Cauthen

Micheal runs through an old forest, carrying a wrapped cloth in his arms — a child. He's chased by huge men and seems more concerned about his young child than himself. He leaps over obstacles in a way that seems unnatural… and so do the men chasing him.
The man confused his pursuers for a moment by climbing a tree nearby for safety, but one of them sees his reflection in a very dangerous-looking sharp dagger. He flings the dangerous dagger but the man dodged it easily, though this escape lands him right in the middle of three strong men.
They fought with Micheal for a while, and he leaps, twists, spills, and avoids injury without ever letting go of the little girl in his arms. He takes a few injuries but finally gets away from the captors, and when it's safe around him, he stops to get his breath and whispers to the little girl "We're almost there''.
The man gathers some sort of energy into his arm, and when he places it on a nearby tree, the energy ripples into the tree and then through the ground, infiltrating the nearby forest. Gathering speed, the energy races through the forest, igniting glowing, mystical symbols on any tree it touches.

The pursuers catch up, but the energy the man has put out has created some sort of barrier that distorts their perceptions while it protects him. They have no idea they're only a few feet from him and the little girl, and they finally turn and leave.
So many years later, a young man sleeps peacefully, while elsewhere giant posters of his face decorate a concert venue. He's Williams, an idol from a group called TheMobs. He apparently makes it a habit to sleep through rehearsals, as his manager is complaining lately about his latest absence in practice.
Williams wakes slowly, only coming to realize that his phone is ringing gently in his pocket. His ears ring as he finally hears his phone, but he makes the excuse to his irritating manager that the phone was on vibrate. When he hangs up, the ringing and pain in his ears worsen because of the phone call. A disease of the ear he has been battling for years.

Yet another handsome young man. He's James Patrick, walks through an airport, and groans, "Here we go again," when an army of suited men comes to greet him. 
He sees a photo of Williams modeling for his father's company, Tiger Group, and takes offense to the shape of the poster. At first, he got angry that the color hasn't changed just as he ordered, but when told his father, it seems he wanted it kept the same, he pretends that it was all the idea he brought.

This James Patrick is the son of a large Taiwan conglomerate. He imperiously orders the suited men to bug off, but he's told that they're here on the chairman's orders. 
One of the men comments that his grammar is very good because his mother is Taiwanese, and James' face goes quietly frowned. He doesn't even need to utter a threatening word— just his obvious displeasure is enough to have the man quaking.
James is expected to put in an appearance at Williams concert that night, which his father's company is sponsoring, but he declines the car his father sent for him in favor of his own expensive motorcycle which was brought from Thailand. 
He finally gets some alone time while riding it, taking in the sea air and almost certainly breaking several traffic laws… I'm sure he won't get away from that.

Later James calls his mother and promises to make his father proud and bring her back to Taiwan with him. He's not happy that she practically lives in exile, because she base in China for a very long time, but she's quick to tell him that she's moved. They make plans to meet at her new apartment in the morning, but she looks worried once they hang up.
As it turns out, Patrick's father is Hongkong

Table of RING OF POWERS

Table of contents

Volume 1