In the broad vibrant backyard of a lush, pearly white mansion stood a handsome, red-haired young man at the age of 12. A young girl of the same age with skin and long hair as white as snow faced directly against him; both seemed to in fighting stance, ready to engage.
"Are both of you ready? Claude? Violetta?" A blonde adult woman hollered at them from a distance. Another child beside her looked at them with anticipation.
The young boy, Claude, nodded and same with the girl, Violetta.
"Begin!" the woman announced.
Violetta sprinted towards Claude with alarming speed and delivered a kick which was easily dodged by the boy. Filled with confidence, the boy remained in defensive as he played with the girl and dodged her every strike.
The girl gritted her teeth in annoyance. Her fists begun to smoulder with an icy smog.
"Ymir!" growled Violetta as her blue eyes glowed.
Suddenly, the grass around froze over and Violetta threw a jab at the unsuspecting boy which connected with his shoulder. Claude yelped in pain as his shoulder was frostbitten due to the punch. The boy backed up, frowning in response to the girl's smirk.
"Using your essence so soon, Violet?" sneered Claude.
"That's what you get for not taking me seriously," smirked Violetta as she stuck her tongue out.
"Well, you asked for it," Claude closed his eyes and his body began to glow a white light as opposed to Violetta's somber, icy aura. He shouted a name, "Lugh!"
Claude opened his eyes, now glowing, and stunned everyone in the vicinity like some sort of flash grenade. Then, he charged at the dazed girl with newfound speed and put her on a grappling hold, effectively ending the match.
"It's over, Claude wins," announced the woman watching from the sidelines.
Claude immediately let go of his hold and got up. Violetta followed after, with a sad frown on her face. Her chilling aura and Claude's glowing body dissipated and both turned back to normal. Then, they both bowed to the blonde woman in front of them as a sign of respect. It was their combat teacher, Yanne.
"Princess, you very well know Claude's much faster than you, yet you still try to contest him with speed and was the aggressor of the fight. When coming across such opponents, it's better to watch and see what their capable of and resort to counters," lectured Yanne to Violetta.
Yes, Violetta was indeed a princess. She was the princess of their country, Vallia, and Yanne was one of the countries' most powerful "Vessels", a human imbued with the "essence" or power of a mythical figure. Violetta and Claude were sent to Yanne to be tutored in combat and using their essence. For their cases, Violetta's essence was the Giant of Ice and Snow, Ymir. While Claude was granted the power of the God of Light, Lugh.
"And you," Yanne turned to Claude, "How many times do I have to tell you to take every fight seriously? You wouldn't have gotten hit if you took your friend seriously!"
"Hehe, my bad, Ma'am," Claude scratched his head in fear.
"Well, regardless, you both did well. Good job, both of you. I'm proud of you guys," Yanne took both Claude and Violetta in and gave them a group hug.
Claude and Violetta felt nice to be acknowledged but they couldn't help but notice the sad boy staring behind them. Yes, they had one more friend. The one whose always forced to be on the sidelines. A spectator to their progress. It was none other than their master's son, Icarus. In an attempt to reel Icarus into the group, Violetta struck a conversation with the boy.
"Hey Ike, did you see me today? I was awesome weren't I? You better awaken your essence soon so you can join us!" grinned Violetta as she called out to her friend using his nickname, Ike.
"Yeah, you were," the boy forced a smile out, "And... I'll try."
Icarus knew all too well that Violetta was trying to cheer him up so he acted cheerful for her sake. Unlike his mother and his friends, he did not have his "essence". People were usually born with "essence" that they acquire from the moment they were born. As they grow up, people awaken their essence in certain events that induce stress. Most never awaken at all and are called Husks, essenceless humans.
Icarus was starting to fear that he was a Husk. Essences were usually awakened in childhood but he was pass that. Claude awakened Lugh at the age of 4 when he fell in scraped his knee. While Violetta unlocked Ymir and froze the palace when she lost one of her dolls at the age of 6.
Despite his mother's attempts on stressing him out with rigorous training, he has yet to awaken his own. Now, all he could do was watch from the sides. No matter how strong he got, he would be no match for those who possessed supernatural powers.
In an effort to avert them from his problem, Icarus looked at his watch and changed the subject.
"Mom, it's almost 6:00 PM, their drivers should be waiting outside our house by now," reminded Icarus.
"Oh, you're right! Well you two better hurry on home and treat your bruises. You three still have school tomorrow," smiled Yanne.
With that, the two children left, leaving only Icarus and his mother. They went back into the small mansion without saying a word to each other. Icarus went straight into his room and buried his face into books of mythology.
Essences always intrigued Icarus, yet the thought of fighting wasn't appealing to him. He scoffed to himself as he thought of tomorrow's lesson in school. They were going to learn about the history of the world and how humans gained essences. Fortunately for him, he knew all too well about all of it. What he lacked in power he compensated with knowledge. He may potentially be a Husk but that won't stop him from making a name for himself and making his own mother proud.