Heya there! You may have read this in the synopsis, but this is my first novel. No private creations, nothing. Now, you may be asking, "Why is the author putting this here?" I'm here to ask for criticism. Constructive or not, feel free to rip me to shreds, as long as you do it in good spirit... please? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

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"Get that little bastard, that's 4 months of food he's got there!" An unfit man yelled to his companions while running down a dark alleyway.

'Ha, as if those fuckers could hold onto so much money for 4 months! Wendelin thought as he jumped and ducked around obstacles littered around the dark alley. Exciting! This is so exciting! Ooooh, I wonder what'll happen if I get caught... I'm not a masochist, I'm just testing my body's limit! Yeah, let's go with that.'

"It's in better hands now!" Wendelin yelled to his aggravated pursuers, as he swore he could see steam coming from their ears.

'Holy shmokes, if I can get these Artus gems to a safe spot for me and Sesi to use later, our life will be so much easier! Of course, low-grade low-purity Artus gems won't mean much but it's a start!' Wendelin's heart was pounding so fast he could barely think as his legs started giving way.

"Orion will have our heads if we don't get those gems! How will we explain losing 8 Artus gems to a kid!?" The man Wendelin knew as Leon yelled to the men following closely behind him.

'Leon was a fat man, with unkempt brown hair, green eyes, and some of the ugliest clothes you've ever seen. Well, I say that, but they're actually quite nice... No, wait, I'm getting off track! The Artus gems!' Wendelin yelled to himself with his pursuers right on his heels.

With adrenaline pumping through his veins, Wendelin glanced through the upcoming parts of the ally for anything that would be useful in his escape. 'Crates of Chryastems? No, that won't help... Rusted buckets? Pieces of trash? Oh, that'll work!' Just as Wendelin thought he was about to be caught, he spotted a ladder to the side leading up to the roof.

Quickly jumping on with no chance to worry about the safety of climbing a ladder practically falling apart, a hand swiped where he just was.

While climbing up the old rickety ladder, a step broke right in half with one of his feet still on it. With the long ladder starting to fall to the side, he threw himself up to the roof, barely managing to get a good grip on it. Pulling himself up, he looked down to see Leon had also gotten a grip on the roof as he swiped at Wendelin's ankles.

"You'd be damned if you thought I was gonna give a 12-year-old a satchel full of Artus gems, no matter the quality! Cmere, you little bastard!" Shouted Leon as he threw his other hand up to clutch at Wendelin's other ankle.

Seeing this, Wendelin quickly moved his second ankle to the side, raised it, and smashed it on Leon's face as he lost his balance. Doing this caused both of them to fall, though Wendelin managed to stay on the roof, albeit barely. Picking himself up, Wendelin turned around and saw Leon's face twisted with rage even more than it was before... 'Didn't even know that was possible' he thought briefly before turning around and sprinting over the rooftops, making a quick escape as he leaped over some buildings, he could only hear shouts of rage and some colorful name-calling.

After running for probably half an hour, Wendelin thought he probably was in the clear as he made a sharp turn to his hideout. Climbing down a rather old building, he finally saw it. A glorious bastion shielding orphans from the elements! Made of old scrap material, it gleamed in the sun with a rusty charm. Old wood and metal, though all they could come by, sure did the job.

Entering from the cut-out which they dared call a doorway, Wendelin saw several children from varying ethnicities, heights, ages, and weights... 'Though, some really did stand out. Especially billy... Man needs to work out... Fatass-' Wendelin quickly and shamelessly thought.

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Eventually, after walking through the small enclosed section of the alley till he got to a corner, he found who he was looking for. A small girl, 11, with jet-black hair and crimson-red eyes, and a muddied-up body, she wore an expression showing joy as she crouched in a corner on some wood. How she always stayed happy, he would never know...

"Sesi!" Wendelin shouted, as he slightly increased his walk speed towards her. As Sesi looked up to see Wendelin approaching, her face lit up as her face became just a bit more vibrant.

"Wendelin!" Sesi shouted, getting up to meet him halfway. Just as they were five feet away, Sesi's glare turned dangerous as Wendelin felt a slight sense of doom. Quickly raising up her fist, Sesi brought it down on Wendelin's head in one quick motion. "You dumbass! You were messing with Orion's goons again, weren't you? Damn, you sure are good at throwing our lives further in the mud!" Sesi shouted as she continuously batted Wendelin.

Without a word, Wendelin quickly opened his satchel and pointed it in Sesi's direction, its contents causing her to stop dead in her tracks. Reaching one of her small hands inside, she took out a jagged prism containing all sorts of colors. "Is this?.." Sesi quietly spoke. Though never coming into direct contact with one, every kid in the slums knew what an Artus gem looked like, as it was practically a 'Get out of the slums free card'.

"I think we're finally getting out of here, Sesi," Wendelin said with some small tears in his eyes. "Put it back in the bag quickly before another kid steals it though!" Wendelin whispered, seemingly waking Sesi up from a trance. Without a word, she put the glowing prism back in the satchel before swiping it right out of Wendelin's hands. "How'd you get so many!?" Sesi said to Wendelin.

Wendelin explained how he found Leon drunk with the satchel at his waist, and how he carefully took it right before one of Leon's men noticed him. "Too risky! Getting caught was way too easy, huh?" Sesi said, staring dead into Wendelin's eyes.

"But it was worth it! We might get out of here with these!" Wendelin said while glancing away, refusing to look Sesi in the eyes. "I suppose..." Sesi said, her gaze drifting back down to the beautiful prisms. "Ohhh, let's just use these before some kids steal them!" Wendelin half shouted-half whispered at Sesi before reaching his hand into the satchel, pulling out one of the sparkling prisms before crushing it in his hands, too quickly for Sesi to protest. Just as he did this, he heard a faint whisper from a seemingly ancient voice, one that seemed to have seen the rise and fall of humanity. 'Lesser flame maniupulation' the voice said.

Sesi, still speechless, stared at Wendelin as if waiting for him to announce his powers to the world. Without muttering a single thing, he reached back into the satchel and brought 3 more of the fragile yet awe-inspiring prisms before crushing them in his hand. As he did this, he heard the ancient voice speak once again. 'Lesser flame manipulation [III]' it said. Without saying a word, he stared at Sesi before motioning for her to use the remaining four.

Carefully reaching for the prisms, she didn't even notice the deafening silence that surrounded them. Crushing the gems in her hands, she too heard the voice in her mind, though this time saying 'Lesser wind manipulation [III]' "You got?.." Sesi questioned Wendelin, her voice shaking with disbelief. "Lesser flame manipulation. You?" Wendelin replied, disbelief evident in his voice as well. "Lesser wind manipulation," Sesi said, staring at the sky. "Are we dreaming?" Wendelin questioned, also glancing up at the sky, before getting slapped across the face, causing him to slightly recoil.

"Oww!" Wendelin said, his hand over his cheek. "Well, now we know we're not dreaming now," Sesi said with a slight grin on her face. 'Cheeky bitch...' Wendelin thought, though not daring to say it out loud. "C'mon, let's go to the outskirts of town to test out our abilities." Saying that, Wendelin began walking away, Sesi simply nodding and following.

Artus gems are divided into 4 different grades and 4 different purities.

Low-->Mid-->High-->Supreme for both.

Purity is much more important than grade, as a Mid-low Artus gem can be compared to a Low-Supreme one.

Author's note: Heya! I just plan to include snippets of lore n stuff here, more information will be shown but this is the basic stuff that even orphans in the slums know. I promise there will be many chances for you to learn new things alongside my characters!

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