob who looked dejected. “Hey Jacob?” I spoke. He responded, “Yes?” “How’re you doing buddy?” I asked. “Not good, not good at all...My brother was just brutally murdered. He didn’t come home on Sunday night, and we got the package after school yesterday.” Maria gets up and pats Jacob on the shoulder. “This poor boy, Elio, you don’t really want to put him through this do you?” Jacob looks towards her, “Put me through what?” I sigh, “I thought you’d want to help in finding your brother’s killer and turning him into the police.” Jacob puts his head down, “I told we shouldn’t have done-” Jacob interrupts “I’ll do it! I will bring my brother’s murderer to his knees and then kill him with my own two hands” I stood up quickly, “Woah there! We are only finding the person so we can turn him in.” Jacob’s face twisted into a strange look which I couldn’t identify, then he spoke quietly, “Alright.”

In Jacob’s bedroom, we were all sitting on the floor surrounding the package with the arm in it. I wanted to puke, Maria was already doing that into a garbage bag, and Aaron was hard to read as usual. Jacob began to start crying, “You don’t have to watch this, Jacob.” I said as I gulped and put on some gloves. I then took the arm out of the box and inspected the part which was severed. It had a strange shape. It was such a clean cut, yet it looked squeezed and twisted. “What would be able to do this?” Aaron stopped vibrating and spoke, “I think I know.” I snapped my gaze towards him, “What? You do?” Aaron tried his best to move closer without starting to vibrate again, “It seems to be a... Portal Cut.”

To Be Continued