On a quiet Jorsday afternoon the peaceful quiet within a certain household was shattered by a disturbingly loud cry of a baby. The child was born to Melissa and Kern Alltud, a newly-wed couple living in Western Feulac.
The baby boy had slightly pointed ears and pale blue hair, traits gained from his father and mother respectively. The traits might have seemed unusual in some areas of the world but in a city boasting over 23 thousand individuals from nearly every race in existence it was considered normal, boring even, to have exotic features like pale blue hair or an extra pair of arms. To be considered truly special one would need the kind of physical traits usually seen in interdimensional monsters or youthful imaginations.
As such, there was nothing truly special about the boy, though the matron who helped deliver him swore she saw his striking green eyes flash gold for a second. There was no time for a more thorough inspection though, as a second child was already on its way.
The air was once more split by the cry of a baby. Unlike Johann who took after both parents when it came to looks the second child, which the parents named Torin after Kern’s father, took very much after his father. With hair as brown as mud and the same fully pointed ears as his father, Torin was the spitting image of his father when he was that age.
After that day loud was very much a fitting description for the Alltud household, though perhaps deafening was more fitting. Whereas Johann was a quiet and calm child, Torin very much was not. Torin seemed to have the energy of two grown men and the lungs of three. Both his screams and his laughter could be heard several houses away and it came as a relief to the neighborhood when Melissa and Kern installed a sound ward two days later.
Unfortunately for the inhabitants of 18 Cherrywell Avenue, while the ward completely prevented sound from escaping the house, it did nothing to save the inhabitants from the exuberant child.
That is, until a peculiar event occurred one night. Even though they were twins Melissa and Kern had long since decided to keep the boys in separate rooms but, his mind fuzzy from lack of sleep, Kern made the mistake of placing a sleepy Torin in Johann’s room rather than his own.
It spoke to the severity of his sleep deprivation that Kern failed to realize his mistake even as he moved Johann over to make room for Torin.
The next morning Kern was woken not by the scream of his child, as was usual, but by the scream of his wife. Kern was up and out the bedroom door before he was even fully awake, his body moving before his mind caught on. Melissa met him in the hallway, a wild look of panic in her eyes.
“Torin’s missing!!” She shouted, her usual soft timber turned into a pained screech from the fear. If the panic in her eyes and the fear in her voice weren’t enough to convince Kern of the sincerity of Melissa’s fear, the random gusts of wind surrounding her was a sure sign of her emotional turmoil.
The last time Kern had seen Melissa lose control they’d been banned from a tavern, driven out of the town and even had an assassin sent after them. Granted, the assassin ended up as a dear friend, and godfather to Johann, but that didn’t mean Kern wanted a repeat. For one thing, they’d only bought this house five years ago. For another, they still had another kid in th-
Kerns eyes shot wide. “Johann!”
The two burst into movement, Kern bursting through Johanns door so fast he snapped it in half.
The sight that greeted them was not that of an empty cot as they feared. What they found was something that neither of them would have ever believed possible. They would even have gone so far as betting a limb that it couldn’t be possible.
Johann lay, quiet as usual, next to a sleeping Torin. Neither of these things were particularly unusual, but the ridiculousness came in what happened next. Torin, woken by the loud crash, opened his mouth to release a belting scream.
Before he could though, Johann reached his tiny hand over and patted Torin on his head. The infant faltered … and yawned, returning to sleep. The stunned couple stood there, mouths agape as the elder twin turned to them and put a finger on his lips, the multiversal signal for quiet.
Melissa and Kern, their brains overwhelmed with the insanity of the situation, quietly backed out of the room and tiptoed back into their bedroom. Once the door was closed, and they could be reasonably assured they wouldn’t disturb their children, Melissa turned to Kern and whispered a question “What just happened?”
Kern simply shrugged. “No idea, but let’s not check a gift swords magical resonance, let’s just enjoy the peace.”
Melissa nodded, her mind filling with possibilities until something occurred to her that made her frown. “Kern honey, why was Torin in Johanns cot?”
Kern froze. It had been millennia since his people were hunted by Kragodons, but something in his wife’s voice spoke to the primal instinct left over from those days. The instinct replied with one word; Run.
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After the events of that day the two boys became inseparable, whether they liked it or not. They slept in the same room, went to the same schools, and were rarely seen without each other.
Despite their closeness, the two boys developed very different personalities. Whereas Johann was more the diligent and responsible type, Torin was a rambunctious troublemaker who more often than not dragged his older brother into whatever crazy adventure he had planned. He would have likely have wrecked half the neighborhood if Johann hadn’t been there to keep the destruction to a minimum.
That isn’t to say that the boys always got along. There were fights aplenty, at least one a week, but no matter what was said, or how many punches were thrown, they always stuck by each other.
On the boys eighth birthday Melissa and Kern finally relented to their constant pleading and purchased a pair of wolfhound pups. Despite what the boys may have thought, their parents had already been planning on getting wolfhounds for them, for multiple reasons. Wolfhounds were easy to train and intensely loyal. The also had a large variety of possible evolutions that were well known, so whatever the two boys chose to do the wolfhound could be directed down a beneficial evolutionary path.
The boys were ecstatic with the pups, Johann and Torin naming their pups Malek and Sharptooth the Destroyer of Worlds, respectively. Melissa and Kern, and even Johann, tried repeatedly to get Torin to change the name, but the little bundle of trouble was adamant.
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Johann and Torin were sitting in class and for once Torin was just as excited to learn as Johann was. For today was the day the started System Studies. Despite living in a world governed by an all-powerful System, the two boys were locked out until their eighteenth birthday, much like every other child on the planet.
The world ending agony of the wait was a constant source of frustration to both of them, especially when watching their mother wield the elements or their father leap onto the roof with nothing more than a small hop.
Growing up the two had heard bits and pieces about the system but whenever they asked any questions they were simply told to wait until they were older, further increasing their frustration.
But all that was finally in the past. Today they would finally get the answers to all their questions.
A greying satyr dressed in the kind of drab clothes that all teachers everywhere seemed to prefer walked into the classroom and reached the front just as the bell rung. The teacher paused at the front of the room and surveyed the class, the children all quiet and paying attention, eagerness evident in all their faces.
“My name is Mr. Demerki, welcome to System Studies.” Grins broke out on the kids faces. “For the next four years I will be teaching you everything our society knows about the System, including topics such as Stats, Classes and Monsters.”
The kids excitement rose to an all time high.
Stolen story; please report.
Mr. Demerki smiled. “But first, lets talk about some history.”
Seemingly as one, all the kids groaned, even the more studious among them.
The aged Satyr let out a small chuckle, he always enjoyed this part. Raising his hand he briefly cast Silence, a wave of magic silencing the children for a second and startling them out of their complaining.
“I know, I know, none of you want to learn about the history of the System, you’d rather learn about all the fun parts like fighting monsters or throwing [Fireballs].” Some of the students were subconsciously nodding. “Don’t worry, we’ll get there, but if you truly want to understand the System you need to understand how it came to be. Now, can anyone tell me the origins of the System.”
None of the kids raised their hands. They had never actually thought about the origin of the System. It had always just been there, like the sun or the clouds, something without a start or end.
Noting the distinct lack of hands, not an unusual occurrence for the question, Mr. Demerki continued. “The meta-magical presence known to us as the System was originally named the Magical Teaching System, created roughly 300 trillion years ago in a distant dimension by a Sorcerer named Malachi.”
“From what our researchers were able to discover, Malachi was an exceptionally gifted sorcerer but an exceptionally terrible teacher. One quote, taken from the Systems own archives, stated that the man ‘couldn’t even teach a fish how to swim’.”
“Acknowledging his inability, Malachi undertook a grand task and, after spending a full century devoting himself, managed to create the Multiverses first fully autonomous spell. The spell, which he named the Magical Teaching System, combined a mixture of Soul and Mind magic in a way that had never been done before. The spell fed off of the excess magic of those it taught and interacted with their minds directly, guiding them with a level of precision and skill that would be impossible for most mortals.”
“If that had been the extent of the spell, it would have already been enough to turn Malachi into a legend, but that wasn’t enough for him. What started as a desire to teach his students had long since morphed into a desire to assist everyone, regardless of their dreams and desires.”
“Malachi took the spell and did something that even our greatest spellcrafters are clueless to recreate; he gave the spell the ability to learn. In the trillions of years since the spells first and last casting, the System has evolved into a creation that spans the known multiverse and empowers every living creature under its guidance.”
Mr. Demerki paused, his eyes sweeping over the enraptured children, and smiled. Despite their initial objections, they always ended up fascinated by the history of the System, without fail.
“Now, let’s look at the history of notable System updates. Please pay careful attention, there will be a test on these tomorrow.” Mr. Demerki’s smile widened just a touch at the chorus of groans from some of the students before he launched into the lesson.
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The years turned, tree’s grew, and the two boys grew with them. At eighteen years old the two boys had already matched and shot passed their mothers height, though neither of them had reached their fathers lanky height. The tall nature of the elves had made both boys taller than average but as half-elves neither could hope to match their pure-blooded father.
Torin now stood at just over 6 foot 8, a full three inches taller than his older brother, a fact he never forgot to rub in Johanns face. With his blue hair Johann had always taken more after their mother but it was still surprising, and more than a little annoying, when the younger began to literally overshadow him. After all, Johann was the older brother, even if just by a minute.
With the difference in height came various other changes. Torin had always been the more athletic sibling but his physique had begun to rapidly outpace Johanns, his speed and agility slowly but surely leaving his older brother in the dust. It had been barely noticeable at first but over the years it had been more and more evident.
Or at least, most days it was evident. As it turned out, when given a good enough reason, Johann could pull out an impressive amount of speed, and he’d never before had as good a reason as he did now.
As he raced through the streets, his mind set on his destination, Malek raced along with him. In the 11 years since Johann got the wolfhound he had grown from the size of a chair to the size of a small cart. He’d gotten big enough that, if Johann were inclined, The young man could have ridden him. Johann would never do that though, viewing Malek as a friend and a partner, not as a beast of burden.
The two burst round a corner and once again regained sight of Torin, the younger brother still outpacing him as he sprinted down the streets alongside Sharptooth. Johann took a small amount of pride that at least Torin didn’t have the ‘casual Mornday stroll’ look he usually had during their races. The younger sibling would definitely still win, but Johan had definitely made him work for it.
The four of them continued to race through the streets, attracting yells to ‘slow down’ wherever they went, before they finally arrived at their destination.
Within each town and city throughout the world there was always one building that stood out amongst the rest, the Well of Potential. The building wasn’t grandiose by any means, a small squat building without decoration or embellishment of any kind. Nevertheless, even as a baby one could feel the raw power and authority radiating from the edifice. When your gaze fell upon this building you knew, without a doubt, that you were looking at something beyond comprehension.
It was also the only building that didn’t have pigeon crap on it. Even the most fearless, or the most stupid, of the birds knew not to mess with this place.
Johann finally caught up to Torin in front of the building and collapsed, sucking in lungfuls of air. Turning over on his back he found Torin standing over him, a smug look on his face even as he gasped for breath himself.
“… Shut … up …” Johann managed to get out as he struggled for breath.
Torin grinned down at his older brother. “I didn’t say a thing.”
“You didn’t have to, your smug face said it all.” Johann growled as he got up, his breathing finally evening out.
Torin’s grin got wider. “I do have the blessing of good communication.” he said, nodding sagely.
“In your hands it’s more of a curse.” Johann scoffed.
“Those who can’t are always jealous of those who can.” Torin responded, at this point stroking his non-existent beard like a wise old man.
Johann was just about to launch his rebuttal when a voice cut through the air.
“Are you two finished? Cause some of us have places to be.”
Johann and Torin looked over at the Rakshasi who stood at the entrance with her arms crossed and an unimpressed look on her face. Gloria was the exact same age as them and, as often happens, they had gravitated towards each other.
Gloria, like many Rakshasi, was an excellent hand to hand fighter. Her shape shifting trait let her be highly adaptable in a fight and her fierce attitude made most who faced her refuse to do so a second time. Fighting her was often described as facing a charging bull with two heads, an extra pair of arms and a nasty temper.
In fact, her only consistent sparring partner was Torin. His Hadrin-may-care attitude and superior agility made led him to win as many times as he lost and a friendly rivalry quickly sprung up between the two.
“Yeah, after me.” Torin said, gloatingly. The day before the two of them had one final match to determine who would go first today and Torin managed to win by the skin of his teeth.
“Well then, hurry up ya’ goblins loincloth.” Gloria’s frown had deepened at the reminder of her loss.
“Yes, please do get a move on, ogre turd.” Johann agreed. He’d agreed to a race mostly because A; it didn’t really matter who went first as long as they were all going and B; it was the only way get Torin to stop pestering him. It was times like this that Johann wondered what on Terra he had done to be stuck with him.
Torin continued his wise man bit saying “It is true what they say, it is lonely at the top. It would seem that my impossibly amazing physical prow- Hey, wait for me!”
Torin quickly dashed into the Well and caught up with the others who had simply ignored him and walked inside when he started talking.
The inside of the Well of Potential was a simple, small room with two benches either side of the entrance and a door at the far end of the room. In front of the door stood the Keeper.
The Keeper in the Well of Potential was a Mystery that earned its capital M. No one knew who or what the Keepers were. Wrapped in pitch black robes and a hood that hid their face in the darkest shadow, no one even knew what the keeper looked like. All anyone knew was that they oversaw the unlocking of the System.
Torin Alltud, Come With Me.
The words were not so much spoken as they were felt, the being that spoke them affecting the fabric of space with only its voice.
Torin gulped, nerves showing on his face for the first time in the face of the faceless Keeper. With a hesitant step he followed the Keeper through the door and into the space beyond, leaving Johann and Gloria to wait.
The two of them sat on benches either side of the hall, the atmosphere uncomfortable. Truthfully, without Torin to act as a buffer, the two of them were incredibly awkward around each other. With Torin around they’d never needed to try and make conversation with each other and now they had no idea what to say.
After a couple moments of tense silence Johann broke it. “Hey, do you think the Keeper knew about the bets, or was Torin always going to be first?”
“Um, no idea. It probably knew about it, right? I mean, it is a part of the System, and the System monitors everything, right?”
“Uh, yeah, probably.”
The tortured silence returned once more, though not for long.
Gloria Megrathin, Come With Me.
The sudden appearance of the Keeper startled the two as they had not even noticed its return. Giving Johann a nervous smile Gloria rose and walked through the door after the Keeper.
A minute passed, Johann watching the door the entire time. This time he saw when the Keeper returned, appearing from thin air in an instant.
Johann Alltud, Come With Me.