Elena looked down at the boy, her heart aching at the sight of the mark. "He cannot have a name that people will remember. He cannot have a title or a rank."
She touched his cheek. "From now on, you are Shadow. You will live in the dark, and you will stay out of sight. That is the only way you stay alive."
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In the blink of an eye, 7 years have passed and things took rather a somewhat decent route.
In a vast library filled with all kind of books and scrolls regarding different topics, a young boy no older than seven years was sitting on a chair and holding a book in his hand. His black hair fell to his shoulders in untamed waves—soft to the touch, yet full and voluminous, as if it refused to be tamed. The boy wore a black mask covered two-thirds of his face, a sharp contrast against his snow-white skin. He was Shadow.
The book he was reading a thick heavy book that had all the information regarding the Riverend Kingdom, the one his family's main branch was in.
The Riverend Kingdom was one of the powerful kingdoms that were under the protection of the Vael Empire.
The Vael Empire was one of the many Empires of the Zora continent and it had a total of 4 kingdoms under its protection:
The Riverend Kingdom, It was located in the north of the Empire where the gateway of the great river.
Silverlake Kingdom, located north of the empire. It was a peaceful region built around a massive, shimmering body of water.
Woodpeak Kingdom, located to the east of the Empire, it consisted of high mountains filled with trees that met with the sky.
Greenwood Kingdom, located to west of the Empire, it had huge green plain and Forests that were home to all kinds of beasts.
The Riverend Kingdom had many powerful families, but besides the royal family, there was an ancient family renowned throughout the continent and it was called House Stormgard.
House Stormgard, a family that's all its members are known to be able to use lightning attribute. Which was one of the most powerful
Mana elements. But what separated the Stormgard family members from other lightning magic users is their unique skills in both spells and techniques, which made the mere mention of the Stormgard family enough to make any heart tremble.
Shadow belonged to the Stormgard household as both his parents were considered amongst the powerful pillars of the family.
When the sunlight started to fade, Shadow finished reading the book and made his way out of the library. It was another day spent in the library alone with the books, trying to absorb as much knowledge as he could.
Shadow's ears picked up the sounds of metal clashing and and shouts of people when he reached a massive training arena.
The training arena stretched wide and open, a vast square of polished stone and packed earth. The air was thick with the scent of sweat and metal, mingling with the faint tang of dust.
Wooden dummies lined one side, their limbs splintered from repeated strikes, while racks of swords, spears, and shields stood ready along the walls. The center of the arena was marked by faint circles—scars of countless duels. The echo of clashing weapons and shouted commands were filling the space with energy and discipline.
Shadow could see different members of the family of mixed ages, each busy with a different exercise to practice a certain skill.
In the center of the Arena, stood a girl.
She was seven, with skin as pale as fresh snow, flawless and glowing under any light. Long, black hair cascaded down her back like a river of ink, perfectly straight and shimmering. Her features were delicate, almost unreal—a quiet elegance in every line, a beauty that seemed to belong more to paintings than to the world. And yet, there was a distance in her gaze, a soft aloofness, as if she existed just slightly out of reach from those around her.
She was Mia, Shadow's twin sister. The new expected prodigy of the Stormgard family.
She wasn't alone. She was in the middle of a group of students of the same age all trying their best to focus on their current exercise; feeling the mana around them.
Normally, kids awaken their element attributes by linking their souls with the mana of the world at the age of 9 when their souls are well established and strong enough to handle the change of energy in their bodies. But most powerful families like the Stormgard household often apply stricter rules to their young generation such as making them go through hard training at a young age to decrease the percentage of failed awakened members and that's just one of many reasons why these families were different from common individuals when it came to nurturing powerful individuals for centuries.
"Mia" Shadow yelled the girl's name startling her awake from her own trance.
"Brother" she replied with a slight smile on her face.
"Are you done training? It's getting late and you know mother is not very kind when it comes to dinner time." Shadow said.
"Believe me brother, it's not something i can forget or else I'll be hunted by her just like last time." She said while fear of a recent memory came to her mind.
Shadow's voice startled the other children, drawing their eyes toward the boy in the mask.
"Were you at the library again? Shouldn't you at least come here more often to spend time with us?" A little boy with green hair said.
"He's just lucky to be excluded from this torture. If i were him, I would spend all the time sleeping peacefully in my bed." another kid, a girl said while looking annoyed and jealous.
'lucky you say huh' Shadow thought to himself though a faint smile remained on his face.
"Stop complaining, you may not know the importance of your training right now but in a few years, you'll be thankful for it" Shadow said before turning his back followed by his sister as they made their way towards the home.