People say if a child is coming closer to the day of the Awakening the stronger their talents try to become. A druidic talent begins to understand animals better. An arcane one can cast sparks. A divine one will cause one to hear voices and premonitions in their dreams. This only happens in the strong divine talents. This isn't generally seen as a good thing especially by the elves. Humans may see their children as blessed if they have divine talent. In turn, this talent can drive them insane if they don’t have a proper mentor to guide them. An arcane one not properly taught can burn down a house or a village if they are truly unlucky. A druidic one can cause a village to fall ill or turn themselves into a tree accidentally. While the latter two seem more harmful. The divine talent can be a catastrophe in the making. As it has caused people to turn from a good person to be more irrational even evil some way.

These talents aren't strictly one path for someone to walk along. Just because you are powerful in the arcane doesn’t mean you become a wizard. Each talent is nurtured in a direction of their choosing. A divine one can become a paladin who focuses more on the martial side of their talent. An arcane talent can become a Spell Blade. Who combines magic with weapons. Or the druidic talent. Where one can choose to lean more into their animalistic powers and many more paths. It all depends on the person and the path they take in life.

A person's divine talent sometimes can connect one to the gods. All the gods.

That is why elves worry when one is blessed by a divine talent. As if talking with one person inside their head isn't bad enough. You will have to contend with all of them at the same time. Trying to draw the poor child over to their side. After the Awakening, it becomes easier for the divine blessed, as they become better at controlling their power. That is why before the Awakening a seal is placed to protect these divine 'blessed' children should there be a suspicion of a divine talent.

This seal is most of the time is something small like a chain or an armband. That still can't keep them out of their heads but it forces them into a funnel so the child has to deal with one or two at the same time. A teacher can provide further assistance by sitting with them when they commune with the gods. Guiding them and keeping the gods at bay should an unsavory one try to influence the child.

In Cainyorf there are few strong talents one of them is a strong druidic talent known as Gelvian Dainsleaf. There is also his twin sister Levia Dainsleaf whose talent is suspected to be arcane talent. Then there is Elrian Hazelfire a young boy with black hair and blue eyes also 8 years old. The same as the twins. He has a strong divine talent. His parents are an elven smith and an elven cleric. His mother is a cleric with a weak divine talent. His father is a skilled weapons smith. Elrian's Mother saw the first signs of a divine talent in Elrian and a teacher of the regional clergy arrived. A seasoned human Paladin who is retired from active service. Uther Ironway a middle-aged man with gray hair and a broad build. The old paladin is someone who too was blessed with strong divine talent. So he was chosen and pulled back into service. He mentored the boy for 4 years on how to deal with the gods since his talent has been discovered.

Elrian Hazelfire is a young and curious boy he is one too quick to develop jealousy. In school, he and Gelvian developed a one-sided rivalry. He tries to outdo Gelvian in everything make him look bad. In sports, math, history. Each time it failed. He always placed either third or second. Levia usually being the second. He just couldn’t reach the level of Gelvian. What hurts him, even more, was that. Gelvian, his Rival is the twin to his crush. Levia.

His jealousy grew each time Levia laughed or spend time with her brother. For the elven adults, it looked harmless just a young jealousy boy who had a crush on the sister of a boy he tried to outdo.

This feeling of envy was pushed to the limit when Gelvian and Levia didn’t show up in school for weeks. Only for them to show up at the town guard tryouts. The try-out was a way for people without talents to find their future occupations.

“And here are the training fields. One for archery, one for bladed combat, and the other for athletics. Behind me, you see the barracks.” Darius said pointing at said places with a lazy smile. “You young children can join us to help defend Cainyorf and enforce justice on the streets.” The children seem a bit disinterested until Darius went to a weapon rack with wooden swords. “Most importantly you will learn how to fight! Each one of you can archive peak martial prowess." Some children perked up at the sentence.

"You don’t even need talent to be strong.” Darius knows full well how some of these children feel. Most of them didn’t develop signs of having talent. With each day closer to the Awakening, they start to feel more

unimportant. As he did when he was a young boy. His parents in past only focused on his siblings with talents. Leaving him to be just... there. Darius shook his head. This is no time to reminisce.

“So young ones. Should you not have a talent. That doesn’t mean you can't perform above our elven limits.” He has a small smile as he says that.

Darius signaled to one of the soldiers to bring a round leg-high boulder to him. The soldier rolled the stone onto the training field. “Observe what one without talent can reach.” He inspected the wooden sword and looked back at the group of children. “Step back a bit.”

After the group was distanced promptly. He fell into the advanced ‘Bear’ blade form. He took a few steps back and began building up momentum. Twirling the blade around his body. To an outsider, it looks like a flashy dance with a wooden blade. He was trying to impress the children to he worked a few more spins into his movement. Getting closer to the boulder with each step. The air was whipping hard. The surrounding air was filled with the cracking of wind. Elrian and the other kids could swear that Darius was in two places at once for an instant before he launched himself with a short jump into the air striking down at the boulder. The force of that strike was forcing air away, blasting wind around him as if a storm was passing.

The boulder a leg-high stone lays there split open with many shards lying around scattered like guts. The wooden sword was no more. Obliterated with the strike. Darius only has the hilt in his hands before throwing it to the side.

“See the power one without a talent can archive with dedication and time.” The children were stunned. Before they rushed him with to questions about what else one can archive. Darius laughed at his success to make them interested in the occupation of a Guard, a Warrior. “Yes, yes but let's have some fun spars. Show me what you can do!”

Elrian stands two hands on the wooden hilt. He sees his opponent hesitating for a heartbeat before he rushed him with a flurry of furious strikes. One to the leg, the other to the knee, and the last a jab towards the stomach.” The sword technique he used was a variant of the ‘Bear’.

Elrian teacher Uther showed him techniques as he requested to be taught as early as 6 years old. Uther obliged. He showed him techniques that the humans used. The variant Elrian used is what Uther called the ‘Axe’. For the powerful strikes. They also have variants of the ‘Griffin’ they called the ‘Sword’ and the ‘Shield’ as a variant to the 'Turtle'.

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His opponent down he turned around and walked back without offering a hand. A rude gesture to one opponent. “Elrian. You must respect your classmate.” Darius said.

“Why respect the weak?” Elrian answered with a grimace as if he was disgusted by the weakness of his classmate.

Darius sighed. He really didn't want to deal with such kids.

“Weak? He isn't your enemy. He is your classmate. Help him up. You may need the help of someone in the future. Dismissing them as someone below will only make it harder for yourself.”

“And? What can he do? He will crawl to someone stronger and then try to enact revenge. This doesn’t change-”

“What revenge?” Darius interrupted him. “Elrian you young boy. You have no idea what to expect out there. You just don’t know it yet. I have at least lived for over a century out there. Outside of my home. Outside of the elven kingdoms. My experience has shown me that even the ‘weak’ as you called them have strength in other areas that aren't to be underestimated. You are strong for your age and smart but you can't do anything alone.” Darius said with a stern voice. He can't allow this youngster to be this hostile. It could leave him isolated.

“We will see.” Elrian mumbled quietly to himself. As he helped the classmate abide reluctantly.

While Darius didn’t hear what the boy said he can very well imagine it.

“Gelvian and Elrian. You will spar now.” Darius said.

“Oh boy.” Gelvian knows the strong 'sentiments' that Elrian has for him. “Well, it seems that only the worst one is left standing.” Gelvian said knowing it will provoke a reaction. He is being petty and he knows it but he can't help himself when Elrian just gives him the reaction he is looking for.

“Yes. Gelvian. Are you talking about yourself?” Elrian counted.

“We will see.” Gelvian answered he didn't refer to his skills but that flew over Elrians's head. That boy Elrian is smart and he knows it even Gelvian respect his performance for an 8-year-old. Gelvian can't shake the feeling that Elrian is on the way to becoming a petty bully. He is trying to rise against Gelvian even turning the others against him. The weeks he was away from school spent learning the druidic ways with Ravia. Now Elrian is trying to fight him. All because of jealously and a stupid child crush on his twin. He hopes that this one-sided rivalry mellows out the more they mature.

Both are now inside the ring. Gelvian in the broad stance of ‘Griffin’, Elrian in the ‘Axe’. Both had their forms drilled into each other without mercy.

"You may begin." Darius announced.

They both begin to circle each other.

“Scarred to attack?” Elrian spoke clearly unsure how to approach Gelvian. He has never seen Gelvian in a blade stance yet.

“I think you are scared,” Gelvian replied.

“Never!” Elrian shouted back. Gripping the hilt harder.

“I would be. You are going to lose and you will lose in front of your 'crush'.” He spoke the last sentence only loud enough for Elrian to hear.

The reaction was instant. Elrian rushed Gelvian, a leaping attack. Gelvian saw it from a mile away and sidestepped the badly telegraphed attack. Gelvian swings at Elrian to test his reaction time.

Elrian blocked the counterattack with the flat side of his wooden blade. In turn, Elrian slashes at the base of Gelvian with swift powerful strikes. Gelvian struggles to block the first strike, his blade nearly slipping from his grasp. He dodges the second and tries parrying the third to create an opening for himself. Elrian did see that coming and didn’t fully commit to the third attack. He punched Gelvian with his fist in the face. Rendering Gelvian dazed for a moment. He tries to finish the fight with a powerful overhead swing. Elrian expects Gelvian to sidestep but instead, he closed in on him and wrestled his arm, and swung him over his shoulder hitting the ground hard enough to throw dust around. Elrian slowly recovered from his dazed only to see the blade pointed at his neck.

“Elrian has lost. Gelvian has won.” Darius says clapping slowly. Clearly proud that Gelvian was taking the fighting lessons to heart. Even if that last move wasn't something he didn't teach him.

Gelvian offers his hand to Elrian. He only scoffs and gets up on his own.

He was beaten, again. Elrian thought. The rest of the day he was fuming on the inside. Inside his room, he stares at the ceiling “Humiliated Infront of Levia! I will never have her like me. I am always going to be such a loser!” His thoughts next drift to his mentor. Uther the human paladin. “He isn't doing enough I need Uther to teach me more-” Before Elrian could finish that thought his head began to thump painfully. He falls to the ground gasping for breath. One of the gods is trying to talk with him. This time a god tries to influence him more directly.

“Oh hear … oh hear.” A raspy voice flows into Elrians mind. “I hear a lust... for power. For might. For domination. For conquest!” The sound of something taking a big sniff Elrian hears. It reminds him of someone breathing in the smell of fresh bread. Instead of bread, he was the one being appraised.

“Stop!” Elrian exclaims with barely any strength. Uther told him that the iron chain on his neck funnels the gods and limits their power. One mind to a degree can keep the gods at bay but if one decides to force themselves onto you not much can stop them if the one baring the divine talent is alone. He needs Uther's help if he wants to push back this overbearing dark god.

“Ah? So, eager to get rid of me?” The dark god half snickered says. “I smell your lust for power young one. Give in. Take my gift. My gift of power. My gift of conquest! MY GIFT!” Elrian felt the presence push deeper within.

“SHUT UP!” Elrian screamed out. “I don’t care about your gift! Let me be in peace!” Elrian began crying tears flowing down his cheeks as this god began flooding the young mind with violent and grotesque images of his family being hurt, emotions of loss or rage followed.

A head rolls in front of him. His mothers. A voice tells him he is a failure. His fathers. A feeling of dread overcomes him. Uther's disappointment.

These feelings and images feel real to Elrian. He knows that what he sees isn't real but can't keep himself but to reach out to the visions try to help them. Alleviate their pains. Free them from this torture.

Uther, Eliran's mentor and guide for his divine gift barged into the room. Clearly, he felt the anguish of his pupil. He rushed across the town with divine-powered steps. The air of the room when he rushed inside feels dark, noxious, and corrupting. He drops to his knees next to Elrian and started chanting. He feels the presence of someone rotten inside Elrian. The typical sign of a dark god who is torturing the poor boy. Uther begins his chant against those who overstay their welcome.

“I am the Light in your darkest hour. I am the hope that keeps you brave. I am the courage that guides your blade." Uther eyes light up in golden colors. "Henceforth you are light! Henceforth you are hope! Henceforth you are courage!” Elrian begins to breathe more steadily the tears still flowing down his face. The dark god still there. So are the images inside Elrians mind. Uther doesn’t let up. He repeats the chant.

Once. Twice. Thrice.

Elrian mind still is shrouded in darkness. Uther chants again. His eyes glowing more intensely.

Once. Twice. Thrice. He repeats it until dusk has arrived. With each time the presence of the dark god becoming thinner and lighter. Until nothing was left inside Elrian.

Elrian is grasping for each breath since the god tried to influence him.

“Elrian what happened?!” Uther exclaimed. Unsure how such a strong presence could even attempt or hold for so long in Elrian.

Elrian tries to reply but can only sob in Uther's arms. Again a reminder for him that a strong divine gift is one of the hardest to bear.

“I am here. Everyone is here. Everyone you love is fine. Don’t worry Elrian.” Uther looks down at his student. Still sobbing but more responsive now.

“Let us get something to eat.” Uther picked him up and went outside.