The Merchant city of Thelma was quite a famous place inside the kingdom of Theodora, although not as magnificent as the royal capital; its location near the sea had made it quite a popular destination for both tourism and trade. That is, not to mention the place where one of the elite academies was also founded, thus rightfully earning the nickname of "The City that never sleeps."
Its noisy streets were always crowded with either merchants or passersby traveling through the narrow roads, and its marketplace was filled with the smell of spices and seafood. And far away from the streets of the city, in a place one could only call the outskirts, sat a small but quaint orphanage.
The orphanage was fortunate to have a small courtyard with a gated fence. In one of its many rooms, a frail-looking boy could be seen squirming about in his bed. His room was quite particular. Unlike the rest of the children living there, his was simply atrocious. The room had no windows and was lit only by a small candle atop a small desk. It was also tiny, having only space for a bed and a desk.
Suddenly, the agitated boy woke from his slumber in a frenzy, his sheets damp with sweat. He had short black hair and quite a few strands of white, giving him a salt-and-pepper look. His face was rather average, albeit slightly pale, but his most striking feature was his silver eyes, which glowed softly in the dark, unknown to him.
His restless breathing and the pounding of his heart were all that could be heard inside the room.
'That damned dream again, this is the 4th time this month, ' the boy thought to himself, trying desperately to calm himself down after his ordeal.
He was Alymur of No one and Nowhere, for he had no origins and no family. He was also called mad for his mind was, well, for lack of better terms, not precisely the sanest amongst the children. Ever since he was 5, he had numerous battles with his own mind. He truly felt as if a long-gone deity had cursed him.
And now recently, his sleep was being disturbed by strange nightmares.
'Maybe I need new medications.'
He shivered at that thought, for he was already on four different medications, each helping him with various things, like his hallucinations or his sleep. The effects of the medication were quite horrid; he felt as if he was slowly becoming a zombie, as if his mind was slowly dulling.
He sat upright on his bed, his feet finding their way inside his slippers. It was still quite late at night, yet he knew he couldn't fall asleep.
Therefore, he decided that he would go for a quick walk through the courtyard and watch over the garden, not too far away from the Orphanage.
He walked softly to his door and quietly opened it. He had a habit of sneaking out of the orphanage at night and thus was quite experienced at moving quietly. It would be awful, after all, if the three caregivers at the orphanage caught him.
His body soon tensed up as he felt the cold breeze of the night sky upon his skin. He wore a white hospital gown and gray pants, a donation given to the orphanage by people who were more fortunate than he was.
He moved quietly and carefully through the open-air hallway before turning left.
Soon, he approached a metal gate and slowly opened it, being careful not to create any necessary noise.
He was soon greeted by the pleasant, rosy smell of flowers, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He had once again safely made it to the garden. He made his way to a wooden bench and gently sat down.
He calmly observed his surroundings, illuminated by the pale blue light of the moon. He glanced over the different types of flowers, enamored by the various colors surrounding him. For some reason, his eyesight was quite good at night, almost as if he had night vision.
'It's the only gift I was given. At least I was given one…' the boy sadly thought to himself.
He was indeed immensely grateful for this; however, he always felt at peace during the night. He loved it not for the absence of the sun, but for the stillness it brings. The quiet nature of the night had always soothed him, and he loved hearing the different sounds. Those that can't usually be heard during the day.
He closed his eyes and slowly focused on hearing the different noises. Not too far from him, he could hear the calming hoots of a night owl and the faint buzzing of a firefly.
Soon, as if satisfied, he opened his eyes and calmly glanced at the crescent moon. The moon today appeared abnormally closer than he anticipated, and he soon rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not seeing things.
"Weird, I swear I took my meds today," he said softly.
One of his caretakers, Sister Marie, would occasionally tell stories about the moon to try to scare the kids. He remembered that she once spoke of a scientist who stared at the moon through the telescope and was soon seemingly captivated by it, causing his priorities to shift.
Every day, he would work for an ungodly amount of hours, just staring at it through his telescope. It was so bad that he slowly began to ignore his own family, and soon he ignored himself and his needs. Eventually, the fool ended up dying of starvation.
Aly may be mad, but he was no fool; he knew she was just trying to scare the kids into sleep.
He continued sitting there for a little longer, eventually contemplating his life.
The coming-of-age ceremony was next week, and soon, he and a bunch of other kids would awaken their destined powers.
In this world, the children of all races would awaken at the age of 14, receiving a blessing, a power, and a curse. This ceremony was considered one of the most essential generational events, as the future powers of different kingdoms were decided here.
To awaken a blessing was a scarce gift, to be gifted a power was the standard, and a curse was also quite rare. But perhaps the most important gift of them was the ability to use Nature's natural source of life, essence.
'It would suck if I get cursed, huh…' Aly thought to himself.
The ceremony would be his most important event, practically deciding his future. Yet his anxious mind would not let him relax; his heart always raced when he thought of the ceremony, and he always felt uneasy talking about it with the other kids.