His body felt a crushing pressure from all sides. The pitch black darkness suddenly faded to a somewhat lighter shade of black.

John opened his eyes.

The light was fiercely bright, burning his eyes. Immediately he cried out in pain-

"Waaa!~"

John froze.

"Waaa!~ Waaa!~"

It took a moment to realise the wailing voice belonged to him.

Well... that's a bit... unexpected...

"There, there," a gruff voice said in a soothing manner. "Just give me a second, Lydia."

He felt his body moving quickly, and then a soothing warm liquid flowed over his body, followed by a soft cloth, wiping the liquid off.

John had never felt so exposed in his entire life. Try as he might, he couldn't get the wailing to stop.

After repeating this gesture two more times, he felt a blanket wrap around his body. Then he was moved again.

"Here you go, Lydia." His body was now passed to a different person.

John ventured a second attempt to open his eyes.

Success!

In front of him was a large face, of startling beauty. Dark black hair was matted to a fair, if pale, face. Her features were seemingly carved into her face by a master hand. Her dark-black eyes were focused on him, and somehow, miraculously, his wailing came to a welcome end.

"What is the gender?" the dark-haired woman, Lydia, asked tentatively, expectantly.

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The first woman paused, before slowly answering, "It's a boy..."

Lydia face fell, and John somehow felt like he'd failed her. Lydia sighed but kept holding him, if less tenderly.

"There is still a chance," the first woman said, after a pause.

"Don't patronize me!" Lydia replied sharply. "You know as well as I do that the ability is passed down through gender."

"Nevertheless, there is a small chance that he might still have it."

John felt the silence stretch. His body was somehow exhausted, as if he'd been active all day.

As his eyes began to close and his conscious began to leave him, he heard the first woman say, "Have you thought of a name for him?"

"...Michael," Lydia replied. "His name is Michael."

Chapter 1 End

Hey guys, thanks for reading and voting, and thanks for the positive reponse for the Prologue chapter.

My usual schedule for releasing chapters will probably be bi-weekly. However, since this chapter (and the following one) is fairly short, I'll be uploading the next one before tomorrow.

Hope you enjoy this 'first' installation of what promises to be an epic journey! As always, please leave a comment if you have a suggestion or if you liked it, and remember to vote!