In the southern outskirts of Osnos, right outside the gate, Ryutora was born.
Ryu was a strange boy. He learnt to walk at the early age of only 9 months. He used to walk around all over the house, and had Aiko running all over following him. He didn't cry as often as other babies would. At 11 months, Ryu started to talk. His first word was "Door". He used the word door way too often, and went outside with Aiko. He used to run around the neighborhood, and often got hurt.
At the age of 2, Ryu was smarter than all the kids around him. He was a cute kid, with ocean blue eyes, and almond brown hair. His skin was as fair as the white clouds of autumn. He sometimes looked a little pale, even. And some say his smile was the best in the world.
But it was quite strange. Aira's hair was black and her eyes were brown. Mitsuo's hair was also black, and his eyes were void black. But somehow their son was born with bright brown hair and blue eyes like deep as the sky.
Ryu would solve any problem a baby could have. Can't get on the bed because it's too high? Push a stool into the bed and then climb slowly. Can't open the doors? Use the stool, but make sure there's clearance to open the door.
He solved his problems himself, but it took time. It took failures. Many times he fell over and injured himself, but he rarely cried. He rarely showed a lot of emotion at all. The only thing that could be seen in the baby's eyes was determination.
As Ryu grew up, it became clearer to Aiko that he was "different". He matured faster than all the children around them. He solved his own problems. He was smarter than other kids, so he never got along with anyone.
At the age of 6, Ryu was already in the third grade, while kids his age were in the first. But this strange 6 year old didn't have one friend at the Southern District School of Osnos.
As Ryu got older, he started to dislike his boring mother. Ryu was a determined and ambitious kid, and wanted to soar high. He had proved he was different from everyone else. But Aiko hated difference. Aiko wanted her son to be "Normal". Aiko didn't want Ryutora to turn out like her "Annoying" dad. In that sense, her husband would also be annoying, but she still loved him. She loved him very much.
Eight year old Ryu enjoyed spending time with his father the most. Mitsuo would take Ryu to the northerns park areas in the capital. Ryu enjoyed running around in the open lush grass filled fields in the park areas.
But on one occasion, he asked his father:
"Dad, Why can't we go to the north?"
"Oh Ryu, that's where the nobles live." replied Mitsuo.
Osnos was the capital of the country Crenia. The capital was inside a circular wall with 3 gates, to the west, east, and south. In each of of the three directions there were living districts. The richest lived in the west. The poorest lived in the south. But don't let the "Poorest" fool you, the poorest around here were still 2-3x richer than the richest in other towns in the country. In the northwest and northeast were large fields. These were called the park areas. In the southwest and the southeast were the Industrial Areas. Most Shops were here, and most jobs were situated in these areas. Outside the gates, to the west, were farms. Lots and lots of farms. To the east, there were also farms, but in the southeast, the ground resources were rich, so a lot of mines are situated there. In the south, there are towns right outside the gates. This is where most of the travelling merchants traded. It was a poor area but it was still fun to live in.
"I understand that the nobles live there, but why can't we go there?" pondered the young Ryutora.
"Only nobles can go there, son." replied Mitsuo
"How can I become a noble?"
Mitsuo laughed a little.
"We can't become nobles son, you have to be born a noble. For us commoners, there's only life outside the north walls."
Ryu has a long think. A mere 7 year old spent hours thinking about the hierarchy of society. It was now that Ryu decided, he would one day definitely see the other side of the north walls.
It was when Ryutora turned 8 when Hinotora took him out to the southern forests. Hinotora could've sworn he had never seen Ryu happier.
From this day on, almost every day, Ryu came out to the forest. He loved to climb trees, and look at the forest life. Life was fun, in the forest south of Osnos.
It was lush, the ground was green, with grass and shrubs all long. In the undergrowth there were plenty of bugs and sometimes even snakes. Squirrels could be seen sometimes on the ground, but they spent most of their time on the evergreen trees of the forest. Every tree was a different shade of green, it seemed, and they were well spaced out too, only in the outside edge of the forest however. As one goes deeper into the forest, the shade of green darkens, and the trees get more dense.
Ryutora spent most of his time in the outer forest belt, running around, chasing animals, looking at the birds as they flew by. But Ryutora was way more interested in the magical creatures that sometimes emerged from the deep forest. The magical squirrels, leading their scurry. The magical birds, hunting the snakes.
But Ryu wanted to see one particular animal. The magical blue fox. He read in a book that once in a blue moon, the blue fox will emerge from the deepest part of the forest, and will shower it's magic onto the outside, and the forest grows bigger. Ryu would wait for hours on end, just so he doesn't miss the coming of the blue fox.
The rest of Ryu's time was spent in the West District Public Library. The typewriter had recently been invented and books were now widespread public resources. Ryu read about history, geography, alchemy, blacksmithing, and most of all, Ryu loved reading about Magic. There were lots of books on the history of Magic, on Magical Creatures, and on Magic itself. Ryu had tried to cast spells before, but his magic just wouldn't come out. He had a weak core like the rest of the Mugendanas, he thought.
He read about the basis of magic itself. All life is born with a spiritual mana core. Some are born with bigger cores, some are born with smaller. Some are unable to use magic at all. But mana exists within everyone. People could increase the size of their core with hard work and dedication, but it was usually a slow process. Slow... And painful. Magic training caused great strain to the body and soul, and the people training usually get extremely tired. But for the training to start, the person had to be able to use magic.
It seemed the only option Ryu had was to give up, but he didn't. If the blue fox gifts the land with magic, won't it gift him too? This was Ryu's only hope.
But soon, disaster struck. On the day Ryu was reading about other nations of the world, a huge storm struck. The people on the outskirts abandoned their homes and took refuge within the walls. Ryu ran as fast as an 8 year old could, towards his mother's house. It was true that Ryu disliked his boring mother, but he still loved her dearly. As a crowd was running in from the outside, Ryu managed to run TO the outside. He went straight to his house. But as he looked up, he saw someone.
There was a man standing above the wall. He was tall and muscular, with long white hair which danced in the violent wind. He was wearing a grey overcoat, and was reading a book, it seemed.
But Ryu couldn't care about the man on the wall, he had to make sure his mother was safe. He ran past. But immediately, he stopped.
His body wouldn't move. No. It couldn't.
The white haired man had picked him up.
"Boy, where do you think you are going?"
"MY MOM'S IN THERE. I NEED TO SEE IF SHE'S SAFE."
"I'm afraid I can't do that, young one."
"…Let...ME...GOOOOO"
With a jolt, a blue light filled young Ryu's body as he twisted hard. Arcs of lighting filled the air, and after a moment, Ryu was running towards his house.
He was doing this because Aiko... Was weak. She couldn't run fast, she couldn't lift heavy objects. His father and grandfather were out on a quest. He was the only one who could get his mother to safety.
But the white haired man he left behind, was not in front of him. Ryu could see his eyes now. They were crimson red.
"Listen up boy, I'll go get your mother. You skidaddle into the wall" stated the man.
"Also, that was some magic you got there. Can't believe you're a peasant" he added.
Ryu had finally gotten the gist of it. This man, was a noble. But why would a noble exit the northern walls? Before he could think, the man was back, with Aiko on his Lap.
"Here kid, take your mother. But don't go out. It's gonna get messy outside"
Aiko ran to Ryu and hugged him. Ryu walked in front of Aiko and looked at the man.
The man turned away when Ryu exclaimed:
"You're a noble, aren't you?" "What are you doing outside your walls?" He added
The man turned, and smiled
"Since you figured out this much. I'll tell you."
"This isn't any natural storm. It's an attack from another Nation. They're after something in the forest. Something magical."
Ryu looked down, and he said silently:
"Are they after the blue fox?"
The man's smile turned into a grin.
"I'll deal with you later, kid."
Ryu fainted immediately, and Aiko screamed. The man commands "Take your son into the walls, and ask a man to help you get in. I'll deal with the storm."
All the commoners thought that the Nobles were arrogant and selfish. But this man's words were comforting.
"The name's Cornelius. Cornelius Lucien II. And I need to speak with your kid later. He knows too much."