Prologue

In the vast world of Tariel there exist two types of people, Regulars and Chosens.

As for which category you'll end up in, it depends entirely on your luck and destiny. Because in the mysterious world of Tariel all humans are born linked with their own respective Spirit.

A Spirit, or a 'Soul Beast', is the metaphysical manifestation of a human's soul, and as all souls are different in everything from its colour to its shape the same thing naturally concerns the Spirit.

Spirits or 'Soul Beasts' are usually materialised in the form of a common animal, its shape and size can range from a small forest mouse to a massive elephant of the wastelands. Individuals who are born with these 'normal' Soul Beasts are referred to as Regulars.

But then there are Chosens. With souls containing traces of divine power a Chosen's personal Spirit is generally in the form of mythological creature such as a massive Dragon, a beautiful Unicorn or a majestic Phoenix. Long ago there were even rumours of an individual whose Spirit was none other than manifestation of a true god, namely the god of the underworld, Hades. Now normally this kind of rumour would be dismissed as a bad joke by the public of Tariel, however when confronted by the hateful disbelievers this individual chose to use actions rather than words to prove himself. Even today it is unclear how this individual's Spirit actually looked like, however what is clear is that it granted him the terrifying ability to raise the dead... which brings us to the major divide between a Regular and a Chosen, Abilities.

A mythological or mysterious Spirit generally grants an ability corresponding to its nature to its Chosen. This 'inherent' ability does not follow any strict rules and is therefore extremely difficult to rate or rank. However the ancient records of researchers specialising in these inherent abilities has shown that the nature of an ability could range from anything such as low altitude flight to the complete mastery of an element. Some extremely rare and special Spirits has even been capable of granting two abilities to their Chosens.

Spirits are all unique, and of course they are, because all souls are similarly so. But for a long time researchers was wondering how there can exist several Spirits in the form of the Rat, when they are all supposed to be unique?

After years of research and testing a man suddenly came with a stupid but irrefutable answer to this dilemma. His words left researchers all over the world dumbfounded.

"Isn't each Rat unique as well?'"

With no one to refute this seemingly innocent yet profound answer, it eventually became the truth. And therefore there are many Spirits in the same form as one another. However in essence, none are the same.

*****

The township of Aspel is a medium sized town specialising in the manufacturing and export of furrs and beast skin, with an overall good reputation the citizens of the town live ordinary but fullfilling lives. As a town located in the northwestern region of the continent, Aspel is under the authority of the great Imperial Xeria Empire.

However the acknowledged rulers of Aspel is not the empire nor its representatives, but rather the noble House of Silver. The House of Silver, or more commonly known as the Silver Estate, is a noble family which does not extort their territory through means of force, nor do they enslave people who are unable to pay the taxes. In fact, the Silver Household was and still is the founding aristocratic household of Aspel, therefore its place in the citizens hearts has always been steadfast as a mountain.

The Silver Estate is located in the centre of Aspel, separated from the rest of the town by a five meter tall cobblestone wall.

However today, this normally silent estate was brimming with noise and activity. Maids and butlers could be seen running back and forth with a mixture of panic and excitement on their faces. The cause of this panic was the birth of the Silver soon-to-be Madame's first child. In Tariel it is not uncommon for deaths to occur when women give birth. No one knows why but the fact is that almost a fourth of the women giving birth ends up dying in the process. It has long been speculated by both researchers and scholars to have something to do with the transference and creation of the Spirit, but no conclusion has ever been made.

The Madame released a spine chilling scream as she clutched the sheets of her bed so tightly that her knuckles became white. On the right side of the bed, a golden haired man could be seen standing still. Towering over 2 meters tall the golden haired man could be titled as a true dragon amongst men. But what really stood out about the man wasn't his size, demeanour or even his hair. No, it was the majestic white tiger standing next to him. With an ethereal otherwordly aura this beast truly emitted the demeanour of a king. This tiger was his Spirit, the Ethereal White Tiger, and even though it wasn't a mythological or mysterious Spirit it was still the Spirit of a Chosen.

On the left side of the bed stood a white monkey type Spirit. Its appearance was that of a normal one meter tall white forest monkey whose arms were as long as its legs, but when looking into its eyes one would be baffled by the amount of intelligence it possessed. However even though the monkey was intelligent it was still a Spirit of a Regular.

At the bottom of the bed crouched a nurse experienced in aiding new mothers giving birth. However even with her bagage of experience the nurse couldn't stop her forehead from being covered in sweat, glancing at the pained face of the young Madame, a trace of fear flashed through the deepest parts of her eyes.

Scream after scream echoed throughout the halls of the Silver Manor, and before long two new high-pitched voices entered the chorus.

It was a pair of twins.

The Madame, passed out but alive, breathed large breaths as she lied in her sweat. Her white monkey Spirit carefully and lovingly started to wipe her drenched face with a wet towel.

The man with the golden hair turned his cold, piercing gaze towards his two newborns, his firstborns. Unknowingly a faint smile appeared on the man's lips as his cold gaze grew warmer.

Two baby boys. One with strings of golden hair on his head and one with strings of white. Noticing their healthy appearance, the golden haired man suddenly felt a heavy burden lift from his heart and his smile turned into a toothy grin. However when he turned his gaze onto the two Spirits his joyful expression morphed into one of shock and disbelief.

Two baby birds. One of the purest gold and one of the purest white.

The two baby birds, whose tiny weak bodies could barely stand, were struggling their way towards the screaming babies, like chickens towards their hen.

The golden haired man, now father, gave the two babies a last glance before turning to face the nurse. With a nod from the man, the nurse immediately began to clean the bloodied babies. Looking at the scene of his two sons as well as their passed out mother, the young father sighed softly before leaving. As soon as the head of the family left, the maids stationed outside entered the room to help the nurse clean, when their curious eyes landed on the newborns shock and amazement appeared on their faces.

*****

The news of the Silver Clan's newborn twins spread like wildfire throughout the township of Aspel. However instead of asking which gender the babies were the most frequently asked question was what kind of Spirits they were born with. In a world were strength ruled absolute, gender and appearance was naturally less important.

It was the highest hope and the biggest dream of most commoners to one day have a child born as a Chosen. Being a Chosen came with endless of benefits and possibilities. Not only was it the minimum requirement to become a landed noble but a human with a divine soul would also live longer than their counterpart. Being born as a Regular however, would mean that they were damned to live out the rest of their lives as 'lesser humans' or in some countries, not even humans. However the status of a noble was naturally different from that of a commoner's. But all light has its shadows, and for a landed noble the importance of having Chosen children was more important than anything. It was not rare for a landed noble to abandon or even outright kill their children if they were born as Regulars.

...

Two days later, in the master bedroom, the Madame could be seen breast feeding her two newborn sons. The two bird type Spirits were supervised by the white monkey as they seemingly had a cute mock battle on the floor... But still being chicks, the battle looked more like they hugging or stumbling onto each other.

The Madame looked at her children with a loving gaze however when the white haired baby boy suddenly opened his eyes her gaze and her body froze.

Blind.

Her son was blind. Seeing his sky blue irises unblemished by anything black the Madame immediately became frightened out of her witts. Reaching out her hands she took a hold of the golden haired baby boy's head before she forced his eyes open, seeing the two black dots surrounded by faint lines of brown iris a smile quickly replaced her frightened expression.

Normal.

Breathing out a breath of relief she once again looks at her white haired son. But somehow, her gaze had changed. Instead of the previous unconditional love her eyes had grown cold and indifferent.

"I have no cripple for a son."

She said coldly while putting her white haired son down his crib.

This may have seemed cruel for some but for her, a Regular commoner, it was nothing at all. What sacrifices hadn't she made to make it to this point? It was common knowledge that upgrading one's status in society was as difficult as climbing up to the heavens. For two decades she has struggled to become a noble, and now, when she's on the verge of success, this... leftover brat is going to ruin it for her?

No way.

Standing up from her bed the Madame glanced at the golden haired baby in her arms before she ruthlessly abandoned her second son as she headed towards her soon-to-be husband, James Silver. With a twitter sound the golden bird looked at its twin spirit before reluctantly following its Chosen.

...

After hearing the news of his son being blind, James expression turned strained.

Blind?

If this got out they would be reduced to the laughing stock amongst nobles.

A cripple for a son?

Shaking his head the family head started pondering on what to do, a few minutes passed in absolute nerve-wrecking silence before he eventually came to a decision. He would give his second son to the head butler's family, keeping him alive as a reassurance if something ever happened to his first son. At the same time he would start spreading the news of the death of his second son as a cover up. Babies often dies during their first few months after birth, unable to adapt to breathing and all.

Sighing in relief he slowly explained his plan to Silvia whose eyes gradually brightened before immediately expressing her approval.

...

The head butler was an old fellow with a trademark smile always present on his lips. His name was Charles Black and his Spirit was that of a black dog, fitting for a butler. When the old butler brought home the family head's baby to his wife Emma, he quickly described the instructions he had received from the family head. Emma, Charles noticed, barely seemed to listen to what her husband was saying as her attention was completely attracted to the young baby boy in her arms. After hearing the whole story from Charles, Emma had long since begun crying while complaining about the nobles' heartlessness and cruelty.

'You are too kind hearted Emma, but I guess.. that's a part of why I love you so.'

Charles thought with a sweet smile on his face as he watched the crying Emma slowly hug the baby boy to a state where it was uncertain if he was alive or dead.