Mana.

Humanity's hope, against the monsters from the rift. With it, one have the power to change even the reality itself.

They are stored inside "vessels", souls, otherwise they just float around like mischievous fairies.

Mana nourishes the soul, and strengthens the body. The stronger the soul, the more mana it can hold, and the stronger the body, the more mana it can exert.

And as mana influences an individual, a host affects the mana they hold concurrently. A person's desire and experiences molds the mana to take shape, hence, the soul takes a form and a person's ability is manifested.

A human soul is pretty much in the molding stage, until the age of 15 where the soul starts to have an outline. This process peaks at the age of 30, where a person's soul stops fluctuating and settles in a permanent form.

Due to this, a person might show different abilities during childhood, as a newborn posseses the purest of mana, like a sheet of white paper, waiting for the world to fill it with colors.

~ Raphael I. Nfit

Inside a humongous library, a child, 8-9 years old, is seen reading from a book entitled "Mana: Our last hope".

As the child is too engrossed in his reading, he did not see the group of teenagers looming over his head ominously.

"Wat'ya readin'?"

The one in the middle asks, towering over the child. He sports a gray shirt with gothic design and black pants of the same manner. His mohawks stands proudly, like the behind of a peacock, with its multitude of colors.

"Reading."

The child obviously stated, overflowing with sarcasm that the teenager obviously did not appreciate.

"You tired of livin'!? Huh!? You should be thankful that the boss even speaks to you. Didn't you know? He got his soul tested yesterday, and it turns out that his soul form is a "Black Guitar"! Ain't that awesome!? Marvel in the greatness of Jovi "The nightmare" Silverwing!"

The teenager on the left of the recently named Jovi exclaims zealously. He was a carbon copy of Jovi, except his mohawks, which was pure black.

"That means, boss is one of the few who manifests an ability that could affect the mind. An ability sought after by many guilds and companies. Our clan would also promote boss and send him to the "Family Village". He would be a force to be reckoned with, come his 18th birthday. A single strum to rule the world!".

The last one explaned, with stars in his eyes. He was also wearing the same clothes as Jovi, but his hair hangs depressingly low, upto his chin.

"Fred, Gerald, stop yappin on and on 'bout me greatness. I know that a'ready. And you twerp, the clan head calls for ya."

Fred, only watched Jovi zealously, while Gerald droops his shoulders lower.

"Why would I be called? Did I do something wrong?"

The child innocently asks.

"Ohh, ya're in so much trouble! Just be on ya way a'ready, can't keep the big boss a'waiting."

Jovi smacks the child's head playfully. While the child mock glares at the perpetrator, he ran outside the library. Jovi watches his back fade away with a smile, as he might not admit it, but he is quite fond of the little creature.

"Let's just hope the clan head would give the news to him slowly. *Sigh*. You'll be ok, right? Cleo."