[Psssst, if u want a more detailed account of this, check out the chapter right after 9, it's called "An In-Depth Guide to The History of The Aureans and Magi Clans" :-)]

GOLDEN CHILDREN

THE HISTORY OF THE FILII AUREA

PROLOGUE

BLOOD. The liquid that binds all of humanity together. The liquid that once almost caused the end of humanity, the liquid that separates them from the Aurean people. There is a legend among both humanity and Aureans that Mother Nature, in her younger and more vulnerable years, fell in love with a mighty Celestial Being, and together they conceived four children with unique abilities. They were her filii aurea, her Golden Children, and it's said that they were to inherit the Earth. The four of them were granted the ability to control an element, and in their younger years, the Aurean people were peaceful and lived in harmony with the humans, assisting them with building the great pyramids of Alexandria, fighting in the war of Troy, trying to help the humans advance. Six centuries ago, that changed. The first line of Cursed Children were born, with abilities the Aurean Elders had never heard of. A Fire Child scorching his victims, Oceania's Children controlling the blood of the innocent, and the Children of the Terrain breaking bones like they were sticks. For decades, this new, evolved race of Children ruled over humanity, culling them like cattle, until eventually humanity stroke back. They were outnumbered, the human armies wiped out the Cursed Children, along with any other Aurean they could find, and the Children were forced to retreat to remote locations like the village of Verglas, or the remote mountain town ruled by the Fire Children. The war continued for decades, until the humans' King eventually died of natural causes, and Sein Athill II stepped up to the throne. He was known to be sympathetic toward the Aureans, awarding them specific places to practice their religion, dedicating entire towns, and even the whole City of Gold to the Aureans, creating a safe haven for all of them. The Aureans never understood why Sein Atthill sympathised with them, but they accepted it whole-heartedly, and they stayed loyal to him until the day he was murdered. A rumour was spread that Sein was a sympathiser because his partner, Suni Atthill was of Aurean descent, but no one could ever prove it. However, his brother Iman, was convinced Suni was an Aurean and spent his life trying to prove it. Eventually when Sein was assassinated, Iman framed a poor Aurean for the deed, and Sein's son William started a new war, a war on the Aurean religion, the Aurean people, the Aurean legacy. He vowed on the day his parents were murdered that he would find the Ascended who killed his parents, and set out to do so. The humans called them Ascended Beings, due to their abilities, even though William despised the name, it was easier to pronounce than filii aurea. Unlike his brother, Iman was not an Aurean sympathiser, and he made it clear the day Sein was murdered. He refused to comply with the Aurean church, threatening to take away their safe havens if they didn't comply with his rules. No Aurean was allowed in the Sovereign Capital. The City of Gold was to be theirs, and they were free to practice their unnatural abilities there. The Aureans were forced to retreat into the remote villages again, spending their life hoping the special task force wouldn't find them, and cull them like cattle. Now centuries later, it's happening again, the Cursed Children have been born again, and their Cursed Abilities showing up again. This time however, a certain someone needs to stop them, before they destroy the Earth they're supposed to inherit. Aziel Aro was known for his unique fighting abilities, and discovered he could control the blood of small animals at a young age. He tried his ability on his younger brother, Milo, one day, and was banished from their remote mountain village. It was only three decades later, when Milo met his wife Kaija, and they conceived two children, that Aziel was allowed in the village again. He attended their wedding, and helped Milo out with hunting while Kaija nursed their new born little girl and their four year old son Aku. It was then when Milo told Aziel that he would not inform his children of their history, because he wanted to protect them, and Aziel was furious, because those children were direct descendants of a Cursed bloodline. They would harness abilities like none other, and he would have to eliminate them, before they could discover their abilities. However, as Aziel was attempting to murder both Aku and the girl, Milo and Kaija disappeared into the dead of the night, and he never saw them again. He vowed to find his brother, and to find their children, and murder them, before they could destroy the Earth he so loved. A decade later, he found Milo and Kaija in a village in the Northern Mountains of their country, and attempted to wipe Milo out, only to find their hut empty, and Milo missing in action. Aziel never could catch up to his brother.

Now, almost another decade later, in the remote mountain village of Verglas, Meri Aro lived blissfully, not knowing any of her rich Aurean history. She truly believed she was a normal village girl, and that her father was simply forced out of that village six years ago due to some or other business with the Church. Her father was a priest, and was summoned to the Grand Church in the City of Gold six years ago, at least that's what her mother told her. She accepted this truth the way it is, and lived her life peacefully every day by starting a fire in the middle of their fur-coated hut. She boiled water everyday, made her mother and brother herbal tea, when Aku was home, and then she helped her mother with tedious tasks all the other women in the village attended to as well. She watched sadly as the little boys and girls in the village ran to the town square, where they were taught how to read, and how to speak properly, all things she never learnt to do, because she was too busy helping her mother in the kitchen. She didn't resent Kaija for it, however, she was thankful that at least her mother provided her with something to do, no matter how tedious or boring it might have seemed. Sometimes, she found herself longing to go sit by the old man in the town square, and listen to the stories he told the little children of the village, but she knows Kaija would scold her if she so much as thought of slacking off. Her life was ridiculously routine orientated until the Attractive Nomad arrived in her village. She didn't know his name, nor did she know where he came from, but she knew he was a talented street magician, and sometimes when she caught a glimpse of his tricks in the Marketplace, making idle conversation with one of the Merchants, he'd quickly smile at her, before launching into his next trick. She wondered why he was in this remote village anyway, when he could be making a ton of money in the City of Gold, or even the Sovereign Capital, but she supposed magic like his was banned there and he had no choice but to result to travelling far and long to remote villages like Verglas to earn a living. She wondered how long he would stay, since no one stayed long in Verglas, the town was too cold, and the pressure differential too high for normal humans to stay up here. Her mother told her, the reason they could live here was because their lungs had adapted to the pressure difference, and that a normal human wouldn't last two days there. She was utterly surprised when she saw him in the Marketplace the next week, still smiling brightly, wielding his fire in a playful manner. She wondered whether he'd ever gotten burnt, or if he'd ever made a mistake that cost him one of his fingers, or maybe even a couple locks of his hair. He was taller than the other boys in her village, and his dark hair made him stand out, that and the fact that he wasn't wearing two layers of fur like all the other citizens were. He stood out in a maroon sweater and a black dress shirt, and she didn't understand why a street magician could afford to wear such expensive clothes, but she didn't think about it too much, because she never got to talk to him. Whenever she'd scrape up the courage, she'd end up backing down, or Kaija would find her in the crowd, and get upset because she was slacking, and drag her back to the hut, giving her a million tedious little tasks to keep her busy for the rest of the night. She only got to approach him halfway through his second week staying in Verglas, to compliment him on his wonderful magic skills. She felt she had to, because he'd entertained her when she was idly walking around the Marketplace, looking for a viable excuse to stay longer because she didn't want to go back to the hut and help Kaija hang up Aku's clothes. She didn't have any money on her, but she figured since he was wearing a dress shirt that he would have enough of it anyway. She didn't quite know how to approach him though, since he was walking at a brisk pace to the only inn in the village and she didn't know how to simply stop him and thank him for the apparent entertainment he'd provided for her in the last week. Luckily, he turned around and noticed her trailing behind him, and recognised her face from the Marketplace.

"You're the girl who's always watching me from the fruit stand." He remarked, and his voice was deeper than the boys in her village, his accent different too.

"I... yes." She admitted sheepishly, avoiding his gaze, "I... um, I like your magic tricks."

"It'd be slightly awkward if you didn't." He teased with a playful laugh, while she continued to avoid his gaze. Spending all her time cooped up in a hut, she didn't know much about talking to people she'd never met.

There was a silence in the cold streets for a while as the two teenagers stared at each other, he spoke first though, "I'm Nuri Bachmann." He said with a smile, and extended his hand. She looked at his hand, confused, she'd never been taught etiquette. Awkwardly, he retreated.

"I'm Meri." She replied quickly, "I have to go." She said suddenly, and dashed down the streets, hoping that she would still be in time for dinner, and that Kaija wouldn't be angry at her for not being home at exactly sunset. Nuri Bachmann watched the petite girl dash down the snowy streets, and shivered as he lit a small fire in his palms, trying to warm up his hands, and wondering whether his mentor had identified the right one, because this petite village maiden didn't look like the type to be able to halt armies, and destroy civilizations. He walked back to the inn, perplexed.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

um hell yes nanowrimo is here, so i threw this together as a prologue, and YES IM SO EXCITED TO FINALLY START WRITING ON THIS HOLY SHIT U GUYS.

as u can see this is totally different to anything i've ever written, like this is HARDCORE ASS FANTASY like i've never ventured into this genre before... i kinda scraped the surface w it last year w When Her Kingdom Came but this year, i'm diving in head first :D

anyhoo, i'm gonna mention @0Phoenix0 here again, bc we're doing a co-op project for nanowrimo, so we're gonna be writing 50K each and then sort of upload our novels as a side-by-side project. his is called Infernal Children and i'll pester him to upload it on here soon... :D bear in mind this is his first, so be gentle on his soul, children.

ANYHOO AGAIN, thanks for reading and i hope ur as excited for this as i am!!!!! (even tho i should be studying for finals rn u guys im such a rebel help?????)

w, love

dan