In the world of Ruk, every person has a single magical ability, called "Talent". These powers range from detecting magical creatures, to strengthening body parts against impact. These abilities determine the job of the users; detection and strengthening are usually security, foresight and persuasion are leaders, and so on.
However, every thousandth person born has the ability to use multiple Talents. These people, known as "Extras" are shunned and feared by the rest of the populace, cast out into the wilderness at early ages, left to fend for themselves. This story begins with one of these people, outside the entrance to a desert oasis town.
Naek stood just outside the entrance of Jalayel. He was a tall man, standing at about 6'6", with sharp red eyes, and a mop of crimson hair. He was lean, but muscular, and he stood in a relaxed manner.
He approached the entrance in the town's walls, hands in the pockets of his open black trench coat. Reaching down, he buried a small ball in the sand, then wiped his hands on the bottom of his trench coat.
"Stop!" a voice yelled from the inside of the guard box. A short man in armor ran out of the box, and stopped four or five feet away from Naek. "Do not come one step closer to our town, you filthy Extra!"
Great, Naek thought.
"Nice to meet you too, Reynor." Naek said, suddenly appearing behind him, walking toward the gate. Reynor pressed a button on his wrist. A door on the wall opened, and several well-muscled men walked out. The leader stood next to Reynor.
"You sure this one's an Extra, Reynor?" he asked.
"Yes I'm sure you dimwit, detecting Extras is my talent!" Reynor snapped at the thug leader. The man gave a muffled grunt of approval, then motioned for his men to surround Naek.
"Awrighty then, mr. Extra, we're gonna have ta ask ya ta scram, or we get violent." The thug leader said, bouncing a club on his shoulder. "An you don't want us ta get violent."
"I'm afraid I can't take you up on your offer, sir thug. I'm in desperate need of a toilet, and squatting on the desert sands just isn't healthy, or comfortable." Naek laughed, sweeping his hand across the horizon.
"So, you're a funny guy. I hate funny guys." the thug said, lifting his club menacingly.
"Too bad, because I can see that you have a sterling personality. At any rate, I really don't have time for you, or your... friends..." Naek said, appearing in front of the town gates. He roundhouse-kicked the door. It caved in where his foot met the door, and pushed the entire door back two feet. Naek disappeared behind the door, leaving Reynor and his thugs' jaws on the floor.
Several hours later, Naek walked into the town's sole bar, the Drunken Jala. He took a seat at the bar next to two middle-aged women. After ordering a drink, he turned to the ladies.
"You two ladies seem like intelligent people," he said, causing a giggle," Have either of you two heard any rumors about the Extra Academy, out of curiosity?" One of the ladies, a brunette, answered first.
"I haven't, no. Why would you want to know about such a wretched place as a school for Extras?" she asked.
"I... work with the Imperial Intelligence Agency, and our leads on the academy have brought us here. We think that it is somewhere in this area. I figured that the locals would be more aware of whether that is true or not." Naek answered, shifting slightly. This time, the second woman spoke.
"I heard from a friend that it was in the forests far to the west of here. Probably a hundred miles or so." she said, trying to be helpful.
"I see, thank you for the information... I'll put in a good word at the Agency." Naek said as he stood up.
"Oh, be careful! There is some crazy Extra roaming the streets. Tom said he almost busted the gate off its hinges in a fit of anger earlier today," the second woman said. At that moment, one of the thugs from the gate bust in the door.
Just what I needed, someone who knows that I'm an Extra. Fantastic.
"You, Extra! You bastard, you called those golems didn't you!?" the man shouted, charging toward Naek. The women stepped away, their faces horrified.
"It appears that the jig is up, huh? Well, sir anonymous thug, I can assure you I didn't call these golems you speak of. Ladies, I bid you farewell, and I appreciate the info." Naek said, bowing to the ladies. Just as the thug tried to punch Naek, he disappeared, reappearing several meters behind a large crowd.
Naek shoved his way to the front of the crowd, and saw what it was gathered around: the gate guards were fighting two armor golems, and losing. Reynor spotted Naek and quickly traveled the distance between them.
"You bastard, you called them here, didn't you!?" He screamed, raising a knife.
"Chillax bro, I didn't call them here. In fact, I'm even willing to help you eliminate them, for a price." Naek lied, easily batting away the older man's knife.
"Do it, we'll discuss price later!" Reynor pleaded. Naek turned and faced the golems.
"Yo, guard-thugs, get outta the way, or I'll kill you too." he shouted, walking toward the golems. The men gladly retreated into the crowd. The golems both turned to face Naek. One of them, much smaller than the other, charged at Naek.
"Hey, someone give me a number between one and ten." Naek said, looking at the charging golem.
"Five!" someone said.
"Cool, just what I was thinking too." Naek said. He appeared behind the golem, and touched his hands to its back. There was a flash of blue light and a circle with several runes, symbols, and triangles appeared on the golem's back. "Demon seal release, 5%!" He bit his thumb, and splashed several drops of blood onto the circle.
The golem's back was suddenly gone, leaving its delicate inner machinery exposed. It turned and hopped back to its partner before Naek could exploit that weakness.
