In the middle of a valley, filled with luscious trees and a long winding river, stood a city. Its buildings being made of either wood or stone, one could see that it was an extremely rural community. There was a single road leading from the city to a forest. This road being built was already a miracle as it seemed to be too well made to be the work of the city people and was extremely out of place for this kind of place. The inside of the city featured many houses scattered throughout and a few communal buildings filled with an assortment of furniture to differentiate itself. Signs of mugs or beds hung by them but they seemed shoddily made and it seemed as though business was always slow.
This town was named Arlitz. It was a normal town in
the countryside. Though it might be normal, what was not normal was how poor the town was. This was because of the distance between Arlitz and the capital Hearo. The people of Arlitz had always been a community of hunters who joined together to take care of the town. They made the wooden wall that surrounded it, the houses and bars within, and the roads that went throughout the place. None of them were master builders but they made due with what they had and made a great little community for themselves.
Arlitz was a part of the Kurtman Nation. Joseph Kurtman was the founder and original king of the Nation and his family had ruled for the next 700 years that the Nation had existed. Though extremely poor, Arlitz was not excluded from the Kurtman Nation on purpose. It was just on the very edge of their territory and all they could manage was to make a road leading to it. They couldn't help the small town in anyway but this also meant they didn't bother the town to pay taxes every month as many of the other towns did. They instead paid 6 months worth in December and June.
The tax collector would always be there at the same day every year as though he had never left. This man, though an annoyance for the members of the town because of his duty, soon became their only knowledge in the going ons of the capital city. His name was Rube Godert and he was a very well respected secretary for the treasury of the Kurtman Nation. Every year on December 6th at precisely 6:00 PM, he would appear in the middle of the town and walk to the city municipal building located just to the right of the square.
Many people, knowing that he would be arriving already sat their waiting for 6 to arrive. The kids were excitedly chatting as this was one of their favorite things that they waited for every year. They knew that every time Godert came over, in addition to collecting the taxes, he was tasked with gathering the children and checking if any of them had awakened an ability.
On planet Earth, not everyone was born with an ability. Abilities always varied between a variety of things. An ability could be something like super strength, or an abnormal ability to use Magic. Though anybody could use magic, people with abilities towards a specific magic attribute were able to fully utilize that kind of magic and bring out the extreme of it.
Arlitz town was very poor and so if any kid could get one of these abilities it would completely change their life. They could move with their families to a city closer to Hearo and become members of the Kurtman army. This would let themselves and family become financially stable which was the dream for many of these kids.
Soon a light flash appeared in the middle of the town and out of nowhere a man stood in the town square. He had black hair that was hidden behind a tall hat. He wore a pair of spectacles on his nose that seemed on the verge of falling at any moment. He had an extremely strict expression that clearly showed that he took no interest in the gazes of the people in the square. Soon 3 men and 2 women walked out of the crowd and towards the man who had just appeared. They all wore clothes that did not suit their surroundings as they were more ornate and of better quality then anything the people of the town could afford.
When they were a few feet from the man, they all stopped and greeted him. The man in turn acknowledged their greetings and started walking towards the municipality building. As he took the lead the crowd opened up and allowed for the man and the five elders to walk through them. As they all made their way into the building, chatter erupted in the crowd.
"Did you see that? He appeared out of nowhere."
"Wow, I wish I could do that. It would be so easy to go anywhere I wanted."
"I heard that the Kurtman royal family scouted all magicians capable of using teleportation magic. If I could use it I would be rich."
As the crowd talked about what they had seen, Rube Goedart was in the municipality building with the leaders of Arlitz.
"It's great to see you Rube." A portly man separated from the other leaders. He was the governor of the town. His name was Lonel Jeffery. Lonel made a name for himself as one of the best hunters in the town in his younger years. He had retired from hunting at 34 when he was attacked by a bear and lost half of his left hand. He was rescued by other townsfolk soon after but he could not hunt very well after that. Instead he decided to give governorship a try and was unanimously voted to be governor at 37.
It has been 15 years since then and he has left Arlitz stable over the years.
Rube quickly nodded at him, "I am quite busy so please skip the formalities. If you could gather the children and pay the tax I would like to be out of here in 10 minutes."
"Don't be like this. I thought we had been friends after knowing each other for all these years. We prepared tea for you so please take a load off." Lonel gestured to a table that had an array of desserts and 6 cups for each person.
"Sorry Lonel, I'm serious this time I have to leave today."
"Oh, is there some kind of problem happening?"
"I guess I can clue you in. A month ago Jera gave us another prophecy."
"Oh? Is it the same as three years ago?"
"It should be. We are looking everywhere for the child but there has been no progress all month."
"That's a shame. Another great talent like the one from three years ago would greatly benefit the Kurtman family."
"That is why I must leave early. Since I am one of the few with teleportation magic I have had a tight schedule so I need to do this quick."
"Alright, we will get the cash ready, the kids should be outside, Ah! Wait a moment, there is one kid who is still out hunting. We haven't seen him for a few hours."
"I can't wait that long. How old is he?"
"He's 17 years old this year."
"Has he shown any signs of awakening?"
"No."
"Then I will check on him next time." The younger someone awakened the better their ability usually was. This was true for almost all ability users although not a guarantee. Some children even awakened at only three or four years old. That's why rube was sent to check on children so that he could see if they would awaken as early as possible. Sometimes awakenings are not obvious to normal people and any wasted time in their youths could be detrimental to the growth of an awakened. Rube rushed out of the building and into the square. When parents saw him emerge they quickly urged their children towards him. As 13 kids huddled around Rube, he took each of their hands one by one and checked for signs of awakening. After going through 6 kids he reached out for the seventh. When he he did some parents looked and could see a shocked look on his face.
"What's your name?" The voice coming out of Rubes mouth was shockingly stern to the point where the small boy was shaking.
"It's Kio." A tiny voice leaked out of the corners of the child's mouth.
Shockingly after the kid said his name Rube burst out into laughter. After looking at him a bit more he turned around and without even looking at the other children or collecting the taxes, he grabbed Kio and teleported away.