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Description
On Gifteds
   Before the time of the Golden Princess of Arthrinia, it was the Era of the Gifteds. The Gifted were praised and looked up to, respected. And, at the time, they deserved it. The Gifted were heroes back then, even those with insignificant Gifts held in high esteem.
   Gifted schools were scattered throughout the Four Kingdoms. Most were in Charth since the elves were more likely to be Gifted, but all the kingdoms had at least one. The most famous, and considered the best Gifted school, was (name undecided) School of the Gifted in Charth, near the capital of Dyrillnu. It is also considered the first official Gifted school.
   Once a child is discovered to have a Gift, or sometimes referred to as talents, the parents can decide if they wish to send their child off for the next ten or so years. If not, the parents can kindle the flame of the talent as long as one of them has either a Gift themselves or has handled a Gift before. An early sign of a Gifted child are dark smudges under their eyes. This means that the child will be a powerful Gifted.
   When a child is brought to a school, they are usually quite young. Some are days old with an obvious gift and smudges under their eyes, while others do not discover their Gifts till the ripe old ages. But going back to when arriving: If your talent is typical or common, you could be at the school for shorter than a year. Although, as you may guess, with the more rare Gifts, longer amounts of teaching are needed to keep it under control and whatnot, which could take over twenty years.
   The variety of Gifts is endless, and new ones appear constantly. Magic, which is not the same as Gifts, can be mixed in with any Gift, which adds more variety with the Gifted.
   When it comes to being a Gifted, there are rankings that are shown through color-coded cloaks that the Gifteds wear. This is called the Gifted Spectrum. It begins with a black cloak, for novices. Next, beginners wear a dark red. The next level is a royal blue, a medium. A jade green cloak would be worn by the next level, a skilled. Yellow is second to last, an expert, but a pure white cloak is the rarest of the Gifted: A master. There are only a few Gifted who don the esteemed cloak.
   Gifteds can be any species, but during this era, the Magic Guardians seemed to favor the elves with Gifts. Although, as the years progressed, those with Royal blood appeared to receive the influential Gifts.
   Also, Gifteds are less thought of nowadays. No one knows exactly what happened to turn the Norms, or the non-Gifted, against the Gifteds, but a war almost broke out between the two. And back then, most talents were mingled with magic, so the War that Almost Was would've caused much bloodshed. Now, most of the schools are demolished or looted as the Age of the Gifted fell. Less and less children were born with the dark eye smudges, and having a Gift is somewhat rare now.
   Nearly outcasts, Gifteds are now beings of terror throughout the kingdoms. Even the simplest, most harmless Gift, like a weaving Gift, is seen as witchcraft in most eyes. Many Gifteds went into hiding, but a few kingdoms, especially Charth, wish to throw off the veil of fear that shrouds Gifteds.
As the darkness and shadows are pressing in deeper, the Gifteds are needed now more than ever.
***

Profile: Miriam the Expert
   One of the better known Gifteds is, or rather, was Miriam the Expert of Deering. She was born near the end of the Fall of the Gifteds, but not before the schools were destroyed. Her mother was considered a drunk, (which was a pity because of her great beauty) and no one was surprised that she became pregnant. Miriam's father's identity is still unknown, and even her mother wasn't sure. Shortly after Miriam's birth, her mother went sober after seeing how beautiful her child was with her purple eyes underlined with rather elegant, permanent smudges.
   But her sobriety lasted only a couple years. The small, broken family lived a ways into the forest, away from the judging eyes, so no one heard Miriam's small cries and pleas as her mother beat her senseless. Her mother was going through alcoholism withdrawal and was taking it out on her young daughter.
   Afraid and scarred, both mentally and physically, Miriam soon discovered her Gift through her daily beatings. This young child, only six years old, found that her talent was an elemental one: She could control all the elements. And, to make things worse, or magnificent, depending on your point of view, magic was twisted into her Gift. She could lift things and move them as she wished with her mind.
   One day, Miriam snapped completely. Her mother brought down her hand to begin the beating, but Miriam retaliated. Using her magic, unknown to her mother, Miriam gave her mother a taste of her own medicine.
   After flinging her mother around the house, Miriam's mother was dead. Miriam felt no remorse, no guilt, to see her mother dead at Miriam's own hands. Before venturing into the heart of Deering, Miriam placed her mother onto the bed they shared.
   Once in the city, Miriam wasn't questioned by the people. They figured that her mother just lost hold of her. After spending a few nights nestled under a tree, Miriam's Master found her. The dark-haired elf explained to the rather indifferent Miriam why she had come. When the elf mentioned Gifts, Miriam demanded to leave with the elf right then. Her Master obliged.
   Miriam was a fast learner, and she soon soared up the ranking to a yellow, Expert. This made her, yet again, an outcast in the school in Charth, Mrycia. But she didn't mind it much.
   When she was about seventeen, and after spending over ten years at the school, Miriam's Master was murdered by an angry relative. Her training was finished, and that's how Miriam acted on the outside. She was outraged about having no further teaching, ranting to those around her, but Miriam was very upset that her Master, Llearia, was dead.
   Something new broke in Miriam. She no longer wished to be in the school. A week after Llearia's death, Miriam turned in her yellow cloak, and she disappeared.
   Murmurs of a self-proclaimed Witch began to scatter throughout the Four Kingdoms. By the time the elves heard this, Mrycia was almost a ghost town. After Miriam left, the Fall was eminent. It was not caused by her, though.
   As time went on, the murmurs became legends, then the legends became truth. Miriam the Witch was running free, doing whatever she pleased. Miriam, as you may have guessed, caused much of the fear of Gifteds that added to the Fall.
   When the Golden Princess was born, Miriam's destiny changed drastically. At about the age of thirty, the "Witch" was summoned by the Guardians themselves for a great task.
   Miriam accepted reluctantly, and she was suddenly half of what she used to be.
***

Description
On Gifteds
   Before the time of the Golden Princess of Arthrinia, it was the Era of the Gifteds. The Gifted were praised and looked up to, respected. And, at the time, they deserved it. The Gifted were heroes back then, even those with insignificant Gifts held in high esteem.
   Gifted schools were scattered throughout the Four Kingdoms. Most were in Charth since the elves were more likely to be Gifted, but all the kingdoms had at least one. The most famous, and considered the best Gifted school, was (name undecided) School of the Gifted in Charth, near the capital of Dyrillnu. It is also considered the first official Gifted school.
   Once a child is discovered to have a Gift, or sometimes referred to as talents, the parents can decide if they wish to send their child off for the next ten or so years. If not, the parents can kindle the flame of the talent as long as one of them has either a Gift themselves or has handled a Gift before. An early sign of a Gifted child are dark smudges under their eyes. This means that the child will be a powerful Gifted.
   When a child is brought to a school, they are usually quite young. Some are days old with an obvious gift and smudges under their eyes, while others do not discover their Gifts till the ripe old ages. But going back to when arriving: If your talent is typical or common, you could be at the school for shorter than a year. Although, as you may guess, with the more rare Gifts, longer amounts of teaching are needed to keep it under control and whatnot, which could take over twenty years.
   The variety of Gifts is endless, and new ones appear constantly. Magic, which is not the same as Gifts, can be mixed in with any Gift, which adds more variety with the Gifted.
   When it comes to being a Gifted, there are rankings that are shown through color-coded cloaks that the Gifteds wear. This is called the Gifted Spectrum. It begins with a black cloak, for novices. Next, beginners wear a dark red. The next level is a royal blue, a medium. A jade green cloak would be worn by the next level, a skilled. Yellow is second to last, an expert, but a pure white cloak is the rarest of the Gifted: A master. There are only a few Gifted who don the esteemed cloak.
   Gifteds can be any species, but during this era, the Magic Guardians seemed to favor the elves with Gifts. Although, as the years progressed, those with Royal blood appeared to receive the influential Gifts.
   Also, Gifteds are less thought of nowadays. No one knows exactly what happened to turn the Norms, or the non-Gifted, against the Gifteds, but a war almost broke out between the two. And back then, most talents were mingled with magic, so the War that Almost Was would've caused much bloodshed. Now, most of the schools are demolished or looted as the Age of the Gifted fell. Less and less children were born with the dark eye smudges, and having a Gift is somewhat rare now.
   Nearly outcasts, Gifteds are now beings of terror throughout the kingdoms. Even the simplest, most harmless Gift, like a weaving Gift, is seen as witchcraft in most eyes. Many Gifteds went into hiding, but a few kingdoms, especially Charth, wish to throw off the veil of fear that shrouds Gifteds.
As the darkness and shadows are pressing in deeper, the Gifteds are needed now more than ever.
***

Profile: Miriam the Expert
   One of the better known Gifteds is, or rather, was Miriam the Expert of Deering. She was born near the end of the Fall of the Gifteds, but not before the schools were destroyed. Her mother was considered a drunk, (which was a pity because of her great beauty) and no one was surprised that she became pregnant. Miriam's father's identity is still unknown, and even her mother wasn't sure. Shortly after Miriam's birth, her mother went sober after seeing how beautiful her child was with her purple eyes underlined with rather elegant, permanent smudges.
   But her sobriety lasted only a couple years. The small, broken family lived a ways into the forest, away from the judging eyes, so no one heard Miriam's small cries and pleas as her mother beat her senseless. Her mother was going through alcoholism withdrawal and was taking it out on her young daughter.
   Afraid and scarred, both mentally and physically, Miriam soon discovered her Gift through her daily beatings. This young child, only six years old, found that her talent was an elemental one: She could control all the elements. And, to make things worse, or magnificent, depending on your point of view, magic was twisted into her Gift. She could lift things and move them as she wished with her mind.
   One day, Miriam snapped completely. Her mother brought down her hand to begin the beating, but Miriam retaliated. Using her magic, unknown to her mother, Miriam gave her mother a taste of her own medicine.
   After flinging her mother around the house, Miriam's mother was dead. Miriam felt no remorse, no guilt, to see her mother dead at Miriam's own hands. Before venturing into the heart of Deering, Miriam placed her mother onto the bed they shared.
   Once in the city, Miriam wasn't questioned by the people. They figured that her mother just lost hold of her. After spending a few nights nestled under a tree, Miriam's Master found her. The dark-haired elf explained to the rather indifferent Miriam why she had come. When the elf mentioned Gifts, Miriam demanded to leave with the elf right then. Her Master obliged.
   Miriam was a fast learner, and she soon soared up the ranking to a yellow, Expert. This made her, yet again, an outcast in the school in Charth, Mrycia. But she didn't mind it much.
   When she was about seventeen, and after spending over ten years at the school, Miriam's Master was murdered by an angry relative. Her training was finished, and that's how Miriam acted on the outside. She was outraged about having no further teaching, ranting to those around her, but Miriam was very upset that her Master, Llearia, was dead.
   Something new broke in Miriam. She no longer wished to be in the school. A week after Llearia's death, Miriam turned in her yellow cloak, and she disappeared.
   Murmurs of a self-proclaimed Witch began to scatter throughout the Four Kingdoms. By the time the elves heard this, Mrycia was almost a ghost town. After Miriam left, the Fall was eminent. It was not caused by her, though.
   As time went on, the murmurs became legends, then the legends became truth. Miriam the Witch was running free, doing whatever she pleased. Miriam, as you may have guessed, caused much of the fear of Gifteds that added to the Fall.
   When the Golden Princess was born, Miriam's destiny changed drastically. At about the age of thirty, the "Witch" was summoned by the Guardians themselves for a great task.
   Miriam accepted reluctantly, and she was suddenly half of what she used to be.
***