The sun hung low over the vibrant merchant city of Alcacia. A few rays of red light began to wash over the imposing white walls that surround the city. Given the time, most would expect a city to be winding down for the day, the streets of Alcacia, however, remain as busy and noisy as ever. Just outside the city walls, in front of the east gate that points toward the Great Vash forest, the guards wait impatiently for their shift to finally be over. The only thing standing between them and a fresh pint at the local tavern was one last unusual entrant to the city.
"Identification please." The guard spoke in a soft voice.
The young boy in front of him slowly reached into his pocket. "Here you go."
The guard grabs the pressed metal identification card to review his personal information, shifting between looking at him and the plate. In front of him was a young boy all alone in torn and tattered clothing who is obviously exhausted. Anyone could tell something was wrong. "Alright, everything looks to be in order… but I have to ask. Why are you out here all alone boy?"
Reid was quick to notice the concern in the guards voice. He took a while to respond, thinking about the best way to answer his question. The boy knew that a mistake here would put him in a though spot going forward. "My father was a merchant. He wanted to start selling his goods here in Alcacia, but during the trip he decided to take a shortcut through the Great Vash Forest. Unfortunately we were attacked by monsters on the way. We didn't have enough money to hire any guards… so he tried to hold them off and give me a chance to escape, but he- he-" Tears began to flow down his face as he struggled to finish his story.
The guard in front of his slowly went down onto one knee. He put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Its alright kid, take your time. No need to rush."
"O-Okay." Reid takes a second to wipe his eyes before continuing his story. "I was able to run away but when I looked back, the monsters surrounded him and… they… they got him."
"I see... Do you have any other family here in the city? Anyone you can stay with tonight?"
"No… I don't have any family left…"
"I am truly sorry to hear that. May they find peace with Aigala." The guard pauses, contemplating how to help the unfortunate soul in front of him. "Well, your name is Reid right? My name is Aron. We're about to close the gate for the night. If you're fine to wait a bit I could take you to the local orphanage. The caretaker there is a real sweetheart, she'd be more than happy to take you in. What do you say?" Aron gives him a warm smile while he waits for the answer.
"I'll go. Thank you Mr. Aron."
"Mr. Aron huh? Must've gotten some merchants manners from your old man." He gives him a toothy smile. "You can wait over there 'til we finish locking up." He points to a bench just past the gate entrance.
"Okay." Reid answers sheepishly as he walks past the guard.
"So, are you finally going to stop ignoring me?" An irritated Amadeus speaks up inside his head.
"Sorry I was busy running so I couldn't talk."
"How many times do I have to tell you, we have a mental link. If you just focus on the link you will be able to talk to me inside your head telepathically."
"I was trying but that's not easy to do that while running though a forest. Cut me some slack you jerk."
"Fine, but we still have much to discuss. First was what you told that man true? There seemed to be something off about your story."
"No… it wasn't true." Reid answers as he sits down on a lonely wooden bench.
"Alright, well can you tell me the real story. Given the... circumstances... of how I found you, knowing what really happened may be vital to keeping us safe in the future."
Reid looks down silently and without answering the question.
"Reid, I'm stuck in this body and cant go anywhere else. Whatever problems you have, I have too. We're in this together."
"Alright. You win." He said with a sigh. "I was running away from home when I was targeted by a mercenary and he got me."
"Why would someone target a kid like you? Was it an enemy of your family?"
"No. It was probably my father…" The shocking statement hung heavily in the air before Reid continued.
"You see my father is a half elf human who's part of the lower nobility, while my mother was a beastkin and one of his servants. As soon as my mother discovered she was pregnant she tried to run away. She knew if my father found out about a possible child between the two of them he would have us killed to save his reputation… He's a horrible man, the only thing he cares in the entire world is his social standing. You see he wants to join the upper nobility eventually, and having a mongrel child would ruin his chances. He ended up hiring the mercenaries guild to track my mother down, said she was a criminal who stole from the family. They found her eventually, but only after she had given birth. We were both brought back to my father to be judged… My mother was killed immediately, but his first wife ended up taking pity on me. She said I looked cute so as long as I hid my ears and never went out in public it should be fine to keep me alive. My father eventually agreed but with one condition." Reid hesitates to continue.
"What was the condition?"
"… I had to prove I would be useful to him." Reid looks off into the distant city in front of him as he continues. "As a mongrel I have human, elf, and beastfolk blood within my veins. In extremely rare circumstances a mongrel child can exhibit the abilities of more than one portion of his blood, like one person being able to use a humans blessings and a beastkin's beast aura, but I wasn't skilled with any of them. Since that didn't work out, my only hope was to be blessed with a useful talent. Unfortunately on my 13th birthday when my talents were measured, all they found was enhanced senses. Knowing what was coming I tried to escape, but we both know how that ended up."
"That is most unfortunate. You have my condolences." A heavy silence passes between the two before Amadeus continues.
"Now what do you mean by 'talent'? For me talent is just a word. Is it something important here?"
"Yeah, talents are super important. It's a way people judge your worth. If you have good talents people tend to treat you better, and some jobs actually require you to have certain talents."
"So it's a kind of status symbol? Are these talents something that's acquired naturally?"
"No, its more like a ceremony. On your 13th birthday you go to a temple and put your hand on a divination crystal that has been created by the gods. The divination crystal tells you what talents you possess. The kind of talent you're given almost guarantees how well you will do in life… Yet all I got was enhanced senses…" The self loathing was heavy in the boy's voice.
"Interesting. So after this ceremony you suddenly had better senses? Like better hearing for instance."
"No, I've always had really good hearing… for better or worse. It didn't get any better after the ceremony."
"Oh?" Amadeus takes a moment to consider the information in front of him. "I may have an interesting hypothesis."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I have an interesting idea, but I need more information to prove it. Tell me, how many talents do people tend to have? And are there any outliers, like people with way more talents than the norm?"
"Umm, somewhere between one and five is pretty normal, but I've heard of cases where people had dozens before."
"Were those people successful? Or competent?"
"I think they made them a high noble because of it, but the rumor was his territory got dissolved after he failed to please the King. Why are you asking so many questions?" The boy was confused by the amount of interest Amadeus was showing in such a boring topic.
"Do these talents have some kind of tier system? Like two talents that do the exact same thing but one is better?"
"No, but there are some that are kind of similar like chef and baker."
"Okay, and are all people with the same talent equally skilled at their craft?"
"Of course not, obviously some chefs are better than others."
"Got it, and last question, are talents usually inherited?"
"Kind of? I think it's pretty common."
"I see… Now this is just a conjecture based on limited data, but I think these talents aren't exactly what you believe them to be. I think these divination crystals act by using a function similar to a certain type of program I used to make. They probably act by taking in raw data about the target and changing that quantitative information into simplified qualitative information."
Irritated by his lengthy questioning of his least favorite topic, Reid answers sarcastically. "Ah yes of course, why hadn't I thought of that?"
"You certainly should have, it was quite the easy deduction." Reid's face became red with irritation, but Amadeus pressed on. "More importantly let me explain the flaw with this system. The data taken doesn't seem to have a base standard. It judges only based on the person currently being examined."
"Yes, that is how judgement works. You touch it and they judge you. Did you really need a million questions to figure that out?"
"You fail to see why this is important? Let me explain it in a simple manner. There are two major issues with this type of system. First issue is the scaling. Lets say you have a system to judge how successful two farmers are. One plants 200 crops but 20 die while the other plants 10 crops but 1 dies. Both lost 10% of their crops, so according to a system that doesn't have a base standard they are equal's, even though one farmer produced far more food. The second issue is specificity. Lets say we have two students, the first passed every subject perfectly while another student failed every subject miserably. If you were to ask what subject they specialize in, you could argue they both have no specialty even though their grades were vastly different. Do you see what I'm getting at?"
"W-wait, are you trying to say that the god's judgement's are wrong?!? That's blasphemy!!"
"No, not wrong, but I doubt it's as divine a blessing as you might think. I believe it is quite literally an area or thing where one shows talent. Its good information to know, but it shouldn't define your social status, much less how you spend your whole life. Take you for example. You have 2 sets of ears and have had good hearing your whole life. Your hearing may be so far superior to any other talent that they become lost."
Reid gulps hard. "What do you mean?" Faint wisps of hope tempt the boy's heart, the very same one that had all but given up on his own self worth.
"You may have other talents, you just have to find them. Besides, talent isn't the only thing that matters; hard work and dedication can take you very far in life."
Even if he couldn't bring himself to truly believe Amadeus' words, they were enough to start pulling at something deep inside of him. Tears began form in Reid's eyes, but for the first time in a long, long time they didn't come from sadness. They came from hope.
"Do you really think I might have more talents? That I'm not worthless?"
"Of course, just need to find it and cultivate it."
⁘⁘⁘⁘
*Knock knock knock*
The loud knocking reverberates off the walls of a cramped back alley. The large rows of buildings are all made from large gray stones dotted periodically by green moss. Candles adorned the windowsills on either side of the alley, they remain unlit as the day slowly bleeds toward night. The source of the knocking was a middle aged man outfitted with sparsely placed but sturdy metallic armor, the typical outfit of the town guard. With him was a young boy wearing a tattered cloak. The building they were knocking on was the town orphanage. It may be quite old, but it's surprisingly well cleaned and maintained.
"Coming!" A cheerful voice calls out to them.
As the pair stood there, Reid couldn't help but feel someone was watching them. His rough upbringing had made him very sensitive to the gazes of others. He starts looking around when he hears footsteps retreating from down the alleyway. They were so quiet that no one but him and his exceptional hearing could have possibly noticed. He only caught a glimpse of an unusual dark blue cloak as someone rushes past the corner. With this strange observer gone the boy turns back to the door.
After a moment the door opens revealing a lively young maiden with brilliant golden locks flowing all the way down her back. Her cute face and charming smile could enchant any man in town. Present company included.
"Ah, C-Cynthia. Its good to see you again! How have you been?" Completely forgetting the actual reason for his visit, the guard looks at the woman with a dumb smile on his face.
"Oh Aron, hi! Yes I guess it has been a while since we last met, but I've been doing good. What can I do for you?"
"Oh I just wanted to see you ag*ahem*" Aron quickly tries to hide his mistake, but it fools no one. "I mean I came here because of this little guy." Aron quickly pulls the young boy in front of him. "Go on and say hello."
The small boy looks up at the maiden. "Hello… My name is Reid." He says with a smile bow of his head.
"My, aren't you a polite one. My name is Cynthia, it's a pleasure to meet you." She answers the boy while giving off a radiant smile. She looks back up toward Aron, with a more serious expression on her face. "You said you came here because of him. Do you mean that…?"
"Yeah, he came to the gate by himself… He said he no longer has any family left."
Before Reid could say anything else he found himself wrapped in a tight embrace. The warmth spreads through his body, putting his entire soul at ease. Unsure of how to react to the unfamiliar sensation Reid stands there awkwardly. A few seconds pass before Cynthia releases him. She looks him in the eyes as she speaks warmly. "Don't worry, you can rest easy. We have plenty of space here. We can care of you from now on. Is that alright with you?"
The boy responds with a small nod. Cynthia gently extends her hand to his cheek and uses her sleeve to wipe a tear the boy didn't know had formed. "Come, lets get you settled into a room before dinner. Mary is cooking tonight so you can expect the food to be delicious!" She grabs Reid's arm and pulls him deeper into the building.
"Alright, goodbye then." Aron was left completely alone in the open doorway. After a long moment, he closes it gently with a sigh. "Man… I know he's more important right now, but you didn't have to completely forget I exist…"