Howdy! 

This is a work in progress, I am constantly rewriting chapters to create a more compelling story. Whatever you read here is the most current version. I keep all of the key/cannon details the same throughout my rewrites, I just put them in different places to avoid the info-dumping I've been heinously committing. I appreciate any feedback, and I'll try my best to jump on it where it makes sense to me as the writer :) 

I just can't believe how neat it is that someone may enjoy something I've created. 

Read on, friends. 

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Perched at the brink of my inlet, I let my legs dangle off the cliffside. My mom, Heidi, would have disapproved of my apparent "disregard for safety," but she's absent, dedicating herself to aiding the residents of Safe Haven. The community here reveres my mother, many people owe her their lives. That's just in Safe Haven, though - the greater part of the Sky Faction doesn't acknowledge the people here at the outskirts of the territory until taxes are due.

My mom is a healer forged by her own efforts, possessing a unique gift rooted in alleviating pain. She has the ability to take the pain away from people suffering various ailments, even the pain from their end of life-stages. It isn't a cure, she just uses it to calm them and provide relief while she performs the best medical treatment she can muster. Her knowledge extends to the use of herbs in and around the Sky faction, but she never had formal training. The 'catch' to her unique gift is that when she relieves pain from one person, she takes it upon herself. I've spent countless nights listening to her, wailing in agony, as she worked to heal and bring relief to her patients. 

"It's just temporary" she would say. I rolled my eyes, as if she were here talking to me now. It would be temporary if you didn't do it every damn day, I think. Staring into the darkness of the ravine, I see rays of sun clawing their way through the darkness and I know it's time to get the day going.

Sighing, I stand up and stretch. If I hurry, I can take a quick trip down the ravine before I have to go to temple. I start to busy myself cleaning up our little hole-in-the wall (which is quite literal, as it is a hole in the side of a cliff that has been made into a 'house' simply because we jimmy-rigged a wooden wall and door on the front of it). It's small but it has a little charm to it. There's a fireplace and a table set up with some mats to sit at... We have had more luxuries since I started working - but mostly I'm saving all my money so I can eventually buy a big house for us both to escape to. My mom knows my goals and has told me over and over about how she can take care of herself but I think inside she's thankful for it.. I hope she is, anyway.

Cleaning doesn't take long in such a small space. Once I was satisfied with my work, I pulled on some light-brown trousers and a black, cropped tee. Lacing up my boots, I head to our water bucket, brushing my teeth and then my hair. Our shattered mirror makes it difficult to check for any imperfections, but I could get a look at the overall result for the most part. I let out a heavy sigh, wishing I had inherited some Sky Faction attributes from my father to blend in better. Unlike the Sky Faction members with their pale faces and bright blue eyes that would make the ocean envious, I stand out conspicuously. My purple eyes, framed by dark brown hair and complemented by a tan complexion, clearly mark my association with the Chaos Faction from my mother's side. With another sigh, I braid my hair and head outside.

The Faction isn't quite awake yet, but I hear stirring in some of the dwellings nearby. The land has a grey-green hue from the early morning rays, telling me I had better get a rush on in order to try and gather some herbs before I go to temple. Scampering down the steep cliffside, I used the path I'd worn into the rocks from many years of use. I know which rocks to hold onto and which ones are loose in the soil. After heavy rain or snow I have to wait a couple of days before attempting to descend, in case any of my usual stones loosened up, but for the most part my path has always stayed the same. My gifts help me quite a bit in doing this, but much like everything else about me, they are reminiscent of my Chaos heritage.

The Sky Faction usually has gifts such as the power to manipulate wind, rain, fog and, rarely, lightning. Most people have two gifts that develop during puberty-I have two faction-registered gifts. The first gift I manifested was telekinesis, which allowed me to play pretend at having wind abilities. It didn't fool anyone, obviously, and during testing at the school they confirmed that I did not have wind gifts like my father had (despite my very desperate pleas). The second gift I manifested at 15 and it caused me a lot of trouble. Karma as a gift is pretty much exclusive to the Chaos Faction (incredibly rare, as well) and it takes many forms. Some people's affinity is just to be abnormally lucky or unlucky. Being unlucky usually results in death within the first two days of manifestation, so I guess I'm happy that I didn't end up with that one. Other forms the gift can take is being able to bestow good or bad luck upon others at will. I am in the ladder group, bestowing bad luck wherever I see fit. In theory, it SOUNDS great. However, Karma didn't bode well for my social standing. Most kids and adults already avoided or bullied me because of my heritage, but having Karma made everything ten times worse.

My third and last gift may as well be a death sentence. Obviously it's unregistered, because if it was ever discovered I would be labelled as a Descendent and assassinated either by the Sky Faction or an opposing faction. At what point is it reasonable to think that the universe is against you? Descendants are considered to be too powerful for any one faction to control, so any faction housing one is target number one for everyone else. As such, most factions secretly execute descendants. Hence, my unregistered death sentence of a gift. Yippee. Luckily, it's easy to hide - the gift of sight. I can see and count every blade of grass all the way across the ravine to the opposing cliffside, and on each blade, I could count the water droplets resting on it. That is, if I focused on it pretty intensely. The everyday experience is more like I can see a little further away, notice minor details, read signs and lips from distances that I shouldn't be able to.. It lets me in on a lot of secrets. It's hard to turn it off like my other gifts- probably because my instincts want to see better - but during faction testing of gifts each year I force it off. Being a Descendant and being related to the Chaos Faction? I doubt the Sky Faction generals would give me a quick death- they would try for information first, regardless of if I have any.

The idea of Descendants is rooted in where people believe our gifts came from in the beginning. It's been so long and our histories aren't recorded very well, that no one truly knows for sure. However, the largest and most accepted theory is that the Gods and Goddesses that used to rule had bestowed gifts upon us, hence the name of the Sky Faction (and their gifts) being dedicated to the God of the Sky. Having two gifts is a normal blessing- but having three means that you are somehow a distant relative to a member of the heavens, which doesn't even make sense, but whatever. I don't believe in that crap, but my mother does, which is why I have to make sure I get through this ravine quickly to then go to the temple. She is thrilled about my third gift, terrified for me, but thrilled nonetheless.

My feet hit the ground with a hard thump as I take the last leap down the cliffside. My thoughts had distracted me from the over half of a mile of straight bouldering, and I couldn't be more grateful for that. I look around, my vision aiding me in spotting the chamomile flowers about 400 yards to my North. As I'm walking, I find small patches of burdock and white dead nettle. The walk would be treacherous if you didn't know the way - there are remnants of what used to be a large city at the bottom of the ravine, along with the avenging wilderness that wraps over the ruins making it difficult to see what you're stepping into. Along with the broken city, there's remnants of the bridge that used to stretch over the ravine, connecting two sister mountains. The Sky Faction territory begins officially at the western-side of the broken bridge and extends to the rest of the North Western Peninsula of Cyatind. Safe Haven is directly underneath the last little piece of bridge- in the walls of the cliffside that the bridge hangs over.

Reaching my destination, I start to gather the chamomile flowers and put them into the herb pouch that hangs on my belt. I could have an easygoing journey back to the medical bay orrrr I could go treasure hunting. Arguably the best part of being responsible for gathering materials is that I can find lots of fun things from our ancestors. I often find pieces of glass or metal that I can sell in the markets, but sometimes I find books or jewelry. I use my sight to look around the nearest area but there's nothing sticking out to me. No glint in the light, no sharp colors.. I must have scoured this area pretty good. Noticing the sun beaming down on me, I decide to make my way back to deliver supplies, disappointed.

The medical bay is on the lowest level of the bridge, so I don't have to climb to get in there. It's easiest this way, because injured people are typically coming from the ravine. Sometimes mom has to do home visits to neighbor inlets, but it's rare that they are so sick they can't make the quick climb down. Moving the curtain that covers the entry way, I see my mom talking with one of her assistants. She has two helpers (well, three if you include the minor things I do) and they both are learning how to heal so eventually they can relieve a bit of her burden. There are three beds separated by curtains and next to each bed, is a personal water basin, tool kit, and herb supply to avoid cross contamination and infection. Upon my entry, she looks at me and I see a flash of anger across her features.

"You are going to be late to temple if you don't hurry up," She hissed. She looks haggardly- I bet she's been here all night. Her tan skin looks paler, more weathered than usual. Her usually bright purple eyes are looking like a dull gray, shadowed by large bags hanging underneath. Her usual sleek, long hair is grayer than ever, disheveled atop her head in a messy bun.

I give her a sheepish grin and a quick wave to her assistants before I start putting the herbs away.

"Thank you, Kaya, for bringing the herbs," her assistant Julia, says.

I give her a nod, "How is the patient I brought in last night?"

"Not doing well, unfortunately. He was in pretty bad shape when you brought him in. Three open fractures, a contusion on his skull, a high fever.. We're lucky he even made it through the night," Julia said solemnly.

"I'm sorry I didn't see him sooner," I whisper, guilt flooding my system.

Last night I had seen him just barely in the dark- I wonder if anyone without my abilities would have been able to. He was crawling in the ravine, dragging his legs which were bent in unnatural directions. I got to him as quickly as I could, and when mom saw him, she knew his name. 'Jax!' She had said.. and the next time I've heard from her was just now as she complained about my tardiness. Whoever he is, I hope he pulls through.

"You did the best you could," Julia smiled at me with her beautiful blue eyes shining.

"Kaya, that better not be your voice I hear still in the medical bay!" mom yelled over the curtain.

I giggled a little bit and Julia put her hands over my lips to shush me as she pushed me out the curtain separating the medical bay and the ravine. Laughing harder, I playfully swatted at her hands until she let go and gave me a wave. I waved back, and then turned towards the next monster I have to face. Climbing does not sound like fun right now. Looking up, the climb looks impossible, but I know I just need to get started if I'm going to make it on time. I have to reach the top of the bridge, hop onto the gondola, and then trek across the mountain summit. Once there, I just have to take the other gondola down past the merchant's wind powered flying machines and reach the base. There, the temple and government market will be waiting to swallow me up.