I despise the cold and all it represents…

This world is known as Astrea, one of castles and knights, villages and common folk, and mostly a peaceful place. All the major wars had ended many years ago.

The first two children to have 'officially' evolved, were twins born twelve hours apart, each only possessing a single wing. The first born at midnight, carried a single obsidian wing. The other born at noon possessed one resembling a dove.

Soon, many evolved began appearing rapidly. Each born different, and the public went crazy. Top news stories always featured a new child with a new Gift. Though it was not long before it became the norm. What wasn't known was we had evolved for a reason. After about two years, the rifts appeared, and with them came the beasts.

The beasts were monsters from another world, and the rifts were the doorways between the two. It did not take long for people to realize we had to stop them.

***

46 years after the Firsts, as most referred to them, and the world has now adapted to this new lifestyle of monsters and Gifted (those with abilities). Guilds were created in order to band the Gifted together under one association. Guilds hired Adventurers to fight the beasts as a new profession. The nations around the globe had ultimately turned their leaders from politicians to those who had power. Real power. Not that of the mind, but that of strength and wit. Those in power are known as the Dukes of Disaster. The Dukes are ranked in order of their own power. The fourth Duke, nicknamed the King of Ice, is my father. To him, however, I'm nothing. He does not claim me as his child, and I can't blame him for it. I don't see him as my father either. King was only with my mother for her Gift. Her innate control of water.

King possesses dominion over ice, able to flash freeze the air around him. Power over such a core element of nature led people to fear him, quickly making him into a man of power and a potential Duke. The only way become a Duke is to defeat the current Duke in a battle, one ending in death. The world had become cruel place. My mother had the ability to control water in small amounts, an ability rare and quite compatible with King, gaining his interest. He swindled my mother and convinced her to be his, wanting many children that could potentially hold the combined power of the two. He followed this pattern with many women, all for the same goal; a powerful progeny.

Aaaaaaaaand then I came into view. Out of his 13 current children, I was the only one to not show a Gift from birth. Most children that possess a Gift would begin to show signs before the age of six, whether it be a physical gift (i.e. wings or a tail) or a magical gift (i.e. super strength or telepathy). I showed signs of neither...

Seeing this, my father practically disowned me. After I entered my last year of high school, he gave me enough money for my own place and to cover rent for the year. He did not like speaking to me directly, so this was done through my mother.

***

During my last year of high school was when it happened. I had heard stories that late bloomers were said to be extremely powerful, and that the longer it took for the power to manifest, the stronger they would be. Sure enough during the spring of my final term, I exploded.

Literally.

I'm not exactly what you would call social. Anyone who knew me knew of my father, and that scared them. I had been eating my lunch in the courtyard by myself, as usual. I felt the hair on my neck stand on edge as three people approached me from behind. I knew them by they way they made my skin crawl. Each of them had a Gift, and each of them wanted to abuse it. Sensing their approach sent a chill through my whole body. I was scared. Not this again I thought. I was almost finished with my time at this school and I'd hoped they would just leave me alone for the remainder of the semester. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I lost control. The moment I did, the air itself seemed to freeze. The courtyard's temperature plummeted almost immediately, falling to about -11 degrees Celsius. The three froze, unable to move out of fear and confusion. The one closest to me felt the frostbite sinking in rapidly and howled as he ripped his hand away. The air around them had dropped drastically, every breath seeming like part of their soul leaving their bodies. I quickly began to realize what had happened, and hated what myself for it. I had taken after my b*stard of a father. I knew then what had to be done. This Gift, no this curse that fate had cast onto me would be my own power. Power I'm going use to destroy my father.