14
A long time ago, before the Guilds came to power in Ilbrea, there was a mother and a baby and a terrible storm.
The wind raged and howled. The rain came down so hard, no man could see the path in front of him. But the mother had been gifted with magic. She could form her own lightning, burn with her own fire―she had no reason to fear what the ungifted hid from. She ventured out into the storm with her baby, refusing to let the skies dictate her path.
The gods saw the mother and knew she thought herself stronger than the might of their storm. So they brought more rain, flooding valleys and upending forests until the mother’s magic began to wane.
Exhausted and afraid, she lost her way, and had no hope of finding a safe haven from the storm. She clutched her baby in her arms, and begge
