The Gifted Star

The heavy oak door swung outwards, as Estella stepped through the threshold of her home. The greeting aroma of freshly made bread, combined with the scent of her mother’s famous nettle soup, made Estella’s mouth water. The heat of the afternoon and the roaring cook fire still hung in the air making the house almost unbearable to be in, but the family would be thankfully for the warmth when the temperatures plummeted at night. Just like most of the houses in Greenwater, the Mendoza's home was made entirely of stout, weather-worn wood, with a thatch roof to cover the household.

“Estella,” A soft voice called from the kitchen, “I need to talk to you for a moment”. With dread she walked towards the room knowing exactly what the talk was going to be about.

“Is everything okay mother?” Estella asked, using the most innocent voice she could conjure. Her mother turned around from stirring the boiling cauldron and looked at Estella. Even though almost everyone in the town looked identical, there was no mistaking that she was her mother’s daughter. Large brown eyes, a button nose, and a plump, pretty face were features both females shared. Those who knew her mother, Engracia, always told Estella how she was the spitting image of Engracia when she was younger. The only thing she did not share with her parent was her attitude, which she most certainly got from her father’s side. Before her, Estella’s mother stood calm and collected with her hands folded together in front of her blue wool dress, while Estella fidgeted with a loss thread and nervously chewed on her lip.

“Do you know why I have called you in here?” The older woman inquired. It was a question that Estella was getting used to be asked.

“Is it about the offer from Tom?” The moment she had been called in, Estella knew what it was regarding. Tom Medina was her father’s right-hand man around the farm, and apparently he had a special interest in Estella.

“Yes and another matter that took place this morning”.

Estella screamed mentally, there was a code among the two siblings that any torture or blackmailing happened under the watchful gaze of their parents. She could feel that her expression exposed more than she wanted and quickly composed herself,
“I’m sorry, mother, it will not happen again”.

“You cannot keep acting this way, Estella. Aaron got in trouble for being late to guard duty, because of this little fight you two are having,” Her mother’s voice had risen to a level of frustration that Estella had not heard for a while. The older woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as she continued with a regained composure, “When you are the wife to Mr. Medina, you will be expected to behave as a proper lady”.

“I haven’t accepted his offer yet. I might not even agree to the match,” Estella mumbled under her breath. Unlike many young ladies in Greenwater, she had never been one to look for the perfect husband, or fantasy about her wedding. There was so much adventure and life to live; she was not ready to settle down.

The look on her parent’s face immediately softened, and she embraced the younger girl with open arms. “Estella, do not reject him so quickly. You have known Tom since birth, and he has worked for your father for even longer than that, it is a good pairing. I know you are as stubborn as your father at time, but I still want you to think about it," She cooed softly, while stoking her daughters hair.

Estella knew that there would be no further discussion, so she simply said, “I will consider it, mother”.

“That is all I ask,” Engracia said and gently pushed away from the hug and smiled down at her daughter. She walked to the other side of the room and picked up an overfilling basket of clothing. “You can think about it while you do the laundry and put the animals back into the barn before dark as punishment for your actions this morning”.

Estella began to make up an argument against the punishment, but the expression on her mother's face said that it would be all in vain. She took the bin away from her parent, muttering protests all the while to show that she was not happy. Her mother merely smiled sweetly and the turned back to stirring the boiling pot of soup, as if nothing had ever happened.

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Estella looked down at her wrinkled hands, a look of disgust crossing her face. ‘My hands look like giant dried prunes,’ she thought, as she attempted to dry them completely on her white apron. Books were hard enough to come by on their own, and she did not need another reason for Mistress Arana to hate her. Satisfied that her hands were not going to create watermarks on the already worn book, Estella rummaged through the rucksack she had brought and pulled out the aged book. Sitting down on a rock, she opened to the first page and began to read.

An hour had passed all too quickly for Estella. She had finished a few chapters of the History book, but not enough to qualify for any great amount of notes. Frustrated she slammed the book shut, wishing she had had more time. A small movement caught the corner of her eye, and she looked down to see a folded up piece of parchment floating down to the ground. The thin paper was crumpled and burnt in several places, cutting off parts of the text. Estella could tell that it was quite a bit older than the hardcover that it had fallen out of. “Where did you come from?” She questioned out loud, despite knowing that it would never answer her. Disregarding the time of day and the setting sun, Estella started reading once again.

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The Era of Power

In the beginning of the clan of Atlin, the people were peaceful and attempted to live in harmony with all other factions and clans. It has been said that they would not harm another being, even if it cost their own lives. They lived by the belief that everyone had goodness in them, and if the rest of the world saw how this ideal all conflict would be solved. However, the rest of the citizens of Oision thought this thinking was idealistic and arrogant of the world. The Atlin people chose to ignore these opinions but the leaders could not; because of this forgiving ideal, the clan cities were being taken over by those who took advantage of them. The fear of losing the region that belonged to Atlin began to weigh on the leaders, morals started to become less relevant.

The clan leaders came together and formed a plan to protect what was theirs. In a small village to the north, a woman resided who was rumored to have magical abilities that required no spells or potions, therefore it was not an act against the gods. The elders went to her and begged for source of the power, so they would be able to protect their people. The woman, whom remains nameless to this day, refused to give up the power for it was in her bloodline, and her solemn duty to keep it from those who would use it for evil. The leaders desperate for the power went to another course of action; to try and find a mate for the woman. One by one, men from Atlin attempted to woe the Woman, who had no idea the true reason for their interest. Each time the Woman would rebuff the pursuits of the potential suitors. Finally, just as the heads of Atlin were about to give up, the lady fell in love with a man; this man, whose identity is also forgotten, and the girl were married and had twins; a son and a daughter.

When the children were a year old, a group of assassins came to the door of the family’s house as travellers begging for shelter. The kind nature of the woman and man let the travelers in and spend the night away from the dangers of the night. While the mother and father slept, the men murdered them in their sleep, and the two children stolen from their cribs. The girl became Allura and the boy was named Cyrus. The children were then trained by the clan leaders, who had stolen the personal records of the deceased mother, on how to embrace the Gift, as they had official named the power. As they grew up, numerous partners were chosen for the two, and the gift was passed onto future offspring. So began the era of the Gifted.

As the descendants of Allura and Cyrus grew, the numbers started to spread out among different villages. A few times the Gifted traveled into cities that were ruled by the factions. This frightened the leaders of Atlin, as the feared the Gift would fall into the hands of their enemies. The wideness of the world threatened the plans of the elders and leaders of the Atlin clan. The Gifted were to be their weapons in hardships and when they were attacked. The heads of Atlin decided to somehow limit the people’s movements around Oisian.

In the year of 4601 the clan leaders called a meeting to all the Gifted. When they showed to the meeting they were presented a village for them to live in. The people would live their lives in harmony and would never be disrupted unless need called them. The Gifted agreed as they knew their purpose was to protect the clan and they were happy to do this. The Power gave them abundant life, and most preferred to live in peace instead of disarray and fighting.

The people of Atlin lived in peace for the next hundred years due to the protection of the Gifted. The lesser of the monsters feared them, while even the most deadly of monsters were even wary to attack one. However, in the year of 4703 a great mourning took place among the Gifted and their village; Allura and Cyrus were killed by a great sickness that had passed through the countryside. The town gathered, along with the clan leaders, to remember the founders of their kind.
At this time, the Brotherhood of Areon heard of the deaths and took it as an opportunity. For many years the Gifted had stood in their way of slow assimilation of the People of Atlin into the Brotherhood. Their power had been too great to overcome in warfare, but unprepared they were not immortal beings. The Brotherhood moved to the village where the funeral was taking place.

It has been told by eyewitnesses of nearby villages that the night sky was lit up by flames that sprouted from the town buildings. The Gifted and clan leaders were taken by surprise by the natural power of fire, and the steel of a soldier’s blade. According to official records no one in the village survived the night. The next morning all the bodies of the Gifted and the leaders were taken from the village and carted to each Atlin town, as a warning and a promise that the land and people that had belonged to Atlin was now the Brotherhoods.

This show of brutality, and power weakened the wills of the people of Atlin. Many towns and villages
were consumed by the ruthless faction, while other peoples spread across Oisian. After the massacre of the Gifted, the clan of Atlin ceased to exist.