All of the following short stories are based before the events of Shadows of Stars.

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The hunger slowly devoured Soren.

It was always there, gnawing at him from dawn to dusk, then again from dusk to dawn. The pangs were always the worst in first few days after he scavenged something to eat, but after that he was hit with such a weakness, that he didn't even feel hungry anymore. He was too weak to even think about food.

Every now and then a kind soul would look down at him as he sat against the white-bricked wall of a building, soot covering his face, grease oiling his hair. Coins would fall from their hands into the tattered hat that lay in front of him. Sometimes he was even lucky enough to be given a sandwich or a cup of soup to warm him on the coldest days.

Most civilians walked right past him, avoiding his pitiful gaze as they focused on anything but him. Maybe they believed that if they didn't look at him, they wouldn't feel guilty about not aiding a homeless child.

The black hole in his stomach began to spread to his heart and he sought to punish those who would not help him.

A woman who curled her lip at his grimy appearance thought her hair had caught on fire. A man who pretended to drop coins into Soren's hat saw spiders crawling over him. A mother who pulled her daughter away from his vicinity believed her hands were covered puss-filled sores.

He was so weak at that point that even using his powers to shift the reality of humans—even the tiniest bit—caused nosebleeds. Headaches continued to worsen until all he could do was sleep to take the pain away.

He was fading into nothing. Any memory of him would be swept away with the wind.

But one day, his fate changed.

A man, dressed in black from head to toe, rounded the corner from a nearby alley. He quickly reset the hat on his head, tucking away stray hairs that had fallen down. His eyes darted to Soren as he neared, his brow hitching, his lips sliding into a snake of a smile.

As he sauntered by, Soren reached for him with his mind, finding his thoughts easily compared to most. He was a dark splatter amongst the sea of gray and white.

The moment he brushed against his mind, the man whipped around, his dark eyes cutting to him. Soren shriveled back into the wall, his heart pounding in his chest. He was slowly dying from starvation, but that didn't mean he was ready to die, and the look the man's eyes only revealed one thing—death.

The man didn't yell, he didn't even touch Soren. Instead he crouched down in front of him with his elbows resting on his knees. His irises were so dark that the line between them and his pupils was almost non-existent. Soren felt like he was looking into two black holes, yet somehow felt oddly comforted by their darkness.

"What did you just do?" the man asked, his voice warm and deep. He waited for an answer, but Soren didn't answer him. He was so thirsty, any words that left his mouth would have been nothing but a failed attempt. His black eyes traveled down Soren's bony face, to his thin frame and rugged clothes. "When was the last time you ate?"

Soren could have shrugged his shoulders. He could have shaken his head. But instead, he stayed still, his eyes unblinking as he waited for the man to ask another question.

"What is your name?" the man asked as Soren had predicted.

Once again, Soren stayed silent.

The man rose from his crouch and took a step away from Soren before looking back at him over his should. "Follow me," he said.

Soren stayed put. He didn't know this man. He could be crazy for all he knew. There was something dark and strange about him despite the draw Soren felt towards him.

When the man realized that he wasn't following, he stopped and turned around. "Do you want to eat or not?"

It took Soren a moment to realize that the man was offering him food. He couldn't even remember the last time he ate. If his mouth wasn't as dry as the desert of the Wastelands, he might have salivated.

With wobbling knees, Soren rose from the ground. He swayed as the world tilted, black spots filling his vision, his arms straightening out at his sides to balance himself. Blinking once, twice, three times, the city righted itself and his sight cleared.

The man kept his pace slow, but Soren was still panting from exhaustion from the just the small effort of standing up. Thankfully, they didn't go far and only to the small café on the corner of the block.

The rich scent of coffee and the sweet aroma of muffins filled his nose the moment he stepped through the windowed door. Suddenly, the hunger pangs were back and they were fierce, making Soren double over and clutch at his stomach. Maybe if he held himself tight enough they would fade away.

"Straighten," the man said quietly, stopping Soren at the door.

Soren couldn't. The pangs were constricting him, forcing him to fold.

"Straighten," he said forcefully.

Soren felt a soft caress against his mind and the pangs vanished as if they had never existed. He slowly lifted his head to look back at the man, his eyes wide with amazement. How had he done it? Was he an illusionist too?

"Go snag us the booth in the corner," the man said, tilting his head towards the booth. "Do you like blueberry?"

Soren nodded, sending greasy stray black hairs in front of his eyes. He quickly brushed them away from his face before heading to the booth in the corner. Sliding onto the cushion, he sighed. He could curl up into a ball and fall asleep from the comfort, but he would receive even more strange looks from the patrons around him.

A few minutes later the man slid into the seat across from Soren and placed a plate with a plump blueberry muffin and a glass of water in front of him.

"Drink first," the man suggested before taking a sip of his steaming black coffee.

Soren didn't need to be told twice. He chugged it down, streams of the cool water escaping out of the corners of his lips. He slammed the cup down on the table. It wasn't enough. He needed more.

"I—I need..." Soren started.

"You need more water?" the man finished for him as a smile curled at his lips. He lifted his fingers and snapped them, the cup once more full with water.

"What?" Soren asked in disbelief. "How? My head. You were there. You're not an illusionist?"

"I am many things," the man answered, leaning forward on the table. "Back in ancient times, I would have been seen as a Star brought to life. But today, I am Grimm. What is your name?"

"S—Soren," he answered, feeling completely inadequate seated across from a man with incredible power. To have more than one power? Soren didn't even know that was possible.

"Tell me more about you." Grimm removed his hat from his head and placed in next to him in the booth. "Why were you out on the street? Where are your parents?"

Soren tore his gaze away from the man to the muffin in front of him, waiting for him to devour it.

"Oh, how thoughtless of me," Grimm said. "Go ahead. Eat first."

In just a minute or two, the muffin was gone from the plate without a single crumb left. His stomach growled for more, but if he could wait close to a week to eat, he could wait just a bit longer for more food.

"My parents are gone," Soren answered Grimm. "They left a few years ago. My power... they... scared them. I made them see things that weren't there—terrible things. I didn't mean to. I didn't even know what I was doing."

"And they left you?" Grimm asked, his brow turned down with pity.

"Y—yes. I found a shelter, but it happened again. I still can't control it. Sometimes I don't even know I am doing it." Tears welled up in his eyes, his hand reaching up to wipe them away before Grimm saw.

"I can teach you," Grimm said. "If you'd like. You can't scare me, and I can train you. I am just in Acadia for business, but you can come home with me to Orica. You can have your own room. A hot meal three times a day. What do you say, son?"

"You would do that?" He couldn't believe it. It was too impossible after the life Soren had lived. "Why do you want to help me?"

"Because you, my boy, are special. I could feel it the second you found my mind earlier." He tapped his temple. "No one has ever breached my wall, but you did it with ease. I can make you great. I want to make you great. Will you let me?"

Soren nodded almost immediately.

But he had no idea what he was getting himself into, or the darkness that would follow.