Chapter 1

The boy, Brennan Rosby as he was named, came into the world without a sound, he didn't scream or cry as he exited the womb into a cold and bright world. His eyes fluttered against the bright candle light that was assaulting his freshly opened eyes, for all he had ever known was darkness, and he shivered as his bare skin was mauled by the harsh air, soft and exposed, having only known nothing but warmth and his face was scrunched up in displeasure at the countless smells and sounds he had never experienced, yet he didn't cry or fuss. A thing that those in the delivery chamber commented on in various ways.

"I've never seen a child born that didn't come out screaming bloody murder," the Midwife remarked as she cleaned the blood and vernix and various fluids off of Brennan, who merely stared back at the women with a furrowed brow and narrowed eyes as he slowly became use to the lights.

"Is all well with the child?" a mans voice came from a corner, Brennan's father.

"Yes, I believe so," the Midwife replied as she but her finger in the boys palm, who instantly grabbed onto it, and then she ran a finger against the child's bare foot, which quickly jerked back at being tickled. Good signs and a good firm grip. Satisfied, the gently handed the boy into the mothers arms.

"Hello by little boy. My little Brennan," his mother cooed softly, brushing her finger gently against his soft little cheek.

The boys attention has still been on the first person he saw, the Midwife but at the touch of his mother and the sound of her voice, his head turned as his eyes met hers. His mother, her Son. Of course they had always had a connection, since he was conceived but now that bond was enforced even more and a smile spread across the boys toothless mouth. Then there was another face, not as kind or as soft and a lot more furrier. His father. He too had a broad smile on his face as he beamed down at his first born child cradled in his wife's arms. A large, rough hand was placed on Brennan's head, but a gentle thumb brushed loving across his brow, and his little eyes met his fathers.

"Such a strange thing though," a whisper came from beside Brennan's father as another man stepped closed and came into the child's view. A High Priest from Cenilia. "He hasn't made a sound."

Brennan's sight turned from his father to this new speaker, who recoiled slightly as their eyes met, and almost instantly the man had a strange branch from a tree in his hand, the end of it cutting through the air like a whip towards the child's forehead. Everyone had the same reaction simultaneously. Their eyes grew wide in panic and reverence as they saw the branch appear. It was an object called a Varym Bough, a highly spiritual branch cut from one of three Varym Heartoaks in the world, of which only a handful of Boughs had been cut. The process of attaining just one could take 10 to 15 years of cutting due to the density of the wood, hardened after thousands of years of absorbing faith and spirituality from the world and its people. The dark golden bark and leaves were unmistakable.

No one moved as the branch descended and each had held their breath, for they all knew what the Bough meant, and knew what was about to happen. Varym Boughs have the power to withdraw and absorb spirits, and are they only way to permanently destroy them, but the possessed is also destroyed in the process. Brennan continued to watch the priest with far too intelligent eyes for a new born child. For as fast as the branch whipped through the air, it hardly touched the child, brushing his forehead like a gentle kiss, yet as soon as it touched his skin, the branch stopped as if frozen and a tiny hand reached up and grabbed the leafy, golden branch.

The priest sighed happily and the Varym Bough was returned to his bag at his waist. It wasn't unheard of for newborn children to be born possessed by a Spirit, which the High Priest was sure of as he looked into Brennan's eyes, eyes that contained a strange sense of wisdom and intelligence that shouldn't be there in a newly born human.

"Apologies," the priest said as he bowed towards the group of people. He didn't have to explain himself. He didn't even have to apologize. If a different outcome had come from the test, and the child was truly possessed by a spirit, he could have Extinguished the spirit then and there and no one present would have been able to do anything about it. Such was the authority of a High Priest, who's first duty was Extinguishing spirits anywhere they may appear. Of course the child would have perished along with the spirit, but once possessed you are considered tainted and can become a gateway for more spirits if not extinguished.

The Priest placed a gentle hand on Marin's head as she held her newborn tightly, a whimper passing her lips and a tear running down her cheek as she slowly opened her eyes and breathed again, afraid of what she would see. What she saw was a precious little face staring back at her, a slight curve of a smile on his face. She brought her child to her breast, who instantly began to feed. Marin looked up at the Priest with a grateful smile, her heart still beating furiously with fear, but the gentle touch of the Priest was quickly calming her, and a little prayer and Essence helped as well.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"We appreciate the sentiment Sera Haliyat," Brennan's father spoke softly while he remained bowed toward the Priest. "Duty First." A calloused hand turned into a fist and slammed into his own chest in a military salute. He was all too aware of the danger Spirits posed.

Sera Haliyat smiled softly, sadly, at the new father who was straightening himself up, his eyes now only for his healthy child, snuggled happily in his mothers arms. It was every Priest's and Senseless Users first duty to combat and stem and tides of Spirits that wander into this world, regardless of where they manifest. Children, women, grandparents. There can be no mercy for them. It is a reality that everyone has had to accept since the world was Shattered over a millennia ago, which first allowed the Spirits to cross the Hidden Veil and into this reality to devour all.

Haliyat sighed as he took his hand from Marin. He didn't want to have to destroy the child and thanked the gods that it didn't come to that, but he still had a strange feeling about the Rosby child, and his instincts had never been wrong before when it came to sensing a Spirit inside someone, but he was this time. Thousands of Spirits had been Extinguished by his hand and he had an intimate sense of what a Spirit felt like. There was something different about Brennan for sure, something unnatural, but it wasn't a Spirit, and it left the Priest feeling uneasy. It felt exactly like a possession. He would have to stop at the closest Chapter House of Varym to make a record of this event.

"Duty First," Haliyat echoed and turned towards the door, leaving the small family and their few retainers behind as he left the Rosby house. As he passed the empty gatehouse the hair on the back of his neck stirred and a cold sweat instantly covered his back as he turned around to look the small estate of Baron Rosby. A sense of impending doom and primal terror overwhelmed High Priest Haliyat and he was instantly driven to his knees by an unseen force full of a power so far beyond his comprehension, all he knew for certain was that he was going to die, and he was right. It felt like every atom of the world was screaming in protest at the power, on the verge of total annihilation. As soon as his knees slammed into the cobblestone, his entire body and everything he wore and carried burst into thousands of particles and drifted skyward towards the heavens, completely and utterly removed from existence and the pressure was gone as soon as it has appeared. It had lasted less than a fraction of a second and didn't seem to affected anyone else but the Priest. As the motes of dust that were Haliyat dispersed, the stars above shifted. They had momentarily converged to form a constellation that resembled a face, but it was fleeting and any who saw it forgot the phenomenon as soon as it ended.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The morning sun poured in through a window and the scent of sunbathed flowers drifted in,

tickling the noses of mother and child as they slept. The deep, soft breathing of his wife and son was the sweetest music that Adair had ever heard as he sat by the fireplace watching them. He felt complete, wholly content as crossed his ankles and leaned back in his chair, his eyes turning to look out the window and over the treeless hillside of where the sun was rising. Three shadows sat on the horizon, coming closer as he continued to watch. He knew they would be coming and if his guess was right, they would arrive in about thirty minutes. Adair picked up a pipe sitting on the table next to him and thumbed some herb from his tin into the bowl, lighting it with a coal from the fire. He had time before they arrived.

Adair emptied his pipe into the fireplace and slowly got out of his chair and made his way over to his still sleeping wife. Both had had a long night, and it seemed to take hours to settle Brennan down after he decided to start crying out of no where as soon as the Priest left. He placed a gentle kiss on each of his loved ones brows and Miran slowly opened her eyes while Brennan furrowed his brow and snuggled in closer to his mother, still not ready to wake up.

"They'll be here in a moment, Dearest," Adair whispered softly as he brushed his wife's hair back from her face.

"I knew it wouldn't take them long," she sighed and looked at her sleeping child. "Do you know when you will be back?"

"I expect six months at the most, these things don't usually take longer than that," he said with a sad smile.

Adair had been selected several weeks ago to oversee the construction of an Outpost on their Kingdoms border. Rumors of a Spirit outbreak were being heard coming from their eastern neighbor Cenra and the construction of multiple outposts was ordered. Spirit outbreaks has been becoming more and more rare of the decades and any rumor of one was taken with the utmost serious. The most recent outbreak was over twenty years ago and it decimated a third of the world before it could be contained and the Spirits Extinguished. It was a fresh, hellish memory in the minds of a lot of people, like Adair who had been just a child during the devastation of the outbreak.

"This is our Duty," he said softly as he brushed another soft kiss against Marin's brow.

Miran nodded solemnly as her husband stood up straight and seemed to vanish, then she heard his voice softly from outside, and another man. She suspected he didn't want then to knock on the door and wake Brennan. It was still fairly early, not too long after dawn. She looked down to the angelic face of the baby boy sleeping in her arms.

"We all must do what we must my son, as you will too," she whispered and turned her sight to the east, looking through the door to where she could still sense Adair as he and the three men with him made their way to wherever they had to go. There was no need for drawn out good-byes between the two. They knew their feelings for each other and nothing else needed to be said. She kept staring through the door until she couldn't feel her husband's Essence anymore and gently nudged Brennan awake, getting the biggest smile as his eyes fluttered open.