FABER II Ch 1

In the world of Faber there are individuals with special abilities and no two are the same. Though some try to classify the abilities there are no known ways to identify who has special abilities unless they use them. Due to each ability being different  it is impossible to assume anyone from a warrior who has never been defeated, to a shop keep has any ability at all.
On the continent of Carbon there where four nations ruling the north, west, east, and south territories. Though the south, east, and west all had a shaky, but long lasting peace agreement the north agreed to no such arrangement.
The south because of its' climate and rolling plains was mostly filled with farmland. No officially military force was ever created in the south by its' leaders. Instead they provided the rest of the continent with produce and consumable goods, believing that their contribution to the prosperity of the nations would keep invader out.
The east and west both enjoyed having some of the climate the south constantly enjoyed but also had a cold season. These two nations while having a military mostly concentrated their efforts to create energy eventually building large windmills to provide electricity.
The north, the cold country, this land surrounded by mountains is where the most powerful military of Carbon calls home. It is said that because the mountains creating a wall in the northern most part of it, the country would eventually have no choice but to pour south into the other nations.
Under the rule of an inspirational tyrant the north invaded the west and east. Before long only the south remained. With allies from all of the nations one soldier managed to infiltrated the core of the main army. The warrior caused such destruction to the army that they fled back to the north. The war seemed to end with that battle.
The warrior gave his life to deal the final blow against the northern forces and in doing so created a large crater that quickly filled with water from the rivers of all the nations. The site became known as Central Lake to the public, to the south it became Memorial, the lake of retribution.
The remaining allies of the warrior returned to the west and east and began to remove any forces that lingered from the mad king's army.
Now a year later Memorial has a small school built for finding and mentoring those with abilities.
A woman with short brown hair stands at the front of a class room, “For those new to the class, this place is meant to bring you up as honorable people, not warriors or kings. If you want we do have a few people here with abilities more suited to combat.” A hand comes up in the back of the class, “A question?”
“What is your ability?”
The woman walks over to the vase on her desk that has a flower on it. She picks off a few of the petals, then cups her hands around the bloom. After a few seconds she moves her hands away and the flower has regrown its' petals.
“My ability is healing, as long as the injury is not too severe I can repair almost anything. Now that I've shown my abilities who would like to demonstrate their's?”
All the children raise their hands so the teacher leads them out of the building in case someone's ability involves destroying schools.
One by one the children show off their talents. The last boy waits patiently for his name to be called before entering a small area outline with rocks.
“Okay, last but not least, Xander let's see what you ability is.”
He walks over to the circle and closes his eyes. Everyone watches patiently as he slowly breathes in and out. Just as one of the other children starts to voice their skepticism and hawk's screech breaks the silence.
Everyone watches as a large hawk dives right toward Xander and pulls up just before hitting him.
Xander opens his eyes and smiles, “This is my skill, I call it tracking.” The hawk slowly flaps its wings until it lands gently on Xander's shoulder.
The teacher smiles at the sight of a large bird perched on this below averaged size pre-teen, “So your ability is to call this hawk?”
“No just that, I can talk to him, that's why I call it tracking, because when I go hunting with my bow Gust tells me where I need to go.”
“You talk to it.”
“Gust.”
“You talk to Gust,” She shakes her head at one of the more interesting abilities she has ever seen. She asks Xander to send away Gust while she brings the rest of the kids back inside for a lesson.
Xander sends Gust into the sky then turns to go back into the school.
Suddenly an explosion whips Xander off his feet and sends him crashing to the ground the impact knocking him unconscious.
She slowly opens her eyes and finds herself looking up at a large column of smoke rising into the sky. Panic suddenly flows over her. She quickly gets to her feet but a terrible pain quickly takes her to her knees. Her wounds are too severe for her healing to work.
'Glass I must have been shot out of the window by the blast,' She fights the pain and stumbles to the burning building. The sight and smell nearly causes her to puke. All the children are dead, she falls to her knees.
A groaning gets her attention and she crawls over to a piles of desks. She pulls the desks away as best she can she starts to fall into unconsciousness. Before she passes out she hears two people shouting, then darkness.
She opens her eyes and she is out of the building a man with dark red hair has his hand on her cheek pleading with her to open her eyes. She can hear anything anymore, she turns her head, bodies, the children's.
She looks in the other direction, the child she was trying to save. The man is still talking to her, but she can't read his lips or hear him.
“Put my hand on her.” He keeps talking so she repeats herself.
He takes her hand and puts it against his cheek then kisses it. He says something that she can lip read, “I love you.”
He puts her hand on the child's and closes them together.
'He loves me huh, it's too bad that it took him this long to actually say it,' She closes her eyes and a cold feeling washes over her body, “I love you too.”


The group of four finally arrive at the farmers village. They are quickly met by familiar faces. An old man with barely any teeth left greets them before they reach the house on the hill, “Kaizen, Taizen, it's been a long time since I saw you two.”
“Sorry Hershal, but we don't come with the best news. Is Seth home?
Hershal looks at the two kids behind Taizen and Kaizen, “I see, we should not have expected the war to be over because of heavy losses. I guess we were foolish to think that way.”
Taizen puts a hand on the old man's shoulder, “Easy, we don't know if this is that bastard's doing or not. All we know is that Memorial is gone.”
The news clearly affects the old man. He puts a hand on top of Taizen's, “I'm sorry, Sara is she?” Taizen shakes his head, “I'm truly sorry, you two seems like, I won't keep you. I haven't seen Seth today but that doesn't mean that he isn't holed up in his house tinkering with something.”
The four keep walking up the dirt road until the fork and head to the top of the hill. Despite the situation Kaizen takes the moment to reflect on the last time he was at the top of this hill, it seems so long ago now.
They reach a two story house and Taizen knocks on the door, there comes no answer in return. Taizen opens the door and finds that a lot of the stuff in the open room is covered in dust.
Kaizen goes up the steps to the second floor then comes back down, “Other than the bathroom and the guest room everything up stair look like it does down here, everything is covered in a layer of dust.”
“Hello!? Is someone up there?” The door that leads to the basement opens up and a man completely covered in dirt wearing goggles peaks his head around the corner, “Tai and Kai my favorite element brothers, its been a long time.” He walks up the rest of the way onto the first floor. “Sorry, I'm kinda dirty I'm making the basement bigger for my vault.” Seth's unusual smile is replaced by his normal demeanor, “What's wrong?”
Kaizen and Taizen take Seth into the dinning room and tell him what has all happened leaving the two kids in the living room.
Seth fills a cup with water and sits back down, “I see, so those two kids?”
“That's Xander and Silvia, they where the only two we could save. We lost everyone else.”
Seth doesn't have to ask that everyone also included Sara by the sound of Taizen's voice, “So what do you plan to do?”
“We want to go to the north.”
Seth stand up and knocks over his chair, “That seems like a really stupid idea! I thought you two where dumb but this is really just-”
Taizen slams his fists on the table and stand up looking Seth face to face, “What would you have me do!?”
“Not this, you have no evidence, you said so yourself, the only thing you know is that the Memorial school was destroyed.”
“Who else would do that though? I know that Zach and Aiden where your friends so why would you be so against this.”
Seth throws his cup into the sink and storms out of the room and down into the basement. Taizen starts to follow but Kaizen stops him.
Seth pulls his goggles back over his face and grabs his shovel and starts digging. Kaizen walks down the steps and leans against the wall and watch Seth dig. After a couple of minutes Seth stops and whips the shovel against the wall of dirt before him.
He sits down in the dirt and puts his hands on top of his head, “That idiot, bringing up Zach and Aiden.”
“My brother is just angry he has a reason just as good as anyone to be that way.”
“I know.”
“And his idea is bad, but right now it's the best one we have.”
“I know.”
“Where is Kari?”
“I don't know.” Seth pulls the goggles off his head, “So why did you guys come here? You want me to go with you?”
“We thought at the very least you'd tell us where we could find help, and maybe let Xander and Silvia stay with you.”
“I'm not running a school or a day care Kai.”
“I'm not asking for that, how about this we stay here the night and we do some much needed catching up. Tomorrow you can make your decision and maybe tell us where to find some old friends. Then with or without you we'll leave.”
Seth sighs, “Fine, but you leave Kari out of this.”